Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series) (20 page)

A tear rolls down my cheek, not of
sadness, but of relief.  In this moment we’re sharing
,
I know it was all worth it.  The pain and heartache I’ve felt over
the decision I made to be here with Leo instead of home with my parents will
haunt me for the rest of my life, but to know that I’ve helped Leo in so many
ways and that he reciprocates what I feel for him makes all of this worth it.

“Thank you for giving me life,” I
respond through the constriction in my throat.  “All I have is you and
tomorrow, and that’s enough.”

“I will give you so much more.  I
promise you.”  Leo kisses me softly on the lips before settling down on the bed
next to me, holding me closely to him and raking his fingers over my
chest
and stomach
.

I could stay like this forever.  I
could be with Leo forever.  It’s a precarious situation we find ourselves in. 
We can have it all just as easily as we can lose it all, and that decision is
not currently in our hands.  I wonder if it ever will be.

Complete

In the three months since my arrival at
this place
,
I’ve fallen into a comfortable routine. 
My worries about fitting into Mark and Leo’s world proved to be unfounded. 
When I found my place
,
I fit perfectly.  Almost too
perfectly, like I was made for this business and the criminals within it.

When I finally came to this conclusion
,
I wondered if it was because I’d grown up in such a regimented and
controlled environment.  Perhaps the years of being sheltered and suppressed
by
my
strict
cop father
in
his structured and idealistic world
made me naturally
inclined to embrace my life in an opposite way
.  I may have
turned nineteen during my time here, but I am still a teenager, inherently
programmed to rebel.

Everything about me has changed.  I’m
not
Dad’s
good girl anymore, and I’m rarely afraid. 
My skin has toughened significantly since the day I was originally taken, and I
find myself facing fear and uncertainty with more confidence and resilience
than ever before.  I almost crave it, often throwing caution to the wind just
for the rush of it.  It’s the
thrill of the
creation
of chaos
and
throwing myself in the mix to see what
happens.  By the end of it my heart is racing
,
but I
feed off the adrenaline that fuels me to do more and to be more extreme.  It
scares the shit out of Leo, but he’s learned that this is just part of me.  If
I wanted a quiet life holed up in
my
room
,
I would have chosen to go back home when Mark gave me that option
at the prison.

When my shoulder fully healed
,
Leo persuaded me to join him in his morning exercises.  This
usually involves some amount of sexual activity in addition to actual pushups
,
crunches
, and weightlifting
.  I’ve become
quite strong, my muscles toned and my body conditioned to face whatever action
it needs to in our daily dealings in the criminal world.

I’ve embraced my crimson hair color in
a sharp bob-style haircut.  It not only represents the fire within me that I
love to show burning on a daily basis, but it also highlights the contours and
features of my now always done-up face.  It makes me feel beautiful and sexy. 
It makes me feel treasured, and I like that feeling.  It’s almost like a drug
to me, to be wanted and desired, which plays in perfectly with my new role in
Mark’s organization.

In the time I spent in Mark’s office
,
he quickly learned that having a woman present did wonders to
improve the moods and empty the wallets of his business associates during
meetings.  He used to have Leo send me out of the room when someone showed up
to make a deal for weapons or drugs or for one of the crew’s many services like
money laundering and murder-for-hire.  When I caught the eye of one man who
entered the room in an angry funk, Mark told me to stay, whispering in my ear
that I should take my place at Leo’s side in the negotiation and continue to be
a welcome distraction
for
th
e
man.

And so I did.  I stood behind Leo and
let my fingers caress his neck and wander down his chest.  I made my breaths
deliberately loud and deep, causing my cleavage to press up just slightly out
of my shirt with each rise of my chest.  I ran my fingers through my hair,
messing it up
just enough
before combing it out slowly
and twisting individual strands around my finger.

By the end of the conversation
,
the man was willing to do whatever Mark asked, making it much less
a negotiation and more like a one-sided business deal that Mark directed just
the way he wanted.

That meeting ended extremely well, and
since then I’ve been present at all of Mark’s meetings
,
both at headquarters and even offsite.  As long as Mark is there
with us, Leo even gets to go on these road trips.  Even though they still keep
me blindfolded for the ride, I at least get to hold Leo’s hand in the back seat
and enjoy being in the outside world with him in some way.

Early on I dreamed of living with Leo
outside the walls of our apartment and the building that contains it, but I’ve
since come to accept that this is my life now.  I’ve been fully integrated into
Mark and Leo’s world, and I’m not in a huge rush to escape it.  I like my role
as the wildcard in
their
business dealings and
negotiations.  It’s amazing how easily a man can be thrown off his game and
brought to his knees by a gorgeous woman coming on
to him or pulling a gun to his head or
a
knife
to his throat.  I’ve done all these things and more, and
almost
always with positive results.

Leo worries that I take it too far, but
in the end he’s just as pleased as Mark about my contributions to the
business.  I’ve found a purpose for myself here and have earned the respect of
those around me, even Mark.  I often catch him watching me with Leo, smiling proudly
at the two of us.  He looks at us with an almost fatherly appreciation of what
we’ve built out of the pieces
that
he gave us.

Though Mark’s intentions were nefarious
from the beginning in bringing the two of us together, he was spot-on that we
would connect and fall in love, though I don’t think he ever saw our
relationship progressing as far as it has.  Leo is the only family he has left,
his unofficial adopted son.  After everything he did to Leo when he was growing
up
,
he’s finally making up for
some of
it now.  I know he sees the life in Leo more and more each day just
as I do.

Despite my new comfort level around
Mark and among his crew, it’s still hard for me to look at him and not remember
the horrible things he did to me at the prison.  He occasionally visits me in
my nightmares when I relive each painful and vivid detail of the ways he
tortured me and violated my mind and body, but when I wake up screaming in a
frantic sweat
,
Leo is always there to comfort me.

I’ve found myself waking up to comfort
Leo during his own occasional nightmares, too.

Mark hasn’t laid a finger on me since
the prison, just as Leo demanded.  I have yet to understand if he keeps his
hands off me out of respect for his agreement with Leo or because he doesn’t
want to risk ruining the face and body that ha
ve
become so integral in his business dealings.  What I do know is I’m an asset to
him now.  It would be bad business for him to mess with
what we have
going
, and he knows it.

In these three months I’ve never asked
Mark for anything, until yesterday.  I wanted to do something to connect me
with Leo, to show him my commitment to him and what we share.  Mark seemed
surprised by my request but more than willing to help.  This morning he made up
an excuse to get me out of the building without Leo and took me himself to the
place I requested.

It didn’t take long before we were back
and found Leo pacing anxiously in Mark’s office. 
I knew
he
would be waiting for me after my unusual disappearance alone with
Mark.  He’s trying to look calm
,
but I can sense the
concern bubbling underneath his skin when he pulls me into his arms and runs
his hands over my back.

“I missed you,” he says quietly.

I can’t help smil
ing
within our embrace.  “I was barely gone a couple hours.”

“I still missed you.”  Leo pulls back
and observes me from head to toe, clearly looking for any sign that something
bad happened while I was out of his sight.  “Is everything okay?  I really wish
you’d tell me where you went.”

“Everything’s fine.  I’ll show you
where I went, but let’s go upstairs first.”

Some of the worry leaves Leo’s face
,
and he gives me a sly smirk.  “I like where this is going.”

I stick my tongue out at his tease and
lead the way up the stairs to our apartment.

Once inside I take a seat on the bed
and motion for Leo to join me.  Usually when I’m on the bed like this I’m
luring him to come make love to me, but not this time.  I want both our heads
to remain clear for this, at least until I can get out what I want
to s
ay.  After that, all bets are off.

Leo sits next to me, so close that his
entire body is pressed up against mine.  I’m nervous for this even though
there’s no reason for me to be.  I know there’s a slight chance that he’ll take
this the wrong way, that he’ll close off from me and let his suppressed concern
and doubt consume him, but I press forward with optimism instead.

“I know your life was difficult before
my dad put Mark in prison.  You never talk about it, but the stories of it are
written all over your body.”

I run my fingers over
a faint
scar, the line expertly hidden by
the tattoo of the
half-thriving,
half-
decimated tree on
the top of
his forearm
.  My touch works its way to
his wrist.  I
flip his arm over to reveal the tattoo of the circle with the notch missing,
the symbol of the endless cycle that Leo intends to
break
for his family line.  I trace the outline of the circle slowly,
stopping when I reach the small portion that makes the circle
unfinished
.

“I think it’s time we complete this
circle and change the meaning of this tattoo,” I continue.  “You deserve to
have a full life and the happiness of having a family whether you’re still in
this business or not.  I know you didn’t expect someone like me to join you in
this life, but I’m here, and I have no plans to go anywhere.  I know that being
with me goes against everything you feel inside about working for Mark while having
people you care about around you, but it can’t be what keeps us apart.  I’ve
accepted this life and what it means for us.  Even if we’re never able to break
free of it
to
live normal lives in the outside world,
I will always be here with you.”

Leo remains speechless and motionless
as I turn my wrist over.  The skin is still red and raw, but the black circular
tattoo that
is a
perfect mirror
image of
his is unmistakable.  I place my wrist next to his, lining up the
break in each circle with the
black out
line of the
other to visually show him just how much I feel we complete each other
.

“Alone our tattoos are missing that
small piece and are not truly whole.  Together those holes go away and we make
infinity.  We create forever, and that’s what I want with you.”

Rare tears fall down Leo’s cheeks, his
typically hard exterior crumbling before me.  I cry with him, sharing his pain
and lifting some of the burden I know he feels on a daily basis when he worries
about me and what’s coming next for the two of us.

We’re quiet for a long moment before
Leo finally speaks.  “I’ve wanted this for so long but never thought I could
have it.”  He takes my hand between both of his and softly caresses my skin. 
“I hate how we found each other, but I’m so glad we did.  I hate that you’re
not with your family, but I wouldn’t want you anywhere else right now.”  He
turns my wrist
over
and kisses the inflamed skin around
my tattoo lightly.  “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I look
forward to finding out.”

“I love you,” I whisper to him, feeling
each word with more force in my heart than any previous time I’ve said that
phrase to him.

“I love you, Morgan.  So damn much.”

Leo works his hand into my hair,
pulling me to him in a subtle kiss that becomes exponentially more intense the
longer our lips are connected.  His hands are all over me in their desperation
to touch my bare skin.  He pulls at my clothes, not possibly able to get them
off me fast enough.

By the time we’re both naked in bed
,
I’m ready for him to connect us in that other physical way.  We
show each other our love over and over again.  Together we are complete, and no
one can take that away from us.