Chapter Five
Jamie looked through every single man on the force that could match that description. Running a hand down his face, he tried to wake himself up. The threat to Mandy and the club was a real one.
Russ and the guys had all agreed that Lewis and Mandy needed to disappear so that they could find the people who’d hurt their friends.
“Any news?” Blake asked, coming to sit beside him. They were working in Blake’s house, where most of the communications were coming through.
“Not a whole lot. I’ve narrowed it down to ten possibilities. It depends on what you consider desperate, though.” He pulled up the files and waited as Blake ran through them. “A history of violence, the chance of a suspension without pay. Would that drive a man to look the other way?”
“We’re going to need to narrow this down,” Blake said. “Mandy was very specific. Two types of men.”
“I get that, but men do shit for different reasons. Desperation comes in many different forms, and can be for a variety of reasons.” He was totally beat on this. “Any other news?”
“There’s been a call out for a woman meeting Mandy’s description.”
Jamie sat up. He didn’t like this, not one bit. “What kind of a call out?”
“Someone has put a reward for Mandy to be delivered dead or alive. Once they have her, you’re given an address to deliver her,” Blake said.
“Lewis doesn’t know this?”
“No, and I don’t want to warn him either. This has consumed his life. All he’s wanted is to get that girl safe, and I can’t say that I blame him. We can’t even imagine what she went through, and you know what, I don’t want to. What I want to do is put the bastards to ground that still pose a risk to her. The reward is for five million.”
“Holy shit. That’s fucking high.”
“Because she knows shit, and has been helping us. We’ve got to keep her safe. Everyone but Lewis knows. Providing they stay on that island, they’ll be safe. No one knows where they are, and I want to keep it that way.”
“What if they find out?” Jamie asked. No one knew the location of Lewis’s island, only that he had one and it was his dream place. Unless someone really wanted to know every little detail of Lewis’s properties, there wasn’t an easy way to find it.
“They better not. We’ve got a job to do. Russ wants Lewis to have a break. We all know he won’t take one if he feels there’s a threat. He’ll do the work here, and try to keep an eye on Mandy. He can’t do everything,” Blake said.
Jamie understood. Sometimes it took friends being a little manipulative to help those closest to them.
Lewis needed them, and they would always be there for him.
****
“There’s no sign of her anywhere, sir.”
Elijah looked at the file he’d been given and was pissed off. The men he employed were fucking thick. Mandy wasn’t going to be on the streets like some little whore, nor was she going to be anywhere she knew they were. She had been his greatest success. Even now, he recalled seeing her skipping outside of her house, her hair in two pigtails.
Chubby as well.
A fighter.
He’d watched her for a year, learning everything about her, so when he called her over to him, she had started something she probably didn’t even realize.
At first, he’d intended to sell her to the highest bidder. Children went for a lot of money, but again, they tended to be quite dangerous.
She’d fought like a little hellcat in the beginning. He’d given her challenges and she’d disappointed him, but most of the time, he’d been proud of her.
Then of course he discovered after all the years together, she had betrayed him. Helped those who would take from him what was his.
He’d not been able to live with that.
She should have been dead.
Elijah had left her broken, bleeding, and on death’s door. Only, death hadn’t come for her. He was sure of it.
She had been rescued, and before then, he was getting more and more reports of girls being freed. His men being killed or locked up. It had taken him a long time to suspect it was Mandy. He should have known, but he’d been too fucking full of himself to believe the bitch would cross him. No matter how many times he’d beaten her, she’d not fallen, not like he’d believed.
The only person besides himself and his closest allies who knew how he worked, how they all worked, was Mandy. His little submissive slave. It was getting harder for him to conduct his business. Mandy knew everything. She’d witnessed everything, and he needed her head, and that fucking MC dead.
She was working for them.
She was helping them.
That was fine.
One day, she’d screw up, or the people she was with would screw up. She’d belong to him once again. If she thought her first time with him was a nightmare, he’d make sure she went to hell and back before he allowed her to die.
Just the thought of everything he was going to do to her put a smile on his face. Anticipation was something he relished.
****
Lewis finished reading the line of poetry, and Mandy pretended to snore.
“It’s supposed to be romantic and sweet.”
“It’s boring. How can you read that stuff and not laugh?”
“Because I like poetry. I find that it relaxes me.”
“It’s a bunch of bull that a lot of real old guys wrote to help get a girl into bed. It’s dull.” She rested her head against his knee.
“You’re just not opening your mind to it.” He stroked some hair out of her face and smiled down at her. “What don’t you like about it?”
“It’s boring. I mean seriously, it doesn’t even rhyme, and all poetry should.”
“There is just no pleasing some women.” He twirled one of her dark curls around his finger, teasing the length. “What do you like then?”
“I don’t know. I like reading a good book with a great deal of romance.” He snorted. “You can snort all you want to. There’s nothing wrong with reading romance. I love it, and you’ve just got to ‘open your mind to it.’” She used his words against him.
Lewis smiled. “Then I’ll give it a try.”
“You really should.” She looked up at him and smiled. “This is nice.”
“It is. I’ve not known peace and quiet like this in some time.” He’d spoken to Cameron, and completed several of the contracts she needed him to sign, and of course looked through for possible problems. There was no way he’d ever be able to remain on this island indefinitely. He was missing the small things at the moment. The traffic on his way to work. Taking the elevator to his office. The guys at the club.
What he did enjoy about being on the island was his uninterrupted time with Mandy.
“What are you thinking right now?”
“That I love being here with you. I miss the club and work. It’s rather strange some of the things you miss.”
“I know. I actually miss heading to college. Sitting in class, listening to him talk about everything and nothing. It’s relaxing in a really weird way.” She reached up, taking hold of his hand and locking their fingers together. “Please tell me you’re at least relaxing.”
“I’m relaxing. How could I not?” They had been here a couple of days, and he’d enjoyed every single moment with her. They got up, enjoyed breakfast, then took a long walk down the beach. He’d try to read poetry to her, or think of something else to do.
When he was working she either went to the pool, or he found her at the beach looking out at the ocean.
He’d find himself just watching her.
Lewis had lost count of the number of times he’d looked out of his office, or simply drifted off, and imagined her being sitting there, watching something.
“I want you to relax. The guys do as well.”
There hadn’t been any update from them either. No phone call, nothing. He didn’t know what was going on, and he hated that.
“Tell me about the club.”
“The Billionaire Bikers?”
“Yes. Talk to me, tell me everything.”
“I’ve already done that,” he said.
“Do it again. I want to hear absolutely everything.” She sat up and crossed her legs. It had been a couple of years since they had found her, and she’d put on some weight since then. When they’d first rescued her, she’d had to spend a lot of time in the hospital to recover the beating from the broken bones, internal bleeding, and then afterward, she’d suffered from memory loss. Lewis didn’t know how long it was after she had gotten her memory back before she told him the truth. At the time she’d been so frail, so weak, and now she was strong, fuller, curvier. Since then, she’d been helping them every single step of the way while also trying to get her life back on track.
Lewis noticed the fullness of her body and the smile that she rarely gave out to anyone else, but was always doing for him.
She was nearing thirty years old. Most of her young life had been taken from her.
He rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his mind.
“I’d become friends with Russ first. We had seen this club rolling through the city, and both of us loved our bikes, and he knew that I was trying to find you. It was the Chaos Bleeds crew, and this was a few years back. They just rode without a care in the world. After a time, we found other men of similar wealth, and with similar backgrounds. Most of them came from nothing. They knew about my family, and I told them about my wish. About helping women that had been taken, and after we’d been formed for a couple of months, and we’d enjoyed our fun and fleshed out the club, I told them about you. They wanted to help. Our wealth combined was out of this world. Most of them had come from the streets, the foster system. We’d all been pushed to one side, and tried to be manipulated at some point in our lives. Now, we wanted to stop those who would do that. Who’d silence the weak and the innocent. To a couple of the guys in the club they’d say it was just about getting the women, or riding the bike, or having a lot of fun with the title MC. They love screwing with other men, and I have to say I find it a lot of fun as well.” This made her laugh. “We’re not your bare-knuckle fighters on the streets. We don’t even want to take credit for what we’ve done. All we want to do is help people, and to do that, we have to be on the front line for it all. We have to get our hands dirty, and not one of us is afraid of doing that.”
He’d told her this story in the hospital while she’d been in a coma, then afterward when her memory was gone, and then when her memory had come back.
“Why do you love hearing that?” he asked.
“It fills me with hope, Lewis. That maybe when you’re listening to what you say, you’ll see all the fantastic things that you’ve done. You’re not a monster. You’re not like those men who took us. You can’t save them all, but those that you can save, it makes you a hero.”
“I’m not a hero.”
She sighed. “The men who fought in battle, who come home with medals. Do you think they would rather have their fallen instead? The one thing I’ve learned from my life experience is that you can’t save them all. You can try, and you can blame yourself so easily. But there are those that don’t blame you. There are women and girls tonight sitting at home, in the comfort and safety of that home, thinking of you and your club. The people who didn’t give up on them. To be a fighter in this world, Lewis, you need to see the good that you’re doing. Nothing else.”
****
Mandy hoped that she was getting through to him. She wanted him to see that no matter what, he wasn’t to blame for the people he couldn’t save. He was always putting everyone else’s problems on his shoulders, and he shouldn’t.
If Lewis wasn’t careful he was going to work himself into the ground, and then he wouldn’t be able to help anyone at all.
She patted his hand. “I’m going to head to bed.”
Getting to her feet, she made her way upstairs. Entering her room, she went straight for the shower. She removed her clothes then climbed into the stall, allowing the cool spray to soak her overheated skin.
When they had been in his apartment, she had found herself becoming more attracted to him as time went on. With Lewis reading poetry to her, and just the magnetism of the man, she couldn’t stop thinking of him as a man.
Should she want someone after the life she’d had?
Lewis wasn’t just any guy, though. He was the guy she had always wanted. The man of her dreams. The person she’d thought about even when life got a little too tough for her. He was the man who’d saved her.
All in all, he was her hero in more ways than he could even imagine. She didn’t know how to tell him that truth, though.
Lifting her face to the spray of the water, her body felt overheated. Her breasts felt heavy as did her nipples. Just touching them, she felt sensitive, needy.
Hearing him talk about the club usually helped her to deal and to focus.
She shouldn’t be having sexual fantasies about Lewis. They were not here for that. They were here for a vacation and some protection while the club discovered the leak, and the problem.
Resting her hands on her neck, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the need rushing through her body, begging for attention. Slowly, she let one hand fall from her neck down over her breasts. Just the touch to her nipple and she bit her lip to stifle her moan. She couldn’t handle the rush of pleasure, and she reached out to rest her hand against the tiled wall.
She was panting as if she’d run a marathon, and her heart was racing wildly.
Keeping her hand on the wall for balance, she cupped her breast, feeling the weight of it in her hand, stroking the palm against her nipple.
The pleasure rushed to her clit, and she moaned as heat flooded her pussy. Stroking her fingers down her stomach, resting on her pussy, she opened her eyes. She’d not touched herself in a very long time.
Not felt like a woman in a lifetime.
Slowly, she slipped a finger between her folds, and when she found wetness, she felt ecstatic. Arousal was something that had always been foreign to her. She’d never experienced the rush of pleasure, the warmth, the arousal. Everything in her life had been about faking it.
Pushing a finger within her, she drew it back to play with her clit.
The hand resting on the wall turned into a fist at the unexpected pleasure a simple stroke could make.
Closing her eyes once again, she thought about Lewis. Everything else in her mind was pushed to one side, and she thought about him and his rather rough fingers.
The way he was gentle with her. She got a rush out of his touch, just by the way he touched her arm, or would tease her hair. She loved his hands on her.
In her mind, she changed what they were doing. She was no longer fully clothed but standing before him completely naked, waiting for him to make the next move. Within seconds he was naked. It was her fantasy after all, and Lewis shouldn’t be clothed. He moved toward her, gripping the back of her neck and tilting her head back, slamming his lips down on hers, claiming a kiss that was so fierce, filled with such pent-up passion. She imagined the way he pulled her close and pressed her against the bed. His hands moved down her body, spreading open her thighs.
He’d tease between her legs, and she watched as he licked his finger, tasting her.
He kissed down her body, moving between her legs, keeping them open as he tasted her, flicking his tongue back and forth over her clit, drawing each little ripple of pleasure from her. She stroked her clit, feeling the sudden build of pleasure, wanting it more than anything else.
She slammed her palm flat against the wall and gasped as she hurtled over the edge. Her orgasm rushed over her, shocking her with the force of it so that she pressed her thighs together, trapping her hand there as well.
The water fell down her back, and slowly she opened her eyes. She felt … serene, beautiful, and oh, so relaxed. Moving her hand from between her thighs, she rested it against the wall, trying to focus on something, anything.
Her body was alive.
She wanted Lewis.
Her feelings for him had only deepened, but what could she do?
How could she tell him what she wanted?
Could he even be attracted to her after knowing what happened?
Even as she had hope, there was no way it could work—or could it?
She washed her body and hair, then climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. After placing her clothing in the laundry basket, she left the bathroom and entered her room. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she stared at her reflection.
There were marks from old scars, and memories from her past. She stared at them, and where once she would have been ashamed to look at them, she no longer was. This had been her past, her nightmare. She’d survived.
Would Lewis want her, though? She didn’t want to ruin their relationship, as she adored him. Adored was too subtle a word. She loved him, mind, body, and soul.
She’d do everything in her power to keep him safe.
Was there a way she could ever be enough for him?
Chapter Six
“Checkmate,” Lewis said.
He watched as Mandy scrutinized the board and shook her head. “Chess is lame.”
This time he couldn’t help but laugh. Whenever he outsmarted her, Mandy would always make out the game was wrong, or it was boring. She was a very bad loser, but he also found that utterly charming.
“What else would you like to play?”
She crossed her legs, and his gaze was drawn to her body. It was a warm, sunny day, and they were sitting outside. She wore a one-piece bathing suit in a rich blue color. In the past couple of days, she’d actually begun to tan. With each passing day, he’d seen a smile on her lips, and what he hated most, he was starting to really see her.
He loved Mandy. There was no denying that. She’d been his obsession for a long time, and now, when he looked at her, he felt desire.
Was he allowed to feel desire after knowing what she went through?
“I’m going to take a swim in the pool,” she said, gathering her hair up into a ponytail. He stared at her neck, wondering if her pulse would rush if he kissed her there.
The desire he was feeling wouldn’t go away. His cock began to harden, and guilt ate away at him.
Mandy was a very beautiful, very sexy woman.
“Are you coming for a swim?”
“I’ll join you in a minute,” he said.
She nodded, and he watched her go, his gaze drawn to her full, rounded ass.
You shouldn’t be thinking those things.
He’d been able to put any kind of attraction to the back of his mind. Between work and the club, he didn’t have to worry about his feelings for Mandy. But being alone together on an island, he couldn’t handle it, and was finding it really difficult to focus on anything else but how damn good it would be to have Mandy in his bed.
She jumped into the water and broke the surface seconds later, laughing so loud it brought a smile to his lips.
“That water is so good,” she said. “Come on, champion, come on in.”
“I’m a champion now?”
“Every single game we’ve played, you’ve won. I can’t even win a game of cards. You’re no fair at all.”
“You’d like me to make it easy for you.” He stood up and moved toward the edge of the pool, crouching down and resting his arms on his thighs. “You’d like me to give up the game?”
“You’ve been playing these games a lot longer than I have.” She moved toward the edge of the pool. “The least you could do is help a girl out.”
“You don’t strike me as the kind of girl who likes to make things easy,” he said.
“I love having things be easy, Lewis. Sometimes I like the simple things in life.” Her gaze fell over his body and he saw the wicked glint in her eye, seconds before she grabbed his shirt front and pulled him into the pool.
Standing up, he heard her laughing, and he spun around to find her in the same place, her arms resting on the edge of the pool.
“Gotcha,” she said.
He began to unbutton his shirt, peeling it off and throwing it over her head to land on the ground with a wet slop.
Next, he removed his pants and did the same to them.
“If you wanted me in the pool all you had to do was ask.” He moved toward her and leaned in close, putting his watch onto the side of the pool. It was waterproof, so he didn’t mind if it got wet.
Staring into Mandy’s eyes, he waited for her to say something.
“Where would the fun be in that?” she said. She pressed her hands against his chest, and he wanted her touch.
“You’ve got to be careful who you play with, Mandy. Sometimes you risk playing with fire.”
Was it him or did her eyes flash with desire?
“Sometimes, Lewis, I like playing with fire. It gets tiring being so lonely, so cold, and you need a little fire to warm you up from the inside out.”
They were not talking about playtime anymore.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Her gaze fell from his and stared at her hands on his chest. His cock was already rock-hard from being close to her.
The bathing suit molded to her curves, and he saw the outline of her nipples. One of her hands on his chest moved up and cupped the back of his neck.
He returned his attention to her face. She pulled him down, and then her lips were on his. Her grip tightened, and she didn’t pull away.
She opened her mouth and slid her tongue against his lips. He couldn’t not hold her close. Moving one of his hands to her hips and the other to the back of her neck, he kissed her back with a passion that he’d been denying himself.
Drawing her ever closer, he pressed his raging cock against her stomach.
Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he heard and felt her moan as he kissed her. She didn’t pull away or fight for him to stop. She held him close.
The kiss went on, and even as he broke away, he didn’t want to, but felt he had to. Her eyes were still closed, and he watched as she bit her lip, smiling as she did before opening them.
“That was amazing,” she said. She cupped his cheek and pressed her head against his.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m not fragile, Lewis. I won’t break at a kiss.” She tilted her head back. “Don’t think that I will.”
He teased her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. His movements were slow as he didn’t want to startle her.
“When I’m with you the entire world fades away, and I can imagine anything. You’ve given me the freedom to do that, Lewis.” She pressed another kiss to his lips and pulled away. “I really do hope you can see that. I’m not going to break down and cry. I’ve done that.”
She stepped away, and he watched as she began to swim away from him. His lips still tingled from where they had kissed. He stood in the pool with a raging hard-on, but his only interest was Mandy.
Time passed, and he decided to climb out of the pool and check in with the club. It had been a couple of days since he’d gotten an update, and he wanted one. At least something to take his mind off his dick.
He put the call through to Jamie, and it took several rings for him to answer.
“You’re meant to be enjoying a break,” Jamie said.
“I am. It’s all great and fun. What’s going on? You know we’re here to protect Mandy. It’s not supposed to be an actual break.”
“Technically it is. We all needed you to take a break. A dead club member wouldn’t be good for us. We’d be weak.”
“Tell me where we’re at.”
“We’ve narrowed it down to ten men in total.”
“Send me the details. I’ll have a look and see if I can spot anything.”
Jamie sighed. “You don’t need to be here.”
“I need to do something. I’m losing my mind.”
“I doubt that. With Mandy there, I’m sure you’ve got a lot to keep you occupied.”
Lewis rubbed at his eyes, thinking about the kiss. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you think it’s right for me to … kiss her?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? She’s of legal age.”
“Everything she’s gone through. I don’t want to hurt her.”
There was silence for several moments. Lewis waited, knowing that for as much as Jamie was a joker, he also knew when to be serious.
“She’s been through a lot, but she’s still a woman, Lewis. You were her first crush. Even you knew that, and then you rescued her. You’re her hero, and you can’t hold what was done to her against her. I’d let Mandy take the lead on this. Trust her. Know her. You’ll know and understand her better than anyone else. Above all, trust your instincts. Not your fears. I’ll email you the list with the details.”
Jamie disconnected the call.
His words hadn’t helped Lewis at all.
****
Mandy brushed through her hair and stared at her reflection. They had kissed. Finally, after what felt like a millennium, only now, she was … worried. He’d not taken a swim. Instead, he’d watched her and then decided to leave the pool.
Did he think she couldn’t handle him?
Did he not want to kiss her?
She was so torn up.
Maybe he’d never see her as desirable because of all the crap that went on in her past.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she twirled the brush in her fingers, wondering what to do. She loved Lewis.
He’d given her so much. Could she even ask for something more?
She dropped her head down, staring at the brush. It was a simple thing in the world, a brush. Mandy had a memory like so many others where a brush had been a reward. They’d given it to her as if it was some great present for doing something right, and she’d been allowed to take a shower. There had been so much control in her life. Everything had to be earned, and of course she had to go through a power struggle to get it.
No matter what, she had to submit. The list was endless. For clothes, food, water, brushes, soap, even shoes, she had to submit to them. Everything came at a price.
Placing the brush on the bed, she got to her feet and made her way down to the dining room table where Lewis had been for a couple of hours now.
She stood in the doorway, arms folded, waiting.
He didn’t look up at her, totally engrossed in his computer screen.
“I enjoyed the kiss,” she said.
Finally, he lifted his head up, and she had his attention.
“Actually, I loved the kiss. You do it really well.”
“I don’t want you to think that you have to kiss me. That I’m demanding it as some kind of reward.”
“I don’t for a second believe that,” she said. “You’re not like them, Lewis. I’d never think you were. You can’t be. You’re not taking something that I don’t want to give.”
She stared at him … waiting.
“What do you want, Mandy?” he asked.
That was the biggest question. “I don’t want you to be afraid to kiss me, or touch me. I want you to do that. I also don’t want you to freak out over the littlest thing, if that is even possible.” She moved closer and rested her hand on the table. Reaching out, she took hold of his hand and locked their fingers together. “When I’m near, do you get attracted to me? Or do you just see the girl who was taken? Or the broken woman in the hospital?”
“You’ve never been broken. You’re a fighter. A survivor.”
She waited, wondering if he’d add more or if he’d keep her waiting. She was so nervous. Over the past few months, she had feared that Lewis would only ever see her as a victim of what happened. That he’d never be able to get past it and see an actual woman. A physical, desirable woman.
“I’m attracted to you, Mandy. I won’t lie to you. I did find it uncomfortable. I don’t want you to ever think that I’m like those men.”
“There’s no way you could ever be like that, Lewis. They are … monsters. You’re not. You’re a great man.” She gave his hand a squeeze and sighed. “Let’s move on to what has gotten you so wrapped up.” She took a chance and sat on his knee.
He didn’t move her, and for that she was grateful. His hand moved to her leg, and even though she wanted to push his laptop away and kiss him, she didn’t.
“Jamie sent me a list of ten possible men who could be the leak.”
She pulled the laptop closer and leaned forward, then began to scroll through the images, the details. She’d gone through eight men when she froze and stared at a guy she remembered well. Her fingers hovered over the laptop.
“Mandy, what is it?” he asked.
“She’s very well-behaved. I’m shocked. I thought all the bitches here would have a little fire inside them. She’s completely gone, isn’t she?”
“Mandy is my greatest accomplishment. I never want to part with her.” Elijah reached out and stroked her cheek. She didn’t pull away.
The only way to get through life was to pretend nothing was happening.
“I wish I had a bitch like that.”
“Your job is to make sure I can get more bitches like this.”
“It’s him,” she said, pulling out of the memory. She would recognize Robert Jones anywhere. He was a horrible person. Considering he was a cop who should be enforcing the law, he’d made it easy for all the traffickers instead.
If Robert was there, it meant Elijah wasn’t far behind.
Their last meeting hadn’t been pleasant, but he’d not made sure she was dead before he’d left. She had known he’d gotten away. Elijah always had that tactic. He’d always been one step ahead.
“What’s going on, Mandy?” Lewis asked.
“He’s always been fantastic at making people look the other way. A shipment of girls was sent to the local force some time ago. He didn’t work where he does now. I was sure they’d come and get them. They never did. I later found out that Robert had manipulated the facts, and they went to the wrong port. The girls were taken and never seen again.” She leaned back in his arms. “I’d let Jamie know he’s the guy you need to talk to.”
She got up and moved away, heading out of the house.
Mandy didn’t stop until she hit the beach, feeling the dry sand beneath her feet. She walked all the way to the edge, where the ocean lay. The day was still, the sun shining down. It had always amazed her how powerful it was. That even when her day was dark, the sun would always shine.
She found strength from it, one day hoping she’d be as bright as the sunshine.
Elijah was close. He was onto the club, and it would only be a matter of time before they discovered the club and her. She could handle it.
After all, she’d been in his care for a lot longer than she really wanted to think about.
It was everyone else that she worried about.
The Billionaire Bikers MC did a fantastic job. They were relentless, and she adored that about them.
The wind began to pick up, and as her hair thrashed around her, the ocean started to lap at her feet.
Lewis wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back toward him. He rested his chin on her shoulder and didn’t say a thing. She stared out at the vast ocean, wondering what the hell she was going to do.
She had to be smarter.
Think better than Elijah.
She had gotten to know his moods, understand him better than he even realized.
“Does Jamie know?”
“Yes, he knows, and he’s going to deal with it.”
“If you take Robert out, it will bring … him straight to you,” she said.
“Who will it bring, Mandy?”
She didn’t want to say his name, and she closed her eyes. A couple of seconds passed, and she knew she didn’t have a choice. There was no getting away from this. “It’ll bring Elijah to you. Anyone who’s ever crossed him has ended up dead. He’s the one who gave me the final sendoff that should have killed me.”
Lewis tensed behind her, and she hated that she was the cause. There was nothing she could do, though.
She turned in his arms, staring at him. “He’ll expect you to go after Robert. You’ve got to make sure that Jamie doesn’t do that. Make your contact aware of who he is, what he does. Let him know that if Robert is asking questions, he’s got a good reason to be doing it.”
“We’re going to handle this. I promise.”
She nodded her head, believing him.
“All he has ever known is taking young women. I was his greatest success, so that he said if it wasn’t for all the heat that came with a kid disappearing, he’d only snatch young girls and train them as good as I was.”
Lewis tightened his arms around her.
“I hated him, Lewis. I hated him more than anything else in the world. Every time I was with him, I’d think about the different ways that I’d hurt him or kill him.”
“He won’t hurt you, Mandy. I won’t let him get to you.”
She relaxed against him, needing his strength.
Elijah was back, and it only meant one thing. Either he or she would die. He wouldn’t stop, and this time, neither would she.
He’d fought her, tried to break her down, and she’d relented to survive.
Now it was different. She wasn’t trapped within his world.
He was now coming into her world, and if Robert was there it only meant one thing. He considered her a threat.
With that revelation, Mandy smiled.
What’s it like to be the bitch now?