Bent : The Dove Series: Book Two (The Dove Series Book One 2) Page 3

  Susie excused herself just as Matteo appeared while I managed to force myself to eat. “The meeting is set with Jose’s drug dealer.”

  “For today?”

  Matteo looked at his watch. “In about an hour, sir.”

  “Thank you, Matteo.”

  “If I may. I didn’t think drugs were your thing.”

  “They aren’t but I own several night clubs. How hard can it be to distribute them? I’m just trying to dismantle Jose’s sources. I’ll figure out the rest later.”

  “Okay. We’ll be ready to go when you are.” He walked out of the room, and I continued to sit pondering what options I had.

  I was glad to keep busy and leave the house, because Kara’s scent lingered all around me. I thought about all the times I spent with her and how I punished her the ways I did. So she would submit to me. I shouldn’t have to make a woman submit to me. There had to be some sort of compromise because, at that moment, I was a weak man.

  Chapter Eight

  KARA

  Jose had Livy and me cleaning up the ballroom and putting it back in its original state. “Livy, you haven’t said much to me today. Are you mad at me?”

  She almost laughed. “I’m not mad at you. I’m more mad at myself.”

  “Why?”

  “I shouldn’t have asked you to do that last night. It was a weak moment for me and I know you said you have a boyfriend. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “It’s okay, Livy. This is a unique situation we are in.”

  “I know. But I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have even if one of us has to leave before the other.”

  “No. You really help me get up every day and to keep my head down and do what I’m told. I won’t let anything happen to you, if I can help it.”

  She looked down to the ground. “Whatever the future has in store for me, I’m okay with that. I’ve made peace with it. I didn’t have anyone except for a few friends before this. No one is looking for me, like I told you before.”

  “No.” I would not accept this from her. This was not okay. “You’re my family, Livy.” I could truly say I loved her. I loved her like a sister. And she was my family. The closest family I had.

  “Okay. Well, still, I am sorry about last night…”

  I interrupted her. “Don’t be. It’s forgotten.”

  She offered a slight smile.

  “Less talking and more working,” one of the men ordered.

  Deep down, I knew Jose was waiting for me to fuck up. Because he wanted so bad to punish but he didn’t have an excuse, not that he needed one. I wondered why he hadn’t taken the pleasure of doing it just for kicks.

  Next up, I had three bathrooms to clean by myself. Just as I was finishing up the third one, one of Jose’s men came over and started taunting me. “I’d love to plop my fat cock on that pink tongue of yours. Then I’d slam it into that tight pussy. Then I’d fuck your ass.”

  I stood, grabbing my bucket by the handle to empty it while I did my best to ignore him. He was too close for comfort and no one else was around. He could easily come over and rape me and no one would know. “Jose is just teasing all of us with you wearing that thin material. I can see your perky nipples and that tight ass.”

  He was backing me into a corner and I started to get scared. I couldn’t scream for help because the other men might join him in taunting me. Bile rose in my throat when the man licked his lips. He moved so close, he grabbed the hem of my dress to raise it up. His other hand groped my breast. And I really wanted to show him where he could shove it. But I was defenseless. Then a shot rang out.

  I was frozen in place when the man in front of me dropped to the ground. Blood was everywhere and all over me. I shrieked seeing the man lying at my feet, his eyes open and blood on every single surface. Jose barked at one of his men, “Get Livy in here now. Kara is gonna need help. Settle down,” he said to me.

  Cowering in fear, I watched Jose bark orders to the others to clean the mess up. “That is what happens when you touch something that I specifically said not to touch.” Jose was so angry his eyes were black. I’d never seen eyes that black before. This truly showed me how ruthless Jose was. He saved me from being raped, but what would I owe him in return.

  Livy rushed in toward me. “Help her get in the shower. I’ll get her some fresh clothes.”

  Tears streamed down my face and my body shook as I continued to stand in one spot.

  “Kara, I’m going to need you to snap out it. We need to get you out of this dress and in the shower,” Livy said while everyone left the room. She assisted me with pulling my dress off that was stuck to my skin from the blood.

  The man’s body was already gone but all the blood remained. “What happened?” Livy asked as she got the shower running.

  “He was groping me and I was sure he was going to rape me.” Now more than ever, I wanted out of this hell hole.

  “Well, I’m glad the fucker is dead. Get in.”

  Stepping in, I let the hot water cascade over me, washing the blood down the drain. A woman opened the bathroom door and passed in some clothes to Livy. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take. Maybe Jose ought to just sell me already so I could get out of there. Anywhere would be better. It had to be. Tears continued flowing down my cheeks. The water pooling at my feet was now clear so I washed off with soap and stepped out to Livy standing with a towel to wrap around me.

  “Jose might have killed a man to save you but we can’t stay in here too long. He’s being lenient with you because of the situation. And once we open that door, you need to dry those tears. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh.”

  It was reality. I cut her off by nodding in agreement. I already showed enough weakness, I couldn’t show anymore.

  “I know. I know,” I told Livy.

  “At least he gave you something comfortable to wear,” she said about my matching active wear outfit.

  It was a baby pink color; the top was a jacket so I had a white tank top on underneath and the pants had a drawstring so I could tie them tight around my waist. It was comfortable. Anything to get these guys to lose interest in me was fine. But the more Jose did for me, providing comfort and food, I wondered how much it would cost me.

  Chapter Nine

  DAMON

  “Her father is MIA,” Matteo told me as I sat in my office. “I’m assuming anyone that knows his whereabouts will be hard to find. And I’m afraid there’s even worse news.”

  I sat up in my chair. “What?”

  “Jose is trafficking women. Word is he just sold some yesterday and there’s probably gonna be another auction soon.”

  I swallowed a hard lump. “Fuck!” I paced the floor. “Find this mother fucker!” I shouted before clearing all the glass that was from my mini bar in one fell swoop. Matteo quickly exited my office. Glass shattered everywhere but I didn’t care. The longer Kara was gone, the longer I was going to go mad. I was losing my grip. I was losing Kara. She was the one thing that made sense in my fucked-up life. She was the light to my dark.

  The fact that Jose was selling women angered me. It was the only way he could keep the cash flow and not suffer that much without his arms dealer and his drug dealer. I had to do more. There had to be more damage I could inflict.

  Leaving the office a mess, I grabbed my suit jacket and headed out of the room. Matteo almost bumped right into me. “Where you headed?”

  “I don’t fucking know. I just know I have to look for her.”

  Matteo was doing his best trying to keep up with my speed walking. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, boss.”

  I halted. “I can’t sit on my ass hoping for Kara to come back. She’s out there somewhere. There is somewhere we didn’t check.” I continued walking and headed straight for the SUV parked out front. Snatching the keys, I got behind the driver’s side and Matteo quickly moved to the passenger side. I was pulling out of the driveway before he was buckled in.

  “You’re losin
g your shit, Damon,” Matteo stated. It was weird hearing my name come out of his mouth. He was furious. And I wanted my damn girl back. He sighed before he continued. “There are people out looking for her father, for Jose, and for her. It’s being taken care of.”

  My foot pressed down on the gas pedal and the mileage meter rose. My hands gripped the steering wheel and my jaw ticked.

  “This is what Jose wants,” Matteo told me. “You’re going mad, boss.”

  “Matteo, I’m only going to say this one time. Shut the fuck up.”

  He sat back and shut his mouth. He knew I wasn’t fucking around. I was a loose cannon as far as he was concerned. I was sure I looked like a crazed lunatic.

  Slowing to the speed limit, I realized Matteo was right. But I let him sweat a little for now. I drove outside of town and down some dark streets. It was too dark to see anything.

  “Let’s just head back,” Matteo finally suggested. “We can get together in the morning.”

  Pinching the bridge of my nose, I blinked a few times and decided to head back toward home. Only it wasn’t a home without her.

  “We’re gonna find her, okay?” Matteo’s words were barely above a whisper.

  “I know. I just hope it won’t be too late.”

  It was quiet while I drove us back to my place. I needed a fucking drink. It seemed like that was all I was doing these days. It was the only thing that calmed my nerves. Maybe I would get some clarity.

  Pulling in the driveway, I tossed the keys to Matteo. “Might as well join me for a drink.”

  I went to the bar that was in the living room since my office was a mess. Not waiting for an answer, I reached for two glasses, poured some bourbon in each one, and passed a glass to him.

  “I’m sorry for being an ass,” I told Matteo before taking the drink in one gulp.

  “It’s okay, boss. I’m sorry for addressing you by your name.”

  I chuckled. “You can call me Damon.”

  “It’s about respect, sir.” Matteo finished his drink.

  “Another?” I was already pouring myself another drink.

  “Yes, please.”

  After pouring another drink, I passed the glass back to him.

  “You love her, don’t you?” he questioned.

  I stared off in another direction of the room. “I think I do. I can’t picture what my life was like before she came into it. And I can’t picture my future without her.” I walked over to Matteo and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go home for the night.”

  Matteo looked shocked. “Are you sure? I can stay in the one of the spare rooms like I have been doing.”

  I smiled. “No need. We can’t do anything right now. Go home, get some sleep, and we’ll reconvene in the morning.”

  Matteo nodded in appreciation. “See you in the morning.”

  “See ya.”

  Once Matteo was gone, I poured another glass of bourbon and looked out of the floor length window, thinking about Kara. “Where are you?” I whispered out into the darkness.

  Chapter Ten

  KARA

  I woke upon feeling my hair being tugged. Someone was cutting it. Startled, I sat up, spotting Sienna. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Just trying to ugly you up a little. You aren’t special, Kara.” She flicked my hair with her hand and held the scissors with her other hand. “Just because he lets you play the piano, that doesn’t mean shit.” It was morning and I could actually see her face. Her clothes engulfed her body, while her face was sunken in. Her hair was greasy and unkempt.

  “Well, I didn’t ask for any of this shit. So, we can either work with each other or against each other.”

  Her laughter was more of a cackle and other people started noticing us arguing.

  “I would never be your friend. You think you’re safe. He’s probably just saving you for last. I can guarantee you that.”

  There was no use arguing with her. Instead, I grabbed the scissors from her. “Give me that fucking thing.” I marched off to the bathroom. My hair was a lot worse than I thought. But with these scissors, I could at least make my hair look presentable.

  I was now sporting a jacked-up bob. And I wasn’t sure what Jose was going to do about this, if anything.

  Heading over to Sienna, clasping the scissors in my hand, I shoved her hard into the wall. “I ought to pierce your fucking heart with these. Would you like to die today, bitch?”

  She snickered. “You don’t have the balls.”

  I moved the scissors to her throat. “Are you sure about that?” I began pressing the scissors into her skin and it broke through and started to draw blood. “Don’t test me, bitch. Next time, you’re fucking dead.” And I licked her face like a sick fuck.

  The scissors remained in my possession, and I planned to keep them out of Sienna’s hands.

  I looked to Livy, who had slept like a log through the whole ordeal. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Sienna,” was all I had to say.

  “Fuck.”

  “It looked a lot worse before I went and tried to make it better.”

  “What a bitch.” She studied my hair. “It doesn’t look bad, except for those really short pieces.”

  “Ugh.”

  Jose picked that moment to send his men down to retrieve Sienna, Carmen, Livy, and me. I swallowed hard when I made it to the top of the stairs and Jose stared at me. “Did you do that to your own hair?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Well, who the fuck did it?”

  We were silent.

  “If someone doesn’t start talking you all will be punished.”

  I still remained silent because I didn’t want to rat out Sienna since I already made my point.

  “Guess we can start with your punishments, then.”

  My mouth ran dry and then someone spoke. “It was Sienna,” Livy told him. “She cut her hair and then Kara had to fix it so it looked presentable.”

  “Thank you, Livy.” Jose stepped in front of me. “Is this true?”

  I sighed before I spoke. “Yes, sir. I’m pretty sure it won’t happen again because I made that very clear to her already.”

  Bad enough I was almost raped and a man died right in front in me and then turn around and I had to deal with Sienna being a jealous bitch.

  Jose reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. “Kill her,” he ordered, passing me the gun. And the other girls gasped in shock.

  The gun felt heavy in my grip. I had never held one before and I didn’t want to kill Sienna. I’d much prefer her to suffer.

  “Do it,” Jose barked.

  Straightening up my back, I lifted my arm and aimed the gun at Sienna. But changing my mind, I pointed it at Jose. “How about I kill you instead?” It was impulsive and I wasn’t sure I could do it. But I enjoyed the thought.

  Jose chuckled. “Killing me will be your first mistake. Because my men are just itching to fuck you in all the ways they can think of. Then you’ll be a dead bitch.” He held his hands out to his sides as if to say, do it.

  My heart raced and my hand shook because Jose was right. Lowering the gun, I held Jose’s stare. Grabbing the gun from me, he swiftly backhanded me so hard it caused me to fall on my ass. Thankfully, I didn’t break my wrists trying to break my fall. It happened so fast. Reaching up, I felt my cheek and the hot liquid of blood.

  “I ought to kill you for pulling that shit,” he said, taunting me as I stood back up.

  Carmen broke the silence surrounding us. “I can fix her hair.” I looked over to the woman and wasn’t quite sure how Jose was going to reply. I was nervous for her because he was so enraged.

  “You can head to that bathroom and everything should be in there that you need.”

  “And as for you…” He looked to Sienna. “You will go up for auction tomorrow night.”

  “But…”

  Jose slapped her across the face, leaving a red mark on her cheek. But it wasn’t hard enough to bleed since she would ne
ed to be pristine for the auction.

  “What are you two still standing here for?” he asked Carmen and me.

  We scurried off to the bathroom.

  “Come on and sit and I’ll fix you right up,” Carmen said.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” She got to work on my hair.

  “Sienna is a bitch and you didn’t deserve what she did.”

  “But you risked Jose hitting you for speaking out.”

  “Jose doesn’t scare me.”

  I was flabbergasted that she wasn’t scared of Jose.

  “He sure scares me.”

  “I’ve dealt with worse men.”

  She made some adjustments to my hair. I was surprised at her handiwork.

  Carmen looked at my hair in the mirror and said, “There. I think your hair looks so cute now.”

  I didn’t recognize the girl in the mirror. It looked like I lost ten pounds and my cheeks were sunken in. My hair was a short bob and now I had long bangs to disguise the shorter pieces.

  “I love it. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter Eleven

  DAMON

  I dreaded making the one call I knew I needed to make. My cousin Rowan. He was part of the Bad Bones Motorcycle Crew. And if anyone could kick my ass, it was him. We practically grew up together; we were like brothers. But as things go, he joined the ranks of the MC and I joined the ranks of becoming a mobster. His crew ran the southside while I ran the north side.

  I knew it would take some coaxing for him to help me out. I would owe a huge favor in return. That was, if he didn’t kill me first. A word of advice, never fuck the girl your cousin is after. Making that mistake cost me the brotherhood we shared. And I was sure he was still holding a grudge.