Cain (Deathstalkers 2nd Generation Book 1) Read online

  Cain

  By: Alexis Noelle

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2019 Ashley Piscitelli

  All rights Reserved. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter without written permission from the author, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, establishments, organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to give a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be given away to another person except when loaned out per lending program. If you’re reading this and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then it was pirated illegally. Please purchase a copy of your own and respect the hard work of this author.

  Prologue

  Emma

  Three Months ago

  “Bad dreams, bad dreams, go away. Good dreams, good dreams, come to stay. Close your eyes my little one, tomorrow will be lots of fun.” Amy giggles as I lean down to give her a hug and a kiss. “Love you, princess girl.”

  "I love you, Momma." She smiles up at me, and it makes all the stressful moments worth it.

  I quietly shut her door and walk out into the living room. Looking at the couch, I think about grabbing a glass of wine and enjoying some time to myself.

  Who are you kidding? You’ll be asleep after the second sip.

  I decide against the wine, grab a bottle of water, and head to my room. Sometimes I want to go get Amy and just pull her into my bed with me. I hate the loneliness that comes at night. Most nights I sleep with the TV on just so I’m not jumping at every noise I hear when the apartment is quiet. I turn on the TV and a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before is on. Knowing I’ll be passed out soon, I don’t even bother changing it.

  Lying down, my hand trails over the large empty space next to me. I’ve been so closed off since Amy’s dad screwed us over. I never wanted to put myself in that position again. Giving someone the power to hurt me was not going to happen. I still wonder how it would feel to have someone in our lives, a role model for Amy to see how a man should treat a woman. I’m thankful she was young enough when everything happened with her dad that she probably doesn’t remember any of it.

  We haven't heard from him in two years since he came clean about his affair and walked out on us. I had been a stay-at-home mom and had to scramble just to find a job to support us. I was just digging myself out of debt now because for two months we lived off of the credit cards I had. Some days I felt like I was drowning and others I thought I had my shit together. I wasn't close with my family, so I had no one to lean on but myself.

  When your back is against the wall, you really find out what you're made of. I was able to see I was so much stronger than I ever thought I was. I started out working at one of the local daycare centers, and the director took me under her wing. I was now running the four-year-old classroom and also had just been giving the responsibilities of assistant director.

  I catch myself falling asleep even though I'm trying to stay awake and enjoy the little bit of alone time I have.

  The bed dips beside me, and I jolt from the movement. Amy must have had another bad dream. "Climb under the covers and close your eyes, princess."

  When there is no response, I open my eyes to find a man hovering over me with one of my kitchen knives in his hand. I open my mouth to scream, but he covers it. "You scream, and your little princess might wake up. I'd hate to have to hurt her because her mother made a stupid choice. Understand?"

  I nod, and he takes his hand off my mouth.

  “You are so goddamn beautiful.” He uses the knife to pull the sheets down, the tip dragging over my body. “I have been dreaming about this.” His fingers roughly pinch my nipple and I yelp. “Ah, ah, ah. Remember what I said about being loud, Emma.”

  He knows my name. Who is he? The ski mask on his face shows me nothing except for the small holes cut out for his eyes and mouth.

  The knife slides under my shirt, and he jerks it up quickly, slicing through the thin fabric. Tears start to fall from my eyes, but I make sure to stay quiet. He does the same thing with my pants and panties, cutting them off until I am lying bare underneath him.

  "Don't cry, you're ruining it for me. You don't want me to be unsatisfied after this and go looking for more, right?" His eyes move to the door. He wouldn't, but even as I think that I know he would. "You will moan, tell me how good I feel, and how much you like this dick. Understand?"

  I nod, but I have no idea how I am going to get through this. His hands move down my body as he forces his fingers inside of me. I bite down on my lip to keep from crying out. He pulls out of me and raises his finger to his mouth.

  "You are too sweet to just have once. I am going to enjoy you tonight, and then I'll be back once a month on this date. You make sure that you're home or I'll be back, and I won't be happy. If you think I'm a monster now, you don't want to see what I'll be like then. Understand?"

  My stomach rolls and I have to fight the urge to throw up. He plans to come back.

  "If you go to the cops, or you tell anyone, I will pay a visit to your little princess, and you don't want to know how that will end. Maybe I'll even pick her up from Wee Care."

  My eyes widen. He knows where I work, where Amy goes to school.

  "Do you understand me, Emma?"

  I nod, and silent tears fall down my face as he lowers his mouth to me.

  Chapter One

  Cain

  “I get where you’re coming from, just make sure we cover our ass through all this shit.” I look over at Logan as he nods.

  Growing up in the club everyone knew we would end up officers someday. For Logan, everyone assumed it would be his older brother, Carter, but when the time came for their dad to step down, Carter didn't want it. Logan jumped at the chance and named me his Sergeant At Arms. Our dads still try to give us shit like we're kids, but we have the club running like a well-oiled fucking machine.

  “I’m going to head home. The early run this morning fucking killed me. See you tomorrow, brother.” I walk out of the office and through the main room. There is a party tonight, but hell, there is a party every night here.

  "Hey, Cain," Trixie says as her hand grasps my wrist. "How about we head up to your room?"

  "Not tonight. Go find someone else." I pull my wrist from her and keep walking toward the door. She's a good time when I'm bored, but lately, she's been too fucking clingy. All the officers have rooms upstairs away from the brothers’ rooms, but I also have an apartment. Sometimes it's nice to just get out of here a little. Plus, the more I hang around, the more the club girls are going to swarm. They all have this deluded fucking idea that one of us will fall in love with them and make them an old lady.

  Fuck. That. Shit.

  Not only do I not want an old lady but when I get one, she sure as fuck wouldn’t have ridden every other dick in the club.

  I hop onto my bike and give the prospect a nod as I pull out of the compound. My apartment building is only about ten minutes away, close enough in case I need to get to the club in a hurry, far enough that I can get away when I want to. Walking into the building, I check my mailbox, but it's empty as usual. I take the elevator up to my floor. When I step out, something catches my eye. A guy in a black hoodie is closing the door to the apartment near the stairs. His hood is pulled up, and it seems like something might be covering his face.

  I know the woman in that apartment. Quiet, pretty, always smiling,
and she has a little girl who is always bopping around with some doll in her arms.

  I should go to my apartment and mind my own goddamn business. For some reason, I can't get my feet to turn around. I start walking toward the door and when I go to knock the door opens a little. Before I can even say anything, I hear the muffled sound of crying.

  Fuck.

  “Hey, just checking to make sure—” My voice catches in my throat when I see her.

  The happy woman who always greets me with a smile is on the floor huddled against the couch completely naked. Her knees are drawn up to her chest. Her face is tear stained and red like she’s been hit. Even from fifteen feet away I can see her entire body shaking.

  I close the door and grab a blanket off the couch, placing it over her. I kneel down in front of her. “Are you okay? I’m going to call nine-one-one.”

  "No!" she screams, and her face twists in fear.

  "What do you mean no? Whoever the asshole who did something to you is needs to fucking pay." I reach into my pocket for my phone, but her hand grabs me tight.

  “You can’t. I can’t.” She is crying so hard each word seems forced. “He’ll—”

  "Mommy?" a tiny voice fills the large room, and I see her daughter standing there. She's rubbing her eyes and gripping a raggedy looking teddy bear.

  I look at the terrified woman in front of me. I can’t let her daughter see her like this. “Well, hey there, beautiful. What are you doing up?”

  "I thought I heard something. Is Mommy okay?" She starts to walk toward us, but I stand up and move to where she is before she can get far.

  “She’s okay, she just stubbed her toe really hard and yelled when it happened. Thinking that’s what you heard.” The little girl looks from me to where her mom is in front of the couch. “Hey, how about we get you a drink of water and you can show me your room?”

  A huge smile breaks out across her face. “I’m Amelia. My friends call me Amy.”

  I grab a bottle of water off the case that is on the table. “Well, my name is Cain. Can I call you Amy?”

  She arches an eyebrow at me like she’s considering my request. “I haven’t decided yet.” Amy laughs before running down the hallway.

  I follow her, knowing I need her to get back to bed and stay away from her mom right now. Walking into the bedroom, it looks like every little girl’s dream room. There are unicorns, rainbows, and princesses everywhere. "Well, this has to be one of the coolest bedrooms ever."

  Amy laugh as she climbs into bed. “Good night Cain.”

  “Good night, Miss Amelia.” I close her door and walk out into the living room.

  Walking over to the couch, I look down at her. "Your little girl is back in bed, and I doubt she had any idea anything was wrong. If you expect me not to call the cops, you need to start talking. Let's start with your name. If you didn't catch mine, it's Cain." I notice her clothes on the floor and pick them up to hand them to her, except they’re cut in half.

  Fuck.

  I walk back into the hallway and go into the room at the other end. Heading over to the dresser, I grab the first pair of pants and T-shirt I can find. When I walk back out, she's managed to wrap the blanket around her body, and she is standing up.

  “Grabbed these for you.” I hand them to her and turn my back. To give her some privacy.

  "Thank you."

  I turn around, and she is sitting on the couch. Her gaze is fixed on nothing, and the color is drained from her face. I walk over and sit in front of her.

  "My name is Emma."

  She looks me in the eye, and I can't look away. Her eyes are a deep green, and even though they look so fucking sad, they're beautiful. I wait for her to say something, but she has her eyes trained on the small hands wringing in her lap.

  "I know you don't know me for shit, but I need to know what happened. Especially if you're saying to me that you aren't going to the cops. I could help you more than you know." Like castrating that asshole and making sure he never breathes again.

  "I…I can't tell anyone." Her eyes don't meet mine, but I follow her gaze to the hallway where Amy's room is.

  "He threaten you?" She doesn't answer. I dip my head down, so my eyes catch hers. "Tell me."

  She nods as a few tears fall down her cheek.

  She's in no place that I'm going to get anything out of her right now. "Tell you what. Go to bed, and we can talk this shit over in the morning. I'm gonna stay here on the couch."

  Her breath catches like my offer surprises her. “No, it’s okay. We’ll be fine. He never comes back.”

  My head snaps up at that sentence. “What does that mean? This shit’s happened before?” No answer. “Emma, that’s the only question you need to answer tonight from me. After that go lie down and get some much needed rest, but I need that answer.”

  “Twice before.” Her voice is so quiet I almost don’t catch the response.

  What the fuck? He’s done this to her three times?

  “I know what you must think of me, but you don’t understand.” Tears fall freely, each one making small drops on her gray pants.

  I take her hands, and at first, she jumps before looking up at me. "I think you have an amazing kid back there. I think that whenever I see you, you're always smiling. I think that whoever is doing this will regret the very day they were born when I'm done."

  "You can't do anything. No one can." She stands up and walks toward the hallway. I want to go after her. I want to tell her that somehow I am going to make this shit right. I let her go, though. She needs to rest, and I need time to figure out what my next move is.

  I text Dom, asking him to pull camera feeds from anywhere he can find, and let him know what he’s looking for. Anytime the club needs something tech wise we go to him. Best part is that he isn’t the kind to ask questions.

  My hands scrub over my face.

  Dom: What is her last name?

  Me: Don’t know it

  Dom: How do you know her?

  Me: She lives in the building.

  Dom: Watch where you choose to stick your nose brother.

  Me: Yep.

  I know he’s right. With all the shit the club gets into we don’t need any added attention. There is no way in hell I can just walk away from this situation, though.

  I need to help her.

  To make sure she’s safe.

  And I don’t even know that I really understand why.

  Chapter Two

  Emma

  The sound of Amy yelling jolts me from my sleep. Throwing the covers off me, I run out into the living room to find her hitting Cain with a pillow. I’m about to tell her to stop when he shoots up yelling “boo” and scaring her. Amy starts to laugh and then runs over to me, hiding behind my legs.

  Cain's eyes meet mine, and I freeze. I know he said last night that he was staying, but I didn't think he actually would. I’d seen him a handful of times in the building, but we have never spoken more than a ‘hi' to each other. His eyes seem to scan my body like he's making sure everything is intact.

  "Mornin'," he says as he stands up. The hat he had on last night is lying on the couch, his buzz cut is a little bit long, and his beard is a bit disheveled. I can't help but stare as he seems to be stretching after being scrunched up on my tiny couch all night. His blue eyes meet mine and it’s almost like I can't move under his gaze. "Hey, Amelia, how about some breakfast?"

  "Yes! I'm like so hungry. I could eat a cow!" Amy runs over to him, jumping up and down in excitement.

  “Well, I don’t have a cow, but how about a pig? I have bacon and eggs. You can even help.” He winks at her and starts walking toward the kitchen with Amy hot on his heels.

  “I actually don’t think I have any of that.” I usually grocery shop on weekends so come Friday we are down to the bare bones.

  “You didn’t.” Cain looks back at me and smiles. “I had it taken care of.”

  What is that even supposed to mean? "Oh, I didn't realize you went out
this morning already."

  He pulls a kitchen chair up to the table for Emma then walks closer to me. "I didn't. I told you last night I wasn't leaving and I meant it. I had it taken care of. No big deal." His hand rubs my arm, and my skin immediately heats under his touch. "Now I'm going to make breakfast with Amelia, then after that, we are going to talk about everything. Relax until then."

  He walks away from me and whispers something in Amy’s ear that makes her laugh. The two of them start cracking the eggs and getting pans out of the cabinet. Walking over to the counter I grab a cup of coffee and sit at the table, just watching.

  Cain interacts with Emma like he's known her for her whole life. Looking at him, I would have never assumed he would be like this. He looks so intimidating and serious. I watch them make breakfast, enjoying a sight I never expected I'd see, at least not any time soon. When Amy walks over with the plate for me, she has such a proud smile on her face. "This looks amazing, princess, thank you."

  She wiggles a finger at me, and I bend my head down to her. "Cain did most of it, but he said I could take credit."

  I look at him, mouthing the words ‘thank you.’ He smiles back at me, and I swear it hits me right in my chest. We eat breakfast with easy conversation and lots of laughs. I look over at the man sitting across from me, who as of last night was a total stranger to me. For some reason, he's taken an interest in us. He slept on my couch last night, knowing I was scared. He helped me with Amy, knowing I was in no place to last night. I'm trying not to be suspicious and skeptical, but I can't help wonder what his motives are. Why would he want to help us the way he is?

  "Mommy, I'm done. Can I go play?" Amy looks over at me, and I nod. "Cain, do you want to play? I have lots of extra princess dresses and crowns."

  Cain chokes on the bite of food he had been chewing. “I need to talk to your mom for a little but maybe after that.”