Devil's Due

"That's why I had to run," I said, starting to wrap things up. "I warned my mother-in-law to get herself and her daughter out of there, since I knew my life wasn't worth shit, anymore. I know Dwight, though. He's a vindictive sack of ass nuggets. As much as I want her out of my life, nobody deserves what he'll do to her, when he can't find me."

"I understand, sweetie. Ok, you can stay with me," Alysha said. When I started to protest, she cut me off. "Listen close, Rick. You're staying with me, and that's final!"

"Ok, then," I relented. "Let me give you my new number. This phone is going in the fuckin' trash."

I gave her my new number, and sent her a text to prove it.

"Ok, got it," she said. "I'll send you my address to your new phone. If I'm not here when you get here, there's a key under the big rock, in the garden next to the front door."

"Thank you, Alysha," I said, smiling in spite of myself.

"You're welcome, honey. There's a little catch, though. As my roomy, you're going to help with the house payments!"

"I can do that," I promised. "Don't worry. Once I get my freelance IT business up and running again, I'll be ok. There is one thing, though."

"Uh oh. I'm afraid to ask."

"Well, you remember those ass biters I mentioned, who tried to feed me to that ginormous gator? Since they were cops, there might be some blowback coming. I can't be sure that the local sheriff would go this far, but he might alert, or might've alerted the FBI about me."

"Ok. Well, we'll deal with that, if or when something happens. Stop worrying so much, Rick."

"Fine. I won't worry so much," I snorted back. "Thanks again, Aly."

"No need to thank me again, sweetie," she replied with a little laugh. "Just drive safe, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, see ya tomorrow," I said. Then I ended the call.

I fell back on the bed, then heard the text chime from my new phone. I picked it up and opened it, then found Alysha's text. She'd sent her address, alright. I memorized the Santa Monica address, then saved her number in my Contacts list under "Alysha", of course.

After checking my new phone to make sure everything was cool, I took my old phone and removed the sim card. Then I broke the card in half and threw the halves away.

As I fell back on the bed again, I closed my eyes for a moment. I had to open them again immediately, though, since I heard a pounding at my door. I jumped up and made my way cautiously towards the door to the hallway. I peered through the peephole, and saw a cop outside. I sighed in frustration. Wow, Dwight must have worked fast! He somehow got the FBI and law enforcement across the country involved, and they'd sure found me quick! Fuck!

Fuck it. If I had to bite the bullet, so be it. At least I'd save Aly the hassle of being an accomplice. With that in mind, I opened the door.

"How can I help you, officer?" I asked pleasantly.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir. Have you heard any sounds coming from the room next to yours?" He indicated the next room to the left of mine.

"Haven't heard anything," I shrugged, trying not to let my relief show. "I just got back from Wal-Mart. Had to do some shopping. Why? What's going on?"

"Well, if you do hear something, don't hesitate to call 911," he said, turning away. Then he turned back and squinted at my face. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your face? It looks like you went twelve rounds with Foreman."

I snorted a laugh. "Well, I just left my soon-to-be ex-wife, back home. I caught her in bed with three guys. They did this to me, but I made 'em work for it. I had to get outta there, though. I filed for divorce before I left, and I doubt she'll fight it. I gave her everything, just so she wouldn't try to find me."

"Tough break," he said sympathetically, and shook my hand. "Been through the Big D, myself. Good luck to you, sir."

With that, he turned and walked over towards the reception desk.

"You too, officer," I said as I closed the door.

After I closed the door, I leaned against it and let out a heavy sigh of relief. I'm not the best liar on Earth, but my story had enough truth in it to be plausible. I felt no guilt in lying to a cop, though. I guess it's been my life experience. Almost every single fuckin' cop I've ever known, has been dirtier than a fuckin' pig sty.

I mean, sure. Law of averages and all that shit. Not all cops can be fuckin' dirty, right? I just figured it was easier to take them all as dirty, 'til they proved me otherwise. It saves on the hassle and disappointment.

The sun had almost set outside, so I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes. I wanted, no, I needed a drink, and something stronger than beer. Then it hit me. I finally got how my Dad felt after losing Mom. I hadn't cried much, back then. Now, though, with all the shit that had happened recently, I finally let my grief out. I ain't afraid to tell you, I wallowed in self-pity 'til I ended up crying myself to sleep.

I awoke when the sun shined in through the eastward facing window, the next morning. Fuck, I was hungry! I hadn't had anything to eat since the day before, a burger and fries from a damn good burger joint called Carl's Jr. I knew it as Hardee's, back east.

In spite of my stomach grumbling at me, I felt better. A hell of a lot better, in fact! Self-pity, I found, was its own form of therapy. Who knew? Go fuckin' figure, right?

So, with a smile on my face, I packed all of my new clothes and shit, grabbed my duffel, and made sure I didn't miss anything. Then I turned in my key card at the reception desk and left. I smiled as I put everything in my car, got in, started her up, and drove back to the freeway. As I entered I-10, I plugged in my tape deck adapter to my MP3 player, and jammed out with some classic Metallica. Gotta love 50 GB of storage space for music! I had a sizeable collection. I hadn't listened to any music on the trip, 'til now. Now, I felt good enough to listen to something. As Creeping Death started playing, I grinned and nodded my head in time to the music.

The drive took almost seven hours, altogether. That's including stops for gas and food. I used the Maps App on my new phone to plot a course to Alysha's house, and got there shortly after 2pm. I noticed that it was Saturday. I really hoped she was home.

As I parked at the curb outside her house, I saw two cars in her driveway. "Probably her boyfriend," I mused out loud. I looked in the mirror, checking my bruises. They hadn't healed up all the way, yet. Oh, well. She'd seen me beaten up before, though. No sense worrying about it, now.

My face wasn't the only sore part of me, though. Driving that long, coupled with the bruises and other bodily aches, made me stiff as a fuckin' board. Not in a good way, either! I cut the engine and stepped out of my car, closing the door. Then I took a minute to stretch out the kinks, before heading up to her house. I figured I could grab my shit after saying hi, first. I walked as normally as possible, heading over the sidewalk and around to her driveway. I didn't want to leave footprints on that nice green lawn. As I stepped up to her door to ring the bell, it opened.

Ok, maybe not a boyfriend! The girl who answered wasn't Aly, but she was hot as fuck!

"Uh, hi," I said, caught off-guard. "Is Aly here?"

Holy fuck, I sounded like a kid going to see if his friend could come out and play. I almost laughed at the situation, but settled for smiling instead.

"Sure," she nodded, giving me the onceover. "One sec." Then she turned and called for Aly.

"Hey, girl! Some white boy is here asking for you!" she shouted.

"My name's Rick," I told her.

"Some white boy named Rick is here to see you!" she shouted back into the house again.

Then I finally heard the sound of running feet on the floor, and Aly shot past her friend and into my arms.

"Oof!" I oofed, staggering back as my friend wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. "Easy, Aly. I'm not at a hundred percent, right now!"

I guess the tension in my voice helped her realize that I was hurting. She backed off a bit and gasped at the sight of my face. "Oh Lord, hon! What happened?"

"It happened during that altercation I told you about, remember?" I said, keeping it vague since we had unfamiliar ears... to me, at least. I looked pointedly at the hot chick standing there smirking at us. Alysha followed my look.

"Charisse, what are you doing?" Aly asked.

"Enjoying the show, girl," Charisse replied. She smiled as she said it, though.

"Fine, whatever," Aly rolled her eyes, then looked at me. "C'mon in, Rick. Do you have anything with you?"

"Thanks," I said, stepping inside so Charisse could close the door behind me. "Yeah, I got some luggage in the car. I can grab that in a few, though. Fuck, I could sleep for a week!"

The trip had taken its toll on my already abused body. Almost four full days of traveling from Bumfuck, Florida, to somewhere a lot more civilized, by comparison.

"I think that's a good idea, hon," Aly nodded in agreement. "You look like twenty miles of bad road."

"Gee, thanks," I snorted and smirked. Then I turned to Charisse and smiled. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Charisse Livingston," she responded, holding out her hand. She smiled when I took her hand and shook it. "I'm Aly's cousin."

"Rick Donnelly," I introduced myself. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I didn't know Aly had any cousins."

"Dad's side," Aly explained. "She's my aunt's daughter. C'mon, Rick. We need to get your shit inside, so we don't have to do it later."

Charisse was cute, but nothing compared to Aly. As we all walked back out to my Camaro, Aly's cousin whistled and nodded her approval. "Sweet ride," she said as she looked at me approvingly. "I like classics, myself."

"I'll have to give you a ride sometime, then," I replied with a shrug, then winced. "After I get some recovery time, though."

Charisse and Aly both burst into laughter. "What's so funny about my fuckin' injuries?" I asked, a bit testily, as I unlocked the trunk and grabbed my duffel full of cash. I made a mental note to get it to the bank, first thing in the morning.

"It ain't that, hon," Aly snorted another laugh.

"Hey, you're really cute, for a guy, Rick. I play for the other team, though," Charisse explained. I caught her meaning immediately.

"Well, if I was a woman, you'd be in trouble, then!" I joked/flirted back with my most charming grin. "Too bad I like being a guy."

"Ok, enough with the flirting, Mr. Blarney Stone," Aly smirked and gave me her famous eye-roll.

"Kiss me, I'm Irish," I turned the Flirt on Alysha.

"Maybe later, baby," she flirted right back and winked, causing Charisse and me to bust out laughing, ourselves.

Me with my duffel bag, and go-bag full of toiletries, Aly lugging my suitcase, and Charisse supervising, we headed back inside. Aly showed me to my room, while Charisse went back to watching TV.

I saw that the room had a bathroom attached. I dropped the duffel and toiletry bags on the floor and turned to Alysha. "You're giving me the master bedroom?" I asked, surprised.

"If you want to look at it that way," Aly said with a smile, as she set my suitcase down. "All of the bedrooms in the house have bathrooms attached."

"I know I don't tell ya this enough, but I love ya, Aly," I smiled again. I opened my arms and she came in so we could give each other a warm hug. God knows, I needed all the hugs I could get, right then. Just not the really tight hugs. Those, I could do without, 'til my body healed up.

Breaking away gently, Alysha turned and closed the door. Then she turned back to me. "Ok, Rick. Get undressed. I'm going to run you a bath so you can soak. You've been showering this whole time, haven't you?"

"Yeah," I winced. "How'd you know?"

"Because you're a wicked tough-ass Irishman, with no sense whatsoever when it comes to being tough vs. being smart!" Aly diagnosed, nailing me with her sharp perceptive skills.

"Guilty as charged, Your Honor," I pled, right hand raised. She just shook her head and smiled, then went into the bathroom to run me a bath.

I listened to the water start as I gingerly removed my t-shirt first. Then I sat on the edge of the bed to remove my shoes and socks. That was harder than I thought it would be. All that damn driving really took my stiffness to a whole new level. Once I had those off, though, getting my jeans down turned into another battle. I'd just shucked them, when Alysha peeked out from the bathroom and saw that I was down to my boxers.

I couldn't hide the look on my face, and Aly rushed over to sit beside me. She looked my chest and arms over first, shaking her head with a look of concern on her face. Then she pulled me to my feet and got her first good look at my back. I hadn't seen my back yet, but from her gasps, it must've been bad.

"Jesus," she whispered. "Only you would still be able to move at all, after what those assholes did to you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I retorted with a smirk.

She came back around me and looked me in the eyes. All traces of humor disappeared from her eyes, leaving nothing but concern. "It might look worse than it is, Rick," she started. "But, I've seen people get run over who aren't in as bad a shape as you are. What did those assholes do to you?!"

"I honestly don't know all the details," I admitted. "One of the stupid fucks knocked me unconscious, and they probably took turns trying to kick me to death."

"Looks more like they all tried at once!" Aly marveled, shaking her head. "Well, Charisse is about to start her fourth year of Med School. After your bath, I'm going to ask her to take a look at you."

I sighed in resignation. "Fine."

"But first, I'm going to help you wash up," she continued. "Drop your shorts."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Oh c'mon," she snorted. "You don't have anything I haven't seen before."

"Ok," I shrugged as I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of my boxers and dropped trow. The sight of Aly in Daisy Dukes and a pink halter top, made things... hard. Well, the pain in my body made it only semi-hard. Ok, ok! I'll try to cut back on the fuckin' puns!

"Damn!" Alysha whispered in exclamation. Her wide eyes seemed glued to my junk.

"Hey, I'm a guy!" I defended myself. "Yeah, I'm in pain, but I'm still straight and you're still wicked hot!"

My voice snapped her out of it, and she looked up into my eyes. "Still?" she asked, softly.

Now I blushed. I had no other alternative, than to come clean. "Aly, I used to have a huge crush on you, ok?"

"Ok, and we will talk about that later," she said, her gorgeous brown eyes never leaving my green orbs. "But first, we need to get you soaking so you can recover. C'mon."

She grabbed my hand and led me into the bathroom. Once in there, she helped my stiff bod into the hot, soapy water in a big, round tub. It looked almost like a Jacuzzi. Thank God for those rubber duck anti-slip pads on the bottom, though.

As I slipped down into the water, I groaned as the wet heat penetrated my stiff, sore muscles. I leaned my head back on the edge of the big tub and stretched out my legs. Then I closed my eyes as I felt my beaten body relax.

I heard a little snap, and opened my eyes a crack. Aly had set out two large soft towels, and had then removed her halter top. The snap I heard, was her unsnapping her short shorts. Part of me wanted to close my eyes again, but I couldn't do that. My mind shot back to Sophie, specifically the part where she had spat in my face. The guilt that had threatened to rise, went bye-bye.

I openly stared with my mouth agape, as Alysha pulled down her lacy panties. Then she caught me staring.

"What? I know you've seen naked women before," she said with a smirk. "Haven't you ever seen a naked black woman before?"

"I just wasn't expecting this, Aly," I explained. Yes, I'd seen naked women of all shapes and colors, before. Internet porn when I was growing up, ya know. "Won't your boyfriend be pissed off?"

"No boyfriend right now, Rick," she said, shaking her head as she stepped into the tub beside me. I couldn't help it, as my eyes wandered down her tight body. Starting at her pretty face, then down over her beautiful tits and taut tummy. They came to rest on her neatly trimmed pubes, in a tight little arrow pointing south towards Heaven.

Then she turned and lowered herself into the water beside me. I heard her sigh as it had a similar effect on her as it had on me. Then she reached back and grabbed a big sponge.

"You going to wash both of us?" I asked, dreamily. The hot water, suds, and a gorgeous woman in the water with me. How the fuck did that happen?!

"I had a shower this morning, hon," she said, smiling. "I'm just going to enjoy the bath while I wash you."

"You don't have to do this, Aly," I whispered a half-hearted protest.

"Shhh, sweetie," she shushed me with a long finger to my lips. "Just relax and let me help my best friend, ok?"

"Mmmk," I mumbled, then lost myself in the feel of her gentle strokes with the sponge, over my battered body.

After almost four fuckin' days of pain-fueled adrenaline, the rush of endorphins almost made me pass out. I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't in pain, before this blessed relief.

Aly's efforts felt so fuckin' good, as she set the sponge aside and started gently kneading my shoulders and neck. Then she surprised me, straddling my hips to work her magic from a better angle. I opened sleepy eyes on sudsy chocolate tits with hard ebony nipples.

She didn't say anything, God Bless Her. She just smiled warmly and kept up her wicked relaxing massage. I groaned in pleasure, as she worked the kinks out of my shoulders and neck.

"That feels so fuckin' good," I moaned, as she stopped kneading and just ran her slick hands over my chest. Then she started kneading my pecs, working more of her wonderful magic. She carefully avoided the bruised areas, but made the rest of me feel fuckin' great! Then I mumbled. "I'll give you an hour to stop that."

She stopped for a moment and gave me a little smile. "What if I want to do it for longer than just an hour?"

"Then in my current state of disrepair, I'd have to let you," I grinned dreamily.

When she finished, she leaned forward and gave me a sweet peck on the lips. "All done," she whispered. "C'mon, Rick. Let's get you out of here, before you turn into a wicked prune."

"Mmmk," I mumbled again, and made an effort to move. My effort pushed the underside of my hard cock against what I recognized immediately as pussy lips. That woke me up the rest of the way! And then she let out a little moan.

"Oh, shit!" I said, now wide awake and blushing furiously. "Sorry about that, sweetie."

"Nothing to be sorry for, hon," she smiled as she moved off, pulling her leg over so she could kneel beside me. "Now, try standing up."

I grabbed the edge of the tub, and pushed myself up. I managed to get both feet underneath my body, and stood up slowly. Meanwhile, Alysha stood up lithely, and put her hand on my shoulder to steady me. Once she was sure I wouldn't fall over, she reached over and laid out a couple of towels on the floor.

The sight of her bubble butt as she bent over made me bite my lip. Holy fuck, she has a great ass! Then my huge crush on her rammed itself back into my skull.

Then she stood up, and I had to raise my gaze in a hurry. She looked at me and smiled. "Go ahead and step out. I'll dry you off."

"Aww c'mon, Aly. I can dry myself off, ya know," I smirked.

"I know, but you're in worse shape than you thought, Rick," she retorted, raising her voice. "Even your bruises have fuckin' bruises, ok? I'm still wondering how the fuck you're able to move!"