by Wyatt, Dani
Lilly let her sarcastic hook hang there while she held another huge bite of salad on her fork in front of her smirking grin.
After all, he had to appreciate her honesty.
And humor. Right?
After a moment of his intense stare, Colin cracked what would have looked like a smile on any other face.
He’s taking the bait.
“You realize what will happen if you break my trust.”
It wasn’t a question, and Lilly didn’t bother to respond. They both gave the other a glance before dropping their eyes and finishing their dinners without another word.
***
She’s here, close, and I’m sitting in this fucking office like a pussy waiting to report to the dick-tator. Why the fuck are some people allowed to breed? Father… Right.
When Flynn drove away from Southside around six o’clock, his phone began to jet off like there was some damn hijacking or something. When he finally got sick of the constant annoying dinging and buzzing, he found he was being summoned for a debriefing with the king of the dickheads.
“I’m coming, shit for brains.” Flynn spoke to no one as he answered the text demanding his presence with a clipped ‘Yah.’
Ignoring the next reply of annoyance from his father, Flynn thought at least he would have a sanctioned reason to be inside the house. He knew waiting was no longer an option, and his father had just given him an invitation to start his plan of action without having to climb up tree limbs and gutters this time.
Returning to his father’s office filled Flynn with memories of sitting in this old, ass-brown, tufted, hard-as-fuck arm chair when he could barely see over the edge of the mountainous walnut desk, listening to his father berate him on a multitude of his shortcomings.
As Flynn grew up, he did his best to hold back his vitriol, to take on Colin’s defamations and sarcasm in stoic silence. For a lifetime, it was the only parental attention he’d known. And, in some deep, empty part of himself, he craved something, some attachment to the man he called father.
Since Lilly arrived, that empty hole inside of him had begun to warm — to spin and whirl and create a craving like a tweaker for their next hit.
So unfamiliar.
So desperate.
And now, as he sat, he felt nothing — at least when it came to his father. Long gone were the twinges of hope for something resembling a relationship.
Instead, his mouth watered. The hard muscles in the tops of his thighs twitched and his palms warmed.
He could hear it, hear her.
Barely audible through the thick walls and 200-pound carved doors. But, it was there, and it stuck like a cold knife as the ivory keys danced under her fingertips.
She’s so fucking close.
He blew out a breath, trying to silence the voice in his head.
Waiting had never been his strength, and since she’d arrived, he’d lost all interest in dipping into anyone else.
There was no more relief for the natural urge to fuck. There never had been anyone he’d wished for twice. But now, even a quick tension relieving blowjob held no sway.
He’d tried. After all, his dick hadn’t fallen off the day she arrived; it was his brain that ran roughshod off the damn tracks.
A mere month after the fire-haired, Irish imp had tangled her way into his life, he’d fought against her scent and her face in his dreams at night. He’d figured he could get rid of the itch by scratching it good and hard on someone else.
After all, he’d never felt this kind of itch before.
So, after four weeks of wondering what bus just ran him over, Flynn knew what he needed was a good, no-strings fuck.
When a ring whore stood half-naked inside the locker room after some bullshit un-sanctioned fight one night, Flynn sniffed and tipped his head toward the showers before running his hand through his sweat soaked hair as it fell in strips on his forehead
She followed, no questions. They always did.
Only, this time, he sent her back with her pussy still wet without ever bending her skinny ass over and trying to scratch the itch he couldn’t reach.
Fuck, what the fuck is wrong with me?
That was the last time he entertained the thought of anyone else.
Sitting here now, he couldn’t ignore Lilly’s pull, she was a gravitational force and he knew she was there from the soft sound of the piano playing three rooms away.
Unable to fight it anymore, he was on his feet, halfway across the Turkish rug when the door to the office flung open, and Flynn felt the air in the room turn to rat shit stink.
“Good. Sit down. How was the gym? Did you see anything unusual? Any signs they may be packing up, taking their little shit show down the tracks? Any decent talent?” Colin unbuttoned his jacket, pushed some papers to the side and sat down without meeting Flynn’s eye.
With a sigh, Flynn dropped back down into that family chair in front of the desk.
“No. It’s a dump, but no one looks like they are going anywhere. Good, old guy there. Knows his shit. I may just learn something. Work out this little memory.” Flynn raised his left arm and he felt the tight skin around the scar pull as he moved.
“Don’t get any ideas of becoming some unknown rising star.” Colin finally looked up from the paperwork on the desk to give Flynn a dead stare. “Sooner or later, they will find out who you are, so don’t draw attention. Stay mediocre, you’re good at that.”
Flynn shook his head. The sound of the piano stopped, and he felt his shoulders tense.
Hurry the fuck up. I’ve got more important things to do here tonight. Like, save your future bride from you. Show her what it’s like to have someone who cares more than his own damn life, what happens to her.
“I already called in to Topher,” Flynn said, trying to move the conversation to its conclusion. “It’s his damn gig over there. So, are we done?” Flynn fought to stay in his seat as both his legs vibrated and shook.
“What’s wrong with you? Is there something else you need to tell me?”
“No. I’m just doing what I’m told. You know me, I’m just an obedient soldier.”
“Don’t be an ass. Don’t be such a trite rebel. It’s boring. Besides, if you want to rebuild your fighting career, Southside is not the place. They’re nobodies, soon to be homeless nobodies. They can’t do anything for you, so don’t get any ideas. Just train, keep your ears open and head down. Take some shitty bar fights if you want, get laid. Gideon tells me you two had a bit of a row. Women serve a purpose, son, nothing more. Your fascination with her is getting boring. And irritating.”
Flynn drummed his fingers on his shaking legs as Colin signed some checks and set them to the side of the massive desk into separate envelopes.
Before he could stop himself, Flynn let the words go, feathers out of a pillow that can never all be returned.
“Why do you want her? Wait — I know you don’t want her, so what the fuck? Why marry her? She’ll do the damn work; she just wants her mom to be well. Why can’t you just be a human and give her what she wants? She’ll finish the project. But don’t marry her. What’s the fucking point?”
Colin stopped mid-signature, his face frozen as Flynn felt his heart slamming against the cage of his chest.
“It still surprises me that I raised you.” Colin finished the last signature and put down the pen. “Because, that is the bargain. The agreement. Topher MacGuire’s father and my father fought each other for years. Armies from both sides bled in the gutters until both families were in shambles. Back then, when your name sake, Flynn MacGuire, came to my father with an offer of truce, our family was in a far more precarious position than theirs. Our accounts were almost empty, our businesses barely functioning. We decided to agree to split up the ‘specialties’, shall we say, of each family. They took the book making and the bars—we took the whores and the drugs. Only, there were strings. Agreements, debts attached. We’ve prospered, become stronger, more financially successful than the MacGuire
s over the years. Drugs became the new world; prostitution grew under my hand. I opened new avenues for both. Now, they’re calling in their marker. Marry Topher’s daughter, bring the families together, and they get a piece of our newfound treasure. Legitimacy. Lilly is more than just a brain, she’s the pivot point, the key that holds us to our word. Without honor, without loyalty, the entire house of cards would fall.”
Flynn felt his chest tighten. For the millionth time, he wished he’d never been born, not into this.
“She doesn’t get a choice?”
“What makes you think she hasn’t?” Colin got up from his desk, came around and leaned on the front edge, just inches from Flynn. “If you think for one second that little innocent act doesn’t hide a skilled strategist, you’re fooling yourself. You want her? Get her father’s blessing. I’ll gladly abdicate the marriage. I don’t need a wife, but I do need to play within the rules of our world and uphold my obligation to repay the debt. It’s her father who wants this marriage, not me. And, you, my son, are the dog tied out back. Topher would never accept you as fulfillment of the agreement. Lilly needs to be at the top of the food chain, not the bottom.”
“This family is fucked. He didn’t give a shit about her until a few years ago.” Flynn sniffed, cracked his neck and rose to his full height inches from Colin.
“You just don’t know how to enjoy yourself.” Colin broke into a smile as he gave Flynn’s shoulder a squeeze. “Go ahead, you get Topher’s blessing, I’ll step aside.”
Flynn couldn’t stomach the way his father’s laugh told him just how much of a game this was to him.
Suddenly, a crack of thunder shook the room, and a flash of lightning snapped their heads toward the windows.
“You see, even God thinks that’s a bad idea. Stay away from her, son. Don’t take my jokes as gospel. Lilly is exactly where she needs to be, and we are approaching a very critical time in our new venture. She does not need distractions, understand?” The laughter was gone; the room darkened as rain began to spray against the windows. “Besides, I think she may just be warming up to me.”
Flynn gritted his teeth until his jaw popped as he shoved the chair back from behind his legs, turning and making his way to the door.
The sound of Mozart drifted in as Colin chuckled behind Flynn.
Something is warming up tonight, I can tell you that, but it doesn’t have anything to do with your sorry ass. This fucking world is beyond hope; I should have snapped your damn neck a long time ago. You’ll never touch her; she’ll never belong to you.
The thunder drowned out the sound of the piano for a moment as Flynn slammed the door, his blood flowing like a race down from his heart.
He took the serpentine hallways to the back of the music room. When he finally caught sight of her leaning to and fro as her dove-white fingers danced on the keys, he felt like the lightning had touched him.
Wanting her had become like taking a breath. Natural, without thought, every part of his body needed her, planned and dreamed of how she would feel. The noises she would make.
The hinge on the French door creaked, and Lilly’s hair flung over her shoulder and he saw her eyes acknowledge him.
The golden green softened from fear to sadness, yet she didn’t miss a note as she played.
She shook her head softly, the hint of a smile curving the shimmering pink of her lips. Flynn almost doubled over remembering how she tasted.
That’s right. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. That’s all I need to see, that smile. You know. It’s coming; I’m bringing everything you need. Things you don’t even realize you need. I’m fucking awake for the first time in my life, and no way am I leaving this undone. I’m coming, Lilly.
She closed her eyes, tilted her head to the side, and the crescendo of the music overtook the room as her fingers flew on the keys, and her body swayed.
When she looked again, Flynn was gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Order.
There was always order.
Flynn knew the routine of this place. It echoed in every memory of his childhood. His father was a man of singular purpose. In his mind, without the mandates and control of a North Korean General, his grasp on power might slip.
Over the years, the young man he’d underestimated for too long learned to use what his father thought to be his greatest strength as a weakness to be exploited.
Flynn knew how and when he would move in the late hours and in exactly what order his steps would take as he made his final placement of each pen and key in his office as the clock struck midnight.
Lilly would have found it by now.
Flynn’s nerves were raw, imagining her slipping into the crisp white sheets, feeling the scrape of the envelope he’d left there on the velvet softness of her leg.
She would look around the room as she pulled the note from between the sheets, thinking he would come out of the shadows as she held the paper in her hands. Then, slowly, her vision would adjust to the darkness and the words would come to her eyes as much as to her heart.
At least, that was his plan.
Now, was just the waiting.
They stopped locking her in two nights ago when she’d bargained for more freedom. Some truce had come to pass because Lilly also drove herself off the grounds that morning in a compact Nissan that Colin once reserved for staff to run errands.
Something has fucking changed and whatever it is means no more damn waiting. The god damn sick marionette show around her is going to have the curtain come down, and I’m fucking hacking the strings from us both. Tonight.
The winds shifted and branches scraped the roof of the boathouse as Flynn paced, staring into the dark patch of grass between the strip of forest and the stone entry to the small waterside structure.
There is a strange phenomenon when you are looking for something in the darkness. It comes into the corners of your eyes, the periphery. If you struggle to hard to look directly for something, you will miss it.
You must trust that it will appear.
Flynn paced.
His fists balled and released.
The moon held only a silver sliver of the night. Stars fought their way out from behind a sky giving in to the heavy rolling clouds
12:45 am
Jesus, fuck. Lilly, come on. Where the fuck are you? Don’t think, just come. It’s me, you know you are mine. Stop fighting. I’ll make you safe. I promise this is us. Our beginning.
1:25 am
The pounding in Flynn’s head became an unbearable pressure. His eyes felt like they were coming out of their sockets. His chest puffed and his fingertips dug into his palms.
She’s not fucking coming. Jesus, fuck what do I do now. Did they catch her? No, I told her exactly what to do. She should be here.
Flynn bolted out the door of the boathouse, running from some invisible attack.
He ran to what he knew was his. To save her or steal her, it didn’t matter.
His skin felt cold, the muscles in his back turned to a knot as he hit the path in the woods, branches scratching his cheeks as he ran blind toward the glow of the lights from the house.
Twigs snapped under the pounding of his feet; his body did his bidding without question as it had been taught to do since the first time he took his place on the mat and learned what it meant to fight.
He loved the pain. From the first punch, a flame lit inside him. He felt awake and alive more than he ever had before.
When he tasted the first blood from his broken, seven-year old nose as it dripped over his lips, he came alive. A vibration started deep inside, and he felt for the first time in his short life something as close to joy as he could remember. All because he’d tasted his own blood.
Clouds laughed as they covered even the sliver of light from the crescent shape against the nothingness of the sky. Flynn pushed harder, a branch catching him in the left chest, searing a jab into the still tender scar.
What a fucking life. All this beauty,
all this fucking prosperity and I feel like a damn pauper. Sick fucking game someone upstairs is playing. But, it’s over. If I have to tear down this fucking house of cards to get to her, that’s fine by me. Where the fuck are you? Why didn’t you come?
The lights in the house dotted only a few windows. Flynn felt the fire in his lungs as his body caught on another branch. He swung around and jerked at his T-shirt to tear it from what held him, breath coming in and out of his mouth like a dragon.
He yanked at the fabric, only twisting it tighter. He growled in the darkness, a deep primal sound unlike anything human, he pulled, splitting his T-shirt from neck to hem.
The little moonlight cast a glow across his skin. The deep ink, haunting the valleys and bulges of each muscle. His gut felt empty, hollow like a man starved. Only, it wasn’t food he craved.
He spun, unhooking the last shred of his shirt from the black fingers of the tree, his legs shaking as they prepared to restart his deadly pace toward the house and before his next step his body hit hers in a thump.
Lilly screamed.
All his senses lit up at once. Her softness, her smell, the glow of her hair, the sweet puff of her breath on his bare chest.
“God! Where are you going? I thought your note said to come —”
The words died on her lips as Flynn took her mouth.
Her body flowed against his, every soft curve, the hardness of his muscle taking her over.
He spun his tongue over her lips, not giving her a moment to decide, and pushed passed and into the soft warmth of her mouth.
