Breaking Me Softly (English Edition) (Fighting Hearts Book 1) Read online

  Inhalt

  Titel

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilog

  Breaking Me Softly

  Fighting Hearts Book 1

  by Melody Adams

  Breaking Me Softly

  Melody Adams

  English Edition 2014

  German Edition 2014

  copyright © 2014 by Melody Adams

  [email protected]

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelodyAdamsUK

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysRomance

  Webseite: http://www.melodyadamsnovels.com

  © Cover Art by jdesign.at

  Fotos: bigstockphoto.de

  Chapter 1

  Fay

  Shivering, I pulled the jacket closer around me and lowered my head to give the icy wind less of a target. It was the end of November and you could feel tonight we were getting frost. Quietly I cursed to myself. Why did I have to be so stupid and leave my backpack out of my sight. I did not pay attention for one minute and it was gone. Now I literally only had what I was wearing and my cell phone, which was safely tucked away in my jacket pocket. I used the wrinkled 10 Dollar bill, which I had found in my pant pocket, to buy myself a cup of coffee and a hot dog. Now I only had whatever change was left over. It was already 10 pm and I had no place to sleep. I could not even pay for a cheap motel. This is not how I had envisioned my freedom, but I would not go back despite what had happened. Never! My mother will not miss me and my asshole of a step-dad could look for another victim. Never again would I feel his dirty fingers on me. I’d rather freeze my ass off out here.

  „Hey, Baby. How much?“, a slurred voice interrupted my thoughts. It was followed by laughter.

  I looked up and saw that I was across a group of young guys. All of them seemed to be drunk and looked anything but harmless. I realized in horror that I was in a bad neighborhood. I was running around blindly for so long in the cold that I did not notice where I went. I looked around nervously. Hardly anybody seemed to be around, because of the bad weather. Everybody was sitting somewhere nice and warm. Everyone but those four drunk sleazebags.

  „Fuck off!“, I called out and gave them my hopefully most evil eye. That did not seem to impress them at all as they laughed and came even closer.

  “If you had told me how much you charge for a blow job I would have paid you. However, as it stands now, you can do it for free”, a beefy guy with dirty dark blond hair said. The others were laughing.

  “Yes, and you can blow me too” a lanky guy with red hair and disgustingly black teeth called over.

  I stepped away from the guys, until I felt a wall behind my back. Panic spread within me. I escaped hell only to encounter this shit on my first night of freedom? This must be a bad joke. I was so done with fate.

  “Fuck yourself,” I said disgusted and spit into the face of the brut.

  My head was thrown back by a punch and my skull immediately started to roar. I tasted blood in my mouth and my eyes began to water. Damn! This guy had an even harder blow than my stepfather.

  “You are mistaken, sweetheart“, the bull said as he grabbed my dark brown curls. “I will fuck you! And when I am done my boys will too. When they are done, I will take another turn with you.”

  I whimpered. The grip in my hair was so tight that my eyes had tears in them again. I had to do something. But what? I probably had no chance against him, not to mention the three guys standing right behind him.

  “Get on your knees you little slut”, said the bull and I knew that I would rather die than to give this stinking bastard a blow job.

  You only have one damn chance, girl! I reminded myself. It has to work. On the first try!

  I ignored the painful grip the bull had me in, gathered all my strength and rammed my knee into his private parts. I had no problem hitting my target. He obviously did not expect me to pull something like this. A cry of pain came over his protruding lips, his grip on my hair fell away, as he reflectively grabbed his crotch. His eyes watered and he had become pale.

  „Shit!“ I heard one of the other men call out. „The fucking bitch took Will down.”

  I did not hesitate a second and started to run. I knew those guys would come after me. I heard their voices, heard them breathing.

  “Help!”, I screamed hoarsely. “Help!“

  I could hear that they were not far behind me. I quickly ran around the corner and hit something solid. Big hands grabbed my hips to keep me from falling.

  “Hey! Easy”, came a deep, slightly raspy voice to my ears. “What …?”

  Right at this moment my three followers came around the corner.

  “Help”, I said breathlessly.

  I did not even have the strength to look at the man that I ran into. I had no guarantee that he was not after me as well, but right at this moment he was my chance of rescue. The large hands pushed me behind his broad back.

  “You looking for something?”, I heard the raspy voice of my rescuer.

  “There is three of us”, said one of the three guys with confidence. “You probably don’t want to mess with us over a bitch you don’t even know. So be a good boy, fuck off and you won’t get hurt.”

  „The three of you are just right for me to warm up“, my rescuer replied calmly. He stepped forward and into the light of a lamp. I could see how the three guys paled.

  “Shit!“ the red haired guy said in a panic. “Guys, that‘s Viper!”

  „That’s right“, my rescuer confirmed. “Always pleased to meet my fans. I really appreciate that you are volunteering to be my sparring partners.”

  At that moment the beefy guy came around the corner, a desire to kill on his face.

  „Do you have the bitch?”, he asked furiously as his eyes fell on Viper. “What’s the matter?” he asked his friends. “Afraid of a single guy? Go, finish him!“

  „That is Vincent Viper Mahony“, one of his friends whispered.

  The bull grinned.

  „So what? There are four of us“, he replied casually. “Stan, you grab the bitch so she won’t take off and the three of us will turn Mister Viper into snake stew.

  I was about to start running, but Viper took my arm without taking his eyes of the man.

  “Stay!”, he said in such a tone that did not allow for an argument.

  “These four are no problem for me. If you run now, you will run into the next deadbeats. Give me a minute and I have those motherfuckers on the ground.

  I had no idea what to do. I was not sure that one man could take on four guys, but he was right in saying I could run into other guys like them. I took some time to take a look at my rescuer, considering the faint streetlight.

  Not only was he gigantic, he was also built real well. His name, Vincent – Viper – Mahony lead me to think that he was a professional fighter of some sort and that those guys seemed to fear him. Maybe he could take them. I nodded even though Viper could not see it. He did not take his eyes off his opponents.

  One guy stepped away and I figured that he must be Stan, the guy that was to keep an eye on me, while the other three attacked Viper. I was wondering, how my rescuer would prevent Stan to get a hold of me, if he had to fight the others. But then everything went literally blow by blow, and I hardly knew what was happening. My rescuer was very fast and absolutely ru
thless. Within seconds Stan was on the ground, motionless, while Viper fought the other three guys. They tried to get close to him so they could land a punch. Despite his body size my rescuer was fast and agile and they were unable to break through his defense. The redhead went down next, right after Viper’s fist hit him square in the face. The ugly crunch of his nose breaking gave me goose bumps. Blood was splattering and he screamed in pain, rolling on the floor. Viper fought with targeted punches and kicks. Not once did he lose his momentum. His face showed nothing but steely determination. Then the bull was the only one left. He pulled out a knife and a nasty grin appeared on his ugly face.

  “Come here, asshole,” he challenged Viper. “I cut you up, and then I take care of the bitch.”

  “I am afraid I don’t agree with your plan. If you do not mind, we change it to what I want to do” Viper said calmly.

  The two men circled each other with lurking eyes. My heart was pounding wildly. I watched as the redhead began to move. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Without thinking, I grabbed an iron rod from a pile of junk to my left, and dropped it onto the skull of the redhead. Viper looked at me as the redhead moaned in pain, and the bully took the opportunity to attack. Viper’s arm shot forward and grapped the wrist of his opponent so quickly that he cried out in surprise. He broke the wrist of the scumbag in just two moves and the blade dropped to the ground. The bully’s screams echoed through the night. With a few additional, targeted strikes my rescuer had the guy motionless on the floor. He turned to me and our eyes met. When he approached me I became unpleasantly aware that just because he had saved me from the others, it did not mean that he was not a threat to me. Slowly I backed away, wondering what to do. I still had the rod in my hand, but I doubted that I could do what the experienced fighters were unable to do.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. You are safe with me” he said calmly.

  “How do I know, that you are no threat to me?,” I asked.

  For a moment he looked at me in surprise.

  “I saved you,” he pointed out.

  “Maybe you wanted me to yourself, who knows?” I said as I stepped back further, holding the iron rod in front of me for protection.

  He paused and looked at me, then shook his head slightly.

  „Honey, if I wanted to hurt you, you would not stand a chance to escape me.”

  I nodded. He was right again.

  „Look, I was on my way home, but if you tell me where you live I will take you home. I deliver you safely to your doorstep and you won’t ever see me again.”

  „I…,“ I stuttered. „I have… I am new here and...“

  “You don’t have a place to stay?” he asked and I nodded.

  He let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his short, dark hair.

  „I have a guest room. You can stay with me tonight and then we see. Come on. Lets get out of here.”

  “Stay ... stay with y… you?” I stammered in panic.

  „I mean my guest room. I don’t have any sexual ulterior motives, I can guarantee you that. You are too young and not my type.“ He looked at me impatiently. „So, what now? You rather sleep on the street?“

  „No!“ I replied, horrified by the idea. “I ... I accept your offer. Thank you.”

  “Okay, let's go,” he said, and turned away.

  I looked hesitantly at the iron rod in my hand, dropped it, and followed Viper hastily. He gave me a sideways glance when I reached his side, then stared straight ahead again.

  We left the bad neighborhood and came to an industrial area. Viper was not very talkative and I was still struggling with the thought of going with him was a good idea. I did not know him after all and the lonely industrial district did not seem any safer than the run-down neighborhood we left behind.

  “It’s not much further,” he finally said.

  A little later we turned onto a road, walked past three large halls, towards a three-story brick building. A Rottweiler in a kennel next to the last hall began to bark and I jumped, startled. A man stepped out from behind the kennel. He had another dog on a leash.

  “Evening, Viper”, he greeted.

  “Hey Buck, all quiet?” replied Viper.

  The man, whose age was somewhere in the fifties, took of his hat and nodded.

  “Yeah, yes, all is quiet.”

  “Good.”

  “Good night, then,” said Buck. “I am going to make my rounds then.”

  “Yes, good night.”

  Buck put his cap back on his thinning gray hair and left. Viper put a big hand on my back and directed me to the back of the brick house where a fire escape led upwards. We climbed the metal steps to the top, and Viper opened a rusty looking metal door.

  „After you“ he said and held the heavy looking door open for me.

  I slipped inside, ducking under his arm. It was dark, but Viper flicked a switch behind me and a few lights on the ceiling illuminated Viper’s Empire.

  I stood there, amazed and took in the view. We were in a huge room, which had a large window in front to one side. Massive beams holding up the ceiling structure were located in the center. To my left was a black kitchenette with polished chrome. Behind it was a seating area with the biggest flat screen TV I had ever seen. A work out area with different equipment, a weight bench as well as a mirror wall with dumb bells in front of it was to the right. Further back I saw three doors. Probably the bedrooms and maybe the bathroom.

  “Make yourself at home” Viper said behind me, as he strolled into the kitchen.

  I stood frozen still, when he turned around.

  “Coffee?” he asked.

  “Yes … please”, I was able to say under my breath. “Black, no sugar.”

  He was busy in the kitchen making coffee and I gathered the courage to walk into the room and towards the seating area. Undecided, I stopped.

  “Have a seat” I heard Viper’s amused voice.

  I carefully sat down on the black leather couch and looked sheepishly over to Viper.

  I took my time checking him out. The streets had not been well lit and I had barely seen him. He took off his leather jacket and the shirt he was wearing revealed his buff arms. He had a nice tan, probably visited the tanning salon a lot. His black hair was cut short on the sides and he wore it spiky short on top of his head. I could not see his eyes, but he had a square face with a broad chin, full lips and high cheekbones. His nose had been broken at least once, which was no surprise considering his sport. It was clear to me, that he did some kind of martial arts. Since he had used his hands and legs, I guessed MMA. My step-father was an avid watcher of MMA fights on TV.

  I quickly looked away, as Viper poured the coffee into two cups, however, I was able to see from the corner of my eyes that he was approaching the seating area. He sat down across from me and placed the mug in front of me.

  “Thanks” I mumbled and grabbed the mug. I distracted myself with the coffee so that I could cover my discomfort.

  “So”, Viper broke the silence after a while. “Now, tell me how you ended up here in New York, all alone and without an apartment. What did you do in such a bad area at that time of night?”

  I stared at the cup in my hand and thought about what to say. I had never talked about my family situation with anybody.

  “What’s your name anyways?” he asked when I had not answered for a while.

  “Fay”, I replied.

  “Okay, Fay. I don’t want to pressure you. Just tell me one thing. You have no apartment, no money, no job and no friends or family you can go to, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Have you thought about a way to change that?”

  I shook my head.

  “I … I had money. Somebody stole my backpack. I started wandering around after that and somehow ended up in that area. Well, you know the rest.”

  “I have an offer for you”, he said. “You can have the guest room and I find you a job. Once you are back on your feet, I help you find an apartment. Ho
w does that sound?”

  I looked up carefully and caught his eyes.

  Green. His eyes are green, I thought. No! They are grey-green.

  “What … what do you want … in return?” I asked cautiously.

  “Nothing”, he replied calmly without taking his eyes off me. “I already told you that you are not my type. And you are too young anyways. How old are you? Seventeen?”

  “I am going to turn nineteen in January”, I replied stubbornly.

  “You got an ID on you that can verify that?”

  I shook my head.

  “It was in my backpack” I said sadly. “But it’s true!”

  “Okay. So you are eighteen. Still, too young for me.”

  “How old are you?” I asked.

  “I am pretty much exactly ten years older than you. I am going to turn twenty-nine in March.”

  I took a sip of my coffee and looked around. He obviously made good money, as all his furniture looked pretty expensive. I saw an extensive DVD collection and a pile of CD’s that was just as big. An expensive looking camera with several lenses was laying on a table.

  “You hungry?” Viper asked.

  “No, thanks. I had … a hotdog.”

  “A hotdog”, Viper repeated sarcastically. “How long ago was that?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and he sighted.

  “I am going to make you a sandwich, then I will show you your room. I will get you some clothes in the morning. You can’t get to work like this.”

  He got up before I could object. Sheepishly I sipped my coffee, while he was fussing in the kitchen. He returned a short time later and placed a plate in front of me. Two sandwiches, generously filled with bacon, egg, salad and mayo, were on it.

  “Thanks”, I said and reached for the sandwich.

  I only noticed how hungry I had been after I took the first bite. I finished both sandwiches in no time. Viper watched me in silence. I was well aware and uncomfortable that he was watching me. He had saved me, gave me shelter und even made me sandwiches, but I still could not decide what to think of him. I hoped that I did not run into a Loverboy. I had read about them. They were nice to girls and took care of them, then forced the girls to have sex with men and turned them into whores. I had to be cautious.