by J. M. Walker
Luther lifted his head, giving me a small smile.
“What now?” I asked him, running my fingers over the tattoos on his chest.
“Love me,” he said, placing a soft peck on my forehead. “That’s all I want.”
“I do.” I ran my hands through his hair. “But what about Charlie?” I slid out from beneath Luther, grabbed my dress, and put it back on.
“I’ll deal with Charlie,” Luther mumbled, righting his pants.
“Luther.” I knew what he meant by that. Rubbing the back of my neck, I leaned against the wall.
He stood in front of me and grabbed my hand, giving the back of it a soft kiss. “I’m not going to kill him. Not right now anyway but if he does something to cause you harm, I can’t be held accountable for what happens.”
“I thought I knew him.” I leaned my forehead against Luther’s chest. “But I guess I was wrong.”
Luther kissed my hair. “I’m sorry, Lexi. I’m so fucking sorry for everything.”
“I know you are.” I wasn’t sure what would come of this, but I knew that I needed Luther. I needed him in ways I never thought I could need another human being before. Was this normal with love? Did others ever feel this way about the people they were with? I wasn’t sure, but I did know that before this got out of control, I needed to keep my brother safe. Something told me that there was only one way I could do that. I just hoped Luther could forgive me.
Luther
WITH LEXI’S HAND IN mine, I drove us to the estate. I needed her to myself. I needed to spend the night savoring every inch of her. I was selfish in the way I wanted to hide her from the world. To lock her away so I was the only one who could see her or spend time with her. The love I felt for her bordered on obsession. No. I was already past that. I became possessed with the need to show her that she belonged to me. In every sense of the word.
“Luther?”
I passed a quick glance at Lexi. “Yeah?”
She turned toward me. “I’m scared.”
My stomach twisted. “Me too, pet. Me too.” I wasn’t a man who revealed my fears. My father had taught me at a young age that it made a person look weak. And in our line of work, we needed to be as strong as possible.
The phone rang through the speakers of the car, startling us both.
I pressed the screen on the dash. “Knight.”
“Luther,” came a deep reply.
“Georgio, what’s up my friend?”
“You alone?” he asked.
“No,” I said, squeezing Lexi’s hand.
“I’ll make this quick then. Mr. Adams has been quite busy.”
Lexi shifted beside me.
“Go on,” I demanded.
“It seems he had no intention of ever delivering that money.”
My jaw clenched. “We’ve already come to this conclusion.”
“We have but there’s something else.” Georgio paused. “Rumors have been traveling underground.”
“What kind of rumors?” That familiar feeling started brewing. Rage. Pure hard rage.
“He was going to give you his sister as payment.”
“What?” Lexi’s head whipped around. “No. That’s not true. Luther, what the hell is going on?”
I rubbed my jaw. Hell. We were in fucking hell. That was what was going on.
***
(Lexi)
“Georgio, I’ll call you back.” Luther disconnected the call and pulled over to the side of the road. He killed the engine before turning to me. “I need you to trust me.”
“Did you know all along that Charlie was going to give me to you?” I barked a laugh when he didn’t answer. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Lexi.”
“Drive me home,” I demanded.
“No.”
“Drive me home,” I repeated.
“Why?” Luther asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Because I’m going to kill my brother myself.” I crossed my arms under my chest, blowing out a slow breath and then another.
Luther turned the car around instead of arguing.
I chanced a glance at him. His jaw was tight, that muscle in his cheek working hard.
We drove the rest of the way to my apartment in silence. I wasn’t sure if Charlie would be there, but I had to take the chance that he was. I had known all along that he was desperate, but I had no idea just how far that desperation went.
Once Luther pulled up in front of my place, I left the car, not waiting for him to follow me because I knew he would no matter what.
He didn’t trust Charlie. I thought I did but I realized then that being family meant shit to my brother.
Heading into the old building, I walked up the stairs to my apartment and found the door slightly ajar. My heart started racing.
“Lexi?”
I turned to Luther. “The door’s open.”
“Shit.” He pulled me behind him and retrieved a gun from the back of his pants.
My eyes widened. “Luther.”
He slowly opened the door and quickly shut it again before turning to me. “I need you to trust me.”
“What’s going on?” My skin became clammy, my heart picking up speed.
“Trust me, Lexi.” He pulled a cell from his pocket and pressed a button before putting it away.
“What’s going on?” I repeated. “Is Charlie in there? Is he okay?” I rushed past Luther when he hooked an arm around my middle. “Let me go.”
“Lexi.”
I struggled against him. “Please, Luther. Tell me he’s okay.” I shoved out of his hold, opened the door, and rushed into my apartment, but stopped suddenly.
A scream lodged its way in my throat. I fell to my knees, the world fading in and out around me. Blood. So much damn blood. I crawled to him. My brother. He was almost unrecognizable, but I knew it was him. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones.
“Charlie,” I sobbed, gripping his hoodie. “Why?”
He didn’t move. He didn’t jump up and tell me he was only kidding. He didn’t do anything. He just laid there.
“Lexi.” A gentle hand cupped my shoulder.
“No.” I shoved Luther off and pushed him. “You did this,” I screamed.
Luther’s eyes widened, pain flashing behind them as the words tumbled from my lips.
“This is your fault. If I never would have met you. If…If I never would have fallen in love with you.” I covered my face, sobs wracking through my shoulders. “He’s dead. Charlie is dead. My brother…”
Gentle arms wrapped around me.
“Don’t.” I tried shoving away from Luther, but he only held me tighter. “Stop.”
“Listen to me.” He cupped my face, brushing the tears from under my eyes. “I know you’re hurting. I know you have every right to be pissed at me. And you’re right. He probably would still be alive if you’d never met me, but his death was coming.”
I looked away, my jaw clenching.
“You and I both know it.” Luther pinched my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I’m sorry this happened but I am not sorry for meeting you. And I sure as hell am not sorry for falling in love with you.”
My chest ached. “He died with me being mad at him. The last words I said were mean.” I looked at Luther, the vision of him blurring behind my tears. “He probably died thinking I hated him.”
“Don’t,” Luther snapped. “Don’t do that to yourself. You’ll only make yourself sick.”
“It’s true,” I yelled, jumping to my feet. I gripped my hair, pulling some of the strands free from my head.
“Lexi.” Luther came toward me.
“You did this.” I pushed him, beating my fists against his chest. “You made me lose him.”
“Lexi,” Luther repeated, cupping my head and holding me against him.
“You did this,” I sobbed, my fists hitting his chest, but the fight was no longer there. I lost my brother and I lost him to the hands of a monster. “Oh Charlie.”
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***
(Luther)
“What do you know?” I asked Georgio, pacing back and forth behind my desk. It had been a few hours since we’d found Charlie dead in the apartment he shared with Lexi. A few hours since she spat those hateful words at me. And a few hours since I dragged her out of there kicking and screaming. Literally.
“I had the laundry service clean up the mess. There will be no evidence that anything was out of place. At all,” Georgio said from the video on my laptop.
The laundry service was another name for the cleaning crew we used that disposed of bodies and cleaned up crime scenes. Much to Lexi’s protesting, I refused to go to the police with this. Even though I had some of them paid off, this was above their pay grade.
“What else?” I asked my long-time friend and business partner.
“Charlie wasn’t a good guy, Luther.”
I passed a glance at Lexi’s sleeping form on the couch.
She stirred but other than that, she didn’t wake up. I had given her a sleeping pill and a shot of bourbon. She passed out a few minutes later. That was over an hour ago.
“You care for her,” Georgio stated.
That was an understatement. I rubbed the back of my neck, easing some of the tension rushing through me. “Send me everything you have on Charlie. I need proof, G. I need proof that he was a monster, so I can help my girl heal.”
“I’m on it.” Georgio disconnected the video chat.
“Luther?” Lexi sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around her. “Where am I?”
“You’re in my office.” I went to her and pulled her onto my lap. Holding her against me, I ran my hand up and down her back.
“I can’t believe he’s gone.” She sniffed, curling against me.
“I know, baby.” I kissed her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m…” She lifted her head. “I’m sorry for what I said to you.”
“Don’t.” I placed a soft peck on her mouth. “You were upset. I get it.”
“I still shouldn’t have said those things.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I was going to leave you.”
Her words were like a punch to the gut. “You were going to choose your brother over me.”
She nodded, looking away. “Family comes first. Or I thought it did.”
“Georgio is sending me information on him. We’re going to figure out exactly who your brother was, pet.”
“We should tell your sister,” Lexi said softly.
“I did.” That was a conversation I didn’t want to relive either.
“You did?” Lexi tilted her head. “How did she take it?”
“My sister isn’t like most people.” I shrugged. “She didn’t say anything really, but I know she’s hurting.” And she also blamed me.
“Oh.” Lexi slid off my lap, a yawn trembling through her. “Take me to bed?”
Pushing from the couch, I led her out of the office and to my bedroom. Once we stood in front of my bed, I helped her out of her dress and threw it in the hamper.
“I don’t have any clothes. I have…” Her eyes welled. “I have nothing here.”
I rushed to her and she crumpled against me. I held her as she cried, wishing there was something I could do to take away her pain. As much as I didn’t like Charlie, Lexi didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve any of this.
“Everything you need is here, pet,” I whispered against her hair.
Her breath hitched but she didn’t argue.
Helping her into the bed, I held her against me as she silently cried herself to sleep. My phone buzzed. Pulling it from the pocket of my pants, my body stiffened when I read the email from Georgio.
The more I read, the angrier I became.
Lexi stirred, wrapping her arm around my middle and snuggling her face into my chest. “Sleep, Luther,” she whispered.
I placed my phone on the nightstand and laid down beside her, pulling the blankets up and over us. But I didn’t sleep. How could I? Not when I’d just found out exactly who Charlie was.
Lexi
I WOKE A FEW hours later to the spot beside me warm but empty. Everything that happened tonight came rushing back. My eyes burned, my throat working over the hard lump that seemed to be permanently lodged in it.
I couldn’t believe that Charlie was gone. My brother. Dead.
Letting out a hard sigh, I sat up in the bed and looked around me. Turning on the light to the lamp that sat on the nightstand, I went in search of something to wear when I found a folded-up pile of clothes on the dresser. There were sweatpants, a tank top, and a sweater. I searched through each item, realizing quickly that no panties or bra were included. I smiled to myself. I wasn’t surprised. But I was surprised that I had clothes in the first place knowing Luther would rather I walked around naked.
Once I was dressed, I left the room and went in search of him. When I reached the end of the hall, I found him pacing back and forth, holding a phone to his ear. He was dressed in gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I had never seen him dressed casually before. It almost made him look more…lethal.
Luther stopped, glancing at me over his shoulder. “I have to go.” He hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. “I see you found the clothes.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I noticed his stance was off, his body stiff. “W-Will you give me a tour?”
He came toward me then. Cupping my face, he leaned down until he was eye level with me. “I will do whatever you want, pet.”
“Show me you.” I covered his hand. “I want to know more about the man I’m in love with.”
His nostrils flared, something dark flashing behind his eyes. He grabbed my hand, leading me down another hall. “My dad started this business when he was my age.”
“How old are you?” I asked Luther, following beside him.
“Thirty-three.” We stopped in front of a door. “You?”
“I’ll be twenty-six soon.” I thought a moment. “Wouldn’t you know that already from the paperwork I filled out for The Club?”
“True but I wanted you to tell me anyway.”
“Were you checking to see if I was lying about my age?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Never.” He winked. “But…” He brushed the back of his hand down the side of my cheek. “I do like that I’m older than you.”
My stomach flipped.
“Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “We need to talk about your brother, but I want to show you this first and then I’ll give you a proper tour tomorrow.” He pushed open the door and tugged me in front of him. “Tell me what you see,” he said, turning on the light.
My eyes widened. The room held nothing but a cage. It sat in the middle of the floor and looked like a cage you would put an animal in, but it was bigger than that. Much bigger. No doubt made for a human.
“What do you see?” Luther cupped my shoulders.
“A cage,” I whispered.
“Yes, pet.” He kissed my cheek. “A cage. You want to know what I do with it? I’ll tell you. Nothing. Because I haven’t found the perfect pet. Not until now.”
“You want to put me in the cage?” I asked, unsure how I felt about that.
“In time.” Luther pulled me out of the room, turned off the light, and closed the door. “But not right now. I need you to trust me completely first and putting you in my cage is a step that neither of us are ready for.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“I like being in control. I told you in the beginning that I wanted to play with you. I want to eventually put you in my cage, so I can control you completely. When you eat. When you shower. When you use the washroom. But you wouldn’t stay in the cage for long. Maybe a half an hour at first. And then an hour and so on. It’s not to break you.” He held his hand out. “It’s to make you mine. In every single way.”
“I—I don’t understand.” I took a step back. “Can’t you control me in other ways?”
“I could.” He ste
pped toward me. “But I don’t want to. I have needs. Unconventional needs. I get that it’s scary. But I promise that I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want. You’ll enjoy every moment of it. I know you like pleasing me. Your pupils dilate when I give you praise. And you become so damn wet when I tell you what to do.”
“This is all new to me, Luther.” I leaned against the wall, hugging my arms around myself.
“I know.” He stood in front of me, placing both hands on either side of my head. “Trust me, pet. This is new to me too. I never realized what I was looking for until I found you. I wish I could thank your brother for that, but I can’t.” He kissed the top of my head before pushing away from me. “I need to tell you who your brother was.” He held out his hand. “If you’re ready to find out that information, then I need you to come with me.”
I tentatively placed my hand in Luther’s, needing to find out what secrets my brother had and exactly who he was.
Luther led me back to his office, keeping a firm grip on my hand. He unlocked the door and pushed it open before stepping aside.
I entered the room with him following behind me. The sound of the door closing made me jump.
“You’re safe here.” Luther ran a hand down my spine. “I promise you that.” He walked to the large leather chair behind his desk and patted his lap. “Come here, pet.”
I did as I was told and sat on his lap.
Hugging an arm around my middle, Luther inched a hand beneath the sweater and tank top and cupped my breast.
I shivered, the soft touch relaxing in a way. “Show me who my brother was, Luther.”
He wiggled the mouse, the computer screen coming to life. A man stared back at me. His dark eyes pierced into me. He ran his fingers along his black goatee before pulling his shoulder length wavy hair back into a low ponytail.
“Ah, you must be Lexi. I’m Georgio.”
“Um…it’s nice to meet you,” I murmured.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” He smiled softly. “I wish I could say it was under better terms.”
“What do you know about my brother?” I grabbed Luther’s other hand, hoping he could give me the strength I needed.
