Page 68 of Chasing Storm

Joey holds his hands up, and says, “Whatever you want, I’ll give you, but you have to let Teagan go.”

His lunatic laughter cuts through the air, and then he grows angry.

Placing the gun against my temple, he screams, “I don’t have to do anything! I call the shots.”

We all grow quiet. He lowers the gun, and in its place, licks the side of my face while staring at Joey for a reaction.

“You also destroyed my empire.” His voice rises to a shout. “The empire I worked my life for to take care of you and your whore of a mother.” He jabs the gun in the air toward Joey. “Instead, you ruined everything.” James gets control of his breathing before uttering to Joey crippling words. “I was kind to just wrench your bitch of a mother from you.” He locks eyes on Joey. “When I carried her screaming and kicking, I should have shot her in the head, and turned the gun on the sniveling simp you were.”

No child should ever hear their parent say they want them dead. Even though Joey is aware this isn’t going to end well, those words are like spikes through the heart. But Joey doesn’t flinch. His steady stare on James freezes the blood in my veins. It’s a “I don’t give a fuck what you think of me” stare. One that bolts Joey in place. His mind distracts him from sanity, conjuring different scenarios to off James. Except James is the one holding the gun and we’re at his mercy.

James scrubs his mouth with his hand, eyes skirting between me and Joey, until they remain on me. “Maybe I should fuck your wife in front of you. Show her how it feels to be with a real man.”

I speak up and say, “Fucking you would be equivalent to fucking a marshmallow. Didn’t the phrase limp dick derive from you?”

James buckles over from laughter, holding his stomach, eyes on Joey. It’s a frightening laugh. He pretends to be crying by wiping under his eyes and thenwham, the back of his hand smacks me in the face. I coddle my cheek. He comes into my space, and Joey stands.

James cocks the gun toward Joey. “One more step and this little bitch will get more than a slap.”

He moves us to the other side of the kitchen island, slams me against the refrigerator, and kicks my legs apart.

I should have never mouthed off, but I feared Joey might do something he couldn’t take back. And since James is more focused on killing Joey, I figured I could get away with diverting his attention. Unfortunately, I didn’t think that far ahead. James might not want me dead right now, but he’s up for raping me.

Joey is on the other side, and his voice booms. “James!” We turn to him. “I’ll get your money. We’ll talk to Leo about bringing you on as leader again for Malone’s Disciples.”

“Do you honestly think I’m stupid, Joe? What’s done is done.”

He rounds the island, grabs a butcher knife, and approaches Joey with the gun pointed at him. “Put your hand on the counter.”

Without hesitating, Joey does so, and James drives the knife through his hand, pinning him to the counter. Joey cries out at first but remains quiet. The shoulder wound is still bleeding. By instinct, I jump forward, reaching for Joey as tears pour down my face. I’m sobbing, begging James not to hurt him again.

The gun turns in my direction. “Shut up.” He lets out a sardonic laugh. “This is your fault, you know. It’s that fucking mouth of yours. Obviously, my son didn’t heed my warning when I told him to use his cock to occupy your mouth.”

He comes back to me, and Joey shouts, “The money!” He’s broken a sweat, breathing uneven, but he continues. “A good amount is in the safe in my office.”

James acts as if it’s a joke by patting the air in front of him. “Calm down. We’ll get to that.” He turns to me. “First, I want to try this sweet pussy of yours. Didn’t I tell you that’s what I was going to do?”

He grabs my shirt and tears it, exposing more of my bra. I slap his hand away. There’s no way I can let this happen again. How the hell am I going to stop it and keep Joey safe?

James pushes against me, places his feet next to the arches of mine, widening my legs, and squeezes my breasts. He places the gun on the counter out of my reach. Joey and I are both screaming at him. He unbuttons and unzips my shorts, shoving them and my underwear down to mid-thigh, while I shriek, punch, and elbow him. Joey’s face twists in agony. He’s shouting for James to stop, trying to dislodge the knife at the same time. James’ zipper goes down and my scared eyes lock on Joey’s. He’s pitching the knife back and forth to loosen it from the counter, grimacing because he’s causing more damage. James rubs his cock to harden it more, running it along my lips.

Finally, Joey frees himself, gripping the knife. James hears him, swivels to the side of me, dick hanging out, and we both go for his gun. He’s faster, elbowing me in the face and pointing it at Joey.

A shot cracks the air, two more following, and glass shatters.

Epilogue

3-years later

“Come on, Princess. We’re going to be late.”

Lily runs around her room in just her diaper, hugging her Teddy Bear and giggling. I catch her, toss her in the air, and plant kisses all over her face. This gets her every time. She rubs her face into my cheek and her tiny toes inch their way onto my shoulders so she can stand up. Instead, I carry her into the closet, shuffling through the dresses.

I point to a dress and ask Lily, “How about this one?”

Her sweet voice, chirps, “K.”

Every dress I point at gets the same response. Teagan was in such a hurry to get to school, she forgot to pick out a dress for Lily. My beautiful wife graduates with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology today. It was a struggle, especially being pregnant with Lily. I’m proud as fuck of her. She left earlier to meet classmates prior to taking the stage. The rest of the crowd is meeting us there. Even though she was only allowed two tickets, everyone wants to watch her walk across the stage, so they’ll be standing behind the chairs at the outdoor ceremony. The only ones missing will be Leo, Isabella, and Maya. Isabella is nine months pregnant and unable to fly, but they sent Teagan a gift.

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