Relentless Liberation

by Fine, L. J.

  All this time she had thought that she was the one who couldn’t get over what happened to her, what they did to her. But the reality was that they couldn’t get over her. And this all-important realization gave her courage.

  “I never wanted you, you delusional asshole. You’re so far below where I am that I can’t even fucking see you.” Her body shook with rage and adrenaline as she threw the words in his face.

  On a snarl, Doug moved the hand that had been fisted in her hair to seize her throat, banging her head back against the wall. “Don’t say that,” he hissed through tightly clenched teeth. “You don’t even mean it. How could you?” He shook his head frantically and she got the distinct impression that he was no longer speaking to her. He was trying to reassure himself. “Not even possible.”

  “The truth has never been more clear, Doug. You’re nothing to me,” she managed to bite out. He was squeezing her throat but not enough to cut off her air. That was until she hurled that last bit at him. Then his hand tightened on her as he deliberately slammed her head harder into the wall behind her.

  Black spots dotted her vision and she prayed to God that she didn’t black out. Who knew what he would do to her then?

  “You think I don’t know what you’re doing, you little bitch? I’ve been watching you for days, Mina. I saw you. I saw you with that dumb fucking asshole you’ve been leading around on a leash. I saw you, just like you wanted me to see you. You’re just trying to make me jealous. I know, baby doll. I know.” He ripped open her jeans and roughly shoved his hand inside her panties. “You want me, not him. I know.”

  His breath came out in harsh, shaky pants against her skin as he touched her. Tears sprang to her eyes as her stomach churned. Despite the revelations of only a moment before, bleak despair took the place of all that courage. She was trapped beneath him, helpless to fight him off her, even though she struggled. She couldn’t believe that this was happening again. After all this time, after all the vows she made to herself. She had just gotten to a happy place in her life but true to life’s patterns, it was all coming crashing down.

  Tyler couldn’t even save her. All she could think was that her strong, capable, fiercely protective man was on his way here and he didn’t know what was happening to her. She couldn’t scream out for him.

  The sound of a zipper brought her back to the horrific here and now and she saw Doug pushing his pants down out of the way.

  “I’ll give you what you want,” he chanted over and over. Mina just felt numb. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, so that even if she had to feel him, she at least wouldn’t have to see it.

  Bracing herself against the wall, she waited for the inevitable but the pressure pushing her up against the wall was suddenly gone and she could breathe. Almost afraid of what she would find when she opened her eyes, she hesitantly cracked her lids to take in the scene before her.

  Tyler had grabbed Doug by the scruff of his neck and ripped him off her, dragging him away until he slammed Doug’s back up against the break room lockers.

  “You can’t fucking touch her anymore.” Tyler’s voice came out deadly quiet and deceptively calm as he wrapped his hand around Doug’s throat. Doug’s eyes widened as Tyler got up in his face, leaning his weight into him to add pressure to the hand crushing his windpipe. He tried to twist out of Tyler’s hold but Tyler was stronger.

  “How do you like this? Does it feel good?” Doug’s face started to turn red, the veins in his forehead and around his temples popping as he strained against Tyler’s hold. “No?” Tyler asked. “What about this?”

  The swift, hard jab to Doug’s liver would have had him doubling over if Tyler hadn’t been gripping his throat. Doug let out a strangled groan as his whole body shook. “What about that? Do you fucking like the way that feels?”

  Tyler punched him in that exact spot twice more before Doug could even garble out any semblance of a response. Then, to Mina’s utter shock, Tyler reached between Doug’s legs to twist his balls up into a vise-like fist. The high-pitched shriek emanating from Doug couldn’t be completely silenced by his cut off air supply.

  “What’s the matter, you sick son of a bitch? Can’t take what you dish out?” Tyler wasn’t even breathing hard as he added more pressure to Doug’s throat. Silent tears streamed down his face, a face now turning an interesting shade of purple.

  “I should rip your fucking balls off for what you did to her,” he growled, showing the first sign of emotion since he pulled Doug off her.

  Mina couldn’t help but gasp at his words, knowing full well that Tyler was more than capable of carrying out the threat. But no matter how satisfying it would be to see Doug hurt like that, God only knew what kind of trouble Tyler would get into for following through. Doug wasn’t worth it.

  Before she could voice her thoughts to try to stop him, Tyler seemed to rein himself in. “I won’t do it because she’s in the room. But if you ever come near her again, so help me God…” He let the threat trail off but his meaning was clear. “You fucking understand me?”

  Doug could only nod slightly in Tyler’s hold.

  “Good, you goddamn piece of shit. Now take a nap,” Tyler bit out before slamming the back of Doug’s head against the locker hard enough to knock him out. As Tyler let go and stepped back, Doug’s limp body slid to the floor in a heap.

  Tyler didn’t spare Doug any more of his attention after that. Spinning around, he moved toward Mina, taking her in his arms, cradling her head against his chest.

  “You okay, baby?” His voice was hoarse, letting her know that he had been more affected than he had let on.

  She couldn’t speak. The moment he pulled her into the security of his arms the floodgates opened and her body was racked with sobs. He just held her tighter, letting her get it all out, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing words. Finally, when she calmed down enough, she pulled back to gaze up at him, the man she loved more than the waking world. “I’m okay,” she sniffed.

  But he looked doubtful. “You sure?”

  “Yes, I promise.” She looked down at Doug’s still body. “We better get out of here before he wakes up.”

  Tyler snorted. “He wakes up while I’m still in the room and he’s gonna get his ass knocked out again, baby.”

  As always, his gruffness made her smile. “Well, to prevent permanent brain damage, we should probably leave and call the police.”

  “His brain is already damaged but I see your point.” With that he took her hand and led her out of the break room.

  * * * * *

  Hours later Mina finally got to be in the only place in the world she wanted to be, back at Tyler’s house, sitting on the couch, firmly snuggled into him with his arms wrapped around her.

  This morning’s shift had turned into the longest one of her life. Once they had gotten out of the break room and called the police, it was a case of waiting around until they got there to arrest Doug and take their statements. It seemed like it had taken forever and she was exhausted, not only from Doug’s attack, but from the tireless questions.

  And she would never forget the look of pure hatred Doug had shot her as the police marched him out of the bookstore in cuffs. She shivered at the memory.

  “You cold?” Mina felt Tyler’s voice rumble from his chest as his arms tightened around her.

  “No, I’m good.” And for once in her life, that was a completely true statement. “But I am curious about something. How did you know that Doug had me trapped in the break room?”

  “When I got to the coffee shop you weren’t there. So I went back into the bookstore and asked Cindy where you were. She said that you had gone back into the break room to get your stuff about fifteen minutes ago and when you never came back out she assumed you went out the back door. At that point I just felt it in my gut that something was wrong. You always either meet me at the coffee shop or out front. So I came back to find you.”

  Never had Mina been more grateful for Tyler’s uncanny observation
al skills. She didn’t know what kind of state she, or their relationship, would be in if he hadn’t been hyperaware of her.

  She could tell by the tension coursing through his body that he was still fighting his anger from earlier. And when she looked up at him she saw…regret? Lifting her head to look at him more closely she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  That tic started up again in his jaw and he wouldn’t look at her. “Nothing. I just—” He shook his head. “I should have kept you by my side until that cocksucker went to jail. If I had, then he wouldn’t have been able to touch you in the first place.”

  “No.” She sat up and crawled into his lap. Taking his face in her hands she said, “That’s not even reasonable pressure to put on yourself. We both have jobs, lives. You couldn’t have just dropped everything to be my babysitter, Tyler.”

  “That’s what vacation time is for and you are my life,” he said with a sullen expression, finally meeting her eyes. For the first time since she met him, she saw real fear registered in the warm dark brown depths. Fear of losing her?

  He confirmed her suspicion a moment later. “If anything had happened to you, Mina, if he’d hurt you…” He licked his lips and swallowed hard. “I would have gone crazy, baby. Doug wouldn’t have been upright and mobile, that’s for damn sure. If I would’ve left him alive at all.”

  The fierce sincerity of his words had her heart pounding and she didn’t know if she would ever get used to having someone care so intensely for her. Again she wondered how in the world she had gotten so lucky as to have found him. And to think she had almost left him. Bile rose in her throat at the mere thought.

  “I know,” she said softly. “But you aren’t a possessively paranoid boyfriend, Tyler. That’s one of the things I love about you. The important thing is that you came when you did. You were there, baby.” She bent forward to softly kiss his lips. “You saved me.” She kissed him again. “Thank you.” Another kiss. “I love you.”

  This time when she went to kiss him, he kissed her back. Cradling the back of her head, he pulled her closer to him and dominated the kiss. The way his lips moved across hers, the way his tongue penetrated and explored her mouth, told her far more than his words ever could. He was so passionate and intense. And he was all hers. Her man.

  “I love you too, Mina,” he whispered when he pulled away. “So much, baby. So goddamn much.”

  Given the events of the day, this conversation was way too serious for her liking. They needed to lighten the oppressive mood and reclaim the joy they had felt before they had gone to dinner last night. And Mina felt that for once she could truly let go now that Doug was no longer a specter, lurking at the back of her mind. He was finally gone. So, in the spirit of breaking the tension, she leaned forward to kiss him playfully.

  “Mmm.” She ground her hips into him, feeling his cock stirring to life under her. “I can feel that you love me.” She kissed him again. “The question is, how much?”

  Pulling back, he narrowed his eyes on her but slowly that sexy-as-hell impish smile curved his lips. “Is it now?” His hands traveled down to her hips. “How can I prove to you how much?”

  Biting her lip, she smiled when he pulled her closer and at the same time thrust his hips up into her.

  “Oh I think you should show me,” she panted, grinding down on him for emphasis.

  “Want me to show you?” His lips meandered down her throat and he playfully bit her.

  Nodding, she mumbled out an “uh-huh” and he growled against her skin before pulling back to look her in the eyes. “I’ll show you, baby. For the rest of my life I’ll show you how much I love you. Forever.”

  Her heart expanded as she looked at him, not able to speak through the lump in her throat but feeling the exact same way.

  His lips split into a wolfish grin before he abruptly stood, taking her with him. She yelped when he tossed her over his shoulder, but couldn’t help laughing at his caveman maneuver. And as he carried her back to his bedroom she couldn’t contain the giddiness she felt swelling up inside her at the realization that she was finally free.

  And she couldn’t wait to start on her forever with Tyler.

  Epilogue

  Tyler Serano stepped out onto his back deck and surveyed the small crowd gathered around the fire-pit. Their chatter and laughter in the dim twilight filled him with a sense of deep contentment, the likes of which he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  Moving day for Mina had turned into an impromptu party and he had somehow gotten roped into grilling burgers for everybody. Honestly, though, he didn’t mind. Mina didn’t have a whole hell of a lot so it wasn’t like it had been back breaking work. He just wanted her here, with him. The fact that their friends and his brothers were there, too, made it better. They could help celebrate the fact that Mina was now both completely his and completely free.

  It hadn’t escaped his notice that these last few days Mina seemed less guarded, able to breathe easier. He watched as she sat by the fire, giving an animated laugh to some, more-than-likely, stupid thing Adam just said. The warm glow of the flame danced across her skin, the ethereal light igniting in her eyes alongside her happiness. It got him feeling some kind of way just standing there watching her. No doubt her piece of mind stemmed from Doug being behind bars but Tyler liked to think that he had a hand in it too. He would keep her safe and she seemed to know that. If that fucking prick tried to come after her once he served his five to ten, he wouldn’t get very far.

  What a bullshit sentence. They hadn’t had the trail yet but the arresting officer had given him a dose of reality when he hauled Doug into the back of the police car. Despite being nine kinds of crazy, Doug didn’t have any priors and the money that ass-clown did have meant he could afford a good lawyer. The statute of limitations on the previous rape wasn’t up though and with Doug’s stalking and recent attempt at getting to her, they had a good shot in court.

  But Doug wouldn’t go away forever. That wasn’t a life sentence. The thought that he might come after Mina once he got out made Tyler’s blood run cold and his anger over the whole thing vibrated through his body. If Mina hadn’t been in that room with them he would have snapped Doug’s neck like a fucking twig. Rationally, he knew that she had been right, the cocksucker wasn’t worth it. Still, his fists ached to do some severe permanent damage.

  Her laugher reached his ears, jerking him back into the here and now. Thank God she still had her smile after all that shit. The upcoming trial wasn’t going to be a picnic for her but he would be with her through it all, he would give her whatever she needed. Just as long as that smile stayed right where it belonged.

  “Whatcha thinkin’ about so hard, little brother?” Brandon came to stand beside him, leaning against the deck railing.

  Tyler threw him a smirk before taking a swig of his beer and looking back out toward the fire. “Life, the universe and everything.”

  Brandon snorted. “Yeah, I get that. Hard to think about anything else once you do find your everything.”

  When Tyler turned to look at him, he found his brother staring out into the backyard at his wife, Kim. For the first time ever Tyler completely understood that lost puppy-dog look Brandon sported every time Kim came around. Didn’t mean he had to own up to it though.

  “Fuck’s sake, dude. Spare me the chick-flick moments.” Tyler clocked the giant tinfoil box Brandon had in his hand and had to ask. “What are you holding?”

  Flipping him off with one hand, Brandon gripped the covered tray tighter in his other and moved toward the deck staircase and into the backyard. “Kim made chocolate cupcakes as a housewarming gift for Mina.” He looked over his shoulder briefly but kept walking. “Note, I said Mina because your smart ass isn’t getting any.”

  “The hell you say,” Tyler muttered, shoving away from the railing to follow his brother into the backyard.

  Brandon crowded Tyler out as he set the tray of cupcakes down on the fold-out table they had set up near the fire-pit. It
didn’t matter, though. He would eventually get his paws on one of those cupcakes and right now he craved something sweeter anyway.

  Moving behind Mina, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his body. Brushing her hair away from her neck, he nibbled on the sensitive skin there and smiled when he felt her shiver. “You good?”

  She turned her head and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m very good.”

  “Good.” He chased her lips with his, about to take their kiss deeper when a loud appreciative groan interrupted him.

  “Kim, you seriously need to dump Brandon’s sorry ass and run away with me. These cupcakes are amazing,” Adam said licking icing off of his fingers.

  “Fuck off, she’s mine,” Brand growled wrapping a proprietary arm around Kim’s shoulders. “You’re just gonna have to deal with store bought desserts.”

  The petite, curvy blonde laughed when Adam pouted. “Relax Adam. I’ll bake you cupcakes whenever you want. And if old grumpy here gets upset about it you can just come by the shop and get some. Then they will technically meet the requirements - store bought.”

  “Yes,” Adam said around a mouthful of cake as he threw Kim a wink. “I knew I liked you for a reason. It’s just too bad I had to leave The Captain at home. He would love these.”

  Ben, who had been quiet until now, as per usual, came up behind Brandon to snake a cupcake off of the table. “You’re lucky that mutt isn’t dead, all the shit you feed him.”

  Shrugging, Adam polished off his dessert and parked it on a chair by the fire. “What can I say? My dog has superpowers. A stomach of steel, able to digest anything you throw at it.”

  As he made his way toward the opposite side of the fire to reclaim the seat he had vacated, Ben only offered a grunt and a shake of his head as a response.

  And that, Tyler knew, was the end of the conversation as far as Ben was concerned.