by Sophia Peony
Guards didn’t see them until it was too late.
Logan and his crew cleared the two-story house, room by room. Joel’s men were killed on sight. Customers were tied, all of them pulled from a woman they were fucking. Of the eight customers, seven were buck naked, and one didn’t bother taking off his shirt. All of the women were naked and cuffed to the bed, many looked drugged-up, probably to keep them quiet.
This job wasn’t to save them. He doesn’t have some hero complex. He does the job he wants and only the job he signed up for. He’s not here to save the women, he’s here to fuck with Joel’s business. Logan felt both disappointment and relief at not finding Makayla there.
“Tie them. Take the bodies out.” Logan didn’t see himself as judge and jury, but he felt like these men deserved to be humiliated and held accountable for having sex with women who were clearly there in a nonconsensual manner, especially since most of them looked too young. He hated this shit because when he saw it, he thought of it happening to his own sister. Many of the men complained and tried to fight, but his men were well trained and easily subdued them.
Logan picked up chairs, brought them out, and lined them in the front yard. These ugly fucks deserve everything they’re going to get, he thought.
Frank added chairs to the line Logan started. They placed a tied-up man on each chair and then double tied them to the chairs to keep them from escaping.
“That’s cold man,” Damon said with a whistle as he came back from piling the dead bodies in the backyard.
“Imagine if one of those girls was your sister.” The rest of his men understood how Logan felt and took the idea to heart.
“We should castrate them,” Frank volunteered.
“That’ll teach them,” Damon agreed.
The tied men, at hearing his men’s ideas, began to struggle and make sounds behind their duck-taped mouths.
“We’re not killing them,” Frank reminded the men.
“If you cut it and then cauterize it right away, they wouldn’t bleed to death.”
“Man, you are savage, Dez.” Damon shook his head. Daniel, nicknamed Dez, was known for getting really creative with his ideas and not in a good way.
“They’ll get the punishment they deserve once they’re found,” Logan announced before his men started bickering.
“What about the women?” Damon asked.
“Leave them as is; we don’t touch them. Let whoever finds these assholes see exactly what they deserve.”
Daylight would come in about an hour. Knowing they’d need to leave soon, he ordered his men to wrap it up. The bodies of Joel’s men were set on fire. They quickly made their way back to their cars. This should hit the news by tonight, if not earlier.
Fuck Joel Clarion.
Joel would flip his table if it wasn’t so fucking heavy. He couldn’t even describe the rage he felt. He wanted to trash his whole office. That sun of a bitch will pay. He knows this has to be Slade. He’d taken Slade’s money for the sake of well…having more money. A man can never have enough money. Especially in a business like his, money speaks more than action. But Slade had also been the only who’d come into his territory to challenge. “Checking the market”. That fucker. He’s also the only one Joel could think of with enough balls to mess with Joel Fucking Clarion. All the other little gangs know they’d get crushed if they tried.
“No one fucks with me.”
How the fuck would he have known about that whore house? With his hands, Joel could count the number of people who knew about it. Customers were driven to and from the location blindfolded. The four men in the house, Ray, himself, and Mitch, who worked as the seller. The house was meant for men who had certain tastes, some of them liked raping women, others simply wanted a woman they could fuck in any hole as much as they wanted. Some liked to beat their women while they’re fucking them, and some simply wanted to fuck a woman without any judgement. Joel didn’t care what the fuck they wanted to do as long as they paid.
The men who frequented the brothel came back because they wanted to be able to do anything to their women. Prostitutes had limits and came with risks Joel’s business didn’t. To begin with, the women were clean and not overly used; and there was less risk of getting caught by the police for picking up women.
His customers weren’t average Joes either. They were men with money or in power positions, who could finally let their dark side out. It was a lucrative business, and Logan Slade had fucked this up for him. That son of a bitch will die, and Joel wanted to kill Slade himself.
“What happened to the men you sent to sniff him out?”
“They disappeared.”
“What do you mean?!” Joel exploded.
“I mean, they haven’t gotten back to me. Either they haven’t found anything, or Slade found them.”
“They’re incompetent then.”
“They’re the same men we’ve always had, Joel. Give them time.”
“We don’t fucking have time! That son of a bitch is fucking with my money! How the fuck would he know to hit that? It’s not even close to here. He couldn’t have followed them because the men would know.”
“Could Mitch have pointed him there?” Ray asked.
“Not completely! Mitch knew the money and where it came from, not how. He has a spy! No fucking way could he have gotten it from Mitch.”
The exposure of the house heavily damages his reputation and was a big loss of income. He’d already lost two of his large incomes and he’s losing his mind. No one fucks with his money!
“Slade could have gotten what Mitch knew, and then got the rest from the men—”
“They know no one else knows about it but them, if anyone else mentioned it; they’re supposed to kill ’em.”
“How about Mia?” Ray asked.
That made Joel pause. “What about Mia?”
“Could she have given him the information?” Ray clarified.
“You think I’m some moron who’d tell her shit? She’s nothing. Just a woman to fuck!”
“I meant, could she have helped Slade?”
“Why the fuck would you think that?!”
“You fuck her, and then your business gets fucked.”
“And you think she’s got business with Slade? Why?” Joel demanded.
“She was the first one he made contact with.”
“She doesn’t know shit about my business,” Joel insisted.
“Could she have swiped your key after you fucked her?” Again, that gave him pause. No fucking way. His hand automatically went to the key that hung from his neck. He would have known if she touched it. No way she could have done it. She’d been a bitch that time too, like usual.
“No. It can’t be her. She’s just a pussy to fuck.” The thought of her pussy calmed him down though. He loved fucking her; she was always tight, and so fucking pretty. If she hadn’t opened her mouth, she’d be perfect.
“Why don’t I question her?” Ray suggested. Joel knew Ray wanted Mia, has for a very long time. Ray would love to get his hands on her, but Mia was Joel’s. She was a bitch, but she always spread her legs for him.
“Bring her here. Now.”
He wasn’t going to let Ray be alone with her. No, that pussy was his.
Ray shoved Mia into Joel’s office. Joel’s men had barely given her time to ask her neighbor to watch Paige before they forced her to go with them. When she saw the news, she knew it had to be Logan’s doing. A house filled with trafficked victims was discovered; the naked customers were tied to chairs outside. Several bodies were burned in the backyard. It was shocking, but Mia wasn’t surprised. That was normal in her world. What shocked people more was the customers were a Mayor of this sleepy little town and his bachelor party.
Deny, deny, deny, she told herself. No matter what Joel accuses her of, she had to deny knowledge.
“You know what this is?!” Joel demanded, holding up the key attached to the chain around his neck.
“An ugly ass necklac
e.” She said it with just the right amount of attitude. Can’t overdo it, or he’ll know. She didn’t lie, it was an ugly necklace, over the top and obnoxious.
Joel didn’t like that answer; he got up, rounded the desk, and was on her in seconds. She didn’t have enough time to prepare herself from the backhand to the face. The force of the hit nearly had her falling but she was able to catch herself on Ray, who didn’t get out of the way.
Ray reached for her to steady her, but she shrugged him off. She knew Ray wanted her. The way he looked at her always felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. He’d lick his lips when he’d catch her eyes and gave her the creeps, in general.
“Do you think this is a fucking joke?!” Joel went to hit her again, but she managed to move back and avoid his punch.
“What do you want, Joel? You’re asking me questions you want me to guess answers to, and then get mad when I don’t know what you want.” One of the reasons Joel didn’t like her was because she always made him feel illogical. She took great pleasure from it. She loved shoving his mistakes in his face.
Joel grabbed a handful of hair, bringing her face close to his. “You gave Slade the information, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lying to Joel was second nature.
“Don’t pretend. You know the house in the news is mine. You know!” He shoved her away from him. He was losing his shit, and despite the pain she felt on her face, Mia wanted to laugh.
“I don’t know anything about anyone or any houses. I’m busy with a kid, Joel. You’ve made it impossible for me to do anything without you knowing. I didn’t know anything about Slade until the time he came to the club.”
“If I find out you have anything to do with him, I’ll kill you. And I’ll kill that kid too!”
She knew better than to mouth off to Joel, but it did what she thought it would. It kept him angry enough to distract him and kept him from focusing on her answers to his questions about Logan. The cut on her lip didn’t bleed long, but it was now swollen and bruised. When she picked up Paige from their neighbor, Paige hadn’t asked questions. It hurt Mia to know her daughter accepted her injuries as normal. She knew Paige wanted to ask what happened, but figured out on her own who’d given her mother the injury. Even their neighbor didn’t ask. They knew Joel well enough, and it’s happened several times throughout the years.
The only thing Mia could do was smile at her daughter and pretend it didn’t bother her. Mia wanted to tell Paige it wasn’t right, that it wasn’t how women are supposed to be treated, and that Joel was a bad man, but she didn’t know what the future held for them. Joel could easily have Mia killed, and Paige would be left alone and confused by her father’s action. Part of her believed Joel would never let Paige getaway either, and as shitty as it was, Mia didn’t want Paige to be unprepared.
Mia didn’t fill Paige’s head with “one day” dreams.
“What did you tell him?” Logan’s question surprised her, causing her to jerk the cloth covered ice bag she was holding on her mouth. She’d just carefully washed her face and cleaned the wound after putting Paige to bed. She wasn’t surprised that he was there. She didn’t know how, but he managed to sneak in and out of her apartment whenever he wanted. It should have worried her, but it made her feel a little better knowing someone was out there looking out for her and Paige, or at least she fooled herself into believing it.
“Nothing.” It was the truth. She didn’t give Joel anything he didn’t already know.
Logan entered the bathroom, stepping behind her. They look at each other in the mirror as his hands gently run over her ribs, sliding down to her hips. The stark difference between Joel and Logan was in their touch. Joel was always rough, always manhandled her, while Logan felt like he was worshipping her body. She sighed, leaned back against his body as his hand moved down to cup her through her panties. She was already in her regular night ware, and after what they’d done, she wasn’t shy.
A low moan escaped from her as his fingers slipped inside her panties, quickly working her up. His fingers in her core, his lips on her neck, and his body hard and warm against hers had her aroused and wanting him in seconds. She barely noticed him sliding her panties down, letting them drop to the ground, as she slowly ground her ass against the hard cock she felt through his jeans. Within minutes of him arriving, she was leaning forward, bracing herself on the counter, spreading her legs to give him access to where she wanted him most.
He slid in her, never rushing despite how fast they managed to get from talking to fucking.
He had her on the edge of orgasm in moments, her legs shaking as he pounded in her from behind. Pain from her busted lip forgotten, she moaned as she met him thrust per thrust. It was a frenzied love making – and it was love making because she couldn’t imagine it as being anything else. Her release came just before his—a wave of shocks hitting every nerve in her body. White spots behind her eyes made her think that she might have fainted for a moment.
Logan braced himself over her with a hand on the mirror as they came down from their heart-stopping orgasm. With their breathing heavy, they stayed connected as they recovered. He caressed her hair, the soft black locks were so enticing to him. She was barely holding herself up as she tried to catch her breath.
He liked savoring her. The more he gets to know her, the harder it was for him to stay away, to keep from touching her, to stop himself from feeling her, tasting her, and loving her. She was an entity to herself. Stuck in a nightmare that could waste away anyone, but she stayed strong. He knew she didn’t believe it, wouldn’t see it that way, but she had her own will and kept it regardless of how many times people tried to beat it out of her.
The afterglow of the sex hung on them. The taut muscles he’d seen when he arrived were now relaxed. He couldn’t stay long; the longer he was there, the more dangerous it was for her, but he wasn’t ready for it to end yet.
He gently slipped out of her, treating her with care because he knew she’d spent her life being roughly handled. He didn’t bother tucking himself back into his pants, he was still hard and wanting more. He helped her pull her tank top off and then carried her to bed. He stripped out of his own clothes and then joined her, where she waited for him with open arms. Another round, and then he’ll talk to her about tonight and what to expect.
Cuddling with a man was very different than cuddling her daughter. The silly feeling of being the little spoon rather than the big spoon she’d been to her daughter had Mia shaking her head amusedly as she watched Logan get dressed. The man was beautiful; pure masculine power emitted from him. He didn’t even try… it was just him. She could easily get addicted to him.
Logan saw the look in her eyes as she watched him. He understood that look and regretted that he’d put it there. He wasn’t going to make promises he couldn’t keep.
“What would you do with your freedom?” he asked her to remind her of why they were doing all of this.
“I’d take my daughter away from all of it.”
“Where would you go?”
“Somewhere quiet, maybe near a beach. Paige would love that.”
“I’m staying here. I’m going to destroy Joel, and then I’m going to destroy anyone else that follows him.” The look she gave him told him she understood what he meant. They weren’t a couple; they weren’t going to be together once Joel was gone. He didn’t want her to see him as anything but a man who enjoyed sex with her and used her for her connection to his target.
“Have you ever thought about leaving too? Don’t you get tired of it all? The violence, the danger, death?” she asked as she pulled the bed sheet up to cover her body. She started protecting herself from him by physically adding a barrier between them. “What about your sister?”
“There’s no room for her in this life. I want her to stay away. I want you to get away too, Mia. You and your daughter need to get away from this life. There will always be another Joel. Don’t think I’m any
better than him. We’re the same; we want the same shit. We just go about it differently. I’m a bigger, badder, mother fucker than he is.”
“Yeah, you are.” Though she said it with a smirk, he could see the disappointment she tried to hide.
“Well, if it helps, you’re the best mother I’ve fucked” He started to go to her, to kiss her goodbye before he slipped out of her daughter’s room’s window but stopped when he realized what he was doing. Knowing he’d make her leave him, he couldn’t be sweet and promising. He couldn’t have her fall in love with him when he knows her daughter needed a better life than they all had.
“It’s about to get worst. It’s time for you to leave.”
“I have a feeling Joel would report me to the police for parental kidnapping if we disappear now. I don’t want to start our new life on the run. That’s just as bad as what we have now, except running would take away any stability Paige has. At least here, we know what we’re dealing with.”
Logan walked through the short hallway and into the den that had been converted into a small bedroom for Mia’s kid. She made things work. It didn’t matter what she had or didn’t have, she got shit done. He’d broken into enough shit when he was young, running errands for his father, to know how to get in and out of a house undetected. He’d easily figured out how to unlock the window lock from the outside without much trouble when he’d been snooping around Mia. It always amused him that for such a small person, Mia’s daughter had a pretty loud snore. He wished he could get sleep like that.
She normally slept through his breaking and entering, and he was halfway out the window when he realized she wasn’t snoring. He glanced over at the bed to check on her and found her staring at him. The moon light was shining right at her face, curious little eyes were watching him. When he thought she’d freak out, she smiled softly with a small wave, and then burrowed back into her sheets to go back to sleep. Had she always known he’d been coming around? An odd response from a kid not to get scared about a stranger going in and out of her window.
