by T. L Smith
It’s where we failed to begin with.
Pulling back, his eyes are closed and it’s pure fucking magic. To see him so vulnerable is magnificent. He drops my wrists and I manage to speak, “Move, Gunner.” He does, no question asked, and steps to the side. I reach for the door and he whispers as I walk out, “You look beautiful, Everly.”
I pause.
There he goes again.
He’s so wrong, but sometimes he can be so right.
I look at him and can’t form one single word, so the best thing for me is to keep on moving. And I do so without looking back.
I walk straight over to where May stands, grab my bag, and I leave.
And no one stops me.
19
Gunner
“I like her, she’s a firecracker,” Jasper says when I make my way back to him.
I don’t bother answering him, just look back to where she was. She’s left now. I knew she would, she likes to be in her head to think and not be surrounded by people.
“Do you have her number?” Isadora asks. I look at her, confused. “I want to meet up with her for coffee. I like her.” She shrugs, sitting back.
“Gunner will give you her number. Won’t you, Gunner? It’s not like you care who your ex-wife speaks to, do you?” he taunts me.
“Sign the fucking papers.” I push them toward him, and he chuckles reaching forward to do just that.
“Is that how you got Everly to sign the papers? Demanding them from her?” He shakes his head, and I know he’s trying to get a rise out of me, it’s the only way he knows how and it works. Using her works every single time.
“Just fucking sign,” I snap at him. He does easily, then pushes them back to me.
“See, aren’t you glad you came today?” I look over my shoulder to May’s group of friends and see the red-headed guy sitting with a drink in his hand.
“I could have him killed for you. Would that make you happy?” Jasper asks, still staring at me.
I snap my attention back to him. “No.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Your loss.” He pulls Isadora closer to him and kisses the top of her head. Who would have thought a ruthless man such as Jasper could find someone to love, and who in return, loves his crazy ass? Probably helps that Isadora is just as crazy. “Heard Roberto’s been sniffing around, asking about Everly.”
That snaps my attention back to him. “What?”
He shrugs. “He’s been seen asking about her. And you, of course.”
“He wants what I have,” I reply. He always has. I’ve been dealing with everything that was left behind from my parents’ death for a long time. When I was old enough to claim what was mine, most of it was long gone. We used to ship drugs and guns, but now Everly’s father does it all. Half of the land my parents owned, he now owns as well. I hated him when I was growing up, but I’ve come to realize he was just a businessman. He saw a loophole and he grabbed it. His family has always done well, and ever since that contract was made all those years ago, we have never had any problems.
And trust me, there could be problems. Loads of them.
Especially when and if he realizes I’m slowly buying him out.
The import trade brings in nice money, and that’s what holds Roberto’s interest. But it’s the land that makes the most. Especially when that land is almost all of the town. No one can get anything past you if you own every inch of it already. Everything needs my permission. Everything has to be run by me to ensure I have full control. And control is my drug, it’s my lifeline, it’s how I keep myself together.
“I’m sure most do. Is Everly’s father aware you’re buying him out?”
I smirk. “No.”
“Thought so.” He shakes his head. “We have business with him as well. What do you expect me to say to him?”
A new band comes on, and I stand and look down on him. “You say nothing. Absolutely nothing. Got me?”
He smiles and nods his head.
Walking over to May, I stop and look down to the guy who Everly was meant to be here on a date with.
“Gunner, what do you want?” The guy with May places a protective arm around her as she stares me down.
“Where did my wife go?” I ask.
“She isn’t your wife anymore, and you don’t need to know her every move.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“If you say so.” I look to him, he’s already watching me, assessing me. “You must be the replacement. You’ll never win her over.”
To my surprise, he doesn’t react. At all. He simply says, “Maybe that’s your problem. You think you know what she needs and wants.”
I hate him already. No, I already detest him for being anywhere near her.
“I do. I know all her needs, even her tastes.”
May gasps next to me.
“She tastes like fucking sunshine. I bet now you’re in the dark. What a fucked-up place to be when it comes to Everly,” he says, and I want to reach over and rip his fucking head from his body.
He knows he’s won and returns to drinking his drink.
“You fucked this up yourself, Gunner. You have one person to blame. It’s only you,” May says as I turn back to look at her.
“Goodbye, May.” I nod in acknowledgment and walk off.
She’s right.
I did fuck it up.
But what fun it was to do so.
20
Everly
I spoke to May two days later. She told me that’s how long it took her to recover. I laughed. It felt good to laugh, instead of being locked in my apartment contemplating all things Gunner Reid. I asked her what she thought of changing my name back to Thorne, and she went silent. That’s when she told me what happened, how he came over to them to speak to Buck after I’d left. I didn’t expect that, but, then again, there’s a lot about Gunner I don’t expect.
Maybe I should just do it, that’s the last part of him which is stuck to me. His damn name. But I never thought I would be able to get rid of it. I’m now a Reid for life, or so I thought.
And that kiss.
Those hands gripping me so I couldn’t move.
I’ve kissed other men, but none compare to Gunner Reid. I think that’s the problem, I compare everything to him when I need to stop doing that.
But fuck, that kiss.
It was a kiss that sent shivers all over my body and makes me second-guess everything. Gunner and I never lacked attraction, but that wasn’t our downfall. Our downfall was how he treated me, like I was all those other women he had before me.
I was his wife at the time, and he didn’t give me the respect you should get being a wife. I knew he wasn’t a good man, and I had accepted that about him. You take the good with the bad, and I thought my love for him would outweigh the bad.
How wrong I was.
I contemplate calling him, to tell him to stay away from Buck. But it would be useless, Gunner never listens to me anyway. He does what he wants. And no one will stop him, especially not me. That has been proven to me time and again.
Stepping out of my apartment, it’s still early. I need to get to the café to sort through stock before the end of the month. I usually leave this up to my staff, but it’s been a nice distraction all week from my outside life because it helps me to stop thinking.
Shutting the door behind me, I turn into a hard body.
“Sorry,” I mumble, pushing back, but hands grab hold of my upper arms, gripping me tightly.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Everly.” I look up and see dark hair, it’s almost the same as Gunner’s but not quite. I attempt to step back from Roberto’s grip, but he tightens his hold, not letting go. “It’s a shame you picked him,” he says with a smirk.
I look around, it’s still dark and no one’s here. It’s just us.
Fear paralyzes me in place as I realize he’s not someone I should be around right now.
“W-What…” I stammer. Roberto just shakes his head and grips me harder
. “You’re hurting me,” I say, trying to pull free.
He continues to just smirk.
“I didn’t want bad blood with your family, Everly, but this is the only way. You should have been with someone else. He wasn’t meant to love you.” I’m confused by Roberto’s words, and then it clicks, he’s talking about Gunner.
“Gunner doesn’t love anyone but himself.” He tisks at me. “Come on now, Everly. Are those the lies you tell yourself, or do you believe that?” Actually, it’s a bit of both, but I don’t voice that. “I see, you don’t know.” Roberto releases one arm and starts moving, dragging me with him. I pull back, trying to escape, but his hold is strong and he turns around and slaps me hard across the face. For a second, blackness coats my vision, and he has to pull me harder to keep me straight. “I wouldn’t try it. I have no problem hurting you, Everly, so don’t make me do it.”
My hand touches my face where it stings from his slap, and water springs to my eyes as he pushes me into a car.
How did I not see this before? This neighborhood is safe, so I’ve never bothered looking around when I walk out of my own home.
A whimper escapes me as he shuts the door, locking me in. There’s a driver, but he pays no attention as Roberto slides in the car. I’ve met him a handful of times, and each time he was a man who I didn’t want to be around for long. I guess now, my assumption was right.
“My father…” I say, and he reaches for my bare thigh.
Fuck! Why did I wear a skirt? I should have worn jeans.
He grips it hard, cutting my words off. “Your father will blame Gunner, and I will get what I want.”
“What do you want?” I manage to ask, and he simply smiles at my words.
“Everything he has.”
His hand slides up my thigh, and I try my hardest to clench them together, so he can’t go any higher. He stops as I feel the brush of his fingertips at my panties. “Even you… if I please.”
No way.
No fucking way.
He laughs at my reaction and pulls his hand down, then he turns away and takes a photograph of me then goes back to his phone.
I look around, trying to see if there’s anything I can do to get out of this car. It’s moving fast, but I don’t want to be in here with Roberto right now. Quickly reaching for the door handle, I touch it, pull, and it opens the door. I attempt to jump, but I hesitate, and when I do, he grabs me by the waist. I start to struggle. My bag, which was on my shoulder, falls out along with everything in it. He pulls me back in and slams the lock down before he pushes me back, hard, against the seat.
“I didn’t take you for a stupid girl,” he spits, and that’s when he does it again, slaps me hard across the face, the same cheek, making it sting even more. “But you did marry him. So, maybe that’s exactly what you are.” He slaps me again, my mouth now tasting blood and my cheek’s on fire.
He sits back in his seat—obviously he’s had enough—and harshly whispers, “Stay where you are and don’t fucking move. Or next move, I’ll slice your fucking nipples off and send them to him.”
I don’t know if his threats are real or not, but I do as he says and become compliant, sitting back in my seat, afraid that may just happen. I look to the floor. All I have is heels on my feet and the clothes on my back.
How the fuck am I going to get out of this?
Did I really think jumping from a moving vehicle would help me?
Perhaps I am as stupid as he said I am.
I close my eyes and turn my head to look out the window at the world flashing before my eyes.
Tears start to fall down my cheeks. I don’t understand what’s going on, or why he has me. And why, oh why, won’t he let me go?
“Gunner…” I whip my head around to Roberto, who puts a finger to his lips and raises his hand, ready to slap me again. “It seems you can’t keep your things in check.” He presses speaker and I can hear every word he says.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Your little whore, of course.”
“She’s no one to me.”
Roberto raises an eyebrow at me in a challenge. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Now what do you want?” Gunner’s voice is pissed. I can tell he doesn’t have time for Roberto at all.
“I already have what I want.” He smirks.
“No, you don’t,” Gunner says back, knowing him full well.
“Oh, but I do. Would you like to know what I have?”
“Do you really want to play games with me?” Gunner asks Roberto.
Roberto leans in close to me, his breath hits my face and I pull back from the vile stench of a human being.
“I’m playing, but I’m afraid you’re losing, Gunner.” Roberto clicks his tongue.
“Sure, I am,” Gunner says, and I can almost hear the eye roll that accompanies his words.
“Say hello,” Roberto whispers to me. I know Gunner can hear him, so I do as I’m told because my cheek hurts. Badly. And I don’t want to rile the bastard up any more than he already is.
“Hello,” I say in a small voice.
Gunner knows who it is straight away.
He knows my voice.
“What the fuck, Roberto? What the fuck are you doing with my wife?”
“Oh… your wife, is she?” Roberto touches my leg again, his hand roaming up my thigh, close to my panties. “You don’t care that my hand is on its way to her sweet pussy. I’m sure it tastes as good as I think it will. Considering it has whipped you.”
“Everly, is he touching you?” Gunner asks. I look at Roberto to answer as I don’t want to be hit again. He nods his head.
“Y-Yes,” I answer on a stutter.
“Roberto, if she has one mark on her body. Or is hurt in any way, shape, or form, I’ll end you.” Gunner hangs up and I look at the phone, confused as to what’s going on.
Did he really just hang up?
Roberto removes his hand and goes back to his phone.
“Seems he still loves you, wifey.” He chuckles.
I sit stock-still from where he was just touching me and try pulling my skirt down.
“Tell me, Everly, what makes you so special to make him love you like he does?” The asshole places his cell between us and gives me his full attention.
“I don’t… kn-know.” And I don’t. I really don’t know why he loves me. So, for me to answer that question we would need Gunner.
“It’s interesting. When growing up, he said he would never marry you. He knew who he was, but once he reached adulthood, not once did he care for you. It’s funny how that works out now, isn’t it? That the one he was destined to be with, the one he said he wouldn’t be with, is the one who made him love.” He chuckles. “You must have some sort of sorcery skills to make him love you.” He shakes his head.
“Where are we going?”
Roberto leans in, places his hand on his chin, and rests it there. “I’m taking you to my place.” He eyes me up and down. “Maybe we can have some fun. I know the kink Gunner likes, so I know how you like it.”
No. No he doesn’t.
“No…” I shake my head.
He eyes me suspiciously.
“Ohh… that’s it, isn’t it? You saw the real him and ran?”
I don’t answer his question because, quite simply, there’s no need for him to know that.
“Tight-lipped, are we?” He lifts his hand and reaches for my ponytail and pulls me hard to his face, his mouth a mere inch from mine. “I still like it when they don’t speak.” He leans in, and I try to pull back, his mouth opens and I close my eyes squeezing them shut as tight as they will go in hopes this will be fast. I won’t kiss him, and I don’t want his mouth anywhere near mine.
My heart rate picks up fast and I start to shake, but he does the weirdest thing, and my first reaction is to scream as he bites down on my lips. Both of them, together.
My lips don’t open far, so my scream’s muffled. The pressure makes them hurt, t
he pain throbbing through them. He applies a bit more pressure and I feel his teeth break the skin of my lips.
The car comes to a complete stop and he pulls away, then lifts his hand and wipes my lips with his thumb, smearing the blood like lipstick. “Red looks good on you.”
I taste and feel the blood now coating my lips. They sting, and I can’t keep the tears that fall from my eyes at bay.
“The fun we will have…” He smirks, laughs, then gets out.
Soon, he’s at my door and pulls me from the car by my hair.
21
Gunner
Rage is all I feel. The cheek of that prick. Who the fuck does he think he is? Thinking he can touch her. I knew the minute he saw her he’d see weakness. Roberto is more fucked up than I am, and that’s saying a lot.
When my parents died, he would get jealous. Jealous that I lived with our grandmother and he didn’t. Jealous that the family business was given to me, even though he was older. The family business isn’t much anymore. The business is now more mine than family-oriented. I’ve created something that’s mine and no one else’s. Real estate is what I’ve come to love, both buying and building. It’s an easier life than the one I was introduced to. Drugs and guns aren’t easy to move, and, in the end, you’re in a business that’s bound to be problematic and will one day see you caught and doing jail time.
I needed something else.
I purchased my very own piece of land when I was twenty-one. And then continued from there. Yes, the money that bought it all was money from the family business, as I ended up selling things off. This is the part that has Roberto seeing red. He likes the idea of what we do, but he doesn’t know what’s involved or how to go about getting things done.
And it isn’t helped by the fact that he’s using as much of the drugs as he’s selling.
“Where does Roberto live?”
