A woosh of air and Ray was off me. I stumbled back, tripping in my heels, and fell to the floor.
It was Wez! He swung, punching Ray square in the mouth.
Wez held a night stick.
No. It was a cattle prod.
Ray cried out when Wez zapped him in the chest with the end of the cattle prod. Ray fell back to the floor.
Wez dropped the cattle prod and reached down and pulled out Ray’s cell phone from his suit jacket. He dropped it on the floor and stomped on it with his booted heel, smashing it to pieces. He twisted his fists into the front of Ray’s jacket, hauling him up off the floor.
Wez bared his teeth and reached down. He grabbed ahold of Ray’s crotch and twisted. Ray screamed out in pain. “You like drugging and hurting women, huh? How about I twist your shit off and make you a fucking eunuch?” Wes twisted and jerked, making Ray scream and sob. “Stay away from Lillian. If I smell your stench even fifty yards from her, you’re fucking dead. Got me?”
“Yes!” Ray yelped. His lip was bleeding.
Wez spun Ray around, then hiked his leg up, kicking him square in the ass. He stumbled and ran out the front door.
Wez walked over to me as I sat on the floor sobbing. When he knelt down, I flung myself on him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
I felt his big arms come around me, his warm hands on my back. “Shh. It’s okay, Lillian. You’re safe now. That piece of shit is gone and soon to be dead.”
I don’t know how long Wez just knelt there holding me in his arms while I cried. When my sobs turned into hiccups, he picked me up and carried me to the couch. He sat down and cradled me in his lap.
“Can you just hold me?”
“I’ll hold you as long as you need me to.”
It was the first time in my life I felt safe and protected.
CHAPTER 7WEZ
Lillian was all I thought about ever since the ride. And while I held her in my lap as she cried, I realized how much I wanted her. I wanted her to belong to me, but it could never happen—especially after I told her about Denise and me.
She calmed down, wiping her tears, and then gathered her things. She locked up the house and I followed her home in my truck. I pulled in the driveway behind her car as she climbed out and asked me if I’d like to come inside. I figured she didn’t want to be alone after what just happened, so, of course, I said yes.
I sat on her couch while she went upstairs. A few minutes later she came back down the dressed in a pair of stretchy yoga pants and a T-shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun and her face looked clean of makeup. She was even prettier than when she got all dolled up. I liked it. A lot.
She plopped down next to me and crossed her legs. Then she cocked her head and arched her brow. “Yes, I know I look plain and frumpy. Can you please close your mouth?”
I chuckled. “You looked good the other day on the ride. But seeing you right now, just natural and real... You’re gorgeous, Lillian.”
This girl was turning me into a fucking sap.
She smiled and her cheeks turned pink. “Thank you.”
There was a moment of that uncomfortable silence before Lillian asked, “Did Kat tell you about Ray?”
“Yeah, she told me about him after you left the clubhouse last week. Then she called me yesterday because she remembered his last name. Spider is my club’s VP and he’s got relatives in the local law enforcement. He was able to get me all kinds of good intel on that douchebag—the make and model of Ray’s car, his tag number, where he worked, his home address, and even his social security number. I was watching him for a few days and followed him to that house. Your car was parked in the driveway and I was glad I brought the cattle prod.
“It was all I could do not to kill the motherfucker when I saw him hurting you. I wanted to shove the cattle prod up his fuckin’ ass.”
Lillian was off the couch and pacing in her living room, her hands balled in fists. “My mother told Ray I was there today!”
Luckily, she didn’t see me wince when she mentioned Denise.
She started rummaging through her purse on the coffee table. “I need my phone. I’m calling her.”
“Wait,” I said, leaving the couch and taking her hands in mine. “Lillian, I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I know your mother. Her name is Denise, right?”
Lillian pulled her hands away. “How do you know my mother?”
I heaved a sigh. “I was fucking seeing her. But it was only for a few weeks.”
“You had sex with my mother?” She started to giggle. “No way!”
“Yes. It’s true. I did.”
“But how? Why?”
“I’m a longtime member of another kind of club. You’ve heard of BDSM, right? That kind of club.”
She stepped back and her jaw dropped. “Like whips and chains and handcuffs?”
“Well, that’s what the vanilla world wants to label it. But there’s so much more to it, Lillian.”
“But my mother... She cannot be into BDSM. It’s not possible. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I’m the one who ended it with Denise. She slashed my tires and keyed up the whole truck, cost me thousands to get repaired. I found out she was your mom when I drove you home from the clubhouse that night and put you in your bed. I saw that photo there of you two by the door there. I thought I’d never see you again. But then you walk into Mad Ink the very next day, then I run into you at the brewery, then the ride—”
She slapped me hard across the face. It tickled more than it stung.
“Come here.”
