Blindfold: The Complete Series Box Set (43 page)

“I know what it means,” he snapped. “And here I thought I was being courteous. You didn’t want me to be a dick. Would you rather I be an ass?”

“This isn't any better!” I glared at him from several feet away. “Right now, you’re treating me like a stranger. I don't think I deserve to pay because some chick hurt you a long time ago.”

“You’re not paying, Toni.” His tone had taken on that flat note I hated. “That would imply you meant the same to me as Lily.” He paused, as if letting me digest what he was saying. “You don’t.”

I stiffened, but my expression stayed the same.

“We’re great in bed, and you’re fun to be around, but we barely know each other. If it wasn’t for what happened with Isadora, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Lily, though...we were going to get married. She was my world.”

It was harder this time, not letting myself react.

We’re great in bed. You’re fun.

Translation: you’re a good fuck, but that’s all you’re good for.

I was an idiot.

Swallowing the knot in my throat, I said quietly, “Well, it’s nice to know that I’ve provided an adequate service for you.”

Ash’s eyes flashed. “Toni, that’s not what I meant.”

“Isn’t it?” I looked at him as I struggled to keep my voice even. “I thought we'd become, I don't know, friends. I thought I was helping you, offering you...” I shook my head. “It doesn't matter. I can see it clearly now. I’ve been your distraction while Isadora was missing. Now that she’s back, you don’t need to be...distracted.” He started toward me. Jerking up my hands, I said, “Stay back.”

“Look, you need to calm down.”

He did not just say that.

“Don’t tell me what I need to do!” Baring my teeth at him, I jabbed a finger in his direction. Still, I managed to keep my voice down so no one else would hear. “You don’t
know
me, remember? You don’t know
what
I need.” I raked him over with a derisive look and added, “Unless we’re talking about sex, right? Because that's all you know. How to fuck someone. Well, you're done fucking me.”

“You’re overreacting,” he snapped.

“Like I said, you know sex, but nothing else.” I gave him a look of mock pity. Holding up a hand, I ticked off a finger as I listed some of the others. “There are certain things you don't say to a woman, and that's one of them. It ranks right up there with
Are you on your period or something, you’re not wearing that, are you
and my favorite...
it’s not you, it’s me
.” With a saccharine smile, I said, “And, for the record? When you don’t see me around again? Rest assured, Ash. It’s
you
, not me.”

“What...” he sputtered. “Are you quitting? That’s real professional, Toni.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me.

The look I gave him was pure contempt. “Of course not,
Mr. Lang
. I don’t have to quit to never see you again. Isadora lets me set my own hours, and from here on out, I’ll be quite certain to set them so I’m not anywhere near this place during the hours when you're here. I’m done putting up with this shit.”

Jutting my chin up, I refused to let him see how much he’d hurt me, how much I’d been thinking about whatever it was we’d had.

Without another word, I turned to the door.

He said my name, but I didn’t look back. There really wasn’t a point.

***

A woman on the New York subway got used to a lot of things. I knew I had.

Bracing my feet and locking my knees in place so the guy next to me who's trying to encroach on my space with his legs spread, and his thigh shoving up against mine...yeah. Used to that.

The guy across from me who was staring at my tits, and pretending otherwise when I met his eyes and stared him down. Used to that, but so fed up with it.

The flirtations that went straight into annoyed insults when I didn't respond.

The flirtations that turned into hurt masks when I made it clear I wasn't interested.

And then there were the creepers.

Tonight it was an unknown creeper,
and
the guy across from me. He wouldn’t stop staring at my tits, and when I finally managed to catch his eye and glare at him, all he did was lick his lips and lean back in the chair so he could stroke his penis through his pants.

“Hey!”

The deep, sharp bark of a voice came from the man a few seats down from mine. I shot him a startled look, but the crotch lizard across from me didn’t even look away. At least not until a giant of a man crossed the aisle and bent down, shoving his face into the other guy’s space.

“You keep that up, and I’ll rip your dick off and feed it to you.”

The guy’s demeanor suddenly changed. He shriveled and he wouldn’t look at me or anybody else. The hand on his crotch moved to lay limply against his leg.

The tall guy turned and met my eyes. “You cool?”

“Yeah.” The unexpected display of gallantry made me smile. I needed that tonight. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Dark eyes set against equally dark skin crinkled a little as he smiled. “Ain’t nobody should have to put up with that shit, ma’am.” He nodded his head at me and sat back down.

When he got off at my stop a few minutes later, I glanced at him cautiously. He nodded at the crotch freak. “He still watching you. I’m just gonna make sure you get out of here okay, if you don’t mind. Or you can call the police.”

He said it with a deep southern drawl and the sound made me smile.

Po
-lice.

“Thanks. My brothers don’t live far from my apartment, so I’ll call them once I hit street level.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw the creeper shifting on his feet. Then he darted back onto the train. It rolled forward a few seconds later.

Strangely, I still felt eyes on me.

The sensation continued as we moved up the steps. “This isn’t your normal stop, is it?”

“Nope. Still have a few more to go.” He shrugged it off. “You got brothers? How many?”

“Four. One lives out of state, but the other three?” I laughed. “If it wasn’t for all the buildings, I could throw a rock and hit their homes, two of them at least.” Slipping him a look, I asked, “Why are you doing this? Is it a southern gentlemen type of thing?”

“Naw. Maybe it’s a big brother thing. I got two little sisters myself. Guess I like to think that somebody would step in if they were getting that kind of treatment.” He glanced around as we came to an intersection. “You wanna make that call to one of your brothers now?”

I nodded and pulled up Deacon’s number. He answered on the third ring, and I kept it casual, asked if maybe he was in the area. He was, a block up at a pub with some friends.

Smiling at my unnamed escort, I waved and then moved with the crowd to join my brother.

And still, I had that odd feeling of being watched.

***

The sight of my building ahead was a sweet one.

I was more than ready to get off the street, even with Deacon walking along next to me. He hadn’t entirely bought my excuse of me just feeling kind of blue at the end of a rough day, so I ended up telling him I’d gotten spooked by somebody on the subway.

I’d gone with the insubstantial creeper I'd felt watching me but hadn’t seen, rather than the freak, though.

Knowing Deacon, he’d want to go back and try to hunt the jerk down. I didn’t want to deal with that.

If I saw that pervert again, I’d take a picture of him and post the asshole on Facebook. Then he’d have my brothers
and
their friends hunting for him. If he thought my stranger savior had been scary, he'd probably end up shitting his pants when he saw my brothers.

“You need to get some rest.” Deacon bumped shoulders with me as I unlocked my front door. “You haven't had an easy past couple days.”

“I know.” I gave him a tired smile. “That’s why I’m not asking you to come up for a beer or anything.”

“You’re an ungrateful sister,” he teased.

“Yep.” Grabbing him in a quick hug, I squeezed tight. “And to further prove that, I’m leaving you here. Go on. Lemme alone. I’m tired.”

Deacon shook his head and gestured to the door. “Get your ass inside and I will.”

“Save me from protective older brothers.” Rolling my eyes, I headed to the door, keys in hand. Once I was inside, he turned and headed off. I took the time to grab my mail, and then I trudged up the stairs. Now that I didn’t have to pretend, my smile faded and my mood turned bleak.

I never promised otherwise.

Ash’s voice seemed to mock me with every step I took.

We’re great in bed. You’re fun
.

I was such an idiot.

That would imply you meant the same to me as Lily meant.

I hadn’t been looking for a happily ever after or anything. Not really. But I hadn’t really been thinking I was just a handy fuck, either. And that’s all I'd turned out to be. The knowledge made me feel stupid and childish, because if I’d been thinking, I would have realized this sooner.

I was so disgusted with myself. How could I have done this? And why with him

But if I was going to have a meltdown, I was doing it in the comfort of my own apartment.

Grasping my keys, I jammed the one for the lock and wrenched it to the side. Then the deadbolt. Shoving my way in, I slammed the door and dealt with the locks before spinning and falling back against the door.

“I. Am. An. Idiot,” I said quietly. “An
idiot
. How could I do this? And with
Ashford Lang
?”

He was one of the biggest assholes I knew.

But what had I done?

I’d gone and fallen for him.

Tears burned my eyes and I slid to the floor, my hands pressed to my eyes.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. I fought the war with tears and won, mostly out of pride. I’d already done something stupid. I wasn’t going to compound it further by letting myself cry over a guy who’d already made it clear that I hadn't ever been his friend. All I'd been to him was a piece of ass.

“Not anymore,” I said. I pressed my fingers to my eyes. “Not anymore.”

I drew a deep breath. Then another. When I finally thought I was steady enough, I got my feet under me and started to push myself up.

Something slid under my hand. Out of reflex, I picked it up, and for the first few seconds, I didn’t really comprehend what I was reading.

It just didn’t make any sense.

That primal part of my brain understood before the rest of me did.

There was a grainy picture taped to the letter.

It was...me.

Ash and me.

Under the picture was a few short lines.

It won’t take anything to slip in his place one night and slice your pretty neck. Talk to the police or even think about it, and that’s what will happen.

The letter with its ugly threat fell from my numb fingers.

I suddenly remembered how I felt like I was being watched earlier.

I probably had been.

Who had been watching me? And for how long?

And the most important question…why?

Blindfold Vol. V

By Cassie Wild and M.S. Parker

Chapter 1

Ash

“Toni took off in a hurry.”

I didn’t bother looking up at the voice from the doorway. I could practically hear the reproach in my little sister's voice, although her tone was calm and easy. “It’s late. She’s been putting in a lot of time here, as you pointed out.”

“That is true, but is that why she left?”

The direct question was a lot harder to avoid, and Isadora knew I didn’t make a habit of lying to her. Others maybe, but not her. Shifting my gaze upward, I met her eyes. Green, like mine, but a different shade, more like our mother's than our father's.

I didn't say a word, but she must have seen something on my face because she scowled.

“I guess not.”

She came into the library and went straight for the bottle of bourbon I'd left out. I frowned as I watched her study the bottle. Then, with a thoughtful expression, she poured some of it into a glass for herself.

“Iz, you don’t like bourbon.”

“I don’t like a lot of things, big brother.” She shrugged and turned to look at me. “I need something stronger than a Cosmo at the moment. Now, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Toni?”

I was careful not to lie. “What makes you think anything happened?”

“I saw her face as she was walking out.” She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped. Her nose wrinkled and she shuddered. “Damn. That’s strong.”

If she hadn't been working on getting me to talk about something I didn't want to talk about, I might've thought her expression was funny.

Isadora wasn't giving up. “Plus, I can see your face right now. Something happened.”