by Sam Crescent
“I don’t need to provide you with any,” he said. “Remember your place.”
“I want to speak to the sheriff. That’s not a question.”
“No, you’ve now moved to demands. Why do you want to speak to him?”
“I want to know what the hell is going on.”
He laughed. “This is a cute act.”
“It’s not an act.”
“You expect me to believe you reported Luke to the sheriff?”
“I did.”
He held her hand a little tighter, but she didn’t give him any indication it was hurting.
“I’m bored of this conversation.”
They stopped outside of her house, and she looked up at it. To think she’d spent so much time being happy here.
You should have left when you had the chance.
She’d hoped to. More than once.
“Why are we here?”
“Supplies.”
They walked upstairs, and she shouldn’t be surprised he already had a key. The man had taken all of her possessions from her, or at least Hunter had.
Entering her home, she felt the scent wash over her, but she didn’t have any way of being calm, or allowing herself to feel safe.
She was the furthest from safe she could be.
“What do you need from here?” she asked.
“Everything for a long stay. You’re not coming back here for a time. Go ahead.”
“You’re going to let me wander free.”
“Of course. Have at it.” He walked into the sitting room.
Without waiting for any other excuse, she rushed upstairs. She didn’t go to the bathroom but to her parents’ bedroom.
She sat on the edge of the bed, which she hadn’t been on for over five years. She lifted up the phone cradle and dialed the sheriff’s office. She got Susan, which didn’t help. Susan was in her eighties but refused to leave her job. The sheriff never found a reason to fire her, and being slow wasn’t exactly a problem in a town that had so few incidents.
“Hello, Sheriff’s office, how can I help you?”
“Hey, Susan, it’s me, Ava.”
“Ava, I’ve been told to ignore any and all of your calls.”
Thanks to Logan.
“I want to speak to him. It’s nothing serious, but could you ask him to come out to where Logan Stanford is living?” she asked. There was no point in even pretending the sheriff didn’t know Logan was back in town.
“I’ve got to go now, Ava. You may be clogging up the line.”
Before she could get another word in, the phone was hung up, and she heard the dial tone.
“So you want to speak to the sheriff?” Logan asked.
She jumped and stared in the doorway. She hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings, and now she sat alone on her parents’ bed.
“Yes.” She put the phone back in its cradle.
“You shouldn’t keep everything the same way.” He pointed at the room.
“It’s none of your business.” She got up, but Logan made no move to let her pass. She folded her arms, waiting.
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
“Why did you stop the sheriff from taking my calls?” she asked.
“Ava, sweetheart, you’re an intelligent woman.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I’ve taken you from your home, blackmailed you, and I’m keeping you for my own personal fun sport. You do the math.”
“I know each of those is a criminal offense. Abduction. Blackmail. It’s all a crime.”
“Exactly, and seeing as you had no problems giving me up for what we did when we were kids, you can imagine why I’d be cautious.”
“How did you do it?”
“One thing in my line of work, Ava, you learn people’s business and mistakes.”
She stared at him, really looked at him.
“What happened to you?” she asked. “I know you were always a bully. Around Luke you were a nightmare, but this, it’s personal.”
“Are you still going to act like you don’t know what is going on?”
“I don’t know anything. Look around you, Logan. I haven’t changed. I didn’t report you. You can think what you like, but I didn’t, okay?”
“What exactly did you report Luke for then? Being an asshole. Hurting you? What could you have possibly had against Luke that was so fucking bad?” He yelled the words.
“He raped me,” she said.
The words hung heavy in the air. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen. Her parents believed her. When she went to the sheriff the first time, he’d thought it was a prank. It was so humiliating, but she refused to be brought down by the past.
“You’re lying.”
She laughed. “Whatever. You can think what you want. The only time your name came up was when I said he hung around with you, Riley, and Marvin. That’s why I want to talk to the sheriff. I don’t know why you were arrested, and it certainly shouldn’t have had anything to do with me.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Luke had no reason to do that.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“It’s a little farfetched, even for you.”
She nodded her head, and the tears fell from her eyes. She swiped them away. The sheriff had told her it wasn’t nice to lie.
“How fucking dare you? I’ve seen the bruises. My daughter doesn’t lie. Never has. She’s one of the best students at school. She’s telling the truth, and you better start listening.”
It was really hard to give a statement about what happened when the sheriff had laughed at the start.
“Don’t worry about it. You weren’t the only one who didn’t believe me. I had no reason to lie. I don’t now, but you all seem to know what it is that’s going on. I’ll let you guys figure it out. You clearly all know what is best.”
She stepped up close. “Let me go and finish packing.”
“Ava.” He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away from him.
“No, I don’t want to talk.” She pushed past him, heading into her room.
Logan grabbed her arm, spinning her around. “You’re not the one in charge here.”
“Oh, I know, believe me, I do. You’re the one who has the final say on everything. Don’t worry, I get it. I do.” She tried to pull her arm away, but he wouldn’t let her. “Logan, stop it.”
He pulled her close, and his lips brushed across hers.
She tensed up, not wanting to touch him.
He pulled back.
Staring into his eyes, she could easily get lost in them.
How could I make him see the truth when all the evidence is pointing at me to be a liar to him? How can I expect him to believe me now?
She tried to pull away.
“Did I say you could go?”
“What do you want?”
“Well, to start, I want a kiss.”
“Logan?”
He raised a brow. She knew it was pointless.
Why don’t you just let him release the video and then you’ll be free? Would it be so hard?
She thought about the few minutes she’d seen of herself with Grant, then of her parents. Would it really be so bad the rest of the world seeing the truth? The thought of others seeing her having sex sickened her. After Luke raped her, her parents paid for the therapy to help her get past her demons. She’d been able to move on, have a couple of relationships. Grant being the most adventurous of them all. She’d never told him what happened to her.
Knowing now Grant worked for Logan, she had to wonder if she’d told him, would he have reported it to his boss?
Glancing down at his lips, she kissed them. A single brush of lips against lips.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” he said.
“What do you want from me?”
“Kiss me properly. Like your life depends on it.”
“Why?”
“Be
cause I want to and I’m still the boss.”
Running her hands up his chest, she sank her fingers into his hair, staring into his eyes. He was a handsome man, and time hadn’t changed that.
Pressing her lips against his, she let out a moan as he traced his tongue across her bottom lip. She slid her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss.
Logan grabbed her ass, pulling her close, and she cried out at the feel of his cock against her.
She didn’t stop the kiss or break from it. His touch wasn’t brutal. Even though Luke had hurt her this morning, she ignored the bruising pain, and focused on Logan.
Even as she hated him, and right now she did, she couldn’t deny her attraction to him, or how she wanted him.
You’re sick.
You should hate him.
Push him away and tell him to fuck off.
She did neither.
When he pulled her away and shoved her to her knees on the edge of the bed, she didn’t stop him. Not as he reached for the button of her jeans, sliding it open. He moved them past her hips, going down to her knees, dragging them off her body to land on the floor. He cupped her pussy. His fingers slid through her pussy, teasing over her clit.
She moaned his name as he filled her with two fingers, pulling them out to stroke back up to her nub.
Looking up, she saw him there, watching her.
With his gaze on her, she heard his zipper coming down. The hard tip of his cock pressed to her entrance. She cried out as he slammed in deep.
“Fuck, yes!” He growled the word out, but his gaze stayed on her. He held her hips as he pulled out onto to slam back inside her.
Over and over, he rammed his length in, and she loved it. The bite of pain, the instant pleasure.
He pulled all the way out, but she was wet enough for him to slide in easily.
She whimpered his name as the pleasure rushed through her body, but it wasn’t enough to give her an orgasm.
“Yeah, it’s me fucking you, Ava. Me. It’s my cock you’re creaming on. No one else. Now shut the fuck up and take it.”
He fucked her hard, almost bruising in his thrusts. There was nowhere else for her to go. She gripped the bed, fisting the sheets as he used her body. She watched him, and he stared into her eyes as he came. He pushed as far and as deep as he could go. She felt each wave flood her pussy.
His grip was punishing, but he didn’t release her.
Time stood still. The only sound to fill the room was their breathing.
He smirked at her. “I needed that.”
It was like a wash of cold water ran over her.
Crawling away from him, off his cock, she scrambled off the bed, reaching for the jeans.
“Wait, what the fuck, Ava?” He grabbed her, but she jerked out of his reach.
“What?”
“What the fuck did you do?” He looked at the bruise on her stomach, going around her ribs.
Luke hadn’t hit her hard enough across the face to leave a mark. It had stung and she’d cut her lip, tasting blood, but it wasn’t long-lasting.
Staring at him now, she let him see. “I’m not even going to tell you who. You know who.”
****
Arriving back at his house, Ava pulled away from him and started for the stairs. Logan watched her. When she realized he wasn’t following, she stopped and turned toward him.
“You’re not coming?” she asked. She wouldn’t look at him.
She’d not spoken to him in the car either.
“You’re free to roam the house. You’ve got clothes, and you can wear them whenever you want. Try to escape and I’ll remove the privilege. You can’t call anyone nor have anyone come and visit you.”
She snorted. “I don’t have anyone to have visit me.”
“Good.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
“Why?”
He stopped and turned toward her. “What?”
“Why are you letting me free?”
Logan chuckled. “You’re not free. You’ll never be free. Don’t try to make this more than it is.”
He watched her this time, heading upstairs, going to her room.
Hunter cleared his throat.
“The sheriff is waiting for you in the library.”
“Excellent.” He walked into his office, going to the window, overlooking the gardens.
“You’re not in a rush?” Hunter asked.
“No. That bastard shouldn’t be sheriff.”
“I’ve got all the necessary paperwork to end his employment. Just tell me when.”
“I will, but not yet. I need him in place.” He tapped his leg, trying to get the image of Ava’s body out of his head. There had been bruises he’d not seen, not as he fucked her from behind. He’d not allowed her to come, hadn’t even cared to take care of her.
“Is everything okay?”
“I want you to do some digging for me,” he said. “Wait, where’s the guys?” He turned, giving Hunter his full attention.
“They’re at the country club enjoying women and gambling as per your request.”
“You didn’t stay with them.”
“You didn’t say I had to.”
“Right.” He ran fingers through his hair. “I want you to look into Luke’s past.”
“Why?”
“Ava said she reported him for rape.”
Hunter raised a brow.
“I need to know if there’s something we’re missing. Some clue.”
“You think she’s lying?”
“I have no reason to believe she’s telling the truth.”
“That’s a pretty big allegation,” Hunter said.
He agreed.
“What do you think?” Hunter asked.
“Luke went into her room this morning, and Ava now has bruises. The way she reacted last night, she was different.”
“So you think she’s telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. I know Luke and he’s many things, but a rapist?”
“A part of you must believe it.”
“He could have anyone. Why would he resort to raping a girl who didn’t want him?” He remembered the time he’d been with Ava twelve years ago. It was only one afternoon, and it was a time that stayed with him forever.
Running fingers through his hair, he could even remember the vanilla scent of her and how she felt against his body. He’d not been an asshole to her then or a bully in that room. He allowed himself to have a little taste of her.
“I don’t want to accuse him, Hunter. I need proof.”
“I’ll go and do some digging. I’ll see what I can come up with. Do you want me to start now or would you like some company with your sheriff?”
“No, go. I don’t need any help with the sheriff. I’ve also given Ava free rein. Make sure the men know not to let her go. I want an eye on her, but I don’t want her hurt. Got me?”
“Yes.”
Hunter left then, and Logan gritted his teeth.
Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Grant.
“Hello, boss, what can I do for you?” Grant was one of the best men he had at garnering information from powerful men’s wives. He’d sent him many times into different lions’ dens to get him what he needed, and he always made sure he was well compensated.
“Ava,” he said.
“What do you need to know?”
“Did she ever talk about what happened to her twelve years ago?”
“No. She spoke of something bad happening, but she never wanted to go into details. I figured she was referring to you.”
“Was there anything that happened you found odd?”
“Not really. I mean, I went to take her to the swimming pool, but she had a panic attack. She wouldn’t wear a swimsuit and she doesn’t go as far as I can tell.”
“That it?” he asked.
“It’s all I can remember. Once you had the video, you weren’t interested in me learning more. You want me to come and help?”
“No
, you keep doing what I need. Thank you.”
“Got it.”
He hung up and rubbed at his temples. Nothing was helping him right now.
Going to his whiskey, he poured himself a generous shot and drank it down in one go, loving the burn.
With his head back in the game, he headed toward the library, and sure enough, there was the sheriff. The abusive prick that he was.
He wondered if he hated being controlled rather than being the one doing the controlling.
“You see anything you like?” Logan asked. “Nah, I don’t think so. None of these are defenseless little boys.”
“What is it you want? I can’t keep coming whenever you need me.”
“Oh, you will. Believe me. Or you won’t like the consequences.”
“You can’t threaten me,” he said.
“I just did.”
“I got a call. Ava tried to call. She wants to speak to me. Why?”
“She seems to be under the impression she told you something else twelve years ago. Do you know anything about that?”
“I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
“You have no idea?” Logan asked. “No clue at all?”
“Ava has always exaggerated the truth. You saw the statements. I took down exactly what she told me. What lies has she been spilling to you?”
He stared at the sheriff. Something was off.
“She told me Luke raped her,” he said.
The sheriff burst out laughing.
Logan didn’t like his reaction. It was the exact same one he’d had when she told him.
“Did you laugh at her back then?”
“Son, I don’t know what lies she is spreading, but you’ve got to get your head out of your ass. I did what the good justice system told me to do. What happened was because of her, not me. I followed protocol.”
Logan grabbed him, slamming him to the desk, lifting him up, and doing the same again.
“Let’s get one thing clear right now. I don’t like you. I think you’re a piece of shit who gets his kicks off hurting little boys. I can’t stand you. You’re useful to me by the information you can provide me. But if you ever laugh again at Ava, I will cut out your tongue. Do you understand me?”
The sheriff nodded.
Letting him go, Logan stepped back.
“Look, Luke could have any girl he wanted, even back then. He didn’t need to force anything. I’m not saying she and Luke didn’t have something going on. They probably did, and when he got bored and moved on, she felt ashamed.”
