Guarded by Them: Dirty Twisted Love, #2

By Marissa Farrar

I'm on the run with three men... who love each other as much as they love me.

Despite being a nobody—a girl sold into the world's oldest trade by her own mother— Kodee, Dillon, and Ryan have given up everything for me.

We've left a trail of bodies behind us, but in intense situations, passions run high. They're doing everything they can to protect me, using their skills and contacts to get me out of the country, but will it be enough?

With dangerous men on our tail, we're forced to learn the hard way about who we can trust...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warwick House Press
• Release date: Aug 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223584094

Book preview

Guarded by Them

A Dark Reverse Harem Romance

Dirty Twisted Love

Book Two

Marissa Farrar

Chapter One

Rue

FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, fuck!

Now that we were away from the public eye, Dillon lashed out.

His fist connected with a vase on the hall console, sending it crashing to the floor. His clawed hand caught the corner of a picture on the wall, and that went flying, too. He kicked out at a chair and tore cushions from the couch. He was a whirling dervish, filled with a helpless anger that he was taking out on the apartment. I’d never seen him like this, and I cowered back, frightened of him for the first time since we’d met.

Ryan and Kodee exchanged glances, both knowing better than to try to step in. Dillon was like an intense fire. Eventually, he would burn himself out.

We’d driven straight back to the apartment after we’d met up on the underpass. There was a good chance other members of Joe Nettie’s gang would figure out who had killed their men and rescued me, and they’d be on their way here, too. But even though it was dangerous, we’d had no choice but to return.

I’d come so close to ending up back in the hands of Joe Nettie’s people. If Kodee and the others hadn’t saved me, I’d probably have been dead by nightfall. Chills ran down my spine at how close I’d come to dying. I’d most likely have been raped several times before that happened, and tortured, too. Dillon, Kodee, and Ryan had saved my life, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to repay them.

Dillon’s anger wasn’t showing any signs of burning out.

Kodee stepped in and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him back around. For fuck’s sake, Dillon, stop it.

Dillon tried to yank himself away, but Kodee grabbed his other arm, pulling him against him. Dillon was breathing hard, his shoulders heaving.

We killed Nettie’s men, he blurted, and now they’re going to be after us. We just totally fucked up our lives.

Kodee released Dillon’s arms but grabbed his face instead. He cupped his cheeks forcefully in his palms and stared into his eyes. We don’t have time for this. They’re going to realize who took Rue soon enough and come looking for us. You can freak out later.

We’re fucked. Dillon tried to wrench his face from Kodee’s grasp, seemingly not hearing what Kodee was saying. We can’t go back.

Kodee grabbed him by the jaw and kissed him hard. He teased open his mouth, working his lips with his own, before pushing his tongue between Dillon’s lips.

Despite the circumstances, my breath caught at the sight. My core tightened and my nipples pebbled beneath my shirt. It took all my self-control not to throw myself at them, my palms itching to touch their skin, my lips tingling with a need to join the kiss. They were so beautiful together.

Dillon remained tense for a moment, but then his shoulders softened, his back arching as he pressed himself against Kodee’s tall frame.

I exchanged a glance with Ryan, who twisted his lips in a sympathetic smile. I thought we both felt the same way—as though we were voyeurs on a private moment.

Kodee kept Dillon’s square jaw between his fingertips, and he finished kissing him with a couple of nips and licks.

Better? he asked Dillon, looking into his eyes.

Dillon sucked in a breath and nodded, glancing away in shame. Aye. Sorry.

It’s okay, but we need to focus now. We need to gather up as much as we can and get the hell out of here.

Tears filled my eyes. They were being forced to leave behind their beautiful home and everything in it because of me. The last thing I wanted was to cause any harm—emotional or physical—to these three men. They’d taken me in and loved me, and now they were having to give up everything.

I choked back a sob. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left the apartment.

Ryan rubbed my back, his palm firm above my t-shirt, trying to soothe me. I turned into him, pressing my face to his chest.

He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his nose to the top of my head. It’s not your fault. They already knew you were here. They would have come knocking soon enough, and I doubt they’d have hesitated to shoot us as well if we tried to stand in their way.

I wasn’t mourning the deaths of any of the men who’d been killed. I’d been forced to spend time with one in particular, Troy, and he’d known me in the most intimate of ways, but I wasn’t going to waste a single breath on his loss. He would have raped me and tortured me, and then most likely killed me if the guys hadn’t stepped in. I’d had plenty of things happen in my life that I regretted, but his death wasn’t one of them.

Ryan had been the one to pull the trigger, shooting the men who’d snatched me from the street, yet he appeared less ruffled than either of them. The reason for this suddenly dawned on me. He’d been in the Army. He’d killed his enemies before. Yes, it had left him with scars, both emotional and physical, and he suffered from PTSD, as well as the loss of his leg, but he was able to compartmentalize those things, shut himself off from them, and function as normal.

Unlike Dillon, who still looked like he wanted to tear the apartment to pieces.

We haven’t got much time. Kodee’s expression was serious. We need to gather our stuff, then put distance between us and the city. We need to get you far away from here, and the best way of doing that is by plane, and you need ID to board one.

Sudden panic filled me. I don’t want to go anywhere without any of you.

You won’t be, he reassured me. We’re coming with you. We all have several identities. He scrubbed his hand over his mouth. Shit, why didn’t we think to make Rue a new identity before now?

Wait a minute, Dillon said. We haven’t thought this through. What about Ryan and his leg? He’s going to miss all his appointments.

I’ll be fine, Ryan growled. He didn’t like to be thought of as an invalid or treated as such. I can find a new doctor when we get settled.

Settled? parroted Dillon. And when is that going to be?

Kodee tightened his lips. We don’t have any answers to this stuff yet, Dillon, and you’re not helping by throwing obstacles in the way.

A muscle flickered by the corner of Dillon’s left eye. I’m just trying to be realistic. Someone has to be.

If you’ve changed your mind, I said, my voice small, I won’t hold it against you. I completely understand.

We’re way past the point of changing our minds, Rue, Dillon snapped. Men are dead, and the boss of those men is going to want to hold someone accountable.

Me. They can hold me accountable. I straightened my full five-feet-two frame and lifted my chin.

But he shook his head. Sorry, sweetheart, but that’s not going to be good enough. Not anymore.

Unease swirled inside me. Dillon had changed his mind. He’d said he would protect me, and love me, but now the reality about what that actually meant had come crashing down, he’d realized it wasn’t such a good idea after all.

No one’s changed their mind. Ryan glared at Dillon.

Dillon shoved his hands in his pockets. No, I haven’t, Rue. I’m sorry if that’s what I made you think. I just mean that we can’t go back now. The damage has been done.

That alleviated some of the tightening in my chest, but I still felt terrible. I’m sorry, I whispered, unable to look at them.

Stop saying that. Kodee’s tone was firm. You didn’t ask to be brought to us. That was on Dillon’s head, remember? And you didn’t ask to witness anyone being killed. Going even farther back, you didn’t ask to be sold into this life either. The blame isn’t on you, Rue. Stop saying sorry.

I pressed my lips together and nodded. I knew everything he’d said was true, yet it was hard to escape the guilt. These men weren’t innocents. They were living a life of crime and associating with those who committed even worse crimes. But they were also sexy and loving, and funny, and generous, and had given me a real home and a place of belonging for the first time in my life. If only we didn’t now have to run from that home.

Come on, Kodee said. Let’s get this done.

He turned and marched across the apartment to the room they used as a workspace. The door was locked, but he opened it with a key he fished out of his pocket, and we all followed him in.

It was the first time I’d entered the office. The walls were padded with soundproofing material, a way of preventing anyone getting suspicious about what was going on in here. The window was blocked up as well, so even though we were on the top story, no one—such as a window cleaner who might accidentally catch sight of the equipment—would be able to look in.

Kodee strode over to the bank of desks in the middle of the room, which held what appeared to be a large printing machine. We don’t have time to create a full passport for you, Rue. We’ll take what we need to get it done, but we might have to call in some favors.

What about all the printing equipment? Dillon asked.

Kodee glanced around, and I could see the regret in his deep brown eyes. We’re going to have to leave it.

Dillon’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gear.

It’s only stuff. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re all still alive, and that we stay that way.

He was right. Kodee was our level-headed one. The rest of us would fall to pieces if he wasn’t here.

Kodee grabbed a bag from under a table and set about picking up items from the worksurfaces and dumping them in.

He nodded to the corner of the room. Empty the safe.

I hadn’t even seen a safe, but Ryan lifted a mirror from the wall, and behind it was a safe set into the brickwork. He bit his lower lip, his eyebrows drawing together as he concentrated, spinning a dial to land on numbers, before something clicked inside the locking mechanism.

I tried not to gawp as the door swung open, revealing a stack of bundled bills. Together with the money, there were also a couple of cases, which I assumed held more handguns, and some burner cellphones. He scooped them into a hold all, and then zipped it up and swung it over his shoulder.

Okay, maybe these boys weren’t as innocent as I’d previously thought.

No, they definitely weren’t innocent. Caring, sexy, attentive, loving... yes. But they’d also killed for me, and I could tell from Ryan’s reaction that it hadn’t been the first time either.

Have we got everything? Kodee asked.

What about clothes? I thought to all the outfits Dillon had bought me. Shouldn’t we pack something to change into? Our toothbrushes, even?

Just take the basics. We can buy more things.

I lifted my hand and touched the Celtic quaternary knot at my throat, reassuring myself the pendent was there. The necklace had been a birthday present from the guys, and it was definitely one thing that wasn’t replaceable—not in my mind, anyway.

The jewelry was the first present I’d ever received where it hadn’t been given to me because something—namely, my body—had been expected in return.

Chapter Two

Kodee

I DIDN’T THINK I’D ever been on such high alert, every cell in my body primed for attack. My ears strained to pick up on any unexpected sounds, the hairs on my body standing on end, as though they could detect the cool rush of air caused by movement.

With what we needed shoved into bags, we left the apartment.

Ryan led the way. His military training kicked in the moment we’d learned of Rue’s abduction, and I couldn’t help but admire him. Even with a missing limb, he still somehow managed to move more swiftly and quietly than the rest of us. He seemed to instinctively know where to place his body to prevent himself from being exposed to any possible gunfire, and he waved each of us into position behind him to ensure our safety as well.

A piece of my heart broke for him. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to be so natural at something and yet find yourself unable to do it any longer. It wasn’t only about the physical injury with Ryan. As he’d proven from his night terrors, being at war had harmed him far deeper than that.

Ryan kept going, past the elevator, toward the stairs.

Isn’t the elevator going to be quicker? I called to him.

He glanced over his shoulder at me. If we go in there, we’ll be like fish in a barrel when the doors open.

He had a point.

We took the stairs down to the garage, Rue sandwiched between us all, like we were the harder parts of a nutshell and she was our precious center. Our combined footsteps sounded too loud in the confined space, each step like heavy rain falling on a tin roof. We reached the door at the bottom, and instinctively, all pressed ourselves back, half expecting to be on the end of gunfire.

We were all armed, except for Rue, and we would return fire, of course. But a dead man couldn’t shoot back.

Ryan darted a look back at us and mouthed, One, two, three—

He pushed open the door with his shoulder and stepped out into the garage. We followed close behind, poised for all hell to break loose.

Everything remained quiet. With the exception of the vehicles, the garage appeared to be empty.

I allowed myself to breathe.

Why haven’t they come after us? Dillon asked. It isn’t as though they don’t know exactly where we live.

I twisted my lips, sharing his confusion. I don’t know. Maybe they think we wouldn’t be stupid enough to come back here.

Rue spoke up. Or maybe they don’t think you’re the ones who would kill to get me back. Who are the people who’ve got more riding on me staying alive than you?

Ryan nodded thoughtfully. The Capello brothers.

Exactly.

I admired her for her insight. You think the Capello brothers might be dealing with the fallout of what we just did—killing his men, I mean.

She shrugged one shoulder. It’s just a guess, but it would explain why we haven’t seen anyone here.

They don’t think it was us. I pressed my lips together and nodded. Of course, they’re going to figure out quickly enough that it isn’t the Capellos who are responsible for killing their men.

In which case, Ryan said, "we need to make the most of the possibility that both gangs