by B. B. Hamel
“It’s okay,” he says, a smile on his face.
“What?”
“It’s okay,” he says again.
“You’re not… mad?”
“Why would I be mad?” He pulls me against him, hugging me tight.
“I risked Max,” I whisper.
He laughs. “No, you didn’t. You just risked making things harder for yourself. If your parents kicked you out, you would have figured it out, found a way to survive. How can I be angry at you for saving my life?”
“I’ll never hold anything back again,” I say, relief flooding over me. “I promise.”
“Good,” he says. “I won’t either.”
“I won’t ever do anything that could hurt Max either.” I hug him tightly.
“I know that. It’s okay.”
He holds me like that until slowly the tears stop. I must look like a total idiot, but when I’m done crying, I feel so much better. A weight’s been lifted off my chest, and I feel free again, like I can finally breathe.
He smiles and wipes my tears away. “I should have guessed it was you,” he says softly. “I don’t know anyone else who could have done it.”
“It was hard,” I say, which makes him laugh.
“I bet it was,” he says. “That’s probably an understatement.”
“There were so many near-misses. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I would get caught.”
“But you don’t give up.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
“Thank you.” He kisses me softly on the lips.
“I won’t give up on you,” I say. “I can help you.”
“I know you can.” He kisses me again. “I trust you, Avery. I think you’re the only person I’ve ever trusted.”
He kisses me again, this time with more passion behind it. I push against him, feeling his strong body, and his hands slowly move down to my hips.
I feeling his tongue in my mouth, his taste on my lips, and I let him lift my shirt up over my head. I kiss him hard and full as his hands tease my breasts, sliding my bra off.
Pleasure rolls down my spine as his lips linger on my chest and neck. I pull his shirt off and bask in the muscles along his stomach and chest, running my fingers down his ripped abs. I fumble at his belt, pulling it off, before sliding my hand down the front of his jeans.
He grunts as I find his thick cock. I pull his pants down and drop to my knees in front of him, taking his boxers off, and licking his cock base to tip.
“You’re so goddamn sexy,” he groans. “I’m going to take care of you.”
I take him into my mouth, my throat, sucking his cock fast and hard. He groans louder, his hands in my hair, pushing me down deeper. I love the feeling of him in my mouth, the sounds of him groaning. I lose myself in it, sucking his cock fast and hard, letting him push me down along his shaft.
He suddenly pulls me roughly to my feet and lifts me into the air. I gasp as he kisses me, stumbling over toward the table. He puts me back down on it, unbuttoning my jeans and sliding them down over my ass. He gets my panties off and spreads my legs wide, fingers teasing my pussy.
“You deserve everything,” he says softly in my ear. “And I’m going to give it to you, everything and more.”
He presses his fingers inside of me, making me groan. I dig my fingers into his back as he fucks my pussy deeper with his fingers, kissing my lips, teasing me, making me feel good.
He pulls back and drops to his knees. He teases my clit and pussy with his tongue and lips, sucking and lapping me up. I gasp and push his mouth tighter against my pussy, feeling the thrill run through my body as pleasure explodes along my skin in tingles.
He’s so fucking good at this, and five years hasn’t changed a thing. I forgot what he can make me feel. I pull him tighter, letting his tongue do its work, sliding into my pussy and sucking at my clit, making me moan in long and deep gasping pants.
He pulls back and stands. He hooks his arms over my legs and pushes me flat back onto the table. I prop myself up on one arm and watch as he teases my pussy with his cock.
“Everything about this tight cunt drives me wild,” he says. “I need to fuck you everywhere, touch every part of your skin. I’ve been away from you for way too long.”
He plunges himself deep inside of me, and I gasp. He slides deep, ripping me apart, filling me up. I reach down and grip the edge of the table as he starts to fuck me, deep and hard thrusts.
He teases my breasts as he rocks into me harder. I put my legs straight up onto his shoulders, staring at his delicious hard abs as he rocks into my tight pussy, splitting me and owning me. It feels so good I can barely stand it as he grinds himself deeper and deeper, filling every inch of my pussy, making me feel completely and utterly taken.
He leans forward and slaps my exposed ass hard as he thrusts into me. I groan and he slides back, pulling me off the table.
He gets me to my feet and shifts me over to the kitchen island. I put my hands on the counter as he bends me over.
“Look at this ass,” he groans, spanking me hard, pulling my hair, “Look at this dripping fucking pussy. I love the way you taste.” He bends over and sucks and licks my pussy, getting his tongue all over me.
He pulls back and slides his cock inside of me again. I arch my back and move my ass along his shaft, sliding my soaking pussy up and down his length. He pulls my hair tighter and slaps my ass harder, leaving a handprint on my cheek.
I look over my shoulder at him and his eyes are filled with lust as he starts to fuck me rough again. “I have to feel my cum inside this pussy,” he says. “I need it so badly I can barely breathe.” He kisses me as he thrusts deep inside.
He fucks me harder then, rocking his cock into me. I move my ass and arch my back, working with him, both of us sweating and losing ourselves. I have no mind anymore, I have no problems, I’m just in this moment so completely. The only thing I can think about is pleasure, his cock slamming into me, making me feel good.
I gasp and groan as he reaches around my hips and works my clit. It’s almost too much, too intense. He rocks into me harder, fucking me faster, deeper. I’m moaning loudly, not caring about anything else. Each thrust makes the pleasure grow, closer and closer, building in my core.
I come hard on his cock. He pulls my hair tight, slamming his cock deep inside of me, grinding it in, making me scream. His strong hands hold my hips as he gets me off, but he’s not through with me, not yet.
I move my hips along his shaft as he keeps going. Pleasure explodes all around me, blinking lights of bliss, and I need it. I want him to come inside of me again. I’ve missed it so badly.
“Fuck,” he groans, and I feel him finish deep in my pussy, thick ropes of cum. I work my ass, making him feel good.
We collapse onto the floor together, his arms around my body. We’re naked, sweating, panting, and it feels so goddamn good. All of my worries and stresses are gone. He knows the truth and he’s not mad at me. My worst nightmare didn’t come true.
I have this moment, and that’s what I’ve been wanting. Luke is strong for me, so strong I can only begin to imagine it. He’s been through so much, and yet he’s back, here to step up for me and Max, and ready to take back his life. I can’t help but fall for a man like that all over again.
19
Luke
Avery watches me quietly for a second before sighing and giving me her phone. “That’s the address.”
I copy down what’s on her screen into my own phone’s GPS and hit start. “It’s only ten minutes from here,” I say, mystified. “And you’ve known about it?”
“I told you, I hired Slick,” she says. “He sent me everything.”
“Why didn’t you show me this before?”
“Because I didn’t want you doing something stupid. You know, like this.”
I grin at her. “Well, too late, I guess. We’re going through with it.”
She sighs. “I know.”
I start the
car and pull out. It’s been a week since she told me that she was the one who hired the PI that freed me. I haven’t seen much of her, since I’ve been busy at the garage and her parents have been down her throat, but fortunately they’re away for the day. We hired a babysitter for Max and got in the car as soon as we could.
Of course, I didn’t tell her what I really wanted to do. I’ve been badgering her all week about her investigations, and she let slip a few days ago that she knows where the barn is. I didn’t say anything at the time, I waited until the right moment, and now we’re heading out there ourselves.
I can tell she doesn’t want to be doing this, but I can’t just walk away. I have to see this place for myself.
“Slick already went through it all,” Avery says. “There’s nothing in there. We can just turn around and go home.”
“We can’t do that,” I say. “If you’re worried, stay in the car.”
“I’m not the one I’m worried about,” she says.
“You don’t have to stress. We’re just going to go take a look around. We won’t stay if it looks bad.”
“This coming from the guy that got chased off the Walker property last week.”
I grin at her. “That was necessary.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Anyway, this is important. You know I can’t just let it go.”
She sighs and puts her hand over mine. “I know you can’t. That’s why I’m coming with you. I figure you’ll do this eventually with or without me.”
“Glad you’re coming around.” I grin at her and squeeze her hand.
We head a little ways out of town, down some back roads. It takes a little while before I finally find the little dirt path that leads back toward the property. I pull the car over and we get out.
“This way,” I say, heading onto the path. Avery follows quickly behind me.
“How do you know this is right?”
“This is the address Slick gave you, so it has to be.”
The path is slightly overgrown. It doesn’t look like anyone’s used it in a while, which is good. The forest is slowly encroaching on the road back here, and I can’t imagine why someone would build a shed in these woods.
The path winds its way for a few minutes before coming into a small clearing. We stop at the tree line, keeping behind the bushes, crouched down.
The clearing has two structures. The first one looks like it was a cabin at some point, though it’s almost entirely burned down. The other building is an old shed, more like a barn. It’s almost as big as the house was. I can see some scorch marks from where the original fire tried to get at the shed, but other than that, it looks like it’s in remarkable shape.
“What was this?” Avery asks me.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s supposed to belong to the Walkers, right?”
“Someone must have lived here.”
“Not anymore. That place is completely toast.”
“Wonder when it happened?”
“Who knows? Slick didn’t mention a house.”
“No, he didn’t.”
We sit there in silence for ten minutes, just watching the property. There are no cars and nothing moves at all. I can tell that the grass hasn’t been cut for a couple months at least, but it has been cut or else this whole place would be overrun. That means someone does take care of this building, but I can’t see why.
Eventually, I get impatient. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s go look.”
“Wait,” Avery says, but I stride out into the clearing. “Damnit,” I hear her say before she catches up with me.
We walk fast out to the shed. The front door is slightly open and loose, like it’s barely hanging on the hinges.
“Check out around back,” I say to her. “I’m going inside.”
“Fine, just don’t stay in there too long.”
“Yell if you see anything.”
I kiss her quickly before pulling the door open and stepping inside.
There are a few windows along the outside walls of the place, giving the shed a dim, eerie light. As soon as I step inside, I can see why Slick called it a “shed” and not a barn. There’s an old tractor, an old lawn mower, other gardening and lawn care equipment. It’s all cobwebbed and rusting, but clearly someone used to use this as storage for their tools. There’s a workbench along one wall covered in junk, and racks and boxes pressed up against the walls.
More junk is littered on the floor. I spot old paint cans, oil cans, spray paint, garden hoses, some rope, more old rusting tools. I step carefully, trying not to crush anything or make too much noise. I spot a stack of old newspapers, yellowed and mildewed. I nearly step on a rake as I make my way toward the back wall.
The place is packed as I move deeper in. More junk in piles: wooden clothes rack, a broken washing machine, a jar full of pennies. I don’t even know what some of this crap is, but I do spot something interesting on a rack nearby.
It’s an old laptop. I pull it down and open the lid. It looks like one of those old Thinkpad things most workplaces use. I try to power it on, but it doesn’t do anything. I put it back on the rack, along with old Ethernet cables and other random wires.
There’s nothing here. It’s a fucking miracle Slick found that hard drive. I remember he mentioned a trunk of some sort, so I head closer to the back, eyes peeled.
I spot plenty of boxes full of crap, old baby toys, one of those battery-powered Barbie cars, but nothing useful. I don’t even see any names on anything, not even in any of the moldy books I pick up and leaf through.
Finally I reach the back. It’s the darkest here, and I can just barely make out what I’m doing. I take out my phone and turn on the flashlight, and instantly I spot a trunk shoved up against the back wall.
I head over and go to open it, but there’s a padlock on the front. I pause, surprised at that. Nothing else in here is locked up, and the padlock looks surprisingly new. Everything in this place is rusted, moldy, and rotting, except for this lock.
Someone put that there. I yank at the lock but it’s set in solid. I could probably break the trunk open, but that’s a bad idea. I don’t know what’s in it, and who knows if they’re watching this place or not.
As I go to turn away, I hear something. It’s just a low noise, but then I hear it again. I head over toward one of the window, and the noise comes in clearer.
It’s the muffled sound of voices.
“—leave,” she says, and it takes me a second to realize that it’s Avery.
“Too late for that now,” the response comes.
It’s a man’s voice. My heart starts racing as I move toward the entrance as fast as I can without making too much noise.
I don’t know if they realize I’m in here. As I get toward the door, I grab a baseball bat that’s lying on one of the benches. It’s old and wooden but feels solid as I slowly slide out of the slightly ajar door.
I don’t see anyone. I move around to the right of the shed and I hear the voices again, this time more clearly.
“—blame him?” Avery says. “We’re just trying to find out what happened.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” the man’s voice says. “This is private property.”
“Who used to live here?” she asks. “Was it you, Franklin?”
My heart starts racing even faster. That’s fucking Franklin Walker.
“Don’t worry about that,” Franklin says. “It’s not your business.”
“Fine, okay. I can just go.”
“I don’t think so.”
I peer around the corner, and Franklin’s coming toward her.
“No!” Avery shouts, as loud as she can, and I know that’s my cue.
I run around the corner at Franklin. He doesn’t know what hits him as I swing the bat, connecting with his right knee. It buckles and he screams out in pain as he topples over.
“Fuck!” he screams. “What the fuck!”
“Come on,” I say to Avery.
; She runs over toward me. As we race back toward the car, something slams into me as we reach the end of shed.
“Shit,” I grunt as I hit the ground hard. The bat falls from my hands.
“Luke!” Avery screams.
I feel fists slam down into me and I react instinctively. I rage and roar, tossing the body off me, rolling over to the side. He keeps jabbing at me and I hit back, slamming my elbow into his nose. I feel the warm spurt of blood hit my clothes.
“Mother fucker,” he grunts and I get a look at his face: Julian Walker.
He headbutts me in the eye and I knee him in the gut, pushing him away. I scramble to my feet and he comes at me a second later, but I’m ready for him. I twist aside and punch him in the ribs and stomach before shoving him to the ground.
“Run!” I shout at Avery. I grab her hand and we’re off, sprinting into the trees and away from the shed.
I hear the Walker boys yelling, but they’re not gaining. We break through the trees as fast as we can, finally coming out toward the road. There’s another car parked behind ours as we jump inside.
I start the engine and slam backwards, crunching my car into theirs. I then pull forward and onto the road, speeding off.
“What the hell just happened?” Avery says, breathless.
“I think they fucking followed us.”
“How? Why?”
“They must know.”
She shakes her head, totally bewildered. “How could they?”
“Where’s your brother?”
She turns pale. “I thought he was out.”
“He must be keeping tabs on you somehow. They followed us and wanted to stop us from poking around.”
“Shit,” she says softly.
“What was Franklin saying to you?”
“Nothing.” she answers. “He was angry, said I shouldn’t be there, it was a mistake to be there. He looked pretty distraught, like he didn’t want to be doing it. When he started coming toward me, though…” She trails off, eyes wide.
