by Zoey Oliver
Pierce pulls back and looks deep into my eyes again, searching my face for confirmation. “Really? I don’t want to…”
I nod and kiss him.
“I love you, Pierce. You could never hurt me.”
I close my eyes tight, taking a long breath as Pierce trails kisses across my collarbone and throat. Then he plants his hands on either side of my body, bracing himself against the wall.
All at once, he thrusts back inside of me, burying himself as deep as he’s physically able. All of the air blows out of my lungs in a hoarse puff, exploding from my mouth in an unexpected rush. Fuck. He pulls back and thrusts again, increasing his speed as he uses the wall for leverage, driving his hips until he wedges me against the brick with every stroke. Over and over, I slam against the wall, scraping against the rough brick and feeling my skin start to react, but I don’t even care. I just wrap my legs tighter around Pierce’s waist, securing my feet together for control.
With each blow of his body against my own, my breath escapes in a gasp and a blinding orgasm is building inside of me. I want to come while I’m riding him, so I tighten my muscles around his cock like a vise as he comes inside of me. But just as I slide harder into him, forcing my hips into his, he pulls away from me. His cock slides free of me, leaving me feeling empty again, and wetness slides down my thighs.
“Pierce, what are you…”
He suddenly grabs me by the waist and spins me around, so I’m facing the brick wall. He pulls my ass back toward him and slides my legs out wider, then positions himself right behind me. I can feel the rippling muscles of his chest and abdomen against my back, his still-thick cock against my backside. Oh, God! He slams himself inside of me in one powerful thrust, and my face pushes against the wall. My nipples rub against the brick, and the sensation makes me crazy. I find myself begging him for more, for everything, for anything he will give me.
With one skilled hand, Pierce finds my clit again, and begins squeezing and stroking as he buries himself so far inside of me I can’t get a breath. He pinches my clit between his strong fingers and I come again, practically weeping, unable to control anything that is coming out of my mouth. As my muscles tighten around him, he moans in my ear, and comes inside of me over and over again.
I sink down to the ground of the alley. I just grab for my dress, laying haphazardly at me feet, and cover up as best as I can with shaking hands.
While I recover from my orgasm and try to return to some semblance of normal breathing, Pierce steps back. He tucks himself back inside of his jeans and zips up, not caring that we’re both looking a disaster. With delicate fingers, he reaches down and brushes my hair away from my forehead, then gives me a soft kiss on my forehead.
“Are you okay, Arie?”
I know I’m smiling like a fool. “I’m fantastic. If this is how you get when we have sex outside, maybe this is the only way we should do it from now on.”
Pierce frowns and reaches down for my panties, which are sitting on the ground. He scowls as he stuffs them in his pocket. “I lost control. I was too much like the old Pierce. I was too rough with you.”
I catch his arm as he helps me from the ground, then throw my arms around him, giving him a huge hug. When I pull away, I look him right in his emerald eyes so he knows I’m serious. “No, Pierce. You weren’t. I you gave me exactly what I wanted, what I needed. Don’t you dare apologize. And you don’t have to let the old Pierce go completely. Some parts of him were all right. Wonderful, even.”
Pierce leans over and kisses me softly on the lips, helping me fasten the neck of my dress. “If you say so. We should get home. And maybe take a shower. Though I’d be lying if I said I don’t love the idea of you walking the city with my cum inside of you.”
I blush. He’s not wrong. The idea is so sexy. But now, I just want to get home so we can talk. Like I’d planned. Before the alley. Even though I can practically still feel him inside of me, it doesn’t change the fact that I need tell him the whole truth tonight. Whatever that means for us.
No matter how much it hurts…
Pierce
When we get back to the apartment, we’re both quieter than usual. At first I think that maybe it’s because Arie is embarrassed about what we just did, or because we could have been so easily caught by anyone walking by, but when I go to take a shower, she follows me in, and makes it very clear embarrassment wasn’t the problem. After the shower, I head to the kitchen in my bathroom, leaving Arie in the bedroom, and I start poking around for something to eat. Despite the massive meal at Martinelli’s, I’m suddenly hungry again. I can’t imagine why, I think as I stick my head in the fridge, looking for some fruit. Suddenly, Arie’s voice from behind me startles me so badly, I hit my head on one of the fridge shelves.
“Pierce, we need to talk and we need to talk right now and it can’t wait another minute.” There’s something desperate in her voice, something that makes me immediately pay attention.
I spin around, rubbing the spot on my head that I’ve just clunked. “What the hell, Arie? That couldn’t have waited two seconds until I didn’t have my head in the refrigerator? You scared the shit out of me.”
“I literally just said it couldn’t wait. Can you please sit down?”
The look on her face is making me nervous. She looks panicked, like she’s about to throw up, and suddenly… I’m not so hungry anymore. “I’d rather stand,” I answer as she sits down herself on one of the barstools.
“Okay. That’s fine. But I need you to promise that you’ll listen to me all the way through, until I’m done, before you say anything or do anything or make any decisions.”
I think my heart is going to leap out of my chest. “For the love of God, Arie. Just tell me. You’re making whatever it is worse with all this build-up.”
She takes a slow, deep breath, and sets her hands on the counter, as if she’s trying to prove she has nothing to hide.
“All right. You know that I was really sick, and the doctors told me I was going to die. Multiple doctors told me this. That there was no hope. My life was over. That was why I thought there was no harm in taking the money from the loan sharks…”
“Yes, we’ve been over this. I’m going to find those bastards this week and…” She holds up a hand and cuts me off.
“This isn’t about the money, Pierce. This is about something else. This is about… our daughter.”
It feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Everything starts to spin, and I begin to feel dizzy, sick, unhinged. Like the world isn’t spinning on the right axis anymore and I’m about to float away.
“What do you mean ‘our daughter?’ Because we’re together, right? You want to be Chloe’s mother?” I’m grasping at straws. Hoping for any other answer than the obvious one.
“I think you know exactly what I mean, Pierce. Chloe is my little girl. Yours and mine. When they told me there was no way they were going to be able to save me, I didn’t know what to do. I was desperate. I couldn’t leave her with Marie and Sal; they are even more broke than me, and they don’t have the resources to take care of a child. I didn’t want her to end up in foster care, so the obvious answer was to make sure she was raised by the one parent she had left. That was you. I didn’t want her to be burdened with memories of her deadbeat, sick mother, so I found Roger Bailey, and he agreed to help me. To help Chloe, start her new life.”
I collapse back against the counter, afraid my legs are going to give out. “Fuck, Arie. Why didn’t you tell me? When you got here that day, pretending to want to be her nanny, why didn’t you just tell me then?”
Tears start to form in Arie’s eyes, and she brushes them away with the back of her hand. “Because of the Cannizzos! I knew they were still after me, still are after me. I didn’t want to take the chance of you and Chloe getting hurt, so I thought if I stay close, but distant, I could keep you safe until I figured things out. But nothing worked out the way I planned, and I fell in love with you again. I didn�
�t expect it happen, or for us to be here like this, again. But it did happen. And I knew I had to tell you before we moved to New Zealand. I couldn’t hide the truth from you anymore.”
Oh my god, New Zealand. We’re moving to New Zealand. Arie is Chloe’s mother. We have a child together and we’re moving to New Zealand. I can’t breathe. I’ve never had a panic attack in my life, but I imagine this is what it feels like. I’m full of rage at Arie for lying, and sadness that she felt so hopeless, and desperation because I have no idea what to do. Even though I wish it didn’t, the rage wins out.
“Well. I guess you’re lucky Chloe still isn’t talking. She might have called you ‘mommy’ and given away your whole game.”
Arie’s face collapses. “Pierce, please. Please try to understand. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Don’t you see? I signed away all of my rights to my child. She is entirely yours now. If you decide you never want to see me again, and took her and went to New Zealand without me, I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. But I needed you to know the truth. I couldn’t keep lying you to you. Because I love you.”
I back away slowly, trying to temper my breathing like I learned in the SEALs. I walk past Arie, ignored the look of hurt on her face, go into my bedroom, grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt off the floor, put them on, and then head right back out for the front door. I need to think. I need fresh air, air that isn’t heavy with so many lies. I’m almost to the elevator door when Arie runs up behind me and grabs my arm.
“Wait, Pierce! Please! Don’t just walk out. We need to talk about this.”
Her face crumples into a mass of tears, but I can’t focus on anything but the betrayal.
“I’m sorry, Arie. I can’t think right now. I’m not sure I have a right to be mad, but I am. I know you were sick. I know it seemed like your only option, but Jesus — ” I stop, mid-sentence. There’s nothing else I can add. My chest clenches tight. “I need to get out of here.”
How did I not know?
I can hear her sobbing as the elevator door shuts behind me, hiding my own tears as they trickle down my cheeks.
Arie
I don’t know what I expected would happen when I told Pierce the truth. That he would forgive me on the spot? Understand why I lied to him for all these weeks? Months even? There was no way that would happen. But the look of utter betrayal on his face was more than I could bear. I don’t think I’ve ever been this devastated in all my life, and it’s entirely my own doing. I should have told him right away, I should have picked honesty. And because I didn’t, I might lose the love of my life and my daughter in one fell swoop.
I’m not letting him go without a fight, I think as I run into my room and grab some shorts and t-shirt. I will find Pierce, no matter what it takes, and I will tell him how sorry I am and beg him to forgive me. I will look for him all night if I have to. I’m just about grab my purse when I hear the elevator doors open, so I rush to the foyer.
“Pierce! You came back! Please, let me expla — ”
But it’s not Pierce standing in the foyer. It’s Danny. Hulking, leather-clad, terrifying Danny, enforcer for the Cannizzo family, and my own personal lurking demon. I take two steps back, trying to see how close I am to the phone that calls down to the doorman, but it’s too far away for me to get to it before he could get to me.
“Danny… What are you doing here? How did you get in?”
He smirks. “Your doorman is taking a nap. He’ll be fine, but he might wake up with a headache. You’ve been avoiding us, Miss Blanchard. You left the country. My employer isn’t pleased.”
I take two more steps back, but Danny is following my every move, and I know he will be faster than me. I have no play; I’m like a rat trapped in a maze, and he knows it.
“I came back, didn’t I? You said I had a month. That month isn’t up for another few days. I will get you your money.”
Danny laughs, a big booming laugh that makes my stomach roll. “Forgive me, Arie, if I say that we don’t have a lot of faith in you one way or the other anymore. You dick us around for months, you leave New York, you’re obviously planning something with your fancy-ass boyfriend. Mr. Cannizzo is out of patience.”
I glance to my right and see a knife sitting in the sink. Can I get to it before he gets to me? Am I that fast?
“Pierce will be back any minute. He can give you your money tonight.”
Danny just shakes his head. “It’s not about the money anymore, Miss Blanchard. It’s about your character. We can’t count on you. And Mr. Cannizzo no longer believes you are of the kind of character he wants to deal with.”
The venom in his words hangs heavy in the air, and it scares me just enough that I don’t see how I have anything to lose. I bolt for the kitchen, thinking that all I have to do is get my fingers around the handle of the knife. If I can just do that, maybe I can get Danny off his feet, even if it’s only long enough to call the cops. But what I didn’t count on was that he would have a gun, and for a burly man, he is faster than me. So, when the barrel of his gun hits me on the back of the head, and the lights start to go out, I don’t have time to be angry at myself for being stupid, and thinking I could beat this man.
I only have time to think… I really hope I get to see my daughter again.
When I wake up, my head is throbbing, and I’m in a room so dark, I can’t make out anything around me. I can hear the quiet hum of voices outside, and a gentle drip drip drip coming from behind me. I’m sitting in a cold, steel chair… Well, sitting is generous. I’m tied to a cold steel chair. My hands are bound behind me with what seems to be a zip-tie, and my ankles are strapped to the legs of the chair, so I can’t so much as shimmy in any direction. I tell myself not to panic, but my heart is racing so fast, I think I may pass out again. I have no idea what to do. I’ve never even considered ending up in a situation like this, so it’s not like I’ve trained for it, or come up with an escape plan.
Pierce would know what to do.
Oh, god, Pierce. He was so angry when he walked out of the apartment. What if he doesn’t come back for hours? What if he thinks I just packed up and left because of our fight? I could just die in this room and no one would ever know. I suppose it’s my own fault; I made some stupid decisions that landed me here, and if I were to die now, like this… It would just be par for the course. But I won’t go down without a fight.
The zip-ties are tight, but they aren’t so tight that I can’t move my arms and legs at all. I know that even if I got my legs loose, that wouldn’t do me much good as long as my hands are still tied, so I decide to focus on them first. I interlace my fingers, trying to make my hands as small as possible, and begin wiggling them inside of the zip-tie. It’s a close fit, but I can feel my wrists begin to slide loose, especially when the rough edges of the tie begin to cause the delicate skin on my hands to bleed. I think I’m just about free, when the sound of the door across from me unlocking startles me, forcing me to stop the struggle.
The door opens, flooding the small room I am in with light and totally blinding me. All I see are shadows of two men as they walk in. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but when I do, my stomach drops down to my bound ankles. One of the men is Danny, and the other I recognize from his time on the front pages of the New York papers. He is dressed in a meticulously tailored suit, and his short black hair is slicked back with enough gel to drown someone. His smirk is off-putting given the circumstances, but I can see how it would be charming in a different scenario.
I am staring into the cold, black eyes of Sebastian “Angel” Cannizzo.
Angel walks up to me with an arrogant swagger, and squats in front of me. His eyebrows are thick, making him look like he’s surveying me for some sign of weakness, even if he’s not that smart. When he speaks, his voice is thick with a Jersey accent, and his tone is slow and patient. He’s not in any rush, because he knows I’m sure as hell not going anywhere.
“Nice to finally meet you, Miss Blanc
hard. I wasn’t sure I would ever have the pleasure.”
I have to force myself to stifle an eye roll. “I can’t say I return the sentiment, Mr. Cannizzo. Seeing as your associate there abducted me from my home and assaulted me.”
Cannizzo laughs a low, core-shaking laugh. There is no humor in it. Only cruelty. “Well, Miss Blanchard, if you hadn’t seen fit to get on a plane and go to New Zealand for a month when you owed me almost a hundred grand, perhaps we could have met under different circumstances. I have to say, you’re exactly the type of spitfire I’m attracted to.” He reaches out and runs a finger along my jaw, and I jerk my face away. His touch makes my skin crawl.
“First of all, I came back. I fully intended to come back and pay you your damn money,” I respond defiantly. “Second, I wouldn’t let you touch me if you were the last man on earth. So, kindly keep your disgusting hands to yourself.”
He and Danny have a hearty laugh at my expense.
“I told you she was a sexy little thing. It’s a shame we have to kill her.”
I force myself to stay calm. They are taking their sweet time with whatever they are planning to do, so that gives me an opportunity to keep them talking, and hopefully, buy Pierce some time to figure out I’m missing.
“I find it ridiculous that you’re willing to kill me over seventy-five thousand dollars. What the hell kind of business model is that? If you kill me, you don’t get your money. Money that I had every intention of giving you on our agreed upon delivery date. What exactly does killing me accomplish?”
Angel smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. “Honestly? I don’t give a shit about the money. It may have been about the seventy-five large a few months ago. But now? It’s about the principle of the thing. I can’t let word get out that I’ve gone soft. I don’t care if it’s a million dollars or fifty fucking bucks. You borrowed money from us, Arie, and you didn’t pay it back. The story ends there.”
