The Collector

The Collector Melissa Harlow Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. This material is meant for mature audiences!

Melissa Harlow

Other Titles by Melissa Harlow Barefoot in the Snow

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The Collector A Whispers Publishing Publication January 2010 Copyright ©2010 Melissa Harlow Cover illustration copyright © 2010 Rene Walden of BG Designs ISBN Not Assigned All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Webwithout permission in writing from the publisher. All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention. Published by: Whispers Publishing, P.O. Box 1165, Ladson, SC 29456-1165.

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Dedication To my family, who have had to spend large portions of time seeing nothing but the back of my head as I sit typing at the computer. To My readers, thank you all for your continued support.

Chevy Silverado: Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors Corp. PO Box 33170: Detroit, MI 48232-5170 Freezer Queen: Freezer Queen Foods, Inc. • 975 Fuhrmann Blvd • Buffalo NY 14203

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Chapter One Dalton looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. The address he had must be wrong. This wasn’t the kind of neighborhood that he was usually sent to. This wasn’t a place of affluence. In fact, it wasn’t even middle class. It was, for lack of a better term, low class. A seedy neighborhood that was full of two kinds of people: those who wanted out and those who had given up caring anymore. He pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call to double check on the address. To his surprise, it was the right address. 2111 Vista Lane. What the hell was he getting himself into this time? No matter where he went, he never knew what waited inside. Sometimes there was no time to think, he could only react. Experience and confidence were all he had to rely on. The house was unremarkable and featured drab brown vinyl siding with red shutters, skirted by scraggly, dying hedges. He shut off the truck and pulled his gun out from under the seat. The gun was a last resort. The houses here were too close together, and a gunshot would be loud. The Glock was more for effect since this visit was all about intimidation, not killing. Intimidation worked wonders. Do it right and there’d be no need 5

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for killing. Dead men don’t repay debts, so killing wasn’t the answer. Sliding the gun into the back of his waistband, he felt the cold metal against the small of his back. He unsnapped the sheath of the knife resting on his hip and opened the truck door. His pulse was racing. The adrenaline rush of his job was intoxicating sometimes. This was definitely one of those times. This wasn’t a soft old banker with investment debts, not here. This was something different. Whatever this lowlife borrowed cash for, and how he thought he was going to manage to repay it were things he didn’t understand. Yet. It had to be drugs, judging from this neighborhood. There was no other apparent reason that someone who lived in this shithole would owe Briggs so much money. Gambling was always a possibility, but his gut said the guy was a druggie and they were never good to deal with. Irrational thinking makes for dangerous situations. Dangerous situations lead to people getting hurt. The cement front steps were covered with green carpet that looked like grass. He made no sound as he climbed them. Despite his large size, Russell Dalton was able to move quite fluidly. His hand touched the doorknob, and he turned it, inch by inch. The fucking door wasn’t even locked! This was easy, too easy, and easy always made him nervous. He pulled out the gun and opened the door slowly.

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Through the darkened living room, he could see into a grungy, eat-in kitchen with rust colored linoleum and ugly avocado green appliances. The tattered living room carpet cushioned the soft footfalls of his boots. He moved slowly, with a caution he had gained from years of experience. Something didn’t smell right in here, and it made him edgy. There were plenty of bad smells in this filthy house, but one distinct scent in particular registered in Dalton’s mind. Death. There was something dead in this house. A man was slumped at the table, a glass and a bottle of tequila rested near his head. Dalton approached him stealthily, gun in hand. When he reached the table, he gave the man’s chair a shove with his foot. Bloodshot eyes slowly opened, unfocused for a moment, until they locked on to the gun Dalton was pointing at him. “Who? What are you doing here?” he asked, sounding groggy. “I was sent by Mr. Briggs. There is a matter of a loan that needs paying,” Dalton told him calmly. “In fact, it’s past fucking due.” Fear flickered in the man’s eyes. “I don’t have it.” “You know, I was afraid you were going to say that,” Dalton said. “How much do you have?” The man’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. “I don’t know, maybe a hundred or so.” Dalton laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that.” “I need more time,” he stammered. 7

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“Father Time isn’t on your side. You’ve had a month.” “Please, tell Briggs I’ll have it by the end of the week? I’ll give you the hundred and you tell him that for me?” “Now do you really think it’s worth it for me to piss Mr. Briggs off for a lousy hundred dollars?” Dalton laughed. “He pays me too well to be bothered with that.” Desperation flooded the man’s face, and then, to Dalton’s surprise, he smiled. “I have something better than a hundred dollars,” the man said eagerly. He stood up, holding his hands in the air. “Will you let me get it? It’s right in there.” He pointed to a closed door, padlocked shut with a large silver lock dangling from a thick hasp. “Only if I come with you,” Dalton said. His curiosity was piqued. That lock wasn’t the way most normal people closed their doors. He’d been offered a lot of crazy things over the years, one of the few job perks. What was it that was so valuable that this scumbag kept it locked up? “You try anything and I won’t hesitate to blow your fucking head off,” Dalton said as the man’s shaky hands fumbled with the key. He stood behind the man as he unlocked the door and then turned on a light switch. The fan and light fixture on the ceiling came to life. The fan stirred up a strong stench of body odor and stale urine in the air. 8

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The man reached down and grabbed the arm of someone lying there on a bed, pulling them onto the floor with a thud. The sight of a nearly naked girl casually tossed at his feet stunned him for a moment. All she had on was a torn pair of pink cotton panties. A little white cartoon kitty on the front of the panties was dark with stains. Her bare breasts heaved as she struggled to breathe. Her head tilted up slowly and she stared up at him. She had one hell of a black eye, even the white of her eye was stained an ugly purple. The other locked onto him, huge and terrified, stormy grayish blue. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her feet were tied together at the ankles. A strip of gray duct tape covered her mouth. It was streaked with dried bloody mucous that had run down from her nose. After only a moment, the girl’s fear seemed to decrease as she studied him with guarded interest. Her uninjured eye seemed to glow with anticipation as she stared at the weapon in his hand. She seemed to enjoy the fact he was pointing a gun at the man. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. “What the fuck is this?” Dalton demanded. “Take her, fuck her, do whatever you want with her! She’s a mouthy little bitch, but she ain’t ugly. Take her and give me another week.” Dalton looked down at the girl again. She was sprawled on the floor like a broken doll. Her fair skin was covered in bruises, but aside 9

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from that, she was beautiful. Her hair was a long tangled mess of greasy, honey-gold curls. She was a small, delicate girl with a fragile quality that pulled at his heart in a way nothing had for a long time. Her eyes reminded him of a hunting trip he’d taken with his father when he was a boy. He’d had the deer dead in his sights, but it had stared at him with those huge eyes. At first it was in fear, but as he lowered the rifle, the deer had looked at him curiously. He hadn’t been able to kill it, and found himself incapable of destroying something so beautiful. His dad had laughed and called him a pussy, and then shot it dead right in front of him. After the day Dalton met John Briggs, he had never been a pussy again. He learned that lesson from those two hard men. No matter how beautiful anything is, it should not distract you from what you are supposed to be doing. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. Business is business, and nothing should distract you from that. Except now, suddenly, he found himself extremely distracted. Dalton looked at the man. “And what the fuck am I going to do with her? Are you trying to insult me by offering me a bit of chump change and a beaten, stinking woman?” “She don’t usually look this bad,” the man said defensively. “Wash her up and she won’t stink.”

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“You did this to her?” He knew already what the answer was, and the gun in his hand reminded him that he could kill this bastard if he wanted to. If he was smart, he’d leave right now and just call the cops. They could come and get this girl, take her out of here and throw this sick bastard in jail. Maybe in jail he’d find out what being raped was like. He couldn’t call the cops, though. This was a job. It was business. The man shrugged, “Maybe you’ll have more success teaching her to listen to you.” Dalton looked down at the girl again. He could take her now, the hell with calling the cops. This visit was only a reminder to pay. He was originally going to give the guy another week or so, anyway. Why not take this girl out of here? She’d be better off away from here, although he had absolutely no idea what the hell he was going to do with her. If he took her to the hospital and dropped her off, she could call the cops and he wouldn’t have to be involved. She didn’t know why he was here. Or did she? He tried to think if there was a chance she’d heard anything. Had he mentioned Briggs’ name when she could hear him? He wasn’t sure. “Sit up, cunt, so he can get a good look at you,” the man said. She didn’t move. She only stared, full of hate, at the man as he approached her. He reached a hand down towards her shoulder. 11

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Dalton’s hand tightened on the pistol’s grip. “Lay that hand on her and I’ll put a bullet in your fucking head,” he snapped. His finger was hard against the trigger, just a hair more and the gun would fire. The creep smiled through rotting teeth, “Ah, see? You do want her. Take her, then. I’m getting tired of her, anyhow. Tell Briggs I’ll have his money next week.” Dalton waved the gun. “You’re fucking scum. I can’t believe Briggs even deals with you. You have a week. No more, one week. Get her some clothes, she’s coming with me.” Almost gleefully, the man began tossing some clothing onto the bed. Dalton crouched down beside the girl, still keeping an eye on him. “I’m taking you out of here.” She nodded woodenly, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Dalton tried to ease the tape off of her mouth. It had been there a while, and the adhesive clung tenaciously to her delicate skin. “This is going to hurt, honey, but I have to do it.” He grabbed the loose corner and ripped it away quickly. She whimpered a little and then gasped a huge gulp of air through her swollen lips. “You’ll like her,” the scumbag said. “She’s young and tight. She don’t like to fuck, but she’s small enough that you can hold her down pretty easy. Watch out, though, she can fight a lot harder than you’d think.” He laughed. 12

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“I had to tape the bitch’s mouth, she screamed so loud. I don’t mind screaming, in fact I kinda like it. Just can’t have the neighbors hearing, you know? Once or twice was okay, but she just kept on going.” He looked down at the girl and smiled.”Too bad you’re leaving. We could have had a lot more fun.” The girl stared at Dalton with pleading eyes, and murmured something he couldn’t hear. He moved his head closer to her. “I didn’t hear you.” She strained her neck and tilted her head up towards him. “Kill him,” she whispered. He stared at her, and felt a strange want, almost a need for her. He didn’t need a woman. Briggs provided him with as many as he wanted. All of them were pretty and so willing to please. A knot formed in his chest as he looked at this girl. Hurt, vulnerable, yet somehow strong and beautiful, unlike any woman he’d ever seen. He already wanted to kill the bastard. The knowledge she wanted him to was enough to spur him on. He wanted him dead as badly as she did. He wanted him dead because he knew the bastard had hurt her, but more than that he wanted him dead so that he could have her for himself. It was hard to look away from her eyes. “Please,” she breathed, “kill that motherfucker.” The awkward cadence in her voice as she cursed almost made him smile. “Motherfucker” wasn’t a word that just rolled off this girl’s tongue 13

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everyday. The pain and torment in her eyes explained why she’d used that word. She hated the bastard. Dalton stood up slowly and slid the gun back into his waistband. In one fluid move, he pulled his knife. “You said I had a we...” the man gurgled, unable to finish the sentence. Blood gushed and bubbled from his neatly slit throat. Dalton noted the girl didn’t even flinch as the man’s body hit the floor only inches from where she was huddled. He crouched back down and used the knife to cut the ropes off of her wrists and ankles. “Get dressed, and hurry up, we need to get the fuck out of here. I’ll wait for you in the kitchen,” he said. His voice sounded much calmer than he felt. His heart was racing. She clutched his arm tightly. “Thank you!” Something shone in her eyes, something he’d never seen. He’d swear it was love if he knew what that looked like. “No problem,” he said in a halfhearted attempt to make her smile. “My night was pretty dull up until now.” Glancing down momentarily at the bleeding mess on the floor beside her, he turned and left the room. It shocked him that he felt nothing. He’d killed his own father after years of abuse and still felt a twinge of remorse, but seeing this man dead made him feel nothing.

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Turning back one more time, he watched the trembling girl dressing, and he took one more look at the lifeless body on the floor. It wasn’t nothingness that that he felt, then, it was satisfaction. Bleed, motherfucker; bleed for that girl. He had no idea what the hell he was doing. Hopefully he’d be able to smooth things over with Briggs. He’d tell him the guy came at him and he had no other choice. If worst came to worse, he’d pay Briggs the five grand himself. It didn’t matter. He’d killed for this girl. She was going with him. The smell in this house told him that she wasn’t the first girl that sick bastard had brought here, but she was the only one who was going to leave. Alive. He looked at a door on the other side of the kitchen. He was pretty certain it was a door to a basement. At least thirty little tree-shaped air fresheners were tacked to the wood, but they did little to cover a telltale odor that came from beyond that door. He didn’t want to think about the horrible things he was sure were on the other side. A few minutes later, the girl walked out of the bedroom door stiffly, carrying a duffle bag. The clothes she wore were too big for her. If they were hers, she hadn’t been fed for a while, judging by the way they hung off of her small frame. Her uninjured eye was vacant and lifeless. He noted a 15

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grimace of pain on her face with each step she took. “You hurt bad?” he asked. “My legs ache.” “How about between them? You hurting there?” he asked, wondering how many times that sick fuck had raped her. Her face flushed bright red and she looked at the floor. “I’m sorry,” he stammered, his usual cool demeanor floundering for a moment. “We need to get out of here.” On the way out the door, he pulled the sleeve of his sweatshirt over his hand and wiped the doorknob. He’d touched nothing else in the house. There’d be no fingerprints. He took the girl’s arm and helped her down the front steps, out to the waiting truck. “I have to make a phone call,” he said as he started the ignition. “Be quiet, okay? If Briggs finds out about you, it won’t be good.” It wouldn’t be good at all; Briggs would insist that he kill the girl, too. She was the only witness. He needed to be real careful that Briggs didn’t find out where this girl had come from, or what really happened. Almost ten years doing this job and he’d never fucked things up so badly. He pulled the truck onto the street just as Briggs picked up. “Yeah? What’s going on, Dalton?” “It wasn’t good,” Dalton said. “No money, things got messy.” “How messy?” Briggs asked in a guarded voice. 16

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“Extremely.” “Fuck!” Briggs said. “I didn’t expect this. It should have been routine.” “How the hell did you get mixed up with that piece of shit?” Dalton said. “He wasn’t going to pay anything back.” “He has before,” Briggs said. “I never had problems with him before.” “No one will have problems with him again,” Dalton said, thinking about the girl. “I can’t believe this!” Briggs sounded more upset than Dalton had thought he’d be. “Fuck, well, okay, Dalton. Get the fuck out of there. Don’t call me any more tonight. I’ll be in touch.” “Yeah, okay.” He hung up and sighed. He glanced over at the trembling girl beside him. “What’s your name?” She stared blankly for so long that he thought she wouldn’t answer. “Ava,” she finally said softly. “My name is Ava Renolds.” “Ava, I’m Dalton. How did you get in that house?” “He took me there,” she began, her voice wavering. “I was at the bus station and he offered me a ride to Burger King. He hit me with something in the car. When I woke up, I was there in that room. There was something on my head, like a pillowcase or a bag. I couldn’t see.” Fuck. The prick had kidnapped her. If the cops were looking for her and they found her with him, 17

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they’d think he was involved in either taking her or killing that twisted piece of shit. “Are the cops looking for you?” “No one is looking for me,” she said sadly. “I just came here from Ridgewood. I heard there were lots of jobs here.” “How long were you there?” I…I don’t know. The windows in the room were covered with black plastic garbage bags. It was always dark unless the light was on.” She choked back a sob, “It felt like forever.” Dalton had no regrets that he’d killed that sick piece of shit, and again the satisfied feeling surged inside him. “You’re going to stay at my house for a while, Ava. Sometime after those bruises fade, I’ll take you back to Ridgewood and drop you off. You can’t tell nobody what happened, ever! Understand?” “I won’t ever tell anyone anything. But I can’t go back to Ridgewood.” “Why not?” “I don’t have anywhere to stay there and that man took all my money. All of it! There’s no jobs there. I thought I could find something here.” He could hear the sadness in her voice but she wasn’t crying. He gave her credit; she was tougher than she looked. “You got any people here?” Dalton asked. “People?” “Yeah, like family?” “I don’t have any family,” she said in a hollow voice. 18

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“You and me both, sweetheart,” Dalton replied. “Well, you’ll stay at my house. Don’t worry, I’m not some sick fuck. I’m not going to hurt you.” She’d just watched him slit a guy’s throat two feet away from her, so right now he wasn’t expecting a huge measure of trust from her. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible above the truck’s engine. He wondered what kind of twisted shit that sick bastard did to her. He wished it wasn’t dark, and he wasn’t driving. He wanted to look at her face and tell her it was going to be all right. “Can I have a drink of your coffee?” she asked timidly. He had forgotten the half empty cup in the holder from the previous morning. “You don’t want that, it’s from yesterday.” She grabbed the cup and gulped the cold coffee down greedily. “I don’t care. I’m so thirsty.” “When’s the last time you had something to drink?” “I don’t know. It’s been a while.” “There’s a Wendy’s up on the corner, I’ll stop and get you something to drink. I bet you’re hungry, too.” “I don’t have any money.” “Fuck, I should have took that hundred dollars. It was probably yours, anyway.” He laughed, “I just killed a guy for you. You don’t think I’ll buy you a drink and a sandwich? What do you want to eat?” “I don’t care. Anything.” “Burger and fries?” “Sure.” 19

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She hid her face in her hands as they sat at the drive-thru window. He rolled the window down, grateful for some fresh air. The girl smelled terrible. He handed her the bag of food and put the drink in the holder. She was finished eating the burger before he pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ll make you something else to eat when I get you home,” he said. “You don’t have to do that.” “I know I don’t have to. I’m going to, and you are going to take a bath, or a shower.” Or both. He could feel her looking at him the whole time he drove. He wondered if she was trying to decide if he was like the guy where she’d just came from. He wasn’t. Well, not completely anyway. He already knew he wanted her, but he sure as fuck wasn’t going to hurt her. With what she’d just been through, he didn’t expect her to be wanting to fuck anytime soon. It would take a little time, a little patience, but, then again, girls who looked as good as this one did didn’t come along every day. Maybe they never came along. After all, he’d never met a girl under any other circumstances that he’d be willing to slit some fucker’s throat for. He pulled in the driveway and pressed the garage door remote. The door opened and he pulled in. The girl seemed a little panicky when the door began closing behind them. He put his hand on her shoulder and she cowered against the passenger door. 20

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“Seriously, it’s going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore.” He got out of the truck and opened her door. Taking her arm, he guided her through the dark house, up the steps, and he turned the lights on in the kitchen. “What do you want to eat?” She stood stiffly, her eyes were glazed and she looked confused. She swayed a little. “I’m really tired.” “Okay, well, we’ll wait until breakfast, then. You need to get washed before you go to bed, though.” He felt like he was talking to a little kid. “I can’t,” she mumbled. “I’m too tired.” “Listen, sweetheart, you don’t smell too good. You are going to get washed before you go to sleep, and then you can sleep as long as you want to. You’ll have your own room, your own bed, okay?” She didn’t answer. Her eyes were closed and she leaned heavily against him. “Okay, I’ll help you,” he said, trying to hide his impatience. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, trying not to breathe in. He tried standing her up in the bathroom, and she was nearly limp. “I’m cold,” she mumbled. She held on to him then, her arms around his neck. She felt nice against him, but he would have enjoyed it a lot more if she was already clean. “We’re going to get you cleaned up.” He spoke to her softly as she shivered against his chest. 21

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He laid her in the tub carefully, and propped her head up with a rolled up towel. He bent and untied the string on her sweatpants, with her lying down it was hard to get them over her hips. “Please, don’t” she cried, her hands tightly clutching her waistband. “You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He did his best to sound reassuring. He finally worked them down and pulled them off. Her panties came off with them, and he hadn’t expected that. He paused for a minute at the sight of the soft downy hair on her mound. She made a weak attempt to cover herself with her hands. Unwillingly, he averted his eyes to her face. Despite her dazed look, he could see she was terrified. He laid his hand on her cheek. “Listen, I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m just trying to get you cleaned up so you can go to bed.” She looked like she tried to smile, and choked out a little thank you. She managed to lift her arms and he pulled her top over her head. He turned on the shower and adjusted it down onto her body. As dirty as she was, a bath wasn’t going to get her clean. The water ran over her nude body, while he tried hard to keep his eyes on her face. With huge amounts of shampoo, he soaped and rinsed her hair over and over until it finally felt clean. As he began washing her body, she sat up a little. Using a big handful of liquid soap, he rubbed 22

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between her thighs, trying not to think too much about what he was doing, and what was beneath his palm and fingers. He wished he had a washcloth so he couldn’t feel her soapy and wet beneath his hand. He rubbed her gently, afraid of hurting her where she had already been hurt. This would be so much fun under normal circumstances. Washing a pretty, naked girl should be fun. This wasn’t fun. It was hard work. Trying not to look at what he wanted to look at, trying only to touch, and not really feel. The girl might have been cold, but sweat was beading on his forehead. Her skin was satiny smooth. Her nipples were hard as pebbles against his hands as he washed her breasts. He couldn’t resist the urge to cup a breast in his hand, and lift it. It was soft and ripe. He washed the skin beneath her breast, then cupped the other in his hand and did the same. He felt a twinge in his groin, and tried to admonish himself for feeling up this helpless girl. Still he felt his cock swelling, uncomfortably restricted by his jeans. “Can you stand up? I need to wash all of you and you need rinsed off.” She made an attempt but her legs buckled beneath her. He managed to grab her under the arms before she fell. Soon, he had climbed in the tub with her. Holding her up under the water, he felt his feet sloshing in his boots and thought how ridiculous this was. He set her back down, and sat on the toilet 23

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and took off his wet boots and socks. The jeans he left on, only because he was fully erect, and, at least with them on, maybe she wouldn’t notice. He turned her around so her back would be rinsed. Her head came only to his chest, and she laid it against him. Her breasts were cool against his skin so she still wasn’t warm. Her bare bottom felt cold, too, where his hand rested on her left butt cheek. He stood there holding her, hoping she didn’t notice the large bulge in the crotch of his jeans. The hot water was running out and he turned the water off. He picked her up, carried her down the hall, and put her on the guest room bed. Gently, he rubbed her with a towel. Her hands were crossed tight between her thighs as she tried to cover herself. Her eyes were open and she was watching him. Still trying to look only at her face, he smiled at her. “You’re going to be okay, honey.” When that black eye healed, he could only imagine how gorgeous her face would be. She was stunning right now with huge eyes that were framed in long pretty lashes. Her gaze shifted down, and he realized she was staring at the knife on his hip. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her again, worried she was thinking he would do something to her with that knife.

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She smiled, and it made him happy just to see it. “I know what you did. I remember. You killed the monster.” Dalton looked down at her. For a moment, she was a sweet little princess and he was a knight. It was a good moment and he felt proud. He smiled back at her. “I did. It’ll be okay now, little princess.” Her eyes were heavily lidded, “I’m so tired.” “Go to sleep now. You’ll be okay.” “I want some clothes,” she said weakly. “Please? I don’t want to be naked, anymore. I have a nightgown in my bag.” He retrieved it, and pulled it over her head. She tried helping, but she wasn’t much, exhaustion having gotten the better of her frail body. Finally, he got a hairbrush, and began the task of gently easing the tangles and mats from her hair. She was out now, fast asleep in his lap. There was nothing he would have liked more than to take her to his bed and feel her against him. It occurred to him then that he had never slept in the same bed with a woman, and for a moment he wondered what it would be like. The tiny bit of willpower he had left would probably not be able to tolerate that. He finished her hair and eased her down onto the bed. When she was covered up, he stood and looked down at her. Despite the desire he had for her, he felt something even more intense. Protectiveness. 25

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He would protect her, even if the only thing left to protect her from now was the lust that she ignited inside of him.

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Chapter Two Sleep was a welcome comfort. It was a place to hide and her momentary reprieve from pain and despair. It was all just a dream. Ava was back in Ridgewood, in her apartment. Safe and unharmed, asleep in her own bed. Yet again and again, she was awakened by the same nightmare that started when the monster came back into the room. More torture, more pain. Even when he didn’t hurt her, he woke her up. She wasn’t ever allowed to sleep for long. Sleep was the only reprieve, the only escape. She cried out and sat upright in the bed. For several moments, she didn’t even know where she was. There were black windows by the bed and she panicked and screamed. A light came on in the room, and then she remembered. The monster was dead. There was no plastic on the windows here, it was just dark outside. Dalton stood in the doorway and his tired brown eyes were full of concern. She knew she’d awakened him. His thick, long hair was loose and messy, no longer held back in a neat ponytail. Shirtless, baring a broad chest with a jagged scar, he was barefoot and wearing only a pair of light gray sweatpants. 27

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Ava stared at him, thinking how beautiful he was. She already knew his face better than the monster’s. The line of his jaw, the warmth in his eyes, the small scar on his cheek were all so vivid in her mind that she could see him with her eyes closed. He had touched her, everywhere. She remembered him washing her. His big hands were hard, but so gentle. His hands could be trusted. “You okay?” he asked warily, approaching the side of the bed. The dark circles beneath his eyes didn’t make him one bit less attractive. She could only imagine how bad she must look. She nodded. “Sorry I woke you. I had a bad dream. When I woke up, I saw the dark windows and I thought it was the plastic. I’m sorry.” He raked a hand through his dark hair, seeming at a loss. “You don’t have to be sorry.” His eyes were sad now. “Can I sit down?” “Yes.” “Want to talk about it?” Dalton asked hesitantly, as he sat on the edge of the bed. “No, I don’t even want to remember it.” Every part of her body seemed to ache, and behind each ache was a distinct memory of what had happened to cause it. She pushed her hair out of her face, and was surprised that it was so smooth. It had been ratty and tangled for days, now it felt sleek and soft. He must have brushed it for her. There was no memory of him doing it, so it must have been after she’d fallen asleep. A lump 28

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welled in her throat at the thought of this big, tough man gently brushing her hair while she slept. He laid his hand on her arm. Ava stared at his long fingers. She could still see them wrapped around the handle of that big knife. Remembering how he had stood towering over her while she was naked and bound, and how he had looked at her with such kindness. And then he had slain the monster. “I can’t ever thank you enough,” she said finally, looking up at his face. “If it wasn’t for you, I…” “You’d of gotten out of there on your own,” Dalton cut in abruptly. “You’re a tough little thing. You’d of been just fine without me.” She could see in his eyes that he was lying. Somehow he knew. He knew that man was planning on killing her soon, just like he had done to the other woman. “I don’t think so,” Ava said. “There was just no way. No way to get away.” She wondered how he knew. “Dalton? What do you think he was going to do with me…when he was done?” He didn’t answer. His jaw was clenched. Those dark brown eyes of his gazed at her tenderly. He raised his hand from her arm and touched her hair. His arm jerked quickly away when she involuntarily flinched. “Sorry, I wasn’t going to do anything to you,” he mumbled sheepishly. “I know,” she answered. For the first time since getting out of that house, she found herself 29

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on the verge of crying again. She hadn’t meant to pull away, not from him. The last person on this earth she wanted to pull away from was him. “You’ve been so very kind.” He seemed uncomfortable with the praise and looked away. “I’m not kind. Don’t ever let yourself be fooled into believing that.” She traced her fingers over the scar on his chest. A thousand goose bumps blossomed beneath her fingertips. “It’s not that great of a story,” Dalton said gruffly. “What?” “The scar. You were going to ask what it’s from. It’s not that great of a story.” “So, what’s it from?” Ava said. “A little blonde hooker who figured it would be easier to rob me than to blow me.” Ava tried hard not to look as horrified as she felt, but she knew she wasn’t successful. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d need to be with a hooker. Being a good judge of character apparently wasn’t something she was any good at. The monster had initially seemed helpful and polite. One corner of Dalton’s mouth lifted in a rueful grin. “See, honey? I’m no fucking hero. You don’t have to thank me. You damn sure don’t want to think I’m kind.” Ava shook her head. “You are kind.” They stared at each other for several long moments.

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“Think you can go back to sleep?” Dalton finally asked. “Will you stay?” Ava asked, aware that the pleading note in her voice sounded pathetic. “Please?” He looked startled. “Why?” “I just want to feel safe.” His eyes narrowed. “With me?” he laughed a little and seemed uncomfortable. “Honey, you don’t even know me. I doubt you’re gonna feel to safe lying in bed with me.” “I will. You saved me. I trust you.” “You have no idea how hard it was to wash you without…” his voice dropped away, and he paused, trying to decide how to explain to her how he felt.”I don’t think I can lay in bed with you,” he said. “I want you, but I can’t have you. If I lay with you, you can’t trust me. I don’t trust myself.” He wanted her. The thought was both frightening and amazing. The way she was now, the way she felt, how she looked, he shouldn’t want her. He was so much bigger than the monster. If he wanted to hurt her, he could. Somehow she knew that he wasn’t going to. “I trust you,” she said, without hesitation. He breathed out as if a hand was squeezing the air from his lungs. “Nobody trusts me, nobody but Briggs.” Ava laid back. This bed was so much softer than the monster’s. “I trust you. Please? Stay?” The big man lay awkwardly beside her, on top of the covers. Ava tugged them, trying to pull them 31

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down, but his body’s weight prevented it. “Don’t you sleep under the covers?” she asked. “I do. In my bed.” “This is your house. So this is your bed.” He sighed. “You know what I mean.” “Then let me sleep in your bed?” she said.”I want to sleep next to you.” “Just a little while ago I was just going to touch you and you jumped like a fucking snake bit you,” he said impatiently. “Now you’re begging to sleep with me? Didn’t you get fucked enough at the last place you were?” She could see that he was sorry the minute he said it, but that didn’t soften the effect of his words. The tears she had managed to keep at bay for so long were unstoppable. “Jesus, honey, I’m so fucking sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just tired and I….Fuck! Ava, I’m so sorry.” “I just wanted you to hold me,” she said. “I wanted to feel safe.” He reached for her, his face full of remorse. Ava moved away from him but he grabbed her, anyway. When his hands closed roughly on her shoulders, she blinked tears from her eyes. He was pulling her towards him, but it wasn’t Dalton anymore. It was the monster. Ava struggled fiercely as his arms banded tightly around her. She kicked him and tried to twist from the arms that held her. The silk of her nightgown brushed against her skin. She wasn’t nude, and she wasn’t tied-up. A 32

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large hand cupped her chin as Dalton pressed his lips to her ear. “Shh, Ava. It’s okay. I’m sorry, I don’t know how, I mean, I’ve never just held someone.” She pressed her face against his neck, sobbing. “I thought you were him.” His hands were gentle on her skin. “I’ll never be him, honey. I wouldn’t hurt you. I’m sorry about what I said.” Ava breathed him in. He smelled clean, and his cologne was spicy. He kissed her forehead softly like she was a child. She didn’t feel like a woman, anymore. Maybe that’s what she was, a child. She didn’t know what to say to him. All she wanted was to hold onto him and try to forget. He looked down at her thoughtfully. “Was there ever anyone else there, in that house, besides him?” he asked. “Why?” “Because I have a feeling you weren’t the first.” Ava felt sick to her stomach. “Why do you think that?” He didn’t answer at first, and then he looked away from her. “I smelled something.” She’d smelled it, too. From the minute she was taken into the house, the odor had hit her. Ava closed her eyes, remembering what she’d heard on the first night she was there. “I never saw anyone,” she said honestly. “But?” Dalton asked, as if he knew something more. 33

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“I heard someone. The first night I was there.” “What did you hear?” She could feel her whole body shaking. “I don’t want to remember.” His hard arms encircled her a bit tighter, “But you do remember,” Dalton said. “Yes.” “This is fucked up,” Dalton said, and he sounded angry. “You need somebody to help you. I wish I could take you to a doctor or a counselor. Jesus, you need someone.” “I don’t want to talk to anyone about any of it!” “How about me, Ava?” he said hopefully.”Will you talk to me?” “No! Especially not to you.” His body was tense against her.”Especially not me? Why?” “I don’t want you to know.” He would never love her if he knew, and for some reason that was what she wanted more than anything. He fell silent. At least a full minute passed before he spoke. “You told me you trust me,” he said slowly. His hand cradled her face. “I know he would have done worse to you if he’d had a chance to. Tell me, Ava. What did you hear?” She tried to look back as an observer. Just a narrator, not a thinking, feeling, terrified human being. “He killed her,” she managed to tell him. “Who?” “I don’t know. I never saw her, but I heard her. Crying and begging. She knew what he was going to 34

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do. She begged, she begged him.” Her hands rubbed her eyes furiously, although she’d never seen anything, tormenting visions lived in her mind. “And I was so scared. I can still hear her crying in my head. Begging and screaming in my head. “You know what?” she said, her heart pouring out to the man who had rescued her. “I keep thinking that maybe I could have helped her. I tried to help her. I called out to him. Told him she wasn’t what he wanted and to leave her be and come fuck me! I told him I wanted him! “There was nothing else I could do because I was tied to the bed and locked in that room! He killed her first, and then he came in the room…” She couldn’t speak anymore. She didn’t even want to think beyond that point. “I don’t want to remember this anymore,” she cried out angrily. “It’s not your fault,” he said softly. “None of it is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.” “I told him to come and fuck me!” she said hopelessly. “So?” “And he did,” she sobbed. “But he…he killed her first.” “Ava, it’s not your fault. He was a sick bastard. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Dalton touched her hair and she didn’t flinch this time. He stroked it and it felt soothing. She sighed, mentally and physically exhausted. Just the sensations of being clean, dressed, and safe were wonderful. 35

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“I can’t sleep here,” Dalton finally said, softly against her hair. “I understand. Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?” He laughed. “I didn’t mean I can’t sleep with you. I meant I can’t sleep in this little bed. You can come sleep in my room if you want.” He stood and held out his hand and she gratefully took it. The carpet was soft against her bare feet as her aching legs carried her up the hallway. He turned the lights on in a large bedroom that had the biggest bed she had ever seen in her life. She could tell what side he slept on since the other half was littered with magazines, clothes, and guns. He began clearing the bed off. “I never bring anyone here,” he said as he picked up a pistol and laid it on the nightstand. He put another smaller revolver on top of a gray metal safe in the corner. Ava leaned heavily against a desk and glanced down. Beneath a glass paperweight was a title for a Chevy Silverado. Her eyes focused on the name on the paper. Russell R. Dalton. She’d fallen in love with him before she even knew his full name. A pair of wet jeans was tossed over the back of the desk chair. They were wet from him washing her. She vaguely recalled the wet denim brushing her bare skin as he held her beneath the shower spray. The knife was in a black leather sheath still hooked to the hip pocket of his Levi’s. Sitting on 36

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the edge of the bed, she touched the worn leather flap of the sheath and slid her fingertip beneath it until it unsnapped. Without even looking in his direction, she could feel Dalton watching her. “Can I hold it?” she asked breathlessly. “Yeah, go ahead.” Slowly, she pulled it from the sheath. The handle was cold in her hand. It seemed strange that it fascinated her. She stared at the blade. It occurred to her that she was looking for blood. The monster’s blood. There was nothing there. The blade was clean and shiny. “I washed it,” Dalton said. She pushed it back into the sheath. “I guess I just wanted to know that this is real. That I’m really here and this isn’t a dream. That this is really happening, and he is really dead.” Dalton sat down beside her. “It’s really happening. He’s really dead.” He got up and turned off the light. Ava slipped beneath the covers of the huge bed, breathing in the scent of him. Soon after, his arms closed around her and she laid her head against his chest. This was real, he was real and she was safe. She drifted into a hazy sleep, dreaming of monsters being pursued and slain by a brave knight. Her knight, Russell R. Dalton.

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Chapter Three His shoulder ached, and he wanted to roll over, but girl was draped over his chest, her hair spilling down his side. Unwilling to disturb her, he lay and listened to her breathing. He moved her hair from her face and watched her sleep. She was peaceful and relaxed, a look he’d never really seen on her face while she was awake. Someday, maybe he’d see her look that way when she was awake. Her breast was pressed against his chest. Soft and warm, like he was certain she would be everywhere. If she could read his thoughts, she would not think she was safe here lying with him. The only thing that stopped him from kissing her, touching her, having her was the torture he knew she had endured. A strange war raged within him, tearing him between the need to protect and the need to possess. He’d killed for her, without question, without remorse. It wasn’t merely because that bastard deserved to die, there was another reason. He had killed to take what that bastard had had: Ava. He wanted her for himself. Not just to save her, but to have her here with him. Now that he’d had time to think about things, he felt foolish. Having her here was a stupid idea. 38

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The best thing to do was to drive her wherever she wanted to go and drop her off. The money he had lying in the safe hadn’t been saved for anything nearly as important as her. If she had that money, she’d be fine. She could find somewhere to live, get a new job, and start over clean. He knew in his heart she’d never tell anyone about any of this. He trusted her, which struck him as odd. Without even knowing her, he trusted her. The strap of her nightgown slipped off of her delicately curved shoulder. The bruises on the back of that narrow shoulder were easy to read, four finger marks on her porcelain skin. How anyone could have ever touched this woman with anything less than adoration was hard to comprehend. God, he hoped she had a good life ahead of her because she hadn’t deserved any of this shit. It was nice to sleep beside her. To partially wake up during the night and feel her warm and safe in his arms. To fully wake now in the morning light and look at her face. This woman was different to him. She mattered more than any of them. Even ones he’d fucked. Something about that didn’t seem normal. His life wasn’t normal, though, and it never had been. This woman in his bed was proof of that. There was nothing normal about this whole situation. The cell phone on the bedside table was vibrating. He reached for it, hoping to get it before the tone started and woke Ava. Not quite fast 39

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enough, the chiming tone finally ended when he pushed the answer button to take Briggs’ call. “Yeah?” Ava opened her eyes and he put his index finger to his lips. “Hey, Dalton. What’s going on?” “Nothing. Why?” “I was thinking. I don’t have anything I need you to do for a couple of days. You don’t need to come by today. I think you should just lay low a few days, just in case.” “Just in case?” “In case anyone saw you. I don’t want anyone associating this with me.” “You’re overreacting.” “Am I? You fucked up, Dalton. He wasn’t even that late with the money. It was an easy job and you botched it.” “I didn’t have any choice. He came at me. What was I supposed to do? You want me to pay the fucking money back?” “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just can’t see Bobby going after you. You’re twice his size. I figured he’d piss himself when you showed up there.” “Well, he wasn’t acting right. Maybe he was high. I don’t know.” “What happened exactly?” “I told him what I was there for. He offered me a hundred dollars, and I told him he’d have to do better than that. So he tells me he’s got some more money and he needs to go get it. I followed 40

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him into a room and he grabbed a knife. So I pulled out mine and finished it.” “You didn’t have a gun?” “I wouldn’t use it. There were a lot of houses on that block.” Briggs laughed wryly, “Nobody on that whole street ever hears gunshots. They’re so used to gunfire and people screaming they don’t even hear it anymore.” “It’s a bad neighborhood,” Dalton agreed. “So you followed him into another room without even holding your pistol on him? That’s sloppy work, Dalton.” “It happened real fast,” he said defensively. “It always does. You’ve been doing this long enough, you know that.” “All right, if you think I’m to blame, then I am to blame. The next job you have, I’ll do it for free.” Briggs laughed, “Now, that’s hardly fair. I’ll pay you.” He paused for a moment. “If you continue to work like an amateur, however, I will start paying you like one.” Dalton gripped the phone tighter and said nothing. He’d just let Briggs get over this and it would all blow over. There was silence on the line and then Briggs sighed. “I don’t know, Dalton, maybe he was on drugs. Bobby was a little strange.” “What do you know about him?” Dalton asked. “Not much. His name was Robert Arlow. Why?” 41

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“There was something weird going on in that house.” “What do you mean?” Briggs said, sounding worried. “I don’t know.” He could feel Ava looking at him and wished he could continue this conversation where she couldn’t hear him. “There was a smell.” “A smell? What the fuck are you talking about?” “Like something dead.” “Something?” “I have the feeling it was someone.” “Did you look around the house?” “No. Hell, no, I got the fuck out of there. Why would I look around?” “I don’t know. You’re the one worrying about a smell.” “Yeah. I don’t know. It was just strange.” “Well, I told you, Bobby was a little strange. Are you sure there was no one else there?” “I’m sure,” Dalton lied. “But you said you didn’t look around the house. How can you be sure?” “I just know. There was no one else there, just him.” “Okay. I just don’t want any other fuck-ups. No loose ends. You know? I don’t want shit coming back onto me.” “Yeah, I know.” “Seriously, Dalton, this is big. This isn’t what I expect from you. Your work has always been good.”

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“And it will continue to be,” Dalton said emphatically. “All right, Dalton. Take a few days off. Give Sadie a call and take her uptown. Get a room at a nice hotel and have some fun.” “I’m just staying home for the next few days. I don’t feel like going anywhere.” “Okay. I’ll see you Thursday?” “Sure.” He closed the phone and tossed it back on the table. Briggs was spooked, he could tell. He was worrying the body was somehow going to be traced back to him and his operation. Right now, all Dalton was worried about was the woman draped across him. “Do you know his name?” Ava said softly. She sat up, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and brushing over her breasts. He could see her rosy nipples through the silk fabric of her nightgown. His usual morning hard-on reawakened with a vengeance. “What?” he asked, completely distracted by her. “The monster. That man. Do you know his name now?” “Yeah. Why?” “I want to know. I want to know the name of the monster who ruined my life.” Back to reality, his cock softened almost immediately. Why was he doing this to himself? The last thing this girl wanted, or needed, was fucking. “His name was Robert Arlow.” 43

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The girls head lowered and she stared down at the blanket. “Your life isn’t ruined,” he said softly. “I don’t have anything I have to do today. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Hell, I don’t have to be anywhere until Thursday. I’ll drive you all the way out of state if you want.” Her face was blank.”I don’t understand.” “I’ll take you back to Ridgewood, up to Brighton, anyplace you want to go. Wherever you want to start over.” “But I told you he took all my money. What am I going to do?” Dalton stood up and went to the safe. He had it open in minutes and, without even hesitating, he pulled out all of the money inside. Ava’s face looked worried as he approached her with it. “I’m giving you this. I want you to have it, no strings attached. It’s yours to do whatever you want to. Whatever you need to.” He pressed the money into her hands. She stared at it, looking dumbfounded. “There’s enough there for rent, food, whatever you need until you can get a job.” She dropped the money on the bed and stared at him with watery eyes. “Seriously, no strings attached. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. There’s a little under eight thousand there.” Suddenly he felt strangely apologetic. “There was more last week but I bought a new gun.” 44

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Huge tears slid slowly over her cheeks. She curled in upon herself, clutching her knees to her breasts as she cried until her whole body was wracked by her sobs. He stood, feeling helpless watching her, wishing he had more to offer. Finally, he sat on the bed and gathered her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Ava. That’s all I have.” Her body shook against him from the force of her crying, her head pressed against his chest. “I can probably get another thousand,” he said. Briggs would give him an advance. While he’d never asked for one, he knew that he could get it. At last, she grew quiet. Her tear-streaked face was still pressed against his now damp chest, but her breathing had slowed, and she only sniffled occasionally. She touched his face so softly it was like a moth brushed his skin. “You are so kind. That you would offer to do this for me…” “Well, don’t sit there crying, then. Let’s have some breakfast and go on a road trip.” She lay back limply on the bed. “I don’t want it,” she said, fresh tears rising in her eyes. “Please, Dalton. I don’t want it.” Frustrated, he sat silent, listening to her cry. Finally, he could take it no more. “Listen, Ava, I don’t know why you’re crying. Talk to me! What’s wrong? It isn’t enough money?” “I don’t want it. I don’t want that money.” Her voice seemed more shrill and higher with each word. 45

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He moved beside her and put his arms around her. “I didn’t hurt no one to get it. I promise, I didn’t. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, just tell me where.” Her eyes fixed to his, “I want to stay here. Please? Don’t make me leave. This is where I want to be. With you. I need to be with you!” He tried hard to understand what she was thinking.”If you want to wait until that eye heals up, or you feel better, that’s okay. I’m sorry, honey, I’m not trying to rush you. You’ll be safe here as long as you want to stay.” Her hand closed on his, it felt so small against him. “I don’t want to go, not ever. I want to stay here, with you.” Spider webs wove through his brain. All his thoughts were trapped in a web, and he couldn’t get his mind to work. She was nestled up against him, making it even more impossible. She wanted to stay and he couldn’t come up with a single reason why he’d ever want her to go. “I’m still so tired,” she sighed sadly. “So sore and so tired.” Her eyes closed, and her face was serene, as if she dreamed only the most peaceful dreams. God, he’d never seen a more beautiful woman. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay with him. The girl was exhausted, and she didn’t know what she was saying. He brushed his fingers softly across a cheek that was still damp from her tears. When she was rested up, she’d be ready to go.

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He was aware that he didn’t want that to happen. Just the thought of her not being with him gave him an empty feeling. This was foolish. She’d only been here one night. His finger touched her lips, still slightly swollen from the tape he’d ripped from her mouth. He though of how she must have been, smiling and pretty, fresh off the bus from Ridgewood. Excited about coming to the city, thinking of a new job, a new life. She’d made the mistake of trusting Robert Arlow. Accepting a ride that had stolen her innocence, and almost cost her her life. He leaned towards her face until he could feel her breath against his lips. Finally, unable to resist, he kissed her as softly as he knew how. “I love you, Dalton,” she murmured in response. The word lingered in the air like mist before it wrapped him up like a cloak. “Love.” He’d already seen it in her eyes, now he heard it from her lips. A sudden ache shot through his chest, like she had ripped away part of him to keep for herself.

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Chapter Four There was nothing in the newspaper he wanted to read. It was open on the table in front of him, but he only stared at it blankly. He’d been anxious all day, pacing back and forth to the bedroom door and checking to see if she still slept. He stood in the doorway more than once, watching her, and thinking. Thinking of how pretty she was, thinking of how she looked at him, but mostly thinking that just maybe it was possible to somehow have some kind of life with her. Something in his life beyond going to work for Briggs, and then coming home to nothing. He thought about making her forget, and he thought about making her happy. Making her smile, a smile that was only for him. There were a lot women who’d crossed his path. Mostly, he didn’t remember their names. Except for Sadie. Briggs trusted Sadie, and she knew more about the operation than even Briggs was willing to admit. Sadie was offered to Dalton more often than the others, probably because Briggs trusted her, or maybe because somewhere deep down Briggs didn’t trust him. John Briggs knew if Dalton told Sadie anything she would report back to him. There wasn’t anything special about what happened between 48

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Dalton and Sadie, except for the simple fact that he’d been with Sadie more than any of the other girls. He at least could remember her name, and that gave him a small feeling of normalcy. The familiarity of being with a woman whose name he at least remembered was as close to a relationship as he had ever had. Before Ava, he hadn’t even considered anything more could exist in his life. Late in the afternoon, he made a pan of frozen lasagna, regretting that his cooking skills weren’t the greatest. It would have been nice to wake her with a meal fit for a queen instead of a frozen entree made by Freezer Queen. While the lasagna baked, he chopped lettuce and tomatoes to make salad. At least this wasn’t frozen, and he prepared it with his own hands. He just felt such a need to do something for this girl. Anything. An hour and a half later, the timer on the oven went off. Ava was still sleeping. He took out the pan and set it on top of the stove. He wanted to wake her, but wasn’t going to. This wasn’t fair. She was beautiful, sweet and kind, here in his house where no woman had ever been. Where none were supposed to be. Briggs wouldn’t like it one bit. He’d be afraid that she’d find out things she already knew. Fuck Briggs, he could sleep in his mansion with ten women and he would never know the intoxicating sweetness of Ava Renolds. The ache in his heart of tenderness, and love. 49

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Love? Hell, what was he doing to himself? Dalton clenched his fist and went to the liquor cabinet. He finally poured himself a tall glass of whiskey. Maybe Ava would sleep straight through the night. It was going to take plenty of alcohol for him to do the same. She finally emerged from the bedroom around seven. Dalton was a good four drinks in by then. His gaze traveled the length of her, taking in even the smallest of details. Ignoring the bruises, he looked only at her. Her heart shaped face, long legs, even the little mole on her shoulder. She was utter perfection. “Hungry?” “Starving. It smells wonderful.” “It’s probably cold. Sit down and I’ll fix you a plate. Want some salad, too?” “Yes, thank you. I can get it,” she said. He put his hands on her bare shoulders, “Sit down.” Just touching her skin made him ache. He could still feel how her skin felt as he washed her, and he imagined how it would be if she welcomed his touch. She ate ravenously, Dalton was surprised how much food a little thing like her could put away. Each forkful seemed to make her happier, and he enjoyed the obvious pleasure she got from eating her dinner. Happiness wasn’t a quality he had seen in her before. Eating dinner definitely gave her a great deal of pleasure.

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Pleasure was a word he’d thought of often since he’d seen her. Each sip of his whiskey seemed to make him think of it more. Twenty minutes later, Ava finally finished her last helping of lasagna. “Want a drink?” he asked as he took her plate away. “Okay.” “What do you want?” “What are you having?” “Whiskey. Lots of it.” She smiled. “I’ll have some, not that much.” Dalton slid a glass of whiskey across the table. “No, better not drink too much.” Not here, anyway. If he got her drunk, he’d be well on his way to overstepping any boundaries that he was trying to set for himself. He wanted to bring up what she’d said about staying, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Ava was so quiet he could hear the clock ticking in the other room. “I can’t begin to understand what you’re feeling. Not unless you tell me,” he said finally, unable to bear the silence anymore. She had a hopeless expression that hurt him just to see. He ached for her so badly that he thought he’d die if he didn’t find relief soon. “Want to go back and lie down?” he asked. At least, there she would be next to him. Just her being across the table was too far away. She nodded. He followed her wordlessly, wishing he was carrying her. He wished he was 51

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taking her to bed for something more than just to hold her. She stretched out beside him, eyes wide open, staring blankly. “If you want to talk about anything, you can talk to me.” He’d always been pretty good with women. Of course, he was used to getting what he wanted without much effort on his part. Briggs gave him all the women he could ever want, they existed only to please. Their purpose was to satisfy. This was quite a different situation. He didn’t want to push her. “I don’t even know what to say. What to talk about.” “Talk to me about Robert Arlow,” he said. “Get it all out.” She shook her head furiously, “No!” “I know he hurt you. You don’t have to tell me what he did to you if you don’t want to. I just want to know one thing.” She looked at him warily. “What?” “Was he the only man who ever touched you?” Her eyes narrowed. “What?” she said angrily. “Had you been with a man before this happened?” “That’s none of your business. Why do you want to know that?” “Because I don’t think you ever were, and all you know now is that you don’t want it to happen again.” “I don’t know how I feel about anything right now,” she said. “I feel empty inside.” 52

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“Tell me. If you trust me, then tell me. Is Robert Arlow the only man who ever touched you?” Her hands flew over her face tightly and she sobbed. Dalton stroked her hair softly. “Its not supposed to be that way, Ava. It won’t always be like that. “I hate to think that all you ever felt with a man was pain. That’s not the way you are supposed to feel.” “I know what you are trying to tell me,” she said through tears. Her voice lowered to a mere whisper, “You’re saying it won’t be like that…with you.” His heart thudded. He had thought she was too naive to realize what he was implying. “It won’t be,” he promised. “I know,” she said in a small, wavering voice. Spurred on by the whiskey, and her admission, he pulled her against him tightly. “I won’t ever hurt you. I promise. I want to make you feel good.” Her eyes were open wide, “I want you, Dalton, but I’m afraid. I’m all mixed up right now.” “Can I kiss you?” Her lip trembled. “Do you want to?” “More than anything.” His mouth was against hers, and her breath bathed his lips. “I bet your lips are sweet,” he murmured. He leaned towards her. Her lips were as soft as he had imagined they would be. She opened her mouth slightly, and his tongue touched hers. He reached to cup her jaw as 53

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he kissed her more deeply. She was moaning quietly in her throat, and his cock was so hard now that it hurt. His tongue stroked hers and he kissed her over and over. She finally pulled away. Her breathing was harsh and uneven. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked. “It was nice,” she said, with the sweetest little sigh he’d ever heard. He stroked down the curve of her hip with his hand. Her skin was so soft it was hard to tell where the silk of her nightgown ended. “Is this okay, me touching you?” Her eyes were half closed and she sighed again. “Yes.” “Good.” He traced her chin line and lowered his hand to her neck, before skimming it gently over her breasts. “I’m going to touch you.” His hand slid down her hip to her thigh. It might be a long time before he’d be inside of her, but he wanted to show her there was more to be experienced at the hands of a man than pain. He kissed her ear, and breathed against it. “I want you to just lay here and let me touch you. I won’t hurt you, Ava. I promise.” Her eyes locked to his, and she swallowed hard. “Where are you going to touch me?” He smiled at the flush of pink on her face. In response, he pulled her nightgown a bit farther up on her hips. “Oh,” she gasped. She looked afraid. 54

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“I won’t hurt you. Never. I promise you.” He slid her nightgown up further, baring the sweet pussy he had tried so hard not to look at the previous night. He could look at it now. He was going to not only touch, but to feel. He almost groaned aloud at the sight of her velvety skin and the soft curls that provided her mound little protection from his gaze. Stroking her pubic hair gently, he slowly moved his hand lower. Gently, he parted her and found the little nub hiding there. He stroked the sensitive flesh in small circles with the pad of his thumb. She gasped a little and closed her eyes. Soon she was wiggling slightly against his hand, and he could feel a slight dampness coating his fingers. He moved lower, the tip of his finger lightly circling her entrance, and he felt his cock oozing at the thought of filling her there. He pressed his finger against her experimentally, the tip of his finger barely probing inside her. She shifted back slightly so he quickly moved back up to her clit. Soon he felt her growing wetter and he gingerly began to work his finger gently into her pussy. He was slow and coaxing, kissing her, stroking alternately on her nipples with his free hand. Moisture trickled between her thighs as his fingers toyed with her, and then her head bowed against his chest. He could feel each rasping exhale warm against his skin. “You’re almost there, aren’t you, Ava?” he whispered against her hair. 55

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“Please,” she breathed against him. Her hand closed around his arm tightly, her fingers digging into his bicep. “Please what?” he teased softly. “Please, don’t stop,” she begged. “Tilt your head up and open your eyes,” he said. “I want to see your face. I want you to look at me, and know who’s touching you. I want to see you come.” Her lashes were lowered shyly as she looked up at him. He moved his finger inside her, savoring the sounds of her passion. His thumb glided over her clit. Her mewing whimpers made his cock jerk. Finally, she stiffened against him and clamped her legs shut on his hand as she moaned. Slowly, he removed his hand from her twitching pussy, wishing he could keep it there forever. He could smell her musky scent on his fingers, so sweet and warm. While he’d never been too enthusiastic about going down on women, his mouth watered to taste this one. His cock was still leaking, begging for attention, and he fought hard to ignore it. He’d never been in a position where pleasing a woman was more important than his own orgasm, but this was what she needed. She wasn’t ready for anything more. “Did you like that?” he said. She was silent for a long moment, her breathing still rapid. “It was so... Yes, I liked it,” she sighed. 56

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He moved slightly away and pulled her nightgown back down. He saw her eyes drop, and she stared at his crotch. He knew exactly what she was looking it, the big wet spot on his sweatpants. He laughed in embarrassment. “No, I didn’t come in my pants. Just leaked a little.” She looked steadily at his face, and her expression was unreadable. “Ava, will you touch me?” he finally managed to ask. “Just with your hand?” “I can’t.” She moved further away from him. “Not yet. I just can’t.” He tried to hide his disappointment and sat up. “Maybe someday you’ll want to,” he said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. “I’ll tell you what, if you are ever ready to be with me, all you have to do is tell me, okay? I promise you, Ava, I won’t do anything to you again unless you are the one who wants it.” “I have all these funny feelings right now,” she said sadly. “I don’t know, I just can’t think right anymore. There’s been too much.” He watched her eyes dampen and his heart sank. He shouldn’t have done this. It was too soon, and he should have waited. She was probably even more confused now than before. He was pretty confused himself. He’d never even thought of fucking as making love, but love was what he wanted with Ava. Fucking was too ugly a word to describe what he wanted to do with her. “Dalton?” she asked softly. “What is it?” 57

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“If I can’t touch you…you know, like that. If I don’t want that for a while, can I still sleep with you at night? Will you still hold me?” He took her in his arms, holding her close as polarizing emotions tore through him. She was so vulnerable. His desire to protect her was strong. Just barely stronger than the urge to strip that nightgown off of her and bury his cock in that sweet pussy, and make love to her until she cried out his name. With no small effort, he released his arms from around her. “Honey, I’ll hold you whenever you want. You can sleep here every night. You’re safe here, Ava.” Her hand rested on his cheek, her finger gently touching the scar from his father’s belt buckle. “Is this scar from a hooker, too?” she said, almost smiling. “No, it’s from my Dad getting pissed off. He was so mad he used the wrong end of the belt on me.” Any trace of the smile vanished. “Why? What did you do?” “Hell, I don’t remember. He was always pissed off. It would be easier to remember a day when he wasn’t than why he was.” “I’m sorry.” “You don’t have to be sorry. Just so you know, I didn’t get that other scar from a hooker, but I did like the look on your face when I said I did. I got it from my dad, too. He got a couple of swings in with a busted vodka bottle.” 58

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“That’s horrible,” Ava said. “Wasn’t that bad, he never hit me again after that.” “Well, that’s good.” “I guess.” “Where is he now?” “Same place he’s been since he whacked me with that fucking bottle. Dead.” “You killed him?” “I got beat for 17 years by that son of a bitch. I didn’t kill him. I self defended. You know when you said to me ‘Kill the motherfucker’?” Ava nodded. “Well, that’s where I was with my old man. I hated him that much, and even the jury said it was self defense.” Ava was quiet for a few minutes and then, to his astonishment, she laughed. It was a beautiful sound to hear this fragile, beaten girl laugh. “What’s funny?” “Oh, it’s so wrong,” she said, still giggling. “What?” “The way I feel with you. I feel like the only safe place in the world is with you, and you’ve killed people.” Dalton shrugged. “I wouldn’t want to kill no one who didn’t deserve killing, unless it was business. I don’t kick puppies or beat women.” “Have you ever killed anyone when you go to collect money?” she asked seriously. “Nope, I’ve been lucky. Never had to. Up until I saw you.” He paused for a minute and then 59

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parroted the words that Briggs had taught him and told him again and again. “If I have to, I will. It wouldn’t be personal, it’s just business.” “I don’t think that’s what you are really like, Dalton.” “I’ll tell you what. If John Briggs finds out I lied to him about what really happened, if he finds out about you…where you came from and what you know. Well, I better kill him pretty damn quick, or me and you will both be dead in the trunk of a car somewhere.” Ava gaped at him. “Not to worry, Ava. I’ll keep you safe here. You’ll be safe with me forever.” Good god! Had he really said that? Had he just pledged forever to a woman he hadn’t even fucked? He’d worked so hard to keep the ones he did fuck from getting involved in his life. Why would he want a forever with one that there was a good possibility that he’d never have? “How did you ever get involved in this? I mean, a job like this?” Ava asked. She looked so wide eyed and innocent that he just had to answer her, even if it did mean telling her things that John Briggs wouldn’t want him telling anyone. “Briggs was an attorney, a defense attorney. A damn good defense attorney. I met him after my dad, um, died.” “He defended you?” “Pro bono; but he did a lot more than that,” Dalton said proudly. “He made me who I am. I was only 18 years old when I met him. I was in jail with 60

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a good possibility I’d be there for life, and I didn’t have a dime to pay a lawyer. “I guess he could just tell I had potential. Everything that I own is because of John Briggs.” He ran his hand along the line of her pretty face. “You being here is because of John Briggs. I can’t think of anything better I’ve ever had than you being here.” He shouldn’t be telling her about John. Briggs didn’t want him to talk about him or business at all, to anyone. Ever. He was being disloyal, and it wasn’t acceptable. Why was he telling her these things? Briggs was the father he’d never had. He traced Ava’s features with his eyes, losing himself in how pretty she was. This wasn’t business, and he had already fallen for her.

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Chapter Five Ava washed her dinner dishes in the quiet kitchen. This was the first night since she had been here that Dalton wasn’t home. She didn’t ask where he had to go, it was a job. All she could do was hope nothing happened to him, and wait. She didn’t like being here alone. The telephone on the end table in the living room rang and she dropped a plate in the sink. She looked down sadly at the broken Limoges china. It was an expensive plate and she’d ruined it. Dalton probably wouldn’t be mad, but she still felt bad that it happened. An answering machine clicked on and Dalton’s bored, pre-recorded voice said he couldn’t take the call right now. The beep trilled and Ava listened, wondering if he was calling to see if she was okay. “Dalton?” a feminine voice purred. “Are you home?” Silence then, but even over her heart pounding in her ears, Ava could hear the woman breathing. “I just called to see how you are, sweetie. I haven’t seen you for over two weeks and I miss you.” There was a pause and then her voice was softer. “I miss you beside me. I miss you inside me. Call me, I need fucked.” The line clicked.

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Ava stared at the blinking red message light on the machine. It was so tempting to push the erase button. There was no way to erase the fact that Dalton had a life, a life beyond staying here and coddling her. Of course, he had a girlfriend, or girlfriends. The man was flat out gorgeous. Sleeping in his bed every night didn’t make her his girlfriend. Being in love with him didn’t make her his girlfriend. They hadn’t made love. He’d asked her to touch him and she had been too afraid. He probably didn’t even think of her as a woman. She was just a broken little girl he had to take care of. She wondered if he ever thought about the monster touching her, tainting her, ruining her. When Dalton touched her, did he remember the monster’s hands had been there first? The red light on the answering machine blinked on, taunting her. Reminding her that she wasn’t a woman anymore and she had nothing to give to Russell Dalton. She’d never even touched him. She paced in the kitchen, as the broken plate in the sink taunted her, too. Reminding her that she was broken, just like that plate. No longer useful. Her fingers closed around the largest piece of china and she hurled it to the floor. It shattered on the travertine tile and tiny shards skittered across the room. Her hand was bleeding. Ava ran to the bathroom and clicked on the light. She reached and turned the faucet on in the 63

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black marble tub, and stripped off her clothes. As the water ran, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. The bruises were mostly faded away, except for her eye. The white still wasn’t white. It was yellowish brown, and ugly. Ugly, like she felt. Robert Arlow was dead and still he tortured her. He had taken away every chance she had to be able to love Dalton the way she wanted to. The way he wanted her to. Ava slipped into the tub. It felt like she was crying but there were no tears. Maybe she had cried them all. A nail brush rested in the soap dish. She picked it up and rubbed it over the soap and began to scrub. She scrubbed hard, determined to clean away every bit of the dirty shame of Robert Arlow. Over and over the bristles dug into her skin. She felt nothing. Ignoring a knock at the bathroom door, she stared blankly at the faucet. The door opened but she didn’t care, and she continued scrubbing. Dalton’s voice called to her but she wasn’t going to answer. Let him go to the telephone and call that woman who could be what he needed. He knelt beside the bathtub, still wearing his jacket and she could only stare at him. No words came. Everything about him was beautiful. He’d saved her, but saved her for what? She didn’t want to be saved anymore. “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered as the brush continued to move against her skin. 64

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“For what?” he said, his face creased with concern. “For wasting your time. For sleeping in your bed and not making love with you the way a real woman would. For wishing that you had left me to die.” A tear sparkled beneath his eye. Only one, but it was enough to break the dam that held all of hers back. He cared for her, he cried for her, and she loved him so much that it hurt. “Ava, your skin…” he said gently, as he touched the raw pink flesh on her arm. “I can’t get it off!” she cried. “No matter what I do, I can’t get it off!” “What, Ava? What can’t you get off?” His voice was tender. “Robert Arlow.” He held her, water sloshing over the edge of the tub, soaking his jacket, his clothes and the floor. “You only hold me because you feel sorry for me,” she accused. “I hold you because you need to be held. I want to feel you against me so badly. When you need to be held, I know you won’t push me away.” He wanted to hold her. Her mind repeated that over and over. His face was so close. She could feel his breath, warm and whiskey scented against her lips. It would be so easy to kiss him. He’d kissed her before and it was soft and delicious. All she had to 65

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do to feel that again was lift her head just a tiny bit more. There was nothing else in the world but Russell Dalton. The moment his lips touched hers, the tangle of confusion and fear began to fade. Desire overwhelmed her as everything but the thought of him kissing her no longer seemed important. It was like Robert Arlow never existed. “Dalton,” she whispered. “I want you. I want to be with you.” She could feel the leashed power that coiled inside his body. As she rested her head against the rippling muscles of his chest, she felt him quiver. Lifting her face, she looked into his eyes and saw in their depths something she had never seen. The warmth and tenderness was still there, but there was a desire there that was so fierce that his eyes seemed to be lit from within. Slowly and seductively, his gaze slid downward to linger on her breasts. “You are so beautiful.” His hands touched her throat with a reverence that left her breathless. He caressed her neck and then dropped his lips over the pulse that beat there. “So soft and tender,” he murmured against her skin. Dalton kissed up her neck until he reached her chin, then her lips. Slowly his tongue teased her mouth open and pushed inside with a ravishing sweep. His seeking kiss sent blood pounding in her veins. A need that was as urgent as it was unexpected grew inside her. She returned his kiss as she felt him lifting her from the water.

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He was taking her up the hall and her mind was spinning. Needs, wants and desires were driving back the doubts and the fears. She felt the bed beneath her back the same time as his lips closed around her nipple. He lifted his hands and stroked his fingers lightly over the top of each of her breasts. He treated her like she was delicate porcelain. His tongue lapped over her nipple, his teeth grazed it softly, and then he latched on and began to suck. She sighed at the delicious pulling sensation against her nipple, and held his head, silently urging him not to stop. Her eyes drifted half-closed in pleasure as she watched him suckle first one breast and then the other. He was struggling to remove his wet clothes, probably worrying that if he didn’t hurry that she would change her mind. Nothing was going to make her change her mind. The desire she had for him from the very beginning had found its way to the surface and was bubbling over. His mouth and hands abandoned her breasts. His tongue licked down her rib cage and belly to dip into her navel. He spread her legs apart with his hands and crawled between them. The realization of what he was going to do suddenly hit her. “No, no, you don’t want to,” she began as she tried to close her legs. His hands were gentle but firm on her thighs, forcing them open.”He did things to you that made you feel dirty, but it doesn’t mean you are dirty. I 67

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want this so much. I want you so much. I don’t care what he did to you, I want you.” His tongue slipped between her folds and lapped up over her clit in one long, broad stroke. He pushed it into her slowly, and then withdrew. She shuddered and squirmed, but she didn’t close her legs. “So wet and sweet,” he murmured, and his breath was warm against her sensitive nub. Her toes curled as his tongue lapped at her, and then his hands cupped her thighs, holding them firmly apart as his tongue delved deep inside of her. He began roughly tonguing her clit. His finger moved gently in her, and then his tongue gentled, too, softly taking delicate licks beneath her clitoris. His finger twisted and turned deeper inside her as he rolled her clit with his tongue. She moaned when his tongue went lower and lower, until she felt a warm sensation against her anus as it lapped at her backside. He finally returned to her clit, sucking it into his mouth as his tongue worked on the tip, back and forth rhythmically. Her hands clasped his head tightly, in an uncontrollable, primal need to keep him where he was. His index finger softly moved inside of her as his ring finger brushed over her anus. She thrashed against his hand. She wanted more of his fingers as he drove her wild with his tongue on her clit. He pushed both fingers, just a little, as if he knew exactly what she needed. 68

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Ava closed her eyes and let go, arching up hard against his mouth and his hand. The orgasm rippled through her entire body, and she could feel herself throbbing against his fingers. The sounds that she made were foreign, as she lost herself in a mindnumbing, brilliant explosion. He pulled his mouth away from her clit and moved his fingers, replacing them with his tongue. Eagerly, he lapped up the wetness that oozed from her, until the tremors that shook her stopped. He moved up over her slowly, and then his lips touched hers. She could taste her own desire on his mouth. “I’ll stop now if you don’t want me, Ava, “he said in a tortured voice.”If that’s all you want from me now, I’ll stop.” “I don’t want you to stop. I want you, all of you.” He sighed against her lips. “I need this, I need you, but I want you to be sure. Are you sure that you want this to happen?” he asked softly. Her eyes traveled down the thick column of his neck to his broad shoulders that were partially obscured by his long, dark hair. She could see down between their bodies. She could see the space between them. He was swollen and ready. His cock was barely nudging at her wetness and, in response to his question, she reached and touched it. She was aching for him. He moved forward slowly, inching inside her as she raised her hips wanting more. “Yes, I want this to happen” she whimpered. 69

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When his hips thrust forward, her eyes widened and she gasped. The walls of her pussy gripped the broad head of his cock, urging him deeper into her. His jaw clenched as he braced himself above her. “All right,” he gasped. “Here it comes, Ava. Get ready for me.” His cock felt as big as it looked, stretching her very wide. She tensed waiting for pain that never came. All she felt was completion as he slid slowly inside of her. He leaned down and kissed her. “You’re so hot, so wet,” he groaned against her mouth, and she felt his body tremble against her. Ava sighed with pleasure into his mouth, opening wider, lifting her legs to wrap them around his lean waist. The palms of her hands rested on his hard buttocks and she felt his muscles tighten with each movement. He began thrusting slowly, with slightly more force each time, until his skin slapped against hers. He kept a steady, intense rhythm, and every time he withdrew, her muscles would begin to tighten ever so slightly, only to be stuffed full again. Dalton’s dark eyes stared down at her. “I’ve dreamt of this, every night since you’ve been here. Every night as you lay in my arms, I dreamt of this,” he said. He drew his hips back in a long, slow slide and then drove in again. She lifted her hips higher, an invitation, and felt him losing himself in her, stretching her so that it made her eyes smart. Her body was tightening and he kissed her again. She closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to his seeking tongue. Ava gave herself to him 70

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entirely: not just her body, but her heart and soul, everything. She was his. He had saved her to be his. This was the way it was supposed to be. “Come with me,” he whispered against her mouth. The thick length of his cock stilled and then jumped, and bubbled inside of her. She had never felt such an intense peak or such a deep plummet. Tears beaded at the corner of her eyes as she squeezed them tightly shut and clung to him. “I love you, Dalton. I love you so much.” She couldn’t control the words, she couldn’t hold them back. They spilled out like the tears from her eyes. She felt the warmth of her tears on her face. Dalton caught one with his thumb. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, frowning. “No, not at all,” she whispered. He rolled off of her and she felt an aching emptiness when his body no longer touched hers. “Why are you crying?” he asked, gazing at her with concern. “I don’t know. It’s just so… it’s almost too much.” “What is?” “The way I feel about you. How much I, how much I love you, Russell Dalton.” He smiled a little. “You been snooping? Not too many people know my full name.” “There’s a paper on your dresser. Your truck title. I saw it the first night I was here. I haven’t been snooping.” “Not much to find here, anyhow.” 71

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She thought about the telephone call, and suddenly felt worried. She’d just made love with a man who already had another girlfriend. “I did hear something ,I guess, that I shouldn’t have,” she said. “What’s that?” “Somebody called you tonight and left a message on your answering machine.” “Yeah? Who?” “She didn’t say. She just left you a message.” “What did she say?” Ava rolled over so she couldn’t see his face. “Go play it.” “How about if I’d rather stay here with you?” “Why would you want to stay here with me?” “Because I want to. Because the woman I have been wanting for weeks just told me she loves me.” “I think that the woman who called was your girlfriend.” He put his hand on her shoulder and rolled her over towards him. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” “From the message she left, you’ve at least slept with her. She said she needed fucked.” Ava tried not to sound as hurt as it had made her feel hearing it. To her surprise, he laughed. “The only woman I’ve ever slept is you, Ava. I’ve fucked some women, sure, but to actually lay with a woman all night? That’s only been you.” “Well, the one who called, you’ve fucked her, then,” Ava said awkwardly.

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“I probably have, but not lately. I haven’t fucked anyone since the night I brought you here.” “Until tonight,” Ava said sadly. “No. This wasn’t fucking, and I was wrong. I do have a girlfriend. I have this woman that I fell in love with. She’s a pretty little thing, and her name’s Ava.” Ava was stunned. From the beginning, she’d know how deeply she loved him. He had saved her life. He had cared for her. Never had the thought entered her mind that he could possibly love her. “You’re frowning,” Dalton said. “You’re not happy?” “I don’t understand. I can’t understand. Why?” “There are a million reasons.” “But, you know! You know where I was. I’m sure you know what happened there.” “And because of that, I wouldn’t love you? Ava, it makes me love you even more. That you’ve been through so much and yet you trust me enough to make love with me.” “I’ve trusted you since I first met you. I have just been so afraid. I was afraid what it would feel like. Afraid that it would make me think of being there.” “And did it?” “No. I thought of nothing else but you, and how good it feels to be with you.” “I need to think of something to tell Briggs about you,” Dalton said abruptly. “What do you mean?” 73

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“I need to tell him you’re here. Just not how you got here. I’ll tell him I met you somewhere. Somewhere normal, and I started seeing you and that I asked you to move in with me.” “Why do you have to tell him anything?” “He’s getting suspicious. Like he already knows.” “Why would he be suspicious? He doesn’t even know I’m here.” “I never turned down any offers, not until tonight.” There was something strange about the way he used the word offers that bothered Ava. “What do you mean offers?” He was silent for several moments. “He gives me women.” Dalton probably mumbled intentionally, but Ava heard full well what he’d said. “Women,” she repeated numbly. “Not like plural, women. Well, not usually, anyway. He has some girls who work for him, doing things. He has them spend time with me. I guess he tries to keep me happy.” “Oh,” she looked away, unsure what to say now. It wasn’t as if he had been with any since he’d met her, but how was she supposed to compete with something like that? He didn’t usually get women, plural. That certainly implied that, at least on a few occasions, there had been more than one at a time. “Hey,” he said, placing his hand beneath her chin and tilting her head up so she was forced to 74

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look into his face. “I didn’t even know you then. The only thing I want now is you, Ava.” “But you could change your mind.” “I could, but I won’t. I didn’t even know if you’d ever be ready for this. I didn’t know if you’d ever want to be with me like this, and still I didn’t want anyone else. Now that I’ve made love to you, why would I want another woman?” “I don’t know,” she answered, thinking how terribly boring being with her must be after being with women who were experienced. “Maybe you like the things that they do better?” He smiled, “I like the things I do to you better, Ava. I love hearing you, feeling you, knowing I’ve made you feel good.” He kissed her softly, “I did make you feel good, didn’t I?” She felt the flush of heat on her face as she blushed. “Yes.” He kissed her again. “Good, I’m glad that you liked it. I want to make you feel things you’ve never felt, make you forget what you want to forget. I want to be the only thing that you think of.” He moved over her, kneeling above her. “Touch me,” he breathed, his eyes burning. “Please? Will you touch me now? I’ve waited so long, and I want to feel your hands on me.” Ava looked up at him wide eyed, then down at his cock. Tentatively, she lifted her hand and traced the tip of him. The skin was hot and slick from their sex. He wrapped his hand around hers and guided her hand up and down the length of his cock. 75

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She stared at his large hand wrapped around hers, dwarfing it, amazed at what she was doing. Even more amazed by how it felt. It felt good to touch him. His cock grew larger and harder in her hand. He jerked away quickly from her, then his mouth was on her breasts again, and there was an empty aching between her legs. “Once wasn’t enough, Ava,” he said into her ear. “A thousand times won’t be enough with you.” She could still feel a trickle of their mixed juices oozing out from her pussy as he pushed his way inside her once again. He was moving against her, shoving his hips down to meet hers, and driving her butt deep into the mattress with the rock hard force of his thrusts. He was hard all over, his cock, his arms, and his shoulders. His face was contorted into a look of intense pleasure that left her breathless. That he got so much pleasure from making her feel the same way amazed her. She tried moving beneath him but he was too heavy. There was nothing she could do, this was him. Him having her, all of her. Little groans and gasps escaped him as he built up speed, driving into her with increasing force. He worked faster and harder until every muscle in her body was tense and ready for a release. And then it came. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t hear, she could only feel.

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She was unaware she was bucking against him, the force of her spasms jerking her body up against his. All of his weight came down on her suddenly, driving the breath out of her body. Ava watched his face soften in ecstasy and his mouth fell open. A long, low moan escaped him as he spilled hot inside of her. He rasped for breath. “I’m sorry, honey, I must be crushing you.” Already he was shrinking inside of her as he strained to lift his body from hers. He was beside her and his voice was so soft that it just didn’t seem real. “I love you, Ava. With all that I have, I love you.” Pressing herself against him, she laid her head against his wet chest and kissed his hot skin. His heart was roaring beneath her ear and she tasted the salt of his sweat. This was real, he was real. “I love you, Dalton,” she whispered back. His hand touched her face softly. “Do me a favor, please? Every now and then, call me Russ? Not all the time, but you know, just special times.” “Okay, why?” “Because the guy who works for John Briggs is Dalton. I’m always Dalton, but I feel different when I’m with you. I’m not the same person, and I’m glad. It’s not always easy being Dalton.” His voice had a sad, wistful note that made her heart ache. He had always been Dalton to her. Strong and brave, she leaned on him. He was there 77

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when she needed someone. It hadn’t ever occurred to her that maybe he needed someone. “I love you, Russ,” she said. He exhaled slowly. “Thank you, Ava.” His voice dropped to a mere whisper. “I don’t want to be Dalton when I’m with you.”

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Chapter Six Ava’s raw skin troubled him. He’d forgotten about it last night. Now, this morning watching her wrapped in the towel, he remembered what she had done. Her skin was pink all over from the heat of the shower, and now the raw patches glowed bright red. She’d been through so much that the idea of her hurting herself worried him. “Ava,” he said, caressing her shoulder. “Why did you hurt yourself? You’re really rubbed your skin raw in patches.” “I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” “What happened last night? I saw a plate broken in the kitchen.” “I didn’t do that on purpose, I really didn’t,” she said defensively. “The piece on the floor, I did that after it was already broken. I just didn’t like being here alone and then the phone rang and it made me jump and I dropped it. I’m sorry.” “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s only a plate. I’m worried about you, not the goddamn plate. Why did you do this to your skin?” “I don’t know. I didn’t even know I was doing it. I was just thinking I wanted to be clean. Thinking about that phone call, thinking if I finally felt clean that maybe I could love you the way I have wanted to for so long. It just hurt so bad to 79

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think of you being with someone else because I was afraid to give you what you wanted.” “So that’s why you told me that you wanted me? Because you thought if you weren’t with me like this, I’d be with someone else?” “No, that’s not why.” He breathed a little sigh of relief. It was hard to know how to be with her, and hard to convince himself that he wasn’t going to scare her by showing her just how much he wanted her. “I’ve wanted you like this from the beginning, but I didn’t want to rush you,” he said honestly. Her eyes were innocent, yet he knew she had seen things that still haunted her. “I wouldn’t be with another woman. I couldn’t. I can’t think of anything except how much I want you. How much I love you, Ava. I’m sorry I left you here alone. I had a job I had to do. I can’t always be here with you.” She nodded. “I know.” “Promise me you won’t hurt yourself like this again.” “I won’t,” she said solemnly. He pulled the towel away from her body, and she immediately tried to cover herself with her hands. Dalton grabbed her wrists gently, and moved her hands away. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?” She shook her head. “No.” “Then let me look at you. I just want to look at you in the daylight. I want to see all of you. I want 80

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you like last night, but I want to see you in the light.” He dropped her wrists and went to the sliding glass door that led to the terrace, pulling open the heavy drapes. Sunlight streamed into the room in rays so bright that even tiny specks of dust floating in the air were visible. Dalton couldn’t get enough of looking at her. If he hadn’t fallen in love with Ava already, he could just stare at her now and lose himself in her. She was beautiful. He wanted to hear her crying out for more and more as his tongue worked its magic. He wanted to hear her beg him to love her and please her forever. “Sit down on the edge of the bed, Ava.” Slowly and timidly, she sat down on the bed. Dalton knelt in front of her. “I want to put my tongue inside you and taste you. Spread your legs for me.” She stared at him wide eyed, and then her hands softly caressed his face. “I’m already kneeling,” he said. “Do I have to beg, too?” She smiled shyly. “Please, Ava,” he said in a theatrical plea. “Please let me lick your sweet pussy?” She laughed softly. “Did you like that?” He asked, looking up at her face. “Does it make you feel strong to have your man on his knees?” “You weren’t really begging,” she said. “You’re playing with me.” 81

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“Oh, I want to play with you. But if I have to beg, then I will.” Her thumb ran slowly across his bottom lip. “Beg me then, Russ.” He smiled at her boldness, and at the sound of her voice saying his name. “Please, Ava. I want to taste you. I want to lick you until you come for me. Please let me?” “Okay,” she said, giggling. He ran his hands up over her breasts. “After I make you come, then I get to make love to you in any position I want.” “I never said that,” she said, still giggling. “No, but I’ll lick you so good you’ll let me.” Slowly and leisurely, he licked a warm trail across her thigh. Ava shifted on the bed, spreading her legs just a bit more. He parted the soft, moist folds with his long fingers and saw the vulnerable pink tissue beneath. From the bottom of her inner lip, his tongue delicately licked the surface, probing into every crease. He sucked her swollen lips into his mouth, nibbling tenderly. He breathed in the sweet odor of her sex as he swiped his tongue over the hood of her clit. Her legs parted fully to accommodate him, her pink folds opening as he traced them with the tip of his tongue. Slowly and gently, he slid his tongue up between her inner pussy lips until he was caressing her precious clit. She was dewy now, and he lapped it up, enjoying her scent and her taste. Grasping her legs 82

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he threw them up on his shoulders, and leaned in to lick her some more. She lay back on the bed, hips rising, as her legs curled around his neck. His fingers opened her, stretching wide, granting his hungry tongue access to every inch of her pussy. He felt her legs tighten slightly against his head and he realized he wanted her clamping them tightly to him. Holding him there, where he belonged. He grabbed her legs and pushed them against his head, hard. When he let them go, she kept her legs tight against him. “That’s it. Keep me here. Make me stay here and lick this sweet pussy as long as you want,” he murmured, and then his whole face pressed into her slippery, wet sex. He suckled her clit, pulling and stretching it into his mouth. It swelled and throbbed against his lips. Then he swirled his tongue into her weeping pussy, as his nose rested firmly against her clit. Her legs pressed tighter and pulled him, smothering him against her, smashing his face. He felt the vibrations of her shriek as her internal muscles began to spasm wildly, pattering against his tongue. It felt good, and she tasted delicious. He pulled his head back, slipping his finger inside her, both feeling and watching as she pulsed open and closed around it. Her legs went slack, and one slipped off of his shoulder. He smiled and ran his finger down the center of her wet valley from her swollen clit to 83

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her rosebud anus. She quivered beneath his fingertip. “Turn around, Ava. On your hands and knees, facing the other way.” He moved toward her head, brushing the hair from her face, pleased at the way her breasts looked as they hung down. He moved his hand down her shoulders, softly running over her silky flesh. “Lower down, Ava. Put your head all the way down.” Standing behind her, he admired the way she was so exposed to him. So trusting and open, just for him. He pushed against her, the head of his cock barely touching her entrance. Teasing both of them, him full and heavy, her empty and wanting. His cock skimmed over her anus as he thrust against her wet pussy. Dalton began to push into her. He emitted a low groan as he slowly sheathed himself in her depths. Her muscles clasped so tightly all around him, gloving his cock. He thrust forward, driving her against the bed. The slap of his thighs against her ass made his skin tingle as he drove himself in and out of her. His hands smoothed over the cheeks of her ass and he grabbed them firmly. He spread her wider to meet his thrusts, brushing his finger against her puckered anus. She rocked back against him now, hard. Muffled cries with her face in the mattress. “That’s it, honey. Come for me. Come on my cock.” 84

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The tremors inside her, the tight little squeezes that clutched at his cock made it impossible to hold out another second. He felt himself throbbing inside her. His own heart was pounding in his ears as he emptied into her twitching depths. The first coherent thought that he had was that his legs felt rubbery. He eased himself out of Ava and lay down beside her. Her face was still pushed down against the bed. “You okay?” “Mm hum,” she said against the sheet. She rolled on her back, nestled beside him. He worried for a minute when she didn’t speak. “That was okay, wasn’t it?” he asked anxiously. She smiled. “I love you, Russ.” “I love you, too,” he whispered. She just didn’t know. She had no idea what she did to him. A long time ago, when he was a little kid in school, he was Russ. Many things had happened since then, but when she called him Russ, he could forget all of them. Dalton dozed for a while, his arms instinctively holding his Ava protectively. He thought a sound woke him, but he didn’t hear anything, now. Ava was asleep beside him. It was strange how quickly he’d gotten used to sleeping beside her. Now, he doubted he would be able to ever sleep again without her lying near him. The rays of sun through the sliding glass door painted her skin with a luminous white glow. She shone beside him like some heavenly being. 85

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A shadow passed over her and Dalton looked over at the door. John Briggs stood outside on the terrace, his hand poised to knock. He smiled when he saw Dalton through the glass. His gaze shifted over to Ava and his face darkened. Dalton grabbed the rumpled sheet from the bottom of the bed and covered Ava’s naked body. He pulled a pair of jeans from the dresser and hurriedly pulled them on. The lock on the door clicked and he slid the glass door open partially to face John. “Hey, Dalton. Sorry to interrupt. I already knocked at the front door.” He looked incredibly angry. Dalton ran his hand nervously through his hair. “I was sleeping. Sorry.” Briggs tried looking around Dalton’s shoulder. “Who’s the little blonde?” Dalton squeezed by him and stepped out on the terrace, closing the door behind him. “Her name’s Ava.” “Very nice,” John said. “But you don’t bring them here. Her house, your truck, or a hotel, if the girl is worth spending the room money for, but don’t bring them home.” “She’s not some whore, John, she’s my girlfriend.” “All the more reason to keep her away, then. When she finds out what you do for a living, it might put her off,” John said. Then he added in a

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more serious voice, “Or she might end up knowing something she shouldn’t.” “She’s been here. She’s staying with me.” John frowned, “It’s not acceptable.” “She lives with me,” Dalton insisted. He could see that John was enraged. John put his hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I understand. You like having her here, and she’s a nice little fuck when you come home. But she can’t stay.” Dalton shrugged the hand from his shoulder. “This is my house, John. I want her here.” “What does she know? Does she know what you do?” “Yes, but she doesn’t know who you are. She doesn’t know who I work for,” Dalton lied. “And she hasn’t asked? Come on, if she hasn’t yet, she soon will. It’s a woman’s nature. They want to know everything.” “I won’t tell her anything.” “I said she must go. I’m sorry, but this is just one of the things I have to ask you to do for me.” “What have I ever asked you to do for me, John? You’ve done things for me, sure, but I have never asked you for anything. Nothing. I’m asking you for this. Please? I love her.” Briggs pursed his lips. “You sound like you’re begging, Dalton. It’s not good to have an Achilles heel like that girl is to you. It makes you weak. What if someone put a gun to your pretty little blonde’s head? Would you confess all your sins? Tell 87

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all that you know? She’s no asset to you, I assure you. She is a liability. “Just because she’s a pretty one with a hot cunt that you’d grovel for doesn’t make her an asset. If you want to beg for pussy, do it in private at a hotel. Don’t stand in front of me and plead to keep her.” Dalton leaned towards him. “John, I wouldn’t just beg to have her. I’d kill to have her.” John smiled a little. “At least you sound more like a man now. Are you threatening me, Dalton?” “No. I love you, John. I love you like a father. But her, I love her like I’ve never felt in my life, and I won’t let her go. Whether it suits you or not.” “Fair enough. I guess I will have to make an exception. Until you’re tired of always having the same little moll every night. In the meantime, I suggest you keep our business our business. I don’t want any more mistakes. When you’re through with the girl, I’m sure I can find someplace to keep her.” “What happened was unavoidable, and I won’t be through with her. You don’t need to keep her anywhere. I won’t make any mistakes. I haven’t.” “So you say, Dalton. So you say.” “John, don’t do this. Don’t treat me like you don’t trust my judgment. I’m not a boy.” “No, not anymore. But you are worse than that, now. You say you are in love. There is nothing about being in love that makes a man stronger, it only weakens him. I don’t want you weak. I need

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you to be strong. This is a tough business, and it’s not for weak men.” “No, it’s not,” agreed Dalton. Briggs reached into the pocket of his jacket and took out a folded paper. “This job is a big one. High dollar. I want it done and I want it done right. I’m not about to write off five hundred grand. You’d best be on your toes tonight, son.” Dalton took the paper without looking down at it. “I will be.” Briggs smiled, “I guess I will have to tell our Sadie that you aren’t on the market, anymore. I think she will be as disappointed in you as I am, Dalton.” Dalton shrugged. “I don’t know why, John. She still has you to fuck her.” John smiled. “I think she likes you better, Dalton, although she’s smart enough not to tell me that.” “It doesn’t matter. The only woman I want, I already have.” “It just doesn’t make sense to turn down so much and so many for one. We could get her an apartment somewhere and you could still see her once in a while.” “I don’t want that. I want her here with me. Only her, she’s all that I want,” Dalton said firmly. Briggs smiled. “Bring her to dinner tonight. I’ll have Andre make prime rib.” Dalton was stunned. “You don’t want her to know about you.” 89

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“And she won’t. Because you are going to tell her that I’m your father.” “This doesn’t make sense.” “It makes perfect sense. You’ll tell her you want her to meet your father.” “I don’t understand. Why?” “Because I am a curious man. Because I want to meet the woman who has made you weak.” Dalton didn’t like this at all. This was so out of the ordinary that it worried him.”I’ve got this job tonight…” he began to protest. “And you’ll do it after dinner which will be served promptly at seven.” He turned neatly and went up the walkway. Dalton watched him leaving, wondering what John had up his sleeve. He’d always trusted John. He’d trusted him with his life. Lately, more and more doubts had crept into his mind about John Briggs. He turned back to the house. Ava was standing in the doorway, wearing one of his t-shirts. He forgot all about Briggs just then. It was simply amazing just how good a plain white shirt could look.

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Chapter Seven Ava stared at her reflection in fascination. She’d never looked like this before. A four hundred dollar dress was just too extravagant, even if Dalton kept insisting. But this one was, by far, the prettiest of all she’d tried on. The pale lavender color of the silk was beautiful, and it fit her as if it had been custom made. She had doubts about the back, though. The silk draped dangerously low, down to the small of her back. She heard the rustle of the dressing room curtain, and Dalton stood regarding her in silence. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her skin, and see the hunger in his eyes. “You’re getting this one,” he said finally. “It’s too expensive, and I’ll probably never have a reason to wear it again,” Ava protested. Dalton put his hands on her hips and pulled her tight against his thighs. “Then you’ll wear it for me and I’ll rip it off you.” She smiled, “That’s such a waste of money.” “Not to me. Seriously, you look spectacular.” He kissed her hard, hot, wet and openmouthed. She could feel the evidence of his desire pressing against her, as his tongue teased at her mouth. 91

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“I could take you right here,” he whispered, “right here in this dressing room.” “There’s people right out....” she began and was silenced by another ferocious kiss. She felt him sliding the dress over her hips, and then his hand slipped in her panties. He found the spot that he knew drove her wild and then took shameless advantage of that knowledge until she wouldn’t have cared if there was a priest and twenty nuns out in the store. “Oh, damn,” he groaned. “You’re so wet.” His kisses deepened, as she played with his hair, letting its silky texture slide between her fingers. She heard the jingle of his belt as he undid it, and then the soft hiss of his zipper. The cold mirrored wall was hard against her back as he leaned against her, his tongue deep in her mouth. He moved his mouth to her ear. “God, you’re so beautiful.” He grabbed the crotch of her panties and moved it aside. She forced herself not to cry out as he penetrated her slowly, forcing her pussy to open for him inch by inch as he slid deeper and deeper inside of her. A long moan escaped her lips. “You like that, Ava? You like having my cock, don’t you, baby?” he crooned in her ear. “Yes,” she managed to whimper. He shifted against her pushing against her trembling body with his muscular warmth. He reached down and lifted her by her legs until her

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feet were no longer on the floor. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. Slowly, he began to rock against her, sending ripples of pleasure coursing through her. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he drove into her with long, torturous thrusts. His grunts mingled with her gasps as delicious tension wound tightly, low in her belly. Every delicious stroke that stretched her around him made it harder to breathe. She made a weak attempt to remain silent as an orgasm tore through her, but still heard herself whining. Dalton was throbbing inside of her, gasping and groaning. “Everything all right in there?” the salesgirl asked from outside the curtain. Dalton laughed and Ava could feel the vibrations ripple through her. “Everything’s great,” he said so calmly that it made her laugh, too. He pulled at the hem of the dress, trying to keep it up on her hips. “I should be more careful, I’m going to ruin your new dress.” He set her down and pulled the dress over her head. Ava felt her sodden panties sticking to her thigh. He kissed her again. “We have to get this dress. You can put it on for me ten years from now and I’ll remember this.” Ten minutes later, Ava could still feel her face burning and she tried to keep her head lowered as he paid for the dress and a pair of shoes. 93

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As they walked through the parking lot, it felt like every person who looked at her knew what she’d just done, and the crotch of her jeans was uncomfortably wet. Dalton was all smiles the entire way home. He was partially dressed for dinner when she finished in the bathroom. The pale yellow dress shirt he had on made his eyes look even darker. She watched with interest as he attached a leather strap around his shoulder and buckled it. When he turned slightly, she saw what the harness held, it was a holster. He picked up a gun from the bedside table and slipped it in before putting on a black suit jacket. “You still look good in that dress,” he said as he approached her and put his arms around her. Through the jacket, she could feel the gun that rested against his side. “Do you have to take that?” she asked. “Yeah, I do. Besides, I have a job after. I’ll bring you home first.” Her heart sank at the word ‘job.’ All the way to John Briggs’ house, she thought about him leaving later and then just sitting and worrying until he came home. This life he lived was the only thing that she didn’t like about him. His job had saved her life, and brought them together, but now that she was with him, she hated it. Just to think of losing him was unbearable. He pushed a call button at a driveway and Ava watched as heavy iron gates opened in front of the truck. It was meant to be a sign of wealth she 94

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supposed, but those iron gates made her feel like she was entering a prison. As the house loomed into view, she couldn’t help but marvel at its sheer size and splendor. “Nice, huh?” Dalton said as he pulled up near the front. “It’s big but I like your house better.” He smiled at her. “Our house and I’m glad you like it. There’s no way we’re ever going to have the kind of money it would take to live in a place like this.” “Good.” He looked at her curiously. “Why’d you say that?” “Because this just isn’t me.” “You know what? It isn’t me, either. But then, a lot of what people see when they look at me isn’t me, either. Things you know about me, and about how I feel, the rest of the world won’t ever see that.” “Only because that’s the way you want it to be.” “No. Because it’s the way it has to be.” “You don’t like putting guns to people’s heads, and you couldn’t kill someone who didn’t do anything wrong just because it’s business,” she said. “I do what I have to do,” he said nonchalantly as he opened the truck door. She could hear the doorbell chiming inside as they stood on the porch. A fountain by the house was splashing loudly, but she could still hear 95

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footsteps echoing from the house. The door opened and Ava stared at the woman in the doorway feeling very out-classed despite the expensive new dress she wore. The woman oozed wealth; diamonds sparkled on her ears, her neck and her fingers. She was dressed in a peacock blue dress that was almost the same color as her icy eyes. She smiled, but her smile never reached her eyes. They remained cold and distant. “Hello, Dalton,” she purred, and Ava could taste the bile in her own throat. She would’ve recognized that voice anywhere. It was the voice from the answering machine. “Hello, Sadie,” Dalton said casually. His arm was tight around Ava’s waist. “This is my girlfriend, Ava.” Sadie extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, Ava.” She sounded almost sincere. “Nice to meet you, too,” Ava replied, trying her best to sound sincere as well. She was a pretty woman, pretty in an entirely different way than Ava was. She was tan and voluptuous. Her hair was long and the color of mahogany. Her lips were painted in a bright scarlet shade and her cheeks sparkled with shimmery pink blush. “Where is my father?” Dalton said, beginning the charade that he had told her to expect. She could hear him fighting to keep the sarcasm from his tone.

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“Come on. He’s in the dining room. You’re late,” Sadie said disapprovingly. They followed her to a large formal dining room, where, at a long oak table situated beneath a giant crystal chandelier, sat John Briggs. As introductions were made, Ava was still feeling stunned. John Briggs wasn’t at all what she expected. For some reason, she had pictured him as an older version of Dalton. Nothing could have been further from the truth. He was a small man, only slightly taller than she was. His features were pinched with a pointy nose and chin. His eyes were piercing, bright emerald green, brighter even still in contrast to his pale skin. His hair was neatly trimmed in a short cut, and was dark and wavy, with silvery blue streaks. His eyes immediately made her uneasy. He seemed to latch onto her with them and just refuse to let go. It didn’t take long for his true nature to show through. She listened to their conversations and saw how manipulative and controlling a man he was. He was definitely enjoying Dalton’s being forced to address him as Father, and didn’t seem to miss an opportunity to belittle him. Dalton occasionally took her hand beneath the table and squeezed it, and she knew he was just waiting for this to be over. Briggs’ gaze lingered on both of them as he raised a martini glass to his lips. He set the glass down with a clink. 97

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“So where did you two meet?” As Dalton began to speak, Ava was thankful that the question hadn’t been directed towards either of them in particular. If she’d been forced to answer, it would have been difficult to think up a story. Dalton told a story of staying at a travel lodge outside of Ridgewood when he was there on business and meeting a girl who had just started working there. It was so entirely fictional that she hardly paid attention until Dalton’s voice changed. It was intense, sincere, and full of emotion. “When I first looked in her eyes, I saw something I’d never seen, and I felt it right back. I knew I loved her and she belonged with me.” The woman, Sadie, seemed transfixed. Ava felt her looking at her, and when she looked up, she could have sworn that she saw warmth in the other woman’s eyes. Briggs remained indifferent. His eyes shifted her direction and seemed even colder. “So you were a maid? Well, I’m sure my son seemed an appealing rescuer from such a life.” Ava almost choked on her iced tea at the mention of the word ‘rescue.’ “So what is it you do now, Ava?” “Nothing,” she said hesitantly. “On the contrary, Ava, you must do something very well or you wouldn’t be living rent free. I hope you at least have the decency to swallow when you suck Dalton’s cock.” Ava felt the color draining from her face. 98

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“Stop it,” Dalton warned, without bothering to add the word ‘father.’ “Come on now, Dalton. There’s a reason you keep her. For her mouth or her pussy, there’s a reason.” He turned his gaze back to Ava. “Did you fuck him for that dress you’re wearing?” Then he gestured to Sadie who was looking down at the table. “You are what she is. You just aren’t as good at it yet.” “You don’t know anything about me. I love him, something you would never understand. I don’t believe someone like you has ever loved anything, other than money,” Ava said coldly. Dalton stood up. “I believe we will be going now,” he said angrily to Briggs. “Sit down, son.” Briggs replied. “I am learning a little bit about your lady’s character, that’s all.” “You’re insulting her,” Dalton snapped. “I’m not insulting her. I am stating things as I see them. If a woman lives with a man and doesn’t work, then she must pay for the things she is given by some other means than money. You feed her and let her sleep in your bed. These are things that require some form of payment.” “Is everything in your life about money?” Ava asked brashly. “Everything in this world is about money. Without it, you can have nothing. With it, you can have whatever you want.” He stood up slowly and approached Dalton. “How much do you want, Dalton?” Dalton stood staring, looking bewildered. 99

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“For your woman? How much? You and I both know everything has a price.” Ava felt her stomach twist. Dalton did things for John Briggs because he was paid to do them. Dalton did things he didn’t want to just for the money. No wonder John readily assumed that for the right price he would turn her over to Briggs. “I am taking her home now,” Dalton said. John put his hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “I don’t want to keep her. I just want an hour or two.” “Get your hand off me. I’m taking her home,” Dalton replied, John leaned closer to him and Ava could barely hear what he whispered. “I’ve never known you to turn down work, Dalton.” “Ava doesn’t work for you,” Dalton snarled. Briggs smiled. “She could, and she’d make more money than you do, son.” He patted Dalton’s side. “Did you bring this for me?” he asked and he laughed. “You came armed to my home for dinner?” “I don’t trust you anymore,” Dalton said. “That’s good. It’s unwise to have trust. I’ve never trusted you, son. I don’t trust anyone. Now, name your price.” “Some things can’t be bought, not even by you, Father,” Dalton replied. John chuckled. “You’re testing my patience, Dalton. You know that.”

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“I brought her here so that you’d understand. So that you’d see that even though I love her, I am still Dalton. I can still do what needs to be done.” “That’s not what I see. I see a man who’s gone soft. A man who is letting his desire for pussy cloud his judgment. Business is business. That’s all leaving her here right now would be, just a business arrangement. Go do your job and leave her here. You can collect her when you’re through.” Dalton was shaking. Ava was startled by despite the fact that, even as he towered over John Briggs, he looked so afraid. The lingering silence was beginning to make Ava afraid, too, afraid that maybe Dalton would actually even consider Briggs’ offer. “Fuck you,” Dalton finally said in a soft, calm voice. “I’d blow your fucking head off before I’d let you lay a hand on her.” Dalton’s hand closed gently on Ava’s shoulder. “Come on, sweetheart, me and you are going home.” She nearly had to run to keep up with the pace of his long legs as he went to the truck. He flung the door open, picked her up and tossed her in. Ava was silent as he started the truck and sped down to the gate. It was closed. He rolled down the window and pressed a button. Nothing happened. Dalton jabbed the button again, hard. “What?” John Briggs’ voice came from a speaker. “Open the fucking gate,” Dalton said. 101

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There was silence on the speaker, and nothing happened. “Open the fucking gate or I’ll drive through the motherfucker,” Dalton roared. As the gate began moving, Ava felt a flush of relief. He drove only a few blocks before he pulled over. His face was tense and his eyes intent on her. “I’m sorry, Ava. I had absolutely no idea this was going to happen.” “It wasn’t your fault.” She took a deep breath. “He’s not a nice man.” “Neither am I.” He smashed his fist on the top of the dashboard. “Fuck!” Ava jumped. “What the fuck am I going to do now?” “Can we go home?” Ava said softly. “You have no idea what just happened, do you?” he said angrily. “My job, my life, it’s all fucked up now.” “Then turn around and take me back,” Ava said, feeling herself growing angry, too. “Stop it. You know I wouldn’t do that.” “The way you feel now is exactly the way he wants you to feel. He wants you to be like him, and you’re not. You aren’t heartless.” “Ava, you don’t know what I am. You watched me slit that fucking creep’s throat, didn’t you? You must know what I am capable of doing.” “You didn’t do that for John Briggs, you did that for me,” she protested.

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Dalton didn’t look at her, and she noticed his hands were shaking. “I don’t know what I did wrong,” Ava said. “Nothing. You didn’t do anything.” He put the truck into drive and pulled back onto the street. The silence was uncomfortable. Ava stared at his profile but Dalton never turned in her direction once the entire drive home. Ava walked quietly into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her head hurt and her feet hurt from the high heels she’d worn. She reached down and unfastened the strap that went around her ankle. “Leave them on,” Dalton said as he came in. “What?” “Leave the fucking shoes on. Take off the dress and your panties.” “Why?” she asked weakly. “You know why,” he said, and began undoing his belt. He didn’t look at her the way he usually did. There was no softness in his voice or his eyes. They were cold and hard. He was trying to be that way, trying to be what that slimy John Briggs wanted him to be. “I don’t want to take them off,” she said. “Then I will,” he replied, coolly. Ava stood up and pulled off the dress angrily, throwing it onto the floor in a heap. She stripped off her panties and threw them at him. “There!” she snorted. “You want to behave like the monster? You want to fuck me? Fuck me, then. 103

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You want to be the man John Briggs wants you to be? You want me to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me?” He took off his jacket slowly and almost seemed menacing as he removed his pants. The shirt and the gun were all he had on as he approached her. He pushed her back onto the bed. His mouth slanted over hers as he moved above her, his thighs settling between hers. Her whole body stilled when she felt the tip of him prodding her. “You’re not Dalton,” she protested, as he rained wet, hot kisses down her neck. His fingers moved over her nipples, squeezing and stroking. The gun holster was cold as it pushed against her side. He pushed against her harder with his cock. “You’re not even wet,” he said sounding disappointed, before he lowered his mouth to her breasts and began to work on them with his lips and tongue. She tried very hard not to get aroused, but he was beginning to win. She felt him slide up inside her, stretching her around him, her tight walls straining against him. She breathed a sigh of relief as he eased out of her, only to gasp as he thrust back inside of her. Even as her mind protested, her body lay still beneath his, as he began long smooth strokes, pushing up deeper inside her with each thrust. “You’re not Dalton, you’re Russ,” she gasped. “I’m not fucking you, Ava. I need this,” he whispered. “This. You.” 104

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His hand wedged between them and sought out her clit. He held it between his finger and thumb, and then began squeezing in time with his strokes. She felt the tension building as she pushed up against him, meeting his thrusting cock. Her whole body clenched, suspended on the edge, as he rammed into her. He touched her again and again, and she cried out, feeling herself fall, ripples of pleasure washing over her as she spent herself beneath him. His breathing was harsh and he tipped his head back, the cords in his neck straining as she throbbed against him. He let out a groan as he stabbed into her, spurting hotly, filling her pussy with pulsing gushes. He trembled against her, “John Briggs is right. You do make me weak. I would do anything for you, Ava. Anything. I love you so much. Too much.” He rolled off of her and went out of the room. A few seconds later he returned, wiping himself off with a towel. He tossed it beside her and began getting dressed. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I have to go.” “Go?” She sat up quickly. “Where are you going?” “You know I had a job to do tonight. I’ll be home as soon as I can.” “You’re still going? Even after what happened?” she asked in disbelief. “I have to. This is what I do. It’s business,” he said. 105

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He’d told her he would do anything for her. Would he stay if she asked him? Did he love her enough to do that? All she had to do was ask him right now. He kissed her softly. “I’ll see you when I get home. I’m sorry about what happened.” She looked into his eyes, searching for warmth, and couldn’t find it. She lowered her head, unwilling to ask a question that she was afraid to know the answer to. “I love you, Russ,” she said to his back as he turned to leave. He stopped in his tracks, but didn’t turn around. “I love you too, Ava,” he said, with a noticeable tremble in his voice.

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Chapter Eight The television was still on. He’d turned it on when he got home early this morning, and left the volume turned down. It was just for some light in the room. Just enough light to see Ava’s face while he made love to her, twice, before he let her go back to sleep. He’d left the TV on after so he could look over and see her, lying naked and warm in his bed. Briggs was surprised when he’d shown up at his house at 2 am. Maybe he was still mad about what happened at dinner, but five hundred thousand dollars went a long way towards smoothing things over. It was the biggest job Dalton had ever done, and it went off without the slightest hitch. He had proven himself. He could still do his job and be with Ava. John was continuing to act strangely, but, with a little luck, it would all blow over. Dalton needed this job too much to blow it with Briggs. What else was he going to do? Wash dishes somewhere or flip burgers? The fascination John had with Ava still pissed Dalton off. He’d been clear with John that there was no way he would ever give him Ava. Not for an hour, not even for a minute. That should have been enough, but Briggs still persisted. He hoped it would end now. 107

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Ava sat down on the bed. “What do you want for breakfast?” “Oh, I think I’ll have some of you,” he said. “I’m starving,” she said. “Okay, breakfast first, then you.” He picked up the remote from the floor by the bed to turn it off, and glanced at the screen. An image of a drab brown house with red shutters was on the screen. For as long as he lived, he would never forget that house on Vista Lane. It was hard to breathe for a minute. Ava saw his face and turned towards the television. “Turn it up” she whispered tensely, without turning back towards him. He hit the volume button. They caught the reporter’s voice in midsentence. “…continue the investigation of this real life house of horrors on the city’s West Side. What began with the discovery of the body of 34 year old Robert Arlow may have ended with the discovery of a serial killer here in our city. “A neighbor reported a suspicious odor shortly before the body of Arlow was discovered, his throat slashed. But it was the basement of this home that held even more gruesome discoveries. “Police have recovered four bodies from shallow graves. At this time, it is believed that all of the victims are females. Authorities have released the names of only two victims so far, those of 23 year-old Susan Evanrich, and 19 yearold Francis Henly.”

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Color photographs of two pretty young women appeared on the screen. They could have been sisters, they looked so similar. Dalton swallowed hard. They both looked like Ava. The one, Francis, was damn near a dead ringer for her, except her hair was shorter. He thought for a moment how if he hadn’t seen Ava that night, the only way he would have ever seen her was like this. Just a picture of a dead girl on television. Not the living, breathing woman that he loved more than life. The pictures went away, replaced by a reporter in a suit standing in front of the house. The report went on about the girls, relating where they were from and how long they’d been missing. Because of when they had disappeared, it was assumed that both had been taken from the downtown bus station. Just like Ava. “Although it is early in the investigation, police believe that Arlow may have been killed by one of his intended victims. Evidence at the scene suggests that he may have been holding a captive who somehow managed to escape. We will have more details on this case as soon as they become available.” Dalton clicked the power button and the television went black. Pictures of those girls lingered in his mind. Those girls who could have been Ava.

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Ava was crying, and she clung to him. Living, breathing, proof that love really existed. It wasn’t some elusive dream. “Shh, don’t cry anymore,” he whispered. “Just enjoy. Enjoy your life, be happy.” “You gave it to me,” she said and her face shone with tears. “Gave what to you?” “My life. I would be in that cellar if it wasn’t for you.” “I wish I could have found you sooner, before he hurt you.” Ava sniffled and her eyes seemed far away. “The first night there was the worst.” Dalton sat quietly. She’d never really spoken of any of it and, if she wanted to now, he’d listen, but he wasn’t going to push her. He didn’t really want to know what she’d been put through. She drew her breath in deeply. “When my head was covered and I couldn’t see he was different. He was so...” her voice trailed away. “Sometimes now I think that maybe there was someone else there that first night. Someone else who killed that girl and then came in the room with me.” “What do you mean ‘someone else’?” “He was just different the first night. Maybe because he’d just killed that other girl, I don’t know. He was so cruel. The more he hurt me, the more excited he got. He beat me, for nothing. I asked him why. He didn’t talk. He never answered. That was the only time he didn’t talk.

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Every time after, when I could see him, he talked.” “Maybe you were less of a person to him when he couldn’t see your face,” Dalton said sadly.”I just know that I’m happy you’re here and you’re safe.” “I can’t ever do enough to show you how much I love you, Dalton.” “I know you love me. I know that, Ava.” Her fingers traced his chest softly, and he shivered when one skimmed accidentally over his nipple. As her lips kissed his neck, her fingers stroked his nipple softly, telling him that first touch had not been an accident. “I want to take you in my mouth,” she whispered against his neck. He stiffened immediately at just the thought of her lips wrapped around him. Then he remembered what John had said to her the previous day. As much as Dalton knew he’d enjoy Ava’s mouth, he didn’t want her to do something just because she felt like she had to. “Ava, you don’t have to do that.” He took her face between his palms. “Forget about what he said, he was being an ass, and I’m sorry that I acted like one, too. “What he said wasn’t right. I don’t want you to do anything with me because you feel like you have to. You don’t have to suck and you don’t have to swallow.” “I want to.” Her warm hand encircled him firmly, and he jerked back in surprise, his ass pressing hard into 111

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the mattress. The backwards movement forced her hand to slide along the length him, and she stilled when he gasped. Her touches were hesitant and timid at first, but she soon grew bolder. With growing confidence, she teased his hardening cock, and before long, a soft groan escaped him. Ava traced small circles in the hollow of his hips with her tongue as her fingers softly traced the length of his cock. Her mouth moved lower, and he shuddered as her tongue flicked out to touch one of his balls. Her fingers gripped him firmly at his base, and he sucked in a deep breath. She teased the delicate skin of his balls, making him quiver. Painstakingly, slowly, she sucked one into her mouth. Sweat beaded his forehead. “Oh, Ava,” he muttered, as her tongue darted out hesitantly, flicking over the head and tasting the pearl of moisture seeping from the tip. He stroked her hair, as she parted her lips over the tip of his shaft, looking up at him shyly with those beautiful, innocent eyes. He gazed in fascination as the tip of his cock glided into her wet, waiting mouth. “You look so pretty, so pretty with my cock in your mouth,” he rasped. Just watching her drove him closer and closer to letting go. She raised herself onto her knees as she bent over him, licking and sucking. He groaned when she accidentally scraped him with her teeth. The groan

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had nothing to do with pain, and her inexperience didn’t bother him at all. She could barely take half of him in, but it was enough. Dear god, it was enough. She would stop to kiss the tip each time leaving his arousal twitching in anticipation. Then would come another moment of heaven, as her mouth slid over him again. Her hot breath against his scrotum, her clumsily exploring tongue, nothing had ever felt so good. Without warning, he thrust his hips up wildly, driving her cock deep into her mouth in a throbbing, violent explosion. Ava coughed and pulled her mouth away and a stream of thick cum spurted warmly onto his belly. “I’m sorry,” she said, then lowered her head and softly licked his stomach, tasting him hesitantly. Slowly, her tongue darted out again, and he watched in awe as she licked him clean. He touched her face in adoration. “Why would you ever be sorry?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to gag like that.” Dalton couldn’t help but smile at her sweet innocence. “I didn’t even notice. All I know is you are incredible.” She moved up beside him, nestling her head against his chest. “You didn’t have to do that, Ava.” “I didn’t do it because I had to. I wanted to.” She took his hand and lowered it between her slick thighs. “And I liked it.” 113

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His groin tightened at the thought of her getting wet from taking his cock in her mouth. He slid his wet fingers across her clit and she sighed. His mouth found her nipple. It felt wonderful as it swelled and hardened against his tongue, and he was lost in her softness. He kissed down her stomach, across her hips, and ran his tongue and hands over her thighs. He could feel the goose bumps on her skin. Her fingers entwined in his hair and he felt a warm flush across his chest, while his hand stroked her soft, slippery pussy. He spread her open wide with his fingers, pausing to look at her. Everything about this woman was heaven: the way she looked, the way she smelled, her soft breathing and moans. She was incredibly wet. His mouth watered to taste her, and he loved to feel her against his tongue. He sucked one outer lip into his mouth hungrily and then the other before closing his lips over the entire area. He sealed his mouth around her wet slit and sucked, starving for her honey. He didn’t want this to end, and every time he sensed she was near orgasm, he gentled to whisper soft kisses and licks. She moaned and pulled his head urging him towards her clit. Finally, he sucked the swollen nub into his mouth and suckled hard on it, while his fingers moved inside of her. She came loud and hard for his eager mouth. Spearing his tongue into her, he felt her muscles pulling at it. He lapped at her

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again, and he was disappointed when she slid backwards, just out of his reach. “I want you inside me,” Ava said in a small pleading voice that made his cock stiffer. He moved up over her and leaned forward, supporting his weight on his hands. A series of short, firm thrusts imbedded his cock deeply in Ava’s pussy. He sighed at the feeling of her all around him like hot, liquid velvet. She was insistent, squirming beneath him, arching her hips up. He slid backwards and surged forward deeply, feeling her hands clutching his buttocks, pulling at him, wanting more. Her nostrils flared as her breath quickened. When he stayed as he was and didn’t move for a long moment, she began to writhe under him, whining with impatience. He slowly withdrew about halfway, and then slammed himself into her again, deep and hard. He was usually worried about hurting her. But what with her pulling at him and the exquisite feeling of her so hot and wet all around him, he set his jaw and began pumping her even harder. She took one long breath, and then let it all out in a long, high shriek. He kept thrusting, intent on his own release now, spurred on by the sight of her and the feeling of her hungry pussy sucking at him. With a violent convulsion, he orgasmed, as her pussy continued to mercilessly milk him. Dalton could feel his heart pounding as he moved off of her and tried to catch his breath. His 115

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hair was wet with sweat, he was exhausted, and he’d never been happier in his life. “You know, I was worried for a while,” he said. “But not anymore.” “Worried about what?”Ava asked. “That I couldn’t have this. I couldn’t have you and my job, both. But I showed him last night. I showed Briggs what I can do. He didn’t even need to count the money. He knew it all was there. It was a hell of a lot of money. Things are just going to keep getting better from now on, and even though he said he didn’t trust me, I know he does.” “I don’t trust him,” Ava said. “And I don’t like him. I don’t like him one bit.” “Well, he’s given you good reason not to. He’ll come around, though, you’ll see. You’ll end up liking him someday.” Ava glared at him. “I can’t believe you’d do anything for him after what he did!” Dalton shrugged. “Well, it does piss me off, but then, look at it this way: it’s a compliment. He wants what I have, and he can’t have it. You know how much that bothers him?” Dalton smiled, “When I think about it that way, I like it.” Ava sat up. “You’re talking about me like I’m some kind of thing! I’m not your possession. Even if you agreed to his offer, even if you let him give you money, I don’t belong to you. You couldn’t tell me to fuck John Briggs.” “You’re taking this the wrong way.” “Am I? Your exact words were that you like that he wants what you have!” 116

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“That’s what I meant. Since I’ve known John, he’s always had everything, everything he ever wanted. I had what he was willing to give me, nothing more. “Now I finally have something more valuable than anything he could ever have. I have you, Ava. I don’t mean it like I own you. I just mean he’ll never know… he’ll never feel this way.” Ava’s face softened. Dalton sat up and smoothed her hair. “I never thought I could have this. I knew the second I looked in your eyes that I wanted to protect you. I knew that I loved you, but I never thought it would work. I felt like something would always be in the way. For the longest time, I didn’t think you’d ever want to be with me. Then I was worried about John, and now it’s just all starting to work out.” “What if it doesn’t?” Ava asked. “What do you mean?” “What if you can’t do both?” He knew what she was asking. He knew exactly what she wanted to know. He’d thought about it a lot himself. If he had to make a choice between this job and her, what would he choose? “I can do both,” he said, unwilling to answer the question. How could he admit that he didn’t know? As much as he wanted a more normal life sometimes, this work was all he knew, all he’d ever done.

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“I have to do both. I don’t know what other work I could ever get, probably nothing, just some crappy, minimum wage job.” “Lots of people start out like that,” Ava said convincingly. “Not when they’re almost thirty years old, Ava.” He sighed, “Look, I know you don’t like what I do. I know you don’t like John, but both of those things are part of my life, they are part of what makes me who I am.” Ava was silent, and he could almost swear she knew that it was a decision he wasn’t prepared to make. She looked so serious that for a minute he considered lying to her, telling her that he’d give up his entire life if he was forced to make a choice. There wasn’t even any point in thinking about it anymore because it was never going to come down to that. “I wonder what Briggs will think when he sees that shit on the news,” he said, trying to change the subject. “You don’t think he’ll figure it out, do you?” Ava said, sounding worried. “Figure out what?” “That you took me from there.” “I don’t think it would even matter now. John’s seen I can still do my job and I think, if he does figure out what happened, he’ll understand. He’s probably going to be disgusted that he ever crossed paths with anyone as low as Robert Arlow. Knowing John, I’m sure he’ll figure somebody as twisted as Arlow deserved to die.” 118

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“I doubt it. He’s not like you. He doesn’t think like you.” “Listen, I have another job to do tonight. Afterwards, I’ll ask for some time off. Me and you can go away somewhere. Would you like to take a vacation and just forget about all this shit for a while?” “Will he let you go?” “Sure. Tonight, is big, really big. I do this right and he’ll let me do whatever I want for a while. I already know he trusts me or he wouldn’t be sending me on this.” He couldn’t imagine seeing a million dollars in cash, let alone being trusted to pick it up. “He’s paying me ten grand for this job. We could take a nice vacation, anywhere you want to go.” “I’ve never been on a vacation,” Ava said thoughtfully. “I couldn’t even imagine where to go.” “I have a couple of ideas but they both involve you marrying me first.” Ava’s face was blank. “I told you, I can do both Ava. If you’re my wife, John wouldn’t expect me to ever let you go. I don’t want to let you go, never. I love you with all I have. Marry me. Please?” She smiled slowly, a smile that made his heart whole, a smile that told him the answer before she even spoke. She was going to be his wife.

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Chapter Nine Ava closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but it wasn’t working. Dalton had gone half an hour ago. She’d called to him on the way out the door, and when he’d turned back, she’d tried to think of something to say. Anything. Just to keep him with her for a few more fleeting minutes. She’d tried hard to gather the courage to ask him not to do this anymore. The most she could finally manage to do was tell him she loved him and to be careful. A million dollars was enough money to make even mild mannered people desperate. It just seemed so dangerous. The whole idea of what Dalton did was dangerous, but with this much money involved, anything could happen. The doorbell began chiming, startling her. Ava glanced at the clock, wondering who would be coming here so late at night. She pulled on her robe, as the bell continued ringing. Whoever was out there was impatient. She clicked the light switch and turned on the outside light above the door. Peering through the peephole, she could see Sadie standing on the front porch. “Dalton’s not here,” Ava said against the door. She didn’t know if she was more angry or surprised that Sadie would actually come here to see him. 120

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“I know he’s not. I need to talk to you.” Her voice was shrill and she sounded frightened. “About what?” Ava asked suspiciously. “Dalton. Something’s gone wrong. Please open the door, Ava!” Ava’s shaking hands twisted the deadbolt in a panic, and she flung open the door. “What’s wrong?” she shrieked. John Briggs lunged at her from out of the shadows beside the door. He grabbed her and turned her around so quickly that she didn’t have time to react. Pinned between him and the foyer wall, Ava struggled as he pressed something against her nose and mouth. It was a cloth, dampened with something that smelled faintly sweet. A sudden wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and she swayed. Her body felt heavy and strange. He pressed the rag more firmly against her and it became harder and harder to struggle. Sadie’s voice seemed so far away. “Sorry, honey. Nothing personal. I wasn’t going to turn down a thousand dollars just to get you to open the door.” Ava was trying to stay awake. Her body wasn’t doing what she wanted it to do anymore. She felt herself slacken and then go limp in John’s wiry arms. Then it felt like she floated as he picked her up. She floated higher and higher until it was just darkness, nothing but darkness. Her mouth was dry, and even through the foggy haze she was in, she was aware of a horrible ache 121

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in her arms. She blinked her eyes and tried to focus. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything. Her first hazy thoughts were of Dalton. Had something really happened to him? Her arms were stretched over her head and tied to something above her. The ropes on her wrists were painfully tight. She rotated her wrists trying to free them, but the ropes only twisted and tightened further, cutting deeper into her skin. Her bare feet could just touch a cold, smooth floor beneath her. She stood on her toes and was grateful to feel the pain in her arms ease slightly as she supported her weight with her feet. The room was cold and she was suddenly aware that she was naked. Harsh, bright light flooded the room. “I see you’ve decided to join me,” John Briggs said in a voice so pleasant that it just didn’t fit the situation. Ava’s eyes slowly adjusted to the light. He was impeccably dressed in a silk suit, casually drinking a martini, as if having a naked woman trussed up in front of him was an everyday occurrence. “Where’s Dalton? Did you do something to him?” Ava asked, her voice cracking hoarsely. “I wouldn’t do anything to Dalton. Loyal soldiers like him are a rare commodity.” “Why did you do this? Why am I here?” Ava said.

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He took a small sip of his drink and a few steps towards her. “Just finishing some unfinished business.” “Please let me down. Untie me!” “My dear girl, if I wanted you untied, I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of tying you in the first place, now would I?” He took another sip from his glass. “You look quite lovely this way.” “What are you doing?” she cried helplessly. He approached her, until his face was inches from her. Every part of her struggled to recoil from the closeness of this hateful man. She shifted her body back and the ropes bit into her wrists even more deeply. His emerald eyes studied her intimately, and then he reached a hand to her breast and cupped it. “Dalton will kill you for this,” she snapped angrily. Briggs set down the glass on a marble topped table beside a leather recliner. “You’re here like this for Dalton. That’s what we’re waiting for.” “What are you talking about?” “It’s just part of his continuing education. He’s going to learn something new tonight.” Briggs was so calm, so cheerful, and that made him even scarier. “Where is that woman? Where is Sadie?” Ava said. She was the one who’d rung the doorbell. Was she in on whatever was going on here?

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““She’s gone home for the night. She doesn’t know what I have planned. She’s a good woman who never asks questions. She just follows orders.” “Dalton’s not going to let you have me!” Ava said angrily. “I don’t know why you think I brought you here, but never in your darkest nightmares could you understand, yet.” “I know why you brought me here. You’re going to try to convince Dalton to let you fuck me,” Ava spat. “It won’t work, he’d kill you first!” Briggs kissed her cheek. “While the thought of fucking you is tempting, I’m really not that interested. I was once, but now I know who you are, and where you came from. It just wouldn’t be nearly as much fun this time.” His fingers grasped her nipples tightly, and then he twisted them until she cried out. Something tried to fight its way to the surface in her hazy mind. Something about the monster. That first night, he’d done the same thing, over and over. Briggs squeezed and twisted again, harder this time until Ava shrieked. As he dropped his hands away, he laughed. It was a familiar sound, she’d heard it before. She went limp with shock, and her mouth gaped open. “Ah, you remember me now, my dear? That’s good. All young ladies should remember their first lover.” Flashbacks of pain screamed through her head. 124

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“It was you! That first night at that house, it was you!” Ava gasped. He smiled broadly. “I hope Bobby wasn’t terribly disappointing to you after having had the privilege of being fucked by me first.” “Let me go,” she pleaded, truly terrified now. “You weren’t supposed to ever go. The only place you were supposed to go was to the cellar with me. You’d have been allowed to see my face then. It would have been the last thing you ever saw.” While a billion thoughts raced through her head she could only manage to speak one word. “Why?” He breathed raggedly, and his eyes blazed. “It’s a pleasure you could never understand. Death. It’s the ultimate pleasure. Watching the tears and the faces filled with pure terror. Watching the light fade from their eyes and the skin grow paler.” He stroked down the side of her face softly. Waves of nausea rolled through her stomach. “You’ll be exquisite. I think you are the most beautiful one Bobby ever caught. Such beautiful dark blue eyes! Bobby did love the blue-eyed blondes. I never noticed until today. When I saw those girls on television, you all looked so alike. I never paid attention to any of that before. I didn’t want to be distracted from the task at hand.” Ava blinked back her tears. “You killed that girl the first night I was there. You killed her before you raped me!”

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“I killed them all. That’s what they were there for, only for my pleasure. That was the entire purpose of their existence.” “I heard her,” Ava sobbed. “She begged you.” John chuckled. “They all did. Even the ones who started out tough, who cursed and fought, in the end, they all begged. You will too, my dear. “Except you will beg Dalton, not me. I think I will enjoy watching that even more. Watching as my boy finally becomes a real man.” “He won’t hurt me,” Ava said firmly. “He will. You don’t know him like I do.” “And you don’t know him like I do. He’s not what you’ve tried so hard to make him. He has feelings. He’s not you! He has a heart!” “He’ll learn to be like me. Even if he has no other choice. Father’s have to give their sons tough love sometimes.” “You’re not his father! His father is dead.” “And since then, he’s been mine. I freed him, took him into my home, and gave him employment. I gave him his life and he owes me.” “You used him. You tried to program him to do whatever you want!”Ava shouted. “And he has. Always, without question. Until you. And now he will be rid of you, so he can get back to concentrating on what’s really important.” “He loves me.” Briggs ran his hand up her hip. “What he does with you, he can do with any woman. He’s done it with Sadie more times than I could ever count. I’m sure she’s more skillful than you could ever be. 126

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What he has with me can’t be duplicated. I am his life, his whole world.” He picked up his glass and drained it. “Now, you have to excuse me. I’m going upstairs to wait for Dalton. We’ll be down as soon as he arrives, and then the fun will really begin.” “You’re wrong,” Ava said. “You’ll be the one who dies, not me.” “You’re putting far too much faith in a man who killed his own flesh and blood,” Briggs replied calmly. “That’s why I chose Dalton. I saw the stories in the newspaper about this boy who had so much hatred in his heart that he beat his own father to death with his bare hands. “Did you know he broke almost every bone in that man’s body? I knew a boy like that could be molded in someone very useful for a man like me.” “He didn’t have a choice, he was defending himself!” Ava replied. “That’s what the jury believed, so I suppose that’s all that matters. But he went far beyond just defending himself. He wanted to obliterate that man and he did. “Do you know it was almost a full hour after his father hit him with the bottle before Dalton began beating him? He waited until the man was passed out drunk on the sofa. “A neighbor telephoned the police and when they arrived, Dalton was still beating him. The boy broke bones in his own hands, he was so intent on destroying his father.” 127

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Ava couldn’t imagine Dalton like that, but, if this was true, she knew he’d had a good reason for what he’d done. “You don’t understand love, and you never will. You’re a sick, horrible man, and I’ll be happy when he kills you,” she said. A high-pitched buzzing sound filled the room. Briggs smiled at her. “My son is at the gate. Excuse me, I must go let him in.”

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Chapter Ten The suitcase was heavy and Dalton was in a bad mood. It was drizzling out, and the night air was cold. He’d rather be home with Ava right now than here waiting for Briggs to answer the door. Briggs knew he was at the gate a few minutes ago when he buzzed him. Why in the hell was he taking so long to answer the door? He jabbed at the doorbell again, impatiently. He didn’t know why he was so annoyed. He should feel proud. He was holding more money than he’d ever even seen. For just a moment on the drive back from Oakmont, he’d thought about all that money in the case on the floor. The life he could have with it. Him and Ava, somewhere far away, leading a normal life. It had only been a fleeting thought. The fact that John Briggs trusted him was worth more than all this money. There was the prospect of even bigger jobs now. He was moving up. The door finally opened and John stood beaming, his eyes on the suitcase. “You got it!” John said, clapping his hands like an excited child. “I did,” Dalton replied, holding the case out to him. “I’m tired. It’s all there. You know you can trust me.” 129

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“Bring it in. I want you to take it downstairs to my office. We’ll count it together. Then I’ll pay you.” “John, I really just want to go home,” he said anxiously. “I’m exhausted and I need some sleep. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about letting me have some time off. I’d like to take a vacation. Maybe to Jamaica, I’ve always wanted to go there.” John nodded. “You finish tonight’s work and you can have as much time off as you need.” “Okay,” Dalton agreed, as he stepped into the house. Briggs’ eyes glittered, and he began patting Dalton down. “I’m not armed. The gun’s in the truck,” Dalton said with a sigh. He’d fucked things up by bringing that gun with him the night he brought Ava here. “Come on, let’s go downstairs,” Briggs gave him a light shove. As Dalton began walking down the hall in front of John, the hair on the back of his neck prickled. For some reason, he began wondering if he was going to wind up with a bullet in his back. “What’s going on, John? Something just doesn’t feel right about this.” He heard a click as Briggs shoved a magazine into a gun behind him. “Downstairs, now. I’m tired of waiting!” “What the hell’s going on, John? The money’s all here. Every bit of it.” “Take it and go down the fucking steps,” Briggs said coldly. 130

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Halfway down the steps he heard a sound that crushed him. Ava was screaming. “Dalton? He’s crazy. He’s crazy! He’s the monster.” Bolting down the remaining steps, he found Ava, naked and bound, suspended from a beam in the corner of the huge office. She was crying and the panicked look in her eyes enraged him. He had sworn to himself he would keep this girl safe and he’d failed her. He spun around and faced John. “If you even fucking touched her…” He threw the suitcase to the floor and the latch disengaged. A few stray bills fluttered in the air and settled onto the hardwood floor. “I know you lied to me, son,” Briggs said calmly. “I know where you met her. I know where you got her from. I suspected before, but after the news stories…well, I know now.” “So what, John? You know. Then you know Arlow was a sick fuck who killed women. Yes, that’s where she came from. So fucking what? Arlow got what he deserved for killing those girls.” “Bobby wasn’t a killer. He liked making them submit. He liked having complete power over them but he didn’t have the heart of a killer.” “It was him,” Ava sobbed. Dalton felt a sickening twist in his stomach. It couldn’t have been Briggs. He’d seen Ava at Arlow’s house. Arlow had even laughed about her screaming, so how was it Briggs? John Briggs wasn’t 131

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capable of raping and murdering women. John was a smart business man, not some sick piece of shit. Briggs ignored Ava completely, focusing on Dalton. “I have a new job opening. One I hope you will consider. You see, Bobby Arlow worked for me, too. He was a collector, like you, Dalton, except what he collected was more valuable to me than money.” “What the fuck are you talking about?” Dalton asked, his mind reeling. “He collected women. He had quite a talent for it. He apparently liked them like you do, son, petite, blue-eyed blondes. I didn’t care what they looked like. “I swear Bobby must have been able to smell if a girl was a virgin or not. That’s all I ever cared about. I didn’t want to see their faces. I only wanted to make them feel pain. Everywhere.” Dalton could feel himself trembling as his mind tried to accept what John was saying. Briggs raised the gun up so it was trained on Dalton’s head. “Your little Ava tried to be tough. Even tied up, she twisted and bucked. I think I hit her a good five times before she started to cry. Soon enough, I had her crying and begging to be let go. “She cried so sweetly, I was tempted to take off her hood so I could see her tears. I didn’t, though. I didn’t want to be distracted. Besides, I knew I’d eventually see her beg when I had her in the cellar. I’d see her tears in earnest when she begged for her life. And the new girl would hear her, and know she was next.” 132

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Dalton clenched his fist. In the back of his mind, he’d always felt like John was partially responsible for Ava being safe. After all, John had sent him to that house on Vista Lane where Dalton had found her. It was hard to accept that all of the pain and all of the trauma Ava had gone through was because of John Briggs. “Bobby always left for that part. He didn’t like it, couldn’t stand hearing them die. He wasn’t man enough. His job paid very well, Dalton. You’ll be a wealthy man. You won’t squander the money away on drugs like Bobby did.” Briggs was still pointing that fucking gun right at him, and Ava was tied up right behind him. He needed to get that gun out of John’s hand. “What are the terms of this job?” Dalton asked. He tried to calm down because it was going to take a lot of finesse to get that gun. “Twenty grand for each girl. I get them first, and then you can play with them for a while, until you find a fresh one. Then you call me, and my face is the last thing they ever see. After, you do the clean-up, and don’t go getting sloppy like Bobby did. He was too lazy to take them and dump them after a while. That’s why they found them there. You’ll take them somewhere and dump them. You won’t fuck things up like Bobby.” “I don’t understand why, John. Why?” He heard his own voice crack. “If you only knew. It’s better than sex. I am God.” 133

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“Why did you send me there to collect money? If you paid him for working for you, then how did he owe you money?” “Bobby wanted to keep her,” Briggs said, gesturing to Ava with disgust. “I told him to get a new one. I was tired of waiting and Bobby was broke. He asked to borrow money and I loaned him five thousand. He didn’t even make his mortgage payment. He snorted that money up his nose and still kept her. “I figured if I sent you, he’d wise up. You’d give him a scare and he’d get in his car and get to work. Then I could finally finish with her. How did you even find out she was there?” “He offered her. A trade to buy some time,” Dalton replied. Briggs lowered the gun slightly and stared at him wide eyed. “Are you telling the truth?” “Yeah, he unlocked the door and told me to take her.” “I can’t believe he just gave her to you. He was so hell bent on keeping her, and he would have known I’d find out. Maybe he was so high he didn’t know what he was doing,” he sounded shaken. “Maybe he didn’t want you to kill her,” Dalton said softly. “I don’t want you to kill her, either. Come on, John, just let her go. I won’t say nothing about the other girls to anybody, just let Ava go.” Dalton moved towards him slowly, and Briggs raised the gun back up. “I’m not going to kill her. I’m going to let you be the one, Dalton. I’m going to let you do it.” 134

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“What are you talking about?” “I want you to kill her.” “You’re completely fucking insane, John. Put down the gun and let me cut her down.” “Look, Dalton, I can shoot you right now and then do it myself. If I kill you, I will be losing another collector. “Either way, the girl will die, be it by your hands or mine. You can prove yourself to me now, Dalton. You can be a man.” Dalton felt a sliver of fear shoot through him. He’d give up his own life to save Ava, but if John killed him first, there was no way he could protect her anymore. “What do you want me to do, John?” he asked numbly. “Ruin her. Destroy what you love. Cut her until she begs for mercy that you won’t give.” Dalton let his hand slip down to the knife on his hip. John just wasn’t close enough. Even if he tried to throw it, John could get off a shot first. He unsnapped the sheath with shaky fingers, and slid it out slowly. Briggs’ eyes positively glowed. Dalton turned around slowly to face Ava. She wasn’t crying now. She didn’t even look all that afraid anymore. He swallowed hard. Damn, Ava was tougher than he was because he was terrified right now. Then she actually smiled at him, “I love you, Russ.” 135

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He wanted to weep. He remembered Russ. Russ was the little boy who had a mother, a mother who loved him. He used to sit on her lap and listen to stories she read to him, stories that rhymed about boxes and foxes. She’d stand between him and his father, trying to protect him from being abused. A tiny woman with a brave spirit and a heart so full of love for him. She’d died when he was eight, died, trying as always, to protect him. His father told everyone she fell down the stairs, but the little boy Russ knew better. And the little boy named Russ waited, and he got bigger. He wasn’t Russ anymore, he was just “boy” until one Saturday afternoon, still bleeding from a gash on his chest, that “boy” looked down at a drunken, sleeping man on a sofa. The man who had taken away his mother, the man who had turned Russ into “boy,” and he’d suddenly exploded. He barely remembered anything after that but now he realized that the only two people in his life who had ever loved him called him Russ. One had died trying to protect him. If he had to die to protect the other one, he would.

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Chapter Eleven Dalton was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He looked very big and incredibly powerful. Those muscles were like tempered steel, she thought as he stood in front of her, holding that huge knife in his hand. It stunned her for a moment that he was actually shaking. He touched her face gently. “Ava, I’m sorry it’s come to this. I’m so sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry!” Ava looked fixedly at him with unwavering trust. “I know you are, Dalton. I love you, too.” “Use the knife, Dalton!” Briggs barked. He turned back towards John. “I want to talk to her for a few minutes first. I want her to know that I’m only doing this because I have to. I want to touch her and I want to tell her goodbye.” His voice sounded strange, almost like he was a little boy. Dalton’s hand ran slowly through her hair. “God, you are so beautiful Ava. I won’t ever forget you. I’ll never forget the way my life was with you.” “I know you won’t.” She could see how afraid he was right now, but she felt incredibly calm. From the moment he pulled out that knife, she just somehow knew they would both be okay. He would protect her. Somehow he would find a way. 137

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“Do you know I would have waited forever for you? Even if you never wanted to feel a man touch you ever again?’ “I always wanted you, Dalton. I’m sorry it took so long.” “There is nothing you ever have to be sorry for…” She felt the knife’s blade press hard against her throat. “I’ve thought about so many things since you came into my life.” He swallowed hard, and a tear actually trickled down his cheek. “I’ve even imagined what our children would look like, and what a loving and kind mother you would be to them. You’d read them stories and hold them on your lap.” Ava felt herself tremble and she let out a sob, not because of the knife at her throat, but because she’d never thought Dalton would think anything like that. With his job, having a family didn’t seem a likely possibility. He wanted a family. This man wasn’t Dalton, he was Russ, and she had no idea why that name was so important to him, but she knew that Russ was someone different. Someone he desperately wanted to be. Someone who he already was, and for some reason she knew it was because of her. She wished she could touch his face and wipe the tears away. John’s horrid voice taunted him. “I hope you aren’t crying, son. This is only a job, nothing more.” 138

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She blinked back her tears and her eyes slipped past Dalton, settling onto John Briggs. She’d relied on Dalton so long to be strong. It was time to be strong on her own. “Your dick is small,” she said icily. “A man who likes to rape virgins because he wants them to feel pain should have a nice big cock. Not that pathetic little thing you have.” “I’m going to enjoy watching you suffer before you die,” Briggs said coldly. “I’d rather be dead than ever have you touch me again. You have to pay women or rape them because no one would ever choose to be with you. If I’d of been with Dalton, it would have really hurt because he’s so big. I guess I should thank you for making my first time so easy with that tiny little dick you have.” “Dalton! Finish this,” Briggs shouted. “Yeah,” she hissed, “you want him to finish this because you can’t. You aren’t a man, you’re a pussy. I bet you’d like Dalton to fuck you. Do you want him in your mouth or in your ass, John?” Briggs’ hands shook wildly and he laid the gun down on the marble topped table. “Give me the knife, Dalton!” Yeah, give him the knife, right in his hateful heart. Briggs took a few steps forward. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to do this. Insolent little bitch, I’ll make you suffer long and hard.”

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Ava laughed. “Long and hard? Well, that’s not what’s between your legs, but it’s what you want in your ass, isn’t it?” Ava’s heart pounded as Briggs moved closer. Come on, motherfucker, come where he can reach you. She turned her head and spit in Briggs’ face. “Pussy!” she taunted. “Give me the knife, Dalton” Briggs roared. “No,” Dalton said calmly. “I’m going to do this. I’m going to prove to you once and for all who I really am.” John’s eyes lit up. “Do it, son!” Dalton kissed her softly. You know I don’t want to do this. It’s just business.” Ava smiled. “Do it, Russ. I know it’s nothing personal, only business.” She could feel Briggs’ breath on her skin he was so close beside her. “Do it, Dalton. Show me who you are,” Briggs ordered. Dalton drew in a deep breath. “I’m Russ,” he said softly as the knife flashed like lightning. Ava could hear the sounds of John Briggs’ last breaths as the knife plunged deep into his chest. Briggs clutched her shoulder for a second before he crumpled to the floor. Russ sliced the rope from her wrists as his eyes studied her intently. “I didn’t scare you, did I? You did know I wasn’t going to hurt you?”

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“You’ve never scared me. I’ve always trusted you.” Then, overwhelmed, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. “It’s over now, Ava, all of it.” “I can’t believe you have wondered what our children will look like!” she cried. “I just never thought that you felt that way.” He smiled. “Haven’t you ever wondered?” Ava couldn’t speak, so she nodded. “That’s good, maybe someday we’ll find out.” Ava kissed him softly. “You’ll be a good father, Russ.” He took his jacket off and wrapped it around her gently. He stepped over Briggs’ body and closed the suitcase, leaving the few bills that had fallen out where they were. Ava looked down and watched John’s blood spreading in a puddle across the floor until it reached the stray money. “Remember that vacation we were supposed to take?” Russ asked, as he picked up the suitcase.

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Epilogue Ava sat at the kitchen table threading string through seashells. She and Russ had gathered them yesterday on the beach. He had carefully drilled a small hole through each of them and she attached them to a cross of driftwood. The end result was going to be wind chimes for the front porch. She tied on the last shell, and realized they hadn’t gathered enough. The screen door clattered shut and Russ stood in the doorway, shirtless and bronzed by the sun. Ava smiled at him. “You’re up early. Did you go for a walk on the beach?” “I had something I had to do,” he said, appearing very serious. Her eyes focused on the canvas bag he was holding. “What did you have to do?” “I had to do a bit of collecting,” he replied, breaking into a smile. He tipped the bag and seashells spilled out onto the table. Ava laughed as he pulled her from the chair into his arms. As far as she was concerned Russell Dalton was the best collector in the world.

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About The Author Melissa Harlow was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. She lives on a small farm with her husband and children, and enjoys raising chickens and gardening. She has been married for over 11 years to her tolerant husband, who has managed to put up with not only her, but the wide variety of pets that have shared their lives. Currently their home is shared by dogs, cats, and her much loved and spoiled pet raccoon. Yes, the raccoon lives in the house, and yes, raccoons can be destructive! Hers enjoys removing keys from keyboards. (This makes it hard for an author to type!) She happily lives in the country, and frequently gets the mail in her pajamas. Besides writing, she has a fondness for computer games, cold beer, and stray animals.

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Acknowledgements The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Glock: GLOCK Ges.mbH PO Box 9 PO Box 9 A-2232 Deutsch Wagram A-2232 German Wagram AUSTRIA Wendy’s: Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. 1155 Perimeter Center West Atlanta, GA 30338 Burger King: Burger King Corporation 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive Miami, Florida 33126 Chevy Silverado: Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors Corp. PO Box 33170: Detroit, MI 48232-5170 Freezer Queen: Freezer Queen Foods, Inc. • 975 Fuhrmann Blvd • Buffalo NY 14203

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