HURRICANE (Beasts of Prey Book 2) Read online

  He turns back to Ada, who actually looks like she is going to faint. "You're coming with us to show where he lives."

  "I-I can give you the a-address—" she starts, but Leo cuts her off.

  "Don't be silly," he huffs. "You think we'd leave you here so you can call him we're coming? No chance, little girl." Then he nods to me and walks out. Leo knows better than to put Puma into these situations.

  I push myself up and give her my hand. She shakes her head, sinking deeper to the chair, chanting no-no to me. I almost feel sorry for her.

  Almost.

  I reach my hand to my back, pulling out a gun and point it to her head. "I don't ask twice, Red. Something of mine is missing, and I need it back. You're standing in between, and it's not the right place to be. Get. Up."

  Puma's eyes are glued to me over the armchair, but unlike normally, there is no judging in them. Clearly, it takes a missing sister for him to loosen his morals.

  Ada scrambles herself up, and I stick the gun's barrel to her side, one palm to her shoulder. "One wrong move, and there's an extra hole in you. Got it?"

  She stutters a shaky yes, and I lead her to Leo's SUV, which he's driven closer, Puma behind me. He picks the front seat, which is the best because I still don't trust he can spill blood if necessary.

  My skin tickles from the anticipation because fuck, I want to find the bastard, fast. Get an address to Crusador, go there, and skin him alive, and burn everything behind me as I take my baby home.

  I need this to be the answer I've been looking for.

  Ada starts to give instructions for Leo, trembling beside me from fear. She should be scared, because if her boyfriend won't talk... she is the one who starts to lose body parts until he speaks.

  Hearing Carson's address makes me hate this city even more. It's so fucking big. We need to drive to the other side of Preston, and waiting is making me extremely bloodthirsty. Leo gives me glances through the rearview mirror, and I know it’s because I keep tapping my thigh with my gun—showing my nervousness on a job.

  I wish I could pull the bandana off and have a smoke.

  Obviously, it's a no go. Not only that, Ada is sitting next to me, and I can't let her see my face, but also this is Leo's car, and he'd shoot me if I smoke in it.

  Every minute is a minute longer for Cobra to be there, tortured, and... my mind tries to play with memories of my three years in Hell. The flashes of it catch my breath, and bile burns its way up in my throat, almost making me gag. Knowing what she must be going through now... makes me fucking sick.

  I fight it all back, getting a grip of myself.

  We are so close.

  So close.

  "Shouldn't we be there already?" I snap, staring at the clock changing numbers on the dashboard.

  "It's the last house on the right," Ada rushes to say, pressing herself tighter against the door to get some space between us. Good fucking idea. My knuckles start to itch second by second more, and if she is fucking stalling us...

  Her hair won't be the only red thing she'll be wearing today.

  "Do you have any explanation about why there are so many cars in the yard?" Leo asks, slowing down the Dodge.

  I take a better look and yeah, at least six cars. What the fuck?

  "Carson had a poker night with his friends," she stutters, tears now rolling down her freckled cheeks. "They probably all stayed the night."

  Puma drops his head back with a heavy sigh. Leo stops the car and turns to look at Ada, while he hands me duct tape. "How many guys are there?"

  She starts to shake again, her jaw trembling. "M-maybe eight... I don't know... I'm so sorry, I don't know..."

  "Don't worry," Leo softens his voice, almost comforting. "Your boyfriend is probably a decent guy, so he won't let anything bad happen to you if he can prevent it."

  The look on Ada's face tells everything, just like Leo had in mind. Clearly, we're going to face a piece of shit when we get inside.

  Leo nods towards me. "He will tape you now, so you don't skitter your way out, but we'll be back in no time. Just cooperate, and it's all good." He turns his eyes to mine. "Put her in the trunk."

  Ada lets out a frightened whimper, but she is a smart girl and doesn't resist as I tape her up like a Christmas package. When I open the seat's backrest, she wiggles herself in the trunk like it's the safest place on earth. For now... it kinda is.

  After showing Puma and Leo the fucker's picture from Ada's phone, we get out of the car. This is just as low-life an area as Ada's home street, which is a good thing. We don't need the audience.

  Leo gives us a look while we walk closer. "Remember, there's no room for mistakes. We all walk out of here alive."

  At that, the first gunshot cuts through the air.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Levi's fingers linger on my lips as he feeds me pieces of fresh-baked bread. He left me alone for an hour to get food, and no, he didn't make an exception to let me out of my ties. The only time when he actually lets me partly free is when I need to go to the bathroom, but then I have a gun pointed to my head and handcuffs on my wrists. While I'm in there, he stays behind the door with a gun in his hand and ready to shoot me if I move even a little bit too fast.

  So, I've been playing this game all day. Giving him a little smile here and there. Drop off the snappy comments. Said please and thank you.

  "Do you want more?" he asks, voice smooth as cream. Those sparkling blue eyes are watching me with sick affection as he sits on the side of the bed.

  I shake my head. "No, I'm full, thank you."

  There is an angelic smile playing on his lips, the one which he offered me every fucking time I saw him as Luke. I don't know if he is just an excellent actor or is he so fucked up in the head he can't see how fucking wrong this is, but right now, I don’t care. Whatever it is, I'm going to play this game and hope for the best.

  "Ready to continue with Netflix, or do you need to go to the bathroom or something?"

  "I'm good." I force myself to smile. Going to the bathroom to get myself free won't help me because he'd only be pointing at me with a gun, and I'd be cuffed. I need to get really free.

  I watch him place the rest of the food on the nightstand and curse in my mind that he only uses plastic forks and paper plates. The room looks almost like a patient room in an asylum because there is nothing breakable or sharp. Even the fucking TV is bolted to the wall.

  Levi moves himself to the bed, lying beside me, and adjusts a pillow behind his head, carefully so he won't put pressure on my arm while I'm tied at my hands to the corners of the bed. He puts the series on, and for a while, just lays beside me.

  Not making any move.

  It's not like he makes any of those kinds of moves anyway when I'm not drugged. Sick fuck.

  But then it happens, what I've been waiting for the entire day I've been kissing his ass. Levi turns—all casually—sideways, and places one hand on my belly, still watching the TV.

  My stomach turns to knots, and a wave of nausea lingers up my throat, but I suppress it down.

  I need to keep my fucking head in the game to get free. To get home. To Tiger.

  I miss him so fucking much.

  Lifting my ass a little, I move closer to Levi. I don't have a lot of room to move because my legs are tied too, but enough to catch his attention. His gaze turns to his hand on my belly, and I can see the surprise from his expression.

  He trails his eyes over my body to my face, but I'm prepared and fake smile my ass off. Not too wide, keeping it slightly shy. I need to make him buy this. Make him believe I'm as fucked up in the head as he is.

  I have a lot of things wrong with me, but Stockholm syndrome isn't one of them.

  For my luck, this psycho doesn't know I'm an excellent actress.

  "Levi?"

  "Yeah, darling?"

  I watch his stunning blue eyes and hate myself that I bought his bullshit back in the day. I know why I got fooled so easily.

  Levi looks like a
fucking angel.

  But yet again... Lucifer was an angel too.

  "I'm scared," I tell him, which is not exactly a lie.

  His hand starts to caress my belly over the loose white T-shirt I'm wearing with only black panties. Carefully, he avoids the scars there, which I don't want to think about.

  "What are you scared of? Silas?" He pushes himself up to lean on his elbow.

  I nod, so I don't have to lie through my teeth yet. I have bigger things to be scared of than Silas—my own Dad and what he's going to do to Tiger if I don't get there on time.

  Levi's hand comes to stroke my cheek. "He won't kill you. I've made sure of it."

  Confusion makes my brain buzz and buckle because I have no fucking clue what he means by that. He sees it, and the corners of his mouth curve up, the smile reaching his eyes too. It makes my skin tickle and not in a good way.

  "Don't worry. The only thing that matters is you can be with me forever," he says, brushing the strand off my face. "You're so beautiful. I've told you that before, and I promise I've always meant it." Those baby blue eyes drill into mine like he is trying to force me to believe his words. "It wasn't just an act."

  I really can't see how the fuck does it matter, but I keep it all in. Play the game.

  "But you're really not an Australian, right?" I know he isn't. He dropped the accent weeks ago.

  "No, I'm not."

  "So, where are you from?"

  Levi arches a brow as he studies me for a second before answering. "Everywhere."

  I give him a questioning look and wait for him to actually answer me.

  He sighs, twitching his nose, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "I was in the system since I was a baby. Twelve different foster homes around the country before I turned fourteen."

  "Are you lying to me?" I squint my eyes, moving my head to dodge his touch.

  "No." Levi pulls his hand away, resting it on the bed between us. "I have no reason to lie to you again."

  I try to read his expression, but I know it's useless. He's fooled me before.

  "So, where were you after you turned fourteen?"

  "Here. Silas and his wife Camilla took me in."

  My eyes shoot wide, and my mouth opens. And closes. Opens again. "You're... fuck. You're Silas's foster son?"

  Levi nods. "Yeah, I am."

  Jesus Christ.

  Now, I know why he is so fucked up in the head. It all makes sense. Growing up with Silas as a father? You can't be anything but a psychopath after that.

  I clear my throat, swallowing the lump down. "How old are you?"

  "Twenty-three," Levi answers, his eyes dropping to my mouth as I bite my lip from nervousness. I have so many things I could try to milk out of him, but I'm afraid he would catch me fishing, and my whole plan would go down the drain.

  "Was this the plan all along? Catching me?" I ask carefully.

  "Yeah, among other things." His eyes come back up to mine. "This just happened faster than Silas planned, but still. The thing between you and... I couldn't let it go further. I hated to see you with him."

  The rage bursts from my core, pushing out of my pores like a poison, ready to kill him. Takes every inch of my self-control to keep it all in and my face in order.

  Channeling my inner Zen spirit, I maintain my act. "How long you've been watching me, Levi?"

  "Since the day Silas took me home and told me my purpose. He picked me for you," he says like it's perfectly normal. Like there is nothing wrong with it.

  My stomach convulses as I take in how sick and twisted Silas is. How far he'd taken this. I can't believe he's been hiding and planning this for so long. Not only is he trying to ruin our lives, but he has also been ruining Levi's and who knows how many others by using them as pawns in this game against our family.

  I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, and curse God to the lowest pits of Hell for letting someone like Silas Crusador even be born to this world.

  "Cobra." Levi's voice intrudes my thoughts, voice as soft as a feather.

  Gathering myself, I open my eyes. He looks at me with that twisted affection, his angelic face as handsome as the day I first saw him. I remember those first dates, how he made me laugh so hard my eyes watered. I remember every goddamn second with him, how gentle he always was with me.

  I believe he really is the person he showed me back then.

  Then I remember every hazy night from the past weeks, the touches he stole, and I know Levi is actually that person too.

  He is ruined beyond redemption.

  "What?" I ask because he waits for me to focus on him. I can see it in his eyes.

  "I love you," he says, voice steady and caressing, just like every night I've been hearing him whispering it to me. Now I know it's true, he really thinks he is in love with me.

  But this? This is not love.

  It's an obsession—something someone else has been planting in his head.

  I could tell him that.

  But I don't, because he is not my ruined boy. I already have my own, who really loves me and needs me to come home.

  "Levi." I form a smile on my face and bite my lip, even though I'm crawling in my skin.

  Don't show it.

  His baby blue eyes sparkle like little stars in the night sky when he looks at me. "Yeah, darling?"

  "Touch me, please?"

  CHAPTER TEN

  His touch is gentle, as it's given for a newborn. As if I could break under those fingers. I probably could. Remembering who'd raised those fingers, it's clear he could break me.

  If I fuck this up… Levi will kill me.

  I know he will.

  So, when those delicate fingers move on my belly like a feather, leaving a blazing trail behind, I close my eyes. Sink myself into my memories.

  I don't have to find him. Tiger has always been there, even when we weren't together yet. Since the day he smiled at me the first time, on the day when I gave him his name… he has been the only thing I see when I close my eyes. It doesn't matter if I am alone or with someone; I feel Tiger.

  I see him.

  Now I welcome him, open arms, to help me out of this. I look into those dark eyes, wickedness flickering in them, and he provides me some of that darkness. That's his strength, the way he embraces the shadows. No one can break Tiger.

  No one can break me.

  Only we can break each other—no one else.

  I love you, baby.

  I love you too, my love.

  "You're so beautiful." The voice, which is too smooth, too clean, comes to my bubble. My love is rough and low—sexy. Even all the mundane things like the weather will be windy, or some other nonsense is honey to my ears when he says it, and I'm immediately purring for him, knees weak. His voice speaks to me on different levels. This voice, what I hear now, doesn't.

  Dream it's him. Make yourself believe.

  "Do you want this?" Levi whispers, fingers stopping their movement just under my belly button. There's slight anguish leaking through the question, and I know it’ll turn quickly into something else if I give the wrong answer. If I'm not in this with him. I've never seen him angry, but that's probably it. He doesn't need the anger to go crazy.

  He is insane all the time.

  Fuck my life.

  I open my eyes, meeting his now piercing blue ones. He leans on his right elbow, the other hand on me. The wavy blond hair is still damp and stays away from his face, which now looks harder than usual. I'm fucking this up.

  "I do." I swallow the lump of anxiousness down and pull my bottom lip into my mouth, distracting him. Instantly his eyes darted to my mouth. "Show me how you love me."

  Levi's eyes sweep over me with bleeding want, and my breath picks up the speed. I've never felt so vulnerable as I do now, bound to a bed, unable to protect myself in any way. Whatever happened in those foggy nights, I wasn't in the moment. I was protected by the numbness like it didn't even happen to me if I don't think about it.

  This is fucking happening
, and I need to make it happen.

  My stomach hurts, but I don't let those feelings take over.

  I watch his eyes as they trail his hand, which slowly slides my shirt up. The temperature change makes my skin goosebumps and my nipples hard, which is good because no matter how hard I try, I can't make myself turn on. I really fucking should because it's just a matter of time before his hand finds its way inside my pants.

  His hand caresses my breasts, fingers playing with pebbling nipples, as he moves closer, body flushing to my side.

  Relax. Relax. Relax. I keep chanting to myself, removing myself from the situation. This is just a game. Keep playing.

  Levi turns to look at me in the eyes, leaning closer. I smell his sweet, candylike scent, and it reminds me of the amusement park. He was nice. Kind. I need to hook onto those feelings. Ignore what he really is.

  He brushes my cheek with his hot breath against my ear. I almost expect him to say something, but he doesn't, just trails his lips to mine. The kiss is smooth, tentative, until I open myself and let him in. Still, Levi doesn't rush. His tongue swirls around with mine, claiming me, but without a hurry.

  There's a storm inside me. The emotional side is trying to make me scream to get him the fuck away from me, and the rational side is telling me to pull my shit together and fuck my way out of here.

  I need to go home.

  I suck his bottom lip into my mouth, giving it a little bite. I can feel him smiling against my lips, but he reads my message. With tiny kisses, he trails to my breasts and closes his mouth around the peak, making an involuntary moan escape from me. I clutch to the sensation he causes me like a fucking lifeline.

  Which it really is.

  There's no backing down anymore, this is my only chance.

  I jerk my hands against the cuffs, arching my back. My body has always been excellent at taking control when it comes to sex, and it seems like it's not failing me now either. It better not fucking fail me.

  Levi's hand slips down on my belly, straight under my panties. My thighs spread for him automatically, but I don't have much room for moving with the ties on my ankles, and I know, soon he will release them. He has to.