Blindfold: The Complete Series Box Set (32 page)

Well, part of me did. Part of me wanted to go head to head with him, challenge him, make him back down. But I was afraid if I kept pushing things, I'd be the one backing down. Not just about how rude he was, but about everything.

He’d pushed me away, then he’d reached for me. I knew that's how things would go if I faced off with him. He’d do it again and again. And I’d take him back again and again.

And I’d grow to hate myself because of it.

I had too much self-respect for that.

I had to get out of here.

Gathering up my files and notes, I took a few minutes to document everything that had been done. When Isadora came back, she’d want to know, and I was going to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything.

Soon, I thought.

She’d come soon.

She had to...right?

On my way out, I lingered at the door a few moments longer than normal. But I wasn’t really waiting for him.

That was what I told myself. I didn’t believe it, though.

***

Deacon and Franky were settled down, doing the responsible daddy thing. Part of me was wistful with envy at the lives they had. The one between those two was Kory. He didn’t even live in New York anymore. In high school, he'd decided that he didn’t want to live in the city, and he’d gone to a small arts school in Ohio before settling in Michigan.

Then there was Vic. I knew it sometimes confounded people, but out of all of my brothers, the one I was closest to was Vic. We were only three years apart in age, and we’d fought like crazy growing up. For a while, I’d hated him a little. I would have gone to one of the best Ivy League colleges with a full ride if it hadn't been for him.

But Vic wasn’t the man now that he’d been then. He was a different man now, a better one.

It wasn’t much surprise that I knew exactly where to find him that evening. He'd finished work – I still wasn’t entirely sure what he did, and sometimes, I thought it was better that I didn’t. I had my brother’s schedule memorized. Twice a month, he got to see his son. Fridays, he and I hit the same place: our parents’ house for dinner. Once or twice a week, he’d hit a pub.

But Mondays and Thursdays, Vic had one place he’d go and that was the basketball court in the park near where we'd grown up.

Moving up to the fence, I curled my fingers around the chain link and watched the game in progress. A few people called my name or shouted greetings. I waved but kept my focus on the game.

It was pretty obvious I couldn’t get Ash or Isadora out of my head on my own, so I needed help.

Nothing did it quite like family.

I hadn’t been there more than ten minutes before Deacon showed up.

“You in the mood to kick his ass?” My oldest brother slid me a sidelong look, a smile crooking at his lips.

“Eh, well. It was this or go pick a fight.” I shrugged. “I figured I should avoid getting arrested again since I'd lucked out Friday.”

“Try to avoid punching cops in the future, sweetheart.” He hooked an arm around my neck and hugged me.

I snorted.

The game ended and Deacon and I moved onto the court. Deacon met Vic’s questioning look with a cocky grin before he looked at me.

“What are you up to, Toni? Hanging out with that loser?” He jutted his chin toward Deacon and fired the ball at me.

I caught it and shot it back almost as hard. “Was in the mood for a game. You up?”

“Any time.”

I didn't know when Franky hit the court, but I heard his wife, Yvette, hollering out my name in the distance. “Kick his ass!”

“Which one!” I shouted back. Then I was scrambling to grab the ball before Deacon had it, and all I had in my head was the game.

Two long, sweaty hours later, I collapsed back against the door of my apartment and closed my eyes. My legs felt like noodles and my arms had turned into cement weights.

If nothing else, a couple of hours with my brothers were able to accomplish something nothing else could. My brain felt empty now and I was so tired, it was an effort just to walk across the room and lock myself into the bathroom to shower.

Not even twenty minutes later, I collapsed face down on the bed.

I slid into dreams.

And in my dreams, I slid into Ash’s arms.

Although, really, it wasn’t his arms that held me so enraptured.

It was...everything.

Chapter 14

Toni

I couldn’t move my arms.

I couldn’t move my legs.

I could move my head, though.

My head and my mouth were under my control, as were my eyes.

When Ash had told me that he’d spank me if I didn’t watch my mouth, I'd laughed.

Then I'd moaned.

Moaned, shook, shuddered...

His hand came down on my ass and the hot lick of pleasure was so intense, I almost couldn’t stand it. His voice slid over me like liquid sex.

“You’re going to come. Don’t try to fight it. You’re going to come and I’m going to feel it. I’m going to draw it out and you’re going to be wet and hot...”

“Just do it already!” I snarled.

He laughed and the sound of his laugh wrapped around me, sending tendrils of heat racing through me and I wanted to reach up, grab him by the back of his head and pull him down so I could kiss him.

His mouth on mine. His tongue rubbing against mine.

His hands...then his hands were on me. Fingers plucking at my nipples until I was arched up and whimpering. His knee came between my thighs.

I’d been on my belly. Bound. Tied.

Now, I was free and I intended to take advantage of it.

“Kiss me.” I shoved my hands into his hair.

His cock was inside me. Stroking deep and hard, stretching me and burning me. He was hotter than he’d ever been, his hands firmer. He gripped my hips as he lifted me up, then dragged me down. “You’re going to come,” he said again. “Come for me.”

An electronic peel cut through my head, out of place and discordant.

I twitched.

It sounded again.

My phone. Shit.

The dream shattered and I jerked upright in bed as the phone rang again.

Grabbing at it, I brought it to my ear. “What?” I demanded.

The need to come was riding me hard and I was breathless, aching and empty.

“Toni.”

The sound of Vic’s voice was like the coldest of cold showers. Nothing like a brother to cool the libido.

Groaning, I flopped back on the bed. “Is this urgent?”

“No. I just…”

“Fine. Call back in twenty.” I slammed the phone down and flopped back on the bed, desperate to take care of the need twisting inside me.

Memories flooded me as I slid my hand down the middle of my body. There were dreams and there were dreams. Sometimes, you just had to let your body have what it needed.

***

“You are so not a morning person.”

I looked at the clock before answering. “The clock might read two a.m. but that doesn’t make it morning. You’re calling in the no-man’s land hours, pal. What’s the deal?”

“Well...”

Blowing out a breath, I reached for patience. When it came to my brothers, especially Vic, patience was crucial. Fortunately, I'd had a lifetime of practice.

“If you’re mad I kicked your ass on the court...”

“You wish,” Vic shot back at me, his voice amused. “No, it’s just that picture you gave me. It’s weird, Toni. I’ve been asking, and I’ve been asking a lot of people, the right people. Nobody knows him. Nobody's seen him. That’s not normal.”

“What do you mean, it’s not normal?” Knuckling at my eyes, I tried to coax my brain into waking up. I had to get better about this. There would be times I’d be dragged out of sound sleep in the coming years and I’d have to make some seriously crucial decisions. Psychological emergencies weren't for wusses. “Plenty of people don’t exactly make a career out of the criminal life.”

“Yeah, but almost everybody has an electronic fingerprint anymore, Toni.” He hesitated, then added, “I called in a couple favors to some people who specialize in tracing those fingerprints. Just about everybody in the modern world has them. Their face is somewhere. Driver’s licenses, passports, you name it. Not this guy. He’s like a ghost.”

An icy hand gripped my heart. If the only suspect was a ghost, I was afraid Isadora was already as good as dead.

D as dead.

Blindfold Vol. IV

By Cassie Wild and M.S. Parker

Chapter 1

Ash

The sidewalk slapped against the soles of my shoes with a rhythmic familiarity.

It was predawn. Way too early to be up and way too early to be running, much less thinking, but I was doing all of those things. And why not? It wasn't like I could sleep.

I hadn’t heard from the kidnapper again since that one phone call and the ransom letter. No contact about a drop off point or how the money should be delivered.

No proof of life.

I was starting to lose hope.

And I was pretty sure I was losing my mind.

The rare times when my mind wasn’t occupied with my sister and what might have happened to her, what could be happening to her, I was mentally kicking my ass over the way things had gone with Toni.

It was a never-ending fucking loop.

That was what had driven me out of the house and onto the streets rather than down into my personal gym for my morning run. Being down there made me think about how it had been sparring with her. Then it made me think of how badly I’d screwed things up. I'd been an idiot virtually every step of the way, and then, when I'd almost gotten things on an even keel, I'd let my dick take control and made things even worse. I hadn't even realized that was possible until I'd done it.

Dodging a busty blonde in running tights and micro-sized bra, I pounded the pavement harder. My head pounded in time with my feet striking the ground, and I ground my teeth together. Of course, that just made my headache worse, but I kept doing it. I was miserable and part of me wanted to stay that way. I deserved it.

For the first time in my life, I'd had somebody who was trying to actually help me, or at least
be
there with me when everything was going to shit. And what had I done? I hadn't even been satisfied to just push her away. I'd had to annihilate any chance of her ever forgiving me.

I had to stop before I drove away everyone.

If I didn’t find a way, Toni was going to quit. I could already see it in her eyes. The only reason she hadn’t told me to go fuck myself was because of her connection to Isadora. It didn't surprise me that Toni felt so strongly about Isadora. Everyone who met my little sister loved her. She was just that kind of person.

The complete opposite of me.

I’d never connected to anybody but Isadora like that in my life. She was all I had.

It wasn't a mystery why. I went out of my way to hold people at arm’s length. I'd learned too young that if I let people get close, they could hurt me. They
would
hurt me. The only reason I'd kept my sister close was because I'd known she needed it. And yet, even with her, there were parts of myself I didn't share.

As I rounded the corner, I caught sight of a couple lingering on the curb. I slowed to a walk, unable to look away.

They looked like they were maybe in their early fifties. My parents’ age before they died. He was standing in front of a car, a briefcase in hand, and she was looking at him. Only at him. It was like the two of them were all that mattered in the world.

Something hit me then. I stumbled and had to catch myself on the nearby light post. Bending over, I pretended to struggle to catch my breath. I was three miles into my run, an easy one over all, but I was feeling as if I couldn't get enough air. It just wasn’t related to the run.

It was because of them.

My parents had enjoyed that kind of connection. They’d had each other, and they had me. Then, after years of thinking I was it, they had their miracle baby. And no matter how much they loved Isadora, they never made me feel like I wasn’t enough. We'd been a family and I was old enough when they passed to understand what that really meant.

Envy had a bitter aftertaste.

I straightened, unable to stop myself from watching the couple again.

The woman pressed one last kiss to the man's cheek, and then turned, going toward the apartment building behind her. She never even noticed me. The man did, though. His gaze lingered for a moment, not a trace of embarrassment or chagrin to be seen. After a few seconds, he gave me a polite nod.

It was the smile on his face that made my heart twist though.

It was one that said he knew exactly how lucky he was to have what he had.

And that he pitied the rest of us who didn't.

***

I lingered at the house for the rest of the morning until well after the time Toni usually arrived.