Fragile Truths (23 page)

Her face dropped until her eyes were trained on the floor but I noticed the slight tightening of her fists. I hoped she beat the shit out of me, punished me for what I had just done but a part of me angered at the thought that she was willing to accept Jude’s words without even verifying them with me first. I knew what had just happened with Cassandra was fucking low, but she didn’t understand. Yet, if she bothered to ask, I would explain.

I was suddenly angry; angry with her for dismissing me so easily, angry with her for not understanding how a man’s body worked, angry at her for refusing to even look at me but mainly I was angry because I felt her abandonment, her resignation and her surrender.

“Are you not even going to let me explain?” My voice was harsher than I had intended, causing her to flinch and tighten her fists.

“There’s nothing to explain,” she answered, her tone nonchalant and dismissive as she turned and walked into the bathroom, the door quietly sliding closed behind her.

“Fuck!”

I heard the shower kick up and the deep gush of water pounding the tiles. I strained to listen for her crying but the water was too loud, stifling any other sound.

My eyes popped up as the door opened and Nik stepped into the room armed with more sandwiches and water. He sighed and scrutinised me, a faint hint of remorse on his face but his eyes betrayed that, they were stormy and wild as if he was furious with me.

We watched each other, our eyes secured on the others before he narrowed his and glared at me, “You fucking prick!”

I frowned. “What?”

He shook his head and refused to answer me as he slung the food cartons and bottles on the table. “Come on, Nik. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

What the fuck was his problem? He worked for Don; he did The Knight’s dirty work, what happened here was none of his concern. However, his frequent involvement was starting to irk me yet at the same time, intrigue me. A flicker of something shot through my head and I grabbed it before it fizzled out, “Who are you with, Nik?”

His eyes snapped up to me but he blinked and frowned, “Not with you, Tate.”

I smirked slyly at him, the fire in his eyes disclosing his secrets but I nodded, leaving alone for now. “She’s in the bathroom, refusing to talk to me.” I divulged when he scanned the room looking for Frankie.

“And you expect different?” he asked with an incredulous expression. “You just shot your load all over some other woman’s face not ten minutes after having your fingers buried deep inside her. Fuck, you’re lucky she’s not talking to you cos’ I’m sure she’d have plenty of really nice things to say if she
was
talking to you.”

I opened my mouth to defend my actions but he shook his head sadly, “I know, Tate. I know what is and what isn’t but don’t you think you should have been truthful with her from the start?”

I scoffed and sighed in relief when he snapped open my cuffs and I dropped to the floor, my fingers immediately rubbing at the sore spots on my skin. “You have no idea what the truth is.”

He narrowed his eyes and sighed sadly, “You have no idea what I know, Tate. Stop fucking presuming things all the damn time. You can be an arrogant bastard but I know...”

“You know what?”

He rolled his lips and glanced towards the bathroom door before turning back to me. His eyes were sombre and I was suddenly caught in the intensity of them. They shifted once more to the door then back to me. “I know how long you looked for her. I know what you did for her.”

I was up and on him in a heartbeat, my hand around his throat as I glared at him, “You shut your fucking mouth. Nobody but us needs to know.” I shook him, my anger and rage forefront and unyielding as I stared to choke him. “She must never know and if she finds out, I will fucking kill you, do you understand me?”

His eyes were bulging, his face reddening as his lips turned the slightest blue. His fury peaked and I was suddenly pushed back, my head bashing against the wall before Nik was on me, my face squashed into the floor, an arm twisted behind my back and a knee in the base of my spine. “Now listen to me you motherfucking arsehole. Do not piss me off, you think things are bad now, believe me, this has been a fucking holiday camp so far cos’ I’ve stayed out of it as much as I can.” His hold increased and I hissed at the pain shooting through my shoulder, the angle he had me in crucifying the tendons and twisting my bones, “But if you want me to join the party, I’ll be more than willing. I’ve wanted to take you down a peg or two for a long time, so please, give me the nod.”

He dropped me and stood up, his eyes narrow but feverish in his glare. He shook his head in disgust before opening the bathroom door, walking in despite Frankie’s squeal then locked it behind him, leaving me stood staring after him.

Frankie

“What the hell? Get out.”

Niko rolled his eyes as I pulled the shower curtain taut against my naked, wet body, hating the way the damp material clung to my figure and revealed more than just my dark nipples.

He stared at me, his eyes a flurry of turbulence as he bit into his lip harshly. I frowned when he turned his back on the camera in the corner of the ceiling and pointed to his mouth slightly, pressing a finger stealthily against his bottom lip. “Roll with it,” I read then stilled when I realised he knew I could lip read. My eyes snapped to his but he held no smirk or smugness just a small hint of shame shone on his face and my heart quickened. “Trust me,” he mouthed again. I gave as simple a nod as possible before he stalked over to me.

I gasped and shot to the back of the cubicle when he ripped the curtain to the side and stood watching me. He kept his eyes trained on mine, refusing to let them roam as he reached out, grabbed my wrist and pulled me against him.

“Please go with this, or they’ll send Yard and you really don’t want that.” He whispered as he turned me gently so I was facing away from him.

I closed my eyes as he spread his fingers over my bare stomach, “I won’t hurt you, Doe Eyes, you have my word.”

My breathing was coming in spurts as my body started to shake with both fear and fury. I bucked against him, my elbows my weapons as I rammed them into his ribs. “Don’t touch me.”

He growled and seized my arms, his fingers digging into my flesh painfully, “Will you chill out and listen to what I’m saying. I – will – not – hurt – you!”

“If you don’t want to hurt me then get your hands off me.”

“You need to listen to what I’m saying. It’s either me or Yard, and that sadistic bastard will make this much worse.” He sighed and gently pulled me back against him once more, his breathing calm and steady as he rested his chin on my shoulder but held me firm in his hold. “I promise, I won’t hurt you, I would never hurt you, Frankie. Have I lied to you before? I’ve done everything in my power to get you through this as best as I can. This is going to happen and it will either be with me, Yard or Jude.”

As soon as he mentioned Jude I calmed and closed my eyes. That son of a bitch would take great delight in making this as torturous as possible. I gritted my teeth, knowing there was no other way to do this. It was all sick mind games, the power they held over me being thrust in my face and taunting me that they
could
do this. I knew that if they sent Yard or Jude to do this particular job, then
things
wouldn’t be as gentle as this. But why were they doing this, was it another of Don’s punishments, rape me after they had so horribly crucified my heart?

I nodded against him. I did trust him, it was difficult to explain why but there was something about him, his conviction held bright in his eyes and his trust in me just as vivid.

I sucked in a breath when he smoothed his hand down my stomach again, his fingers brushing over my pubis softly, his touch light and barely there as he slid lower until he was cupping my sex. I hadn’t realised I had stiffened until he breathed in my ear, “Please, babe, relax or I’m gonna feel even worse than I do right now.” He swallowed hard in my ear. “Open your legs a little, Francesca.”

I closed my eyes and whimpered as I shuffled my feet further apart, giving him better access. His finger delicately slipped across my clit and I gasped as a shock rippled through me. What the fuck? I squeezed my eyes harder; my shame at what my body was enjoying humiliating the life out of me. He continued to circle my nub softly, his attention never straying from my clit as he started to speed up. My legs wobbled as my heart rattled against my chest, the heat coursing through my body was shocking and a sob ripped from me when Niko pinched my clit and I felt the approach of my orgasm. “Please don’t… I…” My climax hit and I shuddered against Niko, devastation hitting me as much as the pleasure. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me upright as his lips kissed my shoulder softly.

He sighed heavily, “Please don’t hate me.”

As much as I wanted to hate him, the guilt in his voice was passionate and deep. “I…” The mortification of coming on his hand was overwhelming but Niko slid his mouth up the length of my neck and settled at my ear.

“Now you’re even.”

I tensed, my jaw locking angrily and spun on my heels to stare at him. My chest was heaving as fury flooded me, “What the hell? You…”

He smiled ruefully and winked, “See how easy it is to come when someone stimulates the right parts, even if you do hate the fuck out of them.”

His face darkened as his shame came forward but he stepped into me again, “I won’t let them ruin this.”

He didn’t say anymore, just turned and left me with his cryptic statement.

Tate

Nik had stormed through the room a while ago but Frankie remained in the bathroom. I didn’t want to encroach on her space, hoping she would use the isolation to calm down so I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her. I needed her to calm down so she’d listen to me, but I was steadily growing more infuriated. I tried to keep my emotions in check but her refusal to face what this was, was sending hot fury through me.

She would never understand what slithered through my veins; storms and wraths that I had fought to temper and control since I’d encountered Frankie in that alleyway seven years ago. I had disciplined myself, told my Father I had wanted to take a back seat, urged with him even, just to try and tame the beast to give me the slightest hope of ever having Frankie by my side. If she knew what I had done, what I
was
then our relationship would be doomed before it had even started. I’d lingered and watched for so long, regimented myself over time, learnt to control and cage the demon inside. And yet, she was the one now bringing those emotions to the forefront, the one encouraging the Shadow in my blood to become whole and alert.

The bathroom door opened, the light from the little swinging bulb blanketing the carpet with a soft glow, Frankie’s shadow structuring a path before her. She lifted her face and looked at me, her eyes red rimmed and desolate. My fury vaporized, just leaving a twinge in my heart and a lump in my throat as she struggled with her thoughts.

She remained immobile, her wet hair plastered to her head, the strands in disarray even though she’d obviously tried to tame the wild locks with her fingers.

I stood and walked over to her slowly, not wanting to give her an excuse to run… or hit me. She flinched when I reached up but waited me out, her eyes never leaving mine as I took a section of her hair and smoothed it with my fingers. She dropped her eyes as I tried to read what was going on in her mind, her cheeks flush and pink making me slightly suspicious she was hiding something from me. “What happened in there?”

She tipped her head and raised her eyes to me, “Nothing.” She held firm but I didn’t miss the flash of something cross her face.

“Well what did Nik want?”

She swallowed and I hardened as I felt the tension stream off her. “He… uhh. He…”

Fury rolled over me in waves when I sensed her embarrassment, her cheeks flaming brightly as she lowered her eyes again. “Did he hurt you?” I demanded as I grabbed her, my eyes scanning her body, checking for signs of bruising or bleeding.

“No!” she hissed as she shook me off. “No, he didn’t. If you must know he showed me…”

She stopped and looked away. I slid my palm over her cheek, my heart racing at the simple touch but she shrugged me off, her eyes biting into me as her anger exploded, “Don’t ever touch me again.”

I stared at her, my eyebrows shooting above my hairline with the hatred she expressed. “Frankie…”

“Don’t fucking Frankie me!” She exploded, her hands abruptly shoving at me causing me to stumble backwards slightly. “You ever touch me again and I’ll fucking kill you. How dare you…. HOW DARE YOU….”

I braced myself for her wrath as she powered into me, her tiny hands bunched into furious fists that rained punch after punch. She was wild as she let rip, her face wincing every time the stub of her finger connected with my flesh. “You bastard. You lied to me, you lied. You used me… you fucking used me….”

Her face crumbled as she sobbed, a torrent of tears streaming down her face, her chest heaving as she finally let go and cried. Cried for my lies, cried for Jude’s lies, cried for everything she had endured over the last few days and cried for what was to come. She leant into me, using me as a foundation to cushion the emotion, her fingers tearing into the skin on my back as her face buried into my chest, soaking up the tears for her. “Why? Why did you do this?” She reared back slightly, her face white as something alarmed her enough to halt her cries, “Oh my God, are you in on this?”

“In on this?” I echoed in confusion.

“This!” she spat as she waved her hand around the room. “This… kidnapping, this torture…”

“What the fuck?” I grabbed her arms, shaking her furiously to make her see. “No. NO!”

She hiccupped and glared at me, “But you’re after it, just like them.”

I rolled my eyes and yanked her into me, holding her tight, “Will you listen to yourself. You’re perfect prey for them. You’re like a fucking sponge; taking in, soaking up every fucking lie they throw at you.” She blinked at my fury, her eyes flicking rapidly over my face to search for answers. “You honestly think that? You really think that’s what this…” I motioned between us with an enraged point of my finger, “… is going on here.”