The Beast (The Bad Boys Series) (5 page)

Hung above the desk was a simple cork notice board. There were four newspaper clippings pinned to the board, piled on top of one another.
They’d been neatly cut out and I walked over to read what they were about and what crimes the newspapers had reported he’d committed. However, none of them were about Nick. All of them were about a woman named Angel Parrish, one about her engagement, two about a business her and her fiancé owned, and the last a wedding announcement. The wedding announcement was dated back six months. A photo accompanied it showing the happy couple in wedding attire holding a child. I knew immediately that this was the woman that Nick Prince was convinced he’d hurt. Why else would he have the clippings?

I pulled the wedding announcement away from the board to have a closer look and a photograph of the woman, but this time naked, fell onto the desk. I picked it up. She
didn’t look hurt or scared, this woman looked happy and content. But photographs can be deceiving. I placed both of them on the desk trying to figure out how Nick played into this story.

Obviously this was the woman
he’d claimed he’d hurt, but how and what were the circumstances?

A wire basket under the desk
had not been emptied. I bent down and reached inside, picking up the top most paper that looked like it had recently been screwed up and thrown away. A quick check of the others revealed nothing important.

I smoothed out the paper, flattening it as much as I could so I could read the words. It was a restraining order dated eighteen months ago, although it had lapsed six months ago and was no longer in force. I wondered why
he’d thrown it away now and not sooner? Did it have something to do with me staying here? No, that wouldn’t make sense.

I needed to find out more clues so I could understand the puzzle a little better.

I opened the only desk drawer but all it contained was office supplies: a stapler, eraser, calculator. Boring. Feeling under the desk revealed no false bottoms or hidden items. Perhaps he’d stashed something important under the bed?

I bent down on my hands and knees and peered underneath.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I nearly hit my head on the bed frame as I jerked back up. I swung my head around to see Nick in the doorway. His face was red and his fists clenched.
Damn it
.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” I said casually, as if nothing at all was wrong. I’d locked the door behind me, he wasn’t supposed to be back for at least another half hour. Plus, three knocks, he’d said. I should have been more careful.

He stormed into the room, his eyes flashing and strode toward me. “What are you doing in
here.” He took in the newspaper clippings that I’d arranged in neat order on the desk. He picked up the photograph of the woman. “See, can you see now why I’m a danger to women?” His breathing was heavy and his voice almost growled the words out. “See how I’m a danger to you? I told you I’m a beast but you didn’t listen.”

“This shows me nothing.”

“It’s right there. Look at the photograph.”

I picked it up, looking at the way her dark hair curled around her face. “She’s pretty.”

“She’s naked. I just fucked her. She doesn’t even know I took it.”

I glanced down at it again. There were no signs of sadness, no bruises, nothing that suggested this woman
was violated in any way. “You forced her?”

He hesitated. “No. No, I didn’t force her.”

“Then I don’t understand.”

“I filmed her.
Photographed her. Without her knowing about it. And then, when she tried to leave me. That’s when I became the beast she said I was.”

“What did you do?”

He sat down on the bed, his hands wringing the sheets in despair. “I thought I loved her. I only wanted to give her everything.”

I repeated, “What did you do to her?”

He looked down at the floor. “I blackmailed her into staying with me. I knew she was fucking the other guy behind my back, she was supposed to be mine so I made her stay. I loved her! She was mine!”

“So you blackmailed her. Did you ever hit her?”

“Well, no. But what I did, what I made her do, I ruined her life.”

I picked up the wedding announcement. “Looks like it turned out all right for her in the end.”

“You don’t understand.”

I pulled the chair out from the desk and sat on it backwards, leaning my elbows over the back. “You tricked this girl into continuing to sleep with you by blackmailing her with naked photos and threatening to show them to everyone. I assume you actually did send them out.”

“Yes.” He stood up defiantly, as if this act somehow proved he wasn’t worthy of being around anyone ever again.

“Well, you’re an asshole for what you did, that’s for sure, but I wouldn’t call you a beast.
The child in the photo. Is he yours?”

“No.
No, of course not. But he could have been. I could have had a son with her. If that’s what she wanted, I would have. I could have made her happy. Everything I did, the sex, the money. It was to make her happy. To make her love me. She was supposed to love me. She said she did, but she lied.”

“The money?”
I tried not to let the glimmer of excitement wash over my concerned expression.

“I gave her everything I had. What did she give me in return?”

“Sex?”

“But it wasn’t about the sex. I mean, it was at first, but then it was more than that.”

“How much money did you give her?”

“I don’t know. I paid her rent, gave her gifts.”

I laughed. “You made her into a hooker.”

His face turned red and he beat his fist into his palm. “She needed the money to stay in the city. I wasn’t paying her for sex.”

“You were paying for her company then? Same diff.”

“No! Why don’t you understand?”

“I do understand. You wanted her, you thought you could own her, control her. When you couldn’t you got more and more demanding. The more you pushed, the more she pulled away. Eventually it came to a head, got ugly, she ran off with someone else and now you’re here. Alone. It sounds to me, like she got the better end of the deal in the end, she’s happy now. You’re not.”

“I don’t deserve to be happy for what I did to her.”

“Do you still love her?”

He hesitated.

I walked over to him, handing him the photo he must have studied hundreds of times as he tried to figure out what went wrong with their relationship. I placed my hand gently over his. Immediately his breathing increased.

“Don’t,” he said. “I’m too dangerous.”

“The danger is out there, not in here.”

“No, don’t underestimate me. You don’t know what I can do.” He threw the photo to the ground and stood up, grabbing my forearms and pushing me backward against the hard wall. His eyes
were filled with fire as he forced his lips onto mine. His tongue roughly pushed its way through my lips and into my mouth. Desire erupted through my skin.

I pushed him back with strength that he
didn’t realize I had. He stumbled backward and I used that momentum to shove him again until he fell onto the bed. I climbed on top of him, my knees straddling his hips, my hands grabbing his hair and leaned down, kissing him back as roughly as he had just kissed me. I pulled back, “No. Don’t you underestimate
me
. I can give as good as I get, and I’m not a plaything like you’re used to.”

I climbed away from him and sat on the bed, Nick sat beside me, his face a mixture of shock and confusion. My body still desired more, and for a split
moment, I contemplated whether to keep going, to feel his strong lips devour me, his hands explore every dip and curve, but this wasn’t the right time and I wasn’t sure that Nick could handle that right now. I wasn’t sure if he could handle me.

His breathing was still ragged when he finally spoke. “Why aren’t you judging me like everyone else? Why are you still here?”

“We all do things we aren’t proud of. You can justify anything in the right circumstances. We aren’t that different you and me. You pay women for sex to control them. I use sex to control men and take their money. But we both have our reasons; even if we know it isn’t right.” I stood up. “Anyway, I need to get home. What did you find out?”

“Twenty men, maybe a few more.
All up and down the road. Some searching in the trees. They’re loud, and they don’t look like they’re leaving anytime soon.”

“
Damn it. They should have left by now. He’s called extra, there was only five or six last night. They’ve got to give up soon. Surely they don’t think I’m still out there.”

“But you are.”

“They don’t know that.”

“There is no way out unless you get back to the main road. They would have stationed men either side to make sure you
haven’t escaped. So they think you are still here, and it looks like they have all the time in the world, and all the manpower to keep searching until they find you.”

“This isn’t good.”

“They haven’t ventured too far in. You can stay here another night. Maybe they will give up tomorrow? What’s one more day?”

I coughed out a laugh. “Another day and we could both be in trouble. I’d rather take my chances tonight.”

“Don’t go out there now. It’s too dangerous.”

“Ten minutes ago you said it was too dangerous in here. Yet I proved that I could take care of myself.”

“I’m one man. There are nearly two dozen out there. You’ll have no chance.”

He was right, I was no match against that many, but I still believed
I’d be able to slip passed them if I could get far enough up the road. As long as I stayed under the cover of the trees while they were riding up and down then I could walk all the way to the next town. There had to be a way. But I didn’t want Nick to know that. “Okay, I’ll stay the night.”

“
Here.” He walked over to a large wardrobe and pulled out bedding and a large thick blanket. “I’ll lock up and make sure they can’t get in. You keep warm and in the morning I’ll help you get home to your boy.”

“Thanks,” I said, as I took the blankets. I began to walk down the stairs but he placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Take one of the upstairs rooms. It’ll be safer.” He led me to the far end of the landing and opened the door. The bed looked more comfortable than the one downstairs and the room, warmer. I made up the bed with the sheets and blankets he’d given me. Nick turned to leave but paused at the door. “You’re not going to sneak out again, are you?”

“Of course I am.”

“Belle, don’t it’s dangerous.”

“You just said that you’re the danger.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re right. But I won’t touch you. I can’t say the same for the men out there.”

I stood up and faced him. “I’ll stop the charade. I am leaving tonight and there is nothing you can do or say to stop me.”

“I’ll come then.”

“You won’t. You’ll get in my way.”

He swallowed and looked like he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. “Fine then. Go out and get yourself killed. At least I’ll be able to have some peace and quiet when you’re gone.”

“Peace?” I laughed. “You have no peace here, but that’s your own choosing.”

“I deserve everything I have.”

“So you say.” I walked passed him and could almost feel the tension burning from him. “Goodbye Nick, it was nice meeting you. I wish you well.” I slung my backpack over my shoulder not waiting for a response. I
didn’t care what he thought, I’d stayed here way too long anyway.

“Don’t go,” he said.

I made my way down the stairs and stormed out of the house. Who was he to tell me what I could do? I’d only met him this morning and he was acting as if he cared. He didn’t care about anything except ways to manipulate women and use them for sex. I didn’t care that he was all talk. I didn’t care anything about Nick Prince.

I stepped into the darkness of the trees.

I’d find a way out of here safely myself with no help from anyone. I had to.

While I knew checking Colt’s GPS location
wouldn’t alert me to where all of his biker friends were located, it was the only thing I had to go on. I checked the app, glad that he hadn’t figured out it was on his phone yet, and walked in the opposite direction.

According to the map I had on my phone, there was a bend about two miles ahead in an S shape that I could use to my advantage due to lack of visibility around the corners. It’d take a little longer to get there then simply heading straight ahead, but it was my best bet to get to the other side of the road without being seen, and make a break for it toward the next town.

The trees were quiet, but the men and their motorcycles were not. If I stayed well back from the main road, and headed for the bend, I might be okay.