25. Levy

Chapter twenty-five

Levy

I was trying so hard not to close my eyes, but I was so fucking tired, they kept sliding closed against my will. Footsteps jolted me awake, and I glanced at Anders, who was watching the door warily. He turned and met my eye, and whispered one word, “Paraphilia.”

I blinked in confusion, and he just nodded at me before turning back to the door. That didn’t make sense. Had he finally snapped? He looked back at me and pried one of his eyes open exaggeratedly, and I finally clued in. I was awake, this was real. I nodded just as the door opened, and I jumped to my feet as Grace stepped inside the room.

Her eyes went wide and she stepped toward me, but Douglas grabbed her by her hair and yanked her back against his chest. I snarled, my hands clenched into fists as I glared at him, his hand snaking around her chest and holding her tightly against him. “Not so fast Gracie,” he murmured, smirking at us. Anders was tense as he watched them, his eyes narrowing when he noticed the bloody bandage on Grace’s arm.

“Here’s the deal, boys. You each get a turn with Gracie, once a day, until she’s nice and knocked up. If you fight me, I will hurt Gracie.” He grabbed her bandaged arm and squeezed it until she cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks .

“Enough!” Anders snapped, and Douglas glared at him, cocking an eyebrow.

“And you, Howell. Give me any grief at all, and I will end you. I don’t need you living to get some of your DNA,” he snapped, and shoved Grace toward Anders. Anders caught her as she stumbled, his arms wrapping around her as he shot daggers at Douglas with his eyes. “Now get to it, I don’t have all day,” he announced, leaning against the door.

“What? You plan to stand there and watch while I fuck your sister?” Anders demanded, pulling Grace into his lap. I knew Douglas was sick but that took the cake.

“Can’t get it up with an audience?” Douglas replied with a nasty sneer. “I have pills that’ll take care of that for you.”

“It’s okay,” Grace murmured, touching Anders cheek. “It’s okay, really. Just pretend it’s us here, okay?” I faded out of view and moved as close to them as I could, wishing I could get between them and Douglas, to block them from his sight.

“Grace, no,” Anders replied, and she shifted in his lap to straddle him, murmuring in his ear. I couldn’t tell what she was saying to him, but his hands tightened around her waist, his eyes flashing as he glanced toward my side of the room. He whispered something back to her, and her body trembled.

“Let me relax you,” she said, loud enough for all of us to hear. I felt her power the moment it hit me, the muscles in my body relaxing as the coil of anxiety in my chest lifted. I heard Douglas groan and refused to look at him, knowing it would make me sick.

“Mmm, good girl,” Anders murmured, his hands sliding up her shirt. “You know that’s what I like.”

What the fuck? I’ve never seen him react well to her powers before. He slipped his hand out of her shirt, stroking her thigh as she shifted in his lap, grinding against him. Grace started to moan as Anders kissed down her neck, and I felt myself getting flustered as I watched them together. Surreptitiously, I shot a glance at Douglas, and he was watching with altogether too much interest for my taste, a noticeable tightness in the front of his pants.

“Anders,” Grace moaned, and I saw Doug’s brow furrow, his lips twisting into a scowl. Well, well, the pervert didn’t like another man’s name on her lips it seemed.

“Alright, let’s move it along,” Douglas bit out, and Anders shot him an incredulous look over Grace’s shoulder. “Fill her up so we can move on already.”

“Anders please,” Grace whined, rocking in his lap, and he smirked up at Doug.

“Not everyone is in and out in five seconds, Douglas,” Anders replied smugly. This was the same conceited tone that had gotten him into countless fights when we were younger, and I would recognize it anywhere. He was baiting Douglas, and I saw the flash of temper cross the bastard’s face.

“What did I say?” Douglas snapped, stalking over to them and wrenching Grace off of Anders lap by her hair. Anders and I shot to our feet, rage exploding out of us as he slammed her against the wall, making her cry out in pain. “I’ll show you, you ungrateful bitch. I’m the only one you need, don’t ever forget that!”

“Leave her alone, you sick fuck!” I shouted as Douglas tore at the fabric of Grace’s leggings, ripping a large hole from her hip down to her thigh. Grace screamed, and I saw a flash of metal as she slammed her hand up into his neck. Douglas stumbled back, clutching his throat. A small, familiar-looking pocket knife jutted out from the side of his neck .

“I fucking hate you!” Grace seethed, advancing on him as he stumbled back, blood trickling out of his mouth as he opened it, trying to speak. “I hope you rot in hell, you fucking monster.” Swiftly, she grabbed the knife and wrenched it out of his neck, and we watched as blood cascaded from the gaping wound. Douglas grabbed at his throat, his eyes wide and panicked as he dropped to his knees in front of us. Anders was full-on grinning, a manic look in his eyes as Douglas’s face paled, and he collapsed forward into the floor.

“Kitten, look at me,” Anders called softly, his hand outstretched. Grace was covered in blood, looking like an avenging angel, the knife still clutched in her hand.

“I killed him,” she murmured, looking a little dazed. “I killed him.”

“Come here, Grace,” Anders repeated, more firmly this time. She stepped toward him slowly, her eyes still fixed on Douglas’s body on the floor. We were in a room full of corpses, one that I’d really like to leave. “You’re okay,” he told her gently, pulling her into his arms.

“Can we go home now, please?” she whispered, and he kissed the top of her head.

“Of course, Kitten, anything you want.”

Grace eventually crept outside the room to go and find the key for the metal shackles on our ankles. Apparently, they were in the dead guy’s pocket just outside, and Douglas hadn’t bothered to retrieve them or move the body yet. Once we were freed, Anders grabbed the gun out of Douglas’s holster and checked that it was loaded before we began our escape.

Anders took the lead, with Grace behind him, as I followed closely, using the wall to steady myself. The basement was empty, thankfully, but we could hear footsteps above us, and who knew how many were Douglas’s hired thugs.

I shifted ahead of them as we reached the top of the stairs, pushing the door open as quietly as possible and peeking outside. The kitchen was empty, which was strange, and I crept out, looking around carefully. “Come on,” I hissed, and Anders and Grace slipped out after me as we headed down toward the front door.

A crashing sound froze us in our tracks, and Anders pulled Grace into the dining room, out of sight, as I continued forward. Voices were getting closer, and I pressed back into the wall as footsteps approached from around the corner.

“Where the fuck is the basement entrance?” someone hissed, sounding irritated.

“I didn’t think to ask her because I assumed the house would have a normal fucking layout!” I’d know that voice anywhere.

“Erik!” I called out, and the footsteps stopped abruptly.

“Levy?” he called back, and I laughed at the confusion in his voice. Erik rounded the corner in a near sprint, a bulletproof vest over his button-up shirt, his hair in a ponytail. Jesse was hot on his heels, and when I flickered into view both their faces lit up. Jesse ran at me, pulling me into a tight hug. Fuck, it was such a relief to see them again.

“Grace and Anders?” Erik asked anxiously, Sparrow and two men I didn’t recognize from her crew appearing behind them with their guns drawn.

“Erik!” Grace popped out from their hiding spot and dashed toward him. He caught her in his arms and lifted her right off her feet, burying his face in her neck .

“Thank fucking god,” he murmured, holding her for a long moment before he finally set her down to examine her. We all looked horrible, but Grace was still covered in blood, the bandage on her arm soaked through, and her leggings shredded. “Where is he?” he growled, looking at me, and then at Anders, who had approached silently to watch the reunion.

“Dead,” I told him, and Jesse let go of me to move to Grace’s side, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“And Gregori?” Erik asked, glancing at Anders.

“Also dead,” Anders replied. Erik walked up to him slowly, and much to everyone’s shock, he grabbed Anders by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a hug. Anders looked as bewildered as I felt, patting Erik awkwardly on the back a couple of times before Erik finally released him, a large smile on his face.

“Let’s go home,” he grinned.

In actuality, there was a lot more that was still left to take care of, so when Erik said ‘home’, he really meant Sparrow’s tavern. Erik and Anders each took charge of their own portions of the playing field; Anders securing his father’s men—now his through inheritance—and Erik handling his side of things. Sparrow was busy dealing with her guys and securing a clean-up crew to handle the mess of corpses at both our places, as well the ones we’d left at Grace’s home. Once the illicit business was handled, the lawyers were called in to handle the legitimate business affairs. No less than six of them converged on the bar, sitting with Erik, Anders, and Grace, who came down with damp hair and borrowed clothes to meet with them.

If any of them were concerned about being surrounded by terrifying-looking bikers, they didn’t mention it.

Not needed for the discussions about estate, share holdings, and account balances, and too tired to pretend I was interested, I asked Wren if I could use her shower and snuck away, heading upstairs.

Stripping out of my clothes, I forced myself to be visible so I could look myself over in the mirror while the water heated up. The wounds on my back were still healing, and one of them had torn open when we’d been taken, so Wren had needed to re-stitch it. My face was bruised, and I could see the goose-egg lump on the back of my head where they’d hit me to knock me out.

I stepped under the hot water, groaning in relief as it eased some of the tension in my body. I knew they hadn’t touched me, none of that had been real. But the ache around my neck from the belt lingered, and my ankle burned where I’d torn the skin by pulling against the shackle. The ghosts of their hands on my skin, hurting me, cutting me… it felt so real. I shivered, knowing the nightmares would be back tonight. Douglas’s nightmares lived on, ever after he was long dead.

The bathroom door creaked as it opened, and I froze, the panic quick to return as I listened to the footsteps approaching, a blurry figure visible on the other side of the glass. A moment later, the shower door slid open, and a very naked Anders was watching me, an indiscernible look on his face. I backed up as he stepped inside, the water rushing over him as he stared at me. “I thought you were with your lawyer,” I mumbled stupidly.

“I told him to fuck off and call me once things are sorted out,” he replied, stepping closer to me, forcing my back into the shower wall.

“I watched you die,” I blurted out, fading out of view as his golden eyes flashed at me with his penetrating stare. He nodded slowly, and his hand came up to cup my face, shockingly gentle.

“I saw you die too,” he rasped, and my cheek warmed under his skin as he shifted closer to me, our thighs nearly touching. “Now, put your hands above your head.”

A groan escaped my lips as I lifted my hands up and cupped them behind my head, leaning back against the wall. His fingers skimmed up along my thigh as the blood rushed to my groin, my cock growing stiff between us.

“You belong to me,” Anders whispered, and I closed my eyes as he gripped my length, torturing me with slow, gentle strokes. “They will never, ever , touch you again. Tell me you understand.”

I bucked into his hand, chasing more as heat began to build inside of me. “I understand,” I breathed. He pumped me in his first, harder now, sliding up and down until I was leaking and thrusting against him. My hips bumped against his until I felt his erection pressing into me. “Fuck, Anders!” I groaned, my nails digging into my scalp. He would let go of me soon, I was so close now. This was when he would step away, leaving me wanting and desperate. Instead, he pressed closer, his body melding into my side as his tongue raked up my jaw before catching my earlobe between his teeth .

I groaned low in my throat as he brought his lips to my ear. “Come for me, Levy,” he murmured, and I spilled my release into his hand, moaning his name. “You belong to me,” he repeated softly, and I nodded, my eyelids shuttering closed.

“I’m yours.”