“Oh, Jesus…” Tobias growled.
The heavy sound of their breathing punctured the air. It was all I could hear. Them. Her. I stood outside Nick’s room, unable to watch them a fucking second longer. My balls ached. My cock was hard, throbbing in my fucking pants. I dropped my hand, fisting the length in my sweats, and braced my other hand against the wall. You will be mine. You understand me? My own words echoed. They were the words I’d said to another…but they’d been all hers. Everything I had was hers.
“Ryth,” Tobias grunted her name as he came.
You’ll be fucking mine, until I’m done with you. I clenched my grip as that ache built and built and built.
Low whimpers from the puppy somewhere behind me shattered the hold Ryth had over me.
For a second, at least.
“C?” Nick called my name. I closed my eyes. He expected me to fucking join them…one look in her eyes and I’d known that would never happen. Not now. Not after what I’d done.
If only they knew…
I dropped my hand and took a step away from the door, the need now as empty as my fucking heart. If they knew what had happened, they’d kill me. I knew that.
The puppy whined once more, drawing me away from the room. I strode over, yanked the front of my pants loose, and knelt down, rubbing her forehead.
Beep.
The volume on my phone was low, but still too fucking loud in the quiet of this place. I grabbed it and rose, finding a message from Evans. What the fuck have you done?
Panic rushed through me as I stared at the screen, then glanced behind me to Nick’s bedroom. They were quiet…asleep? I walked over, shoved my feet into Nick’s runners, and went out the door. Cold rushed in, hitting me like a blow. Goosebumps raced along my arms as I closed the apartment door quietly behind me and strode to the elevator, yanking the gate down before I punched the button.
The old thing shuddered and shook as it dropped lower, stopping at the ground floor. I waited until I was sure I was far enough away before pressing the button on my phone. “Evans.”
“What the fuck, Caleb?” He was panicked, strung out. His tone was about three octaves too high. “What the fuck did you do?”
“What are you talking about?” My pulse raced.
“You take her back, for fuck’s sake,” he demanded. “You hear me? Take her fucking back.”
“You know, and I know, that’s never going to happen.”
Silence echoed through the speaker. Then the faint sound of heavy steps thudded.
“Talk to me. What’s going on?” I urged.
“What’s going on?” he hissed. “You fucked me, you get that, right? You fucking fucked me.”
“Has Killion said something—”
His hard bark of laughter made me flinch. “Has he said something?” Evans repeated shrilly. “He came to my office and closed the door. He threatened me, Caleb. He fucking threatened my goddamn family!”
I swallowed hard as my stomach sank.
“You realize how bad this is, right?” Evan’s tone turned stony. “You understand the kind of people you’re dealing with. You took what belonged to them. You took it…and now you need to give it back.”
Give it back…
Like she was their goddamn property. Those footsteps resounded in the background again, only this time they echoed. My mind was racing, trying to piece things together that my gut was screaming about. “Thanks for the heads up, Evans,” I said carefully and hung up the call.
Lights glinted in front of me, the city still busy even in the dead of night. He threatened my family. Evan’s words resounded as my phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced at the caller ID and saw his name before I hit the button sending the call to voicemail, then I switched the damn thing off.
Get on your knees. Killion’s sadistic fucking growl slipped through my mind. I glanced at the phone in my hand. Lick it…fucking lick it. That hunger rose inside me once more.
The depraved, sick hunger I needed to fight.
I closed my eyes, my breaths moving deeper. It was more than sex, more than desire. It was the total control I craved. The way she was with Tobias, his hand around her throat, his cock driving inside her. He’d used her. Christ. He’d used her. My cock hardened at the thought. I lowered my hand once more, only this time I slipped it inside the waistband.
Lick it…that’s a good girl. A moan ripped free, hurting and hard at the back of my throat. I worked my cock, desperate to feel a fraction of what I’d had with her before. In my head, we were back in that kitchen pantry, my hand over her mouth, my fingers deep in her pussy.
I dropped my head, driving my hand all the way to the base of my cock then back up again. I turned and leaned my hand on the concrete wall of the apartment building.
When I take you, Ryth…I’m going to take you all fucking night. You’re going to be my favorite fucking toy…my wet, perfect plaything.
In my head, her breath caught and her throat moved, trapping a moan that built. I moaned for her now as my cock kicked in my hand. Warmth spurted between my fingers, slick, desperate with need. I sucked in a hard breath and opened my eyes. Still that need filled me. That hungry fucking need. My hand was a poor substitute for the real thing.
I wiped my hand on my pants and headed back inside. But those echoing steps in the background of Evans’s call worried me. He wouldn’t talk, I knew that. It was the reason I’d gone to him.
So what if Killion made idle threats?
Evans didn’t really know a goddamn thing, only what I’d told him, which was minimal. The elevator shuddered as it stopped. I lifted the grate and walked out, punched the code Nick had given me into the digital lock, and made my way inside.
The place was quiet when I eased the door closed. The heavy, rhythmic sounds of breathing came from my brother’s bedroom. I kicked off Nick’s runners and walked barefoot to the bedroom doorway. The room was dark inside, the bathroom light off, the three of them sound asleep. Still, the moonlight spilled through the large floor-to-ceiling window, caressing her skin.
She lay in Nick’s arms, using his bicep as a pillow. Tobias faced her, one arm over her waist. They were perfect, just the three of them. My own fucking heart was gnawing and pulsing, driving that unbearable hunger through my veins.
I looked away…I had to. It was either that or go insane.
I’d never have that. Not again. Not with her. I knew that. I left them and headed to the second bedroom. The puppy limped over, her nails clicking on the floor as she followed me inside, then carefully jumped up on the bed as I yanked the bedding down and slipped between the sheets.
But sleep didn’t come. Not for a long time.
I tossed and turned, unable to shrug off the ache and that nagging voice in my head that told me this was going to end badly. I closed my eyes, forcing myself into the darkness. When I woke to the brightening room, my eyes stung and watered.
Soft snores came from the puppy curled at the foot of the bed. I shifted, dragging my feet around her, and was rewarded with an exhausted and annoyed loud sigh. “Sorry,” I muttered.
The rest of the apartment was still quiet. I yawned, rubbed my eyes, and stumbled from the bedroom toward the kitchen. Last night’s dinner had been shoved into the refrigerator, still in the pot. But the thought of food made me sick to my stomach. I needed coffee…
And to think.
Footsteps. Echoing footsteps. I couldn’t shake the thought of it from my head. I searched the cupboards, finally found the coffee in the freezer, and set to work brewing a pot before I headed back into the bedroom and grabbed my phone. I switched it on and was rewarded with a whole slew of missed calls and messages. The last one snagged my attention.
Davis: Have you seen this? What the fuck?
My pulse skipped as I clicked on the link, which took me to an online news article.
Distinguished Attorney at Copeland Law, Michael Evans, was found murdered in his home this morning after an apparent home invasion.
“Jesus,” I croaked, my fingers fucking shaking as I expanded the article, searching for any more information before I moved back to the calls.
There was one more…one more call and message. My stomach clenched as I pressed the button and logged into my account.
“We want her back, Mr. Banks. Deliver the girl or the next one will be you…or maybe one of your brothers, how about that? Like the little fucking punk who blindsided me. I think I’m going to enjoy paying him a visit.”
A scream followed, guttural, etched with pain. “Please don’t…I DIDN’T KNOW! I DIDN’T FUCKING KNOW!” The howls of desperation made me sick to my stomach. Then it ended. Silence followed, terrifying, ending silence. I closed my eyes, my hands shaking. They’d fucking killed him…
They’d fucking killed him.
I jerked my phone away and killed the call, then just stared at the doorway. We needed to get out of here…now.
I forgot about the coffee…forgot about everything else, strode out of the kitchen, and headed for Nick’s bedroom. They were still entwined and asleep when I charged in. “Nick” I walked around to the side of the bed, giving him a shove. “Wake up. We need to get out of here.”
My brother cracked open his eyes, staring at me with a bleary gaze. “What?”
Ryth opened her eyes, her gaze finding me. Her hate for me burned bright. But I couldn’t worry about her anger right now, not when I was too preoccupied with saving her life.
“They’re coming and we need to get out of here.”
“What the fuck?” Tobias groaned.
They didn’t believe me…they didn’t believe me. I lifted my phone, logged back in, and hit replay….and the sounds of Evans begging for his damn life echoed through the room before I hit pause. “Get the fuck up…we’re getting out of here.”
