by Wyatt, Dani
“Nope babe.” Flynn gave her that stern stare. “I don’t ask for what’s already mine.”
With that, Lilly gave up for the moment, her heart in her throat, trying not to think of the reality of their life outside this little fantasy world.
“Come on, bath, dressed, work. Chop, chop!” Flynn smiled and bounced around her, leaning down to run her bath.
***
Usually, Lilly put her headphones on and that was all she needed to focus.
Not today. Her brain felt like warm Jello and the throbbing between her legs made her squeeze them together as she vacillated between being turned on and wincing in discomfort.
Sometimes, a girl just needs to talk to her mother, and Lilly waited as long as she could before the urge overwhelmed her and she dialed the international number into the new cell.
No, she could never tell her everything, but she could hear her voice and try to find some comfort and wisdom. The last call, all she seemed to want was assurance that Lilly would be a good girl, do as she was told and try to make her future husband happier with her.
Well, she had done that. And, in some ways, it had worked. For him.
Now, the deck had been re-stacked. Was she sure everything would be okay? Yes and no. But, she’d told Flynn she would trust him and, deep down, she really did. So for once in her life, she let the control go and had faith.
Lilly squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back in her ergonomic chair until it let out a squeal. Her hair falling a mile down the back while the phone buzzed the international ring in her ear.
“Hello?” Her mom’s voice was even weaker than when she’d spoken to her last week.
“Mom? God, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine. Cold here today, damp. Just makes it harder to get a good breath, honey. I’ll be fine. I told you. I’ll be there so soon, and I’ll be on the mend before you know. How’re the wedding plans?”
Lilly held the phone away from her ear as her eyes flashed to a burn. Tears wavered as she cleared her throat.
“Fine. Mom, fine. Everything is fine.”
“Good. Last time we talked, you said you’d turned over a new leaf with Colin and that things were better. Sounds like you are making the effort. Trust me, that’s just how marriage is. Make the best of it! You are going to have an amazing life. It makes me feel so much better to know you landed in such a secure place. You will never want for anything. Not like when I raised you.”
“I know, Mom. I know.”
“So, tell me what else is going on? Work is good? Your father is still as grouchy as ever, down at the pub already with his pint in his hand. Ugh, men are just as they are, dear.”
“Work is good. You make sure he’s nice to you, okay?”
“Oh, he’s fine. I think he’s just ready for me to go already. He’s not the best nurse, and that seems to be the only thing we talk about anymore, me and my health problems. He needs a break, too.”
Yeah, a break in his fourth and fifth vertebrae.
“Oh, yeah. I’m sure. He’s the one who needs a break. He’s taken over cooking and cleaning and going to the market—”
“Stop, Lilly. He does his own part; we have our ways. Our routine. It’s fine.”
“He’s an ass, Mom.”
Lilly blinked her eyes as soon as it was out of her mouth. Her mother hated when she called him out. Why she still protected him after all these years, she could never figure out.
“Lilly. Don’t talk like that. He took us in, gave us a home, and took care of us the best he knew how. You need to be more grateful. Life isn’t some storybook. Grow up. You’ve always had stars in your eyes, and I let you go on too much probably. He always said I spoiled you, and it would be your undoing someday. Don’t prove him right.”
This was not the conversation Lilly had intended whatsoever.
“Okay, Mom. I should go. I just had a minute to check on you. I’ll see you in a few weeks, okay?”
“Okay. Everything still set up at the hospital?”
Lilly caught the little hint of concern in her voice.
“Yes, Mom. Colin’s taking care of everything. The day after the wedding, you have a full dance card of doctors and top-notch care ready for you. It will be your own little mother-of-the-bride honeymoon.”
“Okay, dear. I’ll talk to you next week, yes?”
“Yes. Bye, Mom.”
“Bye, dear.”
***
Flynn worked the bag while Roger badgered him about leaving the Harway fight before he’d kissed Simon Reed’s ass enough.
“I told you to handle it.” Flynn swiped the back of his hand through his hair, it didn’t make a difference; the short waves stood up and around like a hundred out of control spikes and half-moons.
“I did handle it. But you need to at least show up for your own life, boy. You almost signed that contract and barely looked at it. If I wasn’t there, you may have just become an indentured servant to Simon. He’s savvy, but he’s straight and fair and you’re lucky as fuck that he’s taking you on.”
“I feel lucky.”
“Shut up. Don’t be a dick. You’re fighting Willy in thirty minutes. Show up, okay? And I don’t just mean your body. Your head is farther up your ass than usual today, I can see it. I don’t give a shit why, so don’t tell me. You’re pissin’ me off as it is. And that new little war wound there on your side,that should have been stitched. You take a hit there, it’s gonna bust open and then I’m cleaning mats with bleach. So, keep yourself on defense for once, okay?”
The old man rattled on while Flynn’s mind wandered and wondered what she was doing right now.
“Yaw.”
“Good. Now, fifteen more on the bag, then just stay warm, and I’ll see you over in the front ring.”
Roger coughed and yelled at the gal who really ran the place, Victoria, his daughter. They were never ones to hide their family conflict, and lately Flynn could feel the tension rising. He knew Topher had them by the balls somehow, and Flynn had become a bit territorial about this shitty place.
There was some other dude who wandered in and out that seemed to be part of the family somehow. Hung around Victoria, but there was no love lost between him and the two old men who owned the place, that was for sure.
The first few days, the guy that shadowed Victoria had stared down Flynn with fire, like he could tell he was from the enemy camp. But as the weeks rolled on, and he saw Flynn there every day, and Roger taking him to a few out-fights, his glare wasn’t quite so hostile. But still, he looked like the sharpshooter on the tower whenever he wandered in and out.
Flynn solidified his reputation by destroying almost every other fighter in the place. A few wouldn’t even spar or warm him up anymore. But a young fighter named kept coming back for more, and he was a big dude, so Flynn got to take out more angst than usual on him when they fought.
Willy was a fixture. Not enough chops to take real fights, but he was at the gym almost as much as Flynn. No one knew much about him, but this wasn’t the Southside Social Club, and Willy seemed to just be here to fight.
She was his, and she knew it, and that was really all that mattered. But, with that came a responsibility to do as he told her he would — take care of her ass like no one had before. And, that was a fucking challenge to be sure.
This world of theirs was in constant motion, like a chess game played at warp speed — everyone constantly trying to outthink, outmaneuver, outsmart all the other players around them. No one was who they said they were, and no one told the truth.
You had to learn to listen not to what they said but what they didn’t say. Find the truth in between and around and in the back alleys and whispers. It was a game Flynn knew well, even if he’d never volunteered for the team. He’d been drafted.
So, today was about planning, and with her taste still on his tongue, his mind spun and locked on each possibility, then turned at each dead end, trying to find the route for them out of this maze. It would
come, he’d see it. And, she would never live in fear again.
Even his own thoughts were shocking him. He didn’t want to share her with anyone. Didn’t want any other fucks even looking her way. If he had his way, they could live locked up in that lake house and just live on each other.
Sure, that wasn’t going to happen. But, the territorial drive in him was crazy, and some of the thoughts he was having about her made his own head take pause.
Fuck, dude, shake it off. You need a clear head. You’ve watched these fucks all your life, played their game when they told you to. Now, it’s time they learned your fucking game, so nut the fuck up and figure this shit out. You promised her, and that’s in blood. You’ll be back inside her soon enough, rein in your dog. It’s time for real-life shit.
Money. Need it, lots of it.
Flynn had taken everything he could already, but it wasn’t going to be enough.
Colin kept accounts in both Flynn and Gideon’s names but also kept access to them on lock down. Flynn knew they were at Grosse Pointe Bank & Trust, but he needed the paperwork to access it. Colin had the accounts set up so Flynn couldn’t withdraw any funds without express written consent from Colin. It was fucked, but the bank was in his back pocket.
Getting his hands on that paperwork might be more of a challenge than he thought. But, he knew Colin kept it in the safe in his office. He changed the combination every month, but Flynn also knew the idiot kept a spreadsheet with all his codes and access numbers on a thumb drive.
He just had to find that thumb drive, and he would be into the mix.
Second, he needed something on Colin. Something big that even the corrupt fucking cops would act on. Flynn knew Colin dipped his toe into some stuff that was even worse than most in this underworld would consider acceptable, but he needed to figure out a way to use it to his advantage.
Third, Lilly had to finish her project. It was her baby, and, if at all possible, she deserved the recognition and the reward for the job she’d done.
Fourth, and most, her mother. Flynn needed to get her mother here.
Colin had that locked up, but it was all planned around the wedding. If he tipped their hand before then, Flynn had to have a backup treatment option in place. Or, somehow, they had to get Colin to go ahead with all the doctors and payments even without being Lilly’s fresh, new husband.
All in all, it was a complete cluster fuck, but his head was spinning, and he knew he’d get the pieces together somehow. Right now, he had an urge to purge and poor Willy was standing there waiting for a beating.
***
“I still gotta use the damn bleach because of you.” Roger limped off, smacking his cane on the floor harder than necessary with each step.
Flynn shook his head, stuffed his feet into his boots and pulled a clean white T-shirt over his head.
Poor Willy was on his way to Detroit Receiving Hospital for a round of stitches in his lip. From the words coming out of his mouth at the end, he wouldn’t be volunteering for any more rounds with the “Irish Fuck.”
Outside, the sky was turning orange and red. This kind of sky looked out of place, falling on the crumbling buildings and desolate landscape of this part of Detroit. Flynn felt more at home here than in the mansion on Lakeshore, but the red sky still left him with a feeling that they were running out of time.
Inside the Bronco, his brain worked putting the parts and pieces together. First, he needed to get to her. She’d done good, texted him several times during the day. Now, he would pick her up, take her back to the lake house and most probably, spend most of the evening naked.
So, the evening would consist of eating her mad, then fucking her into the dust, then more planning.
Colin wasn’t due back for two more days. Lilly should make an appearance back at the main house, but every part of Flynn said fuck no. She was done there. There were two days to figure out how to get Colin where he needed him. But one way or the other, Colin was going to learn he’d never have her.
***
There were three stops Flynn had to make and two hours to do it in. Two of the stops were mandatory, one was optional… but that one carried more importance than the first two combined.
Over the months, Flynn had known the day would come, and something in him had had some forethought. It’d paid off.
The night he’d chosen to die and Lilly chose for him to live— he’d started an unconscious plan. He’d never been a spender like Gideon, decked out in Armani and Mercedes, Gucci shoes and whatever other useless bullshit he thought made him superior.
Of the allowances they’d both been given over the years, Flynn socked away ninety percent of his. On top of that, Flynn had squirreled away every dime of every fight he’d taken on the sly — money his father didn’t know about.
All in all, he’d managed to stash away close to six figures. In their world, that was a month’s wages, but for the moment, it would buy him some time and Lilly some comfort and, for the first time in his life, he had someone he wanted to spoil.
Sometime between when they slit his chest open and he fell into delirium, he’d managed to extract his hidden treasure from the side account he had at a local UAW credit union. His buddy Reggie, the mechanic, had gotten him into the local blue collar banking establishment, and Flynn took out every dime in cash.
Now, he needed to get into the house. Colin was gone, but that didn’t mean Gideon or the goon squad wouldn’t be there. He pulled the Bronco into the back; the back garage gate wasn’t camera monitored, but it still alarmed when opened. He parked outside, so he didn’t set off the gate. There was a section of fence that he’d let out the screws on years ago, just to come and go without good ol’ Daddy being any wiser.
He took his route from the back as usual, up the stairs and to her now unlocked room. The house was so quiet. Why one family needed this much room was absurd.
His baby needed her stuff, even a low-maintenance, natural beauty like his girl, and she’d made due this morning with what they could find at the cabin. But she needed clothes, her smell good stuff and whatever else girls found so fascinating in the bathroom.
He packed a huge bag in under five minutes. Lilly needed someone to spoil her. Her wardrobe was sad, and she deserved to feel as beautiful as she looked. It would be one of many priorities for him in the next weeks.
In the hall, he ducked against the wall where he knew the security camera couldn’t see him, then without another breath, he slipped into the back staff stairway. Just twenty seconds and he’d be in a full sprint back to the Bronco, free and clear.
“Fuck!” Flynn muttered as he ran smack into the same little doe eyed maid he’d seen Colin drag into the backseat of the limo that day.
“What are you—” Her face turned to fear as she looked up at Flynn.
“Ssshhh… It’s okay.”
Her eyes turned to moons as she started to back up in the downstairs hall, looking over her shoulder.
She barely stood to his chest, her dark curls pulled back tight, her innocent face a combination of abject fear and confusion.
“Are you supposed to be here? They told me that only other family supposed be here, Mr. Gideon. You’re the other brother, why you here?”
“I’m just picking up some things of mine. Really, it’s okay. Listen, don’t tell, okay?”
He could see the flicker of terror in her eyes.
What the fuck does he do to these girls? She looks like she’s about to toss her cookies on my shoes.
“I know you have absolutely no fucking reason to trust me, but look at me for a second.”
Her wide eyes darted back down the hall, then at Flynn. He could see her swallow hard.
“I’m not like them, okay? I’m not. I know my father’s a freak. He’s a bad guy. I’m sorry whatever’s happened to you here, I am.” He was hasty but tried to keep his words low and clear.
“You should go.” Her voice softened only slightly.
Flynn could see the darker to
ne in her skin around her neck. When his eyes danced and widened, unable to look away, she raised the white collar on her uniform.
What the Jesus fuck.
“You don’t want to trust me; that’s fair. Probably shouldn’t trust any of us. But, I swear I’ll help you if I can, okay? Can you tell me something?”
She kept her sweet, full lips tightly shut, but she pinched them to the side slightly and stayed standing steady.
“How old are you?”
Without missing a heartbeat, she answered, “I’m eighteen, sir.”
Flynn felt his blood start to rush.
“Hey, I know you are not even in the field with eighteen. It’s okay, just tell me. How old are you, for real?”
He watched her swallow hard again, those eyes like a field mouse, darting here and there, ready for the cat to pounce at any second.
“Thirteen, I’ll be fourteen in two weeks.”
Fuck. What a fucking sick bastard, and she’s far from the youngest I’ve fucking seen here. They come, they’re here for a few months, then they’re gone. I wonder where they go.
“Fuck. I’m so sorry.”
“I'm supposed to leave, though. Next week, they say I’m going somewhere else. Done here with my training. I hear things, though, they say I’m going to a new, big house, but some the other girls they whisper. Do you know? Where am I going?” She tipped her head closer to Flynn, her eyes looking to him for answers.
“Where do they say you are going? The other workers?”
Her stunned brown eyes turned watery, and Flynn felt his stomach turn.
“To do the things to other men Mr. Colin taught me.”
Two tears spilled over her lids onto each cheek, and Flynn felt the punch in his stomach as he put the pieces together.
Sure, the family businesses included escorts and even street prostitution. It was just the way of the game. But, Flynn must have blinded himself to this. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to see, but now, it was right in front of him with tears on her cheeks.
The game changed.
