Payback

“Politics,” he answered as if it were obvious. “Politicians are just criminals participating in sanctioned crimes and no one questions. It’s accepted that politicians have to color outside the rules because the rules don’t apply. That’s when I realized, I had to start thinking bigger. I wanted what had been denied me to this point.”

I wisely remained silent so he could continue without interruption. I even pretended to be intrigued by his admission, which I knew would only cause him to share more.

Then Butcher shocked me by saying, “It’s because of you, Holly, that I want a different life.”

“Me?”

“Yes,” he risked my rejection by reaching for my hand. “From the moment I saw you, I knew you deserved the best in life. And I knew only I could give it to you. But in order to do that, I had to make changes. That’s why I wanted you to have a top-notch education. Your degree is from a respected university. With you by my side, you’ll help soften the image of me, help transform me into the man that people want to vote for.”

His surprisingly earnest admission caught me off guard. I saw a man with an impossible goal, trying to strong-arm people to his will.

But at his core, he was a man yearning for something he’d never have.

I didn’t want to, but I could identify with that need.

Hadn’t I suffered the same suffocating desire as I watched everyone around me live a life I could only dream of having? I wasn’t the one invited to parties, wasn’t the one who attracted attention in a crowded room, certainly wasn’t the one the quarterback had eyes for.

I’d resigned myself to a life half-lived in reality and only fully realized between the pages of a book.

Until Cason.

My most unlikely of heroes.

Butcher mistook my tremulous smile and gripped my hand more tightly. “I knew you would understand. We’re two peas in a pod, sweetheart. I knew it from the moment I looked into your eyes, I knew you were meant to be mine. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to make you a true Brannon.”

I held his gaze, allowing him to hold my hand. “What’s my mother’s name?” I asked, breaking the spell. Butcher drew back with a sudden frown. “I need to know who my mother was if I’m going to say goodbye to the past and embrace the future.”

Butcher fell back in his chair, his frowning deepening. “What difference does it make who you were? You’ve been a Brannon for as long as you can remember.”

“I have to know. Please.”

But the earnest hope that’d softened Butcher only moments ago had fled, leaving behind the hard man he’d always been. “I don’t remember her name,” he said, watching as our server brought the duck course. “She was nothing to me. All that mattered was you. I gave you my name and that was that.”

Disappointment sharpened my tone as I said, “I can’t move forward until I know more about her. She was my only family.”

“I am your family,” he roared, slamming his fist on the table, causing the silverware to bounce.

I stiffened, breathing through the sudden erratic beat of my heart. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d startled me. “I won’t be yelled at,” I warned, reaching for my wine glass. “If I’m to be your partner, we have to start treating one another with respect. This is not how we start.”

“You’re pushing my limits, girl,” he shot back as I sipped my wine with more calm than I felt.

I glared as I replaced my glass. “Don’t call me a girl if you’re hoping to change this relationship,” I told him, rising as I tossed my napkin on the table. “Excuse me, I’m no longer hungry.” I turned to leave but his hard grip on my arm prevented me from going far. He pulled me toward him and I stumbled, trying to resist. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice going a little shrill. “Let go of me.”

“Prove yourself loyal to me, Holly,” he said roughly. “Kiss me.”

Kiss him? I would rather die.

Butcher’s gaze narrowed at my stubborn silence.

“Prove to me that you are truly loyal to me and I will grant you whatever you like,” he said, dangling the promise before me.

“How will a kiss prove anything?” I dared, hoping I didn’t completely lose it with fear.

“Because it will show me that you are willing to embrace this new arrangement between us. It’ll show me, I’m not wasting my time.”

I swallowed.

There was no getting out of this one. Butcher needed me to assure him and I didn’t have many options. Perhaps a kiss would be enough to sate him until Cason could rescue me.

But the idea of kissing my brother…or the guy who I used to think of as my brother…was as nasty as asking me to lick a New York sidewalk on a hot summer day.

“Fine,” I said in a choked voice. “Kiss me and be done with it. I’m finished with this stupid conversation.”

That was all the encouragement Butcher needed.

He yanked me into his arms and shoved his tongue into my mouth. The sudden intrusion of that wet thing, smelling of wine and stale cigars, made me want to thrash and kick just to get away.

But I allowed the violation, closing my eyes, pretending it was Cason kissing me instead of Butcher.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I suffered the sense that I was betraying the man I loved but there was no getting around it.

Bold as fuck, Butcher reached up and squeezed my breast hard as he continued to plunder my mouth. I yelped and tried to move away but Butcher enjoyed my distress.

“You had your kiss,” I tried pulling away from him but his grip was like iron on my wrist. “Let go!”

But Butcher rose, his eyes darkening with lust. “I’ve changed my mind,” he decided. “You’re my woman and it’s time you start acting like it.”

What did that mean?

I didn’t have long to wonder.

Butcher dragged me to his bedroom and locked us inside.

“Help!” I shouted as he shoved me away from the door. I stumbled but held my feet. “Don’t do this,” I said, trying to talk some sense into him but he was like a raging bull with a mega dose of testosterone flushing through his veins.

“I’ve waited so long, Holly,” he said as if that excused what he was about to do. “Do you know how hard it was to pretend that I didn’t love you?’

“You don’t rape someone you love,” I said, my voice shaking. “This isn’t the way to my heart.”

“You’ll come around,” he assured me as he started undressing. I held back the squeak of alarm as he got down to his underwear. A bulge in his briefs told an easy enough story to grasp.

I felt ill.

I tried to dart past him but he was faster than he appeared, catching me easily and seeming to enjoy the chase. He held me tight, in spite of my struggles, his grip didn’t waver. “I used to dream about you, about this night. Are you still untouched, sweetheart?” He saved me the trouble of answering. “I know you are. No boyfriends, no social life. Just the safety of dusty old books. That makes me so happy.”

I wanted to blurt that Cason had taken my virginity and I was glad it wasn’t going to be him but I didn’t know how that information would blow up in my face.

I knew Butcher was violent with women. I’d seen the way he’d cuffed his secretary when she’d displeased him. I saw the way she watched him fearfully as if she knew he held her life in his greasy palm. Why hadn’t I ever tried to help her get away?

Butcher ripped at my dress, the filmy material shredding like tissue paper, exposing m

y breasts and stomach. I yelped and kicked but Butcher was too strong.

He forced me to my knees, gripping my jaw hard. “I want to watch you suck my cock. I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long.”

“If you put that thing near me I’ll bite it off,” I said, blinking back tears.

“You will obey me!” My head flung back as Butcher landed a hard slap. I saw stars and nearly lost my footing. I didn’t have time to scramble away before Butcher pushed a semi-hard dick toward my mouth.

But before I could react, Butcher grunted and fell forward, his eyes rolling up into his head as he landed on the carpet, a large red stain forming where Cason had clocked him with the butt of his gun.

Cason, my knight in shining armor, was there, gun in hand, eyes blazing.

“Cason!” I jumped into his arms and clung for dear life, half-sobbing and half jabbering, just so relieved he was there. “I was so scared! If you hadn’t….oh God, Cason, he tried to make me….” I buried my face in his chest, losing my ability to stop babbling.

“Shhhh, baby,” he crooned, smoothing my hair as he tried to calm my blubbering. “I’m here. He’s never going to touch you again.”

But then my head shot up as I realized we weren’t safe, not by a long shot.

“Cason, we have to get out of here before he wakes up,” I urged, gripping his hand and trying to pull him away but Cason had other plans.

“Not before I get that book,” he said. “Everything we need to put that sack of shit away is in a small black book. We get that, we’re home free, baby.”

Chapter 34

Cason

I wanted to murder Butcher.

The plan had been to hide in the closet until Butcher went to sleep but then he’d come into the bedroom, dragging Holly and I’d nearly lost it.

I wanted to obliterate his face with bullets for daring to touch my girl but I knew killing him would only give him the quick death he didn’t deserve.