The Pack and The Ruffian

Surprises

Paine threw her whiskey glass across the room. It shattered, pieces spilled across the woman tied to the steaks on the floor, chest. The woman closed her eyes and turned her head to the side to try and avoid getting any glass pieces in her eyes. Paine almost laughed. The woman must be in so much pain as she lay there, and yet she flinched from a few pieces of glass. “Clever, they were clever,” Paine muttered. “I made a mistake, underestimating them,” Paine told the woman as she pressed a piece of the glass into the woman’s flesh with her foot. “Doesn’t matter, they don’t know my exact location. You did what I asked you, didn’t you?” She knelt beside the woman. Her hands pressed the woman’s breasts. “You put the barrier around my home as I asked you?” She smiled as the woman nodded furiously. “Good.” Paine pushed to her feet again and the woman let out a breath of relief. Paine paced to the window and back, her eyes tracked between the woman on her floor and the man she’d picked up the night before. He was still asleep. Unaware of the pain he’d experienced that day. She felt the excitement rise, overtaking the worry that had taken over her body when she’d felt the probe at her mind. They’d been clever to use Taylor to track her. When Paine had first felt the probe, she’d nearly driven her car off the road. But then, she’d realized what was happening. She knew who had helped them. Knew where Mya would have gone for help. But how had they found Ava? No one had seen her in years. How had they been able to locate her hidey-hole? “Doesn’t matter.” She muttered. “As long as you keep doing your job, witch.” She pointed a finger at the woman lying on her floor. Paine’s eyes narrowed as she met the witch’s eyes. “What are you up to?” Paine walked to her again and sat down next to her, her legs crossed as she picked up a shard of glass. “You don’t want me to hurt you anymore. I mean you’ve endured so much already. Don’t make me do more when I have him to take my mind off you.” She nodded toward the man who stirred on the bed. “Oh, look!” She clapped her hands and grinned down at the witch. “He’s awake.” Her eyes lit up as he moaned. He’d have felt the spiked handcuffs she’d put on him. “How long do you think he’s going to last?”

“Don’t do this!” The woman said. “Just let him go. You have me.”

“Oh sweet! You’re begging for his life?” Paine shook her head and drew the shard from the woman’s rib cage. Then watched a jagged scar appear, blood ran down her side and pooled on the carpet. “Beg again, witch.”

“If you kill me, the barrier goes down.” The woman said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t want to kill you.” Paine put her finger in her mouth and then ran her finger over the cut, it closed, the bleeding stopped. “See, all good again.”

“How?”

“I have a little magic of my own, witch.” Paine stood. “You can keep begging. I don’t care either way. But he will beg, over and over again.” Paine laughed.

“Why are you doing this?” The woman asked, she tugged at her restraints, feeling the cuffs dig into her flesh. “Why us?”

“Obviously, I need you for your witchy powers. And him, you love him, he loves you. And he’ll beg for your life, and you’ll beg for yours. I feed on giving pain, making people suffer as much as I can. He’ll heal himself. You, I can heal. So, this way, I won’t have to go out hunting for a while.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

“Isis?” The man whispered, fear making his voice quiver. “Isis is that you?”

“I’m here, Rock.”

Paine ignored their words, walked to the window, and looked out over the backyard. So far, she was sure that they didn’t know where she was exactly. She was going to be very upset if she had to move again before she was ready. But if she read Taylor right, then they only knew she was in Amber, nothing more. She could use that against them. Surely now, they would come. Mya would never stay away, knowing that Paine was in Amber. She could take the people around Mya out one by one. She could make her wonder just who Paine would kill next. She was still hidden. For now. Paine turned to the brother and sister she’d taken. He wasn’t her blood brother. But they were raised together. She was going to enjoy making him f**k his sister. But first, she had a thirst, a need. Paine went to the witch and, carefully this time, took the shards off her. She straddled the witch’s chest and lowered her head to take the woman’s c**t in her mouth. Using her influence and power, she drove the witch to orgasm after orgasm, before lowering her own wetness down on the witch’s mouth.

Hunter slammed the car door as the four of them, Ash, Michelle, and Gem stepped out onto the curb in front of the bar owned by Simile. They wanted to find out if Simile had any idea where they could go looking for Paine. And Hunter wanted to see for herself if this stranger from Amber City could be trusted.

“Babe, promise me we are not going to leave here with an enemy,” Gem said and slipped her hand into Hunter's.

“I’m not going to cause s**t. We’re here to ask them some questions. If they are as open to helping us as they say, then that won’t be a problem.” Hunter grinned down at Gem, who shook her head.

“I’m with Gem on this. Michelle said. We can’t create enemies for Sam and Amber.”

“We won’t. Unless they’re hiding something. Then they are enemies anyway,” Hunter said.

“Can’t argue with that,” Ash said. “Let’s see what they have to say.” They walked into the bar and walked straight to the bar where a woman was polishing glasses.

“What can I get you?” She asked with a smile.

“Just your boss,” Hunter said.

The woman’s smile vanished, and she set the glass and cloth down. “In connection with what?”

“That’s our business, and hers,” Hunter said again.

“We just need to talk to her, we’re from Silver Moon.” Gem stepped in front of Hunter and smiled at the woman. “Just tell her that Sam and Amber sent us.”

“Hold on.” The woman walked to the other end of the bar and picked up a phone. She spoke for a few seconds then put the phone back down. Then they ignored them.

Hunter swore and tried to shove past Gem. When a smooth voice spoke behind them, “Hello. I’m Simile. Lilith, has an aversion to strangers.” She held out her hand. “I’m sorry for your reception. Please come back and we can talk privately in my office.”

“Hi, Hunter, and this is Gem, Michelle, and Ash.” Hunter shook her hand then nodded to the woman behind her. “If she dislikes people so much, why make her your bar lady?” Hunter asked.

“She’s good at her job. And we hardly ever get strangers. She’s okay with the regulars.” Simile turned and led the way to her office.

“We actually just want to ask if you may have any idea where we could find this Paine woman?” Gem said as they settled in Simile’s office. Ash walked around looking at the artwork covering the walls.

“These are amazing,” Ash said. “Sorry. Ignore me.”

Simile laughed. “They are amazing, yes.” She looked back to Gem. “As for where Paine could be, I have no idea. She stayed in a hotel when we were together. The last time I dropped her off, she was still living there. After she told me to phone Sam, I went there, and they said she’d checked out months before.” Simile shrugged. “I have no idea…” She trailed off. “Hold on.” Simile reached for the phone and dialed a number. “Hey, baby.” She said after a while. “Wait, hold on.” She shook her head as the woman on the other end went off on a rant. “I have a couple of friends here from Silver Moon… no, not Sam and Amber.” She held up her hand as if the woman on the other end could see it. “Em, hold on! Your house, the one you bought when you came here to look for me… yes, the old ghost house. Who did you say bought it?”

As Simile wrote down an initial and surname, Hunter felt her blood start to pound in her ears. They had a lead, a solid one. She just knew it. Gem squeezed her hand and she looked down to see Gem shake her head lightly. “Let’s wait and hear what she says.”

“It’s the lead we want, I know it!” Hunter said.

“Okay, so here. I wrote the address down for you. But be careful.” Simile handed Hunter the paper she’d written on. “She’s sneaky.”

“Oh, we have a good idea just how sneaky she is,” Hunter growled. “Thank you for that.”

“I could join you,” Simile said as she stood.

“No, thank you, but no.” Gem said. “Sam said to keep you and Emily out of it as much as we can.”

“They were there when we needed them the most. It would be a pleasure to return the favor.”

“Then you’ll be the first we call if we need help,” Ash promised. They said goodbye and walked out to the car. Hunter reached into her pocket and took out her phone.

“Wait.” Gem said. “Why don’t we go check it out first?” She looked at the others. “Make sure it’s a solid lead before we give Mya hope.”

“I’m good with that,” Hunter said. “You two?”

“Okay, sure,” Michelle said after looking at Ash.

“Right, okay.” Hunter typed the address into the GPS of the car and started the car. “Let’s go get us a Ruffian.”