“Well, yeah. She’s young, she’s pretty. And she’s a virgin, too. You can take that. You can have that for as long as you want. Then when you had enough, you can sell her out to whoever you want and make some cash off her, too.”
“Why the hell would you trade your own daughter for your debt?”
“’Cause she ain't nothing but a meddling little bitch that’s drained me for years. Time she paid me back for all the money I sunk into her ungrateful ass. Plus, her momma used to mind and be well-behaved, and since the little bitch can’t keep her nose out of my business with my wife, her momma ain't minding so well anymore. Time for her to go. I owe you a debt; you take her off my hands, I’m good, you’re good.”
“And what is she gonna think about all of this? The last thing I need is a pissed-off, hysterical woman on my hands.”
“Naw, she’s gonna mind real good. I’m gonna tell her if she don’t go with you all nice like, I’ll hurt her momma. She’ll go.”
“And if she don’t?” Ricky asked him.
“Then we’ll drug her ass and when she wakes up, she’ll be here.”
Ricky sat back thinking about it, a grin on his face, his fingers making steeples in front of his chest as his perverted mind went over the possibilities. One of the girls between his legs got a little too toothy on him, and his gaze popped down to her as his hand connected with the side of her head. She opened her mouth to whine about being hit and displayed a mouthful of black, decaying teeth, courtesy of the drugs. He winced in disgust. “She got good teeth?” he asked Ward, still focused on the girl between his legs.
“Huh?”
“Teeth, you idiot, your daughter, does she have good teeth?”
“Uh, yeah, she’s got good teeth. I ain't never heard her momma say she got a cavity or nothing. So, yeah.”
“Fine, you got a deal. I’ll be by to pick her up tomorrow. Be sure she’s ready. I don’t want to have to whip her ass right away.”
“You got it, Friend.”
“I’m not your fucking friend. Just make sure she knows this is it. No redo’s, no chance of leaving. This is her tomorrow.”
“Yep, I will.” Ward stood there still, even though Ricky had clearly dismissed him.
“What? Why are you still here?”
“Uh, we all clear now, right? I mean my debt is clear, right?”
“Yes, you’re good, go.”
“Well, you think I could have a little for the road? I mean, she’s worth a lot more than the little bit of money I owed you.”
Ricky flipped up the arm of the recliner he sat in; there was a storage area in the arm of the chair, originally meant for remote controls and the like. He reached into it and tossed a small cellophane baggie to Ward. “Go, Ward. Get her ready. I want her here and submitting to whatever I want, tomorrow.”
Ward turned and ran as best he could without losing his balance, past Riley and through the door. He only bounced off one side of the door jamb as he made his way to the staircase. They could hear his footsteps echoing back up to them as he headed home to prepare his daughter for her new future as Ricky’s fuck toy. Ward sneered to himself as he thought of the interfering little bitch, served her right. He hoped Ricky fucked her and then shared her. She thought she was so much better than him. He’d show her who was boss.
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The next morning Janie drug herself out of bed and forced herself to get ready. She didn’t want to get up, her heart was broken, her soul ached. She missed Bane. Her soul cried out for him. But he wasn’t coming. She’d driven him away. And now she had to go through the motions of her day-to-day drudgery without him. Without any chance of seeing him. Bring her father home a paycheck so that maybe he’d lay off her mother and herself a little. And pray for a way to escape this hell. A way that would make her mother want to go with her, because she couldn’t leave her here. She had to find a way to save them both. She washed her face and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. She put on her work smock, a pair of jeans, and her sneakers and went into the kitchen. Her mom was there, making her breakfast. She turned and looked at Janie as she entered. “Morning, Baby. I thought maybe you'd be hungry since you didn't eat after you came in last night.” She placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Janie. Janie just looked at the food, “Thanks, Mom, but I really don’t want anything. Just some coffee. Then I’m off.”
Her mom poured her a cup of coffee and placed in front of her. She wrapped her arms around Janie from behind and whispered in her ear, “I’m so sorry, Baby. I never wanted you to have to deal with the things I do. I always thought you’d find the one, and he’d take you away.”
Janie put her hand on her mom’s arm and patted it a time or two, “Me too, Mom, just didn’t work out that way. But we’ll find a way out of this.” Her mom kissed the top of her head and went to wash the skillet she’d used to cook the eggs for Janie. Janie stood, put on her jacket, and put her purse on her shoulder. She told her mom she’d be home after work and walked out the door.
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Ricky’s phone rang repeatedly, waking him from sleep. “What?!” he yelled into the phone, eyes still closed. “She got off to work before I could talk to her. I’ll get her when she comes home tonight, though. Then you can have her tomorrow,” Ward whispered into the phone, trying to keep his wife from hearing.
“I ain’t fucking waitin’! I want her now! I'm coming to get her right fucking now!” Ricky yelled into the phone.
“No! Don’t come here; my wife will just make it more difficult. If you gotta have her today, go get her from work. She’s at the grocery. Just grab her when nobody’s looking.”
“Fine, but she better fucking be worth all this shit, or I’m coming for you, you got that?!” Ricky slammed the phone down and yelled for Riley. “Riley, get your shit together; we’re going to collect what’s mine.” Riley had heard the conversation from the kitchen where he sat, waiting for his asshole of a boss to wake up. There was no fucking way he was going to be a part of this girl’s downfall. He hadn’t really thought that Ricky would go through with it. But he’d underestimated the bastard. Ricky came stumbling into the kitchen, “You ready? Let’s go.”
“I ain't going,” Riley answered him calmly.
“You work for me, you do what I say.”
“Fine, then I don’t work for you,” Riley stood and headed for the door.
“Oh, so you just gonna pussy out when I need you?”
“Selling drugs and kidnapping women are two totally different things. I ain't kidnapping anyone.”
Ricky really didn’t want to lose his best muscle, so he decided to compromise, “Fine, just take the morning off and meet me back here later. None of your fucking business what I do anyway.”
Riley nodded his head once and walked out the door. He was no saint himself. His loyalty was to whoever was willing to pay him the most. And he’d done many things that he wasn’t proud of, but he drew the line at hurting women. There was no fucking way he was going to be a part of his current boss’s kidnapping of an innocent.
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Bane’s Bear sat at the edge of the bayou he’d spent the night beside. When he’d left the grocery after Janie had kicked him out of her life, he’d ridden out of town as far and as fast as he could before his Bear would stay quiet no longer. He’d pulled off the road and parked his bike in a copse of trees and bushes. He’d stripped off his clothes, draped them over the seat of his bike and allowed his Bear to burst out of his skin. His Bear roared out his pain, dropped to all fours and ran. He ran until he couldn’t physically run anymore. He ran until exhaustion and emotional devastation forced him to drop in his tracks. And there he lay, hoping for an end to the pain. Whatever brought it, he didn’t care. He just didn’t want to hurt anymore. The only thought that brought him any solace, ripped him apart all over again. Janie, his Janie. He needed his Janie. Bear let loose another mournful wail and threw himself down on the banks of the bayou again. There was a gator lazing through the water
s of the bayou. Bane just lay there and watched him. Maybe the damn thing will eat me, he thought. Almost as though it could hear him, it sank beneath the water’s surface and slunk away. Great, even the damn alligator wasn’t interested in him. He wasn't even an appetizing enough meal for a damn gator. Bear huffed and closed his eyes. He felt his clan try to nudge against his mind from time-to-time, but he didn’t have it in him to answer. He had no interest in any thing or any place. And the only person he needed, didn’t need him.
Chapter 6
Bane felt Bam’s conscience nudge his own. He opened his eyes and looked around. It was night time again. Bam nudged him once more, and Bane let him in enough to let him know he was alive. Then he shut him out again. He didn't want his brother to feel the pain he was experiencing. No one should feel pain like this. Bane rolled over to his back and stared up at the stars. He’d planned on just lying here until he died. But with Bam reaching out to him, he realized that he couldn’t do that. He had to continue on. Bam needed him. He picked his big Bear body up and started his trek back to his bike. It was a long while before he reached it. When he did, he shifted back, pulled his clothes back on and climbed on his bike. But he still wasn’t ready to see anybody. So he set a path for a place where he knew he could drink his pain into oblivion--Vince’s.
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Janie stepped out of the grocery and walked around to the side of the building. She had just barely made it to her morning break without falling apart. She so needed a few minutes alone. As soon as she’d walked through the doors that morning, her mind had filled with the sight of Bane’s face as she’d broken his heart. She’d even looked around the floor near her register to see if she could find the surely now dead flower he’d bought for her. But it was gone. Just like Bane was gone. Now, finally her break time had arrived. As soon as she made it to the shadowed portion of the side of the building, she leaned her forehead against the cool brick wall and let the tears overtake her. Her shoulders drooped, and she let out as much anguish as her body could take at once. She sobbed, she kicked the wall, she raged at the unfairness that had become her life. She had lived her entire adult life in fear of her father and protection of her mother. And her father had used that protective streak in her to manipulate her into driving Bane away, for no other reason than just because he liked to see others suffer. And suffer she did, she loved Bane. With every fiber of her being, she loved Bane. Though she knew he’d never forgive her for hurting him, she wanted him to know that he was everything. That he was worthy of so much more than she had to offer. With that thought firming her resolve, she wiped her eyes in preparation for going to find him. She was going to clock out, go find Bane and tell him how she felt about him. Tell him so that he would never doubt his worth. So that he would know that he was always enough; it was her who wasn’t. It was her that wasn’t able to give him what he needed. As she turned back toward the front of the store, a cloth was wrapped around her face from behind, covering her mouth and nose. She only had a moment to struggle before she started to sink into unconsciousness. But she did manage to kick her leg out and catch one of the guys in the knee as she went under. He backhanded her hard, but she was already out cold and had no clue. The man who had both held the chloroform-soaked rag to her face and caught her when she passed out, spoke to his boss, “Man, Ricky, this is so wrong. If somebody sees us taking her, we are going down, Man.”
“Shut the fuck up. If I’d wanted somebody to tell me this is wrong, I’d have brought Riley. Pussied out on me when I told him I was coming to get what’s mine. This piece is my property, fair and square. I own this,” Ricky thrust his hand out to cup her mound and answered the man standing in front of him. “Not that it’s any of your fucking concern, but her old man traded her to me. She’s mine. Can’t get in trouble for just claiming your own property.” Ricky moved his hand up to the front of her work smock, ripped it open and roughly pulled her breast out into the open. He squeezed it, hard, intentionally trying to bruise her and still pissed that she’d managed to kick him before she’d passed out. “Yeah, this is gonna be fun, get to teach the little bitch her place. I love it when they fight. Put her in the trunk; let’s go.”
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Bane stalked into Vince’s making eye contact with no one. He took a place at the bar, back to the room full of people, and waited for Vince to place a bottle of anything in front of him. Vince had seen him come in and knew there was something seriously wrong. No shifter ever sat with his back to a crowd. And Bane, while distant, was usually polite. But not tonight. The scent of danger wafting from his skin was almost a dare to any who were stupid enough to provoke him. And the look he leveled Vince with when he asked if he was okay was confirmation of Bane’s state of mind. “You want a drink?” Vince asked him.
“Want a bottle.”
“Of?”
“Don’t care.”
“Okay, then.” Vince placed a bottle of whiskey in front of him. Bane grabbed it, removed the cap, threw it across the bar at his own reflection in the mirror and swallowed half of the whiskey down in one guzzle.
“You know, I’m a friend, too. Not just a bartender. I can help, and I actually care, idiot that I am.”
Bane lifted his eyes to meet Vince’s, “I’m fine.”
“Yep, seems that way to me. You always make a habit of stomping in here alone, guzzling down bottles of whiskey and throwing things at yourself in the mirror.”
“Drop it, Lion,” Bane snarled at Vince, staring him in the eye.
Vince snorted, “Naw, think I feel like poking the Bear tonight. What gives?”
Bane’s chest rumbled as he tipped the whiskey bottle still in his hand up to drain the rest of it into his mouth, swallowing it down while holding Vince's stare.
“This ain’t like you, my friend,” Vince reached out to take the now empty bottle from him. “Do not even think about throwing that; it’ll break my mirror, and then I’ll really have to kick your ass,” he told Bane with a smile. “Why are you here, Bane? Where are your brothers?”
“Home, I guess. Waiting for good ole slow and steady Bane to come home. Got to make sure that everybody’s got what they need. That’s what I’m for. Watch over everybody else, make their lot easier. Me? My lot? I don’t get one. All I get is a Fuck You. You’re not enough to have your own, but don’t forget to do your part to keep ours together.”
Vince’s brow wrinkled as he listened to Bane, “Man, what the fuck happened to you? This ain't like you. And you know they don’t feel like that.”
Voice much softer now, almost resigned, “Yeah, I know. Just give me another bottle. Tequila this time.” Normally Vince wouldn't have handed a customer another bottle, but Bane wasn't just any customer. He was a shifter and would most likely be sober in less than 30 minutes from when he stopped drinking. So he took a bottle of his best tequila from the shelf, twisted off the top, and handed the bottle to Bane. After Bane had tipped the bottle up and taken a hearty swig, Vince reached out his hand, palm up with the cap sitting in it. Bane looked at his hand for a moment before reaching out and taking the cap from him. Vince stepped aside and swept his hand toward the image of Bane in the mirror. Bane threw the cap at the mirror, aim perfect, hitting his own image right between the eyes. Vince stepped back into his line of vision, “I’m here, Bane. I’m a friend. Just let me know what you need and it’s done.” He didn’t wait for Bane to respond. Message delivered, he walked to the other end of the bar to take care of the other waiting customers.
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Kaid finished talking to Amos and walked into the living room to find Goldy waiting on him. “I’m coming with ya to Vince’s. Something’s up. You feel it?”
“Yeah, I do. Bikes?”
“Bikes,” Goldy confirmed.
As they walked down the stairs to the lean-to where their bikes were parked, Daniel opened the door to his and Avaleigh’s place and called across the clearing to them, “Where’s everybody going?”
“Vince's. Mav’s
already there. We heading over. You coming?”
“Yeah, let me let Avaleigh know.”
“Avaleigh knows, we’re taking one of the cars, come on,” she told him as she passed him in the doorway, keys in hand.
“But, Love, I want to take my bike.”
Avaleigh stopped to look at him, “Will you let me ride in front of you?”
“Yep, but you can’t be squirming all around.”
“Deal,” she ran back into the house, dropped the truck keys onto the table and grabbed the keys to his Harley. She ran back to him still standing in the doorway, pausing to stand on tip toe while pulling him down to her, so she could kiss his lips. As she was pulling away, she bit him, just enough to sting a little. His Dragon rumbled in appreciation. She grinned at him as she pulled out of his grasp and ran toward his bike. The headlights of Bam’s truck illuminated the drive as he left their property. Apparently he felt drawn to the same place they were all headed. Kaid watched him go, then shifted his attention to Daniel and Avaleigh, “Ave, maybe you should stay here. There’s some bad shit coming down. We can all feel it.”
“Nope, I’m going. I belong beside ya’ll, always. Not just when it’s a good day.”
“Don’t waste your time, Kaid,” Daniel told him as he cranked his bike. “Get on, Baby. Night’s a’wasting.” He pushed himself back a little on the seat, and Avaleigh climbed on in front of him, crossing her legs across the seat and leaning back against him for support. Daniel kissed her temple before he sat again and drove them toward the gravel road leading toward the highway. Kaid watched them, happy for Avaleigh, happy for Daniel. Sad for himself. Missing when Avaleigh used to ride with him that way. It wasn’t that he wanted Avaleigh, not romantically. He just wanted that connection. That ultimate peace that came from knowing you belonged to someone, and they belonged to you. That you completed each other. The complete acceptance of another person, and their complete acceptance of you. Home. That’s what that feeling was. Like when you'd been away on a trip, when you finally make it home. That deep sigh of satisfaction, that feeling of belonging. Damn, he was lonely.
Bane's Heart Page 5
