Sexual Games [The Heroes of Silver Springs 8] (Siren Publishing Classic) (28 page)

“Are
you
in love with him?” Cameron turned the question around and felt his heart plummet when Thaddeus sighed.

“Yes. I tried not to be. It worked for a long time, too. But somewhere down the line the lust morphed into more and I fell anyway.”

“Is that what the other night was about?” Cameron dared to ask. “Our date, was that you trying again not to be in love with Adrien?”

“Part of it.” Thaddeus shrugged. “Terri has been telling me for months that I need to move on. I was attracted to you.
Am
attracted to you,” he corrected. He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Shit, who am I kidding. Adrien isn’t the only one who is hot, Cam.”

Cameron grinned. “Tell me about it.”

“Touché.” Thaddeus stared at him for a long moment. “I went out with you because I wanted to, because I like you, and I had a fantastic time. Tonight has been pretty good so far, too, despite the day that led us to be here now.”

The fire. Mallory.
Jesus
. Cameron had actually managed to push it all from his mind for a few short minutes.

“I had a great time, too,” he told Thaddeus, trying desperately to hold onto a few more minutes before the bone-deep worry for his sister took over his sanity. Except, what was happening between him and Thaddeus tonight was completely
in
sane. “I enjoy being with you. Adrien is a dumbass for letting me stand in his way of claiming you.”

Thaddeus slanted him a look. “
Claiming
me? Honey, that sounds so barbaric.”

“It doesn’t change the facts.”

Thaddeus nodded thoughtfully. “And our date the other night was, what, about you wanting to fuck me, too?”

His bluntness surprised another laugh out of Cameron. “Oh, I do want to fuck you. It’s a bad idea, but my mind seems to be having trouble explaining that to my dick. That isn’t why I asked you to follow me home tonight.”

“Then why don’t we do what you did ask me to come over for? Let’s go in the living room, change that bandage on your arm, and find something stupidly hilarious and equally cheesy on television to watch for a while.”

“I’m game.” Cameron walked to the fridge. “Do you want another beer?” he asked, pulling out another can for himself.

“No, but I will take that bottle of water now.”

* * * *

Voices seeped into Mallory’s quiet world. Her head spun, the ache between her temples returning with a vengeance. Vaguely, she remembered that pain and the cause, remembered it being the result of whatever had been in the syringe Forbes had stuck in her arm before taking her from the van.

He had done it again, too. That memory slowly swam to the forefront of her mind. He had come into the room where she and Sophie had been, a loaded gun in one hand and another full syringe in the other. Sophie had screamed, pleaded, and even attempted to stop Forbes by begging him to give her the drug instead. She had pretended to be going through withdrawals, crying and apologizing for not eating the food he had left for her that would have given her a quick fix.

Forbes hadn’t bought the act, but the girl deserved an Emmy for trying. He had backhanded her for her attempts, sending her flying across the bed, and advanced on Mallory. There hadn’t been anything she could do. He had left her with only the options to fight and be shot by a bullet or take the shot from the syringe. She had gritted her teeth as he plunged the needle in her arm, and almost instantly, the world had started to spin.

Another hazy memory had her being dragged down a long hallway. She had tried to pay attention to her surroundings, but the drug had made it impossible to focus. She didn’t remember blacking out, but she knew she must have, and she almost wished she had stayed that way.

Something cold and unforgiving was biting into her wrists.
Handcuffs?
An incessant tingling travelled down her arms. Her legs ached from standing too long. But that couldn’t be right. How could she be on her feet if she had been knocked out?

It took every ounce of strength she could gather to lift her head and look up. Shock and fear slammed through her system and brought unwanted tears to her eyes. The links of the handcuffs were secured over a huge meat hook attached to a thin chain in the ceiling that didn’t look any different than the one of the room she had been in with Sophie. She was naked. The blanket she had used for cover was gone.

Don’t think about that. Concentrate of rebuilding your strength, on how you can fight this bastard.

Her legs were far stronger than her arms, and he had left them unrestrained. They ached, but she flexed the muscles in her thighs and calves and knew she could ignore the pain if she could just get a chance to fight.

“Good, you’re awake.”

Mallory startled at the voice from behind her. She shifted, trying to look back, but couldn’t turn sideways enough to see. That was good to know.

Note to self, make sure the fucker is right in front of you before you kick his balls into his throat.

“You are a true sleeping beauty, but my customers like to see the merchandise with their eyes open.”

Customers?
Oh, shit.
Her heart raced, her pulse thumping so loudly in her ears she couldn't hear anything beyond the pounding.

Jackson, baby, please.
Cameron, Adam, Nick, anyone, please, help me.

They didn’t hear her, of course, because none of them were inside her head. They weren’t here. They hadn’t found her yet. No one was here to stop this bastard from doing whatever it was he planned to do.

“Don’t cry now,” Forbes warned as he walked around her and came into view.

Too far away. Damnit, come closer, you son of a bitch.

Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but it wasn’t his warning that kept them from falling. Her determination did that all on its own. She couldn’t rely on anyone to save her right now. She could do this. Somehow, someway, she could get out of this.

“If you cry, I’ll have to give you more drugs. It will have to be something different this time so you don’t black out on me again, though. I really do need your eyes open for the pictures.”

Pictures?
Oh, thank God.

A stupid sense of relief washed through her as she watched him move behind a tripod holding a digital camera, which he had set up several feet in front of where she hung. He planned to take pictures of her, full-body shots he would no doubt use to auction her off. There would be naked pictures of her shown to who knew how many perverts, but it was far better than her first fear, that those perverts were here in this room about to view her firsthand.

“Now, smile for the camera.”

Mallory twisted, bobbing her head from side to side and turning her body as much as the cuffs would allow.

“Stay still or you’ll make the pictures blurry.”

Well, duh! That was the whole point.

She stopped flailing though, realizing she was wasting precious energy, and focused on his finger on top of the camera. She waited a nanosecond before she anticipated the flash and stuck out her tongue. It was childish and she knew it, but it was the only way she had to fight at that moment.

The bastard actually laughed, the sound one of pure insanity. “Mallory, Mallory, Mallory, you’ll have to pay for that later. Let’s try it again. Ready? Say cheese.”

Mallory pulled her nose up, drew her brows together, and twisted her mouth, making the worst possible face she could.

Forbes sighed, straightened behind the camera, and tsked. “Now, Mallory. The more you do things like that, the more you’re going to regret it. I only need one good picture and then we will be done with this part of our evening.”

This part?
What did he have planned next? Should she continue to push him? She thought about it. She really,
really
wanted to, but the prospect of him taking her down from this damn hook and putting her in a better position to fight won out.

Mallory looked at the camera and painted her best evil grin on her lips as the light flashed.

* * * *

“Got it!”

Jackson jolted at Sharp’s shout and raked a hand down his face.

“You might want to wake up for this one, Graham.”

Cooper bumped Jackson’s leg, and he opened his eyes to find his boss standing over him. He had actually dozed off. How the hell had he managed to do that? He had been sitting in a chair near Sharp’s computer table for hours, his feet propped on the edge, his head resting on the back of the chair as he stared at the ceiling and hoped, prayed, and mulled over everything they knew.

And he had fallen asleep in the process.

Good one, dumb shit.

“What did you find?” Cooper asked Sharp.

Jackson straightened, his gaze landing on the digital neon numbers of the clock hanging on a nearby wall. Five a.m. Damn, they had been at this all night.

“Give me a few more minutes, sir,” Sharp answered absently, his long fingers flying over his computer keyboard.

“It better be good,” Cooper told him. “I need all the good news I can get right now.”

Sharp ignored him, continuing to work his magic on the computer screen.

“What happened at Cinderella’s tonight?” Jackson flicked a glance at the clock again and corrected himself. “Last night.”

Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. “Loud music,
very
loud music, a lot of dancing, and even more drinking.”

“In other words, nothing out of the norm.”

“Not a thing that I could see or sense. Kell reported in about twenty minutes ago. Leroy Platt is headed back this way. By the time he reaches home, we’ll have him and the warrant.”

“You’re going to need more than one, boss,” Sharp informed him, not looking away from his computer screen. He rattled off a list of names as a printer on a separate table kicked to life. “Add those fuckers to your list.”

“You’re certain?” Two strides took Cooper to the printer, where he snagged the page from the completed tray.

“As a heart attack,” Sharp replied confidently.

Cooper shot Jackson a look as he pulled his phone from his inside coat pocket. “Time to move.”

* * * *

Cameron stumbled into the kitchen. Coffee. He needed coffee and a giant bottle of ibuprofen because, Jesus, he hurt. His entire body felt as if it had been twisted into a pretzel. He had apparently slept that way, too, for—he glanced at the clock on the microwave—three and a half hours.

The powers that be were having mercy on him, though, he discovered, spotting a full pot of coffee that had just finished brewing. No, not powers. Power, singular, as in Thaddeus. His new, magnificent god. His god who had apparently woke with the same aches and pains he did because the bottle of ibuprofen sat on the counter by the coffee pot.

Cameron smiled as he poured himself a cup, took two pills from the bottle, and knocked them back, listening to the water run in the shower down the hall. Yep, that was next on his own agenda, a long, hot shower to loosen the tight muscles in his neck and back.

He considered joining Thaddeus for a full three seconds before he pushed the notion aside. It was long enough to add a new area to his morning arsenal of aches. His cock stiffened at the image that formed in his mind. He saw Thaddeus standing beneath the showerhead, water streaming down his broad shoulders, hard chest, and ripped abs.

“Get a grip, Stone.”

His verbal warning to himself didn’t help. It only brought back the memory of last night, of how he had gotten that grip on Thaddeus. Oh, not in the way he truly wanted, and it had really been Thaddeus who had gotten the grip on him. They had found a movie on television and settled on Cameron’s sofa where Cameron had eventually curled up in Thaddeus’s strong arms and fallen asleep.

An upbeat jingle sliced into his thoughts, and he followed the tune into the living room. Thaddeus’s cell phone lay on the end table, the screen illuminating the words “unknown name, unknown number.”

Cameron shot a glance down the hallway. He should probably just let it ring and let Thaddeus’s voice mail pick up the call. But what if it was something important?

“Aw, to hell with it,” he muttered and answered the call. “Hello?”

Silence for a full heartbeat. Cameron thought the caller had hung up, but then he heard a slight, surprised familiar chuckle flow through the cellular waves that made his gut flip-flop.

“Wow, um, sorry sweetie, you’re not who I was trying to call. I must have pushed the wrong contact button.”

Adrien.
Cameron closed his eyes, the sound of the other man’s voice giving him one hell of a cardio exercise. How in the hell should he play this one off?

“No, you pushed the right one.” Cameron went with the truth. Nothing had happened between him and Thaddeus last night. They had talked and dozed off in one another’s arms, yes, but… “He’s in the shower.”

More silence, this time so thick Cameron could have cut it with a knife.

“Adrien?”