Strike (Completion Series) Read online

  Strike

  The Completion Series

  Holly S. Roberts

  Published by H.S. Roberts

  Copyright 2014 Holly S. Roberts

  [email protected]

  http://hollysroberts.wordpress.com

  Strike

  The Completion Series

  Printing History

  eBook Edition: January 2014

  All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

  This is a work of fiction. ALL characters are derived from the author’s imagination.

  No person, brand, or corporation mentioned in this Book should be taken to have endorsed this Book nor should the events surrounding them be considered in any way factual.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter One

  The dirty, cracked vinyl on the bus seat rubbed uncomfortably against the back of my bare thighs. My short shorts offered little protection for my ass, but the irritation kept my mind off the next two hours.

  I refused to dwell on what made me desperate enough to continue on my premeditated unlawful activity, because I’d spent the past three days talking myself into it.

  The city bus finally made its last stop of the night, the squeaky brakes adding to my tension. I walked down the steps without looking at the driver. I was sure he’d seen it all and my plans to commit a felony wouldn’t cause him to blink an eye but I still didn’t want him seeing my face. I pulled my dark hoodie lower over my face, bunched the ends of my sleeves in my fists, and began the second leg of my journey. The early spring night was chilly, but my legs warmed up quickly as I walked.

  Several miles later, the uneven sidewalks gave way to wide paths and the small, sporadic bushes changed to large swooping trees. The area slowly transformed from compact neighborhoods to large showy mansions. I stopped under streetlights to check my penciled map on a wrinkled scrap of paper before continuing to my crazily planned destination.

  Do not get caught. Do not get caught.

  The litany ran through my mind. I had so much to lose, but this is what happened when someone was desperate. That someone was me, and I refused to allow my usually good judgment to change my chosen path.

  Do. Not. Get. Caught.

  After turning down the final street, I looked around and spotted the address. A low brick decorative wall surrounded the property with a large circular driveway leading to the front of the dark two-story house. I left the bus around eleven, so I figured it was now after midnight. I placed the directions in my hoodie pocket, clasped my trembling fingers tightly together, and inhaled quickly.

  I can do this. I wouldn’t back down now.

  Taking another deep breath, I forced my feet to carry me forward. I stepped onto the perfectly manicured lawn, moving swiftly to the side of the house. There was no gate to keep people out, but a sign in the yard read, “Protected by Bullet Plus Security.” The “Plus” was overkill. This was Texas—bullets protected everything.

  I pulled a small flashlight out of my pocket and began looking into the windows. I avoided touching the glass, knowing it might trigger the alarm. I finally located a room on the side of the house with an enclosed glass cabinet against the back wall. If I was lucky, it held what I’d come for.

  Finesse wasn’t part of my dash-and-grab strategy, so I pulled the medium-sized rock from my pocket. One hit was all I had time for, so I made sure I smashed hard against the glass. The window shattered noisily, but there was no going back now, and I quickly managed to squeeze through the broken pane. Time was not on my side and I needed to be long gone before the police arrived. I ran around two large chairs straight toward the cabinet. Unfortunately, I ran into a brick wall before I reached it.

  The jarring pain to my midsection took the air from my lungs as a low grunt holding the last of my oxygen huffed from my chest. I landed on my back, hitting my head on the floor. Panic from lack of air had me scrambling to get up. Before I could roll over, a large body landed on my chest.

  Being caught and the all-too-real-possibility of going to prison were superseded by my need to breathe. My hood flew from my head then a firm pull on my hair had my eyes watering as strong arms dragged me across the room. No sound escaped my throat…sound required oxygen. My feet bumped along limp-noodle style.

  The light flipped on and I slammed my eyes shut against the brightness.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” the rough voice demanded.

  My eyes popped open.

  My hair was clenched in one of his hands, the front of my sweatshirt in the other. My teeth rattled as he shook me with each tightly controlled word.

  “Fucking. Answer. Me.”

  My body flopped around like dead weight. I wanted to say something—scream, cry, anything, but I had no air in my lungs and was close to passing out.

  I barely registered the grumbled, “Fuck,” that came from my attacker.

  Using my hair, he pulled my head down so I leaned forward slightly. A few seconds later, the air rushed back into my chest and I gasped. I tried to stand up, but a solid push to the front of my shoulders sent me falling backward. I landed in one of the large cushioned chairs. By now, my eyes were adjusting to the light and I could see nothing but bare skin looming over me.

  The man was completely naked—every amazing muscled inch on full display. My gaze traveled upward. Even in my current predicament, his spectacular body had my mouth watering. Holy jeeze, this guy was underwear-model gorgeous.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  He was pissed off. Go figure. I was scared shitless, but my mouth had a mind of its own. In my current state, I had no control over what came out. “Fuck you.”

  “What?”

  “Fu…”

  The sharp jerk to my hair stopped me from finishing.

  His hot breath puffed across my face as his voice dropped deadly low. “Think twice before you utter another word. Who.” Another jerk to my hair. “The fuck. Are you?” His crystal blue eyes glared into mine from two inches away.

  My life and the lives of those who needed me was over. I had nothing to lose and survival instinct took over. My forehead connected with his nose.

  That had to hurt.

  “You fucking little bitch.”

  Yep, it hurt.

  The pull on my scalp ceased abruptly as he backed up and put a hand to his face. A small amount of blood ran between his fingers. This was it. I kicked out and up, aiming for his uncovered groin. His protective instinc
ts were good, because he moved slightly and I only connected with his inner thigh. He grunted in pain. I scrambled up from the chair thinking I had a chance to get away.

  “Ahh,” I screamed.

  He had my hair again and this time, he didn’t mess around. I was on the floor with him straddling my chest in under two seconds. I thrashed until his hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen.

  He wouldn’t.

  He did.

  Black dots clouded my vision. This was the end of my short life and I had no one to blame but myself. When my world faded to gray going black, the fingers around my neck slowly loosened, allowing me to gulp in air.

  “I’m done playing around,” he practically spit out.

  The pressure on my chest eased and I was flipped to my stomach. His hard, prying fingers dug inside my pants pockets finding nothing. He slipped his hands beneath my hips, searching my front ones. I commenced squirming until a hard palm landed on my ass.

  “Oww, that hurt.”

  “Not as much as my fucking nose and if you don’t start talking, a handprint on your ass isn’t going to be your only problem.”

  He pulled the scribbled map and my state identification card from my hoodie pocket. I’d brought the card in case someone shot me. It was a real possibility and right now I was thinking it was the better alternative.

  “Fuck me, I thought you were a teenage punk. You don’t look like you’re twenty.” His eyes traveled slowly over my body. “This makes it much more interesting.”

  I didn’t like his tone, but had little time to contemplate what it meant because a phone started ringing somewhere in his house. He pulled me up by my hair and forced me out of the room, down a hall, and into his kitchen.

  He picked up the phone and his facial expressions showed he somehow managed to flip an internal mental switch. His voice sounded calm and reasonable, but I could see the artery in his neck pulsing and knew I was still in trouble.

  “Everything’s fine. Yes, lights out.”

  What the hell was lights out?

  I could tell when he slammed his mental switch in the other direction because the phone hit the cradle with a crash as he jerked me farther into the room. Stupidly, I reached toward a large butcher-block knife set picturing the largest one in my hand and sliding effortlessly between his ribs. He roughly jerked me away. Truthfully, I doubt I could have stabbed him, but this was all about the bluster. He opened a drawer and reached inside with one hand, keeping his other at the nape of my neck and his fingers wound tightly through my hair. The back of my head was killing me and I had no idea why globs of hair weren’t trailing on the floor behind us.

  “Here it is.” Obviously, this was his “ah ha” moment, the ass.

  Reluctantly, I took my eyes off the knives and saw him pull out a roll of duct tape from the back of the drawer.

  No fucking way.

  My flailing arms and legs only seemed to cause him minor irritation. I couldn’t believe how easily he swung me into a kitchen chair and started taping me to the damn thing.

  Naked Adonis or not, this was going too far. “This is kidnapping, you son of a bitch.”

  His smile was wickedly deceptive. “Really, you wanna go there?”

  My panic was making me stupid. “Just call the police.”

  “Too damn late for that. I’m injured.” He touched his bloody nose then looked down toward his inner thigh.

  I followed the direction of his gaze, but couldn’t help zeroing in on something bigger than the already forming bruise left by my foot. When the hell did that happen? My attacker had a hard on and it continued to grow. I stared in horrified fascination.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” His obvious disgust at my observation was almost comical. He looked from me to his dick then back at me.

  I knew I was stupid to challenge him, but my mouth was always the first thing to get me into trouble. “It’s not my fault your porker won’t behave.”

  I still couldn’t take my eyes off the biggest cock I’d ever seen. Not that I had vast experience, but his was scary in a Guinness Book of World Records kind of way. He bent over, obscuring my view of his jolly giant and wrapped tape around my ankles. Without saying another word, he left the room. I couldn’t help but notice that his tight ass cheeks weren’t bad either. Here I was in deep shit and couldn’t stop thinking about his ripped bod. Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I couldn’t get the picture of his penis out of my mind. I needed to come up with a plausible explanation for breaking and entering, but my thoughts kept returning to his dick. Did it really fit where it was meant to go? I shook my head in consternation.

  Focus. I must focus.

  With sudden inspiration, I decided girly tears might sway him. He returned wearing a pair of jeans that rode low on his hips. His erection was squeezed tightly by the unforgiving material but quite evident.

  Owww!

  His bare feet peeked out past the slight flare at his ankles. And the way he moved…pure athletic grace. My eyes traveled upward, landing on his naked chest—movie star perfect six-pack abs. I tried not to drool, but a little might have drizzled down my chin when I took in the perfection of his chest before moving to his shoulders and arms. It wasn’t only his cock that was big. Each defined muscle had my thighs clenching.

  I finally met his eyes and saw him appraising me in the same manner. I didn’t like the evil grin turning his full lips into a sneer. I was in so much trouble.

  He cocked his head slightly, his sneer easing. “I think you’ve had me at a disadvantage, so now we’re going to turn the tables.” His eyes traveled over me again. “You have one last chance to tell me what the fuck you’re doing in my house.” His voice had grown deceptively husky.

  I pressed my lips together, blinked my eyes rapidly, and tried to squeeze out a tear. It almost hurt, but dammit, the waterworks just wouldn’t flow.

  When I didn’t respond, the sides of his eyes crinkled and his smile grew. “Oh, baby, I was hoping that was your answer.”

  His gruff words sent goose bumps across my flesh, and I guessed he took my silence for an answer. I watched him stride, and oh man could he stride, to the butcher block and pull out a small paring knife. He turned, pointing the knife toward me, causing his sex appeal to take a sudden nosedive. I slammed my eyes shut.

  “Don’t move,” he practically purred as he leaned in and his warm breath bathed my cheek.

  My hoodie and t-shirt were pulled away from my body, and my eyes popped open. Before I could scream, he sliced the neckline of my shirt, cutting the material straight down the front. He jerked the edges out of his way and sliced through the front of my bra. I was too afraid of the knife slipping to move a muscle.

  I had two seconds of shock after he moved the knife away and my mouth took over. “You son of a bitch pervert. I’ll kill you.” I rocked back and forth in the chair trying to topple it.

  His grin didn’t calm me in the least. “You broke into my house, gave me a bloody nose, almost took away my chance at fathering children, and now you’re pissed off because your tits are showing?” He actually laughed. “Hold still because believe me, baby, I’m not finished.”

  “Like hell you’re not.” If he would only come closer, I would bite off his nose.

  With no effort, he cut the arms of my shirt and hoodie away, pulled my chest forward, and tore everything from my upper body. He easily avoided my snapping teeth.

  “Well, whoever you are, you do have nice tits, I’ll give you that.”

  All my bravado left and the first tear slid down my face. Unfortunately, it was real.

  His voice held no pity whatsoever. “Feeling violated?”

  I looked up into his unforgiving eyes, but before I could beg, his doorbell rang, and his hand slammed over my mouth. He reached for the tape and tore a piece off using it to cover my mouth before he walked from the room.

  The front door was nowhere near the kitchen, but his voice echoed and I could hear his side of
the conversation.

  “Yes?” he said.

  Mumbled sounds were all I got until he spoke again.

  “Yes, officers, there was a problem earlier. Someone tried to break in and I caught him sneaking into the broken window. Unfortunately, he got away before I could snag the little heathen. I’m pretty sure it was a kid and I didn’t feel like my life was in danger…more like it was a dare or something.”

  Shit! He was so smooth. I was going from scared to full mind-numbing terror. I broke into the house of a serial killer, or worse a serial rapist with the biggest cock on the planet.

  Chapter Two

  “No, officers, I was hoping not to have a police report because the media loves this type of thing. I understand you’ve come to my home, but I don’t want a big deal made out of it. I’ll speak to my alarm company so there’s no misunderstanding in the future.”

  The words echoed through the house and with each one, my heart pounded harder. Maybe if I could tip the chair, it would make enough noise to alert the cops. Jail was preferable to what I imagined was going to happen.

  I didn’t hear the front door shut because I finally managed to tip over. Unable to break my fall, I hit my cheek against the tile. Pain rattled my teeth and raced through my already aching head.

  “What the hell have you done now?” His voice held complete disgust.

  I barely managed to open my eyes.

  He grabbed the chair, and me, pulling me back upright, tilting my world, though it could be my head injuries causing the spinning motion.

  “You must be the dumbest female I’ve ever met.”

  He tore the tape from my skin, uncovering my mouth in a single painful tug.

  “Please don’t kill me.” The swelling on my cheek made my mouth feel funny and my words slurred a little.

  Just the corners of his lips tilted up. “Hell, I don’t need to kill you. I think you’ll do that on your own. But you’re lucky I didn’t shoot you first and ask questions later.”

  He took a step back, appraising me. Minutes passed before his expression slowly changed. He ran his hands through his hair and then against his cheek and chin. I watched as different emotions played across his features.