by Kasey Krane
It was that sixth-sense feeling that sends shivers down your spine when you know someone is watching you but you can’t see them.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look. But there were so many people around me. People everywhere. I actually felt foolish standing in the middle of that crowd, looking around. Not even knowing what I was looking for.
Nobody looked suspicious. Everybody looked suspicious.
My heart beat even faster in my chest and I felt close to faint.
I turned back around and hurried forward, digging my hands deeper into the pockets of my jacket.
Even as I turned corners and slipped in and around people, I felt those eyes on me. Burning holes into my back. I looked over my shoulder again and I couldn’t spot anyone specific. I convinced myself I had to be imagining it.
Unless it was Aldo.
Maybe Aldo had watched me this whole time and his men were waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump me. This was it.
I had foolishly left the comfort and safety of Doherty territory. Now I was in no-man’s land. They could pick me up and kidnap me again. Keep me prisoner forever, under even harder security this time.
I shuddered with fear at the thought of facing Aldo again.
I’d always considered myself strong. My father considered me strong—but what happened to him? What happened to Mom?
I heard the shots being fired. The bullets that killed them both. Blood splattered everywhere. Their bodies slumped to the floor.
My feet carried me forward now, but I didn’t know where I was going. People stared at me. Tears flooded down my cheeks that I hadn’t even been aware of.
My father. My mother. Both dead at the hands of this evil bastard who was coming to get me. I’d be dead soon too. He wouldn’t spare me.
And I didn’t know if I cared anymore.
I may have ran around in circles because I felt dizzy. I didn’t know how long I’d zipped in and through the crowds of people on the sidewalks. I hadn’t arrived anywhere. I hadn’t made any progress, and yet, the whole time, I knew there were people watching me. Especially now that I was crying and not even trying to hide it.
The loss of my parents had taken complete hold of me and I was sure I’d pass out now.
Very soon, whoever the men were that Aldo had sent to get me, were going to corner me in a dark and deserted alleyway. They’d either pump a few bullets in me like they had done with my parents. Or, worse still, they’d nab me again like last time.
I knew which end I preferred.
My left ankle twisted as I pushed through the crowd and then my legs buckled. I fell before I even knew it. My hands came out forward protectively while my body went crashing down to the street. But just before I hit the ground, I felt two very large hands grip my waist.
I was pulled up skywards. Tears still streaked my cheeks, dribbling down my chin and neck.
When the man twisted me around to face him, and I finally looked into the majestic green eyes of Tristian Doherty—I was convinced I was dreaming.
Everything seemed blurry. No voice or sound was clear. Everything was like a buzz in the background. Only the sound of the bullets killing my parents zipped through the air.
“Elsie! Elsie!” Tristian’s deep voice parted through the murky sound waves buzzing in my ear. “Can you hear me? Elsie, for fuck’s sake!”
I was like a sack of potatoes in his arms. My bones had all turned to jelly. If he’d have let me go at that point, I’d’ve fallen straight back down again.
But he didn’t release me. Instead, he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder. Just like that sack of potatoes I imagined.
My arms hung down over his back, my legs hung over his chest, while he carried me. I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see the faces of the people who were undoubtedly watching us.
Word was going to travel fast. Tristian Doherty had rescued a mad girl and taken her off the streets. He’d thrown her over his shoulder like a caveman and carried her to his own home. What a gentleman.
But I didn’t have the energy to command him to let me go.
The only thing I could say was… “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t…I can’t live like this anymore.”
I thought I had murmured the words, but it seemed Tristian heard me loud and clear.
“Yes, you can, Elsie. You can do anything,” he said.
Sixteen
Tristian
By the time I got Elsie back to the apartment, she was hysterical. She was crying and shuddering and constantly repeating that she was being followed.
I drove back to the apartment from Nolan’s place when I spotted her whizzing through the crowd on a sidewalk. I parked my car in the middle of the road, screeching to a stop. Horns blared and people shouted until they saw me jump out of the car and recognized who I was.
The shit you get away with by being a Doherty in this town.
By the time I got to Elsie, she was on the verge of collapsing to the ground. I caught her just in time and threw her over my shoulder.
Back at the apartment, I managed to get her to lie down on the couch. I told her I’d make her some hot cocoa and insisted that she needed to not move while I got it.
She didn’t move, but continued crying.
“They were going to get me. Aldo. I saw him,” she murmured under her breath when I returned with the mug of cocoa.
I didn’t see Aldo anywhere on the streets. I hadn’t seen any Baron guy there.
“I wasn’t going to let anyone get to you, Elsie. Now, drink this,” I said, holding the mug up to her lips. She straightened up a little and took a sip.
Her cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes were swollen and red from crying. I was glad I got to her when I did.
She muttered something illegible as she drank the rest of the cocoa. I knelt down beside the couch and watched her. Slowly, she calmed down.
“Where were you going?” I asked her. She didn’t want to meet my eyes. “Were you trying to run away? Disappear?”
“I just want things to…go back to normal. I want my life back. I can’t keep living here,” she said in a broken, weak voice.
I hated seeing her like this. The Elsie I had gotten to know was stronger than this. She knew how to take care of herself. I didn’t have to worry about her.
But she was human and Aldo had broken her.
For that, I’d never forgive him.
“I know you want your life back, but you just have to wait. A little bit longer. But you have to wait here, with me. You can’t do this on your own.”
“How long?” she cried.
“I don’t know. Until the coast is clear. We’re going to help you. My family wants to help you.”
“And what about you? Do you want to help me? Do you even want me here?”
I knew this was partly my fault. Because of how hot and cold I’d been with her. Fucking her, then rejecting her the next moment. I wished I wasn’t so fucked in the head. I wished I could give her what she needed. Treat her the way she deserved to be treated.
“I do want you here, Elsie,” I said.
But she looked at me like she didn’t believe me.
So I knew I had to prove it to her.
What I said was the truth. I wanted her here with me. In my apartment. Sharing my space. Being a part of my day. My world.
I liked seeing her in my kitchen. Cooking for me. Undressing for me.
I hated seeing her cry.
I reached for the dark strands of hair that had fallen over her eyes and I pushed them behind both her ears. Her lips were parted seductively while she breathed evenly, waiting to see what I’d do next.
I framed her face with my hands and then I kissed her.
I tasted her sweet little tongue, sucked on it strong while I kissed her deeply. Elsie moved towards me. The empty mug fell out of her hand and neither of us cared where it went. I just wanted to feel her soft warm body in my arms and she gave herself to me. Just like she was s
upposed to.
I pulled her in closer, pinning her down on the couch while I climbed on top of her.
Limbs entwined with limbs. She was so delicate and fragile, strong and courageous at the same time.
I knew what it meant to lose a parent, but she’d gone through it doubly. She’d lost both her parents. Worse. They were shot dead in front of her. I couldn’t blame her for losing her mind a little. She had every right to, and I’d make Aldo pay.
We’d all make him pay for all the things he’d done to our family and the women we cared about.
Did I care about Elsie?
In more ways than just a poor little helpless girl?
My fingers found the button and zip on her jeans. When they were undone, I pushed my hand down her pants until I found that warm, throbbing, swelling clit. I knew how to make her feel good. I wanted her to feel good.
Elsie kissed me back harder, taking possession of my mouth while I took possession of her pussy. My fingers slipped in her, sliding deep between her folds. She gasped in my mouth, thrusting her hips up towards me so I’d bang her harder.
My thumb stroked her clit while my fingers thrust in and out of her tight little pussy. A pussy so tight and small that my cock may have been too big for her, but she didn’t complain the last time. And I knew why—because she was already so wet for me. I loved feeling the slick of her cream on my fingers as I slid deeper and deeper within her.
Elsie pulled her mouth away from me to look into my eyes.
“Tristian, you’re going to make me come.”
“Exactly.”
“I want you inside me when I come. I want you to come inside me,” she said, biting down on her lip.
I’d already made up my mind to give her everything she wanted.
I pulled off every last piece of her clothing until she was completely naked under me. She rolled her hips and shuddered with desire while I kissed her everywhere. I didn’t want to leave a single inch of her skin untouched.
Once I was done kissing her, I saw the look of desperation in her eyes. She needed me inside her. She wanted me to fuck her, just like she had begged me to.
And so I did.
I flipped her over first, so I could grab her ass and press it into my thighs.
She slipped underneath me, pushing her face into the softness of the couch. I held her down, pinning her head down with one hand while fondling her big juicy ass. I squeezed hard, then caressed gently.
I wanted to feel her moving under me.
I wanted more.
My fingers slipped into her pussy. I loved how wet she was. Her cream moistened her folds and her clit. I could soak in those scents forever. The smell of her sweet tight pussy.
I groaned as I straightened up, positioning myself right behind her. I held on to her hips from behind and then drove myself in. I didn’t have the patience to take it slow. I wanted to be inside her completely. Possess her entirely. Her body shuddered with satisfaction when I’d filled her to the brim.
She wanted more, rolling her hips faster.
I gave her what she wanted, driving in and out of her with more force. The couch bounced underneath us. I had to grab a bunch of her hair, wrap it around my fist so I could rein her in, like a pony. Or else she’d get out of my control.
I smacked her ass while pounding her pussy, and she came in that instant.
Elsie’s voice was hoarse and sultry while she begged me not to stop. I had no intention of stopping. I’d do this forever if I could.
Then I came inside her, filling her with my seed. She shook her ass for me, sucking me deep inside her pussy. I wrapped my arms around her perfect flat belly, pulling her backwards to my chest.
I pressed my face into her silky dark hair and breathed in her scent.
She was beautiful. She was too beautiful.
And I knew this was a mistake I’d regret in a few seconds.
Elsie made me feel weak.
And just as I pulled myself out of her, my phone rang.
She looked over her shoulder at me, probably wondering if I’d answer the phone.
I moved away from her and checked the screen.
It was the phone call I’d been waiting for.
It was one of my connections calling about having located Christie.
Thankfully, it hadn’t taken very long. Apparently she lived in a smaller town now, just a forty-minute drive from here.
My head pounded as I spoke to the guy on the phone and then quickly ended the call. The idea of going to speak to Christie, of seeing her again after eleven years—blew my mind.
I knew I’d have to get my shit together.
By the time I was off the phone, Elsie had already put most of her clothes back on. Fuck. I wasn’t sure if she’d be okay if I left her now. She hadn’t been doing well when I found her wandering the streets. She was going through some stuff, which I figured had to do with the death of her parents.
I pulled up my pants, buttoning the buttons on my shirt.
“I have to go out,” I said, as carefully as I could.
Elsie didn’t look at me, keeping her eyes averted.
“Do you think you’ll be all right?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer the question, but stood up and walked to the kitchen instead.
“Look, I get it, you’re feeling physically and emotionally vulnerable right now. What we did…we shouldn’t have done that. You need to get some rest.”
“You’re saying we shouldn’t have had sex because you’d rather be doing something else? Someone else?” she snapped.
What the fuck was she talking about?
“Get some sleep, Elsie. I have to take care of a few things and I’ll see you later.”
“And in the meantime, I should stay here? Imprisoned and alone?”
She banged the drawers open and shut in the kitchen. I didn’t know what she was looking for and I doubt she knew what she wanted either.
“I told you I’m going to try and figure this out, you just have to wait a little longer. Until you’re safe from Aldo.”
Finally, she looked up at me. Her eyes were wide but dull from all the crying she’d done. I wanted to hold her, I wanted to stroke her hair and tell her she’d be alright. That I’d keep her safe. I wanted to give myself to her and claim her as my woman.
It sounded crazy. Even to my ears. I’d never felt this way about a girl before, not even for Christie.
But before I committed to anything with Elsie, I needed to sort this shit out with my past. I needed to gain some perspective from Christie and what she had done—before I could move on.
“Just go, Tristian. Go take care of whatever you think needs taking care of,” Elsie snapped.
She was bitter about something. Maybe she was just sad.
I wished I had the time to sit with her and explain, but I didn’t.
I had to see Christie first.
“Stay inside,” I growled in a commanding voice, and then I left.
I should’ve known Elsie wasn’t the type of girl to obey commands.
Seventeen
Elsie
I kept staring at the clock on the wall, waiting for at least twenty minutes to elapse before leaving the apartment again.
I wanted to make sure Tristian didn’t return soon. I didn’t want him finding me on the streets again.
I was still horrified from my experience of wandering the streets earlier. I wasn’t expecting a complete nervous breakdown. I thought I’d make a quick escape without anyone finding out. But I was so sure I was being followed. I knew I was being watched, and Tristian didn’t believe me.
I recognized the look he gave me when he eventually found me. When I was close to collapsing in the middle of the street. He thought I lost my mind. Maybe he already thought I was nuts.
Maybe I was.
Maybe those were the side effects of watching your parents being murdered.
Either way, now I knew what Tristian really thought of me. He thought I was crazy.
That I was seeing things. My imagination was running wild. He didn’t think I was being followed, and the more I insisted I was—the more he looked at me with pity.
And then he fucked me.
He shouldn’t have.
I shouldn’t have slept with him.
Instead, I welcomed him with open arms and legs. I couldn’t resist him. I needed his touch, his mouth all over me. Even now, twenty minutes after he left the apartment—my pussy throbbed at the thought of his cock inside me.
Being around Tristian Doherty was seriously dangerous. By now, the one thing I knew for sure was I’d never resist him. I’d already given myself to him in more ways than one. I’d never be strong enough to get over him.
Unless I removed myself from the picture.
He always fucked me, and then he left. It was like he couldn’t stand to be around me once he’d emptied his load in me.
And now I made the decision that I didn’t want to see him again.
It was going to be scary. It was going to be dangerous. I’d risk my safety and my life by running away again, but it had to be done.
I couldn’t be around Tristian anymore. Not while falling in love with him and losing my mind. I didn’t want to be used as his sex toy anymore. To be used and discarded as he pleased. It made me sick to my stomach. I was better than that.
And now I had a plan.
I’d finally come up with an idea for where I’d go once I managed to sneak out of the apartment.
I’d be taking a big chance, but I had to do something. Anything to put some distance between the Dohertys and me.
The only other person I knew who lived in New York was my friend from high school, Libby. We had never been very close. I didn’t exactly have close friends. Especially not after what Sonya had done to me. It was very difficult for me to trust someone who declared themselves to be my ‘friend’.
But Libby had always tried to keep in touch, even after her whole family moved to New York and I hadn’t seen her in years. She used to send me postcards and sometimes I’d write her back.