I take a deep breath, and the smell of fresh pine and green leaves reaches my nose. The wind is blowing, and it's already swept the smell of gunpowder far away from here. The woods smell exactly the same as they did five years ago, back when I still had my life ahead of me.
This feels like a break between the past and the future. Like this might finally be my chance to leave all my baggage behind, and start something new.
Something with Havok.
"We gotta go," he says. "Luka and Valentin, they're back there somewhere with all the girls."
"Okay," I say. "Just one more second."
I lay a hand on my father's headstone one last time, trying to remember the feeling of my hand in his, his whiskers brushing across my soft cheeks. And in this moment, I do remember exactly what it feels like. I'll come back here to visit him again, but I don't know when. It's goodbye for now.
We trudge back through the woods, me leading the way, Havok shining a torchlight ahead of us. He cautions me to stay alert, to watch for any other men ready to ambush us. But there are none. He finished them all off. We make it out safely.
My body is running on fumes at this point, and I feel like collapsing. But somehow, I find the energy to go on.
When we come out of the woods, two men holding rifles signal to Havok. He signals back, and I know everything's okay. All the girls are standing outside a shot-up bus. They've obviously been rescued.
But one of the girls is laying down, two others tending to her.
When I get closer, I realize it's Mackenzie. She's injured. Fuck. I break away from Havok, and run toward her as fast as I can.
46
Havok
Penny rushes ahead of me, going to the girl lying on the ground. I hang back, staying alert.
Valentin stands by the bus entrance, helping the last few girls off, using a bowie knife to cut the ropes that bind their hands. Luka stands over the fallen girl, rifle in hand, alert like me. We've all been in this business long enough to know to never let our guards down.
Cautiously, I approach the injured girl. Penny bends down over her, running her hands through her hair.
Then I get a look at her face, and I realize who it is. Guilt surges through me.
"Fuck, Mackenzie," I say, slinging the rifle over my shoulder. I bend down, joining Penny, getting a closer look at her injuries.
She's taken a bullet through the shoulder, and it's lodged inside. Her eyes are glazed over, and I've seen enough dead and dying people to know this isn't good. Fuck. This is on my hands, and it's one death that I'm not okay with.
Penny turns toward me, burning with anger. "You have to do something for her," she says. "You brought her here."
"Goddamnit," I say. "I'm a killer, not a doctor."
Blue fire burns in her eyes, and that fierceness I've seen before rises to the surface. "What would you do if it was me?" she says.
I get an idea. Earl. I grab my phone and dial. It takes three tries for him to pick up, and he wants six figures to come out, after what happened last time. "Do it," I say. "I don't care how much it costs. Get your ass down here, now."
"I fucking swear," he says, "If that girl touches me one more time—"
"Shut up, Earl," I say, cutting him off. "Now!"
As I hang up, there's a flash of panic amongst the girls. "She's not breathing," one of them says.
Penny tugs on my sleeve. "Do something," she pleads.
I'm a contract killer. I'm paid to kill, and that's all I'm good at. But for some reason, Penny's pleas generate emotion inside me. Empathy, something I haven't felt for a long, long time.
"Alright," I say. I unsling the rifle from my shoulder and hand it to her.
I issue an order to the group of girls surrounding Mackenzie. "Move," I say, and when they hear my deep voice, they obey.
I drop to my knees, put my hands together, and reach deep into my memory to summon the Russian battlefield medicine class I took when I was a young cub in Moscow. 30 pumps, two breaths. I start CPR on Mackenzie, and order one of the girls to hold pressure on her wound.
After two rounds of CPR, I feel for a pulse, and it's back. We keep her stable until Earl finally arrives.
He takes one look at Mackenzie, then says, "We gotta get her to the clinic. She needs surgery."
"Do it," I say, lowering my voice so Penny doesn't hear me. "We settle up later. I'll pay you anything you need."
Earl rounds up some of the girls, gets Mackenzie on a backboard, and loads her into his van. When he sees Penny, he freezes up.
I walk up to him, and give him a good old-fashioned slap across the face. "Get ahold of yourself, fucker," I say. "She's not going to hurt you again."
"R-right," he says.
Penny says she's riding with Mackenzie, and asks me to go with them. "One second," I say.
I find Luka, who's looking around inside the now-empty bus. "You got this?" I ask.
"Yeah," he says. "Go be with your girl. We're gonna get these women to a shelter."
"Don't let them know who you are," I say.
"I fucking know that. Now go."
I hop in the back of the van with Penny, and Earl hits the road, driving like he's in a fucking ambulance. It's going to be a miracle if we make it to the clinic without all dying.
Mackenzie is intubated, unconscious but breathing. Penny holds a pump, squeezing the rubber bulb every fifteen seconds, inflating her friend's lungs for her.
"She was there for me when I was captured," says Penny, sniffling. "One of the others said she took the bullet protecting a 17-year-old."
I gaze at Mackenzie. That sort of altruism, that selflessness, that's not something I've ever really understood. I don't cry when people die, I don't understand sad movies, and I don't relate to other people. But for some reason I fucking get it now.
"Whatever happens," I say, "she's a hero." I'm silent, then I add, "She's gonna make it." I don't know if that's true, but I want Penny to believe it.
I want to believe it. Because I'm not used to feeling this guilt.
When we get to the animal hospital, Earl drives around back and moves almost as fast as when I chased him out of my house. "We unload her on the count of three," he says, and we do. We get her on a stretcher and into the building.
"You," says Earl to Penny, "Come with me. You're a doctor today."
She looks at me apprehensively.
"You always wanted to be a doctor, right?" I say.
She nods.
"Well, get the hell in there. Now's your chance."
She turns, and rushes with Earl, who hurries her into the surgery center.
I walk around to the front of the building, enter the lobby, and take a seat on a hard chair. I realize how much my body hurts. I'm covered in cuts and scrapes, and I feel like I've been dragged down the road for miles.
But I'm in one piece, the girls are safe, and most importantly of all, my woman is alive and well.
But Mackenzie. She didn't deserve this. I tap my foot nervously, waiting for her to get out of surgery.
47
Penny
Earl and I work all morning, me doing exactly as I'm told. I'm surprised how steady my own hands are, how tough my nerves remain throughout the entire operation. I never thought I had what it takes to be a surgeon, but maybe I do.
By the time we finish, Earl says she's stable, and that she just needs to stay under and rest.
That means Havok and I finally get to go home.
When I come out to the lobby, the sun is streaming through the windows. Havok is asleep in the chair, his head tipped down against his chest, snoring like a chainsaw.
But my god, I've never seen such a handsome man in my life. His face is all straight lines and even planes, so symmetrical, so strong, so well proportioned. Even in sleep, wearing a thick coat, the graceful shape of his body is apparent, all strong muscles, in exactly the right places.
Then I think back to the suspicion I had when I was in the factory. That this gorg
eous, fiercely protective man's baby is already growing in my belly.
So instead of waking him up, I unlock the clinic door and walk down the street until I come to a drugstore. The day is young, and only a few cars drive up and down the street. Even though I'm absolutely fucking exhausted, it feels good to be out here in the morning light.
At the drugstore, I buy two iced coffees. One for me, and one for Havok, because I know he's going to need it. The third item I buy is a pregnancy test.
The clerk ringing me up is a young girl, probably barely eighteen. Her hair is tied up with a blue bow, and she's wearing tiny pearl earrings. She's clearly put a lot of effort into her appearance, even though she's working minimum-wage at six in the morning.
"Are you planning on school?" I ask her.
She blushes. "I'm starting med school at UWA next fall."
I can't help grinning at her. She reminds me of when I was younger.
"You know," I say, "I might be there, too."
"Oh my gosh," she says. "Well, I'm Jackie. Hope to see you there."
"Hey," I say before I go, "Can I use your bathroom?"
She leads me into the back of the store, where the employee-only bathroom is. I close the door and lock it carefully, then take the pregnancy test out of the cellophane bag. I open the box and follow the instructions.
The line shows up blue.
Pregnant.
I look at myself in the mirror, and I smile. I don't know how I'm going to tell him yet, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.
When I get back to the clinic, Havok is awake, pacing around in the lobby. "Fuck," he says, when he sees me, crossing the room in one or two paces. He grabs my shoulders, and runs his hands over my arms and sides, as if to check that I'm in one piece. "Didn't know where you went."
"It's okay," I say. "I'm here." I take a coffee out of my bag and hand it to him.
"Christ," he says, looking at it. "I don't usually drink coffee, but damn do I need this right now."
Not having a car with us, we catch a cab back to his house. When we get there, I tell him, "I'm showering first."
He shakes his head, laughing. "After I rescue you from a lifetime of torture, you take all the hot water?"
I smirk. "Don't you worry," I say. "I'll take care of you later."
I've never needed a slow, deep, and hard fuck the way I do now. I want him to take me fully, to use all my holes, to work my clit until I explode into ecstasy.
But my sex plans fall through. After I get showered and cleaned up, I hop into bed, and before I know it, I'm passed out like a dead woman. I have a brief period of wakefulness, during which I hear the shower and realize that Havok's getting cleaned up. Then, I feel him getting into bed with me and curling up against me, holding me tight.
We fall asleep together, and doze the entire day away, nestled under the covers, me in his arms. I'm not handcuffed, and if I wanted to, I bet I could slip away. But I don't want to. I'm exactly where I want to be, and I've got no plans to go anywhere else.
By the time we rustle back into reality, it's almost seven o'clock the next morning. We slept almost 24 hours.
I shift under the covers, feeling Havok's strong, warm arms around me.
"Hey," I say, shaking him. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead. We've got a brand new day ahead of us."
48
Havok
"No," I say. "I got you right where I want you. I'm never letting you go."
I couldn't, even if I tried. She's nestled up against me, the soft curves of her tiny little body pressed against my hard muscle. I run my fingers down her side, and hungrily grab her waist, pressing her belly against my hard cock.
Her body is made for fucking. And it's mine now. Forever.
Lying on my side, I pull her close and crush my lips on hers. Her scent invades me, purging my head of everything except thoughts of her. Our tongues entwine, and I bite down on her lower lip. She moans, and I feel her melting into me.
"Babe," I whisper into her ear, "I'm gonna use you. You're my personal fucktoy now."
"I need it," she gasps, squeezing herself closer to me.
I slide my hand down her back, and under the elastic of her sweatpants. She's not wearing underwear, so when I cup her tight ass in my palm, it's just skin-on-skin. The feeling of her ass in my hand sends a surge of need through my body, and makes my cock harden almost to a painful degree. The only thing that can satisfy me are her holes. I want to fuck every last one of them, and leave no part of her unconquered.
I move my hand lower down her ass, curling my fingers between her legs, pressing my index and middle fingers against her wet opening from behind. The very tips of my fingers brush against her clit, and she bucks and arches her back, grinding her clit into my fingers.
She opens her legs wider. "Put your fingers in me," she pleads. I move my hand around her front, where I can penetrate her deeper. I slide just one finger inside her, and she gasps. She's so fucking tight. If this is what one finger does to her, my cock is gonna tear her in two. I fucking want it inside her again, so bad. Fuck, I love the thought of stretching her out, ramming it in to the hilt, rutting her until she's a sticky, sweaty mess of sex.
I stroke her velvet insides, and she moans into my shoulder. I press my rough palm against her clit with my finger still inside her, stimulating her both inside and outside.
"Oh, babe," she whimpers, "I need your cock."
"You're gonna fucking take it," I say, "all of it." I withdraw my hand from her sweatpants, and press my finger against her lips. She gasps, taking it into her mouth, tasting herself.
"I've never done that before," she says, her eyes filled with lust.
"You're gonna do it so many more times," I tell her.
I sit up on my knees, wrapping my hands under her arms. I scoot her up against the headboard, and put her in a sitting position. She reaches out to the bulge in my jeans, fisting it through the fabric. Fuck, her touch makes me want to explode right here and now. But I'm not wasting a drop of my seed. It's all going into her. Now, and forever.
I slide my boxer briefs off, and see her eyes fixate on my rock-hard cock. I stand up on the bed, and move toward her. "Suck it," I say. Her hands close around my cock, almost too thick for her to hold, and she starts darting her tongue over the head of my cock like a cat hungry for milk.
Grabbing her hands in mine, I tear them off my cock, so only her lips and tongue remain. I press her against the headboard, shoving my cock into her mouth. I can't fucking help myself. I have a deep, primal need to fuck her mouth, just like all her other holes.
She gasps around my cock, moaning with excitement as I thrust my hips. I face-fuck her against the wall, feeling her thick, moist lips glide up and down the length of my shaft.
When I withdraw for just a second, she shakes her head, flustered. "Put it back," she begs me, and I don't need to be asked twice. I cram my huge cock back into her tight mouth, using it as my fuckhole. Fuck, it's not gonna take long to cum like this.
She sucks and slurps my cock, and saliva drips down my shaft and her chin, but it doesn't fucking matter to either one of us right now. We're just two animals, doing what comes naturally.
I feel my orgasm building up inside me, and she must sense it too. She turns her head, briefly taking her mouth off my cock. "Please," she says, "I want to taste it."
Her words are fucking music to my ears. She nuzzles my cock, brushing her nose and cheek across the underside of it. And for some reason, it fucking turns me on so bad, and I almost lose it. But I clench my muscles hard, pulling myself back from the brink. My cock twitches, though, and I can't help it when my cock shoots a tiny splash of pre-cum against her lips.
She jolts with a start, feeling the warm liquid. Then, when she realizes she just got a preview of what she was begging for, she looks up into my eyes, her face anxious with lust, and licks the clear liquid off her lips. "More," she pleads, and takes my cock back into her mouth.
Holy shit. "You're my fucking
personal slut," I say, my hips bucking involuntarily. She moans, my cock deep in her mouth.
Then, I feel myself go over the edge, and I can't hold back anymore. I start to cum, the muscles deep inside me pulsing, giving my woman what she needs. When I look down at her, she's squeezing her eyes shut tight as my cock shoots its load in her filthy mouth. I can feel her swallowing it down as it spurts out, the muscles in her throat teasing my cockhead.
When I finish, she slows her lips, and I withdraw my cock gently. It's still hard as a fucking rock. I don't know what it's gonna take to satisfy me, 'cause this was only a start.
She looks up at me with puppy dog eyes, and I see a drop of my seed just below her lips, I reach down, moving my finger over it, and pressing it into her mouth. Her tongue laps my finger, collecting and savoring the last drop.
"It's sweet," she says.
She scoots down so she's laying on the bed again, her head resting on the pillows. I drop down beside her. "You are the sexiest fucking woman on this planet," I say, running my hands through her hair. There isn't another woman who could distract me from Penny. Not now, not ever.
"You're my woman," I say, "and now I'm gonna fuck you raw. I wanna feel that pussy clenched around my cock. I wanna put a baby inside you."
She looks away quickly, and at first I think she's embarrassed by my dirty talk. But then she presses her palms against my chest, cuddling up closer to me. My cock is pressed against her body, and she grinds herself into it as she gets closer. Then she looks into my eyes, her expression timid. "Can I tell you something?" she says.
"Yeah, honey," I say. "Anything."
She takes a deep breath in, like she's preparing to divulge some deep secret. Then, she says, "You already put a baby in me."
My head feels like it's spinning out of control, out of the room and into a different dimension. I can barely focus on Penny, even though she's right in front of me. Her words hit me like a fucking freight train.
Fake Bride With Benefits Page 30
