Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked, the truth dawning in her eyes. “Oh. This isn’t about me. This is about Maggie, isn’t it? You couldn’t protect her. So you’re trying to make up for it with keeping me here, aren’t you?”

“Back off, Gabby,” I said, every wall that I’d let down in the last few days shooting back up around my heart. She was seeing too much, getting too close.

What the hell was I thinking? Letting her in like that, letting myself feel something for her?

Hell, maybe her Daddy could help her. Maybe that’s just what she needed. Why the fuck I ever thought I could save her was now lost on me.

She was right, and I didn’t even realize it until now. She wasn’t Maggie. I was never going to save Maggie. Maggie was dead. There was nothing left to save.

I looked down at Gabby, allowing myself to drink in her beauty one last time before I turned everything off, remembering the feel of her plump lips on mine, the velvety softness of her skin, the smell of her hair…

“The guys will be here soon. This will all be over before you know it and we’ll get you out of here and back to your life.” My voice sounded like it came from someone else, far away, closed off somewhere in the darkness.

I turned away, leaving her standing there with Bear, the trees dancing around her confused face, but I couldn’t look back. I couldn’t allow myself to see the pain that I knew was there. I couldn’t face my own pain - I certainly couldn’t face hers.

Instead, I did what I do best. I turned away, turned it all off, and ripped off the scabs that had grown around my wounded heart.

It was best to keep it bloody and raw, to prevent it from healing.

That way, I wouldn’t forget who I was.

That way, I wouldn’t forget where I came from.

Gabby

What the fuck was that? I wondered, as I slowly made my way back into the cabin. At first, I’d thought it was kind of sweet that he’d been all protective, showing up with his gun drawn like he was ready for anything. To be honest, it fucking turned me on to see him like that. It reminded me of those first few moments at Otto’s, that look in his eye that was so bad-ass and confident, like there wasn’t anyone or anything he wouldn’t take on to protect me.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fucking hot.

But then, he’d just turned into a straight-up asshole. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that bit about Maggie, but all of a sudden it was really clear what was going on. I mean, maybe I was wrong, but from his reaction, it sure did look like I pushed one of his buttons. And not a good one.

By the way he stormed back into the cabin, it didn’t appear as if I was going to be able to un-push it anytime soon, either. Which was a shame, because I was hoping for another amazing session in bed with him this morning before everyone came back. My body was still buzzing from his touch.

When I walked back into the cabin, I was shocked to see him talking on a cell phone.

“What the fuck?” I mouthed to him, as he put up a hand to silence me. Anger welled up inside of me. He told me he didn’t have cell service out here! Another fucking lie, apparently.

“All right, Gino, thanks for checking on her,” he said, before hanging up the phone and turning to me.

“You bastard!” I yelled at him, crossing the distance between us. “You lied to me!”

“About the phone? Yeah, I guess I did,” he said, shrugging. “Sorry about that.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled. “How could you fucking lie to me about that? I’ve been asking you for a phone this whole time. All I wanted to do was call my dad!”

“What did you expect me to do, Gabby? Think about it!” he yelled back. “If I let you use my phone to call your dad, it would be traced within seconds, then the whole fucking mob would be here, along with the cops. How do you see that ending? You think I’m fucking crazy? I value my life, thank you very much.”

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you!” she cried, her eyes full of disappointment.

“I’m sorry, Gabby, but there’s no way it would go down well. Men like your father shoot first and ask questions later. We’ve already gone over this. Don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. We grew up in the same place.”

“But he wouldn’t —,” I began.

“Gabby - we both saw it. We were just kids and we saw what he’s capable of doing.”

“But you didn’t even know who I was the first night. You still didn’t give me your phone. You still lied, Dante! Before you knew who my father was!” I yelled.

“Well, you weren’t exactly up front with me, either, goddammit!”

“That’s no excuse!”

“I didn’t know what I was dealing with, Gabby. I had to wait till morning to make any decisions.” His jaw clenched together, the muscles flexing as he stared down at me. I looked up at him, matching his anger.

“Nobody told you that you needed to make any decisions for me!”

“Maybe not,” he replied, “but here we are.”

“Yeah, here we are,” I snapped. “So now what the fuck do we do?”

Darkness flashed in his eyes and he drew in a slow, short breath as he peered deep into my eyes. I swallowed hard, every emotion under the sun washing over me. I wanted to be mad at him. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to slap him. I wanted to run away. I wished none of this had ever happened.

And yet, I’d never wanted another person to touch me more in my life.

His lips came crashing down on mine, my world falling down around me, everything I’d ever known now colored with his existence, with my feelings for him.

There was no turning back. There was nothing but now.

There was nothing but him.

And whatever future we were hurtling towards.

Bella

“You can do this,” I said to myself, an ache forming in the pit of my stomach. I opened the door to Otto’s, leaving the bright sunshine behind as I allowed the darkness of the bar to envelop me.

I stopped just inside, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

It looked completely different during the day for some reason, even without the sunlight to remind you it was daytime. There were less people here, the music wasn’t so loud, and it was much less rowdy than the last time I’d been here. I told myself one more time to relax and I put one foot in front of the other, slowly making my way to the bar.

Even though there were only a few people in here, I still felt all eyes on me. I was out of place, there was no denying it and everyone knew it. But I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to get laid this time. I was here to gather information.

To help find my friend.

My very stupid friend.

I still couldn’t believe she’d come here on her own, but the guilt I’d felt from the beginning had only grown, which had brought me here today. I’d tossed and turned in bed all night, waking up with the certainty that I had to do something to try to find her.

Yeah, the cops and the mob were both looking for her, but I figured I might approach it from a different angle. I’d learned a lot growing up in New York, and if I knew anything, it’s that a pair of tits can go a long way when necessary. You just had to use them correctly.

When I saw the way the bartender glued his eyes to my chest as soon as I walked up, I knew I was off to a good start.

“Corona, please,” I asked, flashing him a sultry smile. I knew better than to ask for wine at a place like this. The likelihood of them having a decent cabernet was nonexistent. Beer wasn’t my thing, but if I drowned it in lime juice, then I’d be able to get it down.

There were two bikers at one end of the bar and another guy dressed in normal clothes at the other end. He was incredibly handsome, with dark, smoldering eyes and long dark hair. If I’d been here for any other reason, I’d have sat with him, but instead I choose a stool between the two bikers, hoping I’d be able to pry some information from them.

I felt their eyes on

me, and I turned to the one on my right and smiled shyly. He nodded without smiling, his face lined with wrinkles, his wild curly grey hair framing his round face. He was wearing an Iron Godz cut and a large bowie knife was secured in a leather case hanging from his weathered leather belt. He intimidated me immediately. I swallowed a drink from the bottle, hoping for the courage of the beer to hit me sooner than later.

I turned to the man on my left and smiled at him. He was younger, handsomer than his friend, and also wearing a Godz cut. He had a patch on the left side that said “Bonz” on top and “Vice President” below it. He smiled back at me, his eyes a bit kinder than the other guy.

I took a deep breath and began talking to the bartender.

“I saw this place on the news the other day,” I said.

“Yeah,” he grunted, without turning around.

“Looked pretty dramatic,” I said, turning to the biker on my left. He nodded slowly, his eyes raking over my tits and then back up to my face.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he replied.

“Were you here?” I asked him, doing my best to sound innocent and young.

“Yeah,” he grunted, taking a swig from his whiskey. “The news makes it out to be more than it was.”

“Oh, really? I guess that girl is still missing, isn’t she?” My stomach quivered.