A Dangerous Trade Ch. 02

"You guys ready or what?" she smirked and I knew then exactly what she was doing and I wouldn't let it work.

I flattened my lips into a hard line and nodded, following my brothers outside to the garage and into the SUV. I got into the driver seat and Carson got into the passenger side. Damien pulled Harley onto his lap and I cleared my throat. He pushed her off him gently and strapped her in. I rolled my eyes. So much good my rules were doing. Damien was head over heels it looked and I'm not sure why that bothered me so much.

I mentally shook myself and drove to the meeting spot for the drag race. Harley would surely stand out and I wasn't happy about that either. But alas, we pulled into a spot and all got out, looking around at the tons of people mulling around. Car engines revved and girls screamed.

I looked at Harley with Damien draped over her and gritted my teeth when I saw men already eye fucking her. Damien noticed as well, but remained cool and collected with his arm over her shoulders.

Then we all saw him at the same time and froze collectively. Cutler. He was wearing a shitty suit and tie and looked ridiculous standing in a crowd of casually dressed people. He had a few girls surrounding them, cheap sluts from the look of them. He grinned widely when he caught sight of us, beckoning us over with his hand adorned with gaudy silver rings.

I nodded at my brothers and we moved as a unit, pushing Harley behind us.

"To what do I owe this pleasure? And who's the girl?" he asked with that shit eating grin.

"You should know her," I said, moving out from in front of Harley and letting him get a good look at her and vice versa.

I watched her expression harden and pure hatred cloud her eyes. Her little hands fisted at her sides and her jaw clenched tight. She really did hate the motherfucker. I was pleasantly surprised. I grinned slightly, turned to face Cutler and his cocked head.

"She looks familiar somehow. Oh that's right, I took her brother yesterday. How fitting that she found you guys. Have you come to rescue him? On my turf? That just won't do," he tsked and snapped his fingers, men flanking him with their hands on their weapons.

"We've come to give you your rat back," Carson spat at him. I looked at him sharply and he shut up.

Cutler laughed bitterly. "I don't even know this bitch, let alone have her as some kind of informant or whatever the hell you guys are accusing me of. On my turf," he added. "I don't think I like your tones or presence quite frankly."

His smile vanished and he looked pissed. I was sure she wasn't one of his though, and that was the first step. I was an expert at reading body language and subtle cues and hints. She wasn't his. I smiled and that pissed Cutler off more, his cheeks flaming red.

"You have something that belongs to us, Cutler," I said matter-of-factly.

"Oh? And you've just now come almost a whole year later?"

"It didn't disrupt business like you wanted it to, wasn't that big of a deal at the time. But then recently I started thinking and I just don't like the fact you stepped on our toes. If the product isn't replaced within the week, we're going to have a bigger issue," I told him.

His face turned hard and a tic formed in his clenched jaw. "You come to my fucking race and tell me what the fuck to do? There's three of you and how many of us are here tonight? Did you really think this was the right move, Maverick?" He spat my name out, like it tasted bad in his mouth.

Suddenly, Harley gasped and started sprinting to the left before I could grab her arm to stop her. She ran towards a lanky teenager with black medium length hair. He looked rough and I knew immediately it must be her brother.

"You gonna control your bitch?"

"Watch your fucking mouth," I warned him. I nodded to Carson, not wanting Damiens feelings to get in the way.

Carson sprinted after her and snatched her up.

Harley

When I caught sight of my brother, I saw nothing but him. My vision tunneled and I just started running. He was about to get behind the wheel of some racing car and I was not about to let that happen. But right before I caught up to him, someone's arms wrapped around me from behind and snatched me backwards.

I screamed like a banshee and tried to rip myself from his arms. Carson, I knew it was him from his wintergreen smell. "Let me the fuck go!"

"Be quiet and listen to me right now, if you do this, you'll never get him back, you hear me?"

I stilled in his arms, my chest rising and falling with every breath. But before we could turn away, we were surrounded by Cutler's men.

Fuck.

I knew I fucked up, but didn't know what to do. It was my brother, right in front of me, wide eyed and watching my every move. I saw the glimmer of hope in his miserable face and it gutted me. He thought I was there to rescue him, and then I was going to just turn around and leave him again.

"Kody," I whispered brokenly.

"I knew I recognized this bitch," Cutler's voice sounded behind me and I whirled around to face him, seething.

Carson gripped my arm hard enough to bruise and I pursed my lips into a tight line. It was extremely difficult, but I took Carson's cue to shut my mouth. I didn't want to end up hurting Kody.

"Watch your mouth," Maverick warned him again.

It was endearing and odd to hear Maverick defend me. I loathed him but was somehow drawn to him at the same time. But I definitely thought he hated me, so I was surprised to see him take the risk of pissing Cutler off.

"I could say the same to you. So this is why you're here tonight?" His sadistic smile widened and it made me cold all over.

"I already told you why we're here, I expect that payment in full by the end of the week, like I said before. Now we're leaving."

"You think I'm gonna just let you walk out of here unscathed? I don't know about that."

"Do you think I'm that stupid to come here without a contingency plan? Without my people?" Maverick's head cocked to the side, his gaze turning predatory.

Just as Maverick finished, his men appeared out of thin air, immersing from the crowd in greater numbers than I had expected. East Side men. I gawked as they surrounded Cutler and his men, hands on their weapons at their waists. Cutlers face paled, his mask slipping just long enough to show the fear lingering there, then anger contorted his features.

"Leave now before this turns to an all out war, Maverick."

"Is that a threat?"

"More of a suggestion." Cutler's jaw clenched and Maverick smiled in his face.

"I think we'll be on our way now. I hope to hear from you soon." Maverick winked at him as we all walked past him and his sneering men.

Fuck them all.

I was livid, seeing red. I stayed put at first, staring into my brother's wide eyes. Then Carson yanked me forward and Damien pushed me from behind. Cutler caught sight and snickered, walking over and clapping my brother hard on the back. He flinched and I surged toward him, only to be pushed and pulled by Carson and Damien. They led me to the SUV and threw me in, Carson glaring at me with a clenched jaw. Damien looked sad for me, giving me a placating look and I drew my gaze from him, burning holes into the back of Mavericks seat.

"Pull some shit like again and see what happens," Maverick warned me.

"He's my brother. He has my fucking brother and we just left him there," I seethed, enunciating every syllable.

"If we pulled anything right then, we would have lost him for good. Now we know what the stakes are, what we have to do. He'll use him as leverage now, he won't kill him," Damien explained softly.

I shook my head back and forth, my irritation flaring along with my anger. "This is bullshit, we have to go back."

"Enough," Maverick yelled from the front seat. "You'll pay for what you did tonight."

My mouth shut with an audible click, then opened again but before I could say another word, Damien's hand was on my thigh, squeezing gently in silent warning to stay quiet. I whipped my head straight forward and stared out the front windshield, my thoughts swirling. I clasped my hands together in my lap, my palms sweaty.

We pulled into the driveway a few minutes later and Maverick was the first one out. He swung my door open and yanked me out by my arm.

"In the fucking house, now," he ground out through clenched teeth, pointing towards the door.

He didn't give me a choice, considering he dragged me through the garage door and into the living room where he pushed me against a wall, his forearm barred across my throat.

"Clothes off."

"W-what?" I stuttered. My thoughts started swirling faster.

"Now."

He stepped back from me and I rubbed at my throat, looking at Damien and Carson standing behind him. Carson's gaze was icy as always, but Damien looked almost amused. Maverick had his arms crossed, waiting. He was serious and I was more pissed than scared.

"Fine," I spat. I ripped off my jacket and tank top, throwing them to the floor. I bent and pulled my jeans off roughly, kicking them aside and standing with my hands on my hips. I refused to give him the satisfaction of a strip tease like I would do on stage. "Like what you see, asshole?"

"Panties and bra too."

"No," I retorted.

"It wasn't a request."

I narrowed my eyes at him and gritted my teeth but did as I was told, unsnapping my bra and sliding my panties off. I threw them at Maverick and he didn't flinch. He just caught them both in one hand and glared at me. I shivered and the corner of his mouth tipped up.

"Turn around and bend over, place your hands on the wall," he demanded.

I froze and he took a step toward me, so I spun around quickly and did as he said. I had been naked in front of hundreds of men, but somehow I was still mortified. The way they all stared was unnerving to say the least. Then I heard Mavericks footsteps approaching me from behind and I tightened my jaw, staring at the wall in front of me.

I heard a whoosh and the telltale signs of a belt buckle and my eyes widened. He was going to belt me and I wasn't prepared in the slightest.

"Count for me, outloud."

The first hit made me cry out from the shock and the sting radiated through my ass and up my torso. I stiffened and squeezed my thighs together at the sudden pooling wetness. My eyes snapped open and I hadn't even realized I had shut them.

"One," I managed to get out.

I heard Maverick raise the belt again and when it cracked down on my ass right where he had hit me before, I stayed silent, squeezing my thighs together even tighter and sucking in a breath. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but somehow the pain was morphing into pleasure and it was rippling through my limbs like fire.

"Two," I moaned.

And as Maverick was raising his arm for a third, he paused. I looked back and he had his head cocked, as well as Carson. Damien was wide eyed and moved his hand over his hardening cock straining through his jeans.

"You're fucking turned on," Maverick said more as a statement than a question. "I can smell it. Spread your legs."

I did as he said and he moved closer, brushing his knuckle against my folds and bringing it to his nose.

"You're fucking soaked."

"I-I-"

"Count," he demanded as he raised his arm for a third strike. It striped across my thighs and I gritted my teeth against the pain, then melted as it turned into pure pleasure between my legs.

"Three!"

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the wall but I couldn't squeeze my thighs together any harder; I craved friction. I wanted to put my hand between my legs so badly but didn't dare in front of them all.

I kept counting as Maverick kept bringing the belt down on my ass, alternating cheeks until I was shaking and could hardly hold myself up, but not from pain. The pleasure was spiking and I was soaring high by the time Maverick got to the ninth hit. And on the tenth, I came so hard I almost fainted.

"Fuck!" I cried out.

A rough hand on my shoulder spun me around and I faced Maverick but couldn't look him in the eye as my orgasm slowly subsided. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look in his eyes. I was beyond mortified.

"Did you just?" Damien asked from behind Maverick, approaching at his left side and looking at me with eyes like saucers.

I looked down and Maverick jerked my chin up again. "You just came from a belting that was supposed to be a punishment. Go upstairs and get dressed."

I nodded tightly and spun on my heel, grabbing my clothes off the floor and hustling up the stairs. I slammed my door and pressed my back against it, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor. I had no idea what was happening to me, but a part of me liked it.