Page 25 of Smoke

“Stop. Both of you,” Cherry pleads. She huffs and storms into her bathroom. Within seconds I hear the shower run.

She reenters the bedroom in nothing but a bra and panties. “I’ve known Kane since I was five years old. He’s not a murderer. That’s me, remember? He’s fucking pissed that I won’t fuck him anymore, so he’s blackmailing me out of spite. But while he might not be a real threat, he will send that video to my daddy if I don’t humor him. But that’s not something either of you, or Hawk, should be concerned about.”

While Scarrow salivates over the sight of her curves peeking out of the black lace bra and matching thong she’s got on, my blood is fucking boiling. “You can’t distract me, mama. Get buck naked for all I fucking care. We’re telling Hawk. Period. The end. Now either go take your shower, or put your fucking clothes back on.”

She glares so hard, I think her eyes might bulge out of her head. “Fuck you, Omen. I’m taking my shower. And for the love of God, stop breaking all my cigarettes. It’s rude.”

Scarrow glances down at the smooshed pack and stifles a laugh. “Aw, you don’t want her to smoke. That’s cute.”

I shake my head, irritated. “It was an accident. I don’t give a fuck if she blows her lungs out.”

A twinge of disgust simmers in my belly. When I said I hated liars, I meant it. Even if that list includes myself.

I want to die. I’ve never been more embarrassed in my entire life. Omen saw the video of me making myself cum. I’m mortified. Dead. Just bury me now.

I’ve never been to Hawk’s house before. He’s always lived with me and my daddy growing up. Then prison. I visited him once there. Only once because I couldn’t bear to see him like that. I tried again a few months later, but he refused my visit. It probably pissed him off that I didn’t come sooner.

I never told him how I felt seeing him in there. It doesn’t matter now. The second he got out, I asked him to do the most fucked up thing anyone ever could ask of a person. That night was the last time I saw him until I spotted him in the parking lot of Level Up five days ago…

So now he has a house in Crimson Valley. And I’m sitting in his living room, dying from embarrassment and sweating under the heat of his glare. Caught between Omen’s permanent scowl and Scarrow’s sloppy grin.

Scarrow licks his lips and I’m instantly reminded of how hard that same tongue of his made me cum the other night. I want to scream, cry, and fuck his face again. Not sure in what order though.

Hawk sits on the identical brown leather couch across from the one I’m sitting in. While Scarrow perches on the end of it, amused as usual. Omen paces behind it, only briefly stopping to snarl at me when I light up a cigarette.

I take a long drag and blow out a shaky, smoke-filled breath. “Look, it’s not that deep. Kane’s just being Kane.”

The look Hawk sends me is bone chilling. Murderous. Fucking diabolical enough to scare your soul right out of your body. He smooths his hand over the pistol that rests on the cushion beside him. “Is that right? So you like sending him pics and videos of yourself getting off then? Oh, and I’d be real careful what you say next, Cherry.”

Who the fuck do these guys think they are? Sharing a homicidal trauma bond does not give them the right to dictate everything I do. “So what if I did? How is that any of y’all’s business?” I wave my cigarette in the air, drawing an invisible line between the three of them with it.

Scarrow’s smirk disappears instantly. He rolls up his sleeves, revealing the thick veins that protrude out between his swirls of tattoos. “That’s fucking bullshit and you know it.”

Omen rips off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves while he continues to pace. “This Kane fucker… is he the one in the video, Cherry? Don’t fucking lie. I swear to Christ I will lop off your fucking tongue.”

Dammit. I was hoping to break that part to them slowly. Fuck it. I’m deep in this shit now. “Yeah. I recognized the tattoo on his arm. I wanted a chance to confront him first before I told you. Maybe if I tell him to stop…”

Hawk grits his teeth so hard I think he might snap his own jaw. “I never understood what drew you to that fucker. I am going to kill him, Cherry. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three fucking times… you’re fucking dead.”

Shit. This was already bad. And I just made it worse. “No one’s gonna believe him, Hawk. He doesn’t have any proof that I murdered those boys. None. I’ve been playing along because it’s better to keep him from causing chaos.”

“You’re done with all that now. I let him take your virginity, then my freedom when I covered for you both with the crash, and now he’s hitting our warehouses and messing with our livelihood? Nah, no more.”

“You let him take my virginity?” I snicker. “Right. When you were too busy to pay attention to—”

He leaps off the couch and barrels toward me. “Correct. I also let him continue to breathe. So no…he doesn’t get to have your pussy and eat it too.”

I draw in a sharp breath when he yanks me to my feet by the back of my neck. “He doesn’t get to have any of you anymore,” he whispers in my ear.

I shiver as the tip of his nose brushes my cheek. “Baby girl… you’re sleeping in my room tonight. It’s down the hall, third door on the right. Go. Now. And don’t say another fucking word. I’ll be right there.”

There are not very many people that I take orders from. In fact, Hawk might be the only one who can hold me in place with just a look. The only man I’d gladly break myself open for. Even if it meant he was going to smash all of my most fragile parts into bloody pieces.

And I know better than to argue when he gets that tone in his voice. In that instant, I submit. He knows by the look in my eyes. The second he removes his hand from my neck, I strut past a bewildered Scarrow and an even angrier Omen.

I slide my hand across the wood paneling of the walls to anchor myself, jarred by the click of my own heels echoing down the hall. I take deep breaths as I walk. With each step closer that I get to Hawk’s room, my heart beats wilder. It’s been a decade since we slept under the same roof, let alone in the same bed.

The lies and secrets we once kept between us, between our sheets, ensured our souls would never be redeemed. Not even under the holy light of having a preacher for a daddy can save me. I’m tainted. Damaged fucking goods. But as long as I get to be next to Hawk, to breathe the same air as him… to stretch out beside him… then I don’t fucking care.