The Scarred One Read online

  She shook her head. “You’re best friends and have been through so much together. Please, don’t let him hate me. He’s going to think I’m poisoning you against him or something.”

  He chuckled. “Baby, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a few choice words from you to turn me against Caleb.”

  “I don’t know how he thinks. I just want things to go okay. I’m friends with Donna.”

  “I’ll talk to him. He better not say shit about you, otherwise my fist is going to have a meeting with his face.”

  “You’re threatening violence again.”

  Henry glanced at her smile. “Get used to it.”

  He wasn’t going to change what he did for a living. There was no way he’d ever afford something like this if he looked for a real job. He didn’t have the qualifications to get on the straight and narrow.

  “I’m not asking you to change, Henry. You’ve stopped screwing around with whores. If you were still with them, then I’d kick your ass. You’re not, and I’m fine with that.”

  “Good. I’m not going back to the whores. I’m done with them.” He was a one woman man.

  ****

  Lydia blew out a breath, feeling overly exposed. Henry rarely spoke only to mumble something here and there. She didn’t know what time it was, but it had to be early in the morning. He hadn’t stopped with the pencil, and she didn’t see him stopping anytime soon. She loved watching him. Every now and then he’d appear around the canvas looking over her body, caressing it with his gaze alone. She was so hot and horny from the looks he was sending her way.

  Earlier, she had lied to Caleb. She was falling in love with Henry. Ever since she first met him over a year ago he’d intrigued her. The feelings he inspired inside her hadn’t gone away. Every time she saw him, she’d been drawn to him. It wasn’t the scars on his face or the malice in his eyes, it was the man himself. She’d seen past the scars and wanted to know the man deep inside. What she saw took her breath away.

  He wasn’t just some brute who used his fists. This apartment was one of the things that showed a side to him not many people knew. Henry had bought an apartment in the city that was known for its security. He didn’t want to be looking over his shoulder as he slept. The whores were merely easy sex. He’d been hurt so many times by women turning their nose up at him. It was sad, harsh, and it had broken a part of him. He clearly didn’t believe he was worth loving or even liking. The painting was another element. This entire life had been bought when he had big plans and intended to explore those plans. Someone had taken that life away from him.

  “The man who gave you those scars and took this world away from you, is he dead?” she asked.

  Her words made him tense.

  Henry’s eyes appeared around the canvas as he stared at her.

  “Yes, Caleb and I hunted them all down and killed them. We never leave our enemies alive.”

  “Is that another reason you want to hunt the men who took you a few weeks ago?” she asked.

  “No. I want to kill those bastards because they hurt you and treated you like a whore. You didn’t deserve it.” The menace was back once again making her shiver. “I’m not having you scared to walk the street.”

  “I’m not scared. You have Arnold looking after me.”

  “Okay, I’m not going to be happy until I know they’re dead.”

  She was scared. There were times when she saw men in hooded jackets, and she wondered if Bill or Leon were behind them.

  “Does that scare you?”

  “No.” She was being honest. Henry had never physically hurt her. “I’m getting tired.”

  He disappeared behind his canvas. Seconds later he stood up. “I can call it a night, but first I want to take a picture.” Henry grabbed his cell phone from the drawer top and aimed it at her.

  “You better not share this with any of your friends.”

  “There’s no way I’d share you with my friends.” He placed the phone from where he got it and carried the canvas away.

  “Hey, don’t I get to see the masterpiece?”

  “Not until it’s done.”

  He left her alone, and she stayed in the position he left her. When he came back into the room, his cock was rock hard, pointing at her. He moved toward her feet and slid between her legs, covering her body.

  His hand moved to his cock. “Push your ass up.”

  She was soaking wet just from the evidence of his own arousal. Doing as he asked, Lydia groaned as he slid his cock deep into her. Both of his hands moved up her body. One cupped one of her breasts while the other moved the hair off the back of neck. His lips went to the back of her neck, and she cried out. He sucked on her flesh as he rode her hard.

  The sounds of flesh hitting flesh filled the air, turning her on further.

  “I could fuck you all day and night.” He rested his face against hers. “Thrust up against me.”

  Doing as he asked, she thrust up to meet his cock. He sank in deeply with him going at her from behind.

  “Who do you belong to?” he asked.

  “You, Henry, I belong to you.” He pounded inside her, and she loved the feel of him staking his claim over her. Henry stopped touching her breast and grabbed her hands. He kept them locked at the side of her head as he fucked her hard.

  His hard body surrounded her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

  He swiveled his hips hitting a spot deep inside her. Several strokes over her g-spot and she came apart in seconds, crying out his name. Henry followed her, grunting out his release and sucking on her neck as he came apart.

  When he finished, he collapsed over her.

  Catching her breath, she enjoyed the feel of his weight over her.

  “I wanted to do that ever since you dropped that blanket.”

  She giggled. “You were the one who wanted to draw me. I’d have happily have been fucking all night.”

  He pulled out of her, and they slid under the covers. His hand banded around her waist, pulling her close. She closed her eyes, basking in the feel of him.

  “If we don’t start using a condom I’m going to get you pregnant.”

  “I know.” She ran her hands up and down his arm. “I like this.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, Henry. I love being your woman.”

  She nestled against him, feeling his cock thicken as she rubbed her ass next to his groin.

  “Good because you’ve not got a choice. You’re mine to keep now.”

  Opening her eyes, she stared across the room as a thought entered her head. “Henry, if you want me to start working, I will. I don’t mind working.”

  “And I don’t want you to. You’re my woman, and I’m old-fashioned. I won’t have you working. Ignore the shit that Caleb said. He doesn’t let Donna work either, and he’d beat the shit out of me if I mentioned her being anything other than perfect.”

  “They’re married.”

  “Do you want to get married for him to shut his trap? I’ll marry you in a heartbeat.”

  She glanced over her shoulder to see he was being serious. “You’d marry me to stop your friend from saying nasty shit to me?”

  “Of course.”

  Lydia pressed a kiss to his lips.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “Was that an actual proposal?” She was confused.

  “Yeah, it was. I’m going to marry you at some point, baby. I don’t know how many times I’ve got to say it, but you’re mine. We’re going to get married soon, and we may as well get to it now.”

  “Your romantic skills need a lot of work.”

  “Will you marry me?” he asked. He cupped her cheek. His thumb stroked over her lips. “I’m being serious, Lydia. I’m not going to have any other woman. The only one I want is you.”

  “How can you know?”

  “I know.” There was no hesitation in his words.

  “Yes, Henry, I’ll marry you.” She
didn’t want to be with any other man but him.

  He pulled her close, dropping a kiss to her lips. “Now, it’s time to go to sleep. We’ll go hunting for a ring very soon.”

  “You don’t want to fuck again?” she asked.

  Henry growled, nipping at her lips. She giggled but rested her head on his chest. He held her close, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be other than in his arms.

  She was getting married. Life had never been better for her.

  Chapter Ten

  Several days later Henry was standing with Caleb inside Elijah’s warehouse as they talked out distribution. The latest batch of coke had had several customers collapsing and being sent to the hospital.

  “It must be something wrong with the batch,” Elijah said, looking over the police reports their friend on the inside had given. There had to be some confusion as the women who collapsed showed signs of a date rape drug being present, too.

  “This is your shit that you assured us was above board. I’ve got other suppliers who don’t have their clients in the hospital or with elements of a date-rape drug. Anymore of this shit and I’ll be investigated by the police,” Caleb said.

  “What about Richard?” Henry asked. He still didn’t like the seedy little bastard.

  “He flirted with your woman, Henry. That’s all. Leave him be.”

  “No, it’s got nothing to do with that.” Henry looked at Elijah. “We’ve been buying shit from you for months. All of a sudden we employ a guy, and we’ve got women, not men, women passing out in the club.” The more Henry thought about it, the more it made sense. “What if it’s not the coke?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Taking the file from Elijah, he flicked over the women. “They’re pretty girls but not striking. We looked over this. What if he’s giving them the rape drug as well as the coke? It’s one woman a night, not many. I can tell you there’s been a shitload of deals going in the club, and the whores have been snorting the shit out of it as well. Surely it has to be down to something else.”

  There was a reason he didn’t like Richard, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

  Caleb looked unconvinced while Elijah took the file back to read through.

  “There’s no sign of them ODing, only them being passed out. The date-rape drug is detected. She passed out and was unresponsive. The drug keeps women conscious without the ability to do anything. We passed them off into the ambulance without thought. What if he’s done this before and we didn’t know about it?” Henry asked.

  “Fuck,” Caleb said. “It all fits.”

  “What you’ve got to ask yourself is how many girls weren’t packed away in an ambulance?”

  Henry didn’t like the way this was going. “Where’s Richard now?”

  Caleb glanced down at his watch. “He’s in the club getting ready for tonight.”

  Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Barry, who was one of the men who dealt with security and who they trusted. When they noticed the women passing out they’d asked for Barry to check security.

  “Hello, boss,” Barry said.

  “What do you have?” Henry asked. For once he’d love for their job to be easy. He didn’t like how one of their staff had been taking advantage. This was his world, and he took care of it.

  “It’s not good. I recognized three women on camera who’d passed out. It was busy on a Friday night so I didn’t get to them. On the camera it shows Richard carrying them out looking like he’s helping them. I’ve just visited one of the women who was taken. She’s not been back to the club since.” Henry stared at his friend, knowing he wasn’t going to like it. “She was raped by Richard and threatened if she ever said anything he’d slit her throat. He worked for Drake, Henry. We fucking missed it. His references were all clean.”

  Cursing, Henry rubbed at his eyes. “Make sure she’s compensated and let her know the bastard will never hurt her again.”

  Hanging up the cell phone, he conveyed the information to Caleb.

  “We’re going to the club,” Elijah said. “I deal drugs for the high not to abuse women. I want this bastard taken care of. I’ve got a fifteen year old daughter. I’m not having a monster on the streets.”

  Henry hadn’t known Elijah had a daughter.

  “To some you’d be considered the monster,” Caleb said.

  “Don’t care. I’m a monster with morals. I don’t fuck with people who can’t fuck back.”

  Leaving the warehouse, Elijah’s bodyguards followed behind him. They travelled in Henry’s car with Caleb sitting beside him and Elijah in the back.

  “So, when is the big day?” Elijah asked.

  He’d called Caleb up the following day after he proposed to Lydia to let him know he was going to marry her.

  “We’ve not set a date,” Henry said.

  “Never thought I’d see the day that the deadly duet was married and settling down.”

  “Try it, Elijah. I wouldn’t change Donna for anything.”

  “Married life is not for me. I’m happy with what I’ve got. I don’t need a woman bitching at me.”

  “You’ve got a daughter. Shouldn’t she have a mother?” Henry asked.

  “My daughter is taken care of. Her mother is a first class bitch. Believe me, she doesn’t need a mother. I’ve got a nanny taking care of her.” Elijah sat back, flicking through his phone.

  They made their way across town toward Ecstasy.

  Lydia was spending the day at the spa. Henry told her he was going to be at the club for most of the day and he’d see her later that evening. Henry was going to do more work on the painting while she cooked. She made him a better man, and he knew he was in love with her. From the first moment he saw her, he’d been caught in her dark brown gaze. He had been jealous of Darren who got to touch her when he couldn’t.

  She was his, and Henry didn’t intend to lose her.

  Entering the club, he heard a feminine whimper. He recognized that whimper. In the doorway he saw Arnold was on the floor with blood spilling from his side. The man was struggling to move, but no one was paying any attention to him.

  “Let me go!” Lydia screamed.

  The unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh tightened his gut.

  “Shut your fucking mouth.”

  Caleb and Elijah were at his back.

  “Is that Lydia?” Caleb asked, whispering the words.

  He didn’t say anything. Slowly, he entered the main part of the club. Richard was counting out money as Leon stood beside him. Bill grabbed Lydia by the hair and dragged her to her knees. The dress she wore was torn from her shoulders showing off the yellow lace underwear he bought her.

  Anger consumed him as he took in the sight. The three men were standing there as if they owned this club. Pulling his gun from his hand, he clicked the safety off, drawing their attention to them. Elijah and Caleb also had a piece.

  Lydia saw him. Tears fell from her eyes, but she looked so happy and relieved to see him.

  “Henry,” she said, trying to crawl to him.

  “No, bitch.” Bill yanked on her hair pulling a scream from her lips. It took every ounce of control for him not to simply fire at the bastard. They needed to know these three were the last men to deal with.

  “What are you doing here, baby?” Henry asked.

  “I wanted to come and see you. I brought you lunch, but those bastards ate it and shot Arnold. I had distracted him with a joke, and they pounced on him before he could do anything.” She screamed as Bill pulled her to her feet, pressing a knife against her throat.

  Pissed, he focused his gaze on Bill.

  “She’s not just a random whore,” Bill said.

  “You were working for Drake,” Caleb said, interrupting everyone.

  “Yeah, he got a kick out of the fact you gave me a job. He thought it was fucking hilarious,” Richard said.

  “Raping the women was just for kicks?” Elijah asked.

  “It was easy and fun. I always like
my women submissive.” Richard pocketed the money.

  “So we killed Drake leaving you three shit-heads to take his place.”

  “No one was watching, and there’s more than enough room for all of us. We’re not a problem,” Leon said.

  There was no way these men could take on the task of running a business. There wasn’t even a brain cell among the three of them and Elijah said as much.

  “You’re all that’s left?” Henry asked. He didn’t look away from his woman, who had a knife pressed to her throat.

  There was no way he’d live without her. He loved her with all of his heart, and the bastard holding her was going to die.

  “We don’t need bodyguards,” Richard said, showing the fucker was dumb.

  “Rule one, never give away how many people there are,” Caleb said.

  “Huh?”

  “Lydia, baby.”

  “Yes?”

  “Remember what I promised you?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s going to happen now. Close your eyes if you don’t want to see it.” He fired his gun as Caleb and Elijah took out the other two.

  Bill released Lydia, and she scrambled away from his hold. Henry advanced on the man, aiming his gun at Bill’s head.

  “What?” Bill asked, grasping his shoulder.

  Henry hadn’t had a clear aim while the bastard was hiding behind his woman. He had a clear shot now. Aiming his gun, he heard the other two men finish off Leon and Richard.

  “You had no chance of winning. You touched my woman, hurt her, and now you’re dead.” He fired the bullet into Bill’s head.

  Dropping his weapon to the floor he turned in time to have Lydia in his arms.

  “It’s okay, baby. I’m here.” He stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. He was shocked to see his own hands were shaking.

  “I love you, Henry.”

  Her admission completely undid him.

  ****

  Lydia sobbed against Henry’s chest, telling him the truth of her feelings. “I love you so much.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  She pulled away to stare into his eyes. When she walked into the club to see Leon and Bill she’d not had the time to run away. They’d caught her before she got a chance to do anything. Throughout it all she knew Henry would come for her and she’d not been wrong.