“Shh,” he coaxed, his hand at my back, his fingers wet on my skin. “Back down now, girl. I’m not going to fuck your ass today. Hands back around your ankles.”
I mewled but resumed my position and he resumed the rubbing of my clit, pinching it harder now as he added a second finger into my asshole.
I was barely able to hold still and to my shame, couldn’t remain quiet as he brought me to the very edge of orgasm.
“Not today. Today you’ll come with my fingers in your ass and you’ll learn how good girls, girls who do as they’re told, are rewarded,” he said. “Come, Lily.”
Chapter 11
His phone finally rang while he was on his walk out to the shed. The day was overcast, but still reasonably warm — perfect for what he had in mind. He’d seen the boxes under the window when he’d gone in to see Lily, the way she’d stood there, guilty, caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Lily had been a bad girl, so he needed to take care of that little problem.
Lake put the phone to his ear as he sorted through the mess of the shed. “Tell me you got the car.”
“I could tell you that, but it wouldn’t be true.”
Lake sighed, but inside he was relieved. For every day that elapsed since his last call with his fixer, he doubted more and more he’d ever hear from him again.
“So, what happened? You found it, didn’t you?”
“Yep. But someone else found it first.” Kellen paused a moment. “I parked the truck about half a click past the quarry and walked down to it. Never got close to the car though. Place was crawling.”
“Cops?”
Lake’s heartbeat began to thud. This was... not good.
“No way. Two vans, no markings. Suits. One tall motherfucker seemed to be running the show.”
“Dark hair?”
“Affirmative.”
DeSalvo.
A rake fell against the steel wall of the shed, the sound ringing in Lake’s ears. “Jesus.”
“I got good eyes on ‘em through the scope—”
“You had your weapon on them?”
“Had no idea who they were. Of course I had my weapon on ‘em. Had a good field of fire from a thick stand along a ridgeline to the northeast, just in case. Was a fucking bitch to get up there though.”
No cops.
He agreed with Kellen — definitely no cops, yet. Had DeSalvo informed the US Marshals though? That wasn’t clear. The men described could easily be more marshals or Randall’s men. He’d have to assume DeSalvo wasn’t the only corrupt marshal, so at this point it didn’t matter. The good news was, no cops. At worst, DeSalvo was trying to at least keep the news within the Marshals Service. But if Lake were in DeSalvo’s shoes? No way would he let the Marshals Service know he’d lost custody of Lily. It had to be Randall’s men then. It would give them more time.
But they had the car now.
“Kellen, were you followed?”
“No way. I watched them all go then humped it through the bush back to my truck. No roads on foot.”
“You need to get gone. Now.”
Lake tried to think. They probably had time, after all. The car complicated things, but without the police involved, they were likely safe. For now. With the car, DeSalvo could keep the cops ignorant as to what had really happened, and he could probably string the Marshals Service along for as long as he needed too. If it was Randall’s men searching for them, they’d take their time, be careful.
Eventually though, they’d likely zero in. Nothing obvious connected Lake or Lily to his cabin. But cartels were fiendishly clever — and relentless. He’d done enough business with them over the years to know.
Someday, they’d find them.
“You heard me, right? They had no idea I was there, boss.”
“Kellen, listen to me, and do what I tell you.” Lake paused to calm his voice. “If they get hold of you, we’re all dead. Do you understand me?”
“Affirmative.”
“Gone — and stay gone. I don’t want to hear from you anytime soon, you got me?”
“You plannin’ on telling me what the fuck’s going on?”
Lake rubbed a hand across his forehead. “That big mother you got a bead on? Crooked marshal. Randall owns him.”
Kellen whistled.
“They were going to take Lily Cross hostage.” Lake winced. “And I was going to hand her over to Randall.”
Even over the phone, he could feel Kellen cool.
“I should’ve told you, Kellen, but it was my last job. Shitty thing to do to you, I know. I’m sorry for it.”
“Why do you have her now? Why bring an entire cartel and a crooked marshal down on you? Makes no fucking sense, boss.”
“DeSalvo… was going to work her over first.”
“Fucking prick. I knew I should’ve fired him up. Had his mug right in the crosshairs…”
“I couldn’t let him do it.” Lake kicked an old can of spray paint, sending it spinning back into the darkness of a corner of the shed. “Just couldn’t.”
“Never could resist the rescues, could you?” Kellen gave him his trademark wry chuckle. Lake suddenly feared he’d never hear it again.
“Best thing to do right now is stay out of sight. Out of country, if you can swing it. I don’t know how much they checked into me, but it’s a good bet they know you’re an associate. They’ll assume it. So, get gone.”
He finally spotted the can he was looking for. Now, he had to find a damned brush.
“I’m off the grid in one hour, boss. I don’t expect I’ll be talking to you again, will I?”
“No, I don’t expect you will, Kellen.”
“Take care of her. But don’t be a fucking hero.”
No danger of heroism here! Monster.
The line went dead.
Lake looked up at the trees swaying gently in the warm wind. “Good luck, my friend.”
He finally found the brush and headed back.
* * *
He didn’t even make the second brush stroke down the glass before Lily’s pretty face appeared on the other side of the window. Her eyes were wide, the question on her lips. But he simply smiled at her, adding another broad swath of black paint.
This is fucked up, Lake.
“You passed fucked up about six exits ago, dude,” Lake muttered.
Lily’s lips moved, the sound only barely discernable over the whispering of the breeze through the leaves. “Why?”
She needed to learn. Every time she was defiant, every time she pushed the boundaries, the stricter he’d become, the more of her freedom she’d be relinquishing. Soon, he hoped she’d really understand, and he could go easy on her again.
But now was not that time, unfortunately.
He knew the paint wouldn’t block out all the light, but that would be to his advantage. It would let in just enough so that Lily could see what her behavior was depriving her of, the wages of disobedience to him.
As Lake completed the last stroke over the glass, the window fully blacked out, he set down the paint can, laying the brush across the top. For a moment, he closed his eyes, searching his mind, taking stock about what was okay, and what was, well, evil. This wasn’t evil, quite. Did this need to be done? Yes, she had to learn. Especially when it came time to flee — and that time was coming, the only question was when. He knew it, deep down, no matter how much he wished it weren’t so.
Lily had to learn to obey him instantly, instinctively. It was going to be hard for her, but for now, anyway, he had the time to be both patient and relentless. He’d teach her, mold her, make her what he needed her to be — what she needed to be, though she’d never admit it.
And, someday, it might just save their lives.
Rationalizer.
He wasn’t though, not really. Yes, he enjoyed this, took pleasure in bending her strong will to his. There was no denying that fact, and it was something they both knew now. The only question was how far she could be bent before she broke. He’d take her right up to that point, but not past it. Breaking Lily wasn’t what he wanted. That would truly be evil.
But they had a lot farther to go before they reached that point. And it made no sense not to acknowledge that he looked forward to it with a dark anticipation that fired his imagination, his possessiveness, and his lust.
He snapped the lid onto the paint can and walked back toward the shed, breathing deeply of the fragrant, clean scent of a forest afternoon. Then he stopped in his tracks, remembering. When he’d last been inside to see her, there’d been that box next to her, the one she’d climbed onto to look out the window. That box hadn’t been there before.
She’d moved it.
Lake sighed in resignation, even as his cock hardened at what lay ahead. It was time for the next step with Lily.
Chapter 12
My first proper meal in what felt like days consisted of tuna from a can and some saltine crackers — and I’d never tasted anything more delicious. Lake simply watched me while I devoured everything he put in front of me and I didn’t care for a second what I looked like as I shoved crackers and chunks of tuna into my mouth.
“How many days have we been here?” I asked after downing a glass of water.
“A few,” he answered, always a wealth of information.
I looked at him looking at me as if he were waiting for me to challenge him. Well, I wasn’t going to do that. I didn’t want to go back to the bad girl’s room. I never wanted to go back there again.