by Bella Jewel
I don’t want an attachment.
Or feelings.
Or anything else but the hard, throbbing cock of a man inside me.
That man, tonight, is going to be Samson.
He steps forward and his hand moves toward me, before curling around the back of my neck and pulling me forward. His lips are so close to mine I can feel his breath. I murmur, “I don’t want affection, or foreplay, or touching. I just want sex. Don’t waste your time giving me anything else.”
His eyes lock onto mine, and then he spins me around without hesitation and slams me up against the wall. My hands press against the cold surface and my body comes to life, aching in ways that make me crave what’s about to come next. Samson jerks my pants down, and I shuffle until they drop low enough on my legs for him to get access. Shuffling sounds can be heard, and the ripping of a condom wrapper, and then he’s there. Right at my entrance, cock hard, thick and ready to bring me a moment’s relief from the emptiness in my soul.
He plunges inside me, his hand going up until his fingers tangle in my hair. His other hand finds my hip, and he uses it to guide his thrusts, which quickly become rough and powerful. I moan as the ache deep down inside me rises to the surface and pleasure rips through my body. Samson knows how to fuck, and he knows how to get a woman exactly where she needs to be.
He releases my hip and presses his body against mine so he’s able to reach around the front to find my clit. He rubs in slow but deep motions and I cum within minutes. My cries fill the room, and I couldn’t care less if anyone hears them. I let my pleasure echo through the near empty space and together with Samson’s panting and low grunts, we make quite a song.
Samson finds his release minutes after my own, and with a raspy hiss, he slows his thrusting and carefully releases his body from mine, not fully pulling out, but letting me go and taking his weight off my back. A moment later, he pulls his cock out. I reach down, pull up my pants, and turn around to see him ripping the condom off before tucking his cock away and doing up his jeans.
“Thanks,” I murmur, turning toward the door.
“Aviana,” he calls when I reach it.
I look back at him.
“Don’t let that bitterness eat you up, it’ll kill you.”
I smile, low and empty. “Too late for that.”
Then, I leave.
3
THEN – COHEN
My hands tremble as I look at the bodies on the floor, blood soaking into the rich fucking carpet. The gold swirls are no longer, instead they’re red, a dark, angry red. The men have started to go a paleish sort of blue, and I know, soon, their bodies will begin to decompose.
I didn’t want to do what I did.
Nobody knows it was me, not even King. Aviana’s family thought I was here because of some drug deal gone wrong; little did they know I was about to take everything. I had to. I had no choice. The things they were doing were dangerous. The plans they had would have ruined Aviana’s life. She doesn’t know it yet, but everything I’ve done here tonight is to save her life.
What I’m about to do is going to save her life.
If she knew that they had planned for her...
I stare at her, on the ground, out cold. Fucking hurts, I won’t lie. Knowing that I’m ruining the one good thing I’ve found is something even I am struggling to handle. She and I, we’re close. She’s this ray of light in a dark fucking world. She’s likely my best fucking friend, and I’m about to take everything from her.
She’s in danger, and the only way for her to be safe is if they think she’s dead. Gone. Never to be seen again. I’ve got a plan, only it didn’t go as I expected.
She was never meant to be here.
She was never meant to see me.
She was simply meant to think her family was dead and want to move away.
I was going to take her, give her a new life.
But she saw it all.
She has questions, questions I can’t give her answers to.
Now I’m left with a big fucking mess that I have to clean up quickly.
I place the handful of papers and money down on the desk, feeling sick to my fucking stomach knowing how close she got to figuring all this out. If she did, it would be the end for her. She’d be gone, and her life would be forever destroyed. She’s worth too much to them. I can’t let that happen to her. She’s fucking family. She’s had a rough time. She doesn’t deserve any more pain.
I pull out my phone and dial, knowing I’m running out of time for my original plan. Now, I have to go to plan B. Now, I have to give her to someone else, someone I’m not entirely sure will ever be able to help her the way I intended, but they’re a hell of a lot better than what’ll come for her if I don’t make her disappear.
“Cohen,” a rough male voice answers.
“Cason, I got a big favor for you.”
“Talk to me.”
“Got a girl, she’s in a fuckin’ lot of danger. I need her to disappear. Need her to be sent somewhere she can’t return. Give her a name, a new identity, and I’ll send some cash to set her up. But I want her safe. You swing that?”
He pauses. “I can swing it, brother, but you gotta know once I make her disappear what happens to her after that isn’t on me, I can only do my best to make sure she has everything she needs to start a new life.”
Fuck.
My stomach flips, and my hands shake. Sweat beads on my upper lip. I’m running out of fucking time.
She’ll wake up soon.
It’ll all be over.
They’ll come for her.
“I know,” I say, my voice a low rasp. “I know, but it’s the only option. Do your best, take care of her.”
“I’m on it. I’ll have someone swing by and pick her up. Give me your location.”
I give him my location and then hang up the phone. I turn to the girl lying on the floor, her eyes closed, breathing steady. I walk over to her, slowly kneeling down until I’m by her side. I stroke a finger over her face and try to shut down every fucking emotion in my body. This is forever. I’ll never see her again. I can only hope she’ll go out there and create a different life for herself, a better one. I can only fucking pray she’ll end up in good hands.
I know one thing is for certain, though.
I can’t think about her again after she leaves.
If I do, I’ll be forever fucking wondering where she is.
I can’t allow that.
I lean down and brush my lips across hers before pressing my forehead against her warm skin.
“I’m sorry, Aviana.”
When she wakes up, her entire world is going to be different.
I only hope for the better.
Fucking please.
COHEN – NOW
I stride with purpose into Alarick’s office. He has to know. Needs to know. I fucking lied to him, but it’s going to come out. I didn’t need the whole club in on it, which is why I told them I didn’t know what Aviana was talking about, but Alarick, he needs the truth. If he doesn’t find out, then we’re going to end up in a world of fucking trouble. Aviana is on a mission, and with that mission comes some serious fucking danger. If she even gets close to knowing the truth, she’s going to destroy not only her life, but everyone who will try to step in to protect her.
The secret simply cannot be held any longer.
Someone has to know.
I don’t knock as I walk into his office. Briella is here, sitting on his lap, mid fucking make out session. What are they? Fucking fifteen? I don’t apologize for my interruption, even as Briella launches off Alarick’s lap like she’s been busted by her parents. Her cheeks flush red and she adjusts her clothes. Alarick doesn’t move, he just glares at me, leaning back in his chair, dick still straining in his jeans.
Not my fucking problem.
He can deal with that later.
“Out,” I say to Briella, my voice a whip.
She glares at me. “Excuse me? What is your problem
, Cohen?”
“Got business, business that has nothing to do with you. Now get out.”
Her chest swells up as she takes a deep breath in, but Alarick steps in before she can say anything more. “Go, babe. I’ll find you when I’m done.”
Briella glares at me. “I hope you come out with a better attitude, dude.”
Then, she’s gone.
I walk over and lock the door before turning toward Alarick. “What’s so important you interrupted the only fuck I’m gettin’ today?”
“You don’t wanna be interrupted, then lock the fuckin’ door. I got business.”
“What business?”
I take a deep breath and then slam the papers down on his desk. I also place down the large bag of fucking money that I’ve hung onto for all these years. It ain’t mine, and I never planned on doing anything with it. I was going to take this shit to my grave, but the time has come for me to let it out of the closet, so to speak.
Alarick stares at the cash first—no doubt, there’s a fucking lot there. Then his eyes swing up to mine. “What the fuck is this? You been dealin’ behind my back?”
“Read the papers, boss, then talk to me about the rest of it.”
Alarick looks back down and grabs the papers from the folder I had them stashed in. He flicks them over, one by one, his eyes scanning the pages. Then, after about five or ten minutes of his face growing harder and harder, he looks up to me. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s exactly what it looks like.”
He shakes his head in confusion, and growls, “She wasn’t lyin’.”
“No.”
“You made her disappear? You fuckin’ killed her family?”
I nod, sharply. “Had to. You can see why. If that came out, if they found her, she’d be fuckin’ dead, or worse, they’d still have her and be fuckin’ destroyin’ her life day by day. They needed her; it was the only way they could go on. I took her out of the picture. Without her, there was no end in sight for them.”
“Fuck,” he growls. “Fuck.”
“She can’t know about this, Pres. It’s why I kept it from her. I’m only showin’ you because you need to know. You need to understand why I fuckin’ did what I did. She wants some sort of twisted fuckin’ revenge on me, because she’s fuckin’ angry and hurt that I sent her away.”
“Where the fuck did you send her?”
“Cason.”
Alarick shakes his head in shock. “You sent her to fuckin’ Cason?”
“He dealt with it, assured me she would be set up with a new life. I had no fuckin’ idea she ended up in the wrong hands.”
“You could have bought her back to the fuckin’ club!” he barks, shaking his head in shock.
“No, I couldn’t, and you fuckin’ know that. She would have never hidden for the rest of her days. We weren’t solid enough to deal with somethin’ this large and you know it. King was fuckin’ AWOL after that, you were young and just takin’ the club over. It was a fuckin’ hard time. We didn’t have it in us to take care of her, too.”
“We would have found a fuckin’ way,” he growls.
“No, we wouldn’t have. They would have found her. You know they would have fuckin’ found her.”
“What about fuckin’ now?”
I cross my arms. “Now they think she’s fuckin’ dead, they’re not lookin’ here anymore.”
“Until someone sees her and word gets back. She’s not fuckin’ safe, Cohen. You know she’s not. It won’t take long for this to get back and more trouble to come fuckin’ lookin’ for us. What were you thinkin’?”
“I was doin’ what I had to do, there was no other option back then. Deep down, you fuckin’ know that. These people, they want everythin’ she’s sittin’ on. She don’t even know she has what she has.”
“She ain’t safe.”
My jaw tightens. “Which is why I’m comin’ to you, showin’ you, tellin’ you the truth.”
He slams his fist onto the table. “I got a world of fuckin’ trouble up my sleeve already and you want me to take on this? What the fuck were you thinkin’, Cohen? You should have told me about this when it happened.”
“Had to do it for her.”
“Well, you know fuckin’ what? She don’t appreciate it. She fuckin’ despises you and this club because she thinks we’re the enemy. You let me make her look like a fuckin’ liar. You gotta know that showin’ me this just opened a whole different can of fuckin’ worms. What were you plannin’ on doin’ here?”
He’s angry.
Understand that.
I’d be angry, too.
“Wanted you to know, boss. That’s it. She’s safe as far as I know. She looks different now, and nobody around here is lookin’ for her anymore.”
“You sure of that? You one-hundred-percent fuckin’ certain she ain’t in danger? You’d want to be sure, Cohen, because if you’re wrong, you’re goin’ to bring more hell upon that girl than you’ve already brought.”
I swallow the thick lump in my throat.
Is she safe? I don’t fucking know.
I don’t know where these people are; I’ve never looked into it.
I simply made sure she stayed away.
That was fucking it.
Now she’s back and I’m not sure of fucking anything.
“I don’t know, Pres. That’s the fuckin’ truth. I don’t know anything except she’s back and she’s diggin’. If she finds this, it’ll be the end for her. She’ll do somethin’ stupid and ruin her entire fuckin’ life. I can’t allow that to happen. She needs to start anew.”
“What are you suggestin’ then? We just let her go on with her life, never bein’ a hundred percent sure she’s not gettin’ tracked by these fuckers? We change her name and tell her it’s for her own safety? We ship her off somewhere else? What the fuck are you plannin’ on doin’ here?”
“I don’t know,” I growl. “But I’ll figure it out.”
“You’d want to do it soon, brother. That woman is on a mission, and she has hatred in her fuckin’ soul. Gone is the woman you clearly had feelings for back then. In her place is a cold, empty shell of who she was. Be very fuckin’ careful what you do with her now—she’s hangin’ on by a thread.”
My chest tightens, and pain explodes in my chest.
“I’m hearin’ you, boss,” I mutter.
“Work out a plan, Cohen, and come to me with it. This needs to be sorted, or we’re goin’ to have another problem on our hands that we can’t fuckin’ contain. While you’re at it, get her to fuckin’ talk so we can end that side of things once and for all. I’m fuckin’ done with all of this. Do what you’ve gotta do, but get what we need from her.”
I nod and turn, walking out of his office.
How the fuck am I going to do all of that?
Fuck me.
4
NOW – AVIANA
As I round into the kitchen of Briella’s house the next morning, I see her and Alarick standing by the counter, coffee in hand. Both of them look to me when I walk in. I’m hungover, sore, and fucking ready to light the god damned world on fire. The anger in my soul is busting at the seams, and I’m struggling to keep it in. Struggling to fucking fight it. I don’t know how much longer I can take this before I explode.
“Avi,” Briella says the second I make eye contact with her. “I’m so sorry. I believe you. I believe everything you’re saying. I’m sorry it sounded like I doubted you, even for a second.”
I stare at her, my expression empty. “I don’t give a shit what you believe, Briella. I care only about getting out of here so I never have to see any of you again. You want your information, Alarick? I’ll give it to you. Everything you need to get that girl back. To finish this. I have something I want in return, though.”
“What?” Alarick asks, his bare chest on display for the world to see.
He’s changed, so much from when we were younger. He’s broader now, his shoulders large and rounded, his chest de
fined and covered in ink. He’s incredible, they all are, but that’s not a shock. They always were.
Especially Cohen.
My anger twists into pain for a moment as I remember the friendship we developed over time. Not many people know about it, in fact, I’d go as far as to say Cohen and I were the only two people who knew about the bond we had created. I never told Briella, not because I didn’t trust her, but because having Cohen as a safe place to go changed something in me. Seeing him, with no one else around, felt like a secret that was healing my soul.
A secret I wanted to keep forever.
We had no reason to keep it a secret and, yet, we did.
That was exactly how we both wanted it.
Our own sanctuary where we could escape the world and everything it had to offer.
The bad and the good.
That is, until he turned on me and ruined my life forever.
That warmth slowly turned to fire, and my love turned to hate.
Now, I want nothing more than to see him burn.
To see them all burn.
“What do you want?” Alarick asks.
“I want to come with you when you go and finish this. I want to be there. If I’m giving the information, I want to be involved in watching it go down. I’ll follow orders, but I’m there.”
Alarick narrows his eyes. “Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does when my entire club is at risk if somethin’ goes wrong. I don’t know what you want, Aviana. All I know is you’re fuckin’ bitter and you have somethin’ you want to finish with this club. I don’t trust you, and I have every fuckin’ right to that.”
My chest tightens as I stare at him. I don’t break eye contact. “I understand.”
“So, tell me, why the fuck do you want to come on a dangerous mission?”
“I want to make sure that girl gets home safely.”
“We all do, that ain’t enough for me to take you.”
“I want to see Peter.”