Page 21

I was still reeling from last night. How something that started out so fun had become beyond painful was mindboggling. There was a part of me that almost wished I hadn’t gotten into the fight with Rhea. If I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t know that Tinker had wanted Annie. Or maybe still wanted her. I could be living in blissful ignorance. However, as much as it hurt, I knew that I’d rather know the truth. What if we’d married and had children, and the truth came out? It would’ve been much more devastating then.

After Dravin dropped me off at the house last night and returned to get the others, I knew there was no way I could stay there or even at the compound. I’d grabbed a few items, threw them in a bag, and took off before Tinker got home. I didn’t want to see him. I’d driven aimlessly for a few hours. The other thing I knew was I couldn’t stay with Gareth if I did and saw Annie. God knows what I might say.

It wouldn’t be fair to her when she had no idea Tinker had those feelings. And I didn’t want to upset Gareth with the knowledge another man wanted his wife. After hours of driving, I pulled into a hotel in the nearby town of Abington. I hadn’t explored it, but the place seemed decent. The clerk at the desk gave me a wary look when I asked for a room, but since I could pay, he didn’t ask questions. I’d taken a long, hot shower and then tried to sleep, but it was no use. The most I’d done was drift. Even then, all I did was go over and over what Tinker said. I swung back and forth between hurt and understanding.

I drifted off at daybreak. A knocking sound made me sit up. I felt groggy. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but it made it pound. My mouth was dry. A louder knock got me out of bed and rushing to the door. I must’ve overslept, and it was time to check out. Assuming that was the issue, I unlatched the security bar and swung it open as I babbled, “I’ll be out in a few min—”

I halted. It wasn’t housekeeping. It was Tinker. My fogginess cleared quickly. I reacted by trying to slam the door shut on him, but he was too quick for me. He wedged his boot in the doorway and grabbed the edge of the door.

“Let go,” I snapped, trying to push the door shut despite it being useless.

“No. Not until we talk. I understand you’re angry and hurt. But running away and hiding is only going to make it worse. We need to work through this together, Haven.”

“I’m not running or hiding. I’m thinking, and I want to do it alone. I left the compound so I could do that.”

“Bullshit. You were mad and thought you’d make me pay by leaving. I don’t blame you, but we’re not continuing this. The only way we get through this is by communicating.”

“Oh, so you’re all eager to communicate now. Too bad you weren’t when we met. If you’d told me then you had the hots for my aunt, I would’ve steered clear of you, and we wouldn’t be having this mess.”

I growled when he pushed inside my room and shut the door. He turned the lock. I had news for him. He could talk to himself. I wasn’t listening to his excuses. Marching to the bathroom, I slammed and locked the door. Turning on the water to drown him out, I began getting cleaned up for the day. The bag with my things in it was in there.

I barely finished brushing my teeth when there was a loud crash. I muffled a scream as the door came open. Tinker didn’t say a word. He reached in, snatched me to him, hoisted me over his shoulder, and walked me out and over to my bed. I was pounding on his back, yelling for him to put me down. I refused to get all mushy by recalling the other times he’d done this. He lowered me to the mattress. Before I could roll away, he was straddling me, and I was his prisoner. I glared at him.

“I swear to God, if you don’t let go of me and leave, I’ll scream this entire hotel down. The cops will come, and your ass will go to jail,” I hissed.

He leaned close and said quietly. “Do it. If you’re not willing to talk this out and fix it, then I don’t give a fuck if I go to jail or not. What difference does it make if I don’t have the woman I love?”

I snorted and tried to shove him off me, but it was like pushing on a two-ton boulder. “Yeah, sure. My name isn’t Annie. I’m Haven,” I mocked.

“I. DON’T. LOVE. HER!” he shouted. He lowered his voice to continue. “I love you, Haven. I only want my witch. I’ve never loved anyone but you. Yes, I was stupid and thought I could be with someone I considered a friend. I let that cloud my mind into believing we could be more. And like a damn fool, after she showed up with Gareth, I wallowed in self-pity and denial. A denial I continued to live in for a year. Until you showed up and taught me what true desire and love were.”

I fought not to hear what sounded like sincerity in his voice. And the expression on his face was telling the same story. Attempting not to believe him, I hit back. “You’re just like Rick. He preferred my cousin. You prefer my aunt. What’s so fucking wrong with me that I can’t ever be first for anyone? My own parents have never wanted me. Why should I be surprised?” I muttered.

He gripped my face between his hands. “I don’t want to hear you say that. I’m not like that prick. He didn’t love you. I do. I’ll always want and need you. As for your parents, there’s something broken in them. It can’t be fixed, but it’s not your fault. As for me, I was broken. My dad kinda guaranteed that, but unlike your family, all I needed was the right woman to make me see I wasn’t beyond hope and that I could have it all. Please tell me what I can do to prove it.” As he whispered the last, I saw tears, and then he kissed me.

As much as I wanted to shove him away, I couldn’t. The truth was, I loved him, and I needed him. I’d been wavering all night, even though I didn’t let him know that. I wanted to make him hurt like I had. As I caught fire, I tugged at his clothes. Making him squirm could wait.

He reluctantly rose. “Baby, stop. We can’t. Not yet.”

“Yes, we can. If you love me, then show me,” I snapped.

I watched as he caught fire. The next thing I knew, he sat up, tearing off his cut and shirt. I fumbled to undo his belt and unzip his jeans. He moved to stand. Standing, he kicked off his boots, shed his socks, and then removed his pants. He wasn’t wearing underwear. While he finished undressing, I slipped out of my sleep set, which was a tank and shorts.

He growled when he saw my naked body. He came down on top of me and retook my mouth, only this time, he was almost savage, precisely what I wanted. I needed him to take me hard and fast. I didn’t want gentle. His hands cupped and kneaded my breasts. He plucked my nipples hard, making me moan. When he broke our kiss and began kissing and nibbling down my neck, I stopped him.

“No, don’t wait. I need you. Fuck me. Make me feel how much you want me,” I panted.

I should be denying him and making him beg and suffer, but I couldn’t seem to do it.

“Say it,” he ordered.

“Say what?”

“You know what. Say it.”

He was right. I did know but wanted to push him, so I pretended I didn’t. He let out a loud growl before capturing my legs over his arms and pushing them toward my chest. This move opened me up to him. I waited breathlessly for him to thrust inside of me. He didn’t. Instead, he rubbed the head of his cock up and down my folds, bumping my clit, and torturing me as he ordered me again. “Say it.”

I held out, but not long. His rubbing over my clit made me wilder. It took a minute at most for me to break. “I love you, Vance,” I whimpered.

I cried out in bliss as he sank into me, growling, “I love you.”

He did it in one hard, continuous stroke, sinking into me until his balls were slapping off my ass. We both moaned. He didn’t disappoint. Tinker went wild, pounding my pussy and making me beg for more. I kept crying out for him to take me harder. I became a ball of sensations. As he pushed me to come over and over, he kept telling me.

“You’re so beautiful, Witch.”

“You’re the sexiest woman in the world.”

“I fucking love you so much, Haven.”

“You’re the only one I love.”

I nipped at his nipples and scraped my nails over them and down his back, causing him to rut faster.

“I love you, too, Vance.”

He chose then to tweak my clit, causing me to orgasm for a third time. As I exploded, he was right behind me, bellowing his pleasure. His warm cum overflowed my pussy and leaked down my ass crack. By the time we stopped coming, I was limp and weak.

Slowly, he pulled out. As he moved back, I saw his cock was still hard. Looking at him, I saw his wicked smile. “I’m not done with you yet, Witch. Let me call the desk and tell them we’re staying. When I’m done, you’d better be on your hands and knees with that ass in the air.”

I whimpered but smiled. He didn’t need to tell me twice. I knew we still had stuff to work out, but it could wait.

Tinker and I ended up staying at the hotel until Tuesday morning. Other than to bring in food, we didn’t leave. In between our bouts of lovemaking, we talked. I was shocked to hear what he said about Annie and Gareth knowing about his so-called infatuation with her. I knew that at some point soon, we’d have to go home, sit down, and talk to them. I didn’t want there to be awkwardness between the four of us. I knew the friendship between all of them was one to be maintained.

Leaving the hotel, I followed him back to the compound. We both needed clean clothes, and there was work to be done. He’d missed work yesterday, but I wasn’t about to let him miss more. We vacated the hotel early so we had time to go home and get cleaned up before work. After a hot shower, we were ready to go thirty minutes later.

I needed to go to the studio to see what was done yesterday. Tinker insisted on me riding to work with him. He planned to drop me off, then visit the other work site and catch up with Lash before returning. He wasn’t content dropping me out front. He insisted on walking me into the building and then kissing me before leaving. The guys weren’t there. I wasn’t sure if they planned to work here today or not.

I walked around for the next half hour, checking out what they had accomplished yesterday. My office walls and trim were painted. And someone had sanded the floor in there. Eagerness filled me. At this rate, we’d be done by the end of this month. Returning to the main showroom area, I found the paint, rollers, and paint tray. Deciding to paint rather than do nothing, I laid down a drop cloth.

I was making sure it would cover the section I planned to paint first. However, I didn’t get a chance to do any painting before the door came crashing in. I yelped in fright since I wasn’t expecting it. I was about to scold Tinker or one of his workers for scaring me. When I saw who it was, I gulped. It was Rick. The wild look in his eye told me he had gone off the deep end. For the first time ever, I was afraid of him. He stood there glowering at me with his fists clenched at his sides.

“You lying bitch! You’ll fucking pay.”

I backpedaled, but I wasn’t fast enough. He came charging after me. I tried to run, but he latched onto my ponytail and jerked me back. I cried out at the pain in my scalp. I swear he tore some of the hairs out by their roots. His arms came around me from behind, and he squeezed me. I struggled to breathe.

“You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you? It was bad enough you ruined my chances with Jubilee, but that wasn’t enough. No, you had to humiliate her and her family. They’ve been arrested. Jubilee is being called before the board at college and law school. They’re threatening to rescind her degrees. You said you’d keep your mouth shut if they dropped the restraining orders and lawsuit. You’re a lying, vindictive whore!” he shouted as he shook me.

“They broke the law. Hurt people. Jubilee cheated. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they came back making threats,” I wheezed. Maybe I should’ve tried to pacify him, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good.

“All because they didn’t love you. All because I didn’t. Since you couldn’t let it go, I think I should show you what you’ve missed. You’re right. I wanted to fuck you. I chose Jubilee because her parents had money, and they adored her. We’d never have to worry about money if I married her. See if that filthy biker you’re engaged to wants you when I’m done with you,” he hissed.

Terror hit me, and I increased my struggles. The problem was Rick was bigger than me and had my arms trapped. I couldn’t get away. I screamed for help and fought him as tears streamed down my face. He was dragging me toward the back storage room. Why didn’t I lock the door?

I fought tooth and nail, but I was no match. The buildings nearby weren’t open yet. There was no one to hear me. My only hope was that one of Tinker’s guys would happen to come by, but it wasn’t likely. They would be here by now if they were working here.

I was taken down to the floor with Rick on top of me. He was ripping at my top. I headbutted him, which only made him madder. I busted his lip. He lifted an arm and punched me, making my ears ring and my vision blurry. I screamed again as my top was torn down the front. His hand squeezed my breast hard, bringing tears to my eyes at the pain. When he put his hand over my mouth to muffle my scream, I bit his palm. He roared and punched me again. I was close to losing consciousness. There was no guarantee after he raped me that he wouldn’t kill me. In fact, it would be his only move if he didn’t want to go to prison. I could taste blood in my mouth.

I saw a shadow, and then suddenly, Rick slumped over me. Fighting to get my breath, I attempted to push him off me, but he weighed too much. Then, he was rolled off me and onto the floor. I gasped as I saw my rescuer, who was holding a hammer. I blinked, thinking I was imagining my savior, but I wasn’t.

Standing there was Astrid, my rescuer from Saturday night. “Hurry. Get up. We need to tie him up before he wakes up,” she urgently said.

I shakily sat up. Astrid ran out of the room while I worked to make my body function. I whimpered. I didn’t want to be left alone with him. I scooted a foot further away from him. A minute later, she returned with rope and a drop cloth from the other room. I had no doubt that was where the hammer came from. Quickly, she looped the rope tightly around his wrists, then lifted his legs and ran it around his ankles. When she was done, he was trussed up like a steer.

“Here, let me help you up,” she said softly after wrapping the cloth around me.

As she took my hand, I heard my name being yelled by Tinker. “Haven!”

Bursting into tears, I wasn’t able to answer him, so Astrid did. “Back here.”

By the sound of the boots, there was more than just him. Seconds later, the room filled with Tinker, Ink, Gravel, Diesel, and Mayhem. Their faces registered not only worry, but when they saw me and then Rick, it morphed into fury.

“What did he do?” Tinker asked as he rushed over and took me carefully in his arms.

“How did you do that?” Gravel asked, pointing to Rick.

“What’re you doing here?” Mayhem asked Astrid, who was standing over by Rick.

“Do you need a doctor?” Ink asked.

Diesel didn’t say a word, but he had his cell phone out, and he was tapping away on it.

Rick chose that moment to begin to come around. He groaned loudly. Before any of the Punishers could act, Astrid did. She drew back her leg and kicked him hard in the ribs, then the head. He moaned and then passed out again.

“Shut up, you filthy raping bastard. You’re lucky I didn’t cave your head in with the hammer. I should’ve,” she growled.

“You hit him with a hammer?” Gravel asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I did. I had to stop him.”

“Why are you here?” Mayhem asked.

“I was passing by. I heard screams for help, so I came in to see what was wrong. I found that monster tearing off her clothes, so I knocked his ass out, then tied him up,” she said very matter-of-factly.

“You heard screams and came in. Are you crazy? Why didn’t you call the cops?” Mayhem asked. He sounded angry.

“And by the time they got here, he would’ve already raped her and done God knows what else to her. He was too busy with her to know anyone else was here. I was fine. Although I was glad that the hammer and rope were here.”

“And if they hadn’t been?” Ink asked.

“I would’ve figured something out,” she answered.

“She would’ve figured it out,” Mayhem muttered.

“Well, since it seems only some of us know each other, let me introduce myself. I’m Ink. This is Diesel and Gravel. Thank you for what you did. Tinker, we need to get this fucker out of here.”

“I called for a vehicle. They should be here soon,” Diesel volunteered.

“That’s my cue to leave. I hope you make him pay. Haven, maybe one of these days we’ll meet under better circumstances,” Astrid said.

“Thank you,” I said fervently.

“Hold on. You’re coming with us. We need to ask you some questions. You ran away the other night,” Mayhem said.

“I didn’t run. I told you I had to go. I was with someone. I don’t know what questions you could have about that night or this that I haven’t answered. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”

Diesel’s phone chimed. He glanced at it.

“The prospects are here. They’re in the back. Let’s get him out of here before someone sees us and asks what the hell is going on.”

“Babe, do you need to go to the hospital?” Tinker asked me.

“No, I just want to go home.”

While Diesel and Gravel hauled an unconscious Rick out the back door and into whatever vehicle the prospects brought, the rest of us went out the front. Ink locked up while Tinker got me situated in his truck. I noted that Mayhem and Astrid were arguing, but he wasn’t backing down. I wasn’t sure why he was so insistent that she come with us, but I was too tired to argue with him.

We formed a small convoy on the way home. The prospects were in an SUV with blacked-out windows. Rick was in the back, so that no one could see him. We were in Tinker’s truck. The other guys rode motorcycles. Hemmed in by the bikes was Astrid in her car, which had been parked out on the street.

I was snuggled up against Tinker the whole way home. I couldn’t stop shivering as if I were cold. I knew it was shock. He kept murmuring words of comfort and rubbing my arm. The tightness around his mouth told me that Rick wasn’t going to leave the compound without taking a beating. And even that might not be enough. I recalled what Tinker said about rapists, murderers, and pedophiles. It was likely that Rick had signed his death warrant by attacking me. I only felt relief at the thought of him dead.