Monroe, Marla - Nina's Neighbor (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Marla Monroe

  “I’m looking forward to it,” the other man said.

  “Okay, enough of this,” Jack said. “You’ve got me where you want me. Now let her go.”

  “That’s just it, Jack. We can’t let her go because what’s to keep you with us once she’s gone? Huh? I think she rides with us,” Reaper said.

  “Like hell! You said you would let her go. I give my word I will ride with The Devils again. I’ve already got my business up for sale.”

  “Not good enough. She can be your bitch, but she stays with us or we kill her.”

  “Fuck, Reaper. She’s not cut out for this type of life.”

  “Which is why I’m going to let you have her. Oh, we’ll share her eventually, but I’ll let you get her ready for that. You step out of line and she’s dead. She runs off, we’ll find her and she’s dead.”

  Slick laughed. “You give us any reason at all and she’s dead…after I get finished with her, that is. Oh, and maybe I’ll let Freak there have a go at her. He’s really into some strange shit.”

  Freak just stood there with no expression on his face. He looked mildly bored with the entire situation. Nina shivered at the thought of that strange man touching her. Hell, she didn’t want any of them touching her, but she knew she was in a tough place, and Jack wasn’t getting anywhere with them. She started thinking about the witness protection program that the police had. But what could she give them other than testify that they had kidnapped her? They might not go for it if she got away. They would assume she could have gotten away at any time.

  Nina swallowed and felt the bite of the knife again. She felt the warm trickle of blood on her neck. Jack went crazy again.

  “You’re cutting her, you stupid fuck,” Jack yelled.

  “Slick, hand her over to Freak. I think he’ll do a better job without the need of a knife.”

  Nina was scared as the big man walked over toward her. He was the one who’d given her the cola earlier, but he looked so mean.

  “I’ve got her,” Slick said.

  “Do it!” Reaper yelled.

  Slick pulled the knife away from her throat and shoved her at Freak. The other man caught her and pulled her back in his arms. He didn’t hurt her and actually made her feel a little more comfortable since she didn’t have the knife at her throat anymore. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  “Don’t move or try to get away, or I’ll break your neck, okay?” he asked.

  She nodded her head quickly.

  “Nina, are you okay?” Jack asked, looking in her eyes.

  She nodded but pleaded with him with her eyes to get her out of this.

  “I’m trying, baby.” Jack looked back at Reaper.

  “Come on, you have me. You really don’t need her.”

  “You better hope I need her, or she’s dead. She doesn’t get to walk away from this alive. You should never have left us, Jack. At the time, things were up in the air about a lot of stuff, but you left when I needed you the most,” Reaper said.

  “You didn’t need me. You had Slick, and all that was going to happen was we were going to fuck something up fighting between us all the time. You knew it and I knew it. It’s going to be the same way now.”

  “No, it’s not. I’m separating you two. You’ll run my operations in Texas and New Mexico while Slick runs California and Arizona. When things move on, I’ll have Freak to control the rest.”

  Jack seemed to think things over and come to a conclusion. Nina could tell she wasn’t going to like this conclusion.

  “Fine. As long as she stays with me…always, I’ll do it,” he said.

  Nina couldn’t believe he was caving. She growled at him.

  “You don’t have me at all, you bastard,” she said, looking him straight in the eye.

  “Would you rather have Slick or Reaper, or maybe you like Freak over there?” Jack’s voice was hard.

  She opened her mouth to say something, and Freak squeezed her arm tightly. He whispered in her ear again.

  “You don’t want any of us. You stick with Jack, little girl.”

  Nina realized he was right. She was just upset. She drew in a deep breath and nodded at Jack. He visibly relaxed at her nod. He was on edge, she could tell, and she wasn’t making it any easier. Hell, this entire thing was her fault anyway because she’d gone back to her house when he’d warned her not to. Tears of frustration filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

  “She’s your bitch. But you know the rules. I get to share anyone I want,” Reaper reminded him.

  “Not at first.” Jack ran a hand over his bald head. “She needs prep.”

  “I’ll give you some time. Better start soon though. I won’t wait forever, Jack.”

  “Now, let’s talk business. Freak, tie her up in the bathroom while we talk.”

  Freak walked her toward the bathroom but stopped to grab some tape. Then he pushed her inside and closed the door with just the two of them in there. Nina’s heart began to pound. While she’d been with them, Slick had regaled her with Freak stories. She was scared to death of the man.

  “Don’t say anything, and do exactly what Jack tells you to do and you’ll live. You screw up and they’ll probably give you to me to play with. Got it?” he asked quietly.

  Nina quickly nodded her head. He indicated she should hold out her hands wrist together. He taped them together but not as tight as Slick had done. Still, she wouldn’t be getting out of them anytime soon. Then he did the same thing to her ankles. She long since lost her hose. Slick had taken great joy in removing her stockings with his knife. She shuddered.

  Freak picked her up as if she weighed nothing and sat her in the bathtub.

  “Now stay where I’ve put you and follow Jack’s instructions to the letter. As much as I’d enjoy playing with a pretty thing like you, Jack would be hard to kill, and I’d have to kill him if Reaper gives you to me.”

  The big man walked out of the bathroom shutting the door behind him.

  * * * *

  Jack fumed inside at the bruises and cuts on Nina. Deep down he’d known they wouldn’t leave her alone. The fact that she still had on clothes was something, though her hose were gone. He hoped to God they hadn’t raped her. Reaper was usually a man of his word, which meant that if Jack managed to get her out of there, Reaper would kill her when he found her. The sting operation had better work. There was no way he was sharing her with Reaper.

  The fact that she was still feisty enough to be mad at him spoke volumes though. Nothing too bad had happened to erase that spark in her eyes. That little bit of knowledge helped him calm down. He had to be on top of his game if he were going to get them out of this mess alive. Right now, he’d settle for getting her out alive.

  “So, you’re going to handle Texas for me,” Reaper said.

  “When did you set up an operation in Texas?” Jack asked.

  “About three months ago. Have been letting the original manager continue, but he’s skimming off the top, so I’m going to eliminate him and put you in charge of it all. I know you won’t steal from me, and you know how to discipline if needed.” Reaper stood in front of the TV stand.

  “What all is part of your operation now? I’m sure you’ve changed some of it since I left,” Jack said.

  “Still move the pot but now we’ve added crack. It’s easy to make and easy to sell. Just like before, we don’t do the selling, just the moving. The latest things we’ve gotten into on a smaller scale are guns. There’s a huge market for weapons. I’ll have to fill you in on how we handle that part of the business, but for now, the rest is the same with the addition of the crack.”

  “Who do I have with me to handle this over here in my area?” Jack asked.

  “For now, you’ll have Freak, The G-man, Clark, Kevin, and Dewayne. The bitches still do their part. You don’t want to use your bitch like that since she’s not familiar with how to handle the stuff. Besides, she has other uses,” Reaper smiled.

  “Same supplier or h
ave you changed?” Jack was really getting worried. He knew everyone on his team except Freak. They had all been there for at least three years. None of them could be the plant. That left the ones on Slick’s team, and Freak. He wasn’t sure about the big man. He looked harmless until you looked in his eyes. But then he’d seen those eyes before. Back when he’d been with the gang he’d seen them in the mirror every day. “Who’s on Slick’s team?” Jack asked.

  “Why do you want to know?” Slick demanded.

  “Just wondering who’s still around. If I’m back in the gang, I need to know who’s here and who’s not.”

  “He’s right, Slick,” Reaper said. “Tell him. You know who his team is. You picked most of them.”

  Slick sulked but filled him in on the five men he had. All but one had been there three or more years. Last one had only been there seventeen months. He sounded like a likely candidate. He would have to figure out a way to get in touch with him and ask the question. He just hoped he got the right answer.

  He didn’t have a clue how long Freak had been around, but he would find out. If he fit the bill, too, then he’d have two candidates for what he was planning. There were about fifteen others in the gang, but they were all low men on the pole and Miller’s source said he was up there in rank.

  Jack looked at Freak where he stood in front of the bathroom door.

  “Why do they call you Freak?” he asked.

  “Because I like my sex freaky, and I tend to freak out when I don’t get my way.” He laughed without it ever reaching his eyes.

  Chapter Twelve

  They had gotten a room for Jack next to Reaper with Freak on the other side of him. There was a connecting door between his and Freak’s room. The door was open and he went to close it, but Freak put his hand on the door.

  “The door stays open at all times,” Freak said.

  “Like hell,” Jack responded.

  “Stays open or I sleep on the other bed in there.”

  Jack slapped his hand against the door in frustration.

  Freak shrugged and walked over to turn the TV on in his room. Jack waited until the big man was settled on the bed then walked over to Nina and pulled her into his arms.

  “I’m sorry, Nina. I’ve tried everything I know to get you out of this.”

  She sighed. “I know.”

  “How are you, really? Have they…hurt you?” he asked.

  “If you mean have they raped me, no. I was worried about Slick though. He doesn’t follow Reaper’s rules very well.”

  “That was always the problem I had with him when I was Reaper’s right-hand man,” Jack said.

  “Why did you do it? You barely know me, Jack.” Nina pulled back to look up into his eyes.

  He put everything he felt for her in his eyes in that moment.

  “Because you mean more to me than anything.”

  “I don’t buy that. You’ve barely known me for, what? Two weeks?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t take that long to know when someone is special,” Jack said.

  Nina’s eyes filled with tears. “We’re not getting out of this, are we?”

  “I…no, we aren’t,” he lied.

  “You’d better tell me what is going to happen to me. I don’t want to not know.”

  “Baby, let’s take a shower first. Let me clean you up,” Jack suggested, wanting to be able to tell her everything was going to be all right.

  “No, not until I’ve heard everything. Then I want a shower to clean up,” Nina insisted.

  “Fuck, baby. Don’t do this.”

  “Do what? Try to figure out how I’m going to live with what’s going to happen to me every day for the rest of my miserable life? You’re not the one they are talking about sharing. You’re not the one that could get passed around. You’re not the one leaving the only place you’ve ever really known. Don’t tell me not to do this. I have a right to know what the fuck is going to happen to me.”

  Nina’s tears destroyed him. She’d never cried before now. Not even when she’d been in Slick’s hands with the knife at her throat and his hand on her breast. He looked up at the ceiling and prayed for strength to get through this. Telling her what her life could be like would be telling her what his had been like. All the things he’d done when he’d been a part of The Devils for all those years. If this didn’t kill her feelings for him, nothing would.

  “Basically, you’re a bitch, and you’re my bitch. No one can touch you but me, except for Reaper. He’s the leader, and he can have anyone he wants. I negotiated a long time ago that it has to be sharing with my bitch. I didn’t want him to have sole control over any woman of mine. I didn’t trust him not to hurt her. He took it as a kink and agreed to it. So when the time comes—and it will—he’ll be with us.”

  Jack looked her in the eyes and could see he was losing her as he spoke.

  “You ride with me and you take care of me. You get my beer and my food when we eat on the road. If I decide I want another bitch, I can take her and you can’t say anything about it.” He looked at her. “I’m telling you this because someone else will tell you, but I will never take another woman to my bed. You’re my woman,” he said.

  “Yet you’ll share me with Reaper,” she whispered.

  “Not willingly, baby. Never willingly.”

  She stared up into his eyes. “I think I want that shower now…alone,” she said.

  “I’m going to check you out for injuries first then you can shower alone if you want to,” he said.

  “Checking out your property?” she asked in a quiet voice. A defeated voice, he thought.

  “Checking to be sure the woman I care about isn’t hurt worse than she thinks.”

  She just shrugged and walked toward the bathroom. He followed her. Inside he was cursing every word he would think of and a few he made up.

  * * * *

  Nina couldn’t believe that Jack was going to share her. It blew her away. What choice does he have, Nina? He’s trying to keep you alive. Was alive and fucking some man she didn’t know and didn’t like what she wanted? Then she thought about Freak and shivered. She didn’t want him to get hold of her either. Maybe he was doing the best he could. She couldn’t help but think that if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with. Of course, if it weren’t for him, she might have died out on her patio or in her bed if she had made it to bed as sick as she had been from the sunburn.

  He closed the door behind them and reached in and turned on the shower. Then he started undressing her. She just stood there and let him. After all, she was his for whatever he wanted. Might as well get use to that now.

  “Nina, baby. It’s not what it seems. I can’t tell you everything, but know that I have a way for us to get out of this. I’m working on it. Okay?”

  She looked up at him. Deep in his eyes, she could see that he was telling her the truth.

  “Why can’t you tell me?” she asked.

  “Because you have to be surprised by everything that happens, and you might let on something by accident. You’re not use to playing games. Trust me and let me handle it, okay?” he asked.

  “How long, Jack?” Would it be before or after Reaper had her?

  “I don’t know baby, but as soon as I can.” Then as if he understood what she was really asking, he winced. “I promise to make it as soon as possible baby, but it might not be that soon. Aw, fuck,” he said and pulled her into his arms, hugging her as if he might never see her again.

  “I don’t know if I can do it, Jack. I don’t know if I can lie there while he…he fucks me.”

  He hesitated then groaned. “It won’t be just you and him, baby. It will be all three of us at the same time.”

  “Oh, my God!” She covered her face with both of her hands and leaned back against the bathroom wall.

  “Easy, baby. I’m working to get us out of this as soon as possible.”

  “But probably not soon enough,” she said with tears in her eyes and her
voice cracked.

  “I just don’t know, but I’m not going to lie to you. I will never lie to you.”

  “You already did, Jack. You already did.”

  She nodded at him when he figured out what she was talking about. He’d lied because he’d joined The Devils again. Nina peeled off the remainder of her clothes and stepped into the shower. She closed the shower curtain behind her. She didn’t want to shower with Jack. She needed space and time to think. She needed time to come to grips with how her life would be from now on, or at least for the time being.

  She heard Jack open then close the door and felt the cool air slip around the shower curtain to tease at her. She bathed and scrubbed, trying to wash the feeling of their hands on her off her body, but it wasn’t working. Finally, she sank down in the tub and cried. She cried because she didn’t know what was going to happen to her, and then she cried because she had probably lost Jack. Even if he got her out, would he get out, too, or would he remain in the gang as payment for her release? Could she even forgive him for the things that were going to happen to her? Nina didn’t have an answer to any of her questions, so she cried long after the water turned cold.

  At some point, Jack came in and turned the water off and pulled her up from the floor, wrapping a towel around her. He dried her off then held her tight before slipping one of his T-shirts over her head. It was long enough to hide her privates but only fell to just above her knees. She needed clothes if she was going to be a part of the gang. Surely they would let her have clothes.

  Strange thoughts came to her. What about Charlotte? Would she remember her after a few years? What would happen to her house when she quit making payments on the electricity, gas, water, phone bill, and cable bill? Then there was her mortgage. She’d end up with bad credit, and it wouldn’t even be her fault.

  “Nina, baby? Let’s get you in bed. You’ve had a long day. You need to rest.” Jack’s voice intruded on her thoughts.

  “Tired, Jack. I’m so tired.”