Page 30 of Ruthless Deliverance

His sultry smile grows as he casually walks to me. His finger hooks under my chin, and he lifts my head even higher, my eyes on his as he says, “You already did. Losing control. That’s your fear. You’d rather lose everything else—your job, your father, your dignity—instead of admitting to me the one thing you’re scared of because then I’d have full control over you.” He leans closer, his lips brushing over mine as he says, “And I do have full, complete control over you. Don’t forget that, puppet.”

Motherfucker. That’s the nickname he deserves. “I’d rather cut your dick off and watch you bleed out than submit to you. Don’t forget that.”

“I think it’s more about admitting you want to submit to me.” He leans back slightly, his eyes looking to my neck where his fingers stroke across my skin. “But no need to worry. Eventually you’ll allow yourself to give in, right or wrong, to what we both desire.” He leans forward, his mouth next to my ear. “And when you’re coming on my dick, you’ll be very grateful you didn’t chop it off.” His hands drop from me as he steps back, an arrogant grin on his face. It doesn’t make me want to act out the image he’s put in my head though. Instead, it makes me want to run far away from him and this case, only that would be running out of fear. Not fear of him, fear of what he’s going to do to get what he wants before this is over. Because he’s made it clear what he wants. Although, I think it’s more of a challenge to fuck the person who is off-limits and shouldn’t be anywhere near him or his dick, even if it is just to chop the damn thing off.

“The only thing I desire is to find the top of the supply chain so we can cut the source off. Who’s shoveling out laced drugs? The same substance found in your and Ethan’s results that night.” That’s why he wants to help. It has to be. “Then I can help my dad clear his name and get back to my life.” Because this is not it. And this journey is really making me question if I ever want to work undercover again. Yeah. It’d been something I’d wanted to do for a long time. But after everything that’s happened, I just want to get back to normalcy. And that includes not knowing Creed and spending my off time at Gus’s with the guys I call family. And the one place I feel at home, I’m not allowed to visit until this is over.

Whenever the hell that will be.

Because things just got a lot easier and more complicated at the same time.

27

CREED

If looks could kill, I’d be a goner. She’s pointed her piercing hatred in my direction more than a few times, and right now is no exception. And we’re just getting started, so that look might actually turn into her trying to kill me before this is finished.

It’ll never be over. And her talking about getting back to her life does nothing but piss me off. There’s no going back. For either of us.

“Then I guess we have a deal, given that Daddy needs you to bail him out of his mess since he can’t handle his own shit.” And that pisses me off. She’s putting her neck on the line for someone who is supposed to be protecting her.

She surges forward, her face in mine. “Keep him out of your mouth or this arrangement will be over before it begins.” As swiftly as she was in my face, she’s at the door, pulling it open, walking through, and slamming it behind her.

Oh, that really got under her skin. It’s obvious her father is a button. And I’m gonna hammer on it because not much else gets to her. It was clear when we surrounded her last night. There were a few seconds where her fear had shown through, but there was more fight in her than anything else. And it had confirmed exactly what I already knew—every fucking word out of her mouth is a lie, but her body tells the truth. I’ve seen her fight, yet she allows me to touch her, hold her, kiss her. If some part of her didn’t want me, my nose would’ve needed to be reset long ago.

Heading downstairs, I join my parents at the table and wait for the questions I know are coming. Mom starts. “Where’s Dani?”

“She had to go. Some family issue or something.”

“Is everything all right?” Mom asks with more concern than warranted.

“Yes.” As all right as it can be.

“So, you two met at school.” Dad keeps focused on his plate. “What project are you working on?”

“Just something for English lit.” He looks up to me, his mouth opening as if to say something, but he remains silent, so I ask, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “I guess I was a little surprised because it’s the first time you’ve introduced a girl to your mother and me. She must be special to you.” His voice fades off a bit, and he doesn’t look back to me.

“Yeah. She is.” She’s something all right.

“That’s so wonderful, sweetheart.” Mom places her hands over mine, patting it as she gives me a warm smile. “Please invite her over again soon so we can have a chance to get to know her.”

Getting to know her is merely the first challenge. “Will do. I’m sure she’ll be around for a while.” Against her wishes, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. Because the only time I wasn’t thinking about the miserable game was when I was calling her out on her lies. I should feel like a hypocrite, being that while I confronted her on her lies, I’ve been keeping mine buried. But that’s the one way I know to get through the season. And the next game is much less appealing than the first. Thankfully, teasing the hellcat gives me something to look forward to.

28

DANI

My taped fist slams into the heavy bag, my other coming around to jab as I bounce on the balls of my feet. Each punch is delivered harder than the last, but none have eased the tension in my shoulders. Since leaving Creed’s palace earlier, the unease has done nothing but increase. I know I can’t trust him. But I don’t have a choice. That infuriates me to no end. Creed knows he holds all the cards, and he’s in control. He’s right. And I don’t like the feeling at all. I’m still considering fessing up to Philip, but there’s no way he’ll be understanding. He’ll blame me and not only take it out on me but on my dad too. Philip’s career is on the line, and he’ll need someone to blame for screwing up. And I did. So right now, it’s not looking good.

With or without the deviant, my next move should be to hit all the party spots tonight. But evidently, that is the field again. No house parties tonight according to Luna, and returning to the field after being chased around by truly demented clowns isn’t appealing in the slightest.

I land another blow on the bag as movement catches my eye to my left. Shit. Mr. Thibaut. I was worried about this happening but had hoped he’d be occupied elsewhere.

Plucking out my earbuds, I drop them on to my bag as I pick up my water bottle and take a swallow. The few seconds it gives me to think isn’t enough.

“I was hoping to run in to you again.” He doesn’t seem angry.