One of the other girls answered, “I saw her get in a van about an hour ago, but she hasn't come back. Maybe she had a john that was an overnighter or something.”
“Thank you.” The sincerity in her demeanor even won a smile from the woman who at first had been threatened. When she looked up, Jericho had pulled up and was staring at her with a look that mirrored the possessiveness he had towards her.
“Damn, girl. That is one fine ass man you got.”
She turned around, smiling as she walked away. “Yeah, he is.” The same possessiveness she’d just seen in his eyes was evident in her voice right now. She felt a swell of pride in her chest that he belonged to her, as much as she belonged to him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was weak from the drugs in her system. He was scaring her, making the little cuts on her chest and then licking the blood off like some modern-day Dracula.
“You’re going to tell on me. I can’t have that. I’m a very important man, and my reputation means everything.” The doctor’s self-inflated ego was the least of her worries right now. “It’s a matter of you being in the wrong place at the right time.” He chuckled at his twist on words.
“I’m not going to say anything. The guy was a prick. He got what he deserved.” She’d say anything to convince him to let her go. This was the first time she’d been held captive by a john. Sure, she’d had close calls with guys not wanting to pay her. One guy had even tried to piss on her, but never anything like this.
“How about we have some fun and then we’ll talk about letting you go.”
She shook her head up and down with a new gleam of hope in her eyes. If fucking this guy for free would save her life, then she’d do it. She might even have time to make some money and get home to her pimp at a decent hour.
His fingers groped at the inside of her legs, pushing roughly in and out of her like she was a piece of meat. She was horrified when her body responded by getting wet.
“You’re a whore. You like this. Being tied up and at my mercy. Knowing you’re going to get fucked, and there’s nothing you can do about it but take my cock like the greedy little slut you are.”
He bent down, spreading her legs and putting them over his shoulders, lapping at her opening like some starving rabid animal. Her legs shook as her body convulsed, climaxing. The invasion and the onslaught of what he was doing to her turned her on. What the fuck was wrong with her? He subjected her to orgasms over and over and over . It was his way of blaming her and making her feel the shame of what he was going to do to her.
Jericho pushed Angel into the house and half dragged her down the steps. He ripped her clothes from her body like a man possessed.
“Tonight, your ass gets chained up.” He hooked her arms over her head, chaining her cuffed hands to a crude meat hook in a wooden rafter. He roughly fisted her hair, pulling her head over to his lips. His voice was a feral, threatening growl. “Tonight, I’m going to fuck you like I hate you. You’re my toy, my possession. You’ll never be the same after this.”
The swish of his belt going through the loops on his jeans sent a jolt of fear and excitement through her that she’d never experienced.
“You gave me thirty days to use you—to do anything I want. You’re going to forget all the pain of the past because the pain of tonight will be seared in your being throughout eternity.”
“I want everything you’ve got to give,” she gritted through clenched teeth and tightened lips. She knew he’d held back up until now because he didn’t want to scare her away. “You’ve been holding back,” she whispered huskily.
“Oh, you have no fucking idea.”
He forced her head back, pushing two fingers into her wet opening and pulling them back in his direction. He was touching someplace inside of her that had never been touched. Her mouth fell open and animalistic growls came from somewhere deep in her throat.
He bent down in front of her and draped her legs over his shoulder, spreading her open like a delicacy. He lapped at her clit, looking up at her through hooded eyes. Her body rocked and bucked as he subjected her to pleasure that was so intense it was painful. Over and over he made her climax until she was so sensitive she was begging him to stop.
He stood taunting her with wicked whispers in her ear. “You want to feel the sting of my belt?” Her head hung to the side as he circled her. The first sting landed on virgin skin that had never felt the pain of leather penetrating it. A warmth spread through her lower belly, and a flutter like an awakening to a new way of life washed over her. She braced herself for the next strike, and something inside her like a dam broke loose.
“Oh yeah, that’s it, baby. It’s time to wake up the beast in you.” Three more strikes had her begging him to fuck her. She needed to feel his cock invade her—she needed to be taken.
He lowered her from her chains and tossed her over his shoulder, lowering her down to the crude concrete flooring on all fours. There was nothing gentle about the way he grabbed her hips, biting into the tender flesh with his large hands. He pounded into her wet, throbbing opening. The concrete bit into her knees, giving the sensation of pain and pleasure that was mixed into a concoction she would crave over and over after this night.
“Yes, girl. You are built for this. You’ll never be the same after tonight. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful for our child to be conceived tonight? I love you. I so fucking love you.”
“Oh baby, I love you too,” she cried out, climaxing again as he filled her with his seed. He rested his head against her back. When he felt his breathing return to normal, he gently picked her up, carrying her up the stairs. He ran a warm bath with salts and vanilla-violent scents that would relax her aching muscles and help to heal the bruises that would remind her of him tomorrow.
His fingers cupped the water, washing it over her as he spoke soothing words of reassurance. “You did so good, baby girl. I was worried about showing you my true nature, but the way your body responded tells me all I need to know.”
“It was like something in me broke free, Jericho. I felt like I could fly—like I was on wings soaring through the atmosphere, breaking every boundary that’s ever held me back.”
“We took things to a new level tonight. I revealed a part of me I keep hidden from the world. I entrusted you with something no one else gets to see.”
“What we shared, it’s sacred Jericho. You can trust me.”
“You can trust me too, baby girl.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Waking up the next day was like waking up to a new day. Something in her had changed. Jericho had done all he promised to do and more. Now she understood the things he had said to her when he first brought her there. He’d been trying to tell her that the bonding with him was what was going to get her past all the anguish she’d suffered. What he had done had gone deeper than she ever could have imagined. Now, normal sex, or even sex with another man, would never satisfy her.
She looked over at him to see him staring at her like he was studying her.
“You don’t have to worry. You didn’t drive me away. You pulled me closer. I’ve never experienced anything like that with anyone. I’ve read books, but nothing could have prepared me for this kind of connection.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief. He’d held back in an effort to make certain she was prepared for his intense sexual appetites. She’d taken to his traits of domination much better than what he expected. “I’d like to take the time to make tender, sweet love to you after last night, but we’ve got a killer to catch.
“How are we going to find him?”
“Seriously!? You’re asking an FBI agent that question?”
“Okay, point taken. Let’s get through the shower and use those awesome investigative skills of yours. I can’t wait to see you in action.” She winked at him, waggling her eyebrows in a playful manner.
“You’ll see how good they are if you ever try to run away from me.”
; “You make it sound like I’m a common criminal.”
“Not at all. You’re a captive—my captive.”
He smiled, taking her hand and leading her to the shower. He needed to see the effects of the night before. He started the shower and helped her in, taking the time to look at each bruise and scrape. He lathered up a washcloth and gently washed her like she was some precious porcelain doll that had to be handled with care.
“It’s weird how physical pain could deliver me from the emotional pain.”
“Have you ever seen the movie Secretary?”
“No.”
“I think it explains it well. She was a cutter, and when she got into the BDSM lifestyle, it gave her the release she needed and she stopped. They had a normal suburban lifestyle, but behind closed doors they were kinky as fuck.”
He finished bathing her and quickly bathed himself so he could get on the computer and find out where the doctor had taken Sarah before it was too late.
Being in the FBI definitely had its perks, and being able to find people who didn’t want to be found was one of them.
“Looks like our boy has another residence.”
“How’d you know to look for that?”
“A lot of doctors get places close to work for late nights when they’re too tired to drive home. I just took a chance and did a real estate search and came up with it. I’d be willing to bet she’s there.”
“If he hasn’t already killed her.”
“Let’s try to think positive. I’d like to think if anybody’s going to die, it will be that asshole.”
“Well, don’t kill him if you don’t have to. I don’t want you getting into trouble.”
“Nice to know you care.”
“Well, I think being faced with the possibility of losing you makes it more real. Honestly, it would be weird without you now. I’ve gotten used to you being around.”
“Good, because you damn sure aren’t going anywhere and neither am I.”
“So you’ve said. I think I’m beginning to believe you now.”
“You should.” A chilling laugh followed his statement as if he knew something she didn’t. It made her wonder if he did. His voice cut back into her thoughts. “I’d like to wait until it’s dark to rescue her, but I’m not certain we have the time. What do you think?”
She was shocked he was asking her opinion. Wasn’t it his job to figure out the best time to rescue a kidnap victim? It could only mean one thing: he respected her opinion. She was glad. It was important to her that any man she was in a relationship with respected her. She had no desire to be with a man who didn’t view her as an equal. She was just as adept at the one common denominator in both their careers: understanding the human psyche.
“Well, what if we drive to the apartment and get a read on the place?”
“Spoken like a true agent—a stakeout. I like the way you think.”
“I’m just glad you even care. So many men minimize the abilities of women.”
“I’m all for girl power. You females see things we men don’t see. We’re all about facts. You guys can read between the lines.”
They made their way to the van that would work out well if it turned out they would have to surveil.
“I hope she’s alive, Jericho.”
“I’m thinking the fact that she’s a woman will maybe get him to keep her alive for a while so he can play with her.”
Angel had no idea how to respond to that, so she looked out the window. It was a pretty day, not the kind of day that you would imagine a woman would be killed. The sun came in the van’s tinted window at a perfect angle to cast light on her face that made her cheek feel warm. It was a perfect contrast to what they were facing. The possibility of death was something she was accustomed to, having to face death in a surgical room. But nothing could prepare her for death coming in the form of a man who had promised to do no harm—a man she had worked side by side with. What a fucking liar he was. Part of her hoped he would die today so the nightmare would end. How could she ever go back to work with a monster if he got away again?
“He’s not going to get away, Angel. I won’t let him.”
“So, you will kill him today.” It wasn’t a question but more of a statement. If he did kill him, and it wasn’t a good kill, she’d stand by him. Because if anybody understood the need for a killer to be off the streets, she did. She’d walked through this with Jericho and she knew his heart. That was all that mattered. Fuck the rules.
“I don’t see any other way but to take out the trash.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Her arms hurt so badly. Why were they so heavy? She struggled to open her eyes. Her thoughts were muddled like they weren’t connecting to make sense of what was happening. She forced herself to think—to remember. She’d gotten into a car, and then everything went blank. Clearly, she had been drugged, but with what? And by whom?”
She took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was in a bedroom that had been transformed into what appeared to be a cell. Fear shot through her system like ice water in her veins. Anyone sick enough to make up a room like this had to be a sick son of a bitch.
If she didn’t die, her pimp was going to kill her. It came flooding back after that memory. She’d gotten into a van with a john. Something about his voice had been familiar. The loud bang of a shot being fired reverberated in her head, and she knew she had gotten into the vehicle of a killer.
“Hello? Hello? Is anybody out there?”
Nothing. Silence so loud that she wished she could cover her ears bounced off the stark white walls. Maybe he was gone. What if he got in a wreck and nobody knew she was there? In a second, she went from hoping he wasn’t there to needing her captor.
The torment of being there was the not knowing. He’d killed a man in front of her with no hesitation, yet he’d let her live through the night. Maybe she could convince him she wouldn’t say anything and he’d let her go. Her mind vacillated back and forth like some pinball machine... until the breaking of glass cut through the confusion of her thoughts and gave way to the fear of wondering why he would be breaking things. She waited, each second feeling like hours. The heavy footsteps coming down the hallway sounded like thunderclaps magnified in her ears. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like she would have a panic attack before the door creaked open—until it did.
Angel was horrified to see the girl hanging on the chain nude. Dried blood on her chest had trickled down, turning into a crusty eyewitness of the hell he had subjected the poor girl to the night before.
She took off the sweater she was wearing over her tee shirt and did her best to cover the girl. She was certain the way he’d undressed her had been to humiliate her. It wasn’t enough to torture her. This bastard had to embarrass her too.
She watched Jericho take a universal handcuff key and free the girl.
“You take her and I’ll walk in front to make sure the coast is clear. He won’t stay gone long.”
She wrapped her arm around the girl, grateful for the sweater being long enough to cover the girl’s battered body, much like an oversized shirt would.
The sound of gunfire gripped her heart as Jericho made his way around a corner first. She hadn’t expected the killer to come back so soon. She prayed inwardly that it wasn’t Jericho who got shot. It would mean the death of a dream, and she honestly didn’t think she could deal with another heartbreak this soon.
Relief flooded over her when she heard his voice calling to them from around the corner.
Sarah didn’t look horrified by the dead man crumbled on the floor. With his eyes gazing off somewhere into the unknown, he looked almost ghostly in nature, some phantom of evil who had journeyed back to the bowels of hell where he belonged.
The nightmare was over. They could go back to their normal lives, but this time they would have each other to make the journey into the unknown. A life full of promise and dreams. A life she’d believed she’d never have until Jericho…
<
br /> Epilogue
Angel couldn’t see her feet from where she was in the bed—her stomach prevented it. She could see Jericho’s head as he held his ear against her belly and rubbed over her stomach.
“I can feel his foot right here.”
“Stop. You’re tickling me. Are you glad it’s a boy?”
“I’m ecstatic it’s a boy, but I still want a girl too.”
“Hey… I’m the one who has to carry these babies you know?”
“Yeah, I get the fun part, puttin’ ‘em in there.”
“You’re so romantic, Jericho.”
“Well, what do expect from a guy who looks like a biker?”
“What I expect is for you to be with me through all of this.”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
“I’m looking forward to it—our life together. It means a lot, second chances. Jericho”—she looked over at him intently— “thank you.”
“Thank you. You gave me meaning. Before you there was nothing but bad news, killers, and the streets. Now I’ve got substance, something real. I love you, Angel.”
“I love you too, babe.”
They would welcome their son into the world later on that night. They’d given each other exactly what the other needed, and now they could go on and make their dreams come true—together.
The End… for now.
Look for Suzanne Steele’s other books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Steele/e/B00C9L6YRQ
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