Page 50 of Bleed
It descends into the hole in the ground, then shakes and groans as it mangles what’s left of him, squishing him into the tracks below, covering up his dead meat sack with the cement square that seals the garage floor shut.
“Fuck you Jimmy. I thought we were friends. Just shows you there is no loyalty in this world anymore.”
It’s only been one day and already Salvatore and his men know that Dani is still alive.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
With Valentino dead, that leaves Alison, aka Allie as the last obstacle, and by the way she acted around me when we first met, I can tell she’s going to be a problem. She already knew who I was and yet she chose to talk to me the way she did. She’s fearless.
“I’m coming for you next, my dear.” I say as I grab the CBR, hop on, and peel out of the garage, leaving Jimmy for the next sad sack of an employee to find.
~~~
Dani is still asleep when I reach home, her body snuggled under the covers that are pulled up to her chin like a security blanket. Her eyes move behind her closed lids, and her upper lip twitches. She’s having a nightmare, one where it makes her crinkle her forehead and flinch as if she’s in pain.
“Hey, baby.” I say to her, sitting down on the edge of the bed, pushing a lock of her hair from her face. “Wake up. It’s just a dream.”
She rolls over, taking the blanket with her, covering her face as she does. Her body begins to shake hard enough that the bed vibrates, and quiet little sobs come from under the covers.
“Dani, please.” I say, rubbing my still bloody hand over the top of the blanket, leaving little, dried, brown flakes in my wake. “Dani.” I say louder when the shaking continues, and the sobs become worse. “Dani, come on baby girl!” I shout, grabbing her through the covers and giving her a little shake to wake her.
It works and she wakes up, sitting up like a jack in a box, screeching and pulling at the blanket that still covers her head. She flails, and kicks, fighting off whatever was after her in her nightmare as she strikes out blindly at me.
It would be comical if I wasn’t so worried about her. To see the woman you love in such distress is not anything a man wants to experience, but the sight and sounds of her fighting the blankets and me are a little funny.
“Baby!” I shout, wrapping my arms around her, pinning them to her side, holding her still. “It’s me. You’re okay.”
She writhes in my hold, fighting the covers and me, thrashing and kicking, her knee connecting with my nuts, making me lurch forward, my forehead connecting with her head.
“Owww.” She cries out and then falls deadly still in my arms.
“Shhh, easy. I’ve got you.” I whisper to her, laying her back down, clawing at the blanket to pull it from her face.
Her eyes are squeezed closed, and her cheeks are bright red, tainted with the tears that drip down them. It’s heartbreaking to see her like this, and I do all I know I can do to try and snap her out of it.
Grabbing her hair by the roots, I pull hard, making her face turn up to me, holding her still, dominating her like I know she needs. It always worked to center her when things got too rough in the past, and I hope that after the five years apart, it still works.
“Dani. Look at me, princess.” I command her, shaking her head by the fistful of hair in my grasp. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
She whimpers a defeated and pathetic sound, but her eyes peel open slowly, a big fat tear rolling from the left one as she does. It slides down her already moist cheek and stops just above the corner of her mouth. Flattening my tongue, I lick it away, scooping it into my mouth, tasting the saltiness of her fear.
“Good girl, that’s it. Eyes on me.” I say to her, looking deeply into her eyes, seeing the pain inside her soul through those muddled blue windows. “What do you need?”
“Pain.” She weeps, her gaze begging me for the physical hurt that she knows will dull the emotional and mental anguish tearing through her from a lifetime of misery that’s only gotten worse the past week.
“Okay.” I say to her quietly. “I’ve got you.”
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
“Thank you.” Dani whispers through her tears as I grab her face, squeezing her cheeks together till they press on her teeth.
I take her in a hard kiss, squishing her lips under mine, then pull her bottom one between my front teeth and bite down, hard. She whimpers into it, her head trying to pull away but unable to from the hold on her hair and her face.
Harder I bite, until the first taste of copper and iron smears on my lips all metallic and heavy. Sucking firmly, I pull her flavor into me, swallowing it down on a throaty moan, and bite more aggressively, my moans turning into growls.
“You want this? For me to make you bleed?”
