Текст книги "When You're Back"

Автор книги: Abbi Glines

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Mase

After dropping Reese off at the office and kissing her long and hard, I headed out to find River fucking Kipling. I’d given Arthur a call and asked him where I might find the guy. He’d told me he would be at the main offices for the Stout and Hawkins restaurant chain.

Stepping through the main door, I smiled at the young receptionist. I needed her help. “Morning,” I said with a nod, tilting the brim of my hat back.

“Good morning,” she said, a little too brightly.

“Arthur told me I could find River Kipling here this morning. You know where he might be?”

She didn’t even ask for an ID. She nodded and pointed to a door. “Go through there; he’s the third office on the right.”

I winked and gave her a nod, then went to find the bastard.

I didn’t bother knocking on his door. I just opened it and walked in, closing it behind me. River was working at his desk. When his eyes looked up to see me, I saw the gleam of challenge there. I was ending this shit.

“I actually expected you sooner,” he said, leaning back in his chair, looking pleased with himself.

“Reese came first. I’d been away from her for a few days, and I needed to be with my girl,” I said, putting the emphasis on my.

He smirked. “You here to stake your claim like a fucking caveman?”

God, I hated this douchebag. “I’m here to protect Reese. That’s what I do. She was ready to give up a job she loves because of you. I won’t let you ruin this for her. She’s been through more shit than you could ever imagine. She doesn’t need you upsetting her.”

His face almost looked remorseful. “She’s overcome her dyslexia. She’s faced her demons, and she’s thriving. She doesn’t need someone to stand over her and keep the rest of the world out. Is she not allowed to have friends?”

She’d told him about her dyslexia? I was proud of her. She’d admitted it to someone else other than Piper and me. “Her dyslexia did hold her back for a very long time. But she’s lived through a worse hell than that. Don’t assume you know her. Because you don’t. And if she wants me to protect her, I will. From anyone and anything. She didn’t have that for most of her life, but she’ll have it for the rest of it.”

River frowned, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk. “You’re doing her an injustice by assuming that because she had a rough home life growing up, she isn’t strong enough to take care of herself. I know for a fact that made her a stronger person. I lived a life just like hers.”

I really hated this son of a bitch. “What? Was life hard for you? Did you get slapped around a little? Leave home when you were finally old enough? Yeah, well, lucky fucking you. That’s not the hell I’m talking about. Just stay the fuck away from her. You have papers for her to file? Then take them to her. But I’ll be bringing her lunch every day.”

River looked like he was weighing my words and deciding how to respond. His witty comebacks seemed to have dried up. “I was just being friendly,” he finally said with a shrug. “Both of you got too worked-up over that shit. Trust is an important part of a relationship.”

If I nailed him in his smug face, I’d end up in jail. I debated if that was worth it. “You being ‘friendly’ had her in tears yesterday. Sobbing tears. What you did yesterday wasn’t friendly. It was a low blow, and then you walked off and left her to deal with it. That’s not being a friend. It’s being an asshole. No woman deserves that kind of disrespect.”

He didn’t respond. I needed to leave before he said something that I couldn’t walk away from. One day, I’d get the chance to knock him on his ass. But this wasn’t the place or the time.

I opened his door and walked out before he could say anything else.

It was lunchtime. I arrived at Reese’s office with Momma’s meat loaf, fried okra, and creamed potatoes. When I opened Reese’s door, she looked up and beamed at me like I was the only person in her world. Before I could get through the door, she was out of her seat and hurrying toward me.

“Hey, baby,” I said, holding the food out of the way so I could bend my head and kiss the prettiest lips in the world.

“Hey, smells good,” she said.

“It is. Momma made it.”

She gazed up at me through her thick eyelashes and grinned. “I was talking about you, but the food smells good, too.”

“Careful, or I’ll take some more of what I had this morning before I let you eat,” I warned her, thinking about the shower we’d taken together before I brought her to work.

“I have a microwave,” she said, backing up against the desk. I watched her as she began pulling her shirt off.

“Fuck,” I replied, setting the food down on the empty chair. “You sure about this?” I hoped to God she was.

She nodded. “Piper’s gone,” she said, and she unsnapped her bra and let it fall off her arms. “And I’m wearing a skirt. Shame to waste it.”

I took her face in my hands and claimed that sweet mouth before she could say anything else that made me lose my mind. When Reese decided to seduce me, it didn’t take much. Just the fact that she wanted to was sexy as hell.

Tasting her was intoxicating.

She began to wiggle, and I broke the kiss to look down at her. She had dropped her panties and kicked them off as she pulled up her skirt. She was panting. “I missed you,” she said.

I missed her, too, although we had just had hot shower sex five hours ago. I wasn’t complaining. Slipping my hand between her legs, I trailed my fingers over her wet heat. She was more than ready.

I had started to go down on my knees when she grabbed my shoulders. “No. I want you in me. We need to be quick, and I want you now.” She sounded breathless.

After yesterday, I wondered if this was her way of making that memory fade to the background. Whatever it was, I would do anything she asked of me.

After unzipping my pants, she leaned back, watching me, with her hands flat on the desk, putting her gorgeous tits on better display. I shoved my jeans down and then leaned over to cup both breasts in my hands. “Love these,” I said reverently.

“Mmmm,” she said, and her head fell back, exposing her neck.

I wasn’t gonna last long with her all spread out for me like this. I reached for one of her legs, draped it over my arm, and pulled her bottom until it was on the edge of the desk. She was completely open to me now. Her eyes were full of need as she stared up at me.

Slowly, I sank into her as her tight hole gripped me perfectly. “Always so fucking good,” I groaned.

“Yes,” she agreed, lifting her hips so that I was buried as deep as I could go. “Ahhh!” she cried out when she was full.

“Reese,” I said breathily, needing her eyes on me. “Look at me.”

She did as I asked, and I began to move within her at a steady rhythm that I knew would bring us both to release faster than I preferred.

“Oh, God!” she cried as her mouth fell open.

I began to pump harder, loving the sound of her cries of pleasure. “This what you want?” I asked.

She reached to cling to my arms. “Yes,” she panted.

“Tell me this is my pussy, Reese,” I said, holding still inside her. I needed to hear it.

“It’s yours,” she said with a smile, wiggling under me.

Grinning, I shook my head. “No, baby. I want you to tell me this is my pussy.” I lowered my head and kissed the tips of her breasts.

“It’s your pussy, Mase,” she said softly, but her eyes flared with excitement as she said it.

“That’s right. It is. Mine,” I said, grabbing her hips and moving with deep thrusts until she was crying my name and clawing my arms.

At the sound of my name tearing from her chest, I climaxed. Nothing would ever be as sexy as that sound.

Reese

By the time the weekend arrived, everything was back to normal. Captain hadn’t been back to my office. He’d sent files over with Major twice, and I had started to breathe more easily.

Today Mase was going to check out two horses he was thinking of buying. I decided I would go grocery shopping. Maryann was going into town to run some errands and said she could drop me off at the grocery store and pick me up an hour later.

This was my first time shopping without Mase, and I was a little nervous about getting everything he wanted. I knew he’d never tell me if I forgot something, but I was focused on getting it just right. I liked the idea of taking care of him.

After spending a good ten minutes picking out the right fruits and vegetables, I moved toward the aisles. I didn’t have to do too much reading here. I’d been grocery shopping for years, so I was good at identifying things by their packaging and labels.

“The little whore grew up.” The low whisper sent ice through my veins. I knew that voice. It had been years since I’d last heard it, but I knew that voice. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t turn around.

“Not gonna say hello to your daddy?” Marco asked. He was not my daddy. He was my mother’s husband, but he wasn’t my daddy. He had been my tormentor.

“If you get any closer, I am going to scream at the top of my lungs,” I warned him, still not turning to look at him. I didn’t want to see his face. The nightmares he starred in had just begun to fade. I hated that face.

A low, menacing laugh sent dread through me. “No, you won’t. Do you want all these people to know what a little slut you are? I’ll tell them all. How you seduced me. How you wanted sex from your own stepdaddy. Bet that rich little boyfriend of yours don’t know what a whore you are. Or maybe he does,” Marco said, and he touched my hair.

Bile rose in my throat. I was going to be sick. I tried to find my voice, but I was frozen in fear. Just like when I was a child.

“Maybe he likes stupid little sluts. With a big ass and big tits. Guess that’s his thing.”

I closed my eyes and cringed. No. He would not do this to me. I wouldn’t let him. I was stronger now. I was grown. The little girl was gone.

“Took me a while to find you. But I’ve been watching you for a week now. I know where you live, where you work. Too stupid to drive a car yourself. Not surprised.”

My body broke out in a cold sweat. Why was he here? Why did he want to find me?

“Your momma’s dead. Not that you care. You ran off and never came back. Worthless bitch,” he said, as he fisted his hand in my hair and tugged hard.

I had to get away from him. But I couldn’t find my voice. This had to be a nightmare. He wasn’t really here. This couldn’t be real. I needed to wake up.

“Not even a tear for your momma? Stupid whores don’t care about their mothers. But you loved your stepdaddy, didn’t you, girl?” He pulled hard on my hair again.

“Let me go,” I managed to say through the terror gripping me.

He laughed. “Took a long time to find you, girl. I ain’t leaving you now. Did you tell him I had you first? That this body was mine first? That you walked around with those tight clothes on, taunting me, inviting me to touch you?”

My stomach rolled over, and I bent forward, feeling the sickness start to overtake me.

He pulled my head back with another jerk of my hair. “You’re gonna walk out of here with me, and I won’t tell him any of your dirty secrets,” he said close to my ear. His breath smelled rank, like sour milk.

I reached up to cover my mouth, afraid I was going to throw up all over the groceries in front of me. I couldn’t scream while fighting to keep the contents of my stomach from coming up. Closing my eyes tightly, I prayed that if there was a God and he cared at all, he’d save me. I hadn’t been prepared for this.

Maybe there was a God, because, suddenly, I felt Marco let go of my hair. I jerked around and saw Captain with a look of fury on his face as his hand clamped around Marco’s arm. Now that I could see Marco, he looked significantly older.

“You walk out of here and don’t look back, and I’ll let you live,” Captain said in a quiet, hard voice.

Marco tried to jerk his arm free. “You want to get arrested for assault?” His voice was high-pitched.

Captain didn’t look fazed. He continued looking at Marco like he was the lowest form of creature on earth. “You scream, and you won’t see another sunrise. Try me, old man. Fucking. Try. Me.”

I believed him. There was no smirk. No smile. The expression on his face was that of a man with no soul. He was cold, and he was making sure Marco saw that, too.

I backed away.

“You go on and get your groceries, Reese,” Captain said. “I’ll walk this worthless shit outside. He won’t be back. I can promise you that,” he said without taking his eyes off Marco.

Then he began walking with his hand still gripping Marco’s arm.

I stood and watched until they walked out the front door. Then I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Mase. I was about to shatter, and I wasn’t sure I could make it to the door before I did.

Mase

I broke every speed limit imaginable by the time I got to the ranch. Momma had gone back to get her as soon as Reese called to tell me what had happened. I had kept her on the phone while texting my mother to get to the store immediately. All Reese had been able to say was that her stepfather had been there.

And that River Kipling had been there and forced him outside.

She was terrified, and I wanted to get my hands around her and hold her. If I had thought for a second that sick, pathetic excuse for a human would come to find her, I’d never let her out of my sight.

My head kept jumping to the worst-case scenario. What if River hadn’t shown up? Fear consumed me. I couldn’t think about that. I hated River, but I owed him one now.

My momma’s truck pulled into the ranch just before I did, and I stayed right on her tail until she parked. Then I jumped out and ran for Reese. The moment I opened the door to Reese’s side of the truck, she launched herself at me and began sobbing while holding me in a death grip.

My momma didn’t know the details, but I knew that after seeing the reaction from Reese, she could guess easily enough. I looked at her over Reese’s head. “I’m taking her to the house,” I told her. She’d have to wait for an explanation.

Momma nodded and headed to her house, leaving us alone.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I said, feeling helpless as I held her against me.

She only sobbed harder. If I’d been there, I’d have killed the man. I wanted to see him dead. He’d marked her life, and he had come back to reopen old wounds. The sick bastard.

Glancing up, I saw another truck headed our way. I recognized it as River Kipling’s. As much as I didn’t like him, I understood his need to come by and check on Reese. He’d seen it. He had saved her. And I would have to find a way to accept him.

He stopped his truck, and Reese jumped in my arms at the sound of his door opening and slamming shut. She was spooked. I had to get her home so she’d feel safe.

“Is she going to be OK?” River asked, keeping his distance.

I would do everything in my power to make sure she was. She’d overcome this terror before. She could again. “I’ll make sure of it,” I replied, knowing I had to say more. He deserved it. “Thank you. For what you did.”

He didn’t even acknowledge my words. His eyes were on Reese’s back, his jaw clenched. “I heard him. I was in the next aisle over, and I heard him. Did he . . . was he responsible for putting her through hell?”

I only nodded.

River nodded back, then turned and returned to his truck. Without a word, he drove off.

I picked Reese up in my arms and took her to my truck. She needed to be home.

I sat with my back against the headboard and Reese in my arms. Her head was against my chest, and her breathing had slowed. She was asleep and had been for more than an hour, but I hadn’t moved her.

If it took weeks, hell, if it took months, we would sit here like this. I’d hold her as long as she needed. I wanted her feeling safe again. I wouldn’t let fear own her. I’d love to erase it from her memory so she’d never feel like this again.

Once she was calm and rested, I was calling the police. She needed a restraining order. I was also putting more security around the ranch. I would need to talk to Piper about making sure she was never left alone at the stables. Better yet, I was teaching her to shoot. She was going to have a gun.

There was a knock on my door, and my mother’s voice called out my name softly. I couldn’t answer, for fear of waking Reese. Momma walked to the open door and saw me there with her. Her eyes were full of worry.

“Who was he?” she asked in a whisper.

“Her stepfather,” I replied.

Mother shut her eyes tightly. “Oh, God, no,” she said, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Yeah,” was all I said to confirm what she was thinking.

Momma covered her mouth to muffle a sob. “Oh, Mase, did you know?”

I nodded. “She told me before we ever . . .” Momma knew what I meant without me having to say it.

“You just stay here and take care of her. I’ll bring food. Dad will take care of the stables,” Momma said.

“Thanks,” I told her, although we both knew I hadn’t planned on going anywhere. I wouldn’t be leaving Reese’s side.

Momma walked over and bent down to kiss Reese’s head, then did the same to me. “That’s a horror no girl should ever know,” she whispered.

“Makes me feel helpless,” I admitted. I wanted to fix all her problems. I wanted to make everything OK for her. But how did I fix her past?

Momma ran her hand over my hair. “You are what she needs. Don’t feel helpless. Just be here with her.”

“Done. She’s got me.”

Momma nodded, then turned and left the room.

The house was silent after she walked out. I continued to make a mental list of things that I needed to do when she was resting. I would make her world safe. I would do everything in my power and then some.

A small cry came from her lips, and I tightened my hold on her and put my mouth near her ear. “I’m here, and you’re safe. Sleep, baby.”

She calmed instantly at the sound of my voice. This was what I could do now. The rest could wait. But I’d get to it soon enough.

My world had been threatened in a second. I should have been with her. I brushed her hair out of her face and stared down at the beauty in my arms. She had faced so much pain, yet she was still just as beautiful inside. She was kind. She was honest. More important, she was mine. I’d found her. I’d found the one. The one who would change my world. Rush was right: it was all I ever wanted.

Who knew Rush Finlay could be so damn wise? He’d been the hellion rock star’s son. I’d been the good one. Yet he might have said the most honest thing anyone had ever said to me in my life.

Captain

A run-down motel on the outskirts

of Fort Worth, Texas

I’d been waiting all night. I was a man of my word. Glancing at the time on the dash of the black Escalade I was driving, I saw there were minutes left before the sun rose. I had parked around the back of the building, out of sight from the front office. Not that it mattered. The attendant on duty was an older man who had drunk a bottle of tequila last night and entertained a prostitute just before coming back to his post and promptly passing out.

I’d watched every room. Only three were occupied. Two of them were closer to the office, but neither room’s occupants had returned sober enough to be awake before noon. The motel sat on an empty strip of road, making things all the easier for me.

I grabbed the only thing I needed and stuck it into the holster hidden under my leather jacket.

Picking up the disposable, or what I referred to as a toss phone, I sent a single text:

The sun’s up.

Then I pressed Send.

Without waiting for a response, I got out of the vehicle and headed to the room I’d been watching all night. The paint was peeling from the worn door. It was number 45, but the 4 was missing. There was only faded paint where it had once been. I stepped back and, with one swift kick, opened the door.

I didn’t bother with the lights as I closed the door behind me.

“What the fuck?” a groggy voice said as the fat bastard sat up in bed.

I didn’t respond. He didn’t deserve a response. I wasn’t here to answer his questions. He was going to answer mine. I took a seat in the chair beside the window. He’d already closed the curtains, so I didn’t need to do that myself.

“I’m calling the police,” he said, his voice betraying his fear.

I took the gun from my waist and shot the phone, sending plastic pieces flying in several directions.

“Motherfucker!” the man yelled, jumping up. I was thankful he was wearing underwear and I didn’t have to see his saggy shit. “There’s a silencer on that thing,” he said. And then he recognized me. His beady eyes went wider than I thought possible as he held up both hands. “I didn’t do anything else. You said if I left, I could live. I haven’t left this hotel room.” He started rambling.

I leaned back and watched as fear began to take control of him.

“You said—” he began again.

“I said if you walked out, I’d let you see another sunrise,” I replied, then reached over and drew back one of the curtains. “There. You’ve seen it.” I let the curtain fall back into place.

“I’ll leave. I won’t come back.” He started rambling again.

I rested the gun on my knee and glared at the man who had done disgusting things he couldn’t undo. Things that made him worthless. Unforgivable. “I know you won’t come back,” I said evenly as I continued to watch him.

“She’s a liar. She was always a liar. Whatever that bitch told you, she’s lying. She stole from her mother. She broke her mother’s heart—”

“I’d stop now,” I interrupted him. I ran the tip of the gun along my jeans. “The moment you raise your voice, I’ll silence you. Permanently.”

“What do you w-w-want?” he stuttered.

“I want justice. I want Reese to live the life she deserves. I want for every dirty, disgusting fucker like you to float in your own blood. That’s all I want.”

He shook his head as he backed away from me. “She lied. Whatever she said, she lied. She’s a manipulator. She uses her body to make men do what she wants.”

“Do you know who her real father is?” I asked him, tilting my head as I memorized the fear in his eyes.

He shook his head. “No. Man knocked her momma up and ran off. I saved them. I took care of them. I was the one who kept a roof over her head. I took care of her, and she didn’t appreciate it. She expected more.” He was grasping at straws. Men who knew their breaths were limited said anything they could to save their worthless lives. I’d seen it before. I’d heard it all before.

“Why did you look for Reese? She left your home when she was sixteen.” This was something I simply wanted to know. If there was anyone else out there who needed to be stopped, I wanted to make sure it was handled. But from all the research I’d done, it was just this sick bastard.

“Her mother, she had papers with a trust fund for Reese. She never said who it was from. I didn’t recognize the name. We tried everything to cash it in, but it was impossible. We struggled to raise that girl, and she owed us. Her poor mother passed away from exhaustion. I can’t pay her medical bills—I couldn’t even give her a proper burial. That money belongs to me. Reese owes me that. She owes her mother that.”

So he knew about the trust fund. That explained it. “When did her mother die?” I asked.

“A month ago,” he said, looking less terrified. He thought he’d made some headway with me. If he only knew.

“So the bitch is dead. That’s good news,” I replied, as I lifted the gun and pointed it directly at his head. Standing up, I relished the pure horror in his eyes as he backed away.

“You can’t . . . I told you wh-what she did. What she owes me,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Reese owes you nothing. You stole her innocence, and you turned a little girl’s life into a nightmare. Not to mention you convinced her she was stupid. You marked her life in a way that can never be erased. Her past won’t ever disappear. It’s there inside her. She will deal with it for the rest of her life.”

He shook his head. “She wanted it,” he began.

And that was all I could take.

The bullet left the gun silently, and for a split second, I got to relish the look in Marco’s eyes as he knew his time was up. He fell to the floor with a thud, and I put the gun back into my holster. The hole in his forehead oozed blood that covered his face and began to puddle on the floor. His eyes were wide and empty.

He was the last bastard I’d send out of this world. My job was done. It was time I moved on from this. Taking out the man who had hurt Reese was the best way to close the door on this part of my life.

When it had all started, I hadn’t meant to fall in love with her. I knew her heart had been taken. But she was hard not to love.

“Enjoy hell, motherfucker,” I said with finality as I dropped the small printed card that had been sent to me for this moment. Then I walked out through the busted door and headed for the Escalade.

Once I got on the road and headed to my drop-off location for the Escalade, I took out the toss phone and hit the only number I had dialed from it.

“Cap,” the firm voice came over the secured line.

“Done,” I replied.

A sigh of relief came over the phone. “It’s over,” he said. I could hear the emotion in his voice. And I understood.

“Yeah, it’s over.”

We ended the call, and I dropped the phone onto the seat beside me.

I would miss working for DeCarlo. He’d given me a life when I was a lost kid. I owed him a lot. For the first time, I felt like I had paid him in full. The man who had sexually and physically abused DeCarlo’s daughter was now dead. Reese would live the life that her father wanted her to have. He no longer needed me trailing her to keep her safe. She was in good hands.

I had no doubt Mase Manning would give her the life of a princess.