Getting the Edge: Betrayed Book 1 (13 page)

Again, she heard him chuckle. “Don’t worry—I’m not going for a belt just now.”

Brandon grinned to himself, knowing that with her head turned away, she couldn’t see him. Of course he’d never use a belt on her for something like having an orgasm while he was tormenting her, but he’d felt her heart race more, and had felt the surge of desire that ran through her at his words.

Mandy was more submissive than she thought, he decided. And he was going to explore her limits—but not now. Now, if he didn’t get inside her soon, he was going to explode. That’s why he’d threatened her with the belt. If those hands of hers had continued, he’d have lost it himself before ever getting inside her.

Finally, he drew his fingers out slowly, and pressed his thumb hard against her sensitive nub. “Come,” he ordered roughly, driving three fingers deep and hard.

Mandy cried out and came apart for him, he could feel her inner muscles clenched tightly around his fingers. God, she was beautiful when she came. He used his other hand and continued to spank her gently as she orgasmed.

She writhed against him and he noted her hands were clenched tightly beneath her head.

Damn, he’d forgotten about her hand for a moment. “Touch me,” he said.

Almost immediately, he felt her hand against his erection. Even through the material of his boxers, it was driving him too close.

He flipped her off his lap, and moved her so she was astride him.

“Now,” he said, lifting them both so he could push his boxers down.

Mandy was hesitant at first when he’d freed himself and braced at her entrance.

“Come down slowly, love. Take your time,” he said, his tone as gentle as he could make it.

He moved his hands to her breasts, taking one nipple between each thumb and forefinger and pinching them lightly. “Take me inside you.”

Brandon didn’t take his eyes off her flushed face as she eased over him, taking him in slowly. He felt her shudder when he was seated to the hilt.

He moved his hands from her breasts to her hips. “There’s my girl,” he murmured as he held her still. “Just like that.” He needed a moment to gain his own control or this would be over too soon.

Mandy’s eyes were wide, and she flicked her tongue over her lips.

Brandon groaned and moved one hand to pull her head down to his for his kiss. He drove his tongue deep, then arched his hips at the same time. When he finally pulled his mouth from hers, his voice was rough. “Move, Mandy. Make love to me,” he ordered.

Mandy put her hands on his chest and started to rise and fall over him, moving almost completely off him, then slowly moved back down. He moved his hands to her hips and moved her the way he wanted, driving deep with each powerful thrust of his hips against her own.

But it wasn’t enough. He lifted her, pulling out, then smiled. “Roll over, love. On your hands and knees. Rest your upper body on the bed,” he said gently.

Mandy looked at him for a long moment, but nodded and moved in the position he’d asked.

He moved behind her and groaned aloud. Her ass was still a light red from his spanking, and he cupped her ass in his hands, squeezing gently as he drove himself between her soft folds.

“Hold on, love,” he warned, as he started to move strongly inside her. The only sound in the room now was their ragged breathing and the sound of flesh hitting flesh as he moved inside her.

“Come for me again,” he said, giving her ass a smack. “I want you to come with me.”

Mandy cried out and he felt her inner muscles clench against him. He continued to thrust and used his free hand to spank, alternating cheeks as he drove deep inside her with his own release as she found hers.

He didn’t move for a long moment, just held himself deeply inside her. “God, you’re amazing,” he said before he’d even realized the words were there.

Chapter Fifteen

He knew she hadn’t left on her own this time. Brandon cursed himself as a fool for not moving them from the cabin. It wouldn’t have been hard to track her—not when he’d given them her real name at the hospital. What the hell had he been thinking?

That was the problem; he hadn’t been thinking at all. His only concern had been the unconscious woman in the back of that damn ambulance.

Brandon called Kevin again. “Kevin?”

“Hey, Brandon. What’s going on? Have you found out anything yet?”

“Kevin, she’s gone. I think they got to her,” Brandon said dully. “I don’t have any connections at the department anymore. I need your help.”

“What can I do?” Kevin replied immediately.

Brandon closed his eyes. “Put feelers out. See if you can find out who might be looking for her. Hell, Kevin—I’m still not entirely sure why she set me up to begin with. But somehow, I led them right to her.”

“I wish you could have just let this go, Brandon. You’ve given up enough. I’ll help you find her—but then you should walk away. Don’t let her get to you like this.”

Brandon understood that Kevin wasn’t a fan. Kevin had been his only support during the hell of the trial and his time in the prison system. Without him, Brandon wasn’t sure what he’d have done. “She was forced, Kevin. Someone forced her. We’ve had this talk before.”

“Damn it, Brandon, she was able to lie well enough to convince twelve men and women that you beat her to a damn pulp! When are you going to realize that you don’t know this woman at all?”

It was an old battle. One that wouldn’t be ended today. “I don’t want to fight, Kevin. I just want to find her safe. Are you going to help me, or not?”

Brandon heard the deep sigh. “Yes, I’ll help if I can. Let me make a few calls.”

“Thanks, man. Let me know. I’m going to check locally. Maybe someone saw something.”

“All right, Brandon. Keep me posted, and I’ll do the same,” Kevin replied, then disconnected the call.

Brandon tossed the phone onto the couch seat next to him and ran his hand through his hair. God, he wasn’t sure where to begin. Finding a woman that had no real ideas of how to hide hadn’t been difficult at all—but this was totally different. Now, he was searching for men that would stop at nothing to protect themselves. And he didn’t have the first clue where to begin looking. Still, sitting here staring at four walls wouldn’t help a damn thing.

*~*~*

Amanda sat on the edge of the bed in the small motel room. The room was dark and dingy. It fit her mood perfectly. Brandon had promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone where they were, but she’d heard him on the phone.

She knew he’d called his friend, Kevin. Mandy knew Kevin hated her, and she couldn’t blame him—but she didn’t know him. She wasn’t willing to trust their safety to anyone. Not even Brandon’s best friend. He was an attorney. An officer of the court.

Mandy hadn’t overheard the entire conversation, but had heard enough to know that Brandon had told Kevin about her being threatened. About being beaten up. But, even Mandy knew that that just didn’t justify what she’d put Brandon through.

A car engine backfired and Mandy let out an involuntary yelp. Her nerves were beyond shot.
Get a grip.
She repeated the mantra over and over in her mind.

She had to make some sort of a plan. As long as she wasn’t with Brandon, he should be safe—and so should she. As much as she wanted to stay with him, the message on her cell phone had convinced her that she had to go. She had no idea how they’d found her, but the warning had been clear.

If she didn’t leave immediately, they’d kill him. She had waited until he’d gone on a store run, then she’d left.

All she’d taken was her purse. She had some money hidden in—even Brandon hadn’t found it. Of course, he hadn’t looked, either. He’d been looking for some sort of weapon, not a stash of cash that was hidden beneath the liner.

Though, she still didn’t have any idea how they had gotten her phone number. It was a pre-paid cell. No one had the number, as far as she knew. She had it for emergencies only.

Had Brandon given the number to Kevin? That was the only thing that made any sense to her. Kevin. His best friend. Was
he
the one responsible for the entire thing?

Many didn’t know—but she did know that there was no way in hell that Brandon would ever believe her if she tried to say he could be.

No, there was nothing she could do but disappear—again. She’d have to do a better job this time, though. She couldn’t stay in this motel more than a night.

But now, she just needed to sleep. Just a couple of hours, and she’d think about her next move.

*~*~*

When Amanda woke the next morning, she woke instantly and terrified. She’d been awakened by a hard hand over her mouth.

She opened her eyes wide.

“You were warned not to tell him,” a cold voice said.

Mandy couldn’t make out any features, but she thought she recognized the voice. She put her hands on his wrist and tried to pull the hand away from her mouth.

“I’m going to let go.”

Mandy saw the glint of a knife. “But I’d suggest you not scream.”

Mandy nodded, her heart racing wildly in her chest. The hard, gloved hand moved from her mouth. She could still taste the leather on her lips. “What do you want?”

“You had your chance. He knows too much.”

“He doesn’t know anything! I don’t know anything!” she said frantically. “I left. He doesn’t know where I am.”

The man leaned down, his masked face a mere inch from hers. “He’ll find you. And that’s exactly what I want.”

Oh, God.
What have I done? They are going to kill us both this time.
“He doesn’t know where I am. I didn’t leave any clues.”

“That’s why you’re going to call him—tell him where you are,” the man said in that same cold voice.

No, she wasn’t going to do that. She’d known she’d been on borrowed time since the night they’d beaten her—but she wasn’t going to let them get to Brandon. “No, I won’t call him. He wouldn’t come anyway. He doesn’t trust me.”

“The two off you seemed pretty close when I saw you in that cabin,” he taunted.

Mandy felt his hand in her hair, and it tightened painfully as he lifted her from the bed. Her hands wrapped around his arm to ease the pain as he pulled her up. Before she could do more than try to step back, he backhanded her, causing her to fall back onto the bed once more. Her hand flew to her face. “And I won’t blame him this time, either,” she said, spitting out the blood from where he’d busted her lip.

The man was tall. Too tall and strong for her to fight, even if she’d been able to. There was nothing she could to. She huddled on the bed, but her eyes snapped fire as he drew back his hand again. She refused to give him the satisfaction of flinching as he struck her again; another backhand that caused her to fall back onto her back.

“How did you find me?” she asked. She wished she hadn’t shut the curtains. Even though it was daylight, with the drapes closed, she could actually see very little.

“We’ve known where you were all along, Ms. Wilson. I was content to let you alone as long as you kept with the plan, but you didn’t, did you?”

“I didn’t tell him anything! I don’t even know anything!” she said, keeping her voice low, but she didn’t hide the anger, either.

He pulled a phone—it looked like
her
phone—from his pocket. “Call him, Ms. Wilson.”

Mandy took the phone with shaking fingers. “I don’t have his number.”

“I do.” He recited the number for her. “Now, call him and tell him to come here,” he ordered. “And no tricks. Put it on speaker.”

Shaking, Mandy dialed the number. Surely, Brandon would know something was wrong by her voice. He wouldn’t walk into a trap.

“Mandy? Where the fuck are you?” Brandon roared.

“Run, Brandon—he’s here—run!” she said quickly, then screamed as the man hit her again. This time with his fist. She felt nothing more.

Chapter Sixteen

Brandon was instantly alert. “Mandy? Mandy!” He could still hear sounds, but she wasn’t speaking anymore.

He’d already left the cabin and was headed to town, hoping she hadn’t gotten far, since she had taking virtually nothing but her purse.

There was a shabby motel on the right side of the road. He glanced at the lot, not thinking that she’d stop this soon, but something caught his eyes.

There was a car in the lot that just didn’t fit. It was a newer model Lexus. What the hell would a Lexus be doing in this small-town motel?

He swung into the lot, but parked in the back of the building. Reaching under the seat, he pulled out his .45. To hell with not being allowed to have a gun. He wasn’t about to take any chances. He put the gun under his shirt at the back of his jeans, then climbed from the car.

There were very few cars in the parking lot. He walked into the office as casually as he could muster. A bored teenager was sitting at the front desk.

He looked up with a bored look on his face. “Fifty for the night,” he said. “Need your license and this card filled out.”