“It won’t work,” she responded in a monotone voice.
“Why do you say that?” Jaxon half turned in his seat.
“Because I’m part of the trade.”
“What?” Ben growled. “You didn’t say anything about you being in the crossfire.”
“You would have tried to stop me, and I’m not taking any chances with my daughter’s life.”
Jaxon understood her reasoning. He would walk through fire for Claire and his child. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s just get the money and be quick about it.”
Chapter Thirty Two
Claire groaned and cracked her eyes open. Her head throbbed on one side and something warm dripped down her face to pool in her ear. Her arms wouldn’t move. It took her a moment to realize she was restrained.
“Well, well, look who’s awake.” Mack Doyle’s hideous face came into focus.
“Where am I?” Her throat felt parched, and it hurt to speak.
“So pretty.” He grinned above her, showing crooked teeth with one missing along the bottom. He ran a finger down her cheek. “You look so much like your mother did in her youth.”
Claire jerked her head to the side, effectively dislodging his repulsive touch. Her stomach heaved, and she suppressed a shudder. “What do you want with me?”
“Sarina, shithead that she is, took something from me, and I want it back.”
“Your brain?”
The crack of his palm across her face echoed off the walls as fire raced under her skin like the sting of a thousand bees.
His eyes gleamed in the dim light. “My money. I’ve waited thirty years for it and I’m not leaving here without it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you won’t get away with it. Jaxon will rip your intestines out and jump rope with them.”
“Oh, yes, your precious Jaxon.” A thoughtful look appeared in his glassy eyes, reminding her of a cartoon character. “He has a few surprises in store for him in the near future.”
“Care to elaborate, Jafar?”
He gripped her chin in a painful hold. “Keep running that mouth of yours, and you may find it sown shut very shortly.”
Claire’s stomach lurched, and the urge to vomit intensified. She swallowed the gag forming in her throat, keeping her expression blank. The last thing she wanted to do was show weakness in front of him. Men such as Mack Doyle fed on the fear and shortcomings of others.
“I need to use the restroom.”
He peered down at her as if she hadn’t spoken and dragged his hand down her neck. His fingers flexed once before wrapping around her throat. “I heard about your birth when I was in prison.”
Though his hold remained relaxed, the threat was more than obvious. She decided to keep him talking. “What were you in prison for?”
“Murder.”
Nausea reared its unwelcome head once again. The calm, almost pleasant way he spoke gave her chills. His eyelids slid shut and his grip tightened on her neck. Claire swallowed against the ever-rising bile as he continued.
“His name was Dennis. He worked at the convenient store around the corner from my place. Sarina took to him right off, always smiling and asking after his well being. I may be a lot of things, but stupid ain’t one of them.”
Claire would beg to differ if her life didn’t depend on it. “You killed him for that?”
His eyes opened to stare at something across the room. “I was tipped off that the DEA planned to storm my home, so I took all the money in the safe and gave it to Sarina to hide. Dennis was the last person she called after leaving the house that night.”
His hand left her throat to toy with the top button on her shirt. His expression turned inward as he recounted the details of Dennis’s death.
“I went to see her in jail to get the location of my money, and she asked me for a divorce. Can you believe that shit? The slut thought she could bargain with me. She must have really put it on Dennis good. He wouldn’t roll over on her, no matter what I did to him.”
He smiled down at her through his insanity. “I had a short fuse back then. He died way too fast, little Claire, but I’ve learned patience over the years.” The button popped open, and he moved on to the next one.
Claire’s skin crawled where his fingers touched her. She pulled on her bonds and shrank back against the hard surface she laid on. “If you do this, you’ll never see your money.”
“You think? Not only will I get my money, but I’m going to enjoy the look on your precious Sarina’s face when she realizes you’ve been soiled because of her thieving ass.”
Cool air touched her chest as he opened the last button and pushed her shirt aside. “Such perfection.”
“Fuck you, you piece of shit,” Claire seethed.
He pinched her nipple. Excruciating pain traveled through her breast and exploded inside her brain. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from giving him the satisfaction of hearing her beg.
“What? That didn’t hurt? I bet this will.” He twisted her tender skin, and she involuntarily cried out. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them back, silently begging for Jaxon to arrive before Doyle did something to harm her baby.
He laughed a hideous, dark sound that promised retribution. Spittle gathered in the corner of his mouth, and the crazed look in his eyes was matched only by the blade that appeared in his hand.
“Please don’t.” If begging would save her baby’s life, then she would beg. She would do anything he asked of her at that point, as long as he didn’t hurt her child.
His eyes rolled back. “Say it again.”
“I’ll do anything you want, just please don’t hurt me.”
He let go of her breast and slid the knife under the waistband of her jeans. “You won’t need these any longer.”
The tears she’d fought so hard to hold back spilled over and slid down her cheeks. She wanted to die in this moment, to shut her eyes and never wake up. But she would submit. No matter what she had to endure, she would survive.
“Cry for me, Claire.”
The sound of material ripping could be heard over the thundering of her heart. With a prayer for her baby, she shut down her emotions and withdrew into herself. I’m sorry, Jaxon.
Chapter Thirty Three
“Are you sure this is the place?” Jaxon asked as they stopped on the road a short distance from a secluded house. The structure was small and needed a coat of paint. Grass rose up knee-deep from the ground, and a dark blue sedan sat in the drive.
“It’s the address he gave me,” Sarina responded in a shaky voice.
Ben turned in his seat to face Jaxon. “Listen, kid. I’m going to have a look. I need you to stay here with Sarina in case he isn’t—”
“Bullshit. I’m going after Claire.” Jaxon grabbed the handle and opened the door.
“He’s going to have traps set, Jaxon. I can get in there undetected. If she’s hurt.” Ben paused. “If she’s injured, you won’t use your head, and it may get her killed.”
Jaxon ran a hand down his face. He couldn’t wait another second. That sicko had his Claire, and God only knew what he was doing to her. But Ben was right, and he knew it. “You have two minutes.”
“That’s all I need.” Ben opened his door and quietly climbed out.
Jaxon watched as Ben ran along the edge of the yard, keeping to the shadows. The man could move like the wind for someone so big. Jaxon inched his way out of the car. But nothing prepared him for what happened next.
Ben suddenly vanished. Jaxon gaped at the place the huge man had been standing. He’d never seen anything so incredible in all his life.
Sarina touched his arm. He hadn’t heard her leave the vehicle. “Look.” She pointed in the direction of the steps. The disbelief in her voice matched his own feelings.
A mouse ran across the top step and disappeared underneath the door. Ben’s words echoed inside Jaxon’s mind. “I can take the form of many.”
“He made it in. I�
��m going around the back. Lock yourself inside the car.” Jaxon pulled a handgun from the waistband of his jeans and handed it to her. “Shoot anyone you feel is a threat.”
She accepted the weapon. “Get my daughter back.”
“I intend to.”
Jaxon skirted the perimeter to the rear of the house. A dim light shone from a window, creating a yellow glow on the ground below it. A muffled sound caught his attention and he crept closer.
With his back against the house, he inched his head forward enough to see inside. A small space where the curtains didn’t quite touch enabled him a sparse view of the room.
A small television sat in the corner on a nightstand. The dresser held an ashtray, a coffee cup, and boasted of cigarette burns along the top. Jaxon inched over a little more until a twin bed without a mattress could be seen. And restrained on top was his beautiful Claire wearing nothing but a bra and panties with Mack Doyle’s filthy hands on her body.
Uncontrollable rage erupted inside Jaxon’s chest, spread through his veins, and crystallized inside his lungs, taking his breath. His claws broke through the ends of his fingers with enough pressure that blood seeped from his nail beds.
Reality faded into a nightmare of images flashing behind his eyes. Claire’s tears, her pain, the torment she’d endured at the hands of a monster.
His vision blurred. Colors melded together as his beast roared to the surface seeking blood. Jaxon staggered back several feet, allowing his wolf free rein. Power unlike anything he’d ever known slammed into him with the force of a tornado.
Jaxon ran, exploding through the window in a shatter of glass and wood and landing lithely on his feet.
“I’ll blow her brains out.” Doyle’s voice washed over him like slime.
Jaxon didn’t look at Claire. He couldn’t. Her terror called to his beast in a summons he wouldn’t be able to control. If he shifted now, Doyle would shoot her in a panic. “It’s okay, baby. I’m gonna get you out of here.”
Doyle laughed. “How do you propose to do that, lover boy? Where is the bitch?”
“I’m here.” Sarina walked into the room, holding the gun.
“I told you to stay in the car,” Jaxon snarled.
She ignored him, keeping her gaze on Doyle. “Trade her for me.”
“Mama, no.” Claire’s plea tore at Jaxon’s soul. He kept his attention on the monster hovering above her.
“Where is the money?”
She stepped closer. “Let her go. You don’t need her. You and I will leave right now, and I’ll take you to the money. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
“Mama…”
“Shut up, Claire. Let her go, Mack. I’m here now.”
“You.” He jerked his chin toward Jaxon. “Back out of the room. As soon as you clear the doorway, I’ll cut her loose.”
“No deal,” Jaxon growled.
“Do it now, or I kill her and then you.”
A tiny mouse ran under the dresser just inside Jaxon’s peripheral. He raised his arms and slowly backed toward the exit.
“Sarina? Put the gun down and come here,” Mack demanded. “Cut Claire loose when he clears the door.”
Stepping into that hall was the hardest thing Jaxon had ever done. He held his breath and listened to the sounds of ropes being severed in the other room.
“Claire, get out of here,” her mother demanded in a quiet voice.
“I’m not going without you.”
“Come to me, Claire. I need you to trust me,” Jaxon called out from the hall. He watched the mouse from his standpoint as it slinked along the wall undetected by everyone but him.
Claire abruptly stumbled around the corner and fell into Jaxon’s waiting embrace. He scooped her up into his arms, pulling her tight against his chest. “Thank God. We have to go.” Jaxon ran through the house and out the front door, not stopping until he reached the car. The passenger side door had been left open, and he gently sat Claire on the seat.
Ripping his shirt off, he pressed it against the cut on the side of her head as his gaze traveled down her small frame, coming to rest on a smear of blood at the top of her thighs. His heart stopped. “Ah, God, baby. No.”
He hadn’t made it in time. That monster had hurt his Claire. A howl of anguish burst from him unbidden. His stomach knotted and his muscles locked up in an effort to keep from shifting. “I’m going to peel his flesh from his bones.”
Her hands came to rest on either side of his face. “He didn’t rape me, Jaxon. I’m okay.”
“The blood—”
“It’s from a small cut. The baby and I are both fine. I promise.”
Jaxon dropped his head in her lap as relief pumped through him. He shuddered, kissing her belly again and again. Lifting his gaze, he stared into her eyes. “You’re really not hurt?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“I want you to get behind the wheel and drive, Claire. I’m going back after Ben and Sarina. Go to Scruples and send Sam back with the car. Jen and Craig were coming in as I left, so they should still be there. Have them take Tori to the Outpost in Freeport. She’ll be safe there.”
“No way. I am not…” Her voice trailed off.
He turned his head in time to watch a naked Ben step through the front door, covered in blood, holding Sarina in his arms. He didn’t speak as he trekked across the yard, opened the back door of the car, and deposited her inside before sliding in beside her. “Drive.”
“What happened?” Jaxon questioned, searching Ben’s determined gaze.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now move before we become buzzard food.”
Jaxon jogged around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel just seconds ahead of an explosion that rocked the ground beneath the car with the power of an earthquake. He watched in the rearview mirror as the house went up in flames with Doyle’s body obviously still inside.
Chapter Thirty Four
No one spoke on the ride home, which was fine with Claire. She figured they each had their own thoughts to sort through, like where Ben had acquired the means to blow that house off the map and why he was covered in blood.
So much had happened in the past few months it was hard to process it all. Doyle was dead, and the dark cloud they’d all been living under would vanish with the rising sun.
Claire glanced at Jaxon’s handsome profile. She couldn’t imagine her world without him in it. He’d risked his life for her, proven himself more than any man would be expected to, and she loved him for it.
He rested his arm on the back of the seat. “Come here.”
That was all the invitation she needed. She slid up next to his warmth and breathed him in. Nothing could ever compare to Jaxon’s masculine scent. It wrapped around her in a tantalizing caress, teasing her senses.
He kissed the top of her head. “Marry me tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday,” she teased.
“Okay, then first thing Monday morning.”
Sarina piped in from the back seat. “I beg to differ. She is my only child, and I will see that she has a proper wedding.”
Claire’s lips twitched. “I’m pregnant, Mama…riding in a car in my underwear with my fiancé and my naked familiar. That’s about as far from proper as you can get.”
“Say what you want.” Sarina huffed. “I will have my way in this.”
“We shall see,” Claire mumbled low enough that only Jaxon could hear.
“I heard that,” Ben confessed with a chuckle.
Claire smiled and laid her head on Jaxon’s shoulder. “I love you.”
“Ditto, beautiful.”
* * * *
Scruples came into view a short time later, and Jaxon pulled up close to the front door. He brushed a kiss across Claire’s lips. “Sit tight while I run inside and grab something for you guys to cover up with.”
Claire kissed him back. “I have clothes in the office. Grab some blankets off the couch for Ben.”
�
�Will do.” Jaxon unfolded his tall frame from the car and hurried inside.
Tori came bursting through the door before it had time to close behind him. She jumped into the driver’s seat of the car, her eyes huge in her face. “You scared the crap out of me, Claire!”
“I know. I’m—”
“Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?”
Claire shook her head. “They got to me in time.”
“Thank God. Where is Mack now?”
“Dead,” the trio replied simultaneously.
Shock was evident in Victoria’s eyes. “How did he die? And are you sure he’s dead?”
“Trust me. He’s roasting in hell right now,” Ben piped in from the backseat.
Tori shifted her attention to him. “You do know that you’re naked. Right?”
“I hadn’t realized,” Ben shot back with heavy sarcasm.
Sarina suddenly moved to sit on his lap, effectively hiding his manly parts.
“You hadn’t realized what?” Jaxon asked, appearing at the open driver’s side door.
Laughter erupted inside the vehicle, filling Claire’s heart with love and contentment. Her gaze drifted around the car, touching on every face, taking their smiles into herself to cherish forever.
This was her family…her life. They might lack scruples, she thought with a grin, but they were loyal, and that was good enough for her.
Tressa Rabbit is an erotic author with a taste for all things sugar and spice. She’s been published in numerous erotic anthologies, including “Penthouse Forums.” Other solo titles include Smoldering Ruby, Ruby’s Ashes and The Cookie Dough Job with Crazy Ink Publishing, LLC. She is also author to several mainstream, vanilla novels under a different pen name. Tress is always open to new experiences and loves the challenge of writing about taboo and/or odd relationships.
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Knowing Claire (The Possessed Series Book 1) Page 11