Shannon's Fairy-Tale Foursome (37 page)

Without a question or comment, Gray whipped the car around, doing a recklessly fast U-turn. He sped down the road at a breakneck speed, racing straight toward Her Majesty’s Pleasure.

Landon spoke again, his tone just as soft as it had been earlier. Yet again, he caught everyone’s attention. “Call Leila.”

Shane shook his head. “She can’t help us, Landon.”

With a snort, Landon sneered, “Your bitchy
girlfriend
knows everything. Don’t you know that by now?”

“Landon,” Shane countered, his censure heard loud and clear.

Landon looked over at his closest friend and spoke as though speaking to a stranger, their animosity sparkling between them. “Don’t ‘Landon’ me.”

“Just try it, Shane,” Jared interjected. “What can it hurt?”

On the outside, Jared sounded persuasive and nonchalant, but Randy heard the anger-filled order behind his words.

Apparently, so did Shane, who muttered, “This is silly,” but picked up his cell phone and presumably dialed Leila’s number. “She won’t know anything.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Landon inquired scathingly.

“If you don’t believe me, Landon, here you go,” Shane barked then hit the speaker button with a frown. “You can listen in.”

Ring.
Before the first ring had time to roll into a second, Leila picked up. “Hey, baby. I was just thinking about you.”

“Hey,” Shane paused to clear his throat, “Angel.”

Randy saw Landon turn away quickly, but not fast enough for him to miss the pained expression on Landon’s face. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for his friend. It must be hell to love Shane, to live with him and be as close to him as any person on the planet, knowing that he would never want more or, even worse, never
choose
to pursue a relationship.

“I was hoping we could get together,” Shane told Leila.

She huffed. “Now? Can’t we do it later tonight? That way you can just stay over.”

“No,” Shane said firmly with a harshness that surprised Randy. “I want to see you now, Leila.”

“Are you missing me, sugar?” she asked, her voice sounding like a purr.
A feral one.

Shane cleared his throat again. “Yeah. By the way, I’m with the triplets. They want to see Mary, too.”

“But they dumped her.”

“Well, they’re regretting that decision.”

Randy grunted.

“What was that noise?” Leila asked in confusion.

Reaching over, Shane smacked Randy on the back of the head. “Nothing.”

“Hm, okay. Anyway, I’ll just bet the triplets are regretting dumping Mary. That Shannon is an ugly bitch, and from what I’ve heard, she’s a
virgin!
”

This time Randy was more prepared for her vile bullshit. He drank from his soda can to hold back his angry retort, but Drew wasn’t so calm. He growled.

Shane scowled at Drew but continued to speak to Leila. “It doesn’t matter. They want Mary back.”

“I can call and see if she’s available.”

“No,” Shane said sharply, evoking a small gasp from Leila. But he recovered quickly, softening his tone appreciably. “Thanks, but the boys want to surprise her.”

“I–I–I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Leila stammered. “She went to visit her dad. He moved into Andy Hatcher’s old house.”

“Oh, the boys won’t mind. They bought her presents and are going to get down on their knees and beg for her forgiveness.”

Randy choked on his drink.
When hell freezes over.

“I still think I should call her.”

“Angel, that isn’t necessary. We’re on our way into town, and it’s easy for us to swing by and get her.”

“Sure, whatever. Not my problem if the old geezer gets pissy. I need to get ready for you anyway.” Lowering her voice, Leila brought out the big guns—her breathy, sultry voice meant to entice and seduce. Instead of making him feel sexual in the least, Randy felt the urge to cover his ears. That woman was a fucking succubus. “I got
you
a present.”

“I love presents.”

“Asshole,” Landon muttered under his breath.

Shane elbowed Landon viciously. “See you soon, Leila.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Bye,” Shane murmured before hanging up. “See, she isn’t in on this bullshit.”

Landon crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? It seemed to me like she knew
something.
”

Three curses came out of three different mouths at the exact same time.

“Motherfuckers” flew from Cade’s mouth as Drew spat, “Bastards.”

The third curse came from the driver, Gray, who snapped, “Sons of bitches.” He slammed on the brakes with a growl. “You need to get your goddamn priorities straight. Sitting here fighting while our women are in trouble is asinine. So I suggest that you calm the fuck down before we chuck you two out on the side of the road.”

“Amen,” Cade said irreverently with an unnerving frigidness Randy had never heard before from his lighthearted friend. With his face unnaturally pale and his eyes tight, Cade had no trace of amusement anywhere. He looked ready to murder anyone in his path, even his friends.

“Move it, Gray,” Drew demanded from the passenger side. “We’re about to pass Her Majesty’s Pleasure, so we don’t have far to Hatcher’s house. Five minutes tops.”

With a nod, Gray put the pedal to the floor, driving like a bat out of hell. He barreled past the pub where Deke and Adam were and kept going. Turning to Shane, he barked, “Call Deke. You need tell him what is going on. Tell him that we don’t have time to stop and pick them up, but we need them to meet us out at the Hatchers’.” Focusing back on the road, he added, “We can use their help. Our women are in danger and, by God, this bastard will pay for it—one way or another.”

No questions asked. Shane picked up his phone and started dialing. A second later, he was whispering into the receiver.

At the same time, Drew sat back in his seat and pulled his cell phone out of his holster. Starting to dial, he said, “I’m calling Belle back. I know she told us to keep our noses out of it, but there’s not a fucking thing she can do to stop us from going out to the Hatchers’. If things go sour once we get there, and this turns into a hostage situation, she and Ash will be helpful. With her background, she will know how to talk Pauley down, and if that doesn’t work, Ash is a trained sniper. He will take this dickwad out.”

“I don’t care who you call,” Jared said. “As long as we all get our women out alive, you can enlist whoever the fuck you want. Call the pope or the president. Call the FBI, CIA, or NSA. Call the National Guard or the International Space Station. Or call all of the above. I don’t give a shit. I refuse to risk them further just to be a goddamn hero. My pride isn’t that big. Now let’s move it. We have four women who need us, and we need to make damned sure we’re there for them. I don’t even want to contemplate what will happen if we aren’t.”

I’m not going there, either.
Sitting on the edge of his seat, Randy prepared himself to do whatever it took because he would do anything to save Shannon and the other women. Even if it meant killing the bastard or anyone else who stood between them, Randy would get them home safe and sound.
We’re coming, baby doll. Just hold on.

* * * *

Shannon awoke slowly, unaware of anything or anyone around her. She widened her already partially-opened eyes, undeterred by the drug-induced weights bearing down on her lids. “Mmmmppphhhhh.”

Oh, God. He gagged me.

That did it. Her eyes popped open completely, and the fog lifted off her mind—most of it. She looked around wildly, yet she couldn’t make sense of much. She knew she was looking into the Hatchers’ living room, but she wasn’t in it. And she knew that the dining room was behind her, but she wasn’t in there, either. She knew that it was still light outside so she couldn’t have been her long, and she knew that she was in a hell of a lot of trouble. But those were the only things she could comprehend.

Her brain flew into overdrive, questions continually popping up and bombarding her.
How long have I been here? Why is the floor on the ceiling? Why is the ceiling on the floor? Why in the world is there a pulley next to me? What the hell is around my ankles? Where are my damn hands? And why does me head feel like it is going to explode?

She gasped as the reality of her situation struck her.
I’m upside down!
For a moment, she felt relieved then another realization hit her.
He tied me to the column dividing the living room from the dining room. My hands, my feet, they’re useless.

An evil voice came from a place Shannon couldn’t see.
As if I need to.
It was him
.
It was Pauley
.
“Ah, my Sleeping Beauty awakes.”

“Mmmmpphhhh.” Shannon frantically fought her bindings, but it was to no avail. Her body couldn’t seem to function correctly. Between the throbbing, heaviness in her head, and the numbness in parts of her body, nothing happened.

“Wow, sodium thiopental
does
wear off quickly.” Pauley emerged from the dark corner of the room in her direct line of vision. “It’s been a long time, Shannon. Missed me?”

“Mmmpphhh.”

“I think I like you gagged,” he commented as he strolled over to a metal hospital tray sitting a few feet away from her. “You always were too fucking mouthy for my tastes. My woman needs to be a good fuck who keeps my house clean and her trap shut. If I decide to keep you, I’m going to make damn sure you are restrained and gagged all the time unless I’m ramming my dick down your throat or fucking that slutty cunt of yours.”

I will slit my throat first.

He picked up a sharp object from the table and inspected it.
A scalpel? Fuck, he’d gotten too damn close in the hospital.

“Since you love fairy tales, let me tell you a good one,” he began as he strolled toward her. “It’s about a King who saves the soul of a cunt before she’s doomed to burn in hell.” Moving up to her, he used the scalpel to cut open her shirt. “No bra? You’re such a little slut.”

God, I can’t do this. I can’t watch.
She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for a way to get out of this real-life hell.

“Once upon a time, let’s say thirteen years ago…”

* * * *

“…a very good-looking King appeared on the doorstep of his long-lost brother. Only, it wasn’t really his brother. See, the King had been searching for a special family he’d been sent to Earth to save from the clasp of the Devil. Visions of a faceless father, mother, and teenage girl had plagued him for years. One day, he decided it was finally time to find the parents and the girl, so he set out on a quest to look for them. After an extensive journey, he ironically stumbled upon the three of you quite by accident when his car broke down at the end of your driveway.”

Her eyes snapped open, showing the hazel color he’d fantasized about for years. He’d dreamed of watching the light drain away and a dull, lifeless glaze take over. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d been sent to save her damned soul, he would have offed the bitch a long time ago. Well, he would have
after
he fucked every hole in her body.

“Yes, I see you understand me. I’m not your uncle,” he revealed.

He palmed his cock through his pants with one hand while he pushed her shirt aside with his other, revealing her too-big breasts to his gaze.
Oh, well. She needs to lose a little weight, but I’ll make do. After seeing her with those three bastards, I want to see what the hell all the fuss is about. No cunt can possibly be that good.

“Do you think that
I
would touch my own flesh and blood? No, no, no. That is vile. It’s disgusting.”

“Mmmppphhh.”

Kneeling down, he placed the sharpened scalpel just to the right of her belly button, putting only the slightest pressure. It was time to tease, not torment—yet. “Back to the story, whore of mine. The King, who we shall call Pauley, arrived on the doorstep of a poor, unsuspecting peasant man and his family. Desperate to stay near this family, King Pauley spins some stupid story and convinces the sucker that they are long-lost siblings. Of course, the moronic peasant wants to get to know his brother better and, since the King needs a place to stay, he asks him to move in. Only, the King is not really a King at all.”

He increased the pressure, nicking her skin, then glided the scalpel an inch or so from bottom to top. The warm, fresh blood seeped out of the wound, slowly making its way down her fleshy stomach and in between her breasts. The scarlet liquid continued its path past her face and dribbled onto the floor, one splatter at a time. “He is the King’s twin brother. The
real
King is Sid.”

She flinched as he made another cut into the skin, this time to the left of her belly button. Yet she didn’t make a sound—no moans, no groans, and no cries.
Damn it. We can’t have that.
Sid cut her a third time, making a deeper, longer incision below her belly button. And still nothing came from her, not even a peep.
Bitch.