Page 26

Luke

One for the Money by Escape the Fate

I hate leaving my girl. I absolutely detest having to leave her when her warmth is wrapped snugly around my cock. Her soft and steady breaths falling so gracefully from between her plush red lips. Just like when she’s awake and writhing in excruciating pleasure beneath me, she’s a fucking vision when she sleeps. My girl needs the typical eight hours. I, however, do not. Most nights I lay awake for hours, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest in rapt awe that this stunning creature is allowing me to share a bed with her. Other nights, I have to remain close by her side, holding her hand while she has one of her nightmares. The fitful whimpers of her bad dreams make me want to hunt down whoever hurt her in her past and eliminate them. Tonight she’s resting peacefully, wrapped safely in my arms.

I flip between watching my one girl in my arms and the other on my phone. Olivia is also sleeping peacefully, but in her own bed. She should be here with me—with us . To have both my girls here with me, in my bed, sleeping soundly next to me … the thought has my cock twitching inside Celeste’s warm cunt. She feels so good, I’m remiss to leave this bubble of warmth and comfort. But I have to.

I glance down at my phone again.

Garett: SOS. My place ASAP.

Fuck.

If it were literally anyone else in the world I’d tell them off. But I can’t ignore Garett. Especially if it’s an emergency.

Easing from Celeste’s warmth, I shudder at the cool night air. It’s late—or early, depending who you ask, so I should be able to sneak out and back before she wakes. She thinks I’m a demon with a morally gray soul but a heart devoted to her. But the truth is, if she knew the true monster inside, if she knew what Garett and I were truly capable of, I’m not sure she’d continue to love me like she does, and I can not—will not—have her look at me differently. She’s my fucking soulmate, my sweet and soft love; I can’t have her hate me.

I slide my legs into my discarded black sweatpants and throw on a tee shirt and hoodie, dressing as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her. She looks so peaceful right now; every piece of me begs to return to the warmth and comfort of laying beside her, but instead, I close the door and head downstairs.

Slipping on my shoes and grabbing my keys, I take one final glance down at my phone. I open the app that brings me to my cameras and make sure Liv is also still asleep. The steady rise and fall of her chest on the small screen is a comfort for me. I’d do anything for these women. They’ve both snaked their way into the pits of my soul and wrapped themselves around my heart. I don’t just want to fuck them; I want to keep them, both of them. They are mine. Even if it means risking everything else.

I close the door behind me and make sure it’s locked, checking three times to be safe. The red Audi would be too flashy for a late night covert mission, so I grab the keys to my blacked out Range Rover. It’s dark and rainy tonight, and Garett’s place is so far off the main roads that the SUV is the better choice anyway.

As I drive across town into the dark and dense woods to the north, my mind keeps wandering back to everything I need to do. I run through lists in my head constantly in order to stay focused and grounded. A well prepared man should always have a Plan A, B, and C for every scenario. I am not the type to leave anything up to chance; I learned long ago that I make my own fucking fate.

The further I drive into the woods, the lights become fewer, the trees become denser, and the darkness becomes more oppressive. My house is secluded, sure, but Garett lives practically in the middle of nowhere. His land is expansive, running right up against the Canadian border. I suspect he secretly owns the land across the border as well, but I’m sure he has ownership set up under one of his thousands of false identities. If my brain is organized in a never-ending series of lists, his is creative chaos. He’s a genius, there’s no doubt about it, but he has one of those neurodivergent minds that is incredibly gifted, just not exactly linear. He jumps from thought to thought in a way that makes my head spin, but the results speak for themselves. He owns and operates one of the most successful cybersecurity companies in the country.

I turn onto the nondescript dirt road nestled between two trees. If you didn’t know they were there, you’d be oblivious to the many cameras swiveling to watch the road. No one approaches this house without being seen. In the middle of the forest is a huge gate attached to a massive black iron fence. I stop in front of the gate and push the button on the speaker box.

“Who is it?” Garett’s voice growls from the speaker box.

“You know who it is, asshole. You’re the one that demanded I drive all the way over here in the middle of the night. Now let me in,” I huff before a loud buzz sounds from the speaker box and the gate begins to swing open.

I can practically hear Garett’s smirk. Fucker.

When the gate is open wide enough, I floor the Range Rover and cruise into his driveway. The dirt road continues on a long, winding path. The rain is really coming down now, leaving rivulets rushing down my windows. It’s so dark and desolate out here, I wonder, not for the first time, how my best friend copes with the solitude.

Finally, the lights of his house appear. It’s a modern style mansion. The entire three-story front room wall is one giant pane of glass looking out into the woods. I have to admit, it’s a pretty cool fucking house. My girls’ style is more in line with our antique and quirky gothic mansion, but I’m sure his will love this when he finally brings her here. She loves to paint, write poetry, and all that artsy shit, so he built a house with as many windows as he could. He told me he wanted her to always be inspired by the nature around them. He’s such a fucking sap for her, but it’s not like I have room to talk, I’m wrapped around the manicured little fingers of not one but two women.

As I park in front of his circular driveway, I can immediately tell something is wrong. All the lights in his house are on. Usually that means he’s been up, pacing his house in anger. I sigh as I step into the cold night air. I’m going to have to talk him down from whatever is bothering him. Swiftly climbing the massive front steps, I don’t even knock as I push open the front door and let myself in.

The inside is equally impressive. It’s all open concept and sleek. Neither one of us is hurting for money, but he must have spent a fucking fortune on this place. A palace fit for his princess.

“Garett?” I yell into the foyer. “Brother?”

I kick off my muddy sneakers and pad further into the house, stuffing my cold fingers into the pocket of my hoodie as I go.

“In here.” His deep voice echoes through the cavernous expanse of his home.

I walk across the amber-colored, wide plank floors and into his front room. There, in front of the massive gas fireplace, is my best friend. His shoulders are slumped forward and his hands are cradling a glass of amber liquid as he sits on his brown leather sofa. Rounding the couch, I go to stand in front of him. He’s shirtless, the light from the flames leaving dancing shadows across his muscled shoulders and dark hair that’s fallen in front of his downturned face. The ink sprawled across his skin appears to swirl and twist in the light of the flames.

“What’s going on man?” I prompt as he continues to stare at the floor.

He brings the tumbler to his mouth and downs the rest of the liquor in one long gulp.

“Want a drink?” he asks as his ice-blue eyes land on my face. His eyes are unsettling when he looks like this; his irises appear sharp in their coldness.

“Garett, it’s the middle of the night and you dragged me all the way out here. What’s up?” I say in the most even tone I can muster.

“So sorry, brother. Were you balls deep in some pussy? Celeste keeping your cock nice and warm?”

I feel my anger boiling up. I know he’s trying to rile me, and it’s fucking working. I do my best to remain cool, at least outwardly.

“Is that why you called me over here? To tell me you have blue balls?” I quip back at him. There was a point in time when I wouldn’t have minded helping him out with that, but now I belong to two feisty women, both of whom deserve my complete and unyielding loyalty.

Something dark flashes across his cerulean irises before they return to their normal pale blue. A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips as he rises. He walks across the room to his bar, pours himself another few fingers of expensive liquor, and turns back around. Leaning against the wall behind him, he takes a long swig as he glares at me over the rim of the glass. His dark hair is unkempt, falling across his forehead and eyes. I instinctually push mine back, making sure it’s tidy and neat.

“It has been a while, maybe I should pay Celeste a visit. She was a good fuck.” His tone is condescending. He knows he hit a sore spot.

I run my thumb along my jaw, scrapping at the stubble there to stop myself from forming an angry fist. I know what he’s doing and despite my best efforts, it’s working. He’s already under my skin.

“You and your dirty dick are going nowhere near her ever again.”

His smirk spreads. “Come on, brother. Didn’t you enjoy sharing that little piece of ass?” He spins, giving me his back as he grabs a second glass and begins to pour more whiskey. “Don’t tell me you’ve become attached to your play thing.”

This asshole.

“Not sure how Ali will feel when she hears about how you fucked her co-worker,” I spit at him.

I know it’s a low blow, but he deserves it. He’s been pushing my buttons on purpose. I watch as the muscles of his back tense. He rolls his neck side to side and the joints crack.

His voice is deadly low when he finally responds, “She will not find out about that. She, along with everyone else, thinks Celeste is dead. Once they finally get enough evidence on Brody, he will be put away and arrested for her murder. And that’s all Ali will ever know about it.”

This is his plan for revenge on Brody. Brody, Will, and the others tortured us and countless others. Their victims deserve revenge. The law was never going to provide the justice we all deserve, so we took matters into our own hands. Garett decided a quick death would be too good for Brody. Brody took so much from him—both his sister and the girl he’s loved since childhood. His sister didn’t survive, and Garett vowed to protect Ali, at any cost, after that. Brody is going to rot away in prison, watching his life perish day by day.

He turns around and stalks toward me with fire in his eyes. “Understood?”

“No one has to know anything, as long as you stay the hell away from my girls.”

I accept the glass he offers me. The alcohol burns as it slides down my throat before settling and leaving a smoky aftertaste coating my mouth. It’s a good whiskey. He might be a crazy motherfucker, but he knows his liquor.

“Girls?” he asks with an emphasis on the final syllable.

Shit .

I shoot him a warning glare but he just chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to judge you and your harem.”

Fucker .

“So, what is it that couldn’t wait until the morning?” I prompt as I take another sip.

“Kyle is dead.”

I choke on my drink. Cough and sputtering as I attempt to wrap my head around what he just said. Kyle is one of Brody and Will’s gang of rapist assholes. He is— was —one of the only ones left on our list to eliminate. Only, we didn’t kill him. So who did?

“How?” I manage to ask between coughs.

“No clear cause of death. The dead and mutilated body they found decomposing outside the funhouse after Halloween? They just confirmed the identification.”

I remember hearing about that. It freaked people out but the investigators were tight lipped about the details.

“Why’d the ID take so long?” I question.

“I guess his body was real fucked up. Reports describe him looking shriveled, like his insides were sucked out of him.” Garett shrugs and takes another sip before flopping back down on the sofa.

Of course he hacked into the police files and read the reports. I can barely contain my eye roll.

“Wasn’t you, was it?” I ask as I sit next to him.

He snorts. “His cock had bite marks all over it. Does that sound like me?”

“Guess not,” I concede. “So who was it?”

“Don’t know and don’t care.” He sounds like he means it. He’s not disturbed at all that someone else is killing the same group of assholes we are out to eliminate. “One less fucker to worry about. Now you just have to worry about Will, and I need to make sure Brody gets put away.”

My foster brother’s name causes a wave of nausea to roll over me. I hate that motherfucker with everything in my being. He ruined my adolescence and is the ring leader of this group of rapist fucks. He’s the worst of them all, controlling and commanding the others. We saved Brody and Will for last on our list. They deserve to suffer the most.

“Any leads on my brother dearest?” I ask with sarcasm rolling around with a bitter taste in my mouth. I drink more whiskey to try to cleanse my mouth and stomach.

“Actually,” Garett stands and walks across the room to the large dining table covered in papers. He grabs some of the many pages and brings them back over, handing the photos to me. “Yes. Seems like he’s working under a different last name at a casino down south.”

My blood turns to ice as I look through the shots. Picture after picture shows my foster brother at a very familiar casino. One that’s run down and dirty. The same one I’ve followed Liv to for weeks.

“Fuck!” I yell as I throw my glass. The tumbler shatters against the wall, amber liquor dripping to the floor. “If he so much as touched a single fucking hair—”

Garett’s firm grip on my shoulder grounds me back to the present. “He hasn’t gotten anywhere near the pink-haired bimbo you’re obsessed with.”

I spin on him, shoving him backwards. “Don’t fucking call her—”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “As far as I can tell, Will is running some type of illegal gambling business. As long as your girl isn’t a gambler, she should be fine.”

I calm slightly but my heart is still thundering. I don’t like any of this, but he’s right, Will should have no reason to interact with Liv. Still, I need to figure out how to get her away from there.

“First, we make sure Brody is put away. Then we will deal with Will, okay?” Garett urges.

“Fine,” I agree before turning and storming from his house.

As I settle back into my car ready to speed home, I can’t stop myself from pulling out my phone to calm my anger. Both my girls are safe and sound, right where I left them.