Fighting Back (Mercy's Angels) (20 page)

I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. “I failed her—I shouldn’t have let her go, I should have looked for her when she left, I should have asked her to come home—but I never did, not once. Those rare phone calls she made to me, I was so indifferent and angry at her for leaving. And she was being raped, held against her will. How can I ever forgive myself for that, I’m her big sister for fuck’s sake.” I was pressed so hard against Charlie’s chest, I was sure when he finally released me I’d have bruises, but at the moment I didn’t care.

“No, Rebecca, this is not your fault. Like Braiden said, the only ones to blame are Jonas and William Levier. We can’t change what happened, all we can do is fix it.” We sat like that for the longest time, Charlie’s steady breathing under my ear cooling the flames of anger and despair.  He and Braiden were right, Jonas and William were the only ones to blame.

“What now?” I finally sniffled, my eyes heavy with the familiar feeling of sorrow. I had cried so much over the last month, I was surprised I wasn’t suffering from dehydration.

“Well, Dillon and Braiden left, they’re meeting Frank and going to do a sweep over Claymont. This isn’t that big of a town, and a rich, drug addicted city boy hanging out with hired muscle shouldn’t be that hard to find. In the meantime, I believe you requested ice cream.” I somehow managed to chuckle. “I need to tell you something and I probably shouldn’t, it’s not really our business. But in retrospect of what’s going on...Jonas and his clubs and what Emily has been through...” Charlie took a deep breath and I pulled away so I could see him better. “Braiden is pretty invested in finding Emily. Dillon says he’s never seen Braiden this emotionally involved in finding someone.” 

I almost snorted. The cool, calm and collected exterior of the dark and mysterious Montgomery cousin had me doubting Charlie’s words. “I don’t know what you see when you look at Braiden, but I haven’t noticed much in the way of emotion. He’s so calm, it’s actually a little unnerving.”

Charlie swept a strand of loose hair behind my ear. “Believe it or not, Braiden is pretty fucking torn up over all this. He’s barely slept more than a few hours each night since he started looking for Emily, and last night he didn’t sleep a wink. Dillon said he’s kind of obsessed.” Charlie hesitated.

“That’s a good thing, right?” I wondered out loud.

“Yeah, I guess. But his interest in Emily seems to go beyond simply finding a client. And the reason Braiden has been able to find out so much about Jonas Levier and Emily is because Braiden has similar tastes...sexually.”

My eyes widened and my stomach coiled with disgust. “He rapes women?” I almost screamed.

“Fuck no, of course not. He’s a diehard protector, he’d never hurt a woman. But he likes things a little rough in the bedroom. He’s visited clubs like Jonas’s, not hard core ones full of unwilling women, but gentler versions, if you can call them that. He was even in a dom/sub relationship once.”

Oh, wow. He was like a real life Christian Grey! I realized why Charlie was concerned. “Emily doesn’t need that, Charlie, after everything she’s been through, she doesn’t need to come home to that kind of attention.”

Charlie silenced me with a finger over my lips. “Braiden isn’t an idiot, he’s actually pretty damn smart. He’s good in those relationships because he is good at knowing exactly what women need, what they want. He’s pretty intense, if you haven’t noticed. He likes to just sit back and take things in. I trust that he will know exactly what Emily does and doesn’t need. He won’t hurt her, I trust him with her and you can, too.”

I actually found myself thinking Braiden might be good for Emily. If he understands the world she’s been living in, if he’s willing to put her needs before his own, he just might be able to help her.

“Alright, let’s get you that ice cream, then we can slouch around this mansion and watch their giant TV. Have you noticed how everything is so big and oversized in this house? I think Braiden is overcompensating for something.”

And just like that Charlie had made me smile again.

Charlie

Night had once again fallen, and as the clocked ticked by, I grew increasingly nervous. I hadn’t heard from Dillon or Braiden in a few hours, and with tomorrow being the day we were supposed to meet with William, I was beginning to feel stressed. There wasn’t a chance in hell William Levier would get his hands on Rebecca, but since he had her sister he would no doubt try to use her as leverage. Rebecca was on the phone in the office talking to Lola. Bouquets was beginning to feel the strain of Rebecca’s absence. Orders needed to be filled and accounts needed to be paid, but I didn’t feel comfortable letting Rebecca go there, so she was on a conference call with Lola trying to sort it all out from here. I needed to run, fuck, or fight this hostility that was coursing through my veins, but none of them were an option right now. So, that’s when I found myself searching through Dillon’s drawers for a pair of swim trunks, I figured swimming laps would be just as good in trying to get some of this aggression out. The dude better not be a speedo man, no way was I wrapping my junk in that shit. Bingo! I stripped bare and pulled on a pair of black swim trunks, which were a little too tight, but I didn’t give a fuck right now. I needed to blow off some steam—now. I walked out the back sliding glass door, the cold air outside hitting me so hard I almost screamed like a girl. I moved a little faster for the pool which was steaming with warmth. I dived in, the warmth embracing me like a blanket. It wasn’t as warm as my Jacuzzi, but it beat the outdoor temperature hands down. I began swimming laps and when I stopped for a break, I found a cute pair of bare feet directly in front of me. Her toenails were painted a soft shade of pink that I hadn’t noticed before. I reached out and gently grasped her ankle, allowing my hand to travel up her calf. She wore a warm, bulky bathrobe, and as my hand travelled higher, I suspected that she was naked underneath it. I glanced up at the amused look on her face.

“Warm in there?” she asked, her voice a gentle feminine stroke to my dick. I nodded. Her eyes never left mine as she shrugged out of the bathrobe, revealing her spectacular naked body beneath. “Shit, it’s not out here.” She shivered, climbing into the water beside me.

“I should warn you, if Braiden and Dillon drop by and see you like this, I might have to kill them.” She smiled and began to move away from me. Fuck, I needed her, now. I pulled off the too tight shorts and began to stalk her through the warm water.

“We needed to have make up sex, that’s the best part about fighting and we missed it.” She backed herself against the side of the pool and I moved in.

“I’ve never had make up sex,” I admitted.

“I’ve never had it with someone I loved,” she said, blushing.

She finally said it—the L word. I had already confessed my love to her and I knew she cared for me, a lot, but I didn’t expect to hear it from her so soon. It stopped me in my tracks and I could see her become visibly nervous.

“So,” she said awkwardly, “we should move right on to the sex part.”

I swam forward and pressed myself against her, kissing her hard, allowing my tongue to delve deep into her mouth. My hands got busy, stroking and caressing her body, and when her little hand wrapped around my dick I nearly came from the sheer beauty of it. I encouraged her to wrap her legs around my hips and I guided myself into her hot core. Nothing felt better than this—being with Rebecca like this. Her unyielding love and unbreakable desire was like heaven.

“I didn’t hear it, say it again,” I murmured against her ear, slowly moving in and out of her.

“If you didn’t hear it, how do you know what you missed,” she whispered back a little breathlessly.

I stilled my hips and she tried to move like the greedy little vixen she is, but I held her steady. “Say it,” I said as I kissed her neck and palmed her breast. Not moving within her was excruciating, but I knew it would be worth the wait just to hear those words again.

“Move,” she panted desperately.

“Not until you say it,” I argued. She grabbed my face with both hands, and raised my gaze from her breasts. She kissed me like a dying woman, and I was about to say, to hell with it, and fuck her senseless, when she looked right into my eyes and whispered, “I love you.” 

That did it, I fucked her senseless. Panting, bodies pulsing with the lingering effects of our orgasm, I pulled her from the pool and we made a dash for the house. We warmed up in a hot shower where we once again lost ourselves to lust and when we finally made it to the couch in front of the overcompensating TV, I fell into a deep and easy sleep.

Rebecca

Charlie looked younger when he was asleep. His face relaxed, the lines around his eyes were all but gone. He pulled off the goofball persona well, but I knew him better than that now. He laughed, he played, and he could seduce a woman better than Don Juan himself. But he also struggled, he fought with his emotions and he wrestled with anger constantly. The fact that he had found a way to manage it, contain it even, was impressive as hell. He had my respect for that and for his honesty and steadfast devotion, he also had my love. I loved him and I had told him as such. My entire body seemed to relax as soon as I had said it. I might still have some emotional stuff to deal with following my attack, but loving Charlie was one thing I didn’t have to worry about. I knew that with his love and help I would eventually move past the demons that plagued my dreams, and I also knew that between Charlie, Dillon and Braiden, I would have Emily home soon. Once we had the situation with Emily under control, I would face my fears of returning home. There was no way in hell was I letting that fucker William Levier keep me from my family home, and now that Charlie was essentially homeless, maybe I would ask him to move in with me. Mind you, having Emily and Charlie living under my matchbox roof would be more than a little cozy. We would figure it out though. Maybe I could borrow money on the equity of my house and have Carter Constructions add a room or two. I never once, in all my years, dreamed of my future playing out the way it was right now, with Charlie Cole no less. God, how I have lusted over this man for so long. Even before our one night of passion over a year ago, I had seen Charlie around town, and spent many carefree hours dreaming up possible scenarios for the two of us. When Charlie came home with me that night, I didn’t fool myself into believing it would be more than one night of unrestrained sex. Like a lovesick fool, I had hoped though. The past year without his smiles, without his touch left me feeling hollow and empty. Now he was mine and he wanted me, he loved me. I pinched myself and looked down at his sexy sleeping form. Nope, not a dream. This was real, my dreams had become my reality. A future with Charlie. Maybe we would get married, maybe we would have children together. My hand fell to my stomach at the thought of Charlie and I as parents to a sweet little girl with blonde curls and blue eyes, or a handsome little boy with light brown hair and Charlie’s subtle dimples. I’ve seen Charlie with Eli only once, but he was wonderful with the little boy. He’d be the perfect father who wouldn’t rest until his children were laughing hysterically. I wondered if Charlie even wanted children after his sorrowful family history. It didn’t matter to me if he didn’t. I didn’t want to be anywhere other than by his side.

The sound of my cell phone ringing broke my idealistic thoughts and I jumped up and raced for it. It was still sitting in Braiden’s office where I had left it following my earlier temper tantrum. 

Unknown
flashed across the screen, and with shaky hands, I answered, “This is Rebecca.”

“Ahhhh, there is my sweetheart.”

His voice didn’t make me recoil with fear this time. I replied with pure unadulterated anger, “Where is my sister, you sick fuck?” He snickered and it just made me angrier. “You know what?” His laughter died down. “You are nothing but a spoiled little shit with daddy issues. Get over it and let Emily go.” That got his attention.

“You don’t know shit about my father and if you did, you wouldn’t throw him into this equation so easily. He would search and find every person who ever meant anything to you, then put a bullet in their head without thinking twice. He would leave you for last, just so you could watch him destroy everyone you love.”

I snorted with unladylike grace. “Yeah, well, from what I hear you should be scared of daddy, too, because apparently your little drug habit doesn’t fly with him, and your financial burdens are nothing but an embarrassment to the Levier name. Perhaps I should call him and let him know what you’ve been up to. Let him know you’re in Claymont and that you have Emily?”

“So fucking brave,” he growled with unrestrained hostility. “Here I was prepared to make you a deal and you have me second guessing myself. Maybe I should just kill Emily now and be done with it.” I didn’t know how to answer that; I didn’t want to beg, but I didn’t want him to hurt Emily either, so I remained quiet. “So, now that I seem to have your attention, this is a one-time only offer,
sweetheart. I know your man Mr. Cole and his security dogs have encouraged you not to proceed with handing me over the deed to your property. I know the Montgomery boys are currently searching Claymont for me, and I can guarantee you they will not find me. Therefore, I am giving you the option to save your sister. I have a lawyer ready and waiting, all you have to do is meet me, sign over the deed to your home, and I leave. I get the money I need out of your property, and you’ll get your precious sister. But you come alone. You ditch Jean Claude and get your fine ass into a car and start driving east on the main highway, out of town. Fifty-five miles outside of town, you’ll see an exit for Mountain Range Road, it shouldn’t take you more than an hour to get there. Pull off on the side of the road, sit there and wait for my next call. What do you say, Ms. Donovan? You brave enough to rescue your sister or are you as soft as that warm pussy of yours?”

I glanced out the study doorway. Charlie was still fast asleep on the couch, his truck parked in the driveway. I could do this. I loved my home, but I loved my sister more. If all it took to keep her safe was to give up our house, I could do it without hesitation. “Why would I trust you to not hurt me or Emily?”

He laughed. “If you have even half a clue as to who I am, then you know I can’t be trusted, but, sweetheart, you don’t have a choice because I will put a bullet in your sister’s head and not think twice about it.”

“I’m on my way,” I said with more determination than I felt.

“Remember, sweetheart, you come alone. If I catch wind of anyone else with you, I will kill Emily.”

I hung up, not wanting to hear another word from that asshole’s mouth about killing my own flesh and blood. I tiptoed out of the office and quickly dressed in warm cargo pants, a t-shirt and hoodie. I hesitated at getting the gun that Charlie had secured in a drawer beside the bed. So I couldn’t shoot straight, but maybe, if I got close enough I could hit something vital. I shoved it down the back of my pants like I’ve seen Charlie do it, and found it incredibly uncomfortable, so instead I chose to stick it in the pocket in the front of my hoodie. Not very hip or gangsta, but as much as I was a creature of style, I was also a creature of comfort. Standing over Charlie, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest, I couldn’t bring myself to simply leave him without an explanation. He would freak out and if the situation was reversed, I would go ballistic. When he eventually woke, I had no doubt he would search the house high and low for me. So I scribbled him a quick note letting him know William’s directions and left it on one of the pillows on the bed, hoping he wouldn’t miss it. I wasn’t stupid, I didn’t trust William, and I wasn’t about to put my life completely in his hands.

Climbing into Charlie’s big truck, I started it up. I held my breath with the ridiculous notion that it would somehow keep the noise down and get me away from the house without waking Charlie up. Idiot. As I drove off down the street, the front door to Dillon and Braiden’s home remained closed.

I wished I was still back in there, securely wrapped in Charlie’s arms.