Queen of Quarantine

by Caroline Peckham

  "Do you like that, big boy?" Deepthroat purred as she ran her hands down my chest, stroking her clammy fingers across my muscles before running them down the valley between my abs.

  "I'll shove a crocodile egg up your ass and let it hatch," I mumbled, my half asleep ramblings about the best that I could force to pass my lips.

  Deepthroat froze for a moment before giggling, grinding her crotch down against my more than flaccid cock as she fingered my waistband. Just the idea of her touching my dick was more than enough to make my stomach writhe.

  "I can't believe we're actually free of that fucking place," Bait said suddenly, drawing her attention from me as he followed his own train of thought. "You're unbelievable, Ashlynn. I mean, I think I'd given up hope of ever getting out of there and then you manage to pull this off! How did you even get rid of the guards at the gate?"

  "I bribed them," she muttered irritably, like she wished he'd shut the fuck up while I was secretly hoping he'd just go on talking forever and ever and keep her hands from venturing any further south on my body.

  "Bullshit," Bait protested. "I tried paying them off and they wouldn't fucking have it. They're all in the Night Keepers’ pockets."

  "Yes, well," Deepthroat hesitated before sighing. "They didn't want payment in dollars."

  "You fucked them?" Bait asked in surprise, but nothing would surprise me about this skanky bitch.

  "Ew, no. Don't be gross, Jeremiah. I only sucked their dicks." She leaned in closer to me, her rancid, cock-tainted lips brushing my ear again. "I just closed my eyes and pretended they were you, big boy."

  I growled something again, my fingers flexing as I tried to fight with all I had for control of my body. I couldn't let her fucking touch me any more than she already was and even what she'd done so far was enough to make me want to vomit more than the aftereffects of the drug.

  With a grunt of effort, I managed to peel my eyelids open and Deepthroat sucked in a breath as she peered down at me from within a curtain of what must have been freshly dyed platinum blonde hair. Her lips were painted in a familiar red shade that I only recognised because my girl often wore it.

  "You're awake," she gasped excitedly, leaning down to press her lips to mine and I could only clamp my jaw shut against the invasion as she tried to force her tongue into my mouth.

  "Oh, holy fuck, we're dead," Bait whined and I was glad that at least one of them was getting it.

  Deepthroat pulled back with a satisfied sigh like that one-sided kiss while I death glared at her had been the answer to all of her dreams.

  "Sorry about the knockout gas, big boy," she murmured, her hands roaming over my chest again and making me want to punch her plastic face in. "It was the only way to rescue you from those assholes who were keeping us apart."

  "What... the fuck?" I choked out, my tongue sluggish and my words thick.

  "You must have been so lonely, waiting for me for so long," she breathed. "Did you get my letters? Did they help to keep you warm at night?"

  I just frowned at her, not knowing what the fuck she was talking about and she began tugging on the knotted drawstring at the waist of my sweats as she went on. I hoped to fuck I’d knotted it too tightly for her to undo, but then I thought of the knife she’d used to cut my shirt away and shuddered all over again.

  "What?" I hissed.

  "I told you in my last one that I'd come for you. That I was done waiting for that whore to take her claws out of you. And now that she's gone, I knew it was time."

  My brain was still sluggish and it took me a moment to figure out her ramblings. "You're the stalker?” I asked, realising the truth of it. “What do you want with Tatum? Why were you giving her those letters?"

  Deepthroat's nails dug into my flesh, cutting crescents into my skin as she snarled at me. "They weren't for her. They were for you. I was warning her off, giving her a chance."

  "A chance?" I asked, frowning at her newly blonde hair and wondering why the fuck she'd dyed it that colour. Was it something to do with my girl? My gaze caught on a bit of red bra poking out from beneath her shirt and I was almost certain I recognised it. Had she been stealing Tatum's underwear and...wearing it?

  Deepthroat eyed me for a long moment then giggled suddenly, slapping my chest and smearing my own blood against my skin from her fingernails. "You didn't seriously think someone was sending her all of those love notes, did you? No wonder you never came to me!"

  I looked into her psycho eyes then slid my gaze beyond her to where Bait was driving the car, his nervous gaze darting to us repeatedly in the rear view mirror while he drove.

  "Roses are red and violets are blue," Deepthroat breathed, reciting the last letter the stalker had given Tatum. "You need to realise who really owns you, I dressed you in flames and I kissed you goodnight. When will you see what's here in the light? I gave you a chance and you took too much time. Now I'll have to show you that you're really mine."

  She licked her lips and looked into my eyes and it all clicked together then. The stalker had never been Toby or Bait, or some dude obsessed with my girl. It had been Deepthroat all along. The attacks on Tatum had been designed to scare her away from me. The photographs that had been taken had been almost entirely of Tatum, but the one guy who had been in them with her repeatedly was me. Blake had featured in the ones when we were both working together to get her off, but aside from that there hadn't been any individual photos of her with any of the other guys. We'd even wondered why the stalker hadn't ever snapped a photo of her heading into Monroe's house or even managed to catch them together, and now the answer was so fucking obvious.

  Because this bitch had been stalking me. And she only went after Tatum to get her away from me. When Tatum wasn't with me, Deepthroat hadn't been anywhere near as interested in her. Fuck, why hadn't we figured this out before?

  Blake had even warned me that he thought this rapist whore was still obsessed with me and Saint had urged me to let him send her away for good. But I'd wanted to watch her suffer and had unwittingly put my family in danger because of it.

  "I'm going to fucking destroy you," I snarled, my fingers flexing more as I could feel some small measure of strength returning to my muscles.

  Deepthroat slapped me hard enough to wheel my head to one side, before catching my throat in her grip and shoving me back against the headrest with a snarl of fury.

  Bait was murmuring prayers from the front seat as he sped up, but I was forced to give my attention to the cunt in my lap as she made me look at her.

  "If you haven't realised how much you love me yet then that's okay," she breathed. "Because it'll just be me and you when we get to my family's summer house. And then we'll have all the time in the world for you to realise that you belong with me."

  I snarled as she forced another kiss on me and tried to tug my hands out of whatever was tying them behind me. But I still didn't have enough strength in them. It didn't matter though. Because it was coming back to me bit by bit and the moment I could, I was going to snap her scrawny neck. But as her hands travelled down to my waistband again, I got the horrifying sense that I needed to hurry the fuck up with that. Because I had to manage it before she did anything worse than she already had or I knew I’d never get over it.

  I followed the Land Rover, using Saint’s phone to guide me as I kept my foot to the gas and tried not to freak the fuck out. Where were they taking him? What did they want with him? Was this somehow connected to his family? Or Troy? These terrifying questions just kept circling in my brain and there was nothing I could do but fight off the urge to panic, pushing the car harder.

  I’m coming, Kyan.

  I hunted the road ahead of me, but they’d gotten too big of a head start and there was no sign of them.

  Just as I made it to an intersection, the dot that marked the location of the Land Rover doubled back onto a road through the trees ahead of me. Holy shit, I could cut them off if I could just get through the woods first. I slowed the car as I spotted a dirt t
rack across the road and weighed my options. There was no sign of it on the map, but it might just pass directly through to the other side. And if it did, I’d make it in front of their vehicle. I knew it was my best chance to catch up to them. But if my instincts were off, it could cost me so much time.

  My dad’s words echoed in my head, sounding so close for a moment that my heart lurched. “Always trust your gut, kiddo.”

  He had always had complete faith in me. And whenever I’d let my instincts guide me in the past, they hadn’t led me astray. Dad had known that. He’d trusted me, so I had to trust myself.

  Fuck it.

  I slammed my foot to the pedal, speeding across the road, but in my haste I didn’t look around and a truck came tearing toward me, blaring its horn. I screamed in fright, giving the car more gas and it took off with a roar, the power of the engine zooming me out of harm’s way and down onto the muddy track. Fuck that was close.

  The car bumped along and a metallic crunching noise said it was not happy with this choice. Fancy ass sports cars which sat a few inches from the ground didn’t enjoy dirt tracks apparently. Sorry, Blake.

  My head was still buzzing from the near collision, but I didn’t let up as I forced the vehicle to keep going and drew in a shaky breath. I’d just survived a near certain death by the skin of my teeth. The guys would so not be happy with me right now, but I thought of the bruise that had marred Kyan’s chest. That bullet could have ended him when he’d come to rescue me and the fact was, risk came with our territory. We fought to be together even when death was close. For whatever reason, the world was making it damn difficult for us to remain as a unit, but we’d been through too much and were bound too deeply to ever let go of one another. Our enemies needed to realise that ripping us apart was akin to a death sentence. And if they wanted to take us on, then they’d better be ready to face the consequences.

  The sunlight was blocked out as the dark trees clustered close, their branches arching overhead. The bottom of the car was so low it kept smacking the ground as I drove through ditches without slowing. The car might not have been happy with the choice, but it was a damn beast and the power in the engine meant it ate up the track despite its lack of suitability for potholes. I was thrown around in my seat, nearly biting my tongue, but I didn’t ease up on the accelerator, watching the little dot that marked my Night Keeper on the GPS, sailing along the road in my direction.

  I could make it in time. They were still a way off.

  The phone started ringing and my heart lifted with relief as I found Blake calling. I hit the speakerphone, losing sight of the map, but it didn’t matter now. There was only one path I could take and it was directly through the forest.

  “Tatum?” Blake barked anxiously. “Where are you?”

  “I’m following the fucking assholes who took Kyan,” I growled. “Are you all alright?”

  “Fuck, where? What happened? What do you mean someone took him?” he demanded, not answering my question as he sounded like he was running.

  “I saw them on the CCTV. They put him in a car and took off out of the main gates so I took chase,” I said, wondering why the hell these things always seemed to happen to us. Weren’t we due a break?

  “What’s happening?” Saint demanded in the background. “Give me the phone.”

  “Where are you, sweetheart?” Blake pressed.

  “I’m out near the highway, I took your car,” I said just as a loud bang and a screech sounded as the bottom of Blake’s car dragged over a rock.

  “Are you driving it through a meatgrinder?” he balked.

  “Something like that,” I breathed as I glimpsed a view of the road on the other side of the trees and my heart lifted. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “We’re coming. Don’t do anything stupid,” Blake demanded.

  “She can handle herself,” Monroe growled.

  “Wait for us, siren,” Saint commanded.

  “Kyan’s in trouble,” I snarled. “I won’t be waiting for anything.” I killed the call, tossing the phone back in the cupholder as I checked Kyan’s location. They were driving down the road at speed, but I still had the advantage. I was going to get ahead.

  “Yes,” I hissed, forcing Blake’s car to go even faster as mud splashed up around me.

  I clenched the steering wheel hard, my heart pounding like it was going to burst right out of my chest.

  I’m coming, husband.

  I was going to drive right into their path and claim him back from them even if I had to tear the world apart to do it. I didn’t know why the fuck they’d taken him, but that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was returning him to my arms where he belonged. We’d figure out what the hell was happening after that.

  Adrenaline scorched my veins as the trees parted ahead and Blake’s car whined in protest as I made it climb a short, steep hill back onto the road.

  I bounced in my seat as the bottom of his car scraped over the tarmac and I slammed my foot on the brakes, coming to a halt in the centre of the road.

  I grabbed the gun from my seat, shoved the stupid door up into the air, unclipping my belt and diving out.

  The Land Rover was only twenty feet away, tearing toward me, not slowing and my heart stalled entirely as I raised the gun and faced down my enemies.

  “Stop!” I cried, but they didn’t.

  I stared at the driver and my upper lip peeled back as I recognised Bait, that fucking asshole who’d stalked me, who’d terrorised me. My finger twitched against the trigger of the gun, my eyes wide open, my aim true. I took the shot, but the car veered right at the same time, tearing down another track opposite the one I’d exited, climbing a hill up into the trees.

  I growled in frustration, racing back to Blake’s car and jumping into the seat.

  I tugged the door down and started the engine which had decided to turn itself off because apparently the car was on eco mode.

  “For the love of fucking god.” I got it started up again, the engine roaring as I pumped the gas and took off after the Land Rover, my stomach lurching as I skidded down a muddy bank into the woods and was thrown forward in my seat.

  What the hell was Bait thinking? Why would he take Kyan? What did he want with him? Was this to do with me or something else?

  Questions kept circling in my brain, but it was impossible to figure out the answers to them and I just needed to concentrate on getting Kyan back.

  I clipped my belt into place as the ground levelled out and I didn’t slow as I raced after the Land Rover which was fast getting ahead of me, tearing up a steep hill which was going to cause Blake’s car serious issues. But even if I had to drive through the River Styx and into the depths of Hades, I’d work out a way to do it. Because no one was taking one of my Night Keepers from me.

  "H oly shit, she shot at us!" Bait yelled as he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and I twisted in my seat, looking back at my girl as she took chase.

  We had a head start on her, but in the brief moment I’d laid my gaze on her, I’d seen that fire in her eyes which I loved so fucking much. They weren’t going to outrun her. She was a predator hunting for her prey and her fangs were bared. And I was more than happy to be her damsel in distress. I’d even swoon for her when she saved my ass and happily spend the next few hours thanking her in any and every way she wanted.

  One holy asshole of a smirk lit my face as I turned back to look at Deepthroat and her eyes widened as she seemed to finally see the danger in me that she should have been fearing all along. I wasn’t the kind of beast you caged. I was the kind who stalked villages in the dead of night and left victims in my wake. I didn’t know what fantasy she’d imagined up about me, but I could guarantee she had no true concept of the reality or she would have abandoned this pursuit of me a long time ago.

  With every moment that passed, I could feel my strength returning to me and with a grunt of effort, I bucked my hips and managed to knock the bitch off of me, sending her half sprawling into t
he footwell with a cry.

  I only realised my ankles were bound when I tried to aim a kick at her and I cursed as she scrambled back up into the chair beside me, angling her knife towards me.

  "If you really believed I loved you, you wouldn't need that," I taunted as Deepthroat tried to push the mess of blonde hair back out of her face. I was guessing she was making some attempt to look like Tatum with that cheap dye job, but she looked more like some basic bitch looking to get fucked by a stranger on a night out than my girl. What my girl had wasn’t something you could buy in a bottle and this reject cheerleader never would and never could have a scrap on her.

  "I know you do," she snarled. "But I also know that bitch has you under her spell. So until I've fully purged her from your mind, I'm going to have to protect us both from her influence."

  The car skidded as the dirt track took a sudden turn and the roar of an engine closing in on us from behind made me swivel in my seat once more, a laugh tearing from my throat as I spotted my girl coming up behind us.

  Tatum was smiling like a savage as she chased us down and I wished I had my phone so I could take a photo of her in full psycho mode behind the wheel of Blake’s beat up car, looking like an avenging goddess who had made a deal to save the Devil. Fuck I loved that girl.

  "Maybe we should just let him out?" Bait yelled as I was thrown into my seatbelt and he accelerated up the track even faster.

  "Keep your foot on the gas or you'll be the one getting thrown out!" Deepthroat yelled at him and Bait cursed as he did what she said. It was becoming increasingly clear that she’d been the mastermind behind their Justice Ninja crap, and I was pissed at myself for not suspecting her sooner. But as I always made every effort not to pay attention to her unless I was torturing her, I’d clearly missed the signs.

  I was thrown left and right as Bait drove faster and faster, using the off-road capabilities of the Land Rover to put distance between us and my girl, but I knew that wouldn't be enough to stop her. She was a hellhound just like me, and she had the scent of blood in the air.