Authors: Marie Harte
“Hell,
no, Thais,” Jon spoke up. A quiet man a few years younger than Hinto’s father,
Jon worked hard, spoke only when he had something to say, and kept to himself
with nary a complaint. “None of us are gonna die. Dozie done told me we’re set.
Insisted on us all going to help you.”
Hinto
felt a measure of relief. Dozie was a pain in the ass, but her predictions had
saved his family’s skin more times than he could count.
“You
sure she wasn’t lyin’ just to git your sorry ass gone?” Mick teased.
“Please.”
Salvatore scoffed. “If anything, your boyfriend prob’ly paid her to say that,
so he could quit you. I seen how Tom was lookin’ at Henry.”
Everyone
laughed. Henry was eighty-four if he was a day, and Tom had eyes only for Mick.
They’d been a pair for as long as Hinto had known them. Good men who wanted
only to earn enough to live in peace with people they could trust.
As
he reflected on the company with which he rode, he couldn’t have asked for a
better group. The woman he loved and who loved him, men he’d grown up relying
on, men who watched out for one another and held the same principles he did. He
only wished he had the rest of his family with him, but he’d never put his
father in such danger, and he wouldn’t be able to leave in good faith without
knowing that what had happened once to his family would never happen again. Dad
was safe with Mahpee and Wolf. They’d see to it.
An
hour later, Thais nudged him with her leg as Ainippe crowded Beast, who grunted
with pleasure. “You’re quiet.”
“Just
thinking.”
She
looked over her shoulder at the others riding behind them. “Worried about
what’s coming?”
“No.
Just realizing something it’s taken me a long time to understand.”
“What’s
that?”
He
sighed. “I’ve been selfish for a long time, Thais. Wanting my dad healthy is
one thing, but I wanted him to live the life I had in mind, regardless of what
he wanted.”
“You
care for him. There’s no wrong in that,” she said.
“Maybe
not, but I have to respect my father enough to allow his own decisions. When
this mess with McKenzie is finished, I’m done hunting.” He’d finally said it,
and a huge weight lifted off his chest. “I’m taking all that gold I’ve been
saving and pouring it into the ranch.”
He
paused then decided to take the risk. “I’d like you to stay with me. I know,”
he said quickly when she would have spoken. “You have an oath, I get it. You
have to find this Bartel.”
In
a low voice she added, “And the crown.”
He
realized she’d never spoken of the thing that had been stolen. That she did now
further cemented the trust between them. “That’s what he stole? The queen’s
crown?”
“Yes.
It’s rumored to have the power of ultimate victory, triumph over any and all
who possess it.”
“But
she’s gone,” he reminded her gentleness. “It didn’t save her, did it?”
“She
lost her life after she lost the crown; Estefina told us what happened on that
day. I never believed in the crown’s magic, only in its importance to my people.
Queen Estefina gave me an order to find that crown and return it to her,” she
said, regret in her voice.
“Then
that’s what we’ll do.”
She
gave him a strange look. “You would go with me to do this?”
“Honey,
I’d walk through hell’s fiery gates for you. Look, you’re supposed to meet up
with the others, Yara, Isadora and Luiza, in four more months, right?”
“You
remember their names?”
“I
remember everything about you. They’re important to you, so they’re important
to me.”
She
cleared her throat, but he could see the love in her eyes. “You do me great
honor.”
“Yeah,
well,” he coughed to hide his pleasure at her faith. “I was just gonna say. After
we take care of McKenzie, let’s swing through Little Valley and get that info
from Kitty. She might have some info we can actually use. Then head home with
me, okay? We’ll spend the next few months with my family before we go together
to meet your sisters.”
She
regarded him in silence as they rode. “You worry your father won’t be alive
much longer. I don’t wish to take you from his side, Hinto.”
“I
know. But a promise is a promise. You gave your word, and I’ll be damned if
I’ll interfere with it. I won’t even follow you through the jungle if you don’t
want. But I’ll worry myself sick if I can’t help you get through the
Territories to the boundary.”
“My
sisters may not want you to come with us. They aren’t all as open to change as
I’ve been.”
Her
sadness stole his heart.
“Don’t
worry about it. Just tell me you’ll be with me, honey.”
“If
that’s what you want.”
It’s
the only thing I want, save healing my dad.
“Deal, partner?”
He held out his hand.
Her
wistful expression told him to ask more questions, but when she took his hand,
he forgot everything but the love in her eyes. “Deal.”
Chapter Nineteen
In
the two weeks Pilar had been at the McKenzie ranch, she’d taken only one blow
to the stomach before Butch had learned not to attempt to strike the Lady. Ever
since, he’d been her willing slave behind closed doors. She’d respected him so
much more thinking him a brutal monster who killed with little remorse. She
knew how hard it was to hold onto what one deserved. But this… watching him
achieve sexual gratification through violence turned her stomach.
Steeling
herself to reveal nothing of her inner turmoil, she used her spear to cane him,
the bamboo extremely effective at bringing forth stinging welts. He remained
silent as he took the pain, his cock ramrod stiff and swollen.
Not
liking the offensive thing, she ordered Butch to lay on his back, knowing the
burn of bloody cuts would only bring him more pleasure. “Now I’m going to
strike it. Don’t interfere. Keep your hands firmly at your sides.”
She
wanted to kill the man, plain and simple. But she needed him to give her Thais.
By now the ignorant Amazon should have appeared, yet time passed with no word
of her. Her absence, however, told Pilar one thing. Aliane was dead. No way the
warrior would have waited this long to avenge herself on Pilar if Aliane were
still alive and teaming with her daughter.
The
small team Butch sent out to find Thais had yet to return. Pilar could only
guess where the little bitch hid. The challenge to fight called to her as
nothing else could. Her time spent with Deke and Brian, before Brian had also
gone missing, kept her sane. But it was thoughts of finally sparring with
another guardian that gave Pilar the most pleasure.
“I
await you, Lady,” Butch pleaded.
She
glared at him. “I did not say you could speak.” Pilar used a bit more force
than she’d planned when she tapped the side of his cock.
He
hissed in pain, and she did it again. With a gloved hand, she reached for his
balls and squeezed.
“Oh,
yes, yes,” Butch panted, nearly there. She gazed with disgust at the clamps on
his nipples, linked together by a silver chain. His cock looked bright red from
her strikes, his balls an ugly purple caught in her fist.
She
released him and stepped back, wanting it to end. Sex with Deke cleansed her,
made her feel desired and a part of a family. Brian she tolerated because Deke
loved him. Butch made her feel dirty. The depravity in his soul leeched into
everything he touched. The open animosity Gregor showed him only added to the
dysfunction of the thriving McKenzie estate.
With
dispassionate care, she smacked him with lighter, more rapid strokes up and
down his shaft until he cried out and climaxed in a sticky, white mess that
landed everywhere, on his belly, the sheets, even the floor.
Virile
yet pathetic, an odd combination for such a powerful man to have.
“Now
clean yourself up while I go out and look for an update on your search
parties,” she snapped.
She
left the room before he could reply. Before she did anything else, she took her
spear into a back room and used the rainwater gathered in a small barrel to
clean it. Just the thought of it touching anything of McKenzie annoyed her.
“Gotta
wipe that cum off it, hmm?” Gregor appeared from out of nowhere and sneered at
her, his gaze lingering over her breasts hidden by Deke’s shirt. “So, you
breeding yet?”
She
snorted. “Do you really think I’d let Butch put anything inside me?”
Gregor’s
face cleared as he considered her, his expression one of calculated interest. “I
don’t imagine you would. You’re a lot like the other woman that was here. Thais.”
She
knew he said her name so he could watch her reaction. She gave him none, and he
gave her a true smile.
“You’re
a smart one, Pilar. I wonder how much longer Butch’ll have you before you
finally kill him.”
“I
wouldn’t take any bets on that. Butch is a savvy hunter. I doubt anyone takes
advantage that he doesn’t allow.” She never knew where she stood with Gregor. One
minute he seemed as if he wanted to collaborate with her to plot his brother’s
downfall, and the next he seemed to be setting
her
up to fall. So she
maintained her silence about Butch’s appetites and gave him her perceived
loyalty.
“We’ll
see. But Pilar, might want to watch that fine pussy. Hear tell my brother aims
to get you with young. You’d make a fine filly to continue the line. Just so’s
you know,” Gregor said and sauntered out the back door.
He
hadn’t said anything she hadn’t already wondered about, but as Pilar turned to question
him further, she heard faint cries from an adjoining room. Not wanting to see
what she suspected, she nevertheless entered the dark room.
There
on a bed, curled into a ball, lay Celia. The poor girl had been beaten severely.
Her back looked like a fleshy canvas of blue and purple.
“Celia,
you need to defend yourself.” Pilar couldn’t hold back. The two weeks she’d
been at the ranch she’d heard and once witnessed Gregor’s brutal attack on the
young woman. The only reason she hadn’t interfered in that last rape was due to
Butch’s presence. But enough was enough.
Celia
rolled to her back, flinched, and stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Bite
marks ran over her chest, belly and between her thighs. A smear of blood
lingered between her legs.
Pilar
wanted to vomit. The past collided with the present as memories of her beloved
Amazon sisters haunted her. And poor Estefina, brutalized like a whore by
Bartel himself.
“Just
kill me,” Celia whispered. “You’re strong. You can do it.”
“No.”
A foreign sense of mercy overwhelmed her. Unable to save so many, through great
fault of her own, Pilar could at least stop this one injustice from tainting
her memories any more.
She
took out her own knife, one that looked much like the one Aliane had given
Thais. She’d replicated Thalen’s knife years ago, right after he’d given the
blade to Aliane, and before Aliane had in turn altered it to suit her daughter.
Pilar placed the knife in Celia’s limp hand and curled her fingers around the
hilt.
“Later
tonight, call Gregor to you. Tonight there is no moon. Don’t light but one
lamp. Keep the room dark. He won’t expect anything, so your attack will have to
be swift, committed. Aim for his throat, then use the butt of the handle to
smash his nose, disabling his vision with pain and watered eyes.”
Celia
blinked through tears and stared at Pilar with all the pain a woman could feel,
having been raped of her dignity, her choices, her freedom. “Why are you doing
this?”
“Because
it needs to be done. Gregor needs killing. My advice would be to lie as you are
now, naked, vulnerable, the knife hidden. Wait until he’s over you, better yet,
inside you. Then strike when he least suspects it. It won’t heal your pain, but
revenge will make it easier to bear.”
Celia
nodded slowly, the glaze of helplessness leaving her eyes. Despite the scars on
her body and the fear in her eyes, she was pretty. She looked innocent, and
Pilar knew that’s what drove Gregor to continue to defile the girl.
“Keep
out of sight for as long as you can. And don’t let him win.” Pilar squeezed
Celia’s hand once before leaving. “When you’re finished, take whatever you can
to make a new life for yourself. Leave this territory and don’t look back. Ever.”
Celia
nodded.
Pilar
could do nothing more. Now it was up to Celia.
Pilar
left the room and closed the door behind her, satisfied when she heard the
creak of the bed. Movement.
She
left Butch’s grand house, wondering if his cock still hurt him and hoping it
did.
Deke
met her by an outbuilding. “Pilar, we need to talk,” he said and nodded her
away from the few hands still working the ranch.
“What
now?”