Dare to Succeed (The Dare 2)

“I’ve got some papers for you to sign. Then you can go do whatever you want whoring your body out to three men. You know they don’t give a shit about you.”

“They love me and I love them.” She raised her voice and he slammed her head so hard it hit the side of the window and she lost control of the car a moment. He grabbed the wheel.

“Focus. We’ve got a short time to get this done.”

She was crying, feeling dizzy and in pain as she tried to focus on the road.

“What do you want?”

“Your signature on some papers and…”

She felt his hand ease between her legs again.

“One last screw, and nothing is off limits. After all, I was your first. How did your men feel about that? Or didn’t you tell them the truth?”

She stepped on the gas and began going faster. Hatred filled her gut and she wanted Tony dead, gone, and ou

t of her life. Things were perfect. Everything was going great and he was going to destroy it all. She wouldn’t let him touch her. She wouldn’t sign ay papers for him. She was done with him, with feeling this pain and being used.

“Slow down before a cop sees you,” he yelled.

“Are you afraid, Tony?” she asked and he wedged the gun against her throat. She slowed the car down.

“I’m not afraid of anything. In fact, I’ll fuck you then kill you so you can never see your men again. How’s that for scared? Now drive. We’re limited on time. Usually those men are always with you. Their mistake and my good luck. Drive.”

Alicia felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She was shaking now. The fight within her was weakening. He had a gun. He would do like he said and rape her then kill her. She would never see Caldwell, Max, and Monroe again. Why had she ever fallen for his charms? Why?

* * * *

Max was in the office. It was getting late and he wished he could head home to Alicia, but she was stressing out and trying to get pieces ready for the shop when it opened. He smiled. They kept her occupied this afternoon when they all met for lunch at their place. An hour break had turned into two hours, and he was ready to say screw it and stay with her in bed. He talked to his brothers about how difficult it was leaving her at night. They were getting angry about not holding her in their arms in bed every night and about how more changes needed to be made, but she had so much going on. He didn’t want to overwhelm her by asking her to move in with them. They were with each other more often than not. In fact, tonight was the first time in weeks that one of them wasn’t with her. It gave him anxiety as he finished up his work and prepared to leave the office. Maybe he should stop by to make sure she was okay?

He smiled to himself as his cell phone began to ring. It was Caldwell calling.

“Hey, bro, what’s going on? How did the meeting go?”

“It went great. We have awesome news for Alicia. Is she with you?”

“No. I’m still in the office. I was just getting ready to leave.”

“Her car isn’t by the side of the garage, and there aren’t any lights on in the apartment. Wait, Monroe is going up to check it out. So listen to this, we talked with the CEO of the company and he wants in. Thinks the location is great and sees the potential for growth and income. Plus, we worked it out so that Alicia gets paid for use of the building and the traffic. By the terms he placed on the table, she’ll be getting a nice monthly income that not only will pay her mortgage but also give her a nice nest egg for retirement. We’re going to hook her up with our financial guys next week. God, I can’t wait to tell her.”

Max smiled. Alicia would be thrilled. His brothers were really looking out for her on the financial end. It made him feel more protective of her and like his responsibility would be protection, security, and love.

“What?” Caldwell yelled.

“What’s going on?” Max asked. He could hear the concern in Caldwell’s voice.

“Shit, Max, Monroe said that the electricity is out in Alicia’s apartment. There’s things knocked over. He thinks someone broke in.”

“What? I’m on my way. I’m calling it in. Don’t touch anything.”

Max stood up and grabbed his keys. As he headed to the door he saw some of the deputies on break and a few others coming in and out.

“Who’s out on Blanchard or in the vicinity?” he asked.

“Deputy Taylor Dawn should be. What’s going on, Max?” Deputy Williams asked and he explained.

“We’re on it. What do you need us to do?”