Slashing Away: A Dark Psychological Thriller (Gushers Series Book 2) Read online

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  The door closed behind Leah. Samantha stopped making the sandwiches. She brushed her tears away before Holden or Tommy showed up. The last thing she needed was for Holden to catch her crying.

  Samantha still hadn’t talked to Holden yet about Saturday night’s “party” across the street. It had been fun. Samantha couldn’t recall the last time she had so much fun doing something on a Saturday night. Rebecca and Turner were wonderful hosts. They provided a huge spread of food and drinks. The sangria was amazing. And the conversation had been a blast. Turner was a cut-up. Samantha figured his personality was a large reason why he was such a successful salesman. The man could talk about anything. And he was very charming.

  It wasn’t until the sex happened when things went south. Samantha had been nervous all night about the possibility of getting into something with Holden in front of people. Yet, she was drawn to the naughtiness of it too. Samantha was no prude. She liked to have fun. But taking off your clothes in front of other people was scary. Then doing something sexual on top of that? Nauseating.

  Samantha was grateful the sex happened spontaneously without much talk or preamble. It would have given her too much time to back away or tense up about it. Because it happened almost naturally, Samantha found it easier to go with the flow. The sangrias helped it along as well.

  Thankfully, Samantha was able to keep her bathing suit on. Not that she would have been competition for Rebecca’s figure. Samantha couldn’t help but be self-conscious of her body next to Rebecca. Rebecca’s body was built for being put on display.

  The sex was wonderful. Once it got rolling, Samantha was shocked to find she found it very sexy to see Rebecca’s breasts and her full ass cheeks. She watched Rebecca put Turner in her mouth and Samantha wished she could reach over and help out. It surprised her how wild her thoughts became. Samantha supposed if somebody brought up the idea of switching partners or writhing around together with all four people, she would’ve been game.

  Until the look.

  Samantha first picked up on Holden looking at Rebecca. A twinge of jealousy shot through her belly. Samantha couldn’t blame Holden for wanting to look at Rebecca naked. Heck, she did it herself. How could a living soul not be curious to see what God had blessed her with. It was a work of art!

  But the look remained. A little too long. And then Rebecca looked at Holden. And her petty jealousy turned to hurt. Rebecca wasn’t trying to check out Holden’s body the way he appeared to check hers. Holden was very fit and had a nice set of abs, his buns were tight, and his chest and arms still reflected the exercise he did. Even at his age.

  It was the eye contact.

  Rebecca didn’t look at Holden’s ass or his stomach. She looked at his eyes. And held the gaze. Both of them locked eyes. And didn’t let up.

  That’s when she knew.

  Samantha wasn’t a fool. There was something between them. Something she had never imagined possible. What she needed to determine was whether they had knowledge of each other before Saturday night. Or did Saturday night spark something. Setting an attraction in motion. Something which could ruin their marriage.

  She heard someone making their way down the hall upstairs. In a moment, Tommy or Holden would be in the kitchen looking for their lunch. Samantha sniffed hard to suck up her runny nose. She dabbed the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. She still had turkey and bologna on her finger so she didn’t want to touch her face directly.

  Samantha buried the hurt deep within her chest. She hoped she was making something out of nothing. Her mind told her where there was smoke, there was fire. She would find out what was going on.

  For now, she would stay quiet.

  Chapter 20

  Ryan had followed Todd to the convenience store. His goal was get Todd alone so he could talk to him about everything without the drama of their peers. When school ended, Ryan hung back in the parking lot. He waited for Todd to pull out of his spot. Then he tailed Todd home. But Todd stopped off for a soda or something first.

  Ryan was relieved Todd hadn’t gone straight home. He feared if that had been the case, then Todd could too easily have ignored Ryan and went inside. A public encounter, away from The First Cut, would work out to Ryan’s benefit.

  He slowly pulled into a parking spot several spaces from Todd’s car. Ryan paused within his car until he saw Todd paying for his drink. Then he made his way to the store. Pacing himself to arrive at the door as the same time as Todd on his way out, Ryan’s plan was perfect.

  Todd grimaced as he swung the door open in front of Ryan. Ryan tried to force a surprised look on his face. Todd held the door open for Ryan, looking off across the parking lot. Ryan could see Todd was going to be civil but try avoiding talking to him.

  “It’s okay. I guess I don’t need to go in yet.”

  Todd pursed his lips and stepped out of the doorway. His eyes met Ryan’s briefly before staring into the distance.

  “Look, Todd, I know things have been...different lately. You have every right to be upset with me.” Ryan noticed Todd’s expression soften. Not much though.

  “No worries.” Todd responded, looking down at his Coke.

  “Well, it’s been bothering me.” Ryan needed to draw Todd out. His plan to confront Todd had been successful. But he realized he hadn’t thought beyond following his friend. Now that he had his attention, Ryan had to work hard to make the conversation work. “We’ve been good friends forever. And I chose pussy over you. It wasn’t cool of me.”

  “I’m glad you understand what you did wrong.” Todd folded his arms, resting the bottle of Coke against his chest.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. But I hope we can still be friends.”

  Ryan and Todd stepped aside to allow customers to enter the convenience store. Todd nodded toward his car. Ryan followed him.

  Todd rested the soda on the roof of his car and leaned back against the driver side door. He sighed aloud.

  “What do you think about Zoe and The First Cut?”

  Ryan thought before responding. He wasn’t sure if Todd was testing him or if he was just searching for common ground. Something to begin to bridge the damage that had been done. Ryan chose to play it conservatively, figuring he knew Todd’s opinion on the subject. Maybe he could also work in his own test for Todd.

  “Zoe is out of control. I’m not a fool. But she lets me fuck her. A lot.”

  Todd smirked. “Pussy is pussy, dude. You’ve never had trouble finding any before. So why is Zoe’s snatch so special?”

  “It’s more than pussy, man. She makes me fuck her in the ass.” Ryan felt like a little kid once the words came out. His life really was that simplistic. Zoe gave him what he wanted most in life.

  Todd chuckled. “You’re an ass clown, man. I guess you’ll never change.” He grabbed his soda and took a sip. “I still remember the first time you blew off football practice in fifth grade so you can get extra help after school with Ms. Guillen. Those big sloppy titties were more important to you than playing ball.”

  Ryan chuckled. “Yeah. She had great tits. And she smelled like flowers too. I remember trying to get as close as I could so I can sniff her.”

  Todd put the soda back down on the roof of the car. “Look, dude. This is serious. We have to stop Zoe before things get out of control.” Todd corrected himself quickly. “Before things get even more out of control. I need to know you have my back. It’s hard enough going up against Zoe and Spencer. But if you stand with us then we can change things.”

  “Who’s us? You and Jordyn?” Ryan began to press for information.

  “Jordyn and Leah and Aiden. The four of us think things have gone off the rails.”

  Ryan felt surprised Todd had obviously spoken with Leah and Aiden about his opinion. If all four of them were together on opposing Zoe and Spencer then Ryan had to be cautious how things played out. And which side he landed on. Four against three already had the o
dds pegged against him.

  “I’m on your side, dude. I didn’t like how things went down the other night. I was confused. I let my dick do the thinking for me because I was totally shocked.” Ryan knew he wasn’t exactly lying about it.

  Todd nodded. His eyes scoured Ryan’s face, making Ryan uncomfortable.

  “Like I said, man. Pussy is everywhere. And if you are into corn-holing then you should just hang out with Donovan in the locker room.”

  Ryan sneered. Donovan was a blatantly gay student who loved to make inappropriate comments after gym class. He got off on seeing the other guys cover up their privates or wince at his come-ons. From a distance, it was funny for everyone. Except when they were the focus of Donovan’s behavior.

  “I don’t think Donovan can handle all THIS as good as Zoe.” Ryan pointed both hands down at his crotch.

  They both laughed for a moment. As the laughter died down, Todd picked up his soda and gulped a few times. “I gotta get going.” Todd held up a hand to offer a handshake. Ryan grasped Todd’s hand and they both squeezed. “Thanks for coming clean with me. I was really pissed, dude. I’m still upset, but I think we can work it out.”

  Ryan felt the relief wash over his body. He controlled himself so he wouldn’t come off as too desperate. “Cool, man. Thanks.”

  “Just remember which side you’re on when the shit hits the fan.”

  Todd swung his door open and slid in behind the steering wheel. As he closed the door and started the engine, Ryan asked Todd for clarification.

  “Wait. What do you mean when things hit the fan? What’s gonna happen?” Ryan stared as Todd re-considered his words. Was Todd going to do something to disturb the peace in The First Cut? Were the others in on it too? Or was he just being paranoid about nothing? Why would Todd bring it up if nothing was behind the comment?

  “Nothing. I just meant, it’s only a matter of time before Zoe goes on another heavy power trip, man. And when she does, we have to stick together.” Todd grinned and waved. He backed his car out of the spot and never looked back.

  Ryan stood on the edge of the sidewalk, watching Todd pull out onto Madison Avenue. He wondered what else could be going on behind the scenes. He thought he should probably try to dig around with Jordyn and Aiden to see if he could uncover what Todd might be thinking about.

  Ryan reminded himself to start paying closer attention to what goes on around him.

  Chapter 21

  Holden stepped into the coffee shop. His eyes lingered over the heads dotted along the tables and couches. He didn’t find who he was looking for so he decided to order a coffee. Holden hadn’t been sleeping well the last few nights. Meetings at work were getting under his skin, making his mood sour.

  And now he had to deal with this shit.

  As Holden picked up the coffee he ordered, his eyes caught her by the faux fireplace, in the corner. Holden felt his testicles curl up into his stomach. Let’s get this shit over with, he thought to himself.

  Holden approached the intimate table in the corner. He was happy she at least had the decency to choose a discrete place, several towns over. She could have forced him into meeting her in a place downtown. If anybody had encountered them then the rumors would really circulate.

  “Holden.”

  He bristled as he stood above her. “I’m Mr. Fisher to you.” Holden pulled the chair out and sat down in front of her.

  Jordyn smirked. “Whatever, Holden.”

  He couldn’t wait to get back to his car. Holden planned on calling Rebecca and giving her an earful for not taking care of the situation with her daughter. In the meantime, he needed to get home to Samantha before she got any thoughts. He still felt like shit for coming home late last night.

  “I really need to get home, so let’s get to the point.”

  Jordyn leaned across the table and stroked his hand. Holden jerked back and glared at her.

  “Oh, Holden. Do you really think you are in a position to call the shots?”

  His temper began to rise. Holden prided himself on keeping his Irish temper in check, most times. In his youth, he was the stereotypical, feisty redheaded boy. He liked to think he had matured beyond those days. Right now, he pictured reaching across the table and choking Rebecca’s daughter for jerking him around.

  “I know you think you caught us cheating, but it’s not like that.”

  “Really? Because it looked EXACTLY like that to me.”

  Holden squirmed but decided to push this back into Rebecca’s yard. Jordyn was her kid and this whole thing was Rebecca’s fault. She kept after him and he was too weak to stay away from her. “You think you are mature enough to handle the truth? Fine. Your parents are freaky. They had sex in the hot tub right in front of us Saturday night.”

  “And I suppose you only sat back and watched? Or did you and your wife run home, appalled at what they did?” Her eyes narrowed in accusation.

  Holden knew he it would be more difficult to talk his way out of this one. “What do you want, Jordyn?”

  “Mmmm, I like a man who gets right to business.”

  Holden watched Jordyn closely. She reminded him of Rebecca. The seductive mannerisms and the innuendo. Like mother, like daughter.

  “You have something I want. And I have something you want.”

  He put his coffee down. “And what do you have that I could want?”

  Jordyn giggled. The sound sent a shiver up his spine. He had to blink to be sure Rebecca wasn’t sitting across from him.

  “I have your secret. I know you want it to stay a secret. I’m sure ‘Samantha’ wouldn’t be happy to hear about the news.”

  “Don’t fucking threaten me. This is your mother’s fault.”

  Jordyn ignored his comment. “And you have what I want. Your dick.”

  Holden sat back in the chair. He wondered if Jordyn had just said what he thought he heard. “What?”

  “I want your dick. But don’t flatter yourself. You’re not my type. And I’m sure you couldn’t keep up with me.”

  Holden looked around the coffee shop. The hair on the back of his neck prickled because people may overhear their conversation. Jordyn was enjoying his discomfort. She pressed on.

  “I want revenge. My mother cheating on my father. She’s a fucking whore and now she is going to pay. When she finds out I fucked you...she’ll lose her shit.”

  Holden felt his mouth dry up. “Don’t you think that would hurt your father more than your mother. If you care so much about your father’s feelings then you should behave like a good little girl.”

  Jordyn laughed loudly. Holden glanced around as some people looked to see what was so funny. He nodded at some lady and then returned his attention to Jordyn.

  “Would you keep it down?” He bit his cheek. “This is absurd.”

  “You’re a successful businessman, right, Holden? Think of it as a business transaction. You fuck the shit out of me and I keep my mouth shut about your infidelity. One and done. Problem solved. I’m a happy customer. And you get to close the deal.” Jordyn sat back, pleased with herself.

  He hated her for having him over a barrel. What was he supposed to do? He was deathly afraid of Samantha finding out about his affair. Maybe if he could get Rebecca to talk her down then he could avoid this whole mess.

  “I’ll consider your offer.” He stood up and grabbed his coffee. “Don’t call me. I’ll get back to you.” He shot her a sarcastic smile.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe you misunderstood me. There is no consideration. You walk out that door and I call your wife. Right here, right now.”

  Holden glared at Jordyn. The knots in his gut caused his hands to shake. He placed the coffee cup upon the table before he spilled it all over himself.

  He took another look around before responding. He kept his voice down but it was filled with malice. “What am I supposed to do? Fuck you right here?”

  Jordyn smiled and stood before him. She sauntered past him slowly, grazing his crotch with the ba
ck of her hand. Holden fought his arousal as he watched Jordyn head to the restroom. She opened the door and winked at him before stepping inside.

  Holden felt the sweat break out upon his forehead and upper lip. His initial reaction was to go inside and kill her so she could never tell Samantha anything. But he wasn’t a murderer. And the noise would probably cause patrons or employees to alert the authorities. Maybe he could reason with her one more time. Behind closed doors.

  He approached the restroom absentmindedly. His hand rested on the handle. The cold metal brought him back to the moment. He couldn’t do this. How could he get out of here? It was too late now. She was inside, expecting him to take her in a public restroom. There was too much to lose by not abiding by her wishes.

  His cock stirred. Holden chided himself for being so horny all the time. Jordyn was beautiful. Just like her mother. And she had a body built for sin. Just like her mother. He licked his lips as he imagined Rebecca and Jordyn together, sucking on him and sharing his passion. His pants expanded to allow the swollen member to rise.

  Holden yanked the door open quickly to get inside before anyone took notice of his massive erection. His heart hammered in his chest when he locked the door behind himself.

  Jordyn bent over the sink with her skirt up and her underwear down around her ankles. Her creamy smooth ass stood before him. His eyes caught a glimpse of the gap between her thighs. His breath caught in his throat.

  Jordyn smiled over her shoulder at him. She moaned just like Rebecca did.

  “See anything...hot...and slippery?”

  Holden swallowed and licked hid lips.