Tortured Sinner by Tessa James

Johnny - 28

Icould watch Claire get ready for days, even if she’s irritated. It only makes her that much cuter in my eyes.

“I have no clue what I’m going to wear.” She snatches another thing from her closet and tosses it onto the floor behind her where a pile of stuff already sits.

I try to hide my smile with my hand from my spot in the corner.

She goes over to her bed and dramatically falls onto her back, spreading her arms out beside her. “It’s not fair.” She props herself up and glares at me. “You spent a total of five minutes getting dressed and you look like that.”

I laugh and adjust the collar of my dark button-up, fixing my chain in the process. "Okay, first of all, you're out of your mind. Secondly…" I let out a breath and get up to walk over to her closet. "What about this?" I pull out a black, long-sleeved polyester crop-top that she's overlooked like twelve times. "And that high-waisted skirt you had on earlier?"

Claire stares from the shirt to me, then back to the shirt. “I totally forgot I had that.” She hops up from the bed and rushes over to snatch it out of my hand. “You’re the best.” She kisses my cheek and goes to the bathroom to try it on.

I’d like to think she’s being modest, but I have a feeling the real reason she’s changing in the other room is so I can’t see her arms.

“Claire,” I say to her as she’s shutting the door.

“Yeah?”

When I don’t respond, she pokes her head out. “What’s up?”

I glance down pointedly at the oversized sweatshirt she’s been wearing all day.

She lowers her voice. “I don’t want you to see it.”

I step forward, closing the gap between us, the bathroom door the only thing in the way. “Please.”

She sighs and steps back, allowing me entry. She sits down on the edge of the tub and grabs the cuff of her hoodie, and pulls the sleeve up on both sides.

I force myself not to react externally, not wanting to affirm whatever worries she has about showing me. It’s a difficult thing to do, though, when my eyes settle on the red and purple skin covering both of her arms—something that I could have prevented if I would have been a little bit quicker, a little more perceptive to what was going on.

“Does it hurt?”

She bites at her lip. “Not really.”

There’s no way she’s telling the truth. I’ve been covered in stuff like this pretty consistently since I got involved with Franklin, and I’m well aware of how shitty it feels.

I drop to my knees between her legs and gently take her hand into mine. I reach forward and kiss both arms. “Never again, okay?” I look up at her and will her to understand. “This will never happen again as long as I have anything to do with it.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Tears well in her eyes, and one rolls down her cheek.

I wipe it away. “I’m stuck with you, remember?”

I don’t really know when it happened, the shift in dynamic—maybe it was always there. This finality to us. This unspoken bond that forged us together. I tried like hell to shove it aside, to avoid it and be without her. But it was like I never had any control over the outcome at all. We were going to find our way to each other regardless.

Surrendering to her was the best thing I’ve ever done.

* * *

“So, what’s the plan, since you’re clearly the one in charge here?” I offer her my arm and she slides hers in. I’m extra careful to not apply too much pressure.

When I suggested the outfit to her earlier, I never imagined she’d look this fucking good. I’m suddenly regretting going out in public at all. I’d rather keep her tucked away safely for as long as possible.

But Claire’s beauty is not something that can be contained, and walking out into the world with her by my side, I couldn't possibly feel any luckier. Some guys want to control their women, disallow them from dressing up and going out.

Me? I’m proud as fuck to say that she’s with me.

The second someone disrespects or treats her poorly though, that’s another story entirely.

Claire rubs my hand. “We’re going to go to this party, and we’re going to mingle. I’m going to sneak around and try to locate Jared’s room, and you’re going to work the floor and see if any of the guys from your list are there. Obviously, we’re trying to spot these shoes.”

“Wait, you’re going to search his room?” I’m not thrilled about the sound of that.

“Yes, because I can innocently be like ‘oh, sorry, couldn’t find the bathroom’, but if he finds you in there, and it was him that did it, shit will hit the fan.”

“What does this package even look like? What’s in it? If I’m going to be looking for the shoes, I might as well keep an eye out for it, too.”

Oh man, where do I start? “He was always secretive about what was in them. I asked a few times in the beginning but learned it’s best not to question him. Um.” I hold out both index fingers. “It was about this big, this thick. One of those yellow envelopes, you know? I have no idea what was in it. Could have been anything.”

“And if he set you up on purpose, it could absolutely be gone.”

“Yes and no.” I nod politely at a passerby on the street. “He plays a twisted game, but he’s weirdly fair at times. If he’s giving me two weeks to find it, I think it’s still in circulation. That way his hands are totally clean—he gives me a chance, despite it being nearly impossible. If I don’t find it, it’s my fault, not his.”

“Well then, let’s hold on to that hope.” Claire looks up at me and forces a smile.

“Oh, my God,” a familiar voice calls out. “I knew it!”

Cora rushes over and nearly rips Claire from my arms.

Claire clenches her jaw to suppress the cringe of pain brought on by Cora’s enthusiastic embrace.

Only Cora has no idea what happened last night, and Claire has asked me to keep things between us until she’s ready to tell her friend.

Cora slaps my shoulder. “About damn time you make your move.”

“Cora…” Claire deadpans.

“Sorry! You two are just freaking adorable together. From the moment he caught you falling off that pool table, and then paid off our entire tab… What a gentleman.”

Claire turns to face me. “You did what?”

I attempt a distraction by pointing toward the green pedestrian light. “Our time to cross.”

“Anyway, I’m Team Johnny.” Cora sidesteps an old lady and continues on her path. “June’s meeting us here. She’s my plus one tonight.”

“Where’s Steff?” I ask her.

“She has a date. But I’ve been instructed to stay near my phone in case I have to call in a fake emergency.”

“That’s a real thing?” I glance over at Cora.

“Um, yep. Especially with the weirdos Steff finds on Tinder.”

I grip Claire's hand, thankful that I don't have to deal with that. I haven't dated anyone since my senior year of high school, and granted we had both gone our separate ways because of college, I never really wanted to put myself back out there. Plenty of girls have shown interest since then, I just never felt connected to any of them until Claire stepped into my life.

Now the wait seems to make perfect sense.

We approach a row of houses that are college rentals, an area that I’ve gone past a few times while making deliveries. Weekends are usually full of loud and drunken debauchery, which is not my scene. Even before I took a position with Franklin, I was more of a low-key, small gathering kind of guy.

The puking in front of strangers and intoxicated bro-bonding was never my thing.

“It’s the second one up ahead.” Cora signals to the one with the biggest crowd gathered around it.

The two on each side seem to be for overflow traffic.

“Who lives here?” Claire asks her.

"Um…a handful of guys, I think. James, Randy, Doug, Jared… I can't remember the rest. Oh, wait, Steve, too."

Claire glances up at me, a silent confirmation of our plan.

We walk up the steps and join the crowd, funneling around people and making our way further into the packed structure.

“Do you want a drink?” Cora yells as she separates from us and heads toward what I assume is the kitchen.

“I’m good,” Claire calls out to her.

I pull a flask out of my jacket pocket and spin off the top. I hold it out to Claire first.

She takes it gratefully and swallows a big swig.

“Easy, killer,” I tease her. I drink some and tuck the thing back in its spot.

A girl with jet black hair approaches and waves at Claire. She either has a serious case of resting bitch face or she’s pissed off about something.

“Hey.” Claire motions to me. “June, Johnny—Johnny, June.”

June lifts her chin to acknowledge me.

I lean in close to Claire and whisper into her ear. “I’m going to do a quick sweep. You good?”

“Yep. I’ll keep an eye out, too. We’re going to go find Cora.”

I kiss her gently on the lips and watch as she tows June in the direction Cora disappeared. A tether to my soul tugs with each step she takes.

I rake my hand through my hair and focus on the reason why we came here—to gain information on who took the package. I weave my way through a group of girls gathered by the entrance to the living room area.

There’s a DJ in the far corner. Or rather, a guy set up at a table with his laptop open and big chunky headphones on. Music blares and he dances along while pushing buttons on the computer.

I scan the crowd, looking for any familiar faces, or sneakers.

My heart nearly skips when I spot the black stripes, only to find them attached to some barely five-foot girl. I should have expected more than one person at the university to wear such a popular style. I accidentally make eye contact with her and she blushes, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Shit. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was checking her out. Although, the whole scanning of her body with my stare probably gave her the completely wrong idea.

I pivot and make my way further through the house, going into a dining area where people are crowded around an intense game of beer pong. Both sides only have one cup left. The group around the table cheers loudly when the final ball lands and the winners throw their fists in the air and jump on each other.

That’s when I notice him, Jared.

Unfortunately, he spots me at the same time.

“Dude, did you see that?” Jared rushes over and clamps onto my shoulders. “Johnny, you’ve got to play with me. My partner is bowing out and I need a new one.”

“I, uh…” have no fucking idea what to say. Hey, I was looking for you but didn’t expect you to invite me to a game of pong?

“Come on, man.” Jared drags me over to the table with his arm thrown around my shoulder. “Us bros have got to stick together.” He yanks me in closer. “If you know what I mean.”

I take a breath. His words could be interpreted a few different ways, but the only thing I can think of is that another round would mean that he’s preoccupied, giving Claire enough time to scope out his room.

“Yeah, why not.”

“Ayyyy!” Jared cheers. He turns to the crowd and asks for a challenger.

I slide my phone out of my pocket and send her a quick text.

Me: Beer pong table. You have fifteen. Go.

I glance in the direction of the kitchen and see her beautiful face come around the corner.

She raises her hands and mouths, “What the fuck.”

I nudge my head toward the stairs to signal for her to get moving.

Luckily, Jared is oblivious while he sets up for another game with the two newcomers, one of which happens to be Steve. This couldn’t have worked out any better.

“You ready to lose?” Jared taunts our opponents.

“Shut up and throw the ball.” Steve finishes securing the last cup.

Jared tosses and sinks his first shot. “Drink up, bitch.” He nudges me. “Your turn.”

I follow suit and land mine in the one next to his.

He laughs out loud. “Atta boy! Balls back.”

Steve and his teammate bounce them across the table toward us.

Apparently, we get to go again, since we landed both shots. I’m a little rusty on my pong rules.

Jared throws but misses, cursing like a sailor, and I end up scoring another.

“Austin, you can go,” Steve tells his partner.

The nervous red-headed kid takes his time lining up the shot. It swooshes into the beer and Jared grabs it up immediately.

“Can’t have a death cup.” Jared passes it to me. “You’ll have Austin’s, I’ll take Steve’s.”

I down the contents. “What’s a death cup?”

Jared swats away the ball that Steve bounces on the table. “Automatic win if you get two balls in the same cup. Or if you get one in a limbo cup, where someone hasn’t drunk it yet, it counts, too. If you land on a bounce, two cups are removed.” He dunks the ball into the cup of water and hands it to me. “Haven’t you played before?”

I shrug. “It’s been a while.”

Jared takes out one of theirs in the back row.

If I’m going to keep this match going, I have to start missing mine. I aim it near the front, just a little off to the side, and end up hitting the exact spot I’m trying.

“Ah, fuck man.” He grabs my shoulder. “It’s all right. Beginner’s luck.”

“Yeah, must have been.”

Austin lands another and I make quick work of downing the booze and stacking the cup with the others.

Steve sinks his and Jared groans. We send the balls back to the other team.

A skinny kid approaches the table. “Ay.” He leans in close and whispers something into Jared’s ear.

Jared’s eyes go wide. “Oh yeah?” He turns toward us. “I’m going to have to ask for a brief intermission.”

“Ah, what the fuck, Jare. That’s not allowed.” Steve throws one of the balls at Jared’s head.

“Shut up, it’s my fucking party, I’ll do what I want.” Jared grips my shoulder. “I’ll be right back, partner.”

I’m about to panic but he ends up taking off toward the kitchen instead of the stairs.

I go to reach into my pocket, but Cora grabs my arm.

“Have you seen Claire?” she asks me. “I thought she’d be with you.”

“She probably went to the bathroom; I’ll go find her.” I turn toward the last place I saw her and spot Jared jumping up the steps, taking them two at a time.

A fire explodes inside of me as I shove through the crowd, with only one thing on my mind—what if I don’t get there fast enough?