Bane (11 page)

THE DOGS BARKED like mad as I placed the Doberman back into his kennel. Work was over. The car service not only took me to the dentist office, but picked me up and delivered me to the vet, allowing time for a quick bite to eat. My conscience continued to try and nibble away at me, telling me that at the end of the day I was a hooker, but I ignored it. Bane didn’t make me feel like one. I knew the truth and that was all that mattered. I hadn’t spoken to Jewel since she’d told me about my first appointment.

The sex. My word, the sex had been amazing last night. Bane took care of my needs while he brought me to orgasm—twice. I’d never been able to orgasm back to back, but I wanted to again. Last night I’d slept soundly for the first time in who knows how long.

Bane was complex. He made no pretenses about this continuing, but did sweet things like the car service, the wakeup call, and the breakfast. It was nice being taken care of, but I frequently reminded myself that this was only going to last twenty-eight more days. That was it. No more. However, I knew Bane was someone that I could easily fall for.

Clocking out at the computer, I waved bye to Lisa who was the front desk receptionist. Everyone here was kind to me, but I always declined their invitations to go out. That was money I didn’t have. When I started over without my brother, I made a vow to become more social and do things that I enjoyed.

The black town car from the hotel waited out front. Cold gusts of wind blew around me as I dashed to the car. The driver, Jake, opened the back door. He was quiet and barely spoke unless spoken to. The only reason I knew his name was from the name badge.

“Thank you, Jake. Do you mind taking me back to the hotel?”

He tipped his head. “Not a problem, Miss Kincaid.”

“Thank you.”

The car drove through the city and I watched outside as we made our way back to the hotel … to Bane.

Getting out of my scrubs, I hopped in the shower. The last thing I wanted was to smell like a wet dog when Bane arrived. I’d given the dogs baths before walking them. Which meant I’d gotten bathed too as they shook the water off their fur coats.

Toweling off, I blow dried my hair before putting on jeans and a light-weight green cardigan. Makeup was always kept to a minimum.

My heart nearly stopped for a second when I saw someone perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for my brain to catch up.

Frankie. I stopped in place as I registered the hate emanating from him. Something wasn’t right.

Keeping it light, I asked, “What are you doing here, Frankie?”

Standing, Frankie shook his head exasperated, and my heart rate quickened. “I talked to Jewel this morning. She had no idea about your new arrangement. In fact, she hasn’t heard from you since you received your first assignment. What are you doing to me, MAREN?” His voice only got louder as he spoke.

“What am I doing to you?” He had some nerve, but I needed to stay rational. If this was the last time we saw each other, I didn’t want it to be fighting. Placating, I held up my hands. “I’m not doing anything. I’m spending the month with the guy for you. You’re getting all the money from this.”

Cocking his head, Frankie looked at me—coldly. “Liar. Are you trying to cut me out? I need that money.”

At the hateful tone, I needed distance and backed up against the wall. Things were not as they should be. Frankie had never been this aggressive. “No. I didn’t know I was supposed to call in. I promise.”

“Cut the fucking crap, Maren! You’re trying to cut me out!”

Frankie grabbed my arm viciously, wrenching me from the wall. “Ouch! Frankie, you’re hurting me!”

The sneer on my brother’s face sent a thrill of fear through me. I’d never been afraid of him, but I’d always done as he asked. But this was a misunderstanding. Hopefully, he’d see the reason and the truth behind my words.

Before I had a chance to calmly talk to my brother while my arm felt like it was about to snap in half, the door opened and Bane strode in.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” The deathless stare Bane gave Frankie caused chills to run down my spine. Bane stood with one leg slightly in front of the other while his eyes glanced to me. Bane’s hand crept to the back of his pants.
Please don’t let there be a gun. No guns.
My brother may have used me for the last few years, but I loved him and didn’t want him hurt.

The two men were measuring each other up. I feared for Frankie. Bane definitely knew how to handle himself.

Frankie choose that moment to squeeze my arm harder, forcing a wince and yelp out of me. “Let her go, Frank.” The tone brokered no argument.

“She’s my sister, asshole.” Frankie squeezed harder and I squeezed my eyes shut. Speaking would spur Frankie, thinking I’d sided with Bane.

“I don’t give a shit. Let. Her. Go.” Bane rolled his shoulders and his muscles drew tight. Formidable, he took a step forward.

Frankie shoved me onto the couch and my arm got a rush of blood through it. The pain caused tears to prick behind my eyes. What was wrong with Frankie? Why was he acting like this? Bane moved toward me, concern etching his face while he glanced toward Frankie, then back to me. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

A fist came and hit Bane from the side, knocking him down. I cringed and screamed, drawing my body up tight. Lithely Bane popped back up to his feet in one movement without using his arms. Only in the movies could someone move like that. Who was he?

“You got one free shot, motherfucker. That’s it.” Bane cracked his neck to the side moving to the other side of the room away from me.

Frankie wasn’t a fighter. It was obvious with how his fists were raised up. “Bring it. What’s wrong with you that you have to pay for sex from whores?”

Tears streamed down my face at the hurtful words. “I’m not a whore!”

Without a word, Bane stalked Frankie and clocked him once. Twice. Three times. The punches were fast and Frankie dropped like a rock.

“Frankie!” I scurried off the couch to Frankie’s side. His eyes were rolled back in his head. Was he dead? He couldn’t be dead. No! He can’t be. “Frankie! Can you hear me?”

A shadow loomed over me. “He’ll be fine, Maren. He’s knocked out. We need to go.”

“Go?”

I glanced to Bane. His expression softened as he talked to me, losing the aggressive hostile edge, “He’s pissed off. He hurt you. I’m not leaving you here with him. Grab a few things and we’ll get this sorted. If he wakes up, he’s going to be mad as hell. I’m not letting him hurt you again.”

Standing, I looked down at Frankie’s limp body. Bruises were already forming on his cheek. “Okay. You promise he’s going to be okay?”

Bane put his hand on my waist. “He’ll have a hell of a headache, but your brother will be fine, which is more than he deserves.”

Knowing Bane was right, I decided to leave with him. Before I left, I’d try to smooth things over with Frankie. Grabbing the black backpack I’d put in my suitcase, I quickly put some clothes in and the essentials. Frankie didn’t move.

Bane went to the bathroom. Not knowing how long Frankie would be out, I placed a pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket. At the last minute, I remembered putting my birth control in the nightstand. Opening the drawer, the condoms were next to my pill pack. A blush crept up on my face as I grabbed both. My brother laid, not five feet from me on the floor out cold and I prepared for safe sex.

Frankie stirred.

“Let’s go, Maren, before he wakes up.” Bane’s booming voice caused me to jump as he passed me.

Behind Bane’s footsteps, I followed without a word. There was a lot to process. In essence I chose Bane over my brother. What had gotten into him? Where did this leave everything? I wasn’t sure. One thing I knew, I wasn’t safe with Frankie.

My brother was mentally manipulative, not physically abusive. At least not until today. Numbly, I went on autopilot while we got in to the car and drove off. Things would be forever changed between Frankie and me. A heartache blossomed in my chest as I digested the thoughts. If only we could go back to before I was eighteen when I thought we were happy.

I stared out into traffic.

“Maren, are you okay?”

Looking to Bane, I answered, “I will be. He’s never been physically abusive before.”

Taking out his phone, Bane dialed a number. “Jewel, please.” He paused. What was he going to say to her? A slight bruise appeared on Bane’s chin from the hit. I reached out to touch where Frankie sucker punched him. Bane looked at me, giving me a small smile before he spoke again, “Jewel. Bane. Why was Frank Kincaid in my hotel room today?” He listened. “Okay. Yes. Not a problem. Bye.”

Quietly, I sat in the car after Bane hung up. That had been more civil than I’d imagined after the scene up in the room.

Bane looked deep in thought as he squinted at the road. After a few minutes, he asked, “Did you know Frank called Jewel?”

“No. Frank came by my old apartment as I packed. He said he wanted to call Jewel. I told him I would take care of it. I never planned to tell her I’d moved into the hotel.”

Bane was still, too still, as he drove. No doubt he assessed everything including me. “Why?”

“Because you shouldn’t even be paying anything to them. You’ve done more for me than anyone else has. And quite frankly, Jewel doesn’t own me. I wanted to quit, but didn’t to give us uninterrupted time to escape. Now that Frankie’s ruined that, I’m quitting.”

“What about the money he owes?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“What about the month?”

“That’s up to you.”

“Maren, what do you want?”

This conversation moved quick, not giving me much time to think. The only thing I could do was think with my heart, which was dangerous considering our agreement. “To spend the month together like we planned, then go our separate ways.”

Parking the car, Bane nodded to the building where Security Branch was in large white letters. “You said old apartment. What did you mean by that?”

I felt like this was an interrogation, but I wanted to be truthful with him. “After I help Frankie out this last time, I’m leaving. Escaping. Getting away from this life. I want to live.”

“I need to pick up something here. I’ll be back.”

That was a rapid change to the pace we were talking. At times, Bane was his own island state. I noticed I wasn’t given the option to come with him. “Okay, I’ll stay in the car.”

Bane nodded while grabbing his sunglasses from the middle compartment. Checking the rearview mirror first, he got out of the vehicle, locked me in, and jogged toward the door while checking his surroundings. My eyes couldn’t leave his ass. Last night I hadn’t been able to see him naked, but I wanted to.

Stop thinking about sex, Maren.
There were issues I needed to deal with. Distracting myself with sex was not healthy.

To the core, I was shocked at everything that went down. I watched the traffic come and go to distance my mind. I was with a semi-stranger who I was sleeping with. My brother took it too far. I still had to come up with a large sum of money. What the hell happened over the last few days?

A few minutes later, Bane came out of the black shiny glass doors with a leather backpack slung over his shoulders. Mirrored Aviators were in place on his face. Bane seemed tenser as he got in the vehicle.

“Everything okay?”

“I called the hotel. Frankie left. I figured we’d get all your stuff and check in somewhere else that no one knows about. How does that sound?” There was something Bane wasn’t telling me as he reversed out of the parking lot.

Shifting in my seat, I looked out the window. “That’s fine. Bane, I want you to know there’s no pressure to continue this thing. I’ll be fine.”

“I want to.”

My head snapped back to Bane at his simple sentence that rang true to my ears. The thought of Bane wanting to spend more time together had the familiar ache returning. A giggle escaped as I thought about the condoms. Was this what it was like to be sex crazed? After one time together?

Amused, Bane glanced my way. “What’s funny?”

“When you told me to pack a few things, I saw the condoms next to my birth control and grabbed the condoms too.” I laughed harder. “I guess I wanted to make sure we were prepared if we didn’t come back.” Tears. I had tears from laughter.

Bane’s hand came to my chin as he brought my eyes to meet his, a devilish grin on his face. “We’ll be fucking soon. It’s all I’ve thought about since last night. But, it’s good to know we’re on the same page.”

“I am.” That was the one thing I was absolutely sure about in all this.

Bane returned his focus to driving and moved his left hand to settle on my leg. I liked the contact and what it did to my insides—slowly turning them into a wanting mess. The hotel came into view as we pulled up the drive. The valet came to the driver side as another one opened my door.

As I got out of the vehicle, I heard Bane say, “Don’t park it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bane’s hand took position on the small of my back, guiding me inside. Looking down after a slight pressure on my shoe, I noticed I’d nearly tripped on my lace. “Oh wait, my shoe is undone.”