Whatever It Takes (8 page)

Once he unlocked the door, he pulled it open while keeping
an arm around her waist. Laurie nodded to let him know she was okay and he
released her so she could step into the building. She made it over the
threshold and turned back to smile at him.

“Thanks for hanging out with me and for buying me, I dunno,
like a hundred beers. I had a really great time.”

Mason chuckled as he caressed her cheek and tucked a stray
lock of hair behind her ear.

“Anytime, Angel.” He winked as he let go of the door and
backed away.

Laurie watched from the lobby as Mason moved back down the
steps, looking like a specter in the dull, gray light of early morning. After
he slipped back into the cab and it pulled away from the curb, she climbed the
stairs to her room. As soon as she was inside, she stripped down to her panties
and fell into her bed, telling herself she wouldn’t feel guilty about spending
the evening drinking with Mason and his friends. She’d had a good time and she
decided she deserved to cut loose every now and then.

* * * * *

Mason decided he needed to do something nice for Dewayne to
thank him for the heads-up. He had intended to stay home alone but when he’d
gotten the text message from Dewayne, saying Laurie was at the bar, Mason had
hurried over. He’d intended to do nothing more than torture himself by watching
her dance and have fun with her college prick of a boyfriend, but when he found
her sitting alone he hadn’t hesitated to snatch her up and keep her in his
company all night. There was no way he was going to leave her sitting alone
after what he’d witnessed. That could have been bad and he was thankful she had
some street smarts. When the guy had approached her, Mason had gotten ready to
step in before she accepted the beer, but he was proud of her response. His
girl was no fool.

The sound of her laughter as she joked with the group all
night had left him feeling lighthearted and happy. Then when she fell asleep on
him in the cab, he’d enjoyed having her in his arms more than he thought
possible. He’d held her snug against him and had stroked her hair and her back.
Thankfully, Dewayne and Mona made an extra effort to ignore them, which allowed
Mason the opportunity to bury his face in her hair and breathe in her scent to
his heart’s content. The whole night was absolute torture and a great time. He
was glad he hadn’t missed it.

Mason was lost in thought as the cab rolled out of the
parking lot. After a moment, he realized Dewayne and Mona were smiling in his
direction.

“What?” he demanded.

“What the hell was that?” Mona asked, looking at him
incredulously. “You’re not taking her back to your place and you’re not staying
at hers. You didn’t even kiss her. Mace, you held her hand. I’ve never seen you
hold anyone’s hand. Since when are you such a gentleman?”

“And don’t tell us you ain’t into her like that.” Dewayne
laughed. “Everyone can tell you want to fuck the freckles off that little
thing. So what’s up, big guy? What’s got you holding back?”

“Do I instantly mount every woman I get the urge to fuck?”
Mason scowled. “Am I some kind of fucking animal that can’t control itself?”

Dewayne and Mona laughed hard and Mason shook his head, heat
creeping up his neck. He was frustrated and confused by his feelings for
Laurie. He was still trying to figure out what it all meant and damn sure wasn’t
ready to try to explain it to anyone else.

“Oh fuck me, this is serious.” Dewayne laughed so hard tears
popped into his eyes. “You ain’t fucking her ‘cause you like her.”

Mona gasped and stared at Mason in wonder.

“Seriously?” she squealed, bouncing on the seat. “Oh, Mace,
it’s wonderful.”

“Oh yeah, it’s just great. Hey, why don’t we go back to my
place and open some wine and make some popcorn and talk about my feelings for a
while, or better yet we can just fucking drop it.”

Mona grinned at him, appearing to take no offense at his
grumpy remarks. “Okay, okay, but if it helps, she likes you too. I could tell.”

Mason didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his head to gaze
out the window as the cab pulled onto the freeway.

Over the next two weeks, all of Laurie’s communication with
Trey was through text messages. She’d been putting off the inevitable but as
soon as she saw him she would break up with him. She’d decided it was time to
end things when he’d left her on her own at the bar but she dreaded the
confrontation.

A few days before Halloween, he called and asked her to come
over and she reluctantly agreed. It was time to break it off with him once and
for all.

When she arrived at his frat house he led her to his room
where he handed her a wad of cash.

“What’s this?” she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder from across the room where he
was punching keys on his computer.

“It’s for Mr. Fix-It.”

Laurie frowned at him and shook her head.

“I’m not going to see him again. We agreed the last time was
a one-time thing. I mean, seriously. Is that what you asked me over here for?”

She tossed the money onto his bed and moved toward the door.
Trey turned around and smiled at her.

“Oh, you’re going to see him again.” he said. “You’re going
to pick up more stuff for me in a couple days. In fact, you are going to do it
any time I tell you to.”

Laurie glared at him. “Not going to happen, Trey. I don’t
know who you think you are but I’m done with you. Don’t call me, don’t text
me—we are finished.”

She made a move for the door but he crossed the room with
surprising speed and shoved her into the wall. Her head banged against the
doorframe and pain shot through her. Before she could recover, he pinned her
there. His grip was incredibly solid and for a moment she was too stunned to
fight back.

He gripped her face and leaned in close. His pupils were huge
and sweat poured down along his temples. Laurie quickly realized he was high on
something and her fear cranked up a notch or two. She knew well enough that
people under the influence of drugs could be unpredictable and violent.

“Let me go or I’m going to scream,” she said, struggling
against his grip.

“Scream all you want. This is my frat house and my brothers
will protect me. You’re nothing in here.”

“Just let me go, Trey.”

“Wait. Don’t you want to see my movie?” Trey laughed.

Gripping her hair viciously, he dragged her across the room
toward his computer.

“It’s going to be a real hit.”

He forced her to sit in the desk chair and punched a button
on his laptop. He wrapped an arm around her chest tight enough to make it
difficult for her to breathe and he kept a tight grip on her hair, forcing her
to look at the screen.

Laurie watched as a video began to play and gasped when she
saw herself come on the screen. She carried a pink backpack and set it on a
pool table. There was no sound but she didn’t need any audio—she remembered the
whole conversation. Trey insisting she take the bag, her losing her patience
and dumping the contents on the table then counting a large stack of cash. The
camera was at the perfect angle to capture only her presence. There was also no
mistaking what she’d just dumped out. It looked bad, really bad.

Trey laughed in her ear. “Pretty good, huh?”

Laurie swallowed around a lump in her throat.

“What do you think the dean would do if I sent a copy of
this to him?”

“You set me up,” she whispered.

She tried to break free but Trey gave her hair a yank and
moved his arm to her neck, cutting off her air. After a moment, he spun her
around by her hair so she was facing him and he gripped her face.

“Yes, I did.”

His smile was manic and Laurie’s heart pounded harder.

“Did you arrange for me to be attacked too?” she asked.

Trey shook his head and chuckled.

“That wasn’t me, although I must admit the timing was
perfect. I just saw an opportunity and exploited on it.”

Laurie’s mind reeled as she tried to think of some way out
of this. She couldn’t believe Trey would do this to her. How could she have
fallen for his scam?

“Now you can either help me out or I can make sure you are
kicked out of school…and possibly even arrested. Besides, I think it’s the
least you could do for your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend,” Laurie spat.

She tried to pull away but Trey gave her face a sharp slap
and then gripped her throat hard.

“Oh, I’m your boyfriend for as long as I say. And you’ll do
whatever the fuck I tell you to do.”

He ran a hand up her shirt and gave her breast a squeeze
then circled her nipple with his thumb. She shivered in fear and revulsion.

“For now, I just want you to pick up my shipment. If I want
something else, anything else, I’ll call and you’ll come. No questions asked.”

He stood up and yanked her to her feet before he pulled a
jump drive from his laptop and dropped it in the drawer of his desk.

“Now pick up that money.”

Gripping her hair, he maneuvered her toward his bed where
she’d dropped the cash he’d given her. When Laurie made no move to pick it up,
he used his grip on her hair to give her a brutal shake that left her head
spinning. He forced her head down, causing her to bend over.

“I said, pick up that fucking money.”

A panicked whimper slipped from her throat and she did as he
ordered.

“Good girl.”

Trey chuckled and yanked her back into an upright position
then walked her toward the door and pinned her back to it.

“Now, when Mr. Fix-It texts you, you will go pick up my shit
and bring it back to me. Give me any trouble and I’ll make sure you regret it.
Understand?”

Laurie nodded and a tear slipped down her cheek. Trey wiped
it off and then gripped her chin and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. Laurie
tried to turn her head but he held her in place and used his free hand to grip
her between the legs. Laurie let loose a panicked sob and he pulled back and
looked into her eyes as he roughly rubbed her most intimate spot.

“I own you now,” he growled.

Laurie swallowed hard to keep from vomiting as she endured
his touch while staring into his crazed eyes.

“I think you like it.” He smiled meanly and tightened his
grip between her legs. “I think you want me right now. You want me to strip you
down and fuck you right here.”

“No, please,” Laurie gasped. “Trey, please just let me go.”

He stared into her eyes for a moment and then laughed before
he let her go.

“Get the fuck out of here until you have my shit. If I call,
you’d damn well better show up or I will fuck up your life beyond recognition.
Got it?”

Laurie nodded as she felt for the doorknob behind her. When
she found it, she opened the door and left Trey’s room at a run. She heard some
of his frat brothers chuckle as she ran past and wondered how often women left
the house crying and terrified.

Once she was in her car, she locked the doors and allowed a
deep, painful sob to escape her. Oh, she was really screwed now.

* * * * *

On Halloween, Laurie received a text message from Mason, simply
stating that she should come over at six. As it neared time for her to leave
for Mason’s apartment, Laurie sat on her bed, telling her roommate, Olivia,
about her encounters with him. Laurie confessed her crazy attraction to him and
the inner turmoil those emotions caused her. She revealed everything—from how
he touched her at his apartment, to how much fun she had spending an evening
drinking with him and his friends.

What she didn’t reveal was the fact that Trey was blackmailing
and threatening her. She was too embarrassed to admit that he’d totally manipulated
her into incriminating herself and that she hadn’t even seen it coming. Her
chest burned every time she thought of him but she couldn’t figure out a way to
break free from the hold he had over her. She wished she could bring herself to
tell her friend about her troubles because of all people, Olivia could probably
help Laurie come up with some kind of plan.

Olivia was the closest thing Laurie had to a best friend, or
she would be if she ever stuck around for more than a day or two. The problem
with Olivia was she was adventurous. Some might call it flighty. She would
disappear for days or even weeks at a time on a whim. Laurie wondered how Olivia
managed to pass her classes when she so rarely attended. She always came back
with great presents and amazing stories, only once with crabs—and not the
edible kind. When she was there, she and Laurie always caught up on each other’s
lives and local gossip.

“I have never seen the man,” Olivia said, “but I hear Mr.
Fix-It is
fine
.”

Laurie rolled her eyes. Olivia and her overactive libido.

“Trey, however…” Olivia shook her head. “Laurie, I told you
before I don’t know why you’re even dating that asshole. Sure, he’s cute-ish
but he’s
such
a dick. I mean you aren’t even fucking him. How can he be
your boyfriend if you’re not even fucking him? What is this? Junior high? Are
you going to hold hands at the pep rally? Do you want me to pass him a note in
homeroom?”

Laurie sighed, not wanting to touch that can of worms at
that moment. “I don’t want to talk about Trey. I need your advice about Mason.”

“Oh, and that’s something else.” Olivia spun around from
checking out her ass in her new panties in the full-length mirror. “He lets you
call him by his real name, not his nickname or drug dealer name. It
does
sound as if he’s into you. Girl, I sure wish I had your problems.”

“You’re not helping, Olivia. What do I do tonight when I
have to see him? I don’t know if I trust myself, definitely not him.”

Olivia thought for a moment then snapped her fingers. “Ugly
panties.”

“What?” Laurie sighed, exasperated with her friend.

Olivia ran to Laurie’s dresser and started rummaging through
her panty drawer.

“You know how sexy panties make you feel sexy, right? Well,
if you wear old ugly panties, every time the guy gets near you you’ll remember
your ugly panties and just say no.” Olivia continued digging in the drawer for
a moment and then huffed and planted her hands on her hips. “Damn it, girl, you
don’t have any sexy panties or ugly panties. They’re all just…panties. I should
have expected that from you.”

Laurie rolled her eyes and slumped against her pillows,
realizing her friend would be of no help.

After a while, Olivia sobered and apologized for making
light of the situation. “Honestly, Laurie, if I was in your place, I’d probably
be laid up naked in his bed right now, but you have to do what’s right for you.
In my experience, when you have feelings that strong right off the bat, it
means something… Not always something good but
something
. All you can do
is go with it and see what happens. Worst-case scenario—you’ll get to have a
few weeks of hot, dirty sex with a yummy bad guy.”

Laurie’s hands trembled as she collected her keys and headed
for the door. “Thanks so much for all the sage advice, O,” she called over her
shoulder as she slipped through the door.

Laurie heard her friend giggle as she headed down the hall
and she shook her head, wondering why she bothered going to Olivia for serious
advice in the first place. The woman was a walking, talking bad decision.

Traffic was light so the drive to Mason’s only took about
twenty minutes. She arrived ten minutes early but didn’t think it would be a
problem. She slipped out of the car and headed toward the building.

Once she reached the third floor, she knocked on the large
metal door, still feeling a little apprehensive about seeing Mason again. She
was deep in thought so it startled her when Joe answered the door. He scowled,
obviously still blaming her for Mason tossing his ass around the apartment when
they first met.

“He’ll be right back. He just went to get my friend some
weed,” he snapped, motioning for her to enter.

Laurie hesitated and Joe grabbed her arm and pulled her over
the threshold. She quickly drew away, repulsed by his touch, and moved past him
to sit in her usual spot on a barstool. The sound of the heavy door slamming
shut made Laurie’s stomach clench. Trepidation settled over her and left her
feeling unsafe. She clenched her hands in her lap to keep from fidgeting.

“Well, hey there, lil’ girl,” a man with dark hair and a
ridiculously large mustache called to her from one of the couches. His heavy
accent gave him away as a native of the region. “What’s a lil’ thing like you
doing here?”

“I’m waiting for Mason,” she replied curtly, not wanting to
encourage any conversation.

“Mason,” Joe said in a mocking falsetto voice.

“If it’s a good time you’re looking for, I can do a better
job than that mean bastard.” Mustache laughed. “Why don’t you come over here
and sit on my lap and I’ll show you what kind of good time I’m talking about.”

Laurie shook her head and turned away from him, hoping he
would get the message and leave her alone.

“She’s a stuck-up little bitch,” Joe told the man. “Thinks
she’s better than everyone.”

“Is that so?” Mustache laughed. “I bet she won’t be so stuck
up with my dick in her pretty mouth.”

Joe giggled…he actually
giggled
. Laurie’s skin
prickled as Mustache rose from the couch and took a step toward her.

“Stay away from me,” she warned him, managing to keep her
voice calm and firm.

“Come on, baby, it tastes good.” He danced toward her and,
to her shock, pulled his limp dick out of his pants. As he danced closer, he
began waving it at her.

“Get the fuck away from me,” Laurie snapped as he came
nearer.

He was less than a foot away and her panic was rising. She
realized he had her effectively cornered between him and the bar. There was no
chance of making it to the door.

“Oh, I love it when a bitch talks dirty. Come on, grab it,
baby, you’re going to like it.”