Junkie (Broken Doll #1) (7 page)

I guess I was hungrier than I thought.

Not only was there never much food at Mason’s apartment, but neither Mason nor I had any inclination to do much of anything except shoot up, lie around, and in his case, fuck, and that was only when Mason was at the apartment, which wasn’t often.

Boss pushed his chair back. The scrape of wood across the floor snapped me back to the present. He stood and smoothed down his perfect shirt and tugged his perfect jacket from the back of his perfect chair and slid it on his perfect shoulders. I thought he was hot in a T-shirt and sweats, but seeing Boss in a tailored navy suit was enough to send blood pulsing between my thighs.

“Don’t worry about the dishes.” Boss’s southern drawl was less obvious this morning, but I still picked up a hint of it here and there. “My housekeeper will take care of them.” He buttoned his jacket, turned to leave the room, and I panicked.

“Wait!”

Boss pivoted until his shrewd gaze landed on me. Once again, when I was the sole focus of those intense blue eyes, my voice failed. His eyebrows raised as if to ask,
What the fuck do you want?

I cleared my throat and stood behind my chair, fingers gripping the wood slats. “Ummm, what should I do?” One of my hands found its way into my hair. I wrapped a curl around my finger over and over. “I mean…” I took a quick glance around the huge kitchen. It was incredibly uncomfortable just to be in this stranger’s house, but to be here without him somewhere nearby, knowing other men were all over the place? My anxiety level skyrocketed.

Boss snapped his fingers and a man in a black suit, pressed white shirt, and black tie appeared from who knew where, to stand at Boss’s side.

“Boss.”

“Jase, bring Miri back to her room.”

I swallowed thickly. He was locking me back up. The illusion of being treated kindly splintered to pieces as reality sunk in. I wasn’t a guest. I was a prisoner.

“Miri, I have work to do and will be otherwise occupied for a few hours. One of my men is out shopping for some clothes since it seems I have nothing in the house that will fit you.”

I stared at the floor, not knowing what to do. I wanted to scream at Boss for thinking he could lock me up and keep me here, but really, where would I go? I needed H, and Boss was willing to give it to me. It was knowing I had no choice in the matter that had me shrinking back from Jase as he moved to take my arm.

“No!” I stepped away and tensed every muscle in my body, poised on the balls of my feet, ready to bolt.

Boss grimaced, and spoke in a low voice to his man. “Jase, wait here.” Suddenly, a hand clamped tight around my wrist. I was tripping over my own feet to keep up as Boss dragged me through the kitchen and down the hall to the regal staircase.

“Wait! Please, don’t lock me in.”

My plea went unanswered. I dug in my heels when we reached the bottom step. Boss spun around and shot me a glare so dark I nearly passed out from pure terror. The kind man from the kitchen was gone. Boss, the violent drug lord, the bloodthirsty bastard I heard about on the streets, curled his lip in a derisive sneer. Without a word, he grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder. My head dangled down his back and my long hair obscured my vision.

“Stop!” I curled my hands into fists and pounded uselessly on his backside. “Put me down!”

I may as well have been a fly buzzing around his head for all the good my protesting did. Boss climbed the stairs and stalked into “my” bedroom to rudely toss me onto the bed. I scrambled to my feet before he could shut the door.

“You can’t do this!” Panicked, I struck out and clawed at his neck and face, terrified at the thought of being locked away in this room.

Lightning quick, Boss pinned my wrists in one hand and shoved me down on the mattress, his heavy body holding me in place. I kicked out at him, aiming for his groin while screaming for help. Boss trapped my legs between his thick thighs and hovered over me, his furious face bright red and just inches from mine, welts from my nails standing out in stark relief on his skin.

Boss squeezed my wrists until I whimpered. “
Don’t
test my patience, Miri. You came to
me
, you begged
me
for help, you entered
my
fucking house. You want more of
my
drugs? You need to learn how things are done in this world, doll. If you can’t deal with the consequences of your actions, you shouldn’t have started shooting heroin and you most certainly shouldn’t have come here. Now,” he growled. “…this room will be your new home and if you value your life, you will not question a single word I say.” His grip on my wrists tightened to the point I cried out. By now he was so close, our noses almost touched. “Remember, I don’t owe you shit. If anything, you owe me.”

Boss gave me one last terror-inducing glare before releasing me and stepping back. He raised a hand and touched one of the scratches on his neck. When he examined his finger and saw blood, his face darkened.

“That was your one mistake.” He looked down and inspected his clothes. “You’re lucky it didn’t get blood on my suit. Make another mistake and you won’t live to see tomorrow.” Boss spun on his heel, left the room, and slammed the door. The click of the lock sealed my fate.

My mind was filled with so many questions—
Why was he doing this? What did he want from me? How long would I be here?
But I couldn’t focus long enough to come up with any answers. I was too busy shaking from head to toe, gasping for air and fighting the tears stinging my eyes.

What did I get myself into?

I’d jumped out of Mason’s frying pan, directly into a roaring bonfire named Boss.

“
W
e have
a shipment of five kilos coming in tomorrow. I got ten guys ready to cut and divide. We’ll have it on the streets in two days.” Shade, the guy in charge of my distribution warehouse, updated me on our current product status. Mexican music blared from speakers, cranked up to drown out our voices in case we were being monitored.

“Good. I want it moved out quickly.”

“Not a problem, Boss.”

Shade had been with me long enough to know how I worked. Drugs came in from suppliers in Mexico, who either got it from Colombia, Venezuela, or manufactured it themselves, and we got it the fuck out of our building as fast as possible. Less chance of being caught with it in our possession. It was easy to get a dealer off for carrying a small amount of heroin. Explaining away several million dollars’ worth of product was much more difficult.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Shade shifted in his chair. He cleared his throat before speaking. “Boss, Two’s sales have been way up.”

I glanced at Shade, my eyebrows raised. “Really?” Two was one of my laziest, most unmotivated area dealers. He didn’t bother to put pressure on the street dealers beneath him. A sudden increase in sales didn’t make sense.

“A
lot
,” Shade said, giving me a knowing look. I nodded.

“Put someone on him. I want daily reports.” If Two, aka Thomas Gutierrez, hadn’t backed me up when I took over the city, he would have been out on his ass years ago.

“Got it, Boss.”

Any irregular activity, especially with a dealer like Gutierrez, a guy who preferred spending money to working his area, was something to be monitored. We walked through the building and I made sure the operation was running as it should before I left. Some bosses thought they were too good to do hands-on work. They preferred to rule from the luxury of their home, cigar in their mouth and drink in their hand. It was a big mistake to put all your trust in others. Not being involved in the business was a great way to get fucked, either financially or physically. My predecessor was too busy indulging in his product and his women to realize I was plotting to take him over. Until it was much too late.

Stupid fuck.

I stopped at several of the businesses I used to launder money, including two antique dealers and a restaurant that had to deal with a surprise raid by the police a week ago. They found nothing, of course. It would take a team of forensic accountants years to find any wrongdoing, but cops were annoying as fuck. They knew my name, knew what I did, and were pissed as hell that they could never pin anything on me.

After speaking with the manager for several hours about the visit from Austin’s finest, I had Frank bring me back to the house. What was sure to become a blinding headache if I didn’t relax soon pressed at the inside of my skull. Of course there would be no rest. There never was. The second I walked through the door, Jase flew down the stairs, panting and red-faced, sweat dripping from his temples.

“Boss, the girl…”

Without thinking, I seized the lapels of his jacket and body slammed him against the nearest wall. Jase hit with such force, the pictures shook. One frame fell to the floor and shattered. Jase’s breath left his lungs with a loud
whoosh
and his head thunked against the hard surface. I got right up in his face, inexplicable rage pulsing through my veins. With a quick flick of my wrist, I had a blade out of its sheath and in my hand, the cold steel pressed against Jase’s cheek.

“What the fuck did you do to her?”

Jase’s eyes went wide and he held his hands up by his head. “Nothing, Boss. I swear.”

I held him back with a hand to his chest, the knife still a millimeter away from slicing into his flesh. “Then tell me what the fuck is going on.
Now
.”

“S-she’s been breaking everything in her room, Boss. T-tried to throw stuff against the window to get out. Shattered the mirror in the bathroom, the lamps, all of the drawers in the dresser. We… we didn’t want her to hurt herself.” He cringed away from the dagger.

I moved it close enough to graze his skin. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Jase swallowed, his wide gaze fixed on the knife. “We were a-afraid she’d cut her wrists or s-something, so George and I… w-we had no choice. We, uh, we handcuffed her to the bed, Boss.”

“Why wasn’t I called?” The fury that ripped through me at the thought of the two big men holding down my tiny redhead and cuffing her to the bed frame turned my vision red.

“We…” Jase swallowed again, his eyes still focused on the gleaming blade. “We d-didn’t think you wanted to be bothered with it, Boss.”

“I want to know
everything
that happens in my organization. Especially in my own fucking house.” I pushed Jase away, returned the blade to its sheath, and stuck a finger in his face. “Don’t
ever
touch her without my permission. She’s
mine
.” I held out a hand. “Give me the goddamn key to the motherfucking cuffs.”

He scrambled to dig in his pocket and dropped the small key on my palm. I pointed at the broken picture frame.

“Clean up this mess, then get out of my sight.” Jase didn’t have to be told twice. He fled down the hall as I took the stairs three at a time, heart hammering so hard I could hear it.

If they hurt Miri…
fuck
! I stopped outside her room to rest my head against the door. I needed a minute to calm down or I would only scare her. It wouldn’t do any good for me to enter the room wild-eyed and seething. I breathed in and out through my nose and waited several agonizing minutes until my pulse slowed, even though every cell in my body urged me to break down the door and make sure the girl was okay.

Once I was more or less composed, I smoothed down my suit and adjusted the cuffs. On a deep inhale, I opened the door. When I stepped inside, the room was near pitch black. The heavy curtains were pulled shut and every light was off. Nothing happened when I flicked the switch, and I remembered Jase saying something about Miri breaking the lamps. There was a small bit of light coming from the hall, so I left the door open and crossed to the side of the bed. When I got close, I could see Miri was asleep. Her wrists were shackled above her head, the cuffs threaded around a thick bedpost.

I had to forcibly relax at the sight or I’d punch the fuck out of something, and I hated losing control.

Miri appeared so small, so tiny in the bed. But she seemed to be relatively unharmed, though it was too dark to be certain, and I
needed
to know. When I used the key to open the first cuff, the metallic click startled Miri and she immediately kicked wildly and screamed in a pathetically hoarse voice.

“Get the fuck away from me!”

Jesus Christ, this girl was fiery. I had to give her credit. The diminutive little thing was still fighting despite the obvious futility of her struggle. She knew there was no way she was getting out of her bonds or this house unless I allowed it.

“Stop.” I spoke with a quiet authority and Miri froze in place. She was so upset I could see the whites of her eyes as they rolled in my direction. Her pupils were dilated, so I knew she had recently received a dose.

“You.” I could barely hear her, her voice was so raw.

“I’m taking off the cuffs. Hold still.” I unlocked the second cuff and opened each one.

The minute Miri’s wrists were free she pulled away, kneeled on the bed, hauled back, and slapped me right across the face.
Hard
. She raised her other hand to do the same and I snatched it midair. When her free arm pulled back to slap me again, I grabbed that one as well and pinned them to her sides.

“I’d think twice about doing that again if I were you.” Thoroughly frustrated, head pounding, and now supremely pissed on top of my already shitty day, I stared her down. There might not have been much light in the room, but I had no doubt Miri could see my furious expression. She either didn’t give a shit or had some sort of death wish.

“Fuck you,” she rasped.

As surprisingly sexy as her anger was, I had more than enough of the blatant disrespect flying out of her pouty mouth. A growl tore from my chest. With Miri’s wrists in my hands, I propelled my body forward, shoving her back, using my weight to hold her down on the bed. I clamped her legs in between my strong thighs. No need to let her sneak in a kick to the nuts. If that happened, I wasn’t certain I could stop myself from doing something to the feisty girl I might end up regretting.

Despite the futility of it, Miri wriggled beneath me, screaming and cursing, her voice a whisper soft, but clearly infuriated rasp. I waited patiently on top of Miri, holding her tight until she wore herself out. Yeah, the easy route would be to shut her up by returning the slap. Fuck, the one she laid on me was hard enough to put the copper taste of blood on my tongue. Anyone else would have gotten his or her throat slit or a bullet in the head for that. But it seemed beyond even my level of cruelty to beat on such a small, weak human, and I just didn’t have it in me today to take her life. The mere thought of it nearly stopped my heart. I shook my head and focused on Miri.

“Are you done having your tantrum?”

Miri said nothing. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath. Miri’s head listed to the side, certainly to avoid eye contact. I stood and held out a hand to help her to her feet. When she sneered at it, I rolled my eyes to hide the heat that shot to my groin. With an evil smirk, I snatched her by the waist, and threw her over my shoulder. She immediately clawed at my back and I heard the rip of stitches and fabric tearing apart.

Another suit all fucked up and wrinkled.

“I’m beginning to think you like being in this position, doll.”

“Fuck you.” She landed a weak blow on my backside before giving up. It appeared I had actually managed to drain the fight from her. While I was glad since my head was throbbing and I was more than fed up, the fact that Miri’s fire was snuffed sort of disturbed me. I liked that side of her, the tenacious, passionate girl beneath the pale, beautiful, wrecked surface.

“You say that an awful lot, doll. You offerin’?” I knew she didn’t want me to fuck her, but I wasn’t expecting the gasp or the shudder that wracked her body.
Hmmm
. “Is that a yes?”

Her response was instant. “No.”

I laughed at her petulance and opened the door to my bedroom. In two steps, I crossed the room and dumped her right onto the middle of my king-sized bed. I forced myself not to think about how I'd have to burn the sheets if the girl was bleeding from anywhere and focused on the moment. Miri scrambled to her knees while I locked the door and pocketed the key. Her eyes darted from me to the door and back.

“Plotting your escape?” Unhurried, I loosened my tie and pulled it off, the silk whispering as it slid through my collar. Then I shrugged off my jacket and threw it in the garbage can. The tie along with it. In the large walk-in closet, I toed off my shoes and placed them on a shelf. When I came out, Miri was still frozen on the mattress.

I walked over to the bed and sat, waiting for her to look at me. Stubborn as she was, it took several minutes before she turned. Once she did, I spoke.

“Now, we’re going to have that talk.”

Trapped. Moved from one prison to another. I was trapped in this room, on this bed, with a man who proved he could easily overpower me like a tiger fighting a kitten. Anger radiated off him in waves as he reclined against the headboard, legs crossed at the ankles, hiding his fury by acting as if holding a woman hostage was a normal, everyday occurrence. I swallowed and glanced at his annoyingly handsome face and spotted a bright red handprint across his cheek. The drugs really made me do some really stupid shit, though I wasn’t sure I could blame all of my anger on heroin. I flinched, realizing I was probably safer chained to the bed in the other room than here with Boss after hitting him. My pulse floundered at the thought.

Shit
.

Maybe apologizing would lessen whatever punishment I was about to receive. “I-I didn’t mean to hit you. I’m sorry.”

Boss put a hand to his cheek, the tips of his fingers scraping over the stubble. “I see. You’re
sorry
.” His gleaming eyes narrowed. “Too bad I don’t believe a word of it.” My heart skipped a beat and fear skittered down my spine. My stomach twisted in a familiar way, the drugs in my body keeping it in a constant state of discomfort. “You meant to hit me. You
wanted
to hit me.” In a flash, Boss twisted his torso and grabbed my face in one hand, squeezing my cheeks hard enough to keep me from even thinking about trying to get free. “I’m giving you that one hit.
One, Miri
. You were scared. You had been chained to a bed. I get that.”

He shifted closer, our noses almost touching. My face ached from the pressure of his fingers digging into my flesh, yet despite the pain I couldn’t help but notice the brilliant flecks of turquoise within those deep blue irises. “Do it again, and don’t doubt what I say, doll. You will regret the day you ever came here.”

Boss released my chin and I turned away, shame scorching my face and neck while terror knotted and swelled in my stomach. It was bad enough to be humiliated and handcuffed to a bed by his men, but to know there was nothing I could do to escape, or more precisely, if I managed to escape, I had nowhere to go and Boss would likely have me killed. Well, that knowledge was worse than anything that had been done to me since I stupidly wandered onto his property.

“I’m glad you understand,” he said as if I had agreed to some unspoken agreement. “I expect you to behave from now on. Period. I don’t like messes and I really don’t appreciate having my things broken.” I glanced over to see him reclining on the bed, his hands tucked behind his head. “I’m thinking you need to spend all of your time chained to the bed if your behavior is going to continue.”

I felt the blood rush from my face. Nausea threatened to upheave my stomach. “I-I can’t… I mean, I don’t want to stay in my room all the time.”

Boss sat up and tilted his head to one side. “What was that?”