Vicious Daddy by Bianca Cole
1
Alicia
The concrete beneath my head is hard and unforgiving. Even so, it’s far more comforting than the soft beds in our foster home. This underpass feels safer than the hell we ran away from. It feels safer than anywhere we’ve been in a long while because it’s just the two of us. No grown-ups to harm us.
Malachy is lying next to me, writhing in his sleep as he so often does. I couldn’t protect him the way he protects me.
“Hey,” I hear someone whisper, making my heart skip a beat.
Malachy always tells me not to speak to anyone on the streets, but out of intrigue, I glance in the voice’s direction. A tall, slim boy who must be a similar age to Malachy stands nearby, holding two pillows and a blanket. “Do you mind if I join you guys? I’ll swap a pillow.”
I glance over at Malachy, who is still fast asleep. Malachy won’t be happy. I glance back at the boy and notice the fear in his eyes. He’s like us—scared and alone. I shrug. “Okay, only if I get the pillow, though.”
He smiles at me and it’s friendly—somehow I know that he’s just a lost child like we are with no one to take care of him. I watch as he sits close to me and passes me the pillow, which I prop under my head. “Thanks. What’s your name?” I ask.
“Niall, little lass, what’s yours?”
I swallow hard as Malachy always told me not to tell strangers my name. “Alicia.”
He holds out a hand to me. “It’s nice to meet you, Alicia.” He tilts his head to the side. “How old are you?”
“Eight years old.” I twiddle my thumbs in my lap. “How old are you?”
“Eleven.” He yawns, which makes me yawn. “I’m exhausted.” He pulls the blanket he’d been holding around himself and places a pillow under his head. “Who is your friend?”
I shake my head. “He’s not my friend. Malachy is my brother.”
He sighs, as if relieved. “I’m glad he’s family. There are real creeps on the streets.”
My brow furrows, as I don’t understand what he means. Before I can ask him, Malachy cries out in his sleep, making me jump.
He bolts upright and I move to comfort him, knowing that he’s having a nightmare again. “It’s okay, brother. I’m here,” I murmur.
Malachy’s eyes are wild and frantic. But once he finds my face, he immediately calms down. It only takes him a second to notice the boy I allowed to sleep here. “Who the fuck are you?” he spits, jumping to his feet and pulling out the switch knife he stole from our foster parents.
“Malachy, stop,” I say, jumping to my feet and placing a hand on his arm.
“Stay out of this, Alicia.” Malachy’s shoulders are tense as he steps forward with nasty intentions. I’ve witnessed the violence my brother is capable of.
Niall jumps to his feet too, backing away with his hands up in surrender. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“You should have thought about that before stepping into our territory.” Malachy thrusts the knife at Niall.
“Stop, Malachy,” I cry, but it is no use.
Malachy will not stop. Niall blocks my brother’s attack with his pillow and the inner stuffing puffs into the air like snow as it flutters in the air between them. As I helplessly watch, I wonder if my brother could stab an innocent boy—a boy like us.
Footsteps behind me catch my attention, and I turn around to see a man leaning against the pillar of the underpass, staring at me. The look in his eyes gives me the creeps. “What’s going on here then, love?” he asks.
I swallow hard. “A fight,” I say, turning my attention back to my brother, who no longer has the knife but is fist fighting with Niall.
Boys are so stupid. Niall wasn’t threatening either of us. “I bet their fighting after a pretty little thing like you.”
I glance back at the man who has got closer now, staring at me in a way that scares me. “Stay back,” I mutter, my voice quiet and fragile.
He chuckles. “Not when you are free for the taking.” He reaches for me and I try to step away, but he’s too fast.
“Get off—” Before I can shout loud enough, he places his hand over my mouth. I struggle against him, but he’s too strong. He drags me away from my brother.
Niall looks up, and our eyes meet. He shoves Malachy so hard that he falls to the ground before running toward me. “Let her go, you bastard,” he shouts, balling his fists at the man who is twice his size.
The man doesn’t stop. Instead, he laughs. “I’d love to see a little kid like you stop me.”
Niall launches himself at the guy, tackling him from the waist to the floor. I roll over as he loses his grip on me, knocking my head against the floor. “Ouch,” I say, placing a hand where my head hit the concrete.
Niall punches the man over and over, pounding him hard with his fists. Blood coats his knuckles until Malachy finally stops him, grabbing his arm and dragging him away. “That’s enough, lad,” Malachy says, his aggression toward this boy instantly gone. “You saved my sister.” He shakes his head before holding a hand out to him. “I’m sorry about the fight back there, but you can never be too careful on the streets.”
Niall stares at his hand for a few moments before taking it and shaking. “Not to worry, name is Niall. Before you pulled a knife on me, I had struck a bargain with your sister there.”
Malachy turns to me and helps me to my feet. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “No, thankfully neither is Niall.” I shoot him an angry glare for not listening to me. “Thank you for saving me,” I say, looking at Niall.
He smiles kindly. “You’re welcome, little lass.”
“What was this bargain you made then, Alicia?” Malachy asks.
I shrug. “Niall wanted to sleep with us is all, in exchange for a pillow.” I point at the pillow next to where Malachy had been sleeping.
Malachy glances at Niall, who shrugs. “I saw you guys and thought you were similar age to me.” He swallows hard. “It ain’t easy being alone on the streets, especially not at night.”
The man Niall beat up groans.
“Shit, well, you best stick with us, lad.” Malachy pats him on the shoulder. “We need to find a place to rest tonight and get out of here before he wakes up.” Malachy gathers our few belongings hurriedly and I pick up the pillow, offering it back to Niall, since Malachy sliced open his other pillow.
He holds up his hand. “You keep it, Alicia.”
I hug it close to me and smile at the young boy who came to my rescue. “Thanks.”
Niall shakes his head. “It’s nothing.” He nods. “Come on now, follow your brother.”
I follow Malachy out of the underpass, hugging the pillow tightly as we search for a safe place to sleep, far away from the evil man that tried to take me.
Even though I don’t know the boy behind me, I feel safer knowing he’s around in addition to Malachy. Life on the streets is hard and we’ve only been out here a few weeks. If we want to survive, we need to stop trying to go it alone.
* * *
Present Day…
I walk along the riverside toward our mansion. It’s often hard to believe all that Malachy has accomplished, especially considering where we started out. Many people wouldn’t call building a criminal empire an accomplishment, but I sure as hell do. I’m proud of the man my brother became after his terrible upbringing. Malachy has had it hard since the day he was born.
Niall has stuck through thick and thin with him ever since they struck up a friendship in that underpass. He’s turned into a viciously protective, gorgeous man that I so often fantasize about. Not that there is anything between us, he’s just my brother’s gorgeous friend. I sometimes can’t believe he’s the same scrawny kid I met thirty years ago.
It’s a cool spring evening as the darkness shrouds me. I wish I had left the diner half an hour ago, but I got carried away, catching up with Jane, an old friend. I suggested she go on a date with my brother, which she wasn’t sure about, but I know the real challenge is Malachy agreeing to meet her. The river walk isn’t lit at night and a lot of creeps like to hang out down here. I hug my coat tighter around me and hasten my steps, feeling uneasy.
The crunch of a branch behind me forces me to glance over my shoulder. A dark figure is walking at a startling speed toward me. I hasten my steps, feeling my stomach churn with nausea. Malachy always tells me not to take this shortcut at night, and I’m regretting not listening to him. It’s at least double the distance to take the roads, but at least they are well lit and safer.
“Wait up, sweetie,” the guy following me calls out. “I only want to talk.”
Fuck.
I break into a jog, knowing full well this guy does not want to talk. Years living on the streets taught me harsh and unforgiving lessons, but I always had Malachy and Niall to protect me. We used to call ourselves the three musketeers until we grew out of it.
The thud of heavy footsteps following me sends my adrenaline sky high. I sprint faster, trying to put some distance between us. It’s no use. The guy is too fast for me as I’m wearing court shoes which are not made to run in.
He grabs my shoulder and pulls me to a stop, forcing me against his chest. “I have caught you, sweetie,” he sneers, his disgusting, foul breath hitting my face. “Now, the question is, how am I going to use you?”
“Get the fuck off me, you piece of shit,” I cry. I try to break free from his grasp, but he’s too strong. My mind runs wild with ideas, sorting through my best options.
I scream loud, hoping someone close by might hear me.
The guy slams his hand over my mouth. “Shut your mouth, whore.”
An icy dread slices through me, taking me right back to my childhood. Only this time, I don’t have anyone here to protect me. My heart pounds against my rib cages as I try to gain control of the fear taking hold of my limbs.
Think, Alicia. Think.
I get one of my arms free of his grasp as I hear him unzip his pants. Quickly, I punch him in the balls.
“Motherfucker,” he growls, letting go of my other arm and giving me a chance to break free. I don’t look back. Instead, I kick my shoes off and leave them running as fast as I can on bare feet. Pain slices through them as I probably ran over glass. I ignore the pain, knowing what that bastard will do to me will be so much worse.
The thud of fast footsteps behind me makes me lose all hope. I feel tears flooding down my face as I run even faster. “Help,” I scream, clutching to the off chance that someone might hear me.
He catches me around the waist and hoists me off the ground. “You are going to pay for that, bitch,” he spits, forcing me onto my back on the floor. He unzips his pants and holds me against the ground with his body weight, leering over me.
“Stop,” I cry, writhing against his heavy weight and trying not to breathe in his foul, unwashed stench.
I feel helpless, as helpless as I felt every time Malachy had to protect me when we were children. He sacrificed far too much of his childhood to save me. A deed I’ve never been able to repay him for. At thirty-eight years old, I still can’t protect myself.
The thud of approaching footsteps catches my attention and hope coils through me. The man forces my dress up my hips and pulls down my panties when someone pulls him off me. A crunch of bone fills the air as my savior punches him in the face. It’s too dark for me to see who has come to my rescue. Punch after punch punctuates the air until the man who tried to rape me is out cold and lifeless.
I can barely see what is happening, but my rescuer forces the body toward the river’s edge. The splash following suggests that he just dumped his body in the river, killing him for sure. I know I should be concerned that a guy just got murdered, but scum like him don’t deserve to live. After living a long while on the streets, your morals change and warp into something different.
I hear heavy breathing from the man who came to my rescue. A man I still can’t make out as I lay still on the ground. “It’s alright now, little lass.”
My heart practically stops beating at the sound of Niall’s voice. Tears well in my eyes and flood down my cheeks. “Niall?”
He lifts me from the ground, pulling my dress down for me. “Aye, Ali. I heard you scream and came as fast as I could.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “You’re safe now.”
“What about the man?” I ask.
He tenses against me and in the very dim moonlight I can see a tortured expression on his face. “He will never hurt you or anyone else again.”
I relax in his arms. It should unnerve me that Niall just killed to protect me, but it doesn’t. After everything we went through on the streets, nothing he or my brother does shocks me. I allow the warmth of his body to penetrate through me. “Thank you,” I say, my voice quiet.
“Don’t mention it,” he murmurs, his voice rough and deep. “Let’s get you home.” He sets me down on my feet and pulls me tight against him.
“Niall?” I whisper his name.
He looks down at me, and those piercing blue eyes hold an emotion that knocks the air from my lungs. It looks like desire. “What is it?”
“Please don’t tell Malachy about this.” I shake my head. “He always told me not to take this way at night and he will lock me up if he knows.”
Niall chuckles softly. “I think you are exaggerating. Malachy wouldn’t lock you up.”
I bite my lip, knowing that Niall doesn’t know how far my brother will go to keep me safe. Although he has been there on the streets with us through almost everything, he doesn’t know the lengths Malachy went to in order to keep me safe in that foster home. Malachy never speaks of it, and he hates me telling people. As far as I’m aware, Niall doesn’t know about it. My brother is unhinged. Something like this could tip him over the edge. “Please don’t tell him, Niall.”
He tilts his head slightly. “Are you begging me, little lass?” he asks, an amused smirk on his handsome face.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Yes, just tell me you will keep this between us.”
He looks at me for a few beats before nodding. “Aye, don’t worry, it will be our secret.” He winks, making my heart rate speed up. I’ve had a little crush on my brother’s best friend ever since we grew up. He went from the scrawny, tall boy to a gorgeous, tattooed man that’s hard not to notice. “Now come on, Malachy is out.”
I sigh heavily, knowing that Malachy is probably at one of those awful auctions he attends. Dark demons haunt my brother—demons that he can’t seem to overcome. I wish he would wake up and realize he deserves to be loved.
