Page 10 of Merciless Angel
This was so very not good. How did I get out of this? Where were my snacks? My mind was all over the place.
“I should really get going. I dropped my bag somewhere, and I have class tomorrow.” I tried to edge away from Blaze, hoping he would let me go.
No such luck. He trapped me against the dumpster with an arm on each side of me. A slow shake of his head made my stomach drop.
“I’m sorry, Clover. I can’t let you go just yet. You see, you’re a witness to a murder now. We need to figure out what to do with you. What do you think we should do?” A strange little smile played about Blaze’s lips.
Behind him Cash said, “I can think of a few things I’d like to do with her.”
With Blaze’s body pressed against mine, it was impossible to think clearly. He was warm and hard. There had been a time when I’d fantasized about this. About him. Now I quivered in fear.
“I, I won’t tell anyone anything,” I stammered. “I swear.”
“That’s what everyone says before they run to the cops.” Daire cocked his head to one side, appraising me with a vicious stare. “How do we know we can trust you?”
Desperation filled my voice. “Why would I tell the cops? You stopped that guy from hurting me.”
“Who’s to stop us from hurting you?” Daire countered. “We could do whatever we want with you and nobody would be able to stop us.”
Blaze held up a hand. “Settle down, Daire. You know that I have first claim.”
First claim? On me? Shit, I was really in over my head here.
“You’re all hypocrites,” I accused. I refused to beg despite my fear. These guys were out of line. “You stop a stranger from hurting me just so you can hurt me yourselves? That’s screwed up.”
The three of them exchanged a look. Daire shrugged while Cash nodded.
“Yeah, I guess it is pretty screwed up,” Cash agreed, completely unapologetic. “What can we say? We never claimed to be the good guys.”
Blaze tapped me on the tip of my nose. There was a darkness in his eyes that chilled me to the core. “Time to make a choice, Rainbow. We can kill you or we can keep you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
CLOVER
Kill me or keep me. Those words reverberated in my head. What. The. Fuck?
“Are you serious?” I finally spat out. I really should have stayed in tonight. My luck was absolute shit lately.
“As a heart attack,” Blaze confirmed with a nod. He ran a hand along my shoulder to my neck. Slowly his fingers circled my throat in a gentle grasp that threatened so much worse.
“What do you mean by keep me?” I dared to ask. Surely he could feel the way my body trembled. That was confirmed when I felt the hard bulge in his jeans as he pressed close.
He enjoyed this. It got him off. Of course it did. I’d known they were a messed up group of guys.
“It means that you’ll be ours, sweetness.” Blaze stroked his other hand over my disheveled hair. “You’ll belong to us. You’ll do what we want, and in return, we’ll take care of you. We’ll keep you safe. I’m sure it goes without saying that you’ll keep our secrets but I’ll say it anyway. If this is too much for you, we can end it all right here and now. Just say the word.”
What a stone-cold bastard. All of them. Cash and Daire looked on with curious intrigue, awaiting my decision.
“You’re not really giving me much of a choice.” My gaze traveled around all three of them. They seemed so eager. Excited at having me trapped. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. “I guess I’m yours.”
The weight of defeat crushed me. How could this have happened? I’d only wanted some damn snacks.
Blaze removed his hand from around my throat and lightly patted my cheek. “That’s a good girl. Now let’s get you home safe.”
Sliding his fingers between mine, he led me away from the dumpster containing the body of my attacker. His silver Camaro was parked at the end of the alley. Daire and Cash followed along. My keepers. I couldn’t believe this.
“Can I at least grab the bag I dropped?” I asked, glancing longingly toward the convenience store.