Burning Heart: Fighting Heart Erotic Bad Boy Romance Series Book 4 (4 page)

“I need, you need, remember. Okay. If you need a little time, I can wait. But not for long. How about this? I’ll give you a maximum of twenty-four hours before I want our new start to begin. Twenty four hours before you’re back in my bed. I want to have you. Hell, I admit it, I want to own you. Don’t you want to be owned? Is that so wrong? I thought that’s what every girl wants deep down?”

I shook my head at him and my jaw tensed with controlled rage.

“Not this girl, Brandon,” I took my hand away from him.

“Twenty four hours, Ashley. Then you’re mine. Sweetheart, you don’t even want to think about the alternative.”

“Don’t hurt him, Brandon.”

Brandon stood up. He’d been with me for no more than ten minutes.

“Sweetheart… would I hurt you?”

“Yes, Brandon. I think you would.”

“I’m wounded. But I’ve got a forgiving heart, as you’ll see.”

Brandon walked away and I watched him go. There was nothing to say, nowhere to go. My head was pounding, heart aching and I would now have to go and see my mother with my hands empty. I didn’t know what I would tell her. I could tell her nothing… but I didn’t know how long I could keep that up. And tomorrow Brandon had given me an awful decision to make. With twenty four hours to go, it looked like I had no choice at all.

I was still in the coffee shop, just a few minutes after Brandon had left. My mind was picking over every possibility when I suddenly realised that wherever she was hiding right now, Amanda would be virtually alone. Luke would be there with her, for sure, but Luke wasn’t Brandon. I found her name on my phone’s contact list and pressed her name to make a call. I knew she was going to ignore me or press call-reject. After fifteen rings, I hung up before she did and dialled again. Then I dialled again. Next I tapped out a quick text.

“Accept my call. Now.”

I dialled again twice more and let it ring long. The next time she finally answered, and I threw on my jacket and walked out into the street. I was tempted to use a varied range of expletives and the coffee drinkers weren’t going to want to hear them.

“What is it Ashley?”

“What the hell do you think it is? I thought we were friends after all we’ve been through? I was going to help you, remember?”

“You talked and talked and looked after yourself. What kind of help is that?”

“It’s the kind of help that got me away from Brandon. I was trying to get you some help too.”

“I don’t think so.” I could tell from her tone that she was drifting away from me.

“Don’t hang up, Amanda. Don’t do it. I swear if you hang up on me now…”

“I’m sorry, Ashley.”

“Damn you, Amanda, don’t be sorry! Stop it, now! Where are you?”

“I can’t say. But we’re in your town.”

“Are you near the High Street?”

“Yeah. Not far.”

“Brandon left me five minutes ago, tops. You must have enough time to release my brother before Brandon gets back. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I can’t do that. Brandon will punish me.”

“What the hell can he do to you? If you don’t put yourself on the right side here, you could be in big trouble Amanda. This is serious, Amanda. This isn’t a game. It’s bigger than you and Brandon, this is my brother’s life!”

“Brandon won’t kill him!”

“How do you know that? This has gotten way out of hand already. Help me, please, Amanda. Let my brother go and I will still help you. I know you’re confused, I know you’re scared and you feel like you have no choice. I know what that feels like right now believe me. But do what’s right here. Don’t do it for me, do it for you…”

I heard her breathing. Just breathing and struggling.

“Amanda?”

“I went along with this because I was waiting for you to help me, Ashley. I thought you’d fix it so I could bail out before it ever got this bad.”

“I did help you! I told you the college are going to help you!”

“But how can I get out of this now? It’s already gone too far and Brandon will never speak to me again if I ruin this for him.”

“Listen to yourself! You need Brandon out of your life. Help me! Take control of this situation, Amanda. This is our chance, yours and mine, to get free of him for good. If not… We’re both stuck like this, going round in circles under Brandon’s control.”

“Give me that!” I heard a male voice say at the other end. It wasn’t Brandon, it was Luke.

“What the hell are you saying to Amanda?” he said.

“Luke! Luke, you know this is crazy. No good will come from this. Brandon has kidnapped my brother, do you understand that? Do you even know what’s going to happen next? What’s the endgame here, Luke? Think about it.”

“No, Ashley. You think about this. Why don’t you just stop being such a selfish bitch and get back with Brandon. You know he’s obsessed with you, so stop making such a drama out of this. Look at the result, Ashley! No one wants this! You’re making this happen. And stop playing with Amanda’s mind.”

“Obsessed, Luke. You said it. This is insane and you know it.”

“Stop it, Ashley. We just want this to end well. Just like you do.”

Then he cut me off. That was it. I didn’t have a chance to explain, or a chance to find out where they were. It was the worst possible outcome, and I heard the fear in Amanda’s voice. More worryingly, I heard fear and resignation in Luke’s voice too. He knew this had gone too far, and that worse was yet to come. And there was nothing I could do about it.

***

Luke came down the stairs with an empty glass and a plate with some half chewed crusts on it. He frowned at Amanda as he passed her by and took the plate to the kitchen. A second later he came back into the front room. Amanda sat cross-legged on the sofa pretending to watch the television with tired eyes. He looked at her, and she waited, because she knew Luke wanted to say something. She just wasn’t sure whether he was going to tell her off, or admit that they were in such deep shit now it was unbelievable. They’d never been involved with something like this – something that had already gone too far and would inevitably go even further. She waited. Still he didn’t say anything, so Amanda broke her gaze and looked up at him.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s not okay. He’s never going to be okay with being tied up and kept prisoner. Okay is more than we could ever hope for here. He’s between furious and terrified.”

“Yeah. What the hell are we doing here, Luke?” said Amanda, shaking her head.

“We’re here for Brandon, that’s what! And you better remember that. He needs us now more than ever.”

“Do you think so? What if he ruins our lives as well as his? As well as Ashley’s? That’s what could happen here, you know that don’t you?”

“Don’t you dare wobble on me now, Amanda. Don’t you dare! We all need to be strong for each other in this, especially now that we’re in it. Like it or not we’re involved. And besides, what else are you going to do? You’ve been running around after Brandon for the best part of a year now. If he disappears… you’ll end up worse than he is.”

“But you said it, Luke. Brandon’s in a bad way.”

“Shut up. You’re twisting my words. That girl, Ashley, she’s got into your head. She’s turning you against him.”

“No, Luke. Brandon’s been doing that all along himself. I love him. I still do.”

Luke took a step forward, his face red, and the veins bulging on the side of his neck. “Then act like it!” he roared. “You’re either with us or against us. There can be no half measures now. And if you’re out, you’ll be out for good. Do you understand? No matter how bad this looks right now, Brandon always comes out on top. Always! Ashley will come back to him, and all this will come good again.”

“And if she comes back, what am I supposed to do then?”

Luke swept a hand through his hair and shrugged. “I don’t know. You’ll do what you’ve always done, I guess. You take him when it’s offered.”

Amanda heard the words, and said nothing. But she looked at the despair and tension evident all over Luke’s face. He looked grey. He didn’t look well. She felt the tension pouring from him, and had to look away. Amanda had betrayed Ashley without even thinking about it. But it wasn’t personal, not anymore. It wasn’t even about Brandon. It was only about survival. Her eyes searched Luke’s face.

“What?” he said, eventually.

The door opened and Brandon walked in with two supermarket bags of shopping.

“So how are our little holidaymakers?” he said, with a spring in his step.

They both looked at him with their mouths open. Brandon produced two bottles of wine and a bottle of Jack Daniels, alongside some frozen pizzas.

“What’s the matter?”

Amanda looked at Luke. She was certain Luke was going to tell him about the call from Ashley, and if he didn’t do it now, he would do it later in private… and the result would be worse. Luke seemed in two minds. Amanda stood up.

“Brandon. I need to tell you something.”

“What?” he looked perturbed and checked Luke’s face. “What is it?”

“Ashley called while you were out. She tried to persuade me to let her brother go before you got back.”

She stopped and checked Brandon’s eyes for signs of rage. He stayed neutral and calm, so she carried on.

“But we’re with you, Brandon. I’m with you. We wouldn’t do that to you…”

Brandon shook his head. “That girl is just such a minx. But she’ll see the light, you know. This time tomorrow this whole little game will be over. We’re going to win, Luke. Ashley’s one of us.”

“Then you won’t punish her for that call?” asked Amanda, hesitantly.

Brandon shook his head. “Today no one gets punished. We’re on holiday. But tomorrow… who knows about tomorrow? Hey, gorgeous,” he looked at Amanda and outstretched his hand. “I’m tired. Come up stairs and lay down with me a while…”

Amanda was surprised by Brandon’s lingering eyes. She smiled dutifully and walked towards him. It was best that she kept him in this good mood. It was best for everyone. As she moved towards Brandon she passed Luke. Their eyes met and there was a silent exchange between them. It was gratitude. Working together, they had a chance.

When she saw me, my mother fell apart. She tried to keep it together, but she blinked and looked away from me and then it came in a torrent. And still I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what was really going on with Regan. You’d have to know my family to believe this, but I knew that if my mother ever found out about Brandon she would blame me. My mother’s heart was only ever big enough for one person at a time. First it had been my father, and when he turned out to be not great or a father, her love defaulted to the only other man in her life, her son Regan. Me? So where was I in the scheme of things? Well, after my dad ran off it took me a really long time to figure that out. Needless to say I grew up quickly, and without much guidance I made plenty of mistakes along the way – mainly with older jerk guys – and I soon learned to look after myself. Sink or swim, right? The bottom line was I swam, and I did so without my mother’s help. So now, with her shrieking and sobbing into my shoulder, I felt sorry for her, but not as much as I might have done. And for that I felt guilty. I was worried she would call the police, and I knew that would have been a disaster for Regan and everybody else. I didn’t want to see what Brandon was like if he was backed into a corner. No one did, which was why I was contemplating an inevitable return to him. I hated the idea, but I would do it to save Regan. The crazy thing was I started planning to make the best of it! Like a prisoner putting a pot plant and curtains in his cell, if I had to endure Brandon for a while, maybe I could enjoy some moments of sunshine along the way. In spite of his evil streak he had his good points, after all, but by now they were like pinpricks of light in the darkness.

My mother wanted to watch soaps, so when I was sure she’d finished sobbing I excused myself and went to my old room. There was my old TV, gathering dust. I switched it on, but before the screen had even lit, my phone started ringing. Panic shot around my body. I grabbed the phone and saw Cody’s name on the screen.

“Cody…” I said.

“Where do you live?” he said. What a sudden and strange question.

“What do you mean? You know where I live!”

“Yeah, I know the town, but that’s not very specific, Ashley. I just got off the train…”

I didn’t believe him at first, the prospect of Cody in my old home town seemed just too wild. I needed to hear it from his mouth.

“You’re in Essex? Are you for real?”

“Yes, so where do you live…?”

“No way. Wait there. I’ll meet you.”

He was at the main station just off the High Street. I hung up and skipped down stairs.

My mother looked up at me with a tumbler of booze by her arm, her little eyes pink with tears. I hadn’t said anything but she knew me so well, she must have seen it on my face.

“Where are you going, Ash?”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to fix this, mum. I mean that.”

“Please. Stay safe. When are you coming home?”

“Late. But I’ll be back, I promise.”

Before she could ask me anything else, I was gone.

Cody stood by an array of stumpy little palm trees outside the sixth form college that loomed over Central Station. It was getting dark and the sky was royal blue, but a street lamp by the palms threw light over Cody and made him look bright and colourful. It almost looked as if he’d brought his own light with him. I was suddenly overcome by emotion and I couldn’t help myself. A surge of energy took me running towards him and I swamped him in my arms.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you came, Cody. You’re here!”

“I told you I’d help you and I don’t break my promises, Ash.”

His arms were around me, but looser than mine around him, so I tempered my enthusiasm and let him go, remembering his relationship with Joanna. I had to respect that even if I didn’t want to respect her. Right there and then, I was so grateful to him I felt a renewed confidence, and to be honest, plenty of warm desire for Cody. Seeing him on my home soil made all the difference. Just an hour before Cody arrived I was considering giving myself up to Brandon again. It was almost a done deal. But now that Cody was here, there was only one option. Against all the odds, I would fight Brandon. We walked together slowly in my old home town. A place I had long outgrown. While we walked along the old High Street, I felt like I had gone through a time warp.

I tried to think of a place where I wouldn’t see any of the local people I knew, so I chose The Cellar Wine Bar where the older set went to spend their dough. The entrance led downstairs into a bar specialising in high quality wine and ales with old barrels on show everywhere, and ornamental straw tossed on the floor like inside an old barn. We ordered a drink and sat down. I told him about my last meeting with Brandon. His eyes were charged with sympathy. As I looked at him I craved the feel of his hand running through my hair and his lips pressing against mine as they had in York, but all that was history, and I had to get used to it. But I couldn’t help teasing myself with glimpses of his smile, his eyes and his lips. Occasionally I got lost there as we spoke.

“What?” I said.

“I said we’ll fix this, Ashley, I promise.”

“You know, when
you
say it, I actually believe you. I don’t know how we’ll fix it, but we’ll try, right?”

“You’re not going to give in to him, Ashley. Please. Brandon is despicable.”

I nodded. “I know. But if it saved my brother from danger…”

“You think it could get any worse than what’s happened already?” asked Cody.

I knew what he meant, but who knew what Brandon was capable of. “I don’t know, Cody. But this is crazy. Think about it. And listen to the words as I say them. Brandon has actually kidnapped my brother. That’s what this is –
a kidnap
. If someone can do that kind of crazy shit, surely they’re capable of even worse.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of. And that means you’re definitely not going back to him. Not now. Not ever again.”

I enjoyed hearing the fire in his voice. He was angry, and his anger was inspired by my protection. It soothed me, and warmed me inside. I longed to sit close to him, my hip against his, but instead I contented myself with another indulgent gaze before I reminded myself he was in love with another woman who I just couldn’t compete with.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” I said.

“
We.
What are
we
going to do?”

“Yeah. What are
we
going to do?”

“First off, we’re going to find out where Brandon is staying. And then we are going to get in there and get your brother out. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? The truth is I don’t know how the hell we’re going to manage it, but surely Brandon will see sense in the end. This could all be a bluff, you know, just a psychological punishment. And what about Amanda and Luke?”

“They’re involved in this too, Cody. I don’t know how Amanda could do this to me. Not after I helped her.”

“She’s weak, Ashley. She’s nothing like you.”

“Yeah. Brandon broke her a long while back.”

“What they’ve done is criminal. All of them. Do they realise they could go to jail?”

“I can’t involve the police, Cody. They might hurt Regan before the police ever get there. Besides, the police don’t have a lot of time for Regan. They might just leave him to it. They don’t exactly like my brother.”

Cody supped his pint. I felt his eyes tracking mine, and wondered what he was thinking. I soon found out.

“Ashley. After all he’s done to you, did he honestly, really, think you could really go back to him? I mean, you said you considered it.”

I hesitated, gathering the right words, arranging them in some kind of defensive order.

“I considered it. But only as a last resort to save Regan…”

“So you
don’t
have feelings for this guy
at all
?”

“Cody… This is about my brother.”

“Tell me…”

I felt a twinge of doubt somewhere inside me. Even after all he’d done, I still remembered the sweetest moment when it had been good. Ever since Brandon I had been a disaster. I needed to forget that one sweet moment. Brandon was a monster. Cody was beyond compare. I made myself sound as firm as I could.

“I don’t have any feelings for Brandon. How could I?” I said, and I wondered as I still felt that twinge inside, and a whole sack of guilt to go with it.

“Good. That’s what I needed to hear.”

His eyes wanted to ask another question and I waited for it, but the question didn’t come.

“What Cody?”

Now it was Cody’s turn to hesitate, but his words came eventually.

“And Ridgley. Did you love him?”

“Cody. What has this got to do with my brother?”

He tutted and rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, Ashley. I’m going off course here.”

“You can say that again. But I’ll let you off,” I said with a hint of flirtation. “After all, you’re the only one who came to help.”

He’d asked me some pretty probing questions, so I guessed the door was ajar for me to do likewise. I gambled and offered a tentative smile to sweeten my words.

“So, what did Joanna think about you coming to help me?”

Cody rubbed his chin, and looked away.

“Not too much.”

“Now there’s a surprise.”

“She didn’t know how serious your situation is, to be fair to her.”

“I don’t have to be fair to her, Cody. The woman said she’d help me, and she didn’t. And she stole you away from me too.”

Cody looked up, his cheeks flushing with a hint of rouge.

“You are unbelievable, Ash.”

“Can I take that as a compliment?”

“Be my guest…,” he shifted in his chair and changed the subject. “Here’s the plan. The part of the plan we do have,” said Cody. “You were right before. Brandon does have to believe you’re going back to him, as much as I can’t stand the idea of it, I can’t see any other way. That way we can find out where he’s staying. Only this time, you’re not giving in to him at all.”

“Because the cavalry are coming?”

“I guess so. That’s the only part of the plan I’ve got right now. I’m still working on the rest. It’s still fermenting up here,” Cody tapped his head and smiled. We talked about what we could do after we’d found Brandon’s address, but the more we discussed it all we saw was a risky dead end. It ended in a confrontation, with Regan still at risk every time. That was as good as no plan at all.

“I’m running out of time, Cody. My mother will be panicking. With Regan missing she’ll definitely wait up for me.”

“Yeah. We should get some rest. We’re going to need our wits tomorrow. It’s time to go.”

We walked out of the door and took the route around the back of the High Street. We walked slowly. I felt Cody was stalling, as if he was holding back on me, like he wanted to talk but instead he stayed quiet. At the same time there were plenty of things I wanted to say to him, but I couldn’t. He was like a beautiful shiny toy I couldn’t touch. So I did the next best thing and walked close beside him, my arm through his like an old friend. Or so I told myself. I just wanted to be near him.

“What are we going to do, Cody? We can’t just wing this or people are going to get hurt.”

“I promise you I’ll come up with something, Ash. Just hold tight,” he said, slowing as we got near the end of town. I turned to face him. I couldn’t help my eyes flicking between each of his, probing him for intent, pleading with him for more than a kind word. He cared about me, I knew he did. He cared enough to come and help. But I knew he had a code of honour, he had rules. I was tipsy and felt an urge to kiss him. I remembered his lithe body, the ripples of his muscles over my body, and the feel of his warm skin upon mine and the fullness of his wonderful presence inside me, and my body tingled with need. I was being silly, I knew it, but I was amazed at what this boy did to me. It was so different to Brandon. Brandon was all about power and looks. Cody had different looks, and his allure was altogether different. It was about feelings mixed with desire - a heady and potent concoction.

“Cody. Thank you for coming. I feel better and safer for having you here.”

Before he could push me away, I thrust myself upon him and hugged him close and tight. His arms were loose for a second before they found my back and stroked me. Then his arms slid around me and held me close.

“I never want you to be threatened or bullied like this. You’re too special for that,” he said.

I pulled away a fraction and looked at him.

“You don’t know what you do to me, Cody. Saying things like that doesn’t help.”

Now I needed a kiss more than I needed to obey Cody’s rules on relationships. I tilted my face up towards his and landed a soft and gentle kiss on his mouth. His soft lips were so tempting that my tongue grazed against them. His mouth opened and engulfed mine, and our hands took a life of their own, sliding over one anothers, backs and shoulders. My body was ready for him. I knew I was wet, feeling desire rising in me like fire. My body pressed against his, and I felt the pressure of his rapidly swelling cock through his jeans. It was nudging me, calling me and I wanted it inside me again. I wanted to please him, my real hero. I wanted him to cum in me again, badly. But I remembered, in spite of myself, he had someone else, and I didn’t want to lose him again, even if only as a friend. I had to be respectful. I pulled away and wiped my mouth.