Missy Johnson - Provoke

This isn’t Mace, and you are not Leeta.

“Yeah, I like that a lot. Get her up on the table so I can see her better.”

All of a sudden the floor gave way below me. My heart pounded as I realized I was in his arms.

He's got you. He won't hurt you.

I gasped as the freezing surface of the metal table hit my back. Holy shit, it was cold. I blinked rapidly, as my muscles clenched.

I could hear him chuckle. I felt sick. I felt dirty.

“Is that a scalpel I see there?” A scalpel?

“Yes. Shall I get it?”

Mace. I sighed. It was such a relief to hear his voice. I'd been afraid this guy would see through my act. But this was no act. This fear—the absolute terror that I felt right through to my core—was real.

“Yes. Cut her bra, in the centre.”

A single slice through the delicate lace material of my purple bra, and my breasts were exposed. I could feel my nipples harden.

“God, she's beautiful. Perfect. Leave the blindfold on.”

God no, please.

Not being able to see Mace . . . I couldn't do this. But I had no choice. I had to do this. And even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop. I was blindfolded and gagged, for fuck’s sake.

“Run the scalpel over her skin. I want to see it trail down to her panties.”

I swallowed as the blade touched the skin between my breasts. He slowly moved it downward. It was sharp, stinging as it broke through the top layer of my skin. My breath caught in my throat as he reached the lace edge, trailing the blade over the soft fabric of my panties. I breathed in sharply, not expecting the arousal that shot through me. It scared me. I shouldn’t be enjoying this. I wasn’t enjoying it. My body was betraying me with its natural response to being sexually stimulated.

Had Mace felt like this? With those other women, had he enjoyed it? He’d obviously gotten himself hard enough to penetrate them…that had to mean something, right?

A sob escaped from my chest. God, I needed to get a grip. I was losing the plot.

I had to switch off. I had to escape my own head. I had to detach myself from the situation, pretend it wasn’t me. Whatever I needed to do to get through it, I would.

I refused to let them win.

#

Mace watched me as I shivered. I clutched the blanket tightly around my body.

“Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I should take you to a doctor?”

“And say what?” I snorted. Calm down. “I’ll be okay.”

He nodded, his expression uncertain as he reached for the phone. This was it: this was the moment when we found out if the last half hour had all been for nothing, or whether we had actually gotten something.

“How did you go?”

I watched Mace anxiously, waiting for a sign, good or bad. Relief swept over his face as he crouched down to his knees.

Thank fucking Christ.

We did it. We got the guy.

I began to gasp as I struggled to breathe. My body was shaking so hard that I was struggling to keep warm. A sob escaped from my lips.

What is happening to me?

“Shit, Tim, I’ll call you back.”

Mace raced over and crouched in front of me. He wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his embrace.

“Shhh, I've got you. You're okay, baby. You’re just in shock.”

“I'm sorry I just I don't know . . .”

“It's okay, Leet. Let everything out. I'm here for you, okay?”

I nodded as he picked me up. My body relaxed into his arms, demanding rest. I was so tired. I needed sleep.

“Let’s get you home.”

#

I woke up. Mace was lying on my bed, reading. He glanced over at me and smiled.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

I smiled back, stretching out my feet underneath the covers, my toes curling. I felt better. What time was it? How long had I been sleeping?

“It’s nearly four in the morning,” Mace said, reading my thoughts.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” I asked, my voice still groggy.

He shrugged. “Too wound up. Besides, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

The events of earlier flashed back through my mind. I swallowed hard and then nodded.

“I’m okay. I think I just needed a good sleep,” I said quietly. “So, we have the guy?”

Mace nodded. “We have an address. I have someone staking out the house at the moment, and I’ll go over as soon as we know he’s there and get some answers.”

He will go over? What about me? I sat up, binging the covers with me.

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” I said.

“Leet, look at you. You’re a mess,” he protested, laughing. He shut his mouth as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Look, the best way you can help me is by staying here where I know you’re safe, okay?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I was going over a plan in my head. I pushed the covers back and swung my feet over the side of the bed. Shit, I’m dizzy.

“Can you run me a bath?” I asked, swaying on my feet.

His arm shot out to steady me. I fell back on the bed.

“Just relax, okay? Stay in bed and rest.”

Leeta

I must have fallen asleep again.

I sat up, my head still dizzy, but much less so than earlier. Is Mace still here? The sun was shining through the curtains. What time was it? I reached for my phone, which I’d left sitting on my bedside table.

Shit—after noon. How the hell had I slept for so long? Throwing the covers back, I stepped out of bed and reached for my robe, throwing it over my tank and panties. I shivered.

I made it out of the living room without feeling like I was going to fall over, so that was a good start. Fuck. My head was pounding. I felt like I had the biggest hangover. I put on some coffee and threw some bread in the toaster. I wasn’t actually hungry—in fact, the thought of eating made me feel sick—but I knew I had to get something in my stomach. Especially if I was going to be following Mace today.

It was then I noticed the note on the table I picked it up.

Leet, I’ve just gone out to do a few things. I'll come and see you before I go. Call me if you need me. I'll have my phone with me, love Mace.

I stretched my arms across the bench, thinking, while I waited for the coffee.

What I was about to do could quite possibly be one of the stupidest things I'd ever done. But what other choice did I have?

I fingered my phone, hesitating, before picking it up and dialling. My heart raced as it rang once, then twice, then three times. I was just about to hang up when he answered.

“Leeta?”

“Yeah, Ben, it's me…” Maybe this was a really bad idea.

“Did you want something?” he asked. “I mean, it's good to hear from you but after the other day…”

With my back against the cupboard, I slid down until I was sitting on the kitchen floor. Burying my face in my hands, I groaned. This was such a bad idea.

“Are you there? What's going on? Do you need me to come over?” he asked, sounding worried.

“God, no, don’t come over.” I sighed, realizing there was no way around not telling him the whole story. “Remember what I told you the other day? About my boyfriend?”

“That he was cheating on you,” Ben said, his voice dark.

I sighed. “Look there’s more to it than that. I can't go into much detail, there's not enough time. But I need your help.”

“Whatever you need. But are you sure? I mean, the guy cheated on you…”

“His sister was raped. Mace has tracked down the guys he thinks are responsible. But I'm so scared. I'm scared he’s going to front up there alone and try and handle this himself. Will you come with me?” I asked, my voice small.

“Of course. Of course I will, you just tell me when and I'll swing past and pick you up.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved. “I'll text you, okay?”

I don't know if I felt relieved, but I definitely felt better about the whole situation. I had a plan—it might not be very good one, but it was a plan nonetheless.

Leeta

“So, you just turn up on this guy's doorstep and expect him to spill his guts?” It didn't sound that much of a plan to me. It was later that evening, and Mace had stopped over. I assumed on his way to confront the buyer. I had already texted Ben, ready for him to pick me up once Mace had left.

 “Yep, that's what I'm thinking. Are you ready?” he asked looking over at me.

My mouth fell open. “You mean you’re letting me come?”

“If I've learned anything by now it’s that there’s nothing that I can say that is going to stop you doing what you want.” He kissed the top of my head and walked towards the door.

Shit. That wasn't part of the plan.

“Wait,” I called out. “We, uh, we can't go yet.”

“Why?” Mace asked, confused. “We don't have time to waste. We need to get moving.” The doorbell rang. I bit my lip, trying to ignore his confused look as I raced to answer the door.

This is not good.

Hey.” Ben smiled at me. I smiled back, trying not to notice how sexy he looked in his jeans, white tee, shirt and jacket. I turned around and smiled at Mace, who was glaring at me.

“Okay, so I didn't actually think you were going to let me go with you,” I began.

How the hell was I going to get myself out of this mess?

Mace and Ben in the same room with me? That was a train wreck waiting to happen.