Curse's Claim (Chaos Bleeds) (8 page)

The moment she was out from under the bed, he turned her over. Slapping out her arms, she hit out. Dale backed away
, but she didn’t know how long for.

Without wasting a moment, she climbed to her feet and started for the door. Dale’s hands grabbed her hair and tugged her back. She collapsed against him
, and he threw her into the wooden wardrobe. The door cracked, and for several seconds she was winded from being thrown against the hard surface. Dale picked her up and threw her to the bed. Her dress tore from his rough handling.

Fight.

He charged at the bed, and she kicked him in the stomach. Dale went down, grunting. Scrambling off the bed, she ran for the door trying to get away from him as fast as she could. She screamed in pain as he caught her hair. Thrown against the wall, she wasn’t prepared for his slap.

“You little bitch. You’re going to learn your place.”

His hands went around her neck, cutting off her oxygen. She clawed at his hands. Nothing was helping. Reaching out, she scratched his face, and he released her. The attack went on. Dale slapped her around the face, landing blows to her body. Mia fought, wishing Curse was near to help her. No one was going to save her. Grabbing the lightshade on the drawer beside the bed, she slammed it against Dale so hard. With him following behind her, she wouldn’t make it out of the house alive.

Locking herself in the bathroom, she tugged the phone off the wall. The door shook under the impact of his body.

Dialing Ashley’s number took her two attempts. Her hands were shaking so hard, she couldn’t even focus. Tears fell down her face, and she worked fast.

The phone rang
, and she jumped as Dale threw his body against the door.

“Come on, Ashley, pick up.”

“Get out here, bitch. I’m going to fuck you and make sure you can’t stand for the rest of your life. I’ll fuck up that pretty face of yours. No one will come near you.” His threats poured out. Fear gripped her with every passing second.

“Who is this?” Ashley asked.

“Ashley, I need your help.”

“Mia, what’s wrong?”

She heard Curse in the background.

“Dale Worthington attacked me. I’m locked in his bathroom. Please, I can’t fight him. He’s a lot stronger than I thought. I’m—” She cried out as the door rattled again.

“Mia?”

“I’m scared. Please.”

“Shit, Curse—”

“Mia, what’s going on?”

His voice filled her with warmth. She sobbed down the line. “Please, come and get me. I’m so scared.” She screamed again as the door was slammed once again.

“Listen to me, look through his shit and find something to use to protect yourself with. I don’t give a fuck what it is
. Find something to hurt him.” She got up off the toilet and started to do as Curse asked. “Anything pointy or sharp.”

Opening doors she found bottle
s of pills, razors, bath soaps. Nothing else and she told him as much.

“Use the toilet brush. It’s dirty
, but it will hurt him enough. It’ll give us some time.”

Nodding, she grabbed the brush and held it away from her. The thing was dirty
, but she kept a firm hold on it.

“Come quickly, Curse, please.”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can.” The phone went dead.

Panic clawed at her as she watched the door. The time went by
, and all the time she tried to count numbers off the top of her head.

He’ll come. He’ll protect you.

“When I get in there, you little slut, no one is going to save you. I’m going to fuck your pussy, take your ass, and squeeze the fucking life out of you.”

She whimpered, holding the phone like a lifeline.

Come on, Curse. Save me where no one else can.

Her face was starting to hurt. Touching the side of her face, she winced at the sudden pain. Everything hurt
, and glancing down at her uniform she saw it was torn, exposing her bra and some of her stomach.

“Fucking locks,” he said growling out the words.

Closing her eyes, she started to count the number of times he threw his body against the door. Her hand shook from holding the toilet brush. It was only a matter of time before he finally got into the room. Rubbing her eyes with her free hand, she tried to think logically as a man was intent on raping and hurting her.

You can do this, Mia.

The last man who scared the life out of her was no longer around. She’d taken care of him and would do it again.

He didn’t know you were coming.

She wasn’t strong enough to fight off Dale.

The only person she could count on was Curse.

Chapter Eight

Ashley had many uses in life, and the main one was knowing shit loads about the town she grew up in. She took the lead on the back of Pussy’s bike. Curse followed behind her, losing his shit inside his head at the threat Mia was under. How he kept his cool at her pleading he didn’t know. She sounded so lost, so broken. If she was harmed, he was going to cause so many fucking problems, the guy was going to wish he’d not hired her as a cleaner.

She’s got to be fine.

Mia’s a fighter. He liked that about her, but even an expert fighter in life lost a fight or two.

They stopped at a large house not far from where Jerry lived. Climbing off his bike, he went straight for the front door. He heard Pussy and Ashley following behind him. Not waiting for someone to answer his knock, he grabbed a rock from the garden and smashed it through the window. The door looked like the kind that would hurt if he tried to slam through it. Rich folk were always worried about being robbed and tended to spend extra money
on security. He flicked the lock into place, and the moment he entered the house, he heard the screams.

His woman’s feminine cries and a male’s more
masculine words were heard easily in the house.

Going for the stairs, Curse only had one person in mind, Mia. He needed to get her out of here and to safety
.

“Leave me alone.” Her scream tore at his soul.

Heart pounding he charged up the stairs. Half way up the steps he heard the unmistakable sound of wood splintering apart.

Mia’s screams got louder. She shouted and begged for someone to leave her alone.

Running the last of the way he charged into the main bedroom then ran into the bathroom. She was fighting, crying as a slender man was tearing at her underwear trying to get them off.

Acting without thinking,
Curse tugged the fucker off her, wrapping both of his arms around the guy’s waist and throwing him against the wall.

Ashley and Pussy crashed into the room seconds later.

“Get her out of here, now. Jerry lives close by. Take her to him. I’ll sort this fucker out.”

He waited for them to leave the room.

Dale got to his feet, wiping some blood off his lip. “Are you her keeper?”

Not answering,
Curse fisted his hands ready to kill this bastard.

“You’re not answering. I have to say I’m not surprised. She’s such a nice piece of ass. I didn’t believe for a moment that she was alone.” Dale climbed to his feet.

“Your first biggest mistake was thinking you could touch her at all. She’s mine.” Curse faced the other man, waiting for the other man to pounce. The anger inside him was growing. He wanted to kill this man, hurt him for hurting his woman. Before Mia was taken out of his sight he’d already seen the damage done. He’d not seen everything, but he’d seen enough to know this man was living on borrowed fucking time.

“That supposed to scare me?” Dale asked, facing off. “You don’t think I can take you?”

“I’d like to see you try and take me.”

Come on, fucker, lash out
. Make the first move.

“She cleans for me, man. Bitch was asking for it.”

Those words were the final straw. Charging at him, Curse landed a blow to Dale’s face, sending him crashing to the floor.

“You wanted to mess with a woman because she could do fuck all about it
. Let’s see how you fight a real fucking man.”

Curse landed blow after blow, aiming for the face, ribs, stomach, and everything to hurt him. Grabbing the bastard
’s head, he pushed him face first through the shower stall. The glass smashed, but Curse kept on going. The blood was dripping from Dale’s face.

When he was bored of trying to hurt him, he landed punch after punch against the man’s face. In his mind he saw Mia’s uniform
hanging off her shoulder. The bruises were already appearing on her face from this bastard’s attack when he sent her away.

“Curse,” Pussy said, shouting his name.

He couldn’t stop. Blow after blow, he fucked up the man’s face.

“You’re going to have to make him stop.” Jerry’s voice penetrated his mind. “The bastard is dead.”

“Curse, stop now!” The final voice belonged to Devil. Curse’s fist was raised ready to land another punch.

Turning to his left he saw Devil, Jerry, Pussy, and a couple of his brothers
standing, watching him.

Glancing down before him, he felt nothing
about the mess he’d created from his attack. Dale was unrecognizable. Blood soaked the cream blankets, and he climbed off, aware of the wetness coating his clothes. His hands were bruised, covered with a layer of blood.

“He attacked a woman,” Curse said, staring at his crew. They were not looking at him with disgust. Each person w
as figuring out what they had to do to help him.

“It doesn’t matter, Curse. This guy was going to be dead in a matter of days,” Jerry said. “There’s a target out for his head. The wife and kid were long gone. They’ve been gone for a long time.”

“A target on his head?”

“Yeah, he raped a friend of mine’s girl. When I
say friend, I mean proper mafia, don’t fuck off and do as you’re told kind of friend. I was supposed to keep him alive until Frederick was due to arrive next week. This fucker was working for Frederick when he attacked one of his men’s women.” Jerry stared at the mess and pulled out his cell phone. “This is why I only ever offer small fucking favors. Frederick doesn’t give a fuck about anyone, but taking vengeance was an act of business, not sympathy.”

The other man disappeared
, and Curse heard him talking in hushed tones.

“I’m sorry, Devil,”

“No, you’re not. If this fucker was attacking Lexie, I’d have done the same.” Devil whistled as he looked at the body. “This reminds me why we rarely stay in the same fucking place. This kind of shit is a nightmare.”

“We burn the body? House fire, bad mains and all that shit?” Ripper asked, stepping around Death.

“No, the cops have already reported there are too many suspicious fires just lately,” Jerry said. “Fredrick has a guy arriving tomorrow. One of us has to stay with the body, and his guy will do whatever’s necessary to make this fucker disappear without a problem.”

“A mass clean up?” Devil asked.

“We get to see the professionals do the job.” Jerry agreed, staring at the body then at Curse. “You’re going to have to stay behind. This guy is a professional, and he’ll get everything off you. I suggest you take a shower and try to keep the shit contained to this room. I’ll also need to talk with you, Devil. Frederick’s pissed, and he wants to know what you’re prepared to do about it.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he wants,” Devil said.

“This is not the kind of man you fuck with.” Jerry didn’t look happy. In fact, the pimp looked positively scared shitless.

Curse shook his head. “What about Mia? She’s covered in evidence.”

“She stays at my place. Melanie is still gone, and she’s not coming back any time soon. I’ll keep an eye on her, and I promise I won’t fuck with her or suggest she become a call girl,” Jerry said.

“I’m going to need to talk to her,” Curse said.

Staying away from her after this was going to be a fucking nightmare.

“You’ve got to think about this, Curse,” Devil said, speaking up.

“What do you mean?” He turned to look at his president. The respect he had for Devil would never disappear, but he also knew that Devil would do whatever needed to be done.

“If she’
s your old lady we don’t have a problem.” He waited for Devil to finish. “If she’s not then we’ve got a problem, Curse. She has to go, and I don’t mean on a long vacation. I mean she has to go six feet under the fucking ground.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “She doesn’t need to do that shit.”

“Your call to make,” Devil said.

He stood staring at the mess on the bed and wondered what the fuck had happened in the last couple of hours. Hearing Mia’s pleas for help had awoken the protector inside him. Curse didn’t regret what he’d done. She wasn’t the problem
. This mess he’d created was the problem.

“She’s my old lady. You leave her alone
, and I’ll deal with her.”

“Are you sure about this, man?” Pussy asked. “An old lady is some serious shit.”

“I’m sure. She’s my old lady.”

Devil stood for several minutes and watched him
before nodding. “Fine, she’s an old lady. I’ll make Lexie aware of it, and she’ll talk to Phoebe. They’ll be no keeping her away from everyone.”

“I know. Just give me time.
Let me deal with this.” He pointed at the blood and the mess. “Then I’ll handle Mia.”

She would have no choice but to do as she was told.

“Okay. Death, you stay with him, and Pussy, get back to Ashley. Inform her of what is going on. Tell her to keep her crap to herself.”

Pussy agreed and left. One by one the men left
, and Death sat outside the door where there was no blood.

“This fucking sucks,” Death said. “I was going to spend the next week fucking. Now, I’ve got to babysit your ass.”

“You were going to fuck not find an excuse to kill something?” Curse walked into the bathroom. He’d need to clean out the glass first or he could just stand under the shower jet.

“You’re not doing a bad job of killing people. I doubt that fucker always looked like that
.” Death nodded at the dead body.

“Whatever. I can’t be done with this shit. I fucked up.”

“Yeah, you did fuck up. We’re putting a stamp on this town, and you’ve got a dead guy who’s wanted by a man we want fuck all to do with.”

Glaring at Death, Curse didn’t see the use in arguing with him and told him so. “What’s done is done. I can’t change anything or bring him back.”

“Is she worth it?” Death asked, shouting out the question. With his hand on the doorframe, Curse stopped to think about the question. Was Mia worth all this shit? When she smiled and let go for a few seconds, his heart literally stopped. She was so beautiful and had suffered in life.

“Yes, she’s worth it and a hell of a lot more.” He entered the bathroom and started to take a shower.

****

Mia cried as Ashley ran a bath in Jerry’s house. She’d not been here since he’d offered her a chance of becoming a call girl. Wiping her nose, she winced at the pain. Every inch of her body ached or hurt from what had happened.

“It’s okay, honey. I’ll take care of everything.”

“It hurts. It all hurts
, and it won’t stop.”

“I know. I’m here
, and we’re going to help you. Jerry told me you’re to take your time. I’ve already called to the diner and put a call through to your mom.” Ashley kept talking, but Mia’s head was hurting. Standing up, she wobbled over to the mirror and winced. She was a mess. Dale had landed several blows to her face. She had bruising down the right side of her face, a bleeding lip, and it also looked like there was a cut across her eyebrow.

Purple bruises rose up around her neck. They stood out against her pale skin where he’d choked her.

You’re safe now. He’s not coming back.

Curse had come to her rescue, saving her.

Ashley appeared behind her. “Mia, stop looking at yourself. It’s not going to do any good, and you’re only going to get upset.”

“I hurt.”

“I know, honey.”

She followed Ashley to the bath and removed the remains of her clothing. Her uniform was a mess from Dale’s rough handling.

“He was an animal, Mia.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She stepped out of the uniform and the bra. Her panties were torn from her body
, and they were back at the house.

Closing her eyes, she lowered herself into the warm water, wincing as it sloshed over her cuts.

“I’m here. I’m going to get rid of this. Please, stay here.”

The door to the bathroom opened. She wrapped her arms around her legs, drawing them against her chest.

“You can’t go in there,” Ashley said.

“I’m going to pass on a message. Don’t tell me what to do,” Pussy said.

She heard some shuffling outside the door. Pressing her head to her knees, she heard Ashley sigh.

“She’s hurting right now.”

“Those clothes need to go back to the house. Give them to Death. He’ll know what to do.” Pussy spoke the final order. Seconds later she heard the front door opening and closing.

Looking up, she saw Pussy
standing in the doorway.

He didn’t avert his gaze as she stared back at him.

“Where’s Curse?” she asked, wishing he was there to hold her. The only man she trusted near her was Curse.

“Something has come up. He’s having to stay at the house for the next
twenty-four hours until someone comes to clean up the mess.” Pussy sat down on the toilet. He stared down at his closed palms.