by J. L. Drake
“You can eat, after you kill that boy.” His finger jammed in my face, his eyes wild with anger. “Until then, you get nothing.”
Tammy’s scream brought me back. She was close, but I didn’t care—I wasn’t. My hands fought for a better grip and I slammed in. I wasn’t fully hard, which made it frustrating. She didn’t like it rough, but she’d take it without complaint. Repeatedly, I sought relief, but my battle with my head was all-consuming, and I grew annoyed then pissed.
Changing angles, I tipped her over the edge, and she shook and vibrated against my chest. I pushed her forward, not wanting the contact. Finally, I pulled out, solid as a rock. The only thing that made me hard was that I was rough with her. My balls begged me to finish, but it was no use. Nothing was happening tonight.
“You want some company tonight?” she panted over her shoulder.
“No.” I left even more pent-up than I was before I started.
Grabbing the bottle, I stood naked by my truck and waited for the heat to dry me off. It didn’t take Rail long to find Tammy naked in the pool, and he lured her into his room where I hoped she’d stay.
My head ached and swarmed with a ton of ugly thoughts. Nothing I could do to turn it off. Even my kill from earlier did dick to relieve what held me hostage. Of course, I went limp the moment my father’s face appeared.
“Hey!”
I broke from my thoughts, and there was Tess across the pool, staring right at me. The truck hid me from the waist down—not that I cared. “You see Morgan?”
“Thought you left.” I lit my joint and blew a large puff into the dark sky.
“Forgot my phone. Big Joe said Morgan would have it.”
“Haven’t seen him.” My gaze raked down her long legs. “You need to call a cab?”
“No.” She glanced around. “Just don’t like to walk alone without it.”
Smart girl.
Suddenly, like on fucking cue, Peggy walked out buck naked and called my name. Tess rubbed her neck before she turned away.
“Never mind.”
“Stay in Brick’s room.” The moment I spoke, Peggy homed in on me.
“Ohh,” Peggy purred, rubbing her breasts for show. “Someone is ready for me.”
When I looked back, Tess was gone.
Tugging on my pants, I headed out to the front, but she was out of sight. Peggy, on the other hand, was on her knees when I returned.
“Whatever, let’s do this.”
I dropped my pants.
***
Tess
I crossed a street and waved at Mud, a friend of Brick’s I had only met briefly but knew wasn’t dangerous. Still, I fished out my phone, thankful I caught Morgan on the way out. He’d tucked it safely away for me until I returned.
It was funny how a tiny piece of technology held so tightly in one’s hand could give a person such a sense of safety. But in fact, if I were to throw this at someone, it would bounce off their head and clatter to the ground. Useless, unless given the moment to hit dial. Then maybe your odds would be better.
On the other hand, the little device could also tap into other lives and show me what he was up to this very moment. I swiped my thumb to open the phone. The urge to snoop was there—it always was. I tapped the icon and waited for it to load.
My head and my hands were not listening. The last thing I needed was to see them together in bed or doing something else.
Smack!
“Watch yourself.” A woman wobbled backward on her heels like a raging drunk.
“Shit, sorry.” I scrambled to grab my phone which had fallen at my feet.
“Bitch, please, you hit me.”
“What? Right, hence why I said sorry.” My stomach sank when I looked up from my knees to see I was out in front of the Satan’s Serpents clubhouse.
Two pairs of shiny legs stood to my side as she leaned down. “You see something?”
Oh, fuck. Suddenly, I was yanked roughly to my feet by a man who stared down at me.
“Nothing.” I saw nothing. “Just going home.”
The drunk girl grabbed my purse and hauled me back to her. Her nails dug into my shoulders while she held me in place. “I asked you a question, bitch.”
“I thought you were someone else,” I lied and tugged my purse out of her grip, but the moment I did, I lost my balance and fell into her. The guy’s arms wrapped around me and grabbed my breasts hard. I elbowed him in the crotch, making him curse.
“Don’t fucking touch me!”
The door swung open and a wiry man looked at me then to the guy holding his crotch.
“The blonde bitch tried to attack us!” the woman yelled, and her hands flew up in defense.
“What? No!” I screamed and backed up. “You came at me.” The wiry man swiped his arm out, locked his hand around my wrist, and dragged me inside the building.
Everything happened so fast that my mind raced to catch up.
It was dark in the entryway, and smoke was thick like the other bar, only it was pot, not cigarette smoke. Three inhales and I swore I was high, but it didn’t help. I was panicking and trying to wiggle loose from the wiry man.
“Please, I didn’t do anything.”
“Tiago! We have company!” He ignored me.
I could barely feel his grip; my body had gone to ice. Why? Why didn’t I look where I was going? A devil’s skull with a snake crawling through its eye was burned into the wood above the bar, along with their patchwork. Satan’s Serpents.
A fat Hispanic man came out of a room, wiping a rag over his sweaty head, “Oh, you brought me a white girl?” He turned away in disgust. “You know I like more meat on them. This one is way too skinny. Throw her to the desperates.” He dismissed me to some hungry looking men around a pool table. One being the asshole who took my phone the other day.
“She was starting trouble outside, Tiago.” The wiry man pushed me to my knees. Oh, no…oh, shit! My heart pounded but I kept my head up. How I still had some balls left in me at that point surprised even me. It was totally beyond my understanding. “She was after Manuel’s woman, scared her real bad.”
“No,” I cried, only to get a crack to the back of the head. My teeth rattled with the impact, and I hope I hadn’t cracked one.
Tiago stood in front of me, grabbed my hair, and forced me to look up at him.
My heart beat like a wild horse in an open field. Everything went numb right down to my fingertips.
“No one touches my family.” He turned his fat ring around and slapped me across the mouth. “No one disrespects me in my own home.” I cried out but didn’t dare say anything; I knew better. He stopped when he got a good look at me and something ran across his face. Almost like he was turned on by how vulnerable I was. He struggled to undo his pants with one hand. Fear laced with oxygen, and in two breaths I was ready to pass out. If he thought he was getting a blow job, I would bite that shit right off at the base.
“Your lips look like velvet. Keep your pretty eyes on me while I feed you my…”
Suddenly, he let go, and I fell to the ground with relief. He looked furious as he refastened his pants, and I saw he was limp. I wondered why. Too many drugs, I guessed.
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “We will meet again one day. And we will finish what we started here. I can promise you that.” He licked my cheek and ended it with a kiss. I wanted to puke.
Sick son of a bitch.
I was dizzy as hell, but my gaze landed on a man in the corner. Once he saw me looking, he turned his face away from me. I did notice a tattoo behind his ear, but I couldn’t make it out.
“Chuck her out back,” was all I heard before I was lifted and carried out the back door. The wiry man tossed me down on the pavement, and I scraped my elbows as they broke my fall.
Pain shot through me, but I welcomed it. Anything was better than what had been in store for me back there.
I lay still and stared up at the phone wires for what seemed like forever. I was scare
d to move. Blood trickled into my mouth, but the faint sound of a chopper had me scrambling to my knees. What if they came back?
I managed to get to my feet and hobbled back toward my place. The urge to cry was a battle, but I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself than I already had. My mouth felt as big as a baseball, my hip was sore from the fall, my elbow throbbed, and I was sure it was full of rocks and dirt. It was going to be a bitch to clean.
Just a little farther.
Almost there.
A girl I recognized from the eighth floor ran to open the door for me. I’d seen her a couple times with her daughter, and she seemed nice enough.
“What the hell? Are you all right?” I nodded and headed straight for the elevator. She slipped in next to me and punched the button for our floor. “Come to my place. I have a first aid kit.”
My chin started to quiver as what happened set in, but I pulled myself together. She slipped an arm around me, but it made me flinch. “You look like you might pass out. I’m just trying to keep you upright, okay?”
After a long walk to her door, she unlocked it and helped me in.
She sat me down on a chair and disappeared, leaving me alone in her child-littered living room. I removed a stuffed animal from under me and tossed it on the heap.
She returned holding a box. “I’m Heidy, and you’re…” She waited.
“Tess,” I whispered through my swollen lip. I winced at how much it hurt.
“I like that name.” She inspected my elbow then got to work cleaning the rocks out. “Wait.” She headed to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water and three large oval pills, two red and one white. “I know.” She caught my hesitation. “But you’ll have to trust me.”
I hurt so badly that I didn’t care. I tossed them back with the water. Ouch. The bottle killed my mouth. I whimpered but managed to get the pills down.
“That’s a nasty cut on your elbow. I’m going to clean it some more and coat it in polysporin then wrap a bandage over it. You really should see a doctor, but I assume since you came back here instead of to the ER that’s not something you’re going to do.”
I shook my head. Insurance wasn’t something I’ve had for a long time.
After my arm was bandaged and the pain meds started to kick in, I let the warmth take over and felt my eyelids become heavy.
“Your lip is swelling pretty bad. Hold this ice pack to your face. I’m going to lay you back on my couch. There’s a pillow waiting for you, and I’m going to cover you with this blanket.” She spoke calmly and moved carefully, which I appreciated since every time she touched me I jumped. I didn’t like it when my guard was down. Especially around strangers. I closed my eyes as she took over, holding the pack gently to my face.
Relax, Tess. She is only being friendly. Taking my own advice, I let go and gave in to sleep.
I wished Brick was here.
***
Sunlight burned through the blinds, which didn’t help my head. Inside my skull, a beating drum persisted. It was a rude awakening. My vision was clouded, but I could make out the pills in front of me on the table, and next to them was a fresh bottle of unopened water. The pills were different, smaller this time. I took them and slipped back to into a more settled sleep.
When I woke next, the sun’s rays were in a different spot in the living room. The toys were picked up and now were in a heap in the corner.
I moved to sit and felt how much my body hurt. A note was written on her daughter’s chalkboard.
Had to go to work. Please lock up and leave key on table. I have a spare.
I glanced at the clock and saw it was 4:45 p.m. Dammit! I cleared the board and scribbled a message back.
Thank you. I owe you one. Apt 10G–Tess
I locked up, left the key on the table, and rushed over to my place. I tried to hurry as I showered and changed then glanced in the mirror.
Shit!
I didn’t have time to cover up the bruising in the corner of my mouth. My lip was cracked and raw. I tried to conceal it the best I could with makeup, but the crack couldn’t be helped. I looked horrible and felt even worse. I wanted to call in sick, but I was already on Trigger’s radar. I changed into short black shorts and a red silk sleeveless shirt. It was too hot to wear a sweater. I unbuttoned the top three buttons and hoped people would stare at my cleavage and not my face or arm. My hands shook as I threaded the metal hoops through my earlobes. I slipped my black cuff over my scar and headed out. My hair would have to dry on the way.
Panic set in when I got outside. I’d have to walk by that place again. I quickly spotted a cab and flagged it down.
The cabbie glanced in the mirror and squinted sympathetically. “Where to?”
I prattled off the address and removed my sunglasses because they hurt my cheek.
“You sure?”
My anger and embarrassment got the better of me.
“Yes.”
Five minutes later, I was walking through the front door. I kept my head down so my hair gave me a temporary curtain. Morgan grunted at me as a greeting. His focus was on busily counting bills. Thankfully, the place was dead other than a drunk guy in the corner.
Only eight hours to go.
A guy started to fiddle with an electric guitar, making my head pound and my stomach turn. I thought I was going to be sick, so I turned to find the ice bucket and dry heaved. Morgan made a nasty sound but handed me a glass of water.
“You all right, Tiger?” His body loomed above me. I took a sip of the cold water.
“Ouch,” I hissed without thinking. “Yeah, just ate something bad.” I turned to carefully wipe my mouth on a paper towel. Fuck, I should have eaten something. Those painkillers burned a hole in my stomach. “Do you mind if I grab something from the kitchen?”
Morgan’s back was to me as he muttered, “Go on.”
I found a piece of bread and some peanut butter. Perfect. I was cleaning up when I heard a male’s voice in the bar calling out for someone named Cray.
I hurried out of the kitchen and made my way back behind the bar just as a woman took a seat and ordered a screwdriver. She looked vaguely familiar with her 1990s red nails, bleached blonde hair, and brown lipstick. It made me shudder.
“You’re new.” She snatched her drink from me. “Who the hell hired you?”
Friendly.
“Brick,” I mumbled and moved on to the new guy next to her.
Trigger came out of his office on the phone, and I noticed the girl sat a little straighter and thrust her boobs in the air. He reached over the counter for a pen and paper. I kept my curtain of hair between us while I cleaned out the sink.
“Are you single?” She clearly was scoping out her competition. I shook my head. I didn’t need to make any enemies. “So who hit your face?” Why couldn’t the woman shut the hell up?
Trigger stopped talking, and I closed my eyes and hoped he hadn’t heard her comment.
This was none of anyone’s business.
“I fell,” I whispered. Maybe she would get the hint that it was a closed topic.
Trigger moved into my line of vision with the phone still to his ear. He peered down at me, and his eyes flickered with something. His large hand reached out to cup the bottom of my chin.
“I gotta go,” he muttered into the phone. He didn’t wait for a response before he shoved it into his back pocket. I stepped back out of his grasp and poured him his usual whiskey. He set it aside as the female scooted closer.
“Trigger, take me to dinner,” she whined and ran her nasty red nails down his colorful arm. He immediately moved it away.
He ignored her and studied my face. “What the fuck happened?”
The girl laughed, which made my desire to hit her even stronger. “She fell,” she answered for me.
“Peggy, shut the fuck up,” he warned, but she didn’t seem to care.
So, she had a name. Then it hit me she was the pathetic nude from last night. I wondered if the
y had sex. A picture of her nails on his back popped into my head. Yuck.
“What happened, Tess?”
“I fell wearing those heels yesterday. It was rather embarrassing, and I’d prefer not to relive it, if it’s okay with you.” I forced a smile but squinted when my lip stung.
Peggy’s hand slid over and under his shirt. He reacted quickly and slammed her hand down on the bar top. She flinched and brought her hand to her lap. However, that quick glimpse of his stomach was enough for me to read the word Demons which ran along his lower belly in big, scrolling letters. What I’d seen didn’t surprise me; his body was perfect. I dropped my gaze when he caught me staring.
“Take the night off.”
“No, it doesn’t hurt that bad. I can work fine,” I lied. Of course, my face and head were killing me, but I was not about to go home.
“Morgan!” he yelled and made me jump. “Take over.” Than he came behind the bar, grabbed my bag, and hauled me out the door, leaving Peggy wide-eyed.
He tossed me a helmet while buckling his own. I stood, completely shocked with what was about to happen. Not to mention it was Trigger who owned the matte black bike with the golden swirls.
I looked back at the bar as I heard him start the bike, and he stared at me, waiting. I couldn’t lie. I was a little nervous to get on that beast of a thing, but the way Trigger looked on it had my hormones kicking into gear.
Of course, this turns me on. I nearly rolled my eyes at myself. I was hopeless.
“Now.” He said to me over his shoulder.
Okay.
I buckled my helmet, rested my hand on his huge shoulder, and swung my leg over the bike. Shifting to get into place, he pointed where to put my feet.
“Hold on,” he commanded.
I felt his muscles twitch as I gingerly placed my hands on his waist. Oh, fuck. Trigger between my legs and a vibrating bike were not a good combo for keeping my dirty thoughts at bay.
I hesitated to wrap my arms around him, so instead I dropped them down to rest on his hips.
