Heart Lies & Alibis (27 page)

He kicked the stool from in front of the chair before forcing his knee between my legs as he leaned down looming over me. The angle forced me to tilt my head back so I could look at him.

"What's it gonna be, Bobbi Jo? Because I gotta tell ya darlin' I meant what I said earlier about you being even finer now than when you were 16 so I wouldn't be opposed to giving you another go beneath the sheets. I'm sure that young buck downstairs has not kept you as satisfied as a woman like you deserves or a man like me can deliver." His eyes ran slowly over the length of my body as he licked his lips. I crossed my arms over my chest but still felt naked beneath his gaze. My fear only heightened his arousal.

I forced a smile to my face, hoping it would make him retreat. I had to neutralize this situation now. "Let's talk Lincoln. I'm sorry for being rude. Please, sit down." I was relieved when he straightened and walked back to the bed. "But do you think I could wash my face first? Get the blood off? And perhaps change my clothes so I could get a little more comfortable." I smiled again and was met with a lustful sneer from Linc. I swallowed the bile back again. I did not want to put myself in a more vulnerable position by changing in front of him but I knew if I hoped to escape this, I needed to be more prepared. The short skirt and silk blouse I had put on this morning to go to Jackson's office was not ideal now.

He flopped back on the bed. "Sure baby. Whatever makes you friendlier. Leave the door to the bathroom open though. Just in case you get any funny ideas." I nodded and pushed myself out of the chair, walking on less than solid legs to my dresser. I pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans before walking into the bathroom. Step one of any escape plan involved me getting into these clothes and I was not taking any chances.

I kept the door open as he had instructed and could feel his stare boring into my back from the bed. I looked in the mirror to access the damage to my face. My lip was swollen and split and my nose looked slightly off center but I had known worse. The last blow to my face had left a huge bruise across my left cheek that was tender to the touch but survivable. I picked up a washcloth and got it wet then started trying to remove the dried blood without causing too much more pain to my face. Before I was finished, I saw Linc get off the bed and amble to the door opening leaning against the jam, the gun in his hand at his side while he kept the other in his pocket.

I stopped my clean up and looked at him in the mirror.

"I thought I better keep a closer eye on you in case you thought about trying something clever in here. Keep doing what you were doing though. It is making you look a hell of a lot better."

I exhaled and continued to clean my face. When I was finished I turned around to look at him. "And I suppose, asking you for a bit of privacy to change my clothes is out of the question."

His eyes darkened with new desire and he laughed out loud, the sound making me cringe inwardly in disgust. I didn't break eye contact with him for a second because I needed him to know I wasn't afraid of him. "Baby, you ain't gonna flash anything I haven't seen before. It might be a little older now but I can see you've done a good job of keeping that body tight so I wouldn't mind getting a more personal view." His eyes dropped to my breasts, his gaze undressing me with his unfiltered lust.

I had no choice in the matter so I steeled myself against the moment and began to undress, my eyes still locked on Linc's so he could see he hadn't broken me as much as he hoped. I unzipped my skirt first, letting it slide to the floor. I watched as his eyes lowered to drag themselves down my legs and back up, stopping at where my small thong sat between my legs and offered little protection. He licked his lips and shifted against the door.

"By the way, I like your leg jewelry too." He teased referring to my ankle bracelet. He had seen it earlier when I was tied to the chair and had been very interested to hear all about it. "Oh but one thing I forgot to tell you Bobbi Jo, don't get any ideas about trying to screw with that thing in order to bring the cops to the house. You'd be dead before they arrived. Your jailbait boyfriend too." He immediately returned to raking my body with his eyes.

I stood paralyzed for a moment before my eyes flicked down and I was repulsed to see the front of his pants bulging with his growing erection. Keep it together Reagan. You can do this. You have to for Declan. I brought my eyes back up and met his again. They had darkened even more as his desire grew with each movement from me.

I reached for my jeans pulling them on, relieved to finally have some material between my skin and Linc's gaze.

"You know you can leave those off if you'd like, darlin'. I wouldn't mind." He sneered at me when my eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm good with them on, thanks." He shrugged in indifference.

I started unbuttoning my silk shirt, wishing I had chosen a more sensible bra this morning when I got dressed than the very sheer one I wore now. But Declan had a special fondness for this particular undergarment and I had worn it for him. Now I wondered if he would ever see it or me again.

As the blouse slipped off my shoulders to the floor, I heard Linc draw in a deep appreciative breath. I reached for my t-shirt but he reached out and stopped my hand. "Wait a second there. Don't be in such a hurry." He held my arm to the side so he could get a good look at my breasts. I closed my eyes wishing the moment to end as soon as possible. "Damn Bobbi Jo, that is nice. One thing about having more money now, you sure can buy some sexier lingerie." My body convulsed inside.

I was relieved when he finally let my arm go and I quickly pulled the t-shirt over my head, smoothing it down my body. I crossed my arms looking at him. "Now what do we do Lincoln?" I could see by the way his eyes sparked he had ideas that I prayed he wouldn't act on.

When he finally spoke his words were husky with desire, a sound I heard like a distant memory, a reminder of when we had been lovers. It was a memory I wanted to let die forever. "Let's talk. Like we said." I knew he was lying but I also knew I had no choice.

He held his arm out indicating he wanted me to exit the bathroom first. As I passed him, he landed a hand hard across my ass making me jump. I turned a heated glare at him. He smirked at me. "Yeah, firm like I thought."

My anger became more pressing than my fear and I snapped at him without thinking. "Don't touch me again." I knew my mistake the moment the words were out of my mouth.

I backed away as he lifted the gun, barrel pointed right between my eyes as he advanced on me. I backed as far as I could go, stopping only when I hit the wall. He put the gun as close to my face as he could without actually touching me, his face mere centimeters behind it with his free hand leaning on the wall beside my head. "Let's pretend you didn't just mouth off like that Bobbi Jo because I would sure hate having to mess up that pretty face any more than I already have. Now, I think I've changed my mind about spending some time talking. I need to crash for a bit." He stepped back lowering the gun slightly and nodded towards the bed.

" Why don't you go lay down." When I didn't move fast enough the gun came back to its previous position. "It weren't an invitation." His eyes were black pools of nothing and they sent a shiver down my entire body. Things were headed down the path I most feared.

I slid away from the wall and walked to the bed, knowing I had no other choice. Lying down on my usual side, I stared at the ceiling for a moment with a growing sense of dread. Out of the corner of my eye I watched while Lincoln kept the gun pointed at me and stepped back and rummaged in my top drawer until he found what he was searching for. He extracted a few silk scarves and walked toward me. Oh hell.

Straddling my body on the bed he demanded "Put your hands above your head." He knelt painfully on my extended arms with his full weight, pinning me to the bed. I felt his bulging cock press against my chest causing a new wave of fear and revulsion through my body. He laid the gun down so he could secure my arms to the headboard with the scarves and for a brief moment I had the insane idea I could reach it. The moment passed quickly.

First the left hand and then the right were tied, the silk material cutting painfully into my wrists as my arm screamed from the awkward position they were forced into. Once he was assured my arms were locked, he shifted position so he could keep my legs pinned to the bed.

He secured the third scarf around my ankles, just below the monitor, hobbling me from the use of my legs. He patted my knee and our eyes met for a moment. "This way I can get some shut eye without worrying about you making a stupid move to escape." He climbed off the bed and looked me up and down from head to toe. I felt more exposed and vulnerable than ever in my life and the moment did nothing but excite Linc even more.

My eyes opened wider in fear as he approached me, again straddling my thighs as he climbed on the bed, the weight of his body crushing me into breathlessness. "I like you in this position Bobbi Jo. Very sexy. I always wanted to try the kinky stuff when we were together but you weren't so accommodating. I guess we can see now if anything has changed." He ran his hand down the sides of my breasts, his fingers brushing my nipples, before stopping just above the top of my jeans. When I thought I might wretch, he leaned forward, ripping a kiss from my mouth. I struggled against the invasion of his tongue, turning my head away from him and breaking the kiss.

He laughed as he pulled away, biting my lip hard, before he sat up. "I see you can still be a tiger in bed. That may prove really nice before this night is over but right now, I need some sleep." He rolled off me onto the other side of the bed, the gun lying at his side but far from my reach.

His snores filled the room in minutes and when I knew he was fully asleep I finally let the silent tears slide down my cheeks and the sobs wrack my body. This day had become a hell I could never have imagined and not for the last time I was sure, I prayed for this nightmare to be over.

Chapter 16

Pure exhaustion eventually drove me to a restless sleep filled with nightmares about monsters. Sunlight had just begun to stream into the room when I felt a heavy arm flop across my body. My eyes flew open in surprise before I realized Lincoln had rolled over in his sleep and his arm now lay heavy across my stomach. I tried to wiggle away but he took the movement as an invitation to pull me closer. He wrapped his arm tighter, nuzzling his body against my side until I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I groaned and squeezed my eyes closed again and wishing the moment away.

My eyes flew open again when a pound at the bedroom door was followed quickly by it slamming open and Roosevelt stomping into the room. He was not the answer I was hoping for.

He stopped at the end of the bed, his face curled in a sick smirk as if he caught us in a compromising situation. I glared at him and he laughed." Looks like I missed the real party last night while I was stuck babysitting that dick head downstairs. Dude never even came to until this morning so he wasn't much company." He grinned and my stomach fell.

The falling feeling threatened to spread from my stomach outward to start every part of me panicking but I kept myself in check. The only thing freaking out would get me right now was another beating from Rose or Linc.

Lincoln had always been a heavy sleeper and I discovered nothing had changed when he barely moved after Rose's loud entrance. Rose walked to his side of the bed, stepping on the edge of the mattress, he shook the mattress while yelling "Rise and shine baby brother. Daylights a burnin'. Time to get this show on the road."

Linc groaned in complaint but mercifully rolled off me. I took a deep breath, thankful to be able to breathe again. "What the hell Rose? Why you gotta bust in here like that? Damn, what time is it?" Linc sounded groggy and pissed off.

Rose walked back to the end of the bed. "Almost 8 o'clock. C'mon, we got some stuff to do. Get your ass up." He looked at me for a moment. "Better let her arms down or she won't be in great shape when we go to meet the Cartel. I'll give you two some privacy for whatever." His cackle filled my ears as he walked out of the room. God I hated him more than just about anything, including his brother right now.

Linc stretched and then picked up the gun before standing up. He walked around and reaching in his pocket withdrew a switch blade. Snapping it open, he kept the gun pointed at me while he reached up, slicing easily through my restraints. My numb arms fell to the bed landing hard above my head and it took all my strength to bring them down to rest beside my body. They screamed in agony from being held up for so long. Finally, my strength began to return and I rubbed some life back into my throbbing limbs.

Linc cut through my ankle ties as well. My legs burned from where the silk had carved into them all night. Linc backed up off the bed, closing the knife and slipping it into his pocket before stretching again. "You heard Rose, let's get going. Unless you have some other reason for us to stay here in bed, Bobbi Jo." His lascivious smirk made my skin crawl. I climbed off the bed as fast as my stiff, sore limbs would allow. "Another time then." He said, shrugging his shoulders in dismissal. Not on your life, asshole I thought as I walked past him.

After I convinced Linc to let me use the bathroom before we went downstairs, I slipped into the small room. He stood just outside the slightly closed door waiting impatiently. In my brief moment alone, I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I had survived the night without what I feared the happening. I hoped there was a small part of the Linc who had claimed to love me somewhere still inside him and that he would remember that before he acted on any of his sexual threats. I shivered, thinking about the outcome if he didn't.