by K. C. Crowne
I sighed and closed my eyes, clenching them tightly to block the tears from falling.
“It’s gonna be okay, Cassie. I promise.”
Jack’s voice was so sincere, and I wanted to believe him. I wanted to think he was capable of getting what he needed and getting out safely, but there was no guarantee.
My eyes popped open again. “Is there any way I can convince you to not do this?”
“I’m sorry, Cassie, but no. I see no other option.”
I wanted to argue with him, to tell him there were always other options, but every time I managed to come up with one, there was a reason it wouldn’t work.
“I know these guys better than anyone else does, and they trust me,” he said.
“They also trusted your dad, right?” I scoffed. “And look what happened to him.”
“Yeah, but my dad was a perpetual screw-up. He went around town talking too much, especially in the later years, when he got cocky. He thought he was safe. He drank too damned much and ran his mouth. He was a liability, so they took him out.”
“And you’re not a liability to them?” I asked.
“I don’t talk to anyone. That’s the difference. And that’s why I haven’t told anyone what I know.”
“You talk to me.”
“You’re different, Cassie. I trust you. And even then, I don’t tell you everything.” I lifted an eyebrow. “Mostly to keep you safe. If anything were to happen to me, I—”
“Stop saying that.”
Jack turned to me, reaching a hand over and stroking my cheek. He wiped one of my tears away with his fingertip.
“I just wanna make sure you and Owen are safe. You two and Madison and Zoey are all that matters to me now,” he said. “I’ll do anything to protect all of you.”
I leaned closer to Jack, wanting nothing more than to feel his lips on mine. I wanted to hold him, touch him, kiss him. I never wanted to forget the way his strong arms felt around my body or the way his eyes burned with desire from looking at me. Or the smile he on his face when staring at his son.
I never wanted to imagine my life without any of that.
Jack leaned close as well, and we kissed softly, with Owen safely tucked into Jack’s arms. He was already falling asleep, safe and calm in his daddy’s arms.
“So, I went to the doctor yesterday,” I said, biting my lower lip.
“Oh yeah? What did they say?” Jack’s brow furrowed with concern.
“I got the all-clear to resume normal activities,” I said with a smile. “Hard to believe it’s been six weeks, huh?”
Jack looked confused at first, but then he looked hurt. “Six weeks already. Damn, I’ve missed so much.” He stared at Owen in his arms, and for a moment, I thought he might cry. But instead, he whispered, “I’ve missed so much, but I promise you, we will be together soon, and I won’t ever miss another minute.”
My heart swelled. My family had been wrong about Jack. I’d always known it, but I knew it even more so now. He was a good man, a man who wanted to do the right thing. And he was a damned good father.
Jack played with Owen’s limp hand, admiring the tiny fingers against his. Owen was fast asleep now, but I didn’t want the moment to end. I wanted to give Jack all the time in the world with his son. Because he was right, he’d already missed a lot. I stared at Owen when he was asleep all the time, surprised that this little life was mine to care for, that this precious boy was my son. Jack didn’t get many chances to do that, so I let him have his moment.
After a while, Jack looked at me with a small smirk. “Normal activities, eh?”
The look on Jack’s face caused a warmth to grow in my lower body. My panties were wet in an instant.
I knew right then that Jack would be staying the night.
Owen was asleep in his crib. Jack’s arms were wrapped around my waist, holding me against him as we stared at our little boy.
His lips pressed against my forehead first. His beard tickled my skin and caused me to giggle. He smiled at me and said, “You’re so beautiful, do you know that?”
“Beautiful? I have bags under my eyes, and I only shower like every three days now,” I only half-joked.
“Trust me; you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
I bit my lip and stared into his eyes. He leaned down and kissed me deeply, and I opened my mouth to him, letting his tongue dance with mine. His hands moved over my body, pulling up my shirt and lifting it over my head. He tossed it to the floor as he gently nudged me away from the crib and toward the bed.
I pulled at his t-shirt, yanking it over his head.
His chest was chiseled and covered in tattoos. My fingers traced the symbols etched upon his skin, savoring the feeling of his muscles beneath his flesh. I’d never get tired of seeing his body, of touching him, or kissing him.
I pulled at his belt, and Jack helped me remove it, then unzipped his pants. I tugged them down his hips, and he pushed them the rest of the way down, stepping out of them as he moved to the bed. He sat down on it, fully naked.
I was too busy staring at him and didn’t even realize that my own pants were still on. But Jack made quick work of those, and I was naked before him. He pulled me onto his lap, and I straddled him, his swollen member pressed against my most sensitive parts.
I ground my body against his, feeling the length of him rubbing against my clit. I was so wet already that his cock slid against me.
Jack’s hands gripped my hips tightly, holding me against him as our mouths collided again. We kissed as I moved against him, teasing myself as my body craved to be filled by him. The head of his cock kept brushing against my opening, and I let out a groan into Jack’s mouth.
“Please,” I whimpered.
He laid down on, but I remained sitting upright. He stared at me, his eyes filled with heat. He explored my body, running his hands up my sides, taking my breasts into his palms, and kneading them gently.
“Please, Jack,” I whimpered again. “I need you.”
“Are you sure it’s fine?” he asked me.
“Yes, yes, the doctor gave me the okay.” My voice was high-pitched and whiney. I was literally on the verge of begging him to fuck me.
He reached between our bodies and took his member in his hand. He pressed the tip against my opening, stretching me only slightly, enough to make me gasp. I slid down the length of him, slowly taking him inside.
He was thick, and I was nervous it might hurt, but my body was ready for him. I stretched open and was soaking wet, so he slipped inside easily.
I ground against him, my clit rubbing against his pelvis. His hands were on my ass, helping find a rhythm that brought me to the edge of orgasm within a matter of seconds. Just feeling him inside me, rubbing all parts of me, caused me to come.
I dug my nails into his chest as my thighs tightened around his body. Jack held onto me, prolonging my sweet release for a few moments longer.
Once I recovered, he started guiding my hips again. I began rocking back and forth and bouncing up and down. Jack’s face twisted into a look of bliss, and he let out a deep groan, pulling me close to him and burying his cock even deeper inside me.
I almost cried out, but I didn’t want to be too loud. I fell forward, my face against the crook of his neck, buried in his flesh. I came a second time, harder than the first. I bit Jack’s shoulder to drown out the screams trying to force their way out of me.
After that orgasm subsided, Jack grabbed my hips and rolled us both over. He was hovering above me now, staring deep into my eyes as he buried himself balls deep once more. I held onto him for dear life. My legs were wrapped around him, pulling myself up to meet each and every one of his thrusts. His lips crashed into mine, and our bodies moved as one. His tongue moved in and out of my mouth just as his cock moved in and out of my body.
My grip on him tightened, and my nails dug into his back. Jack’s body tightened and shook, and he didn’t have to tell me; I already knew he was coming.
I felt the aftershocks of that orgasm even after it subsided. Jack remained sheathed inside me, holding himself up with his forearms and looking deep into my eyes. He kissed me, and it was almost like he never wanted to pull out. But after a few moments, he did.
A rush of warmth reminded me that we hadn’t used a condom. Jack seemed to panic when he noticed. I stroked his face and said, “Relax, Jack. I have an IUD now. No more babies for a while.”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “Not until we get all this cleared up, at least. Then, well…”
I chuckled, but on the inside, my heart swelled about a million times its normal size. “You wanna have another baby?”
“Not now, of course. But Owen needs a sibling or two or five.” He cracked a smile, letting me know he was teasing - mostly.
But still. The idea that Jack had even thought about expanding our family meant the world to me. I was giddy with the idea of it, imagining the future in my head as we snuggled in bed together. My fingers traced his tattoos as he stroked my hair, running his fingers through it.
My eyes were growing heavy; I was able to forget about what was coming the next day.
I awoke with a start. I checked the time on the alarm clock beside the bed: after five a.m. Owen usually woke me up for a feeding by then. I sat upright in the bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes and trying to figure out why my son hadn’t woken me up yet.
I climbed out of bed and hurried to my son’s crib.
He was gone.
I grabbed the edges of the crib for stability, panic taking over my brain. I was shaking, and my heart was racing so fast I thought it might explode out of my chest.
The bedroom door opened, and Jack walked into the room. Owen was cradled safely in his arms, feeding from one of the bottles I had made for him the night before.
“Oh, thank God,” I muttered, rushing to Jack’s side. My legs still felt weak. “I thought something had happened to him,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said. “I thought you could use a little extra sleep. I tried not to wake you.”
I nodded. “Thank you, it’s just, well, I’m not used to anyone else taking care of him, so my first thought was…” I didn’t want to finish the thought. The idea of it was just too terrifying to put into words.
“He’s fine,” Jack reassured me. “Everything’s fine.”
I took a deep breath and re-learned how to breathe normally. Everything was fine.
Except, I knew it wasn’t.
Jack handed Owen to me. “He finished his bottle,” he stated. “And I changed him, so he should be clean. You can go back to bed after I leave.”
“You’re leaving already?” I asked. My voice cracked.
“I have to,” he said softly. “I need to leave with Teddy again.”
“And then what?”
“Well, I do the job later this afternoon,” he said with a shrug. I could tell he was trying to downplay it all.
I wasn’t buying it. I didn’t want my emotions to get the best of me and upset Owen, so I placed him in his crib carefully. Jack wrapped his arms around and buried his face in my neck and hair, inhaling deeply as if trying to remember my scent. Neither of us said anything for a long while.
“This feels like goodbye,” I whimpered.
“It’s not,” Jack said. “At least I hope not.”
I knew he couldn’t promise me.
He let out a long sigh and took my face in his hands, staring into my eyes. “Cassie, listen to me. I have no idea what’s gonna happen today, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to get back to you and Owen. You’re my priority now. Nothing else matters except getting back to the two of you.”
Tears stung at my eyes. “Please don’t go, Jack.”
“I have to, Cassie. I have to do this so I can be sure everyone I love is safe. Including you.”
My breath caught in my throat just as a knock sounded at my door.
“I’m coming,” Jack said.
I knew it was Teddy, who had no idea what was going on. He just needed to get to work, but I didn’t want Jack to leave. Not yet. Not ever.
Jack kissed me on the lips as tears spilled down my cheeks, wetting his face along with mine. When he pulled away, I tried to hold onto him. I grabbed his hand, but his fingers slipped through mine.
“I have to go, Cassie. I’m sorry,” he murmured. “But no matter what happens, I know Owen and you will be safer if I do this. If something happens to me, I know you’ll take care of our son. You’re an amazing mother.”
“Jack, please…”
He opened the door, and with a quick glance back, stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door quietly behind him.
My legs felt too weak to chase after him - not that it would have done any good anyway. It would just alert Teddy that something was going on. And if Teddy knew, it could put everyone in more danger, including his own wife and child.
I fell into the bed, my face buried in a pillow to drown out the sobs. I’d never been a religious person, but I found myself praying to God for his safe return.
All I wanted was everything to be okay and for us to be a family.
And for Owen to have his father.
Jack
After the last pickup, I expected trouble. This time, I met the guy in the afternoon. Hank’s instructions were clear. I’d park in a bar parking lot and wait, and a black car would pull up next to mine.
I waited for about five minutes before I saw the car. He pulled up to the driver’s side, and the passenger side window opened. In the passenger’s side was an older man with dark glasses and a hat covering what appeared to be a bald head. There were two people in the car, though I couldn’t really see the other guy. I was outnumbered if all hell broke loose.
“Give me the cash first,” I ordered. I expected a fight honestly, but the man handed me a bag. “I have instructions to count it before you go.”
The man in the passenger’s seat didn’t speak, only nodded.
I counted the money; it was all there. I passed the goods to them. As soon as they had them in hand, they rolled the window up and pulled out of the spot without a word.
I re-counted the money, thinking this was way too fucking easy. I hadn’t counted wrong. Maybe some jobs are easier than others, I thought to myself. Then again, the hard part wasn’t over.
Instead of meeting Richard at our normal pickup spot, I was given another address outside Liberty a ways. It took me about forty-five minutes to get there. I drove down a very narrow, dark road surrounded by trees that blocked out the sunlight almost entirely.
It was getting late in the day, and the sun was going down. The road ended just as I was told it would. I parked my truck and waited.
Out of the darkness, I saw a shadow. Then another.
Two men walked toward my truck.
Richard was one of them. I didn’t recognize the other. He was middle-aged and looked like a candidate for World’s Strongest Man. I was carrying a couple of big guns, but that man rivaled me, not something I saw every day.
I waited in the truck until they gave me the go-ahead - Richard just motioned for me to get out. I opened the door slowly and got out, bag in hand. I held my hands up instinctively, letting them see I had no weapons.
The big guy grabbed the bag and handed it to Richard, who started counting the money. Big man grabbed me and threw me against the truck. He began frisking me, checking me for weapons. I had been told to bring none, not even to the pickup. I wasn’t allowed anything to protect myself if the meet had gone badly, but thankfully it didn’t.
But I sure wished I had a gun or a knife on me for the drop-off.
I did, of course, have something I was trying to hide. A wire. Tucked under my arm, taped so that if I moved my arms a certain way it couldn’t be seen.
I wasn’t stupid enough to wear it openly on my chest in case they went looking.
And they did.
The big guy pulled up my shirt and patted my chest. I switched positions, thankful I had enough body hair to help conceal it. I’d checked myself in the mirror over and over again, finding just the right position in which to stand to hide it.
“He’s clear,” the man said in a thick, Russian accent.
I almost let out a sigh of relief. He let me pull my shirt back down, and I got comfortable again, moving my arm so the wire wouldn’t be obstructed. I wanted to record everything I could.
“Alright, follow me,” Richard said.
I followed Richard and the big Russian followed me. I felt his eyes on me the entire time, waiting for me to make one wrong move.
We walked for about five minutes until we reached the back of a large house.
“Is this where the boss lives?” I asked.
Neither man answered me.
We walked toward a back entrance, and Richard knocked on the door. Someone opened it from the inside, and we walked into what appeared to be a basement.
Or maybe a dungeon.
The walls were concrete, as was the floor. There were drains in the middle of the floor for easy cleaning. Knowing the type of guys I was dealing with, I had a pretty good idea of what they had to clean up in there.
In the middle of the room was a desk that seemed out of place.
At the desk was Hank Gillespie himself, with two men on either side of him, each with a semi-automatic gun in their hands. They wore masks on the bottom half of their faces, but their eyes were fixed on me.
My eyes were fixed on Hank.
He wasn’t a big man - in fact, some in the media mocked him for being short. He was even shorter in real life than I expected - coming in at maybe 5’5” or 5’6” with some thick soles on his shoes. He was slim with a belly showing through his tight suit. His hair was thinning, but he tried to hide it by brushing it over the bald spots. The hair he did have was more grey than brown. There was nothing remarkable about his face except for the fact that it reminded me of a rat. Then again, I might be biased - I thought most politicians looked like rats.