Page 47 of Caged Bird

Buried deep inside me, he shouted my name.

And it was like he’d summoned my orgasm to meet his. Feeling exploded inside me, a gush of arousal or his cum, I didn’t know which, coating my inner thighs. I gripped him harder, pressing my nails into his back while we both fell apart in each other’s arms.

I felt the orgasm in every part of me, from my toes to the very top of my head, and even though we’d both come, Zane didn’t stop kissing me. His kisses turned from frantic and demanding to soft and sweet, and I squealed when he lowered us both back into the water to clean up.

But he was still inside me, and I didn’t want him to leave.

So he just held me there, his dick warm inside, while the water cooled our heated skin.

“I don’t want to go back,” he murmured.

“Me neither. But Otis…”

“I know.” He pulled away and scrubbed his face with his hand. Guilt suddenly took the place of the desire that had been there only moments before.

I froze. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “I need to tell you something. But before I do, I need you to know I didn’t have sex with you just now because I thought it would be my only chance. I didn’t even mean to have sex with you at all…” His brow was full of stress lines. “I just wanted to get you out of that house and do something nice for you.”

I nodded, believing him. “I know. But you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“The police know you’re here. They know what’s going on. I crashed the car on purpose earlier. And when I was giving my details to the cops, and the other guys were all occupied making statements, I told them about you and Otis and that you’re being held here against your will.”

Shock punched through me. “You what? What did they say?”

His eyes gleamed. “They’re coming out to investigate. All you have to do is tell them the truth, Fawn. They’ll escort you off the property.”

A traitorous glimmer of hope lit up inside me. But my fingers trembled, and I shook my head. “He’ll just come after us. You know he will. He’ll find us wherever we go. Just like he found you. I can’t say anything to the police.”

Zane gripped my arms tighter. “He can’t find you if he’s in prison. His guys are blabbermouths. The ‘legit’ company they’re running is one they blackmailed their way into owning, and it just so happens, they have the contract for the biggest insurance company in the area. I’ll bet anything the house we set on fire earlier today was insured through them.”

“Which means Eddie has a legal company they can use to wash the cash from their illegal activities.”

“Can guarantee Eddie’s never built so much as a treehouse, let alone one that would pass any sort of building code. He’s just keeping the owners happy with extra work in exchange for them washing his cash. If they know where to look, and who to press, the cops can trace all of that back to Eddie.”

I shook my head. “He’ll be out in ninety days. He’ll barely get a slap on the wrist for the drug charges. I don’t even think there’s any in the house right now. It would be a misdemeanor at best.”

Zane brushed water out of his eyes. “It’s not just the drugs. They’ve started helping the Guerras traffic women.”

My mouth dropped open. “Eddie told you that?”

“No, but his guys have big mouths. And human trafficking attracts a jail sentence that’s a lot longer than ninety days.” He gripped my fingers. “You just need to tell them the truth.”

“And he’ll end up in prison,” I whispered, the glimmer of hope shining just a little brighter.

Zane tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you’ll be free.”

“We’ll all be free.”

Zane nodded, breathing out a soft breath. “We should get back.”

We dried off quickly and dressed, Zane dragging on his stinking work clothes, me slipping back into the dress that had gotten sweaty from the walk out here. But I didn’t notice the smell anymore.

All I smelled as we walked back to Eddie and the house of horrors he’d created, was freedom.

13

ZANE

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