CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I spun in a circle, thin branches grabbing at my skin as I pushed through them, trying to find my way in the dark.
The screaming from the farmhouse stopped and then started again, making me believe I had more time to get wherever it was I was going, but I heard someone moving in close proximity.
“Arlen?” I whispered, peering around trees and foliage.
“Cali, it’s me.”
I paused and searched for the voice’s owner, jumping back when he emerged on my right.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Simon?” I hissed, listening for any other sound.
“Tito sent me to watch out for you. I set up camp in the woods by the warehouse trying to see you, but I never did until now. I overheard where you were going.”
He answered all the questions I hadn’t asked but it was ridiculously foolish to send him so close, which is probably why Tito sent a guy he didn’t care for. If he died, no biggie. Tito was a pain in my ass. He meant well but his ideas were never foolproof.
“He wants you to come back.”
“I can’t do that…yet,” I tacked on for good measure, noting that the screaming had stopped.
“What? Why would you…holy shit, you crazy cunt, you switched sides? You’ve no idea what that prick has planned, do ya? Ask him about––”
Too much chit-chat.
He ended his sentence on a scream as I jumped on him, wrapped my legs around his waist, and bit down as hard as I could.
He pulled at my hair and swung his fists into my side, trying to get me off. It fucking hurt but I persisted nonetheless. There was no chance in hell he was making it out of the woods without being caught, and he would sing like a bird with the blues from the slightest bit of torture.
I didn’t need to see Romero to know he was in the woods somewhere; I could sense him, and I would never be able to explain why a stranger was talking to me in the middle of the woods.
Biting through someone’s neck looked much easier in movies. The skin was rough and firm; I couldn’t bite it open like a vampire.
He started spinning in circles, slamming me into a tree and dislodging me. I hit the solid ground with an “Oomph”.
Rolling away, I barely missed his shoe connecting with my face. I scrambled to my feet and he landed in the exact spot I had just been.
“No, no, no!” His scream cut through the air as bone made a loud pop and Romero broke the leg he’d just kicked at me. His fist connected with his face, breaking his bottle cap glasses and knocking him out.
“You don’t touch her.” The calmness in which he delivered the words was completely contradictory to the way his muscles were bunched in anger.
Grimm came trampling through the trees a minute later and quickly surveyed the scene. His gaze paused on me and he shook his head.
“Take him to the Jeep,” Romero bit out.
“You and that lil brat are a real fuckin handful,” Grimm muttered, grabbing Simon by the shirt. He turned back the way he came and dragged him off.
Shit! If they took him back to the warehouse, Tito would be a lot more screwed than I was.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No…” I brought my hands together in front me and stared at his back.
“Are you going to tell me why?”
I knew what he was asking me and I had an answer…sort of. I wasn’t ready to explain it to him, though.
It didn’t matter how far I ran or if I ran using every ounce last ounce of my energy. I could run from my past. I could run from the things I had and had yet to do. I could run from the illusion of the woman I’d try to portray to everyone. I could not run from him or the sick bitch inside of me I was finally getting acquainted with.
One went harmoniously with the other.
I didn’t voice any of that, though. I allowed him to believe whatever conclusion he wanted, let him think I ran because I was unable to handle this side of him.
He made a humming sound in his throat and walked off without looking at me once. “Bring your ass on.”
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I stared up at the starless sky and expelled a deep breath before following him.
When I caught up to him again he had the passenger side door open and helped me climb into the jeep, still not looking at me.
Arlen gave me a weak smile from the back seat. My eyes floated over her shoulder to where a blonde sat with her head on her knees. I didn’t bother asking what they were doing with her; I didn’t care.
“Your friend’s riding in the back,” Romero said once he was back in the driver’s seat.
“That girl is not my friend.”
He started the Jeep and pulled off, driving around a stick in the middle of the lane that had the goat head staked on top of it.
It wasn’t until I heard the screams five minutes in that I understood what he meant. Simon was riding in the back. Romero was dragging him behind the Jeep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
He pushed the speedometer to seventy and kept his dark gaze trained straight ahead.
I could partially see Simon in the rearview mirror trying to keep his head up, being brutalized by the asphalt.
“Who is he?” he asked me, speaking just loud enough I could hear him over Simon’s screams.
“I don’t know, but you’re going to make a mess,” I replied flippantly, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.
“You fuck him?”
“What?” I started to laugh. “Are you for real?”
“You think this is funny?”
“You’re jealous because I may or may not have fucked that guy, but I’ve fucked lots of guys. I’ve fucked my dad, my uncles, and I was kinda-sorta fucked by my baby brother. I’m a real bonafide whore.”
“Cali,” Arlen choked from behind me.
“Don’t feel pity for me. I’ve had as many cocks between my legs as I’ve had in my mouth. Oh, and a few women got the VIP treatment too, so no one was left out.” I forced another laugh and looked down at my lap, clasping my hands together.
Romero sharply swerved after a minute, sending Simon’s body to the far right. The chain around his ankles snagged as his head hit a culvert and detached from his body.
Quietness settled over the jeep.
I had no desire to see what was left of Simon’s body. As soon as we were back at the warehouse, I was out of the Jeep and darting inside.
“Don’t ever fuckin call yourself a whore again.”
I paused on my way to the kitchenette.
“And here I was, thinking I was your special whore now.” With a sigh, I resumed walking, adding a little skip.
He came up behind me and spun me around. “What the fuck did I just say?”
“I think I forgot already. Will you repeat it?”
Slipping out from between him and the counter, I put space between us by circling to the opposite end of the table.
He looked at me for a minute before scrubbing a hand over his face.
“I’m waiting.” He crossed his arms and gave me a leveled stare.
“Why did you kill that little boy? He was just a kid, Rome.”
“So she does have some morality left in there.” He sneered at me. “That wasn’t a kid; that was an animal. He would’ve eaten your fuckin face off in your sleep. I’ve seen dozens of kids just like em.”
“You’re an animal, too! You’re a…”
“Savage. I know. I make no excuses, and I have no regrets. This is who I choose to be and I don’t care if you don’t like it. You’re either with me or against me.”
“And what if I’m against?” I asked quietly.
I wasn’t, of course. I was with him through and through, but I could already picture Tito in my rearview mirror.
If I knew with complete certainty that there would be no issue between them, I would put it all out in the open. My gut told me that wasn’t the case, though.
“If you’re not with me, then I guess you would be a
whore.” He spat the word at me like it tasted vile in his mouth. “Get your ass upstairs, the fuck out of my sight.” He walked away, back towards the front of the warehouse.
“Shit,” Cobra muttered, taking off after him, leaving the clueless blonde beside Arlen.
Sucking in a breath, I stared after him, looking down when I felt a tug on my wrist. “Come on,” Grimm coaxed.
I let him lead me up the stairs, surprised when he followed me into Romero’s room.
“I’m not looking for a pity fuck,” I clarified right off the bat.
“I don’t want to…I would never.” He looked mortified at the very idea of it, the most emotion I’d ever seen from him written all over his face. He shook his head, stroking his beard.
“I would never fuck you because you belong to my best friend, and he would do things to me not even I could imagine—and I’m real imaginative, just for some clarification. I would never fuck you because nothing you said in that car was true.
“You’re not a whore, Cali. You were just a little girl and no one was there to protect you. I promise you there are a lot of people in this world who regret that.”
The sincerity laced in his words knocked against my stone exterior. Dropping my gaze to the floor, I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a dry laugh.
“That’s real sweet of you, Grimmy, but no one in this world has ever apologized for what happened to me, and I no longer expect them to. I just want to find a place where I fit in.”
“You already did. I don’t have any issues with you staying, as long as you’re in it for the long haul. We haven’t got to the good parts yet.”
Toying with my hair, I gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
His regular inexpressive face was back but I could swear by it the man almost smiled. He nodded and headed for the door, pausing after he pulled it open.
“You’re crazy and a pain in the ass. He’s insane and always fuckin moody but the connection is undeniable. Everyone sees it. You fit—you’re a fucked up pair of star-crossed lovers.”
With that, he walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving me to wallow in my thoughts.
Falling back onto the bed, I looked up at the ceiling, blowing out my cheeks.
Me and Rome.
Rome and I.
We were unhealthy, dysfunctional, toxic.
I could flip through both an encyclopedia and a dictionary and still wouldn’t find words to describe us.
Beyond the excitement, beyond the lust, he gave my aching heart a place of comfort that I’d never known. This thing between us was certain death, all smoke and darkened skies with no sign of a sunrise, but I wanted what I wanted, and that was him.
Her moans grew louder and louder, and the headboard hit the wall in a steady rhythm, echoing down the darkened hall.
I glanced over at Arlen and snickered.
“It ain’t funny.”
“Either the sound of fucking makes you irritated, or who’s doing the fucking has you irritated. I’ll take a wild guess and say it’s the latter.”
“I don’t need you to play couch therapist, and Cobra fucked her too so that trumps your theory.”
She tossed the blanket off and sat up, crossing her inked arms over her chest.
“What’s your story?” I already knew it. I just wanted to hear her answer.
“Don’t got one. I was tryna find my sister and got taken by them cannibals.”
Huh, that was almost true.
“Shouldn’t you be kissin ass right now?”
“I could be bending you over––”
“You got bout three seconds to fix that sentence. Don’t give me any reasons to take Cali your balls in the form of a necklace.”
I laughed for what felt like the first time all day.
“I was fucking with you, baby girl. I don’t juggle women.”
I was actually making sure her loyalty was in the right place. If it wasn’t, I was going to kill her quick and tell Cali she ran off.
Fucking Cali.
I needed a drink, and I didn’t drink.
This was the part about giving shit that bit me in the ass. I had a track replaying in my goddamn head of every person she named, and I was gunning for their asses.
My beautiful girl thought she was a whore. Those motherfuckers created thorns on a flower that never had any.
I could see the real her, feel her trapped inside a dark fucking sinkhole that they shoved her in.
Cali knew exactly who she was. She was ashamed of it. She lashed out the only way she knew how because of it. Her head was irreparable because of it. Why had no one told her she was fucking perfect?
I’d never seen damaged look so good. Never seen bruised knees look so pretty. She was so perfect I didn’t deserve her. A better man would’ve let her go but that wasn’t me.
Arlen’s drowsy voice pulled me out of my head.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
She gave me a flat look.
“Shoot your shot.”
She got so damn quiet I thought she’d fallen back asleep. Her back was to me and the blanket was almost over her head. Her question almost through me off guard—almost.
I wondered if she asked because she wanted to know or asked because she wanted a man nicknamed after the personification of death.
“What kind of evil are you?”
“The kind no one can save you from. If there’s a god, not even he could help you.”
“Okay, you can go fix your screw up now.” She adjusted her head on the arm of the couch and sighed. “You two, you’re like fire and gasoline. You’re perfect for one another so quit being a dumbass and go strike the match.”
I smirked at her back. If my sister were still alive, I could see her being a lot like Arlen. Standing up, I gave her the only advice I could offer.
“If you’re going to run, run now, because after tomorrow, everything’s going to change.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
He had deep scars beneath his tattoos. I’d never seen anything sadder than that. I’d never been so upset since watching Tilly burn.
If I had a heart left to break, it would have broken right then. Who hurt this man and where could I find them?
“Don’t fucking look at me like that.” He rolled from his stomach to his back, giving me something much better to stare at.
“You know, I could never sleep until I came here. It could be your bed but I think it’s you.”
“I’m going to assume you’re talking to me, even though you just said that to my dick.”
Flashing my eyes to his, I offered him a timid smile.
“I failed your second test. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry for being a mess…I’m not sorry about the kid, though.”
“Is that why you stopped running?”
Chewing my lip, I began tracing imaginary patterns into the blanket. “I was never running from you, Rome. I was running from…myself.”
When he didn’t say anything, I quietly continued. “Before I ever met you, I had a box of pictures and articles—all of you—and I…used you.”
“You used me.”
“You’re my muse. I have dirty…sick fantasies, and they all feature you.”
“Keep going,” he encouraged, wrapping a hand around the base of his hardening cock.
“I like hearing them scream, making them bleed, and watching the life leave their bodies…torture though, even psychological, it makes me so wet.
And you’re always beside me, touching me, fucking me in the bloody mess we made.”
The bed creaked as he fisted himself, keeping his eyes locked on me. I reached out and cupped his balls, gently rolling them in the palm of my hand.
“My daddy always told me I was sick and full of sin. The last day I saw him, he said those same sins would eat me alive. I never got the chance to tell him I’m a natural born sinner and the devil lives inside me.”
I shifted onto my knees and stop
ped his hand. Before I could start, he grabbed me by the leg and pulled my lower half towards him.
He sat my pussy on his face and I sucked his cock into my mouth.
We face fucked one another. His cock hit the back of my throat, bringing tears to my eyes as I struggled taking all of him. His tongue explored me everywhere, delving in and out and toying with my clit.
Leaning lower, I used my hand to stroke him hard and fast and my tongue to toy with his balls, lifting them individually and gently suckling them into my mouth.
When I felt pre-come run onto my hand, I sat up straight and licked it off. He flipped me over onto my back, locked me down with a hand across my waist and buried his face between my thighs.
He plunged two fingers inside me to work alongside his mouth. It took me a good few minutes to realize he was apologizing. He wrote he was sorry on my clit with the tip of his tongue.
He kept repeating the motion and then backing off just before I came. Clenching his sheets, I lifted off the bed as far as I could and pushed against his mouth.
“I forgive you,” I moaned. He bit down as soon as those words left my mouth and I repeated them like a chant, coming all over his tongue.
I was still shaking when he rose above me and pushed his dick in. I clenched around it, immediately coming again.
He grabbed me by the top of the hair and clenched his teeth.
“Fuuck, Cali,” he growled in my ear.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I dug my fingers into his shoulders and licked my juices off his face as he rocked into me, taking me to a place only he could.
I finally wandered out of the room an hour after he left.
He wouldn’t tell me where he was going, only that he would be back soon. Grimm left with him and Cobra was playing mechanic.
The blonde had not so mysteriously vanished. My guess would be straight into the body pit. That left me and Arlen to our own devices, which was admittedly not much despite how large the warehouse was.
“Let’s go this way.” With her arm linked through mine, we went down the only hall we hadn’t ventured yet, passing a bathroom and an open broom closet full of cleaning supplies.
Savages Page 12
