TogetherinCyn (14 page)

He backed off but that’s when I saw it. A long,
black-leather handle clutched in his fist and a bullwhip wriggling in front of
him like a snake.

“Any apologies you want to offer before I teach you a lesson
in respect?” He yanked the whip up, preparing to strike, and all I could think
was one thing.
Fuck You.

“Huck Hugh!” I forced the words past the gag. He brought the
whip down but it only moved the air next to my stomach.

“Apparently I’m out of practice.” He taunted, “I’ve been
waiting for you, Cynthia. I didn’t get to have you last time because Matt was
too much of a pussy. I always get what I want.” I shook my head. “‘No’
shouldn’t be a word in a woman’s vocabulary. That’s why the gags come in so
handy. You are drooling a bit though. Can’t you do anything right?”

He struck again but I shifted the tiniest bit so it hit the
wall beside my stomach. I didn’t cower. I glared at him.

“Didn’t take long to figure out you were panting after the
two Kennedy boys. Matt said you used to call their names when you were fucking
him. That shit isn’t going to be tolerated when I’m balls-deep inside you. Took
me quite a bit longer to find out about this place. Finally found the right
questions to ask of the right people though.” He lashed the stinging end of the
whip along my thigh and the oddest thing happened.

My mind floated free of the pain.

I’d feared confronting him. He’d ripped the ability to feel
safe in my own skin out from under me, cloaking my mind in what-ifs. On the
darkest nights when I couldn’t forget, his features still haunted me. Dragging
me into the cesspool of dread he lived in.

But I realized something in the void where my consciousness
floated. That’s all he was.

A man.

Nothing more than a weak loser who preyed on people he could
bully. I wasn’t going to let him victimize me ever again.

By God, he might punish my body but I’d die before he raped
my mind again. What happened before was
not
my fault. And this time…this
time I’d make him pay.

It took all my concentration to face my attacker but after a
few failed attempts, the concrete floor swam into focus.

“You were the one that got away. Until they hired me.” He
let the whip fall. “I was an off-duty cop making side money as a bouncer.
That’s all I needed to gain access to the building. Turns out, I didn’t need
full access. Eavesdropping at Jenna’s door and listening to those fuckers talk
about you was all it took.”

Warmth at my wrists registered in my foggy head, but no
pain. Nor the welts on my thighs. I tipped my head against the wall and stared
him down.

I focused on keeping my breathing steady. When my limbs were
free, I was going to rip his dick off if he tried to get it anywhere close to
me.

“Drool, Cyn? If you knew how to be a proper submissive,
you’d learn how to take punishment with better grace. But don’t worry, we’ve got
hours to practice.” He ripped my panties, the material slicing at the flesh of
my hip, and tossed them aside. My entire frame shook with rage and fear. When I
didn’t cower, the sadistic asshole looked so pleased. “I’m gonna show you what
a real man can do.”

“What the fuck?” Jared’s voice was the sweetest sound I’d
ever heard.

Lights filled the room just as Bryce reached for one of my
wrists. I caught sight of Jared rushing in and my chin fell forward in
gratitude. I tried desperately to focus while another man shot past Jared. My
knees buckled before I got a good look at who it was. I could only hope it was
Chris and I was safe.

Jared removed the gag and threw it in disgust on the floor.
He released the cuffs and held me close. A rhythmic pounding beat inside my
head and I wanted to collapse.

“Are you okay? Say something, sweetheart.” He lifted my chin
and cringed.

“I’m…” I swallowed convulsively and blinked hard. Everything
remained out of focus. “Glad—see you. Chris?”

Chris buried his fist in Bryce’s abdomen. The spineless
dickwad tried to fight. He didn’t stand a chance.

“How many times did you hit her, you cocksucker? How many
times did you mar her flesh? I’m going to rip you apart, so help me.” Chris
landed another punch every few words.

“She asked for it,” Bryce wheezed, wiping blood from his
mouth. “Both times.”

I shook my head to refute it but all three guys had gone
still. “What…do…you …mean…both…times?” It sounded nothing like Chris. He
sounded deadly.

“She…didn’t tell you?” he exhaled shallowly and coughed.
“Had her…tied up…bed.” Everything came out choppy while he fought to breathe. I
couldn’t help thinking a collapsed lung wouldn’t hurt my feelings too bad.
“She…asked…for…it.”

Chris countered, “She. Said. No.”

“Please. It’s her word…against mine. No lights. No cameras.”
Bryce leered at me as he stood straighter one more time, fueled by
righteousness.

“We’ve got infrared video and audio recordings, you prick,”
Jared said from my side. He helped me into my robe—he must have grabbed it from
the closet. I didn’t remember him taking the spreader bar from around my ankles
but it was gone. He lifted me into his arms. “The police have already been
called.”

Bryce went still and his smirk morphed into panic. He took
another swing at Chris, who easily evaded the attack, then made a break for the
door. Chris’ snarl of rage made Bryce stumble and Chris tackled him to the
floor.

Between one blink and the next, Bryce lay unconscious and
Chris towered over him. His chest heaved in and out.

“But it was so dark. There wasn’t enough light coming from
the closet,” I whispered. Chris still stood at the ready though he’d lowered
his fists.

Jared watched me. “Those cameras ensure your safety. Along
with the safety of all our members. Each of them is equipped with night vision
and we’ve got more than one in every room. Don’t worry, we’ve got everything on
video. Nick and Jackson are copying off all the footage to give to the police.
We’ve got friends in the department. We suspected someone here was causing the
problems but he’s been good at covering his tracks until tonight. I’ll bet my
left nut he’s the dirty cop they’ve been hunting for.”

The bad guy would be arrested, I wouldn’t have to deal with
him again on my own. But it meant everyone would see exactly what I was. Everything
my parents had accused me of. It would be front and center for the whole city
to see. It was partly why I didn’t press charges the first time. I’d been so
ashamed I let it happen and now I’d let it happen again. My humiliation knew no
ends.

A sob tore from inside me. “J, get her out of here,” Chris
ordered. “I’ll be up when I can.”

Tears ran down my cheeks but I tried to concentrate on
Chris. He didn’t look at me. Not once. But I watched him clenching and
unclenching his fists next to the black leather of his pants. He stared at
Bryce. His muscles rippled under his skin. His scars moved with him. He was a
warrior and I couldn’t stop shivering.

“Chris, I—”

“J…” he barked.

Jared growled, carrying me away. I lost sight of Chris but I
saw my collar lying on the floor. Broken. Damaged.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll make it okay.” Jared hugged me,
wrapping me in his warmth and strength.

I’d never felt more alone.

The strained silence was too much for me to bear. “How did
you know?” My voice was raw. Helpless. I felt lost and needed him to keep me
grounded.

“Know what, baby?” He laid me on the bed in their master
suite then moved the robe aside, tucking it beside me. The muscles in his jaw
flexed continuously, betraying his false calm. The angry red welt glowed
against my paler-than-normal skin. He grazed the cut from my torn panties and I
groaned. Adrenaline raced through my bloodstream, making me twitchy and
restless.

“To come to the club.”

He got a wet washcloth and said, “We called Bardwell
Security to cancel our meeting when we were still at the bar. He apologized but
said they’d received a call postponing the meeting. We asked him who had called
and he said it was Jackson. We figured wires got crossed somewhere so we came
here.”

Sitting next to me, he wiped the raised flesh on my stomach
and thighs. He moved the cloth with sure hands but his eyebrows were drawn into
a scowl.

“Why did you try to cancel?”

“We were going to surprise you.” His gaze flickered up and
quickly to my thigh again. “We were going to search for you at the townhouse
since we hadn’t been able to get a hold of you on your cell.”

“I thought I put it in my purse when I got to work but it
must have fallen out. When I found it in the floorboard later, it was dead.”

He took the washcloth away and brought me a glass of water.
I let the liquid soothe my dry throat but then it hit my tummy like a penny
falling into an empty well.

Someone knocked on the front door and Jared squeezed my hand
before leaving.

My lashes must have fluttered closed because the next thing
I knew, someone was approaching and I was cocooned in darkness again. I opened
my eyes and whipped my head toward the doorway with a whimper.

“It’s just me, baby,” Jared confirmed. He kissed my forehead
and rubbed my hands until I let go of the sheets.

“Who was that at the door?”

“Jenna. She brought the first-aid kit so I can patch you up
after a nice long bath.”

“I feel dirty.”

He glared at me but abruptly went to start the water. When
he returned, he found me panting, sitting on the side of the bed. I tried to
shift my thighs to stand but my muscles screamed in protest.

“Don’t hurt yourself. Let me help you up.”

“Why did you come here instead of the townhouse?” I was
exhausted and clammy with sweat but I needed answers and I couldn’t take the
silence. I still felt Bryce’s phantom groping on my skin if I thought about it
too long.

“We wanted to surprise you with a few things but they were
all here. We saw your car in the garage and figured you were here to do some
surprising of your own. Jenna caught us on the way in and asked what took us so
long. We told her about Jackson canceling the meeting. She was confused too but
said we’d figure it out tomorrow, that you were ready for us and we shouldn’t
keep you waiting. She got pulled away so we couldn’t ask her what she meant. We
changed upstairs but Jenna called. She was frantic.”

We’d made it into the bathroom. I clutched his forearm as he
peeled the robe from my shoulders. I didn’t want to feel naked or vulnerable
and Jared must have seen it because he quickly scooped me up and lowered me
into the claw-foot tub.

“How did she know something was wrong?” I sank low,
relishing the warmth of the water even as my muscles quivered. Jared placed a
folded towel under my head then sat on the edge.

“She was helping one of the other subs get ready. When she
went to the master-key cabinet, she found it wide open. Someone had broken into
it, knocking most of the keys from their pegs. Took her a minute to figure out
what had been taken. When she did, she ran to your room but it was locked from
the inside and she couldn’t get in through the electric bypass. I’m sure that
fucker disabled it.”

He added bodywash to another washcloth and kneaded it
roughly. The fleshy flop of lather landed on the surface of the water. Then
with great concentration, he washed me. My tender wrists, my breasts. All the
way to my feet. He rinsed away the taint from Bryce and replaced it with
something kind.

He helped me from the water and dried every inch of me. I
felt cherished. “She told us about the letter as we ran to our offices for the
master keys. You were there for the rest.”

I assured him I could stand on my own so he laid a towel on
the black-marble countertop. He settled me on top, making sure I was
comfortable, then took out a tube of medication.

He took the cap off and squeezed a white line onto his
finger. “This is going to sting but not for long. It’s an antibiotic cream with
a deadener in it so the marks will go numb.”

“Okay,” was all I managed.

He wiped the cream along one of the welts and the sting
registered to my foggy brain. I whimpered when Jared’s lips descended onto my
shoulder. He trailed light kisses along my throat. He lashed his tongue along
my collarbone and I forgot about everything but him.

“I could only imagine what we were going to find, Cyn.” He
held me and I snuggled against him. “I never would have forgiven myself if
anything more serious happened to you. Jesus. Seeing his hands on you is going
to haunt me.”

“Me too,” a strong voice agreed. Chris stood in the doorway,
watching us. He stared at me, my collar clutched in his fist.

“Did you kill him?” Jared asked, helping me off the counter.
Chris’ nostrils flared at the sight of the marks. I jerkily closed the robe and
tied it.

“No,” he grunted and wrapped me tightly in his arms. He was
still shaking after all the time that had passed. “I didn’t think I was going
to get there in time, Cyn. He was going to rape you and I never would have
forgiven myself.”

“But you did. You both got there. The cuts will heal and
I’ll be fine.” After several heartbeats passed, I whispered, “I was so scared
when you wouldn’t look at me. I thought… I thought you were ashamed of me.” I
clenched my jaw, bracing for his response.

“Fuck no.”

“Then…why?”

He tilted my head up and peered clear into my soul. “The
only reason I didn’t kill him is because I didn’t see the damage on your body.
Or the fear in your eyes. If I saw that, I would have ripped him apart.”

I took the collar from his bruised hand. He scooped me up
and I laid my head on his bare shoulder.

He carried me into the bedroom and said, “I could never be
ashamed of you. I’m damn proud of you.”

“But I ruined everything. I knew I wouldn’t be any good at
this.” A wave of sadness struck my heart. This was exactly what my parents had
accused me of all those years ago. I wanted the kink. I craved it. Now all I
wanted was to crawl in a hole and sleep off the humiliation.

“You’re new to this. And how could you think you ruined
anything? You couldn’t get away and you still topped that asshole.” Chris sat
on the bed and held me on his lap with my feet dangling off the edge. Jared
handed me a glass of water, thankfully along with some ibuprofen.

“But I believed it to begin with. I asked Jenna to chain me
to the wall because it was some kind of test. If I trusted you enough, I’d
submit.” I traced the wings in the leather one last time before placing the
collar in my pocket. “I jeopardized my safety, as well as the club’s
anonymity.”

“You let us worry about the club,” Jared answered. “Our only
concern is you.”

“But if I followed through with pressing charges last time,
none of this would have happened.”

“What happened with Bryce the first time?” Chris leaned
against the headboard, cradling me on his lap. Jared sat in a chair next to me,
my feet in his lap. “We need you to talk to us.”

Silence. I tried to order my thoughts. “You know the missing
pages in my diary?” They nodded. “I didn’t throw the pages away. I took them to
the police the day after Bryce hurt me.”

They stiffened. I fell silent again, sniffing tears to keep
them at bay.

“Did he rape you, Cyn?” Chris asked, trying to contain his
anger.

I shook my head, refusing to hide any longer. “No, he
didn’t. And that’s part of why I didn’t tell you right away, because I didn’t
think you’d believe my answer. You’d go avenging me. But it wasn’t your problem
to fix.”

They remained silent.

“I wanted something…more with Matt. I assumed every guy was
into that kind of thing so I told him. He didn’t act all that interested so I
forgot about it. A few nights later, he tied me naked to his bed. I was
excited, wondering about the possibilities. Then Bryce showed up. Matt told me
if I wanted to get kinky, his buddy might as well have a good time too. I told
them that was
not
what I wanted and Bryce started yelling that I didn’t
have any say. I was embarrassed but not very scared since I thought he was all
bark and no bite. But then Matt crammed a gag in my mouth and told me to be
quiet. When he was done, Bryce got out a whip.”

I shivered at the memory and Chris massaged my shoulders.
Jared kneaded my calves. Their warmth gave me the confidence to say more.

“He whipped me. I begged him to stop. He couldn’t understand
me because of the gag so all I kept repeating was no. He told me he would fuck
that word right out of my vocabulary. Matt finally grew a pair and tossed him
off before he could do anything but yank his dick out of his pants. Matt untied
me, I grabbed my clothes. I ran and didn’t look back. Threw the gag out the
window on the way home. To this day, the smell of latex makes me want to puke.
The next morning I filed a report.

“I let them take pictures of the whip marks but they
whispered behind me the whole time. They knew who my parents were when I gave
them my name and one of them had the audacity to ask if this was some kind of
scam. I asked what kind of scam I could possibly be running. He told me Bryce
was a cop and then sneered at me like I was…nothing. It was my fault.” I wanted
to shut them out. Defeat crawled through my head. “He told me they’d follow up
with me if I wanted to press charges after they
spoke
with him. When I
left the department, I ran into him coming on shift. He leered at me before
going inside and said he would be
seeing
me. The cops called and left me
a message after that but I realized nothing would come of pursuing it so I just
never returned the call.”

“And you never told us any of this. Why?” Jared paced away.

“It wasn’t your fight. I made the mistake and it was my
choice whether or not to do anything about it.”

Chris asked, “You were gagged that night but did you raise
holy hell?”

“I yelled and screamed plenty. Told him he was a spineless
piece of shit for taking advantage of a situation that had nothing to do with
him. Then…then I begged him to let me go. I couldn’t take his whip any longer.”

“What about tonight, Cyn? You stood up to that dickwad
without having any way to fight him. You didn’t cower. What did you do?”

Nothing came out when I tried to speak.

“Tell me what you did.”

“I told him to fuck off. I told him you guys would come for
me and he’d better run because you’d never stand for him groping me.”

“Damn straight,” Jared exclaimed, hauling me off Chris’ lap.
“Because we will always protect you. We will always fight for you. You were
made for us.” He punctuated each statement with a kiss.

“Before I came up, I spoke with one of the cops.” Chris
stood. “They had a complaint filed earlier this week against Bryce. Guess he’s
been doing this same shit with other women too. With the evidence from tonight
and the other women, the case is pretty strong against him. He’ll be suspended
pending an investigation and, God willing, a subsequent trial. We’ll get a
restraining order against him to protect you and the club. Nick also found the
footage of Bryce putting the note supposedly from us on your car this morning.”

All this should have made me feel better. Vindicated. No
such luck. I felt stupid.

“Why didn’t you tell us what happened before?” Jared asked.
“We would have gone with you to the police.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I was
embarrassed, ashamed, thought I’d be crucified because I’d asked for it. I
didn’t want you guys to have to rescue me. I was the one who made the mistake.
The statute runs out in less than two months on my case.”

Jared cursed. “Are you gonna let him get away with it, baby?
Are you gonna lie there and take it? That’s not the Cyn I know.”

My eyes closed tight, trying to block reality out for a
little while.

Someone knocked on the door, giving me a good excuse to end
the conversation. Jared answered it.

“The cops need one of you to sign the police report before
they haul Bryce out,” Jenna said from the doorway. “Everyone else is gone
except for Nick and Jackson. We’re changing all the passwords and access codes.
I need your cards.”

“Cyn, where’s your card, baby?” Jared asked, taking his out
of his wallet.

Chris handed his over too.

I answered, “In my bag in Jenna’s space upstairs.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. We hugged each other tight.
She trembled, crying on my shoulder.

“This wasn’t your fault, Jenna. None of it was your fault.”

“Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I made a mistake in believing
the guys would push me this fast on something they knew I was scared of. If
anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

“But I left you a sitting duck,” she stammered through her
tears. One of the guys handed her a tissue. “You got hurt on my watch.”

She retreated down the hall. I couldn’t do anything to fix
this. I wanted to be strong. But I wasn’t. Would I ever be?

“I’ll take care of things,” Jared announced. “We’ll talk
more after I finish downstairs.”