FUCKING PATHETIC.
I twisted and jerked at my hands, trying to find any way to maneuver myself out of my bonds in the barn where my captors had left me, but I was getting nowhere. My arms had been extended too far above my head, and the ties were too tight to slip through them. I could lift my legs if I tried hard enough, but the only thing that stood below me was a wobbly barrel. If I knocked it over, I’d be left dangling by my arms, gagged, and unable to yell for help. That’d be even less fun than this.
I paused to take a breather—as well as I could breathe with the sour-tasting rag stuffed in my mouth. The men who’d brought me here had disappeared what felt like ages ago. As far as I knew, I was completely alone in the building.
An ache was spreading through my wrists and down my arms. It brought an awful sense of resignation over me. I had to wait for the crew to find me. I’d always been the most reluctant fighter of the bunch, and now I was the weakest link in another way.
If I’d been better able to fend off the pricks who’d grabbed me—make some kind of break for it—
But no matter how I’d thrashed and struggled, I hadn’t been able to stop them from trussing me up like a fucking pig. And now I was being used as bait in what was obviously a trap. I didn’t even know what Dess and the guys would be walking into when they came after me.
Part of me almost hoped they wouldn’t. Better that I faced the consequences for my incompetence alone than that they all suffered for it too. I was the newest member of the crew—unless you counted Dess—along with being the weakest link. They didn’t have to be as loyal to me as they were to each other.
I had the feeling they’d come anyway, though. Dess would insist on trying to rescue me. Julius would see it as a point of honor. Talon went wherever Julius led, and Blaze probably jizzed himself at the thought of solving whatever puzzle our enemies had laid out.
I tested my arms again, but I already knew that situation was hopeless. I was stuck in this position until someone cut me down. The best I could do was take stock of as much of my surroundings as I could in case something about them would prove useful later.
Only a few streaks of muted sunlight drifted through a high window somewhere behind me. I studied the walls of the barn in the dimness. Symbols I didn’t recognize but that looked arcane enough to unnerve me marked the wood all around the space.
Was this some kind of cult thing? I thought of the symbol tattooed on the back of Dess’s neck that connected her to the organization that had kidnapped her, but none of the carvings looked anything like that teardrop with its diagonal line.
The Maliks had their weird code that Blaze had been trying to decipher. Maybe these connected to their bizarre “legacy” somehow?
I had no idea which of our enemies might have kidnapped me. The men had all worn ski masks to conceal their faces. None of them had said so much as a word to me.
The smell of the musty hay that scattered the floor around me filled my nose. No sounds reached me except the creaking of the rafters. Then several car engines rumbled outside.
I stiffened. The engines cut out somewhere nearby, and it sounded like around a dozen people tramped across the ground in the near distance. But they didn’t come my way, and their urgently muttering voices were too quiet or too far away for me to make out any words. Hinges squeaked, and a door thumped shut. Then it was quiet again.
I couldn’t tell how long it was before another engine growled up. The car doors slammed, and more feet rasped across the ground. The door hinges squeaked again. A voice pealed out loud enough to reach my ears, instantly recognizable.
“Where is he?”
Dess. And if she was here, the rest of the crew was too.
I closed my eyes against the wave of relief that rushed through me. I shouldn’t be happy. It was a fucking trap, and they’d walked right into it for me. The thought of Dess getting injured, even killed, because she’d been determined to find me constricted my innards from my throat all the way down to my gut.
Specifically Dess. I didn’t want anything to happen to the guys either, but with her—with her it was a sharper pain than I could remember feeling in ages. Maybe not even since the aftermath of my family’s car accident, fifteen years ago.
It had been my fault that they’d died, and if I lost Dess because she came for me…
I couldn’t think like that. Dess could kick just about anyone’s ass, and it wasn’t as if the guys were any slouches either. But the fear kept wrenching through my body, and a startling realization dawned on me.
I cared about that woman more than I’d cared about anyone or anything since I’d lost my parents and my brother as a kid. More than I’d thought I was capable of caring for anyone with all the walls I’d put up. I’d been so sure that really connecting with anyone would be dangerous somehow—for me, for them—but it’d happened anyway…
And I was okay with it. It fucking hurt, but I’d take all the agony in the world just to see her walking past the barn door with that little smile of hers and the triumphant gleam in her eyes that’d say she’d kicked even more asses today.
A clattering sound jerked me out of my thoughts. It’d come from somewhere behind me, but when I twisted my head, I couldn’t make out the source. The barn held at least one side room. Were some of the men who’d kidnapped me still lurking around, planning a surprise attack to turn the tide?
I grunted against my gag, but I was hardly in a position to shout out a warning. It sounded like the people outside had caught on as it was. The voices rose, sounding closer than before—Dess arguing with her father, other voices I didn’t recognize tossing out ridiculous comments.
Then a gunshot reverberated through the air. I flinched, and the next second dozens more shots thundered outside, along with thumps, wordless shouts, and pained noises that set my heart thudding faster.
The crew had better know what they were doing.
Even though I could tell it was hopeless, I strained at my bindings again, trying with all my might to break free. Then the gunfire stopped. I inhaled shakily through my nose, fear clamping chilly hands around my lungs.
The footsteps pounded toward the barn now. My heart leapt to my throat, but an instant later the door flew open to reveal the exact four figures I’d wanted to see on the other side, none of them looking all that worse for wear. Well, other than the fact that Dess appeared to have poured a bucket of blood over herself. From the steadiness of her gaze and her posture, it wasn’t hers.
At the sight of me, she let out a little yelp and ran over, the guys rushing with her. Dess hugged my legs while Talon hauled a crate over to stand on so he could slice the ropes that bound my arms. The next thing I knew, I was tumbling fully into Dess’s damp embrace.
Someone yanked the gag from my mouth, and the meaty stink of fresh blood flooded my throat as well as my nose. Normally it’d have turned my stomach, but right then it was the perfume of victory. I hugged Dess back, reveling in the strength still radiating from her body and the little noise of relief she made at having me in her arms.
“Are you okay?” she murmured. “They didn’t—”
“All they did was tie me up,” I said quickly. “Nothing’s damaged but my ego.”
“And we know you had more than enough of that anyway,” Blaze teased, and a ripple of startled but joyful laughter rippled through our group.
“I heard a noise in one of the back rooms,” I added with a jolt of memory. “If there’s anyone else lurking around…”
Talon strode over to check the rest of the building with his usual ruthless calm. He returned in a moment with a grim expression. “There’s no sign of anyone around. I think we got them all.”
“Good. We don’t want to stick around here too long,” Julius said in his typically commanding way. “I don’t think there are any neighbors near enough to have heard the shots, but I’d rather not tempt fate by thumbing our noses at it. Let’s get cleaned up so we don’t look like we’ve just carried out a massacre and then get out of here.”
Dess nodded, drawing back enough that I realized the blood was smeared all across her neck and the ends of her hair as well as drenching her shirt. What the hell had she been through to get to me?
The set of her mouth told me she didn’t want to talk about it—and I got a clear enough story when we marched outside, her arm still wrapped tightly around mine.
The bodies of several people I recognized from the Malik family—and a few I couldn’t recognize at all because of bullets they’d taken to their faces—scattered the stretch of grass between the barn and a house I recognized from the photograph Dess had shown us. Right in the middle of them sprawled Dess’s father, his throat slit, a puddle of blood seeping into the soil around him. I had no doubt at all who had delivered that killing strike.
I reached down and grasped Dess’s hand in a show of solidarity, not minding the prickles of receding numbness that bit into my nerves at the motion. Dess swallowed audibly and squeezed my fingers in return.
“It had to be done,” was all she said, and that was all I needed to know.
The door of the house was unlocked. We pushed inside, and Julius motioned Dess upstairs. “You need a whole shower,” he told her. “I’ll see if I can find some clothes around for you to change into.” He and the other guys had a few splatters of gore on them, but nothing compared to her drenching.
Dess glanced at me and made a face. “I made you a mess too. I’m sorry. Come on.” Her fingers curled even more firmly around mine as she tugged me toward the bathroom. “Look for something new for Garrison!” she called over her shoulder.
She didn’t let go of me until we’d reached the large bathroom with its pearly gray walls, as if she was afraid she’d lose me again along the way. There, she pulled back the shower curtain and sighed happily. “There’s plenty of soap.” She turned on the shower hot enough for steam to immediately start fogging the air.
When she turned back to me, I still barely noticed the blood coating her skin and shirt. All I could see was her. This strong, stunning woman who’d destroyed her own family to save me.
An impulse gripped me that thrilled and frightened me at the same time. My hand moved of its own accord, my thumb swiping a scarlet drop off her temple while my palm lingered against her cheek. Dess’s gray eyes turned a bit puzzled as she gazed back at me, maybe wondering if I’d suffered a hidden brain injury.
I needed to say it. She needed to know. If today had proven anything, it was how quickly our circumstances could turn sideways.
Next time I might not be bait. Next time I might be dead. The thought of leaving this life without her knowing how much she meant to me scared me more than being so whole-heartedly genuine.
“I love you,” I said, not giving myself another moment to think about the words. I forced my masks to drop in the hopes that she could see all the emotions that ran through me as I spoke the words. That she’d know how true I was being in this moment.
Dess’s eyes widened. She placed her hand over mine against her face and leaned into my touch, but her expression was as uncertain as it was appreciative. My gut started to twist with apprehension as she opened her mouth and closed it again, no sound in the room but the hiss of the water.
“I—” she started, and swallowed audibly with a little shake of her head. “I don’t know if I can say that back. I feel like I’m still learning how to be a normal person overall. I hardly even know what love is supposed to mean.”
My throat tightened, and I had the urge to yank my walls back into place. To toss out a snarky remark that would turn the situation around and make it seem like I’d only been joking. But I held myself firm against it. I felt what I felt, and I would own it no matter how she responded.
“That’s okay,” I said. “I didn’t say it because I expected anything from you. I just wanted you to know how much you matter to me. How much I’d have hated to lose you if something had gone wrong today.” A self-deprecating laugh slipped from my lips. “From the moment those pricks grabbed me, that was pretty much all I thought about.”
A soft smile curved Dess’s mouth. “I can talk about that. Maybe I don’t know what love will be for me, but you and the rest of the crew are more important to me than anyone else in the world. I’d kill for you. I’d die if I had to go that far to protect you. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.”
The honesty of those words rang through her voice and washed away any trepidation I’d felt about my confession. How many people offered that level of devotion when they did say, “I love you”? Her declaration meant more than those three little words would have.
“That’s more than enough for me,” I said, my voice getting rough, and pulled her into a kiss.
I didn’t care that a hint of metallic flavor lingered on her lips or that my fingers slid through still-damp blood as I tucked my hand around her neck. She was my woman even if she was the other guys’ too, and in that moment I needed to confirm that fact in every possible way.
Our mouths crashed together with a ferocity that grew more heated by the second. Dess gripped my shirt and arched into me with another groan. She was making me even more of a mess than before, but I didn’t give a shit about that either. I had her, and that was all that mattered.
I hefted her onto the sink counter and pushed between her legs without breaking the kiss. As I kicked off my shoes, I yanked off hers. Then, ignoring the rest of our clothing, I whipped her around and stepped over the edge of the bathtub.
Dess growled eagerly as I pinned her up against the tiled wall, nothing supporting her but one of my hands and the pressure of my hips. The steam billowed around us, the warm water pelting us, and our mouths grew slick as we kissed again and again. I couldn’t get enough of her.
The blood that had smeared her skin and mine streamed off us into pink trails that wound through the bottom of the bathtub toward the drain. As a path cleared, I moved my lips to the crook of her neck and left nipping kisses down its length.
“We’re still dressed,” Dess murmured around an amused gasp.
“We weren’t getting back into these clothes anyway,” I reminded her, my mouth brushing her shoulder as I spoke. “But believe me, I am planning on taking care of that.”
Keeping one hand on her thigh, I used the other to tug up her shirt. It took mere seconds to unclasp her bra. Then I was massaging her breasts skin to skin, running my calloused fingers over each of her tender nipples. Dess’s head dipped backward as she gasped out her pleasure.
When I’d had my fill—for now—of her gorgeous breasts, I trailed my hand downward and dipped it beneath her waistband. She ground into my finger the moment it brushed her clit, and I smirked against her lips. I curled that finger right inside her and groaned at the slickness waiting for me there.
“So fucking wet for me,” I muttered.
A giddy giggle fell from her mouth. “In more than one way.”
True. I lowered her for just long enough to strip her soaking shirt right off her and then tug off her pants. She yanked at the buttons on my shirt in turn. As she delved into my jeans next, she ran her hands up and down my rigid erection until I practically went blind with pleasure.
Then she grabbed the bottle of body wash and held it up. “We’re still kind of messy. Are you going to wash me?”
Holy fuck, could she have gotten any sexier? The slyly seductive question made me want to shove her back against the wall and thrust into her there and then. But taking her up on her offer would be even more enjoyable in the long run.
I poured a generous amount of soap into my palms and rubbed them together, eyeing the canvas of her body before me. Then I got started, lathering the soap meticulously across the front of her, paying extra close attention to the most important areas. She dipped her head back beneath the water as I massaged all her curves with the floral-scented soap, her breath quickening at my attentions.
“Turn around,” I demanded, and she did exactly as I asked, exposing her entire back and ass to me. I gripped her hips and moved her toward the back of the shower until she placed her hands against the wall. Dropping to my knees, I began washing her just as I’d been doing before, running my hands over each calf, and then her thighs. I reached her ass in no time and rubbed the soap into it with rough palms before standing and starting on her back.
She swayed toward me in anticipation, but I continued washing her back as if I didn’t notice. My own motions went jerky from lust as she brushed her ass against my jutting cock. I slapped it, and she whimpered encouragingly.
“Put your arms up,” I demanded, and she did as I instructed, resting both of her forearms against the wall above her head. “Bend over.”
She bent, pushing her ass up toward me. I rinsed the suds from my hands and pressed one between her thighs. She ground into my touch. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I lined myself up and plunged into her slick cunt as far as I could go. Dess’s welcoming cry pealed through the air, and if the other guys hadn’t figured out that we were doing more than washing up in here, they had to know now. The thought only drove me faster.
God, she felt so good around me. I thrust again, placing a hand on one of her hips and using the other to press her into the wall with the force I knew she liked, maybe even needed to fully surrender to the moment. The feeling of her skin against me and her heat around my cock sent me so close to the edge that I feared I’d barrel over it before she could find her own satisfaction.
I slowed my pumping, bringing myself deeper into her rather than rocking faster against her. Dess let out another moan. She was close—almost as close as I was to finishing.
I pulled myself out and gripped her hips, turning her toward me. Then I pushed her back into the shower wall facing me and thrust so deep into her that her eyes went out of focus, her mouth falling open.
Planting my forearms over her head, I trapped her body with mine and pressed my lips against hers. A tremor ran through her, her channel clenching around me. I could feel every inch of her when she came for me, and I pounded into her harder, drawing her release out with each motion.
I couldn’t hold on for long. She ran one hand into my hair and scratched her fingernails down my back, and I stiffened with my own release.
My lips remained cemented to hers as we both came down from the frantic fucking. I kissed her again, more gently this time, and took in the emotions whirling in her stormy eyes.
I’d swear I could see my whole life in that pensive, passionate gaze, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
