After the Fall Ch. 04

Lundgreen's shirt had been removed to bandage his wound before they drove back to the compound. Nate had instructed Lundgreen to keep pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding. He was in pain, but in no immediate danger. They took his belt, his shoes, and the contents of his pockets and sat him in a chair in the third room. They waited until the door was closed to talk about what to do with him. Nate wanted to take him back to town to be treated by Dr. Becker. Ezra was concerned about the way people in town might react to one of their own being shot by someone from the compound.

Michael had no patience for the debate. "I want to talk to him. If we get the information out of him, we can take him to the doctor after that. We can bring a bunch of food and medical supplies and give them to the doctor to distribute. Hopefully, people will care more about the supplies than they do about that asshole. Any problems with that plan?"

"Works for me," Ezra answered.

"Me, too," Nate confirmed, "but we should keep the interrogation short. The bleeding is controlled, but it isn't stopped, and he already lost a good bit of blood before we got him bandaged. We should not go more than forty-five minutes. I'd feel more comfortable keeping it under twenty."

"Let's get started then." Michael, Ezra and Nate crowded into the room with Lundgreen. Michael took the initiative.

"What's this prick's name?"

Nate and Ezra shrugged.

Michael leaned over Lundgreen. "What's your name?"

"Bart. Bart Lundgreen." Lundgreen didn't have any fight left in him. Getting shot was already more than he had signed up for.

"Okay, Bart. Here's the deal. These two men," he gestured to Ezra and Nate, "are professionals. I'm not. I'm the man whose woman you just abducted. If you knew the things I'm imagining doing to you right now, you would never close your eyes to go to sleep again. Does that help you understand your position?"

Bart started sniveling. "It wasn't my idea, man. I swear. I just did what I was told."

"Did you hear anything I just said? I don't give a fuck about your excuses!" Michael roared at him. "I didn't ask you whose idea it was. I asked you if you understood your position. So tell me, Bart, DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION?"

Bart cringed away from Michael. "Yes!"

"Good. Now this gentleman," Michael pointed to Ezra, "is going to ask you questions. I really recommend you answer them as quickly and completely as you can. I'm not a patient man. I don't want to hear anymore whining or excuses out of you. Is that clear?"

"Y-y-yes," Bart stammered, nodding his head for emphasis.

Michael stepped back to let Ezra do his work. It didn't take long to get the information Ezra wanted out of Lundgreen. Lundgreen was basically a grunt who answered to Carruthers. He was not involved in the planning. He assumed that Josh Hawley ordered the abduction, but he didn't even have first-hand knowledge of that. He didn't know anything about the planning of the operation. He knew the note they threw over the wall was about Mariah's dog, but he didn't even know they were bluffing about having Henry.

Lundgreen told them that there was a second group of men in a stand built in the trees on the hill near the compound. That's who had told them where to stand outside the wall and when to throw the ladder over. He thought they had a telescope, but he hadn't seen it. Once they had Mariah, they were supposed to take her their clubhouse at the lake. He did not know anything about what was supposed to happen after that.

Ezra stepped out of the holding room and motioned for Michael and Nate to follow him. Andy and Jack were waiting outside. Ezra sent Andy to collect some medical supplies and food to take into town along with Lundgreen.

"I think that's all he's got. If I keep pushing him, he's going to start making things up to keep us happy. If he wasn't wounded, I'd want to ask questions about this little gang Hawley's got going on, and about their clubhouse. I doubt he could give us information on any subject that we won't get out of Carruthers, though."

During the questioning, Jack had been going through everything in Lundgreen's and Carruthers' pockets. "Did you find anything?" Ezra asked.

Jack shook his head. "Just a couple rocks of blaze, lock picks, a bump key, some little screwdrivers, some wires, tokens, and what looks like house keys."

"We'll give Lundgreen his tokens back, but he doesn't need his drugs or burglary tools. We don't know if those keys are his own. I don't know about you guys, but I don't really care if he's locked out of his house. Are you in agreement with taking him to the doctor now, Michael?" Ezra asked.

"Yes. I suppose you're going to insist on going back with him, Nate?"

"I'd better. I'm sure he's going to be fine, but I should stay with him until he's in a doctor's care."

Ezra started giving instructions. "Okay, once we get Lundgreen in the vehicle, I want him tied securely in the passenger's seat. Nate, you drive and handle the conversation with the doctor. Jack, you see to defense. When Andy gets back, take him with you. He can keep his sights on Lundgreen. All of you need to take a little trip through the armory and load up before you go."

Ezra walked over to one of the jeeps. Michael followed.

"What about the other guy?"

"I think it will be helpful to let him chill for a bit. You should have seen him out there, Michael. He had a gun on him, but he was waving a knife at me from twenty feet away. He's not a bright boy. Let's give him time to think things through. I'd also like to talk to Mariah before I talk to him. She knew his name, so she might be able to tell me more about him."

"You're going to have to get in line to talk to Mariah. I'm going to go have a very, very long conversation with her right now."

"Just remember, Michael, she did what she did for the same reason you did what you did."

"What do you mean by that? I'm not the one who got myself abducted."

"You left the compound and put yourself at risk because you were afraid that she was in danger. You were as likely to be a target as she was. She left the compound and put herself at risk because she was afraid her dog was in danger."

"That's different and you know it."

"Probably not to her. I saw her with Henry. He's like her child."

"She should have known better than to believe they had him."

"And you should have known that we had the situation under control."

"Jesus, Ezra. What would you expect me to do? If something had gone wrong, I was too far away to help. I had to come."

"Exactly. You had to come. I think she had to go." Ezra cleared his throat. "I don't want to get all sappy on you, but I'm proud of you, Michael. As your head of security, I think what you did was a terrible idea, but as someone who cares about you, well, you did good."

Michael laughed awkwardly. "You're going to give me a big head."

"You've already got a big head."

Michael shrugged. "I'll let you know when Mariah's available."

He took one of the jeeps back to the garage portion of the basement complex. On the way up to the third floor, he thought about what Ezra said. He understood that Mariah didn't feel she had a choice, but she could have been killed. He couldn't tolerate it. He wouldn't tolerate it, and he was going to find a way to get that through her head. When he left her in her room, he had wanted nothing more than to claim her, to fuck her senseless and show the whole damned universe -- including her - that she was his. Now, he just wanted to tan her hide.

She jumped up when he opened her door. She looked nervous. She ought to be. Seeing her was bringing all of his still-raw emotions to the surface. He took her by the wrist and led her through the door to his room. He closed the door behind them. She fidgeted while he looked her over. Eventually, her nerves got the better of her.

"Michael? What are you doing?"

"I'm deciding whether to put you on my bed and fuck you into the goddamned mattress or put you over my knee and light up your backside with a spanking you will never forget." He let her fidget for a bit longer while he tried to sort the swirl of emotions competing for his head space.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to do both. Take your clothes off."

When she made no move to remove her clothes, he circled behind her to unzip her dress. With a sweep of his hands, the dress fell from her shoulders to puddle around her feet. He unfastened her bra with alarming alacrity, pulled the straps down her arms, and flung it aside. The artificially cooled air stiffened her nipples. They stayed hard against the warmth of his palms as he pulled her back against his chest. He held her body firmly against his and ground his cock against her panty-clad ass. When she tried to move, he growled against her ear.

"Don't you have any idea how much trouble you're already in?"

He was rough with her breasts, digging his fingers into her flesh as he squeezed and kneaded them. He plucked harshly at her nipples until he drew a whimper from her. His hands dropped to her hips and he hooked his thumbs under the sides of her panties. He yanked them down and prodded her to step out of them, then nudged her feet a few inches apart. With one hand beneath her chin, he pulled her head back so that she was looking up at him, then brought his hand down on her pussy with a smack. He watched her face as she shuddered beneath three more smacks.

Satisfied that her pussy must be stinging, he moved to the bed and pulled her across his lap. His hand came down with a resounding crack, quickly followed by several more stinging smacks on top of the handprint that was forming from the first. As soon as he reddened one spot to his satisfaction, his aim shifted to the next, over and over until her buttocks were a uniformly vivid hue. She tried to squirm off his lap, but he caught her and held her with one hand while he continued the spanking.

She was trying not to give him the satisfaction of crying or begging, but it was getting too intense to ignore. She put her hand back to shield her backside, but he grabbed her wrist and held it against the small of her back. Her ass was already bright red and hot to his touch, but she was still trying to get loose, so he delivered a smack with greater force than the others.

"Stay still," he demanded through gritted teeth, and returned to spanking her.

"Punishment won't make me obey you."

Michael answered her without letting up. "This isn't just about punishment. One way or another, I will get your attention." He punctuated each word with a smack. "Do I have your attention now?" he asked, with another smack for each word.

Mariah refused to answer. Michael rained down smacks against the tops of her thighs, turning them as red as her tender ass. She still refused to answer.

"God damn it, Mariah! What will it take to get it through your head? I will not allow the woman I love to get herself killed!" She froze. Michael noticed her reaction. "I know you don't want to hear me say it, but I love you."

She tensed and rolled, throwing herself off his lap. She was up as soon as she hit the ground.

"How dare you! Don't you ever say that to me again!"

When Michael said he loved her, she suddenly realized that she wanted it to be true. Making that discovery with the falsity of his declaration staring her in the face was bitterly painful. She stood there breathing hard, her fists clenched. She started shaking. The pressure of built-up tears made her eyes ache. She had to get away before she cried in front of him. She darted for the door, but he was faster. He caught her wrist when she was only a couple feet away from it. She strained to reach the knob, but he pulled her back.

He spun her around and grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of her neck. Using his grip on her hair, he pulled her head back to kiss her throat. He held her like that while he kissed and nipped his way up her neck and back down again. At the crook of her neck, he bit down and sucked at her skin. When he was satisfied that he had left a mark, he brushed his lips back up over her throat and out along her jawline. His lips traced the shell of her ear.

"You're mine, Mariah, and I love you whether you believe it or not."

He covered her mouth with his to smother any protest she might have made. She had nowhere to go. He was still holding her in place with his hand tangled in her hair, and he wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her hard against him. He crushed her lips beneath his until she yielded. As soon as her lips parted, his tongue swept in, stroking in and out. She was losing herself to him again, and she knew it. She couldn't move and she couldn't close her mouth, so she tried to keep her tongue away from his.

He raised his head. "Kitten, you do not want to defy me right now."

She saw the look in his eyes. It was dangerous enough to make her think about the consequences of defiance, but it was the wild hunger in his eyes that called to her. When his mouth came down over hers again, she let him take full possession. When he finally released her, her breath was coming in shallow pants. He felt a rising sense of triumph when he looked her over. Her eyes were dark and she had the glazed look that signaled a haze of arousal. This was the real Mariah -- not someone playing a role to satisfy an obligation.

"Go lie on the bed."

He undressed quickly and followed her to the bed. She watched his approach intently. When he reached the side of the bed, she sat up. He caught her eyes flickering over him before she looked up to his face. He knew what she wanted.

With his hand on the back of her neck, he guided her mouth to his cock. She opened to him without resistance and his cock slid in smoothly. The vibration of her little "mmm" sounds traveled through his cock as she sucked. She leaned closer to suck him in deeper, but he gripped her hair in his hand again to hold her head still. He rocked his hips, pushing through her lips and sliding over her tongue at his own pace. Her tongue snaked back and forth against the underside of his cock until he was tingling and throbbing in her mouth.

He ignored her whine when he pulled away. When he traced her lips with his finger, her tongue flicked out to curl around his fingertip. For the first time since the siren alerted him to her jeopardy, he felt his tension ease.

"Good girl. Now lie back for me."

He noticed the bruising on her arm where that prick of Hawley's had his hands on her. A fresh wave of rage washed over him. He needed to fuck her. Now. When he climbed over her, she moved to allow him to take his place between her legs. His cock jerked at the sight of her spreading her thighs for him.

The sound she made when he pushed the head of his cock into her was something he never wanted to forget. He leaned forward until he was fully enveloped in her hot, slick pussy. It was exactly what he needed. He pulled back to his tip and watched her pussy swallow him as he pushed back in. The way she stretched around him always looked impossible, and it never failed to inflame his lust. With effort, he stayed still for a moment to feel the way her inner muscles rhythmically clamped down and released. Her rhythm was broken when his cock throbbed. It made her hips jerk upward.

He drew back and thrust in hard and deep, forcing a gasp from her. Her hips arched and her knees came up beside him. Staying firmly seated in her depths, he reached down to rub her swollen clit.

"Keep your eyes on me, kitten."

He stroked her clit until it was so sensitive that every time he touched it, her inner thigh muscles jumped and her pussy locked around his cock. Bracing his hands beside her shoulders, he stroked smoothly in and out. Her eyes stayed locked on his as she matched his rhythm. He tried to take in every detail of her as she laid beneath him: her dark hair fanned out over the white pillow, the mark that he made on her neck, her lips parted in little gasps, the desire in her eyes. He thrust in hard, and watched the pleasure play over her face.

She pressed her palm flat against his chest and ran it up over his shoulder. Urgent need outweighed his desire to luxuriate in her touch. She clutched at his forearms to steady herself as he pounded into her.

"Let me hear you, baby. I want to hear it." He wanted to hear the sounds he heard from her in the shower.

He reached between them and pressed his thumb to her clit. The effect was electric. Soon she was making all the little noises he had been wanting to hear. He leaned back and rubbed her clit faster. When she was close, he started fucking her hard and fast. When he paused to rub her clit again, she tensed and came to a shuddering, panting climax.

His head dropped and he concentrated on his own pleasure. He rammed her pussy, spurred by the need to fuck her like she had never been fucked before. She couldn't match his rhythm. All she could do was lie there and take what he was giving her. Her breasts bounced every time he drove his cock into her, tempting him to bite and suck them, but he couldn't stop now. He was too close. His thrusts grew more ragged until he plunged into her a final time and came with a guttural cry.

He fell beside her. They were both hot and sweaty, but he wanted her close. He took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers. They laid like that without speaking while their hearts slowed and their breath grew even. When they were cool, he turned on his side and tucked her body against his.

It was only mid-afternoon, but they were physically and emotionally exhausted. They dozed for at least an hour until Michael roused himself. There was still the matter of questioning their remaining prisoner. He hated to do it, but he made Mariah wake up, too. Ezra needed to talk to her before the questioning began.

They were sharing a shower when a terrible thought occurred to Mariah.

"Michael, they have Sarah!"

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Chapter 5 is still in progress, so it will probably be submitted the last weekend in May, 2020. I update my profile page with publication information.

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