Page 16 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

The lights were dim and smoke choked the air. I coughed, my throat automatically closing in protest, and my eyes watering against the intrusion. I stumbled behind Mitch, helpless with my limited senses, and tried to get my bearings, searching the room for the voices I could hear.

When my gaze finally found the source of at least two of the voices, I wished they hadn’t. The blonde guy I’d seen last time, Davo I think his name was, was with a small dark haired girl on the lounge, and from what I could see, she was naked below the waist with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he half kneeled, half lay on top of her. It wasn’t until I saw him rocking violently that I realized what they were doing.

I gasped with horrified shock, instantly averting my eyes, but instead of finding relief, I only found more scantily clad girls with TJ’s other guys, passing a strange looking pipe between them.

Mitch threw Ken’s bag onto one of the guy’s laps. “Check it,” he demanded, then turned to me, thrusting his hands into my jacket pockets, pulling out my cell and thrusting it into his own pocket.

He grabbed me by the waist, forcefully turning me so my back, thankfully, was to everything going on. Untying my jacket belt, he unbuttoned it with sure fingers and pulled it open to reveal my clothing underneath.

I watched him pause for a few heartbeats, his eyes widening with surprise as he gazed down at my very short fitted dress and knee high boots. I tensed under his gaze. His eyes shot up to seek mine, his breath noticeably faster, but before I could think any more about it, his hands reached under my jacket, running quickly, but softly, over my body, searching for God knew what.

I gasped at the small jolt of thrill that shot through my insides. What the hell? I was seriously losing it if I was feeling a thrill at being touched by a drug dealer. Mitch’s jaw tightened a fraction before his hands disappeared, leaving me feeling strangely confused.

“She’s clean,” he said, his voice rough.

I didn’t know who he was talking to. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off the hard set of his jaw.

“Good. Have fun.” I recognized TJ’s voice from behind me.

Have fun? What? My head suddenly cleared, registering what he meant. Shit! No! These people were disgusting. I knew I had to be strong for Mom, but to what extent?

Mitch grabbed my jacket again, roughly pulling at it, overlapping the edges until my dress was concealed beneath it. He glanced up at me sharply, anger flashing in the depths of his eyes. I couldn’t hide my fear. I knew it was etched all over my face.

He jerked his head towards the stairs. “Let’s go.”

My eyes widened and I shook my head in a panic.

His expression hardened even more. “You want me to fuck you down here so everyone can watch?”

The world stopped spinning. It was in that moment I realized I was still holding onto the hope that he wouldn’t go any further than he did the last time I was there. Despair washed through me and my eyes stung even more.

“That’s what I thought. Now move.”

Taking me by the arm again, he led me over to the stairs and pulled me, stumbling and tripping, upwards.

Chapter 14

Noah

I released Kaeli’s arm the second she was safe inside my room, and turned to quickly shut and lock the door.

The memory of her broken expression was burnt on my fucking brain. I fucking hated myself for having to speak to her that way, but TJ was standing there watching me. What the fuck else was I supposed to do?!

Spinning, I dragged my hands over the short stubbles of my hair. “Fuck!”

I had no fucking idea what to do. I didn’t know how to do this without leaving a permanent fucking scar on her state of mind.

Striding across to the other side of the room, I splashed some bourbon into a glass and threw it back. I wanted to throw the fucking thing at the wall and watch it shatter into a million pieces.

Slamming the glass down on the table, I spun around to face her. When my eyes fell on her she took a fearful step back. Motherfucking hell.

She stared back at me, eyes wide. Well, at least she wasn’t fucking crying, although I wasn’t sure if that really made me feel any better.

Everything about her was cautious, from her gaze to her stance. Her chest moved rapidly as she took short shallow breaths, her arms were wrapped tightly across her stomach, protecting herself the only way she could, looking very much like the prey caught in the hunter’s trap, and her body was coiled tight, ready to fight.

Taking a deep, calm-the-fuck-down breath, I took a slow step toward her. She took one back. I stopped.

Even though the guys ribbed me about the different needs I supposedly had with girls, I knew TJ watched me. I didn’t think he was entirely convinced about my preference to choose my own girls and have them in private. I knew he’d be looking for details. I needed him to believe I was having my way with her. And that meant she needed to look a little roughed up.

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