Beautiful Soldier: A Dark High School Romance (The Heights Crew Book 3)

by E. M. Moore

  I’m going to murder him.

  “Jiko came to me earlier to tell me what happened between you two. The fact that you’d had sex despite my implicit orders. He came at great risk, considering it wasn’t easy to convince me my own son would deceive me.”

  I keep staring at the lowlife, willing him to look at me, but right now, he’s preening under K’s words. I’m going to chop his dick off. I’m going to beat him until he’s just as bloody as Johnny and then more, until he’s choking on his own life force. I only wish I’d kicked his ass earlier in the ring. Knocked his teeth out. Broken his trachea. That would teach him to talk. To betray his friend.

  I glance down at Johnny who’s looking at Jiko with sad eyes. One of Johnny’s only friends. Everyone in his life hurts him.

  “What’s the punishment?” Johnny asks, sounding bored. I worry for his mental state right now. Will this push him over the edge? Will it do what K wants it to do? Follow in his footsteps to the depths of hell no matter the circumstances?

  K licks his lips, gleaming at me. “To teach Kyla that she’s the property of the Crew, not yours and definitely not her own...and to teach you that you can’t deceive me and get away with it, I’ve come to the perfect punishment. To prove Kyla isn’t yours, you’re going to watch Jiko fuck her.”

  I gasp. I try not to, but the intake of breath happens before I can steady myself. When he said he was going to treat me like the whore I am, he wasn’t kidding.

  My stomach rolls again, and my knees tremble. Magnum’s hands on me keep me steady on my feet, but they don’t make me feel safe anymore. Can I even feel safe here, this close to my sworn enemy? I was stupid to think I ever could.

  “You want him to rape me?” I ask, incredulous determination pouring from me. Because fuck that. I will start chopping dicks if that’s what it comes to.

  “Trust me,” Jiko says, a glint to his eye. He licks his lips. “It won’t be rape because you’ll be begging for it.”

  “You make me sick.”

  Jiko turns a twinkling eye to K. “I like them feisty. I think this is going to be fun.”

  “Fuck you,” I seethe.

  “Watch your mouth, slut,” K growls. “As far as I can tell, Jiko is the most loyal man in the room. Loyalty goes a long way.”

  “He won’t touch you,” Mag whispers. “I promise he will not fucking touch you.”

  How can he promise such a thing? If I don’t do this, K will probably just murder me right fucking here. If I don’t play their game, he’ll put a gun to my head and pull the trigger. He doesn’t give a fuck. There’s no reasoning out of this. There’s no playing on his good side because he’s the devil. He doesn’t have a good side. The space where his heart should be is cold, dark, and vacant.

  “I think you’ll have fun,” K says, smirking at me. “I might even have to try that cunt out myself one of these days.”

  Revulsion slithers through me. If it comes to that, I’d rather him put a bullet in me. There’s no way on this Earth I’m getting raped by my parents’ murderer.

  He leers at me as he stands. “She certainly looks like she’s good and tight.” He trails his gaze over me, and I stand frozen in place. I’m too scared to move. Too scared to think, even. I don’t want anything I do to provoke him.

  “I’ll need proof, Jiko,” K says as he walks from the room. “Preferably of the photographic kind.” He moves into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of deep, brown liquid. “One with some tits will do.” He winks at his new buddy. “I’ll give you guys the room. I won’t be back until late, so don’t think you have to stop at one, Cardinale. Make her yours. Over and over and over.”

  Big Daddy K moves forward, throwing the alcoholic contents in his glass on Johnny who grunts, baring his teeth as the burning alcohol seeps into his cuts.

  Fucking asshole.

  “Magnum,” K says as he immediately looks away from his son. “I expect you to make sure this happens. If she fights, hold her down. I don’t think my son will give you any trouble, but if he does, call me.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Magnum says.

  I want to vomit. If I vomit, maybe Jiko won’t fucking touch me. Maybe I’ll gross him out so bad he’d rather fuck the chair.

  K waltzes toward the door. With each step, my heart beats louder and louder. By the time the door opens, the buzz in my ears is so pronounced I’m reeling from it. Magnum’s whispering to me, I think, but it just all collides in my head like a tornado with no possibility of dying out.

  The door closes, leaving us trapped in here. I kneel on instinct, pulling out the knife Magnum gave me and brandishing it in front of me. “You messed with the wrong fucking people.” And then I lunge at Jiko Cardinale.

  29

  Fury and rage blind me. My training along with a hefty dose of self-preservation kicks in because before I know it, I have Jiko in a chokehold, the blade of the knife at his throat.

  I can see myself doing it. How much pressure would it take? Just a little? A lot? I’ve never slit someone’s throat before, but there’s a first time for everything.

  I’m shaking. I want so badly to pull the blade across his taut skin, and I don’t even care what kind of person that makes me. He betrayed us. He betrayed Johnny. And his laughter at raping me sickens me to my very core. Someone that cruel doesn’t deserve to live.

  He grabs my arms, yanking at my hold. “Wait,” he chokes out. “Please, wait.”

  Mag takes a tentative step toward me, catching my attention. I lift my gaze to meet his. As usual, his look is impenetrable. Does he want me to do this? Does he want me to stop?

  “I can explain!” Jiko rushes out.

  I close my eyes. They still burn with unshed tears as if I could let loose at any moment. If I kill him, K will just think of some other punishment. Maybe with someone else. Maybe with him.

  “Please!” Jiko pleads.

  I release my hold on him, then stomp kick him in the ass. He sprawls out on all fours, choking and spluttering. Mag takes his gun out of his waistband and holds it on the traitor.

  Johnny moans, and I run to him, quickly untying the good old-fashioned rope K used as restraints. Deep burn marks mar his wrists. He must have fought like hell to get away. To do something.

  Johnny tugs me over weakly, but I come willingly. “Are you okay?” His good eye darts around my face.

  “Am I okay?” I bite my lip because I am seriously close to losing it. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m only okay if you’re okay.”

  My lip wobbles, and I hate how weak I feel at this moment. Adrenaline courses through me, and I know that logically that’s making my reactions heightened. Everything is ten times as bad or ten times as good. Right now, everything is ten times as shitty.

  “I’m sorry,” Johnny whispers, so only I can hear, then he gets up on unstable legs, leaning onto me for support. “You better speak now before Magnum puts a bullet in your brain,” he commands, turning right back into the gang higher-up he is.

  Jiko sits back on his haunches. He runs his hands down his face. “I had to, J. I’m so fucking sorry. Your dad has shit on my dad, and I had to find a way to make that go away.”

  “By stabbing him in the back?”

  Jiko doesn’t even look at me. He just stares right back at his friend, begging and pleading him with his eyes to understand. “You know I would never touch her,” Jiko said. “I had to say that to get him out of here and to make it seem as if it was going to be awful for you guys.”

  I knew I hated this fucker. “Shoot him,” I tell Mag.

  Mag pulls the hammer back on his gun with an audible click.

  “I had to!” Jiko screams, looking around wildly. “You know how it is, Johnny. You know.”

  “So, you sacrifice your friends for your family?”

  “I do what it takes,” Jiko says, thrusting his chin into the air.

  “Is it all good?” Johnny asks. “With my dad and your dad?”

  Jiko nods.

  “I
t better have been fucking worth it.”

  “I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t.”

  “You could’ve fucking warned me,” Johnny scolds, relaxing a little.

  I gawk at him. We’re just going to let him get away with this? I turn to stare at Magnum, my gaze burning into his. He still holds his gun to Jiko’s head, and he doesn’t look as if he’s going to pull the trigger anytime soon.

  “Johnny,” I hiss.

  He turns to me. My heart breaks as I look at him. His dad did a number on him. “I’ve had worse,” he says, trying to smile for me like that’s going to make me change my mind.

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better. That bastard’s a traitor.” His words still ring in my ear about him enjoying fucking me without my consent as I point a trembling finger at him.

  Johnny pulls my hands up, just like he used to. He drops kisses on my knuckles that soothes some of the tension. “If he hurt you, he knows I would fucking kill him.”

  “He hurt you,” I growl.

  Johnny takes my face in his hands, moving in to kiss me. His lips linger over mine, but I press into his split lip, blood and all.

  When Johnny pulls away, he rubs his thumb over my lips, probably smearing his blood over me. “That’s part of this life.”

  “That doesn’t fucking make it right!”

  “I said I was sorry,” Jiko mumbles tersely.

  I turn fiery eyes on him. “Sorry? You think that’s enough?” I pull Magnum’s blade up again. “Enough would be to see you suffer in the same way. Maybe I should tie you to the chair and beat the shit out of you.” I tread toward him like a predator, only kneeling next to him when I’m close enough to reach. I place the blade of the knife on his cheek. “Enough would be to see you bleed like him.”

  Jiko licks his lips. “I’ll make it up to you. To both of you. I promise. You have my word.”

  Johnny moves up behind me and places a hand on my shoulder. He gives me a quick squeeze, and I stand. He takes the blade from me and then crouches, feeling my legs for the holster. When he finds it, he lifts my leggings and places the knife back inside. “Magnum, let him up. We all need to put our heads together to figure this shit out. Can you do a bug sweep? My dad usually doesn’t have cameras running in his own suite because he doesn’t want evidence of the shit he does in here, but it would be like him to have them set up to catch this. If there is, we’ll figure something out about doctoring any video footage.”

  “Figure something out?” My voice breaks. “Your dad is expecting pictures of Jiko raping me. How are we supposed to pull that off?”

  “Don’t worry,” Johnny says, squeezing my hand. “I’ve got this.”

  He looks like he’s far from having control of the situation. He’s bloodied and bruised. He can barely walk, and he can only see out of one eye.

  “If he doesn’t usually have cameras, we’re probably good,” Jiko comments as he stands and straightens his suit coat like he wasn’t just begging us to forgive him. “We went right from talking to pulling you in. He didn’t leave the room, and he didn’t get on the phone with anyone.”

  Magnum finishes his sweep and corroborates what Jiko’s said. No bugs. No cameras, and no listening devices.

  Thank fuck. I don’t doubt they could figure something out, but that’s one less thing we have to worry about.

  Magnum and Jiko face Johnny and me, and I have a feeling Magnum is staying close to him because he still hasn’t decided whether he should take him out for what he’s done. We’re on the same wavelength in that respect. I didn’t trust him, and I was right not to. I don’t care that Johnny feels otherwise. They’ve had similar upbringings, so he gets it, but what Jiko’s done is wrong. You don’t hand over the people you care about to the monsters. The fact that this monster is Johnny’s dad makes it that much worse.

  Johnny stares at Magnum and Jiko while I just pierce daggers into Jiko’s forehead, my mind trying to come up with a solution to the situation because there is no fucking way I’m letting Jiko put his fucking cock inside me. No fucking way. If anyone even suggests it, I will cut their dick off, too. Guys do not get to decide what a woman does with their own body.

  “I have an idea,” Johnny finally says. He tears his gaze away from the other two to look at me. With one eye completely swollen shut and the dried blood mixing with fresh blood, I wonder how he can even keep a sound mind at all.

  “We should clean you up,” I say, reaching out to touch his face.

  Johnny shakes his head and stops my hand before I can touch him. “Not until we figure this out. Dad will expect Jiko to be fucking you right now, and if I end up in any of the pictures, I can’t be clean.”

  I swallow. “Jiko’s not fucking me unless he wants to end up with a knife buried in his chest and his dick cut off and shoved in his mouth.”

  “Fair,” Jiko says.

  I glower at him, and he shuts up.

  “Hey,” Johnny says, returning my attention back to him. “Look at Magnum and Jiko. They have similar builds. Similar skin color. Jiko even has a red tint to his hair.”

  My mouth dries, and I lower my voice. “What are you saying, Johnny?”

  “I’m saying what if you have sex with Magnum?” he whispers as if this is a private conversation and the other two aren’t even in the room. “We’ll get a couple of clever shots. Nothing with faces and nothing with your body parts.” He sighs. “He needs evidence to let this go, Kyla. I’m so sorry.” He leans over and whispers. “And you care for Magnum, right?”

  “So, you’re asking me to have sex with another guy?” It doesn’t sound like him at all. Of course I want to have sex with Magnum, but not like this.

  “I don’t fucking like it,” he says, voice dejected, “But I’ve already assumed you’ve done something with the others.”

  “Jiko, leave the room,” Magnum demands.

  Jiko opens his mouth.

  “I said leave the fucking room.” For good measure, Magnum reaches for his gun, but Jiko is smarter than he looks.

  He walks toward the door he came out of. “Just let me know what to say. I’ll be waiting back here.”

  As soon as the door clicks shut, Magnum says, “We haven’t had sex yet, Johnny. This isn’t—”

  “There’s no other option.” Johnny’s jaw clenches after cutting him off. “He needs proof, and Jiko isn’t going anywhere near her. My skin coloring is all wrong, plus, I have dark hair, I’ll never pass. Plus, let’s not act like you don’t want to fuck each other.”

  “Not like this,” Magnum and I say at the same time.

  I can barely look at him.

  “Obviously not like this, but if we don’t do something, he could come up with a worse punishment. If not Jiko, then who? He picked this for a purpose. He wants to show me Kyla isn’t really mine and what better way than to have someone fuck her in front of me. He could get multiple someones if we don’t comply. It’ll be ten times worse. You know it, Mag. You know what he’s capable of. Next time, he’ll demand he’s in the room, and there’s no fucking way we’ll be able to get out of it then. It has to be this way.”

  “This isn’t something for us to decide.” Magnum scratches his scruff. “It’s Kyla’s body. I’ll do whatever she wants. I’ll still go into the back room and put a bullet in Cardinale’s skull if that’s what she wants.”

  Finally, I glance up, meeting Magnum’s gaze. The look there is indescribable, and it immediately softens me. The two guys here, right now, only want what’s best for me.

  Johnny’s right. If we don’t handle this now, it could get worse. It’s not as if K’s just going to drop it. He wouldn’t.

  “Okay...” I say, holding Magnum’s gaze.

  Relief sags Johnny’s shoulders. He presses a kiss to my temple. “I’m so sorry.” When he straightens, he says, “I’m going to get Jiko’s phone for the pictures. You guys talk or whatever you have to do,” he says awkwardly.

  Johnny strides toward the back room. Magnum moves f
orward. “We can leave,” he says. “Right the fuck now. I can get us out of here. We don’t have to come back.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck, loving that he’s still thinking about me. He really meant what he said earlier. I think it’s time you let someone take care of you for a while. “We can’t leave,” I tell him.

  “I don’t want our first time to be this,” Mag says, jaw clenching. “It’s not fucking right.”

  “Then let’s not make it this.” I don’t even know what I’m saying, but I agree with it as soon as it leaves my mouth. I pull him down to kiss me.

  He moans into my lips, taking control. I open for him, and his tongue thoroughly assaults my mouth, obliterating any bad thoughts. This, I can handle. Jacob and I are an eventuality. He wanted to take it slow, but this was going to happen.

  “I’m so sorry you have to do this,” he breathes.

  “Sex with you won’t be a chore,” I tell him, my core already heating in response to his demanding kiss.

  He yanks my hips to meet his, and I’m greeted with his erect cock, lengthening right through his tactical pants. “Never,” he says. “But I’m not used to an audience.”

  My nipples peak. The experience I had with Oscar and Brawler in the strip club flashes through my mind. “It can be fun,” I breathe.

  He groans, nipping at my neck, turning my body to molten fire in the process. I grab the hem of his shirt and pull up. He grabs the material in the back and helps me take it off, the typical guy move that’s hot as fuck. I work my hands over the hard planes of his chest. He’s been putting that weight set in his room to good use because this body has been labored over. Cut with long training hours and sweat.

  I kiss the dip between his pecs, and he moves my chin up to claim my lips again. His grip settles onto my hips, his touch just shy of biting as he pulls me toward him with needier movements.

  He growls as he grabs my shirt and pulls it from my head. He reaches for me again, moving his hands down to cup my ass. It isn’t as if Magnum hasn’t seen me naked before, but this time, it’s for him. He has the control. He’s the one who gets to touch me, and if his cock is anything to go by, he’s enjoying every moment of it.