Blaze & Bind (Surrender to Them 10)

“I’d tell you to tell your friend to get the fuck out of town and take his entire family with him.” Chief Dade nodded quickly. “The cops won’t touch Robert Townsend. Judges go to him when they want campaign donations—hell, the mayor’s last campaign might as well have been fully financed by him.”

“You don’t know anyone at the police department that might be able to help?” I tilted my head to the side. “A good cop that might not be on Robert Townsend’s payroll?”

“What do you want them to do? Arrest the man for collecting a debt that’s owed to him? The real shit that he does? Nobody will ever get him on that. He’s too smart.” Chief Dade shrugged. “Trust me, I worry about that man more than I should have to.”

“Why?” I blinked in surprise. “Has he done something to you?”

“No, not yet—and hopefully not ever, but about a year ago, the chief on the south side of the city decided to take an early retirement. Everyone figured his second in command would get the job, but suddenly a new guy was in the running—a firefighter that had only been there a few years. There were rumors—rumors that Robert Townsend backed him.” Chief Dade sighed. “I don’t know if there was more to it than just what people said, but I do know that after he got the job, arson rates went through the roof. The investigators suddenly found themselves fighting through all sorts of red tape just to investigate the fires.”

“You think Robert Townsend had something to do with that.” I continued blinking as I processed what he said.

“I do, but I’d never be able to prove it. My job as chief is to make sure the red tape gets cut, not to wrap it around the hands of those trying to do their job.” He shook his head back and forth. “So yeah, I worry about Robert Townsend, and if you know someone who owes him money, I’d suggest they take the threat very seriously. His money goes into the right pockets, and at this point, I think he’s untouchable.”

“Right…” I nodded. “Okay, thanks. I appreciate your help.”

“You were serious right? This isn’t you that owes him money…” Chief Johnson eyed me suspiciously.

“It doesn’t sound like it would matter much if it were…” My words trailed off, and I left his office.

This shit is out of our league—I think it’s time to have a real conversation with Gerard and Rachel about leaving town.

11

Rachel

Yesterday

Gerard and Liam were at work, and I had time to kill before I went to work. Unfortunately, that left me sitting on the couch in the living room thinking about everything that was going wrong. I logged into my Dad’s bank account, something I had never done without his express permission, and looked at his finances. The only way he was going to be able to come up with twenty-five thousand dollars was if he cashed out his 401k. It also looked like he was enjoying his vacation based on the transactions I saw on his account. There was even one for a strip club, which brought a smile to my face, but also made me have a completely different view of the stoic man who barely looked at a pretty girl when she walked by. At least he was having fun because I was going to have to drop a fucking bombshell on him when he got back. One that was going to leave our family in ruins, and possibly cause us to have to leave everything we knew behind to get away from the madman my brother owed money too.

I just don’t see any other way—any at all.

On the other side of complication was Gerard and Liam themselves. I couldn’t get my first or second kiss with Liam out of my head—nor could I really ignore my desires for more than just a kiss. My body begged for him twice. Once we were interrupted, and then I managed to push him away—but he was in my dreams. Too bad he wasn’t the only one. Gerard was right there with him, reigniting a fire I tried to let burn out. I finally understood why he deserted me, but it really didn’t erase what he did.

I needed him then—and realistically, I didn’t need him anymore. I wasn’t a naive eighteen-year-old girl willing to blindly trust a guy who called me pretty—he broke that girl when he shattered my innocence. I guess it’s true what they say about the heart—how it never forgets. I didn’t feel like Gerard deserved a second chance, but the night we shared was not something I could get out of my head—I couldn’t even get the dream out of my head. I wanted closure, and I had the only version of it that I was going to get. The truth just didn’t make me feel any better.

He seems remorseful, but I’m not sure that is enough.

I went to work later that afternoon and came home to an empty apartment with dinner in a bag from the sandwich shop on the corner. Gerard and Liam were going to be working overnight for their shift and would probably make it back after my run the next morning. Having the apartment to myself wasn’t that exciting—it was kind of lonely. I might have been confused by what I was feeling for Liam and the lingering thoughts about Gerard, but I did like having them around. It was nice to have people I could talk to that I wasn’t related to. I had lost touch with several friends since high school, and I hadn’t made that many at college. I barely even talked to Annie and she was one of my very best friends—the only one I was eager to share my news with when I started dating Gerard. I turned on the television, watched a movie that was background noise more than anything, and caught up on social media—the lives of happy people.

I guess I should go to bed. Seeing all of these happy, ecstatic status updates just makes me depressed right now. I don’t even have the mental energy to hit the like button.

I kept telling myself to get up and go to bed, but the couch was really comfortable. Plus, it smelled like Liam—hot, beautiful Liam—with his stupidly-sexy grin that greeted me when I showed up at the front door. With lips that set me on fire. A man that wanted me, a man that I wante

d too. His scent made me think of him as I drifted off to sleep—and then I was in that haze again, on those clouds. They were both there, just like the previous night, telling me that it was a dream and my fantasy could become a reality—as long as I kept my eyes closed. Did I really fantasize about both of them—at the same time? That wasn’t something I ever really thought about until they joined me in my dreams. It was hot, but it was not reality—I couldn’t even sustain a relationship with one guy—how could I sustain one with two. They were ready to come to blows over me, so they definitely wouldn’t want to share.

“You want us both, don’t you?” Liam was against my back with a hand on my ribs and another moving towards my pussy.

“Of course you do—because you can have us.” Gerard grinned, and I saw his thick cock engorged and ready to take me back to the height of pleasure I felt the night we were together.

This is just for pretend—it’s fantasy. If I can’t enjoy my damn dreams, then I’m honestly a lost cause.

“I do—I want you both. Liam, Gerard. I want you inside me.” I motioned for Gerard and felt Liam’s lips on my neck.

The asshole that shattered my innocence wasn’t the man pressed against me in my dreams. It was just an illusion created inside my mind. I could pretend he was a better version of Gerard—one that would always want me. I could have Liam’s kiss without pushing him away because it was just pretend. I sank into my fantasy. I let them ravage my body—I felt Gerard’s cock inside me, and it wasn’t real, but it was the good part of the memory I shared with him being extracted. I moaned—my body begged. They both erupted inside me. I could make Gerard say he would never leave me—never betray me—because he was just a dream puppet under my control. I could make Liam pledge the same thing. I could even make them tell me I had nothing to worry about when it came to Robert Townsend because they were going to fix things. Yes, it was the darkest depths of pretend, a gloss that coated reality so that I didn’t have to see it for what it truly was—and that was okay.

“Yes…” I moaned. “Liam, oh god. Yes—Gerard—harder.”

“Uh, Rachel?” It was Liam’s voice, but it wasn’t the puppet in my dream—no it was real.