Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
She blinks, her long, fake dark lashes fanning her cheeks. “I’m having…to save myself for my Lord.”
I tilt my head to the side in thought. “Who is your Lord?”
“Don’t know. Don’t have one.” She slurs.
Fuck! I’m getting nowhere and she’s not making any goddamn sense. Kneeling in front of her chair, I place my hands on her smooth thighs, and she tries to part them more as if she wants me to bury my face between them. She groans, and her dark blue eyes meet mine, silently begging me to use her.
“So this isn’t about revenge?” I have to ask.
Her dark brows furrow, and she gently shakes her head. “Who would I want revenge on?”
She doesn’t know.
“Haidyn-” She licks her lips, her thighs clenching under my hands as she tries to pull them farther apart. “Please…”
I stand to my full height and run my hand through her soft curls but don’t say anything. I know what she wants, but she’s not getting it tonight. Not like this.
Her head falls forward.
Reaching out, I gently cup her chin and push her head back to see her eyes closed. I wait a few seconds to see if they open. When they don’t, I remove my knife from my pocket and cut through the tape that secures her wrists to the chair and then her legs. Picking her up, I carry her to her bedroom and place her in bed.
She’ll be fine to sleep it off. She’ll probably be out most of the day after the night she had last night plus the drugs.
Pulling the covers up to her neck, I leave her room when I catch sight of her desk over by the window. I remember seeing it on the cameras after she called and woke up from her stay in the basement.
I pick up the laptop, tuck it under my arm, then lock up her house, leaving her to rest. Our little truth session is over for now. But it doesn’t mean we won’t have another one.
I’m sitting on my couch sipping on a glass of scotch when I hear a bike rev its engine. I get up and make my way to the garage. Opening the garage door, I lean up against the wall crossing my arms as Sin pulls my blacked-out R1 inside. Getting off the bike, he tosses me the keys.
“Thanks,” I tell him. “Yours are in your car.”
He nods. “No problem, man. Nice place by the way.” He walks out of the garage toward his car in the driveway.
My words make him stop. “You know her.” It’s not a question. I saw the way he looked at her last night at Blackout when he realized who it was that I was staring at. He did a double take, and I want to know why.
Sighing, he turns around to face me. “I know of her.” He corrects me.
My teeth clench. How many more Lords that I know will recognize her? You can’t try to sell a lie if everyone already knows the truth. “How?”
“William,” he answers.
I frown. “How do you know her stepdad?”
He runs a hand over his messy hair. “Before I gave myself over to you guys, I hired an attorney to help me with Elli.”
“Meaning?” I want to know exactly what William did for him.
“I bought her our house, and when I had him bring the papers over for her to sign, I had him slip in a marriage license.” His eyes drop to his wedding ring as he absentmindedly spins it around his finger before they meet mine. “And then the morning I turned myself into Carnage I met with him again-off the books-to get all my affairs in order to make sure Elli was taken care of. He had pictures of Annabelle and her mother on his desk. I’ve never met her face-to-face, and I don’t think she knows who I am.”
“So Elli knows who William is too?” I make sure I understand him. “Does she know who Annabelle is?”
He shakes his head. “No. I made up a name…introduced him as Mr. Tate. The less she knew, the better. I can’t say if she knows Annabelle or not.”
I nod, it could be worse. “This stays between us.”
“Of course.” He agrees. “But I hope you know what you’re doing.” With that, he gets into his car, starts it up, and drives off.
THIRTY-SEVEN
CHARLOTTE
It’s dark out. The clock on my dash tells me that it’s after ten o’clock. I woke up a few hours ago naked in my bed. I felt a little tired and managed to relax in the bathtub, trying to go over what the fuck had happened and how I got home.
Slowly, the pieces came back to me. Last night at Blackout. The call I got from the unknown Lord and then the call to Haidyn. Him showing up at the club, the drinks, the drive to his house. The water…me asking him to be my first. Then there was a gap.
Where had my entire day gone? Did I do ecstasy at Blackout? Had I taken something that I don’t normally do?
Then like a fucking baseball bat to the face, it hit me. Waking up taped to the chair this morning, him giving me something, asking me questions, and putting me to bed like a child.
I sat at my desk to log what we had done, only to find my laptop gone. The one that the Lords gave me. It was there yesterday before I went out, so he had to have taken it.
That leads to now and why I’m pulling into Haidyn’s driveway and slamming on my brakes. Getting out of my car, I rush to the front doors and shove them both open, not even bothering to knock. For a man who should always be on alert, his door isn’t locked.
“Haidyn?” I shout, slamming them shut. “HAIDYN!” I scream, stomping my way to the living room and come to a stop when I see him sitting on the couch, leaning back with his arms across the back cushions. His blue eyes are on mine, and there’s a smirk on his face. “Where the fuck is it?” I demand, my hands going to my hips.
“Hello, doll face??”
“I’m not in the fucking mood, Haidyn. Where is it?” I step forward, my right hand gripping the strap on my purse. I’m not even going to bring up the fact that he drugged me. I’ll save that for another day.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Annabelle.” He slowly gets to his feet.
The sound of my name just infuriates me more. A reminder that I tricked him. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so goddamn stupid and did his homework before he and his brothers let me into their home. I huff. “I’m giving you one chance to hand it over. Right now.”
He no longer tries to hide his smile. Instead, he lets it light up his face, showing off his dazzling white teeth, and it just makes my skin boil. “Or what, doll face?”
I reach into my purse and pull out what I need. Dropping the Louis Vuitton to the floor, I point my gun at him.
If he’s surprised, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he takes a step closer to me, and I don’t retreat. Get as close as you want, motherfucker. It’ll just help my odds.
“Going to shoot me, Charlotte?” He arches a brow, but I can hear the laughter in his voice.
I square my shoulders. “In a world where it’s either you or me…I’ll always choose me.”
He stops as the end of the barrel hits his chest, and I glare up at him. “Pull the trigger, doll face.”
“Give me my laptop,” I bark out. He knows I can’t shoot him because then what will I tell the Lords? I’ll be fucked. My assignment isn’t to kill him. Will they give me another one? Will they allow the other Spade brothers to throw me in a cell at Carnage? Hell if I know. But I won’t allow them to punish me for killing him.
“Go ahead and pull the trigger. Make sure you aim for the heart. I’ve survived a bullet to the chest before.”
I’m not surprised that the bastard has been shot. No doubt a woman who he pissed off. “How about your face?” I arch a brow and lift the gun, aiming right between his eyes.
He just stares down at me, the gun shaking in my hands. I’m not nervous or afraid. I’m fucking pissed. “Haidyn??”
He grabs the barrel of the gun and twists it out of my hand. I grind my teeth at the sharp pain that runs up my arm. Wrapping his hand around my throat, he shoves my back into the wall and presses the end of the barrel to my cheek.
I’m gasping glaring up at him. “Second time I’ve taken this from you.” He laughs, and it pisses me off even more. A burning feeling in my chest that I let him win. Again. I just want to stomp my feet and scream at the top of my lungs how much I hate him.