Hyde and Seek (43 page)

“I’d told her the plan when we walked out of Hyde that day she got in your face. Fuck, she was a stupid bitch. Jake wanted sweet, not a bitchy ballbuster. All her fuckin’ scene did was make him want you more. I told her to be sweet and offer him everything he liked. She’d get him, I’d get you, and everyone would be happy. But he didn’t go. He didn’t even acknowledge her. I had to grab his phone to send that text.”

Yet another mystery solved.

“But she got cocky and ran her mouth. She had to brag to that stupid bitch, Rachel. No one fuckin’ believes Rachel. And then she wanted to hurt you. As payback, she’d said, for stealing her man and then punching her in the face. She wanted me to record her and Jake fucking and force you to watch. Then while you were held down, she wanted her chance to hit you. Like I’d let anyone hurt you. I protect you!”

I’d known Jake hadn’t sent that text. If he hit his head, got all sense knocked out of him, and decided to cheat on me, it would never be with Chloe.

Thinking about the screen shot I’d seen, I realized the message had to have been sent when we were at the police station. I’d called Ray because Jake didn’t have his phone. We were leaving, shaken and upset, because of what he had gotten in the mail.

As if on cue, Z’s packing stopped as he opened my underwear drawer. “I can’t even tell you how good it felt covering your come with mine. When I did the walkthrough of your house, I’d passed by your hamper and there they were. I wanted to be in your bed, smelling you, but I didn’t want you to worry about me. You always worried when I was gone too long.”

What? Since when?

Before I could ask what he was talking about, he kept ranting.

“So I pocketed them, knowing what I was going to do. I was there, you know, when Jake opened the package. I got to watch him feel what I felt seeing you two together. Rhys told us later that Jake hadn’t even noticed the special addition that I’d made to the panties. He said that Jake broke a table.” Z’s gleeful expression quickly turned angry again. “But you let him fuck you, Doll Face. All the time. His office
reeked
of it. We could hear you sometimes. We’d get to the hallway and you’d be in there, moaning and screaming for him. I needed to see what you were letting him do to you. How you were a whore for him. I needed to know what to punish him for. I couldn’t protect you if I didn’t watch you. That’s why I wired cameras in his office and the break room.”

Holy fuck. I was right that something felt off. Why didn’t I listen to my instincts?

Oh yeah, ‘cause they also demanded I jumped Jake.

Which crazy ass Z watched, like the fucking creeper he is.

“I loved to see you in the break room. You looked so fragile when you curled into yourself and drew. You were pure. Then you’d walk across the hall, and instead of being my
good
girl, you were Jake’s whore. But I had to watch.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “In fact, let’s see how
Jacoby
is taking things.”

He touched the screen a few times and turned it for me to see when Hyde appeared. The men,
my boys
, were sitting in Jake’s office, but he wasn’t with them. Z touched the screen again to switch to the break room.

Jake was standing in front of the couch, and he wasn’t alone.

Standing close to him, Rachel held his arm. She turned and pulled him out the door, though he didn’t look like he was putting up any kind of fight.

I gulped back tears, the pain of seeing him with someone else stabbing through me.

“It’s about fuckin’ time, am I right?” Z chuckled as we watched Jake and Rachel leave the room,
my
kitchen, together. “Finally he goes with the plan but it’s too late. He’s already made things get this far. I tried to end this earlier because I didn’t want you to get hurt. That’s why I started stealing parts.”

Another mystery solved.

This is like the world’s creepiest freakin’ episode of Sherlock.

“They were expensive, custom parts that set him behind and cost him a fortune. I thought he’d break things off nicely ‘cause he needed to focus on Hyde. It was his business, his pride, everything he’d worked for. But he didn’t give a shit. He just kept fucking you at work, as if shit wasn’t going wrong. As if the answers to all of the shop’s problems were hidden in your cunt. So I kept messing shit up while no one was looking. I thought you’d get sick of him working long hours, but you didn’t. You were so sweet. And do you know what Jake did?”

“No,” I whispered. My chest ached as I thought of what he was most likely doing at that moment.

“Nothing. Not one
fucking
thing. He worked with a smile on his face as if everything was perfect. Instead of putting in more hours to try to fix things, he started leaving earlier to go see you.”

Hearing that was bittersweet, warming me even as it eviscerated me.

“I sent Rachel after you. I made sure Chloe went to the Boston event. I thought if you saw the trash he normally fucked, you’d realize you were too good for him. But you were sweet about that, too. When nothing else worked, I started telling Green about the way you fucked Jake. The way you’re such a whore for him, screaming and begging. Green wanted you anyway, but after he heard about that? I hated to see him try to touch you, touch what’s mine, but I already knew my good girl wouldn’t fall for it.” His expression darkened. “He’ll pay for every sick word that came out of his mouth.”

Even though he’s a douche and an asshole, no one deserves Z’s version of payback.

“I overheard him and his friends talking about how they pictured you when they jacked off. Being the good friend that I am, I told Jake today.”

Z fell silent as he grabbed another suitcase and started throwing random lotions and creams from on top of my dresser into it.

I had no plan. I knew he wasn’t going to let me just walk out of here. If I had any chance at getting away, I needed to stall.

“Why?”

“Jake’s fuckin’ crazy when it comes to you. I knew he’d be a dick and push you away. He couldn’t help himself. You were so sweet, so forgiving, but even you’d have a breaking point.” He looked at me over his shoulder and smiled. “Now you’ll be sweet to me, right?”

Before I could answer, his face clouded as anger took over.

“You didn’t notice me. You didn’t care when the pervert’s date was hitting on me. You laughed. You were supposed to feel what I felt. But you didn’t. Now you’ll love me. You’ll need me. You’ll listen and stick to the plan!”

Watching Z walk around with his gun bouncing, I swallowed down my panic and tried to stay calm.

His mood was mercurial, his expressions changing rapidly between fury, disgust, crazy as fuck, and obsessive love.

It was the love that was scaring me the most.

“I tried to be patient,” he started again, staring into my dresser drawer before looking back to me. “I tried to wait. But all the while, you were letting him fuck you wherever. Like up against the wall in Boston. Anyone could’ve seen you. Heard you. You let him fuck you in a car at the side of the road. That’s what whores do, Piper. They suck dick and fuck in cars at the side of the road. And that’s what you did.” He picked up a fistful of my panties and nighties. “You were a fuckin’ whore! Why, Doll Face? Why’d you do that?” he screamed as he pulled at the delicate fabric, tearing it apart.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“I tried to save you from him. I tried to remind him how young you are and how much more experience he had, wanted, needed. The trash he usually fucked talked about how he liked it. At least he wasn’t as bad as Rhys. Thank Christ you didn’t get with that pervert. Still, I thought even if Jake did go for it, you’d run from him when he did that stuff. But you couldn’t get enough. You were fucking begging for it. I heard you. Literally begging. Like his dick was magic. Like you needed it to breathe.”

It’s not his dick I need to breathe.

It’s only him.

“And, fucking
Jacoby
.” The hate twisted his face again. “All of a sudden he couldn’t get enough. He wasn’t jumping to anyone else. Girls, exactly his type, would come on to him, but he brushed them off like they were pests. Nothing more than annoying gnats. He wasn’t even tempted.”

Based on him leaving with Rachel, I’m guessing that’s done.

“He didn’t go with the plan. What’s so addicting about that pussy, Doll Face?” he asked softly. As his eyes travelled my body, his arousal became evident. Dropping the tattered panties, the scraps fluttered uselessly to the ground.

I knew what was going to happen if I didn’t find a way to distract him. “You never told me the plans. You started packing ‘cause we’re going, right?”

Z walked towards the side of my bed, his eyes bright with twisted pleasure. “You hurt him so badly, he’s not coming back, Doll Face. He’s probably fucking Rachel already. You told him how you really feel, didn’t you? You were over him. No one could fake being that mean, that cold. Tell me you don’t love him. Tell me!”

Even in the face of his crazed rage, I couldn’t force myself to say the words.

A pained yelp burst out instead when Z pulled his arm back and backhanded me. The force slammed my head back to collide with the headboard. Lights burst behind my eyes, and a dazed nausea followed.

“I told you to say it. We need to stick to the plan. You weren’t supposed to love him. He wasn’t supposed to love you. And now he’s hurt you. It’s his fault and he’ll die, Doll Face. Just like Green. Just like James. You weren’t supposed to be here. I have to do things to protect you. You weren’t supposed to see.”

I couldn’t keep up with his tirade. It was a safe bet that no one but the voices in his head could.

I tried my best to appease him. “Tell me the plans. Please. I want to make sure I’m doing the right stuff.”

“I love you. I knew you’d love me, I just had to get you away from him. He had you blinded and fooled. But it’ll be fine now. We’re going to disappear together, anywhere you want. Just the two of us at first, but we’ll start a family soon. Jake didn’t want kids, but you’d make such a good mother. That’s another way I’m protecting you, by giving you everything you deserve. Where do you want to go?” Sitting on the side of the bed near me, his hand rubbed my tight cheek.

Holding back the urge to scream and move away, I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. I could feel my blood dripping down my fingers.

I forced a smile. “Somewhere far. If we’re going to be together, we need to go now. Just the two of us, we’ll leave all this behind.”

If I can’t get away, I’ll make him take me far from here. To keep Jake and everyone safe, I’ll do anything.

I jolted back, hitting my head again, when Z lowered his head and sloppily pressed his lips to mine as he climbed on top of me. I could feel him hard, thrusting against me. Tears pooled in my eyes as I battled to control my retching stomach. My mouth filled with saliva.

“I have to feel you again, Doll Face. I have to see what made Jake go so far from the plan.”

Again? What the hell is he talking about?

“We should leave. Please, before someone shows up. We’ll just go,” I begged, trying to prolong what was clearly an inevitable.

When Z set his gun down on the side table, I lurched up in a feeble attempt to get it.

His hand closed tightly around my throat. Using his hold, he pushed me down onto my pillow.

My stomach heaved as I tried to breathe around the pressure.

“We’ll leave when I’m done and my scent is on you. After it’s me you’re screaming for.” Getting up onto his knees, his hand pressed harder against my throat while he focused on undoing his pants.

As my head started pounding and my lungs burned from lack of air, I fought hard.

Not against Z, or what he was trying to do. His grip was too tight and his body pinned me in place.

I fought against instinct.

When the black around the edge of my vision started creeping in, I welcomed it. I knew what was going to happen, whether I was awake or not.

I chose not.

I heard a final muffled noise. Then blissful nothingness.

*******

Jake

“I gotta grab my keys from the office,” I said to Rachel as she led me from Piper’s kitchen.

When we entered the room, the men were still in there.

Probably discussin’ the best way to handle me losin’ my damn mind.

At the sight of Rachel hangin’ on my arm, they looked ready to physically take me down.

“Brother, I know you’re hurting but are you out of your fuckin’ head?” Eli asked.

“Rachel, believe me, I mean
all
the offense in the world when I say this because I truly do think you’re a cock-juggling thundercunt,” Kase started before lookin’ at me. “Dude, if you’re wanting what Rachel’s gonna give you, you’d be better off dipping your dick in honey and sticking it down a fuckin’ fire ant hole. You’ll still get that burning sensation, but it’ll save you the embarrassing trip to the doctor for a large dose of penicillin.” He looked back at her. “Once again, Rachel, I mean that in just the absolute
worst
possible fuckin’ way.”