Page 48 of Darkened Truths
I nod and continue. “Girls, and sometimes boys, depending on the client, weapons, and drugs are the most lucrative businesses. You’ll find most families at Pointebreak have their hands in these trades.” Riley nods, which gives me the confidence to continue. “I’ve never liked it, but that’s my reality. I learned early on what we do and to keep my emotions out of it. When I turned fourteen, my dad gave me a girl as a birthday present to use.”
I still remember it. I lost my virginity to a drugged out girl who couldn’t even tell me where she was. She was so high onwhatever the hell they gave her. Her name was Mallory. That was about all I got from her before she undid my pants and climbed on top of me and rode me until I came. I was fourteen and horny. It’s not my proudest moment. I didn't know her age, how long she'd been held captive, or anything else. I know she did that job like a pro, like someone who knew that was their fate and she had accepted it.
Dreams of saving her flitted in and out of my head for the next few weeks. When I asked my father about her, he smiled and assumed I wanted another girl to fuck. Not that I wanted to save the one whose lost brown eyes had already taken root in my subconscious.. He was almost proud of me. I felt disgusted with myself and my family. I confided in Elias and he told me it’s just the way things were. My mom doesn’t know, I never told her. She knows the type of man my father is, but never stopped him.
“Anyway, after that night, I knew I wanted nothing to do with my father’s business or his clientele.”
“And what about your brother?”
I give a mirthless laugh. “He was the golden boy, and my father’s shining star. Elias was following in his footsteps like the prodigal son he was. But a lot of what he did was to protect me. We may have the same parents, but we were very different. My dad got his claws into Elias at an early age and molded him to be a carbon copy of himself. Elias knew as long as he took over, I would be free to do what I wanted. And in a way, I’ll always be indebted to him. I’m more like my mom when it comes to people. She cares too much for them.”
“How does that work when your dad sells people like animals? Doesn’t it bother her?” Riley’s getting heated. The blanket is being crushed between her clenched hands.
“Not much you can do when you’re forced into a marriage, Hellcat. She hates it, I know she does. But she can’t do anythingabout it. She focused her energy on us instead. She was always offering a shoulder and a hug whenever we needed to feel loved.”
“She sounds nice, Wes.”
I nod. “Yeah, she was.”
Riley scrunches her face. “Was? I thought she was alive.”
My fingers find my hair, and I run them through again. “My father blamed me for the death of my brother,” I pause and swallow hard, “and in a way, he’s not wrong. I was at a party that night. I was seventeen, hanging with my friends, and things got a bit more exciting than usual. Drugs and alcohol were flying around like candy thrown at a parade. It wasn’t my scene, but my friends were too high to go anywhere. I wanted to leave, but I was drunk and knew I couldn’t make it home safely.” Taking a deep breath, I push it out before I continue. “Elias was making sure there were no issues with a shipment that night while my parents were at a charity event. It’s not the first time, as dad was doing it more and more frequently.”
I snort. Ironically, they attended a human trafficking awareness event. I think it was my dad’s sick way of getting his kicks in. Knowing he was the one responsible for a lot of missing persons. But it was also an easy way to keep the target off his back. Who would ever suspect the man who donates hundreds of thousands to a cause that exists because of evil men like him?
“I called him and asked him to come get me. He was a good brother, would do anything for me, and handed the responsibility of handling the shipment to his right-hand man, Marcus.”
I don’t enjoy talking about this, about Elias. I want to claw my heart out. It’s my fucking fault. Riley must sense my hesitation because she crawls over to me and sits on my lap, rubbing my shoulders.
“Hey, it’s okay. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. You’ve shared so much already. Thank you.” She kisses my jaw andmolds her body against mine. Her warmth seeps into my bones, a comforting shift to the dead I feel inside.
I want to stop. I can't tell her it's my damn fault he's dead. But she deserves to know. She needs to hear my darkened truths, even if it drives her away from me. She’ll never be free of me, even if she doesn’t know that yet.
“Someone was tailing him. Elias was so intent on getting me out of that party that he forgot to keep tabs on the surrounding cars.” I shake my head, the memories flooding back like a damn broke. “Shortly after hitting the highway to bring me home, a car rammed into us from behind, sending us spiraling into the guardrail. If the impact hadn't thrown him through the windshield, we both would have survived.”
She covers her mouth with her hands and shakes her head in disbelief. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Wes. I don’t even know what to say.”
She hugs me tight as I rub her back, hoping the feel of her will ease some of the anxiety trembling through me. “My dad blamed me for his death and my mother shut down. That was almost four years ago.”
“How old were you?” she asks.
“Seventeen. Pointebreak was always in the cards, but I couldn’t wait to come. I couldn’t wait to get away from my father’s wrathful words and my mother’s vacant expression. She died the day he did. I remember hearing her wail when they arrived at the scene and the cops had to tell her he was dead on arrival. My father held her up and glared daggers at me the whole time. When we got home, he beat the shit out of me with no regards to my injuries.”
I smile like it’s no big deal, reverting to my carefree persona, but she doesn’t let me.
“He’s a monster, Wes. Who would do something like that?”
“Christos.” I deadpan. Her arms tighten around me, a comforting pressure that makes me tremble, and I hug her back tightly. “Thanks, Riley.” I kiss her shoulder, and then her neck, before slowly finding my way to her lips. I want her so damn much it hurts.
“I need you, Riles.” She grinds down on my lap, slowly working her hips back and forth over me as she attaches her mouth to my throat. Her quiet moans of pleasure stirring my growing desire for her. “I don’t have a condom.”
I didn’t expect this turn of events when I left the house. This isn’t how I pictured her reacting. “I’m clean, though.”
“And I’m on birth control,” she groans as she fumbles with my belt between us.
My abs clench with the thought of feeling her bare. I’ve never fucked anyone without protection, but with Riley, I want there to be nothing between us. I want to feel every bit of her and I want to come deep inside her. My dick jumps at the thought of my seed deep inside her, dripping out of her and down her thighs. I could get used to that.
I lean back and give her the access she needs to undo my pants and free my aching cock.
