Miles high, p.9
Miles High, page 9
part #4 of Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale Series
“I remember,” I murmured.
“That day you told me how free you felt. That you hadn’t felt that way in a long time. Did you mean it?”
“Yes.”
“I can give you more days like that.” His hand tightened around me, and he lowered his mouth to my ear. “Do you belong to me, Miles?”
I couldn’t, but how my heart yearned to be.
“I’d take care of you,” he continued. “Be a Daddy to you if you want. But if you don’t, that’s fine too. I’d take care of you in every way that counts. In the bedroom, I swear I’ll keep you satisfied. Financially, I’ll provide for you, and everybody will know you’re mine and to stay away from you if they wish to remain alive. Just tell me that’s what you want, and that’s what I’ll give you.”
“I-I—” My phone vibrated, and dread pooled in my stomach. No one called me anymore but him. He was the reason Rubble was off-limits.
“I’m sorry. I have to take this.”
“Take what?”
“My phone’s vibrating.”
He let me go. “All right, answer it, and then we’ll continue dancing.”
I took my phone out of my pocket, and my hand shook as I stared at the missed call. There was no name. Just a number. A message popped up on the screen, and I swiped my password pattern to open the device.
My boys are at your place, and you’re not there. I don’t like to be kept waiting.
Panic seeped into my veins, and I was trembling so hard I almost dropped my phone.
“Hey, something wrong?” Rubble placed his hands on my shoulders, but I shrugged out of his embrace.
“I’m sorry for being a tease. I don’t want you. I-I can’t. And we can’t run into each other like this anymore. Please don’t stop by my house again.”
“Miles, let me help.”
I gave him a false smile. “I don’t need help. I’m fine. Really. I’m just playing with fire, juggling two men around, but this isn’t who I am. I am a one-man kind of guy, and that man’s not you.”
No matter how much I wanted him to be.
Stupid. Dreaming was for people who had control over their lives because only then could they affect change. People like me had to walk the path that destiny had set out for us. There was no cheating and swerving off the path. The roads only ended up converging anyway.
I turned on my heels and sprinted to my car, but footsteps pounded behind me, and a hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me.
“Miles, don’t walk away from me.” Rubble hadn’t let me go like I hoped he would. Like I hoped he wouldn’t.
“I really need to go.”
“Can I see you tomorrow, then?”
I shook my head. “I might not be home.”
“Are you going to be with the other man?” He gritted his teeth.
I hesitated, then nodded slowly and turned toward him.
“Fuck, I finally get it,” he said so low that he could only be talking to himself.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t give a fuck whose bed you’re going to tonight, Miles. You’ll be done with him soon enough anyway, but I won’t share you for long.”
My face burned, and I swallowed. If this was just about having sex with another man, that would be easy.
“Well, I care,” I said softly. “Honestly, Rubble, there are a lot of guys out there who would be lucky to be with you. I am not one of them.”
Before he could say anything, I got into my car and slammed the door shut. Rubble knocked on the glass, his glare forcing me to lower it.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he insisted.
“Rubble—”
“I’m serious. I don’t care what you’re about to do right now. As long as I never know the bastard by name or face, I can do this with you.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get it. I can’t be with two guys. That’s just not me.”
“Then walk away from him. I’m not giving up so easily, Miles.”
A lump in my throat prevented me from responding. He stepped back, and I drove away, my eyes flooding with tears. A part of me wished my cloudy vision would cause the end of my misery. Why couldn’t I swerve the car and run into a building and end it all? No, I didn’t really want that. I wanted Rubble, but I couldn’t have him. I arrived home safely and got out, too numb to even give a damn at the car parked in the driveway.
I swallowed as I walked toward the front door and fumbled with my key. Hook and an unknown man stepped up behind me.
“You look fancy,” Hook said. “Where have you been?”
“At a wedding.”
“That biker wedding? Heard about that in town today. Aren’t you supposed to stay away from the bikers?”
“Mort was my boss. He invited me.”
“The boss ain’t going to like it.”
“You and the boss can take a hike.”
Finally, I managed to open the door, and I marched inside, but my foot was barely over the threshold when Hook grabbed me by the back of my neck and shoved me forward. I fell to my knees but was hauled up again.
“Lock the fucking door,” he growled at the man behind him.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Shut the fuck up, Rourke.”
“The boss said not to touch him but to bring him to the fight. You know he doesn’t like anyone touching his boys.”
“Well, the boss won’t know that we touched him, will he?”
I slapped his thighs, but it was as if I was hitting concrete. “Let me go! You’re not supposed to touch me.” He’d promised that no one would hurt me. He was a despicable man, but he’d kept that promise so far.
“I’m teaching you a lesson. Something the boss should have done a long time ago.”
He trudged along the hall and into the living room, where he threw me down onto the sofa. My face slammed into the back, and my glasses snapped with a sickening crack. Nooooo! I couldn’t see properly without them.
I scrambled to my feet, only to be shoved down onto the sofa again.
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” He leered down at me while dropping his hand to the front of his jeans. “You’re doing me a favor, and I won’t tell the boss about you kissing that biker.”
I gulped in a deep breath, my body shaking. He’d been watching me?
He laughed. “Lucky for you, you weren’t dumb enough to let him fuck you. You know the boss doesn’t like damaged goods, and you’ve been marinating in virgin juice for what? Nine years now? That’s the only thing stopping me from cramming my cock into your ass.” He scowled at me. “But the boss must have his fun first, and he’ll leave us with the spoils once he's through with you.”
“Don’t do this.”
“That only turns me on more. When you don’t want it, but I give it to you anyway.”
“That’s rape.”
“I’m just using your mouth, boy. Could have been worse.” His cock sprang out from his unzipped pants. It was long and already beaded with precum. Gross.
“I have condoms—”
He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back. I cried out at the pain. And then I was choking on his cock, which he rammed down my throat. I pushed against his leg, but he didn’t budge. Tears streamed down my face as he assaulted my mouth, grunting and groaning.
He let out a guttural sound and released his cum into my mouth. Lots and lots of it. I closed off the back of my throat to prevent myself from swallowing the bitter liquid.
“Swallow it.” He pulled his cock out.
I spat it out right into his face, coughing and gasping for breath. He slapped me across the cheek so hard I fell back against the couch. Crying, I rolled up in a ball, my arms over my head, blocking him out.
“You’re so stupid.” Rourke’s voice penetrated my daze. “How are you going to explain the bruises on his face?”
“Because you’re going to back me up,” Hook said. “You’re going to agree with me that I found him sucking off the biker. I got upset and slapped him.”
Hook grabbed my arm and pulled, tugging me off the couch. “You listen to me. If you say one word about what I did to anyone, I’ll cut your tongue out. Now get out of that monkey suit and get dressed for the night. You know how the boss likes you dressed.”
Chapter 11
Miles
No matter that I had taken a shower, brushed my teeth, and gargled mouthwash, I couldn’t get the touch and taste of that disgusting piece of slimeball from my body and out of my mouth. Nausea at what Hook had done to me kept bubbling up. The only thing worse than what had happened was if he’d somehow forced me to swallow his load, and although my cheek hurt and was already beginning to discolor, it was worth spitting out his semen into his face.
As I got dressed with Hook in the bedroom, depriving me of my privacy, I forced myself to breathe steadily, fighting with all my might not to let panic overtake me and have an asthma attack. He’d claimed he was making sure I didn’t jump through the window and run, but he didn’t fool me one bit. Where was I going to run to? No one cared. Maybe Rubble, but the thought of the violence that would surely follow had me biting back my fear and hysteria.
They’d already lost one man because of me.
Despite wanting to turn my back to Hook while I dressed, I didn’t dare. I’d underestimated him. His boss had given him specific instructions where I was concerned, and the fact that he threatened me not to blab about what he’d done showed there would be consequences should he find out.
I hadn’t made up my mind yet if I was going to spill that Hook couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t believe for a second that Hook wouldn’t attack me again—worse the next time—if I kept my mouth shut. But if I did tell and he wasn’t punished, then I would bear the brunt of his anger anyway.
“What’s taking so long?” Hook demanded.
I tugged at the hem of my transparent top. Just like he dictated. He wanted a boy to parade before other men, to distract them with what they couldn’t have. What kind of distraction was I anyway? I didn’t know anything about seducing men, but somehow he’d latched on to the idea that I was his toy. His servant.
A debt paid. But not even in full.
When I finished dressing, I followed Hook out without a word. I sat in the back seat with Rourke, who hadn’t said anything to me since Hook slapped me across the face. His silence unnerved me. What was his role in all this? At least with Hook, I understood the predicament I was in. Now I did not only have their boss to fear but Hook as well.
I had no idea where they took me. They’d pulled a sack over my head as always. My breathing came out shallow and harsh as I dragged air into my lungs. I didn’t have my inhaler on me. In my haste to do what Hook had ordered, I’d forgotten it, and I hadn’t wanted to give him any more ammo to taunt me by asking him to go back for it.
“Come on, pay attention to your breathing,” the guy beside me said softly.
It didn’t work. Just when I thought the ride would never end, the car stopped. I could have cried in relief. I was helped out with such gentleness that I knew it wasn’t Hook leading me this time. I walked carefully with one hand in front of me as the man guided me inside a building. It was never the same place twice, and I never knew where I would end up.
Wherever the event was held, though, the smell never changed. The musky odor of men and overpowering cologne drowned in tobacco and weed. Alcohol flowed freely, and men chattered loudly about bets and how much money was on the line.
The ones with common sense always bet on the same man. The ones without thought they could win big if they chose the underdog. Newsflash. The underdogs never won. The pop-up-style fight club had one winner for their main events, and he never lost a match.
I was pushed forward, and then the bag was yanked from my head. I blinked against the bright light, then scanned my surroundings. It seemed I was in an auto body shop, although they’d cleared the middle of the floor. As usual, the octagonal ring was made up of human barricades. Just a rough setup for a bunch of people who wanted to satisfy their lust for violence.
Although the majority of onlookers were men, a few women were present as well. Either hookers taking the opportunity to flaunt their assets or partners of the individuals who had a stake in the fight night.
“Miles, darling, I hope you don’t feel as if I’ve neglected you.”
I froze at the voice, then slowly turned to face the handsome devil who pulled my strings like his very own Pinocchio. Tempus Black was a former MMA multiple-times champion who had opened a respectable real estate business in Smoky Vale. He was a member of the chamber of commerce and had made his intentions clear to run for mayor someday. Others might not take him seriously, but I did. He had a small army to carry out his orders.
Despite his expensive suits that set him apart from the rest of the crowd, he was a vicious man who had a hand in several shady dealings in Smoky Vale, including the illegal underground fights.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to sulk tonight.” Frowning, he took my chin with his calloused fingers and inspected my glasses, which were fixed with a piece of duct tape. Then he brushed his thumb over my bruised cheek. I held my breath, bracing myself for his question, but he merely let me go. “We have an interesting matchup tonight, and you, my dear, have an important role to play.”
I blinked at him, not understanding. “You want me to fight?” I didn’t put it past him. I’d seen some of his victims who ended up in the ring fighting his hulkish right-hand brute. Men who owed him and had no other option. Men who were nothing but entertainment for others but were too hyped on adrenaline to care about the unfairness of it all.
Tempus threw his head back and laughed. “I value that pretty face of yours too much to send you in the ring. I’m not completely heartless.” He turned toward the bodyguard on his left and nodded. He didn’t say anything, but the bodyguard was off to carry out whatever task Tempus had given him. He was so powerful he told people to fetch, and they were ready to walk backward for him.
I cursed the day I’d been put on his radar.
“What do you want me to do, then?” I asked Tempus. “I don’t understand.”
“Soon. Patience.”
The officiator for the night, who usually acted as the referee as well as the ultimate voice in naming the winner, announced Skull Crusher. From my vantage point, I took in Tempus’s modern Goliath. I could never conjure Goliath in my mind from the stories of the Bible, but the moment I’d first seen Skull Crusher, that was what had come to mind. With his incredible height, he had to be a descendant of the giant.
It was bad enough that he was huge, but he was also fast for a man of his size. He could take a hit like a brick wall, and his fists had left many bodies broken on the concrete by the time he was done with them. The man thrived on violence. Every time I watched him fight, I crossed my fingers that he would lose. When would I learn there was no reason to hope anymore?
“Ah, here they are now.” Tempus’s voice held excitement, even more than usual.
Confused, I watched as his bodyguard brought two men into the center of the ring. I gasped. The one on the left, who didn’t even look as if he was sober enough to be in the ring, was none other than my father.
“What are you doing?” I cried. “Please, don’t do this. We had a deal.”
“Your father still owes me, but calm down, my pet. All’s not lost. You get to choose. Listen.”
“Tonight, we have another pre-entertainment before the main fight,” the officiator announced when the crowd had finally quieted. “We have two potential fighters to face off with Skull Crusher. And Tempus gets to choose who it will be.”
Gazes swung in our direction as everyone waited for Tempus to make his pick.
“Actually, my lovely pet for the night gets to ask for the head of one of these two men served to him on a platter.”
I stared at Tempus, my mouth hanging open. He couldn’t be serious. He wanted me to choose between my father and this other man to fight Goliath?
“I can’t,” I whispered. “Don’t make me choose.”
“If you don’t, then I will, and I must tell you that it doesn’t look good for dear drunk Dad.”
My throat constricted as everyone stared at me, waiting for my decision. How could I choose? Both men were obviously pawns in Tempus’s sick game.
“You’ve got five seconds,” Tempus said, then clicked his tongue by my ear.
“All right, all right, I’ll choose.”
Sick to my stomach, I watched the same bodyguard take my father away and left the other man to face off Goliath in the ring. The crowd, thirsty for blood, chanted and threw encouragements and insults at the two men in the ring.
At the first strike of a fist hitting flesh, I turned my head away and clamped my eyes shut.
“Open them,” Tempus said. “I want you to watch. Because some day that’ll be your father in the ring with Skull Crusher, but for as long as you are by my side, you’ll get the opportunity to free him.”
I held in the tears and turned my attention to the game, swallowing the bile that rose in my throat when Skull Crusher broke the man’s ankle. Even as the man cried, he went for his arm and broke it too before the referee could stop the match. How could anyone enjoy such a wicked act of violence?
No doctor was even present. Someone stepped forward and helped the defeated man up.
The cheers from the audience died down as a shrill whistle pierced the air, followed by shouts that the cops were heading coming. In a flurry of movements, the crowd took off, fleeing in their cars. Tempus grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him to his sleek black SUV. I slid into the back with him, one bodyguard took the front passenger’s seat next to the driver, and we were off. I’d thought they had forgotten, but no sooner had I gotten in than a bag was pulled over my head again.
While we were still driving, he removed the bag, which meant one thing. He was taking me to his home to entertain him for the evening, which was always torturous. Every second I’d wonder if this was the night he was going to throw me onto the bed and take me against my will. Playing chess with him or playing the piano for him wasn’t as pleasurable when I was aware that he only used these activities to prolong my suffering.
