You probably thought that I'd never escape
I'd be a rat in a cage, I'd be a slave to this place
You don't know how hard I fought to survive,
Waking up alone when I was left to die
You don't know about this life I've lived
Take a look in the mirror, see the truth in your face
~In This Moment, Whore
When I thought Bella was going to kill Emmett in front of witnesses.
I was finished with my collections for the day, so before I picked up Bella, I called Jake. I knew there were some things I had to report, as there were now three dead bodies on my watch.
“Masen? What the fuck, it’s about time.” His deep voice was agitated, and I couldn't blame him.
“I know, but I’ve been in deep.” I sped up after turning a corner, checking my mirrors out of habit. This thing couldn't accelerate for shit.
I heard a sigh over the phone. “Fuck’s sake, man, you had me worried.”
“It doesn't look like it’s going to get any less hairy any time soon. Tensions are high around here. I’m ditching this phone after we hang up.”
“All right, what made you finally call in during business hours?”
Guilt. “There have been three murders in the past week.”
There were several cuss words and a muffled sound as I assumed Black accessed the Cullen file on his computer. “Go.”
I glanced in my rearview before changing lanes. “The first is the one I texted you about without much information because I was being watched; on the twenty-second, Jasper Cullen killed a man known as Petey Cap in the club right in front of me, as well as other club patrons.”
“Motherfucking son of a bitch!” I gave him a minute to calm down and type it in.
“On the twenty-fifth, it appears that a rival Family member was killed in his office. A Riley Biers. I have no concrete proof of this information, just rumor and speculation.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. “Last night, a Jimmy ‘Greasy Thumb’, last name unknown at this time, was shot at the Bleak Street docks. I hear he was doing an arms deal at the time, including shit we didn't know they had access to, i.e. rocket launchers.”
“Jesus fucking A. Christ, Masen. Are you safe? Is your cover intact? How did you deal with the man being shot right in front of you?” Rapid fire questions was his style, but he had to be unnerved as well.
“I did nothing.” And that still ate at me.
“Good, good. Now, I could bring in Jasper Cullen, but I’d rather sit on that until we have something on the other two. Have you heard anything?”
“I have unreliable intelligence that Jimmy the former was in charge of the hit on Charles Swan.”
I heard him breathe heavily through his nose for several seconds. “Stay put and don't get yourself killed, okay? I want a check in every twenty-four, and I don't care how you go about it.”
I knew ahead of time this was likely all he would say. “I’ll text my code from the next burner phone I pick up.”
“Acceptable. For now.”
“Understood.”
He hung up on me, still cursing under his breath. I would have some things to answer to when this was all over, no doubt.
I swung by the apartment and waited for Bella to come down. I texted her that I was there, and she assured me she’d be out in a minute. She was typically punctual.
The passenger door opened and she slid in, a cloud of perfume following her. I glanced over and then did a double take.
“What in the fuck are you wearing? Did you just traipse through the lobby in that getup?”
She looked at her lap, then grinned up at me. “What, this old thing?”
This old thing was thigh high leather boots and a leather bustier. If there were panties, and there must have been, they were so tiny I couldn't see them. She had on her trusty trench coat, but it was unbuttoned and wide open.
I was salivating.
“Fuck, Bella, close your coat.”
“Pick your jaw up off the floor.” She buttoned it up and fastened her seatbelt as we cruised down the street that ran along our complex.
Façade was packed for some reason. I wondered if everyone needed to hear the gossip surrounding Greasy Thumb. I was positive no one had any real clue what went down; sure as shit none of them thought of Bella as the killer. I parked out on the street and followed Bella to the door.
Felix was standing there looking stoic. He finally acknowledged us as we drew closer. “It’s a code orange, Miss Swan. Rough night ahead.”
She sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. Thank you.”
I waited until we were inside before I spoke in her ear. “What’s code orange?”
She stopped and simply looked around the club. We both saw the wall to wall bodies. Drunk men were leaning against pillars with their dicks out, or they were too close to the stage, or they were following around waitresses and putting their hands where they didn't belong. “Yeah, never mind. I get it.”
We went to the back room so Bella could put her things down. I pinched the bridge of my nose, hating this. “Look, if anyone gets too touchy feely, I’ll step in.”
She spun to stand toe to toe with me. “No, you won’t. You’re already on thin ice for living with me. Don't give them any excuse to decide they don't like you as much as they thought they did. Customers pay more to touch. The house gets a bigger payday. You may be Emmett’s buddy, but he won’t excuse you affecting his bottom line.”
She had a point, but I hated it regardless. “Ugh. Fine, I’ll be at the bar.”
We left the back room, and she went toward the stage while I went to order a drink. She had to check in with the DJ before going to the little backstage area the girls shared. She was supposed to work the room, and I wondered if she would with it this busy.
Time passed and nothing exciting happened, if I overlooked all the public jacking off. There was something in the air tonight, and I didn't like it. Bella went up three times but avoided the main floor. It was on her fourth dance that shit went south. Way, way south.
She hadn't been taking off any clothing tonight. The bustier and thong were sexy as all fuck with the tall boots encasing her thighs. Men were foaming at the mouth when she swung around that pole. Money was thrown from all directions, which she picked up after her song and before disappearing.
When Emmett stepped up onto the stage in the middle of Bella’s upside down humping of the pole, several people booed and hollered. I got to my feet but stayed by the bar.
“It looks like the little baby Bella here doesn't want to take to the floor tonight,” he said in a voice loud enough that he was his own megaphone.
Men jeered and booed again. Of course they wanted their hands on a hot girl like her. My hands clenched into fists at the thought of him forcing her out there to be manhandled.
“Such a whore you are, spreadin’ your legs for any guy that comes along.” He looked out at the crowd. “She’s already turned down me and my brother! Maybe one of you could get a taste.” He circled around behind her, and that was the first glimpse I got of her face. She was pissed beyond belief, her jaw locked tight and her fingers curled into her palms. Emmett stood behind her and jerked her head to the side by her hair. I heard a gasp and looked to my right. A cocktail waitress was staring slack-jawed at the stage. I turned my attention back to Bella and Emmett and I could have heard a pin drop at that point. He put his fucking disgusting hands on her breasts and yanked them out of her top. The crowd of men cheered and yelled.
“These titties belong to me,” Emmett said, squeezing them hard and turning them red. “I pay for them to come to work with you, and I expect for you to work them into every routine.”
I thought Bella would bite right through her bottom lip in her anger.
“And this?” One hand went lower, cupping her over her panties, and the other hand stayed at her neck to hold her against him. “This hasn't come out to play in a long time. None of my paying customers have seen this cunt in months.” He pulled on her clothing until it ripped; the underwear was the first to tear and it hung unevenly off her leg. The bustier wasn't as easy, being leather, but he ruined the hooks that held it together until it rested awkwardly at her waist.
I saw the tears in her eyes, saw how she ruthlessly bit them back. My chest ached at the treatment of her, and I couldn't decide if I was going to walk up to Emmett and put a bullet between his eyes, or if I would hand my piece to Bella and let her do it.
When her hair was a tangled mess and her red lipstick was smeared across her chin, he pushed her until she stumbled off the stage and into the floor. A few men helped her up, and I watched as she lifted her head and glared at Emmett on the stage. She made zero attempt to cover the naked parts of her body.
“Get out there and earn your money, ya filthy fuckin’ whore.”
Emmett walked off the stage and everything was silent. Even the drunk assholes weren’t sure what they were supposed to do now. I moved forward, determined to do something, but Bella looked my way right then, like she sensed my presence. She shook her head, and I felt that ache in my chest deepen. One of the waitresses approached her with something that looked like a large napkin to cover her top half and led her to the back.
Several tense minutes passed before the music came back on. The men were talking quietly between themselves, and nobody looked comfortable anymore. Some men left, some sat at booths and ordered more drinks, but the atmosphere had changed. Emmett didn't realize it yet, but he’d lessened his intake after that stunt.
I sat. I stared at my drink. A muscle in my jaw twitched. My hands fisted on my lap.
“You wanna punch me, doncha?”
My shoulders hunched and I growled.
He guffawed. “She ain't been pullin’ her weight since she moved in with you. Guess she thinks she’s better than the other strippers now.”
I didn't think I could so much as look at him without killing him.
“Course, if she’s gettin’ a regular pounding, she ain't lookin’ to score here like she used to.”
He's baiting you, don't fall for it, my conscience screamed at me. I threw back the drink I’d been nursing and stood, heading to the door without ever once looking in Emmett Cullen’s direction.
I knew with a certainty that Bella would kill him next.
When I stepped out the door I threw open, I gulped in the clean air. Felix looked over at me with one eyebrow cocked.
“Go get her, Felix. Lock this motherfucker down if you have to, but she needs to come home.”
He didn't answer, but the door opened and closed and I was alone.
I leaned forward, focusing on my shoes and not going back inside and killing Emmett Cullen. I breathed deeply through my nose and out of my mouth, waiting. The door opened again and two drunk men walked past me. I straightened and stared at the door, willing it to open and be Bella and Felix.
A few more minutes passed before I finally got my wish.
“Bella.”
She stood very still, her coat buttoned up to her throat and wearing someone else’s heels. Her hair was in a disheveled ponytail and her face was scrubbed bare. Felix leaned into her ear and spoke too quiet for me to hear.
She nodded and touched his hand.
Then she walked toward the hatchback like she owned this fucking town, and I guess in a way she did. But that didn't mean she was unaffected by the way that neanderthal had treated her. I caught up in time to open her door for her, then put my hand up to stop her from getting in. She glared at me, fuming.
“Please let me in, just this once.”
Bella didn't answer me, but I saw the tears hovering on her lower lashes. She swallowed heavily and touched my cheek briefly before sitting in the car. I rounded the hood and got in, and we didn't speak on the way home. I followed her silently to the elevator and got in with her. She pushed the button for our floor, and I didn't know how she was holding it in when I wanted to punch the walls and scream at the top of my lungs.
Once I let us inside our home, I locked the door and leaned heavily against it. I watched Bella as she walked to the short cabinet by the balcony doors that she kept stocked with liquor. She kicked off the shoes and grabbed the closest bottle—whiskey—and pulled the top off. The entire thing was tipped back and she drank heavily. Her throat was marked with dark bruises, and I saw red. It swam in front of my vision until I blinked and found her staring at me with sad eyes.
She walked into my bedroom and I helplessly followed her. When I reached her, I stopped short. She was peeling off the coat, and what I saw underneath turned my stomach. Marks, dark and mostly finger shaped, marred her creamy skin. A few scratches here and there, and dark splotches on her breasts. I took a step forward but froze when she started to speak.
“What made you send Felix?”
I took two deep breaths before answering. The look in her eyes was frightening. “Emmett came up to me at the bar. He was trying to get under my skin, taunting me and saying things about you. I got up and left to avoid killing him.”
“And you thought I needed saving, so you sent Felix?” Her nose was wrinkled, but she wasn't mad or accusatory.
“Yes, basically. You told me not to intervene, but I couldn't take it anymore.”
“I knew that Emmett would hurt you if you defended me. He knows how to hurt people in countless ways, and it doesn't have to be with weapons.” She moved closer to me. I could only focus on the bruises. My chest twisted.
“I noticed. You have no idea how badly I wanted to rush the stage and rip you away from him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. It was smart to send in Felix, though. He has nothing to lose, and Emmett knows that.”
“I just wanted you to be able to leave after that humiliation.”
“Emmett almost raped me.”
“What?” She might as well have kicked me in the balls.
“He was agitated and fucking pissed because I didn't work the floor like he wanted, instead going to the back to fix myself up. Bree was trying to find me something to wear when Emmett came storming back there. He had me pinned down on the floor and his pants open when Felix came in.”
I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, but it was useless. Spinning, I stalked around the bedroom in a violent pacing, but I couldn't calm down. I threw everything I could get my hands on—the alarm clock, the portable phone, the lamp. It crashed into the wall by the closet and shattered like my heart. When I stopped, my chest heaving, I turned back to see Bella on the floor by the bathroom door, crouched with her hands over her ears and tears streaming down her face.
Everything drained out of my body at that moment. I went into the bathroom and turned on the tub faucets. There was some crap there that I didn't use, but Bella did, so I dumped it in the water. I went back to her and squatted in front of her.
“Baby, look at me.”
She looked up. She was a wreck and I needed to fix it.
“Come on, let's take a bath.”
I stood and held out my hand. She put hers in mine, suddenly seeming so much smaller and less of the badass I knew her to be. There was no fucking way in hell I was letting goddamn Emmett Cullen break Bella’s spirit. She followed me into the humid bathroom and I turned off the water. I stripped as fast as I could before she lost her nerve, and pulled her over the edge and into the water with me. I would be lying if I said I didn't want her to scrub her skin free of that bastard’s touch, but for the moment I would keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself.
Bella leaned back against my chest as we sat. I let the warmth and her touch relax me and hoped the same was true for her. She sighed, resting her hands over her stomach, and when I looked down she’d closed her eyes.
“Thank you. For everything.” Her voice was barely loud enough for me to hear. She actually owed Felix her gratitude and not me.
“You’re welcome, Bella.”
She kept proving how strong she was, but she was also starting to show her vulnerability. I knew she would shove it down deep, hide it away, when dawn broke. She would move forward with her plans to kill the brothers, and Emmett was definitely going first.
Frankly, I was surprised that Bella hadn't found a way to kill him at the club.
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