Shuttered Truth

Leona

I stood to one side and watched the Vincenzi brothers push the two small beds together. It was still not very big but with a bit of ingenuity I was sure they could make this work. Fionn turned and pulled me towards him with the belt of the robe but at the same time he opened it and slid it off my shoulders. Suddenly I was naked in front of all three of them and my nerve wobbled a little.

"You're so gorgeous, Bella," Fionn whispered as he stripped off his wet t-shirt and threw it to one side.

"Bloody perfect, little lioness," Dónal commented now standing in only his boxer briefs with an outline around his cock that left nothing to the imagination.

"Come here, Leona," Ryan reached for my hands and I knee walked across the beds to him.

"Are you sure this is what you want? All four of us together?"

"Yes."

He ran a hand up my back and into my hair and then his head descended. Dónal knelt on the bed on one side of me and Fionn the other side. They each began touching me, stroking, kissing, sucking, licking until every nerve ending was alive and buzzing.

Fionn, all about the sensation, raked his finger nails up and down my back and then blew warm breath across the skin and I shivered.

"Lie her back," Ryan instructed and they obliged. I watched as he crawled between my thighs and pressed them back to the bed. He stared down at my feminine core and licked his lips. My muscles clenched just from the suggestion of what he was going to do.

Dónal and Fionn took each of my hands and wrapped them, as much as possible, around their shafts and began pumping them.

Ryan's tongue lapped up and down my private folds and I arched upward off the bed. His large hand pressed on my belly forcing be back down and I groaned. He sucked on my clit and I began to pant and then a finger pressed against my entrance and I blew out a breath.

It sank deep inside and he curled it upward and dragged back out. Hormones flooded my system and my brain almost fried from the pleasure. He added a second finger all the while sucking my clit like a pro and this time he curled them and pumped in and out until I had almost stopped breathing.

Fionn reached down with his free hand and kneaded my breast and then pinched my nipples. I hissed at the almost too much sensation and he chuckled. He bent down and caught the nipple between his teeth and pulled until they scraped off. I yelped and then he was there with his tongue soothing the sting. I tried not to name the sensation pain or pleasure and just enjoyed each one.

Ryan picked up the pace of his actions down below and I writhed around beneath the pressure of his hand. Suddenly I felt that tell-tale build of pressure and the accompanying desperation to reach it.

"Oh god...Ry....don't stop.....please I'm so close."

Dónal joined in with the breast play and the onslaught of more sensation had my brain on overload. I let go of his cock and grabbed his wrist pulling his hand to my throat.

"I need more..." I panted out and his eyes darkened and he growled deep in his chest. I groaned in response and he wrapped his large hand almost completely around my neck. He squeezed just that little bit and my breath rasped in and out and I exploded. My legs quaked, my hips bucked, my muscles clenched and Ryan swore as I squeezed his fingers. Ryan finger fucked me through the aftershocks until my breathing was regular again. Dónal's grip loosened on my neck and I mourned the loss of its warmth as he moved away. I heard the crinkle of paper and realized they were being safe with me. They changed places and Dónal went to the end of the beds.

"Flip her," he instructed and his brothers complied and I landed on all fours, loving the manhandling.

"Come back here," he ordered and I shimmied backwards without hesitation. He gripped my hips and pressed his hard long cock against my entrance. The first smack took me by surprise and I jumped.

"Again," I requested and his eyes narrowed, his gaze almost feral and dangerous.

He smacked harder the second time and the sting immediately morphed and my core muscles clenched. He began to rock into me a little at a time until he was fully seated.

Fionn lay on the bed beneath me and began sucking and nipping at my breasts while Ryan appeared at my head. He gathered my hair into a pony and pulled my head back until my mouth opened and he slid his shaft inside.

I was full at both ends and the impact was amazing. Dónal began a slow and steady thrust and reverse in and out of my pussy and each time he thrusted he pushed me further on to Ryan's cock. I gagged and Ryan released me, allowing me to breathe and recover before going in again. Their paces increased and soon I was gagging and drooling all over the bed and Dónal was grunting, close to release.

Fionn moved his position and I felt his finger gently rubbing my clit as Dónal continued to fuck my pussy.

"Come for us, Leona," Ryan commanded and rather than wanting to retain control and disobey every fiber of my body wanted to comply and so it did. I shuddered and shook and panted and clenched and they both followed me over the edge of the cliff into the waters of bliss below.

I swallowed Ryan's cum and wished I could feel Dónal's eruption wet inside me but it was contained in the condom.

I flopped onto my side, face to face with Fionn. He pulled me across his body and I straddled him with my hands braced against his chest.

"Guide me in, Bella?" he asked and I rose up so that I could reach between us and move his cock into position. I was about to slide down slowly when he grabbed my hips, dragging me down as he bucked up. I gasped and fell forward on to his chest, my nails digging into his skin. He began to fuck me from beneath and his hand slid up my body and wrapped around my neck. We locked gazes and I pulled back slightly always ready for a mock fight with Fionn. His grip tightened and my breath caught. With one hand, using the other to prop myself up on his chest, I grabbed his wrist on the outside of his arm. He raised his other hand and held it flat against my cheek a question in his gaze as his hips continued to piston upwards.

"Do it," I rasped out and his eyes, like Dónal's blew out to black and he snarled.

He slapped my face and it stung but I loved it and I was no more surprised than anyone.

"Again."

He slapped harder and my head snapped slightly to one side but my muscles strangled his cock and he swore loudly. He dropped both hands to my hips and pounded up into me at an inhuman speed. I leaned heavily on his chest just trying to hold on and then my orgasm crashed over me. My hips undulated wildly and he thrusted up again and again until he was fully spent.

I crashed down onto him and he wrapped his arms around me stroking my hair and then my reddened cheek.

"Fuck...that was intense," I whispered.

After a few minutes, Ryan picked me up and carried me in to the bathroom where we showered quickly. Dónal and Fionn had found extra sheets in the wardrobe and remade the bed. As Ryan laid me down gently they disappeared one by one to wash off. When Dónal returned Ryan lay on his back with me stretched the full length of his body and then Dónal and Fionn lay down either side of us with at least one hand resting on my body somewhere. We were all spent and sleep came quickly and easily.

I woke to sunlight streaming in the windows and an empty bed. I sat up and looked around. Ryan was sitting in the chair, fully clothed.

"What time is it?" I asked and he glanced at his phone.

"Eleven am," he replied and I stretched and yawned.

He cleared his throat and I glanced down. My breasts were on full display and so I tugged the sheet up and tucked it under my arms.

"Where is everyone?"

"Getting breakfast and negotiating another night."

"Great. I'll grab a shower and dress," I said as I climbed off the beds, taking the sheet with me. When I reached the bathroom door I turned.

"Ryan, is everything alright after last night?" I asked and he stood and came over to me. He ran a finger down along my neck and I wondered if I had finger marks there.

"We're all fine...how are you?"

"I'm good."

He smiled and I turned into the bathroom closing the door quietly behind me. I stood staring in the mirror above the sink for several minutes. There were marks on my neck from where both Dónal and Fionn had held me. I let the sheet drop and saw that my breasts had some bite marks and bruises across them and the more I looked the more I realized how marked I was from our sex. The interesting part of it all was that I didn't mind in the least. In fact, I liked it.

I was just finished in the shower when I heard the others return.

"It took some persuading but they've left us in this room for today and tonight," Fionn announced as I exited the bathroom and joined them.

"Morning, Bella." He leaned over to me and kissed my cheek. It was a tiny bit tender but nothing that wouldn't be gone by tonight. "Are we...ok?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yes Fionn, we're good. What's for breakfast? I'm famished."

We each found a place to perch around the room and ate in silence. It was a comfortable one and so no-one felt the need to break it.

I opened my phone and looked up events in the local area. Today was the 1st of November and so the Púca Festival would be on here in Trim. This was a pagan celebration from the Irish Celtic tradition called Samhain and the traditions surrounding it were believed to be the origins for Halloween. I suggested we check it out and the boys were game once Ryan had briefed his security team. Mention of them brought back our row last night. I'd never seen anyone care about me as much as Fionn seemed to, but I wondered how much of that was about Callie and how much was actually for me.

We spent the day wandering around the town to different events, markets, displays and the like but the real attraction was later with the festival parade. Crowds began to gather along the main street of the town and cordons had been erected to contain them.

The excitement was heavy in the air as the first characters came into view. Naturally with the supernatural being the main theme and the veil between the living and the other realms being thinnest at this time there were many ghosts and ghouls and all sorts of creatures represented.

Between my three and the two-man security team I was surrounded by five very tall very muscular men. They managed to get us right up to the barrier with a perfect view of the parade as it passed. I wished I'd brought a camera but instead I pulled out my phone and began videoing bits and pieces including people's reactions in the crowd. For the most part everyone was just enjoying the spectacle but then some shoving and pushing began behind where we were standing and I got jostled out of my five-man guard of honor.

A hand grabbed my arm and tugged hard. I couldn't stop myself from being pulled back through the crowd and down a side alley. I looked to the man who had a hold of me and it wasn't any of my men so I started pulling back and digging my heels in so as not to move forward.

The man spun around and it was him...Hawthorne.

I opened my mouth to scream but his gloved hand clamped over it and he wrapped his arms around me lifting me off my feet. I'd read somewhere that you could be located via your phone and so I clung to it for dear life.

"Stop struggling Leona," he growled. "You'll only make it worse for yourself."

I'd been instructed in some self-defense by the Irish Peacekeepers but everything fled my mind as his arms restricted my breathing.

I kicked his shins a few times which made him stumble and curse but didn't slow him down. I tried to look back to where we'd come from and I caught a glimpse of Dónal, I was sure. I opened my mouth beneath his hand and bit down as hard as I could. As soon as he pulled it away I screamed Dónal's name over and over again.

Running footsteps rang out on the damp cement behind us and Hawthorne swung around and then back again. Dónal, followed closely by Fionn, were bearing down on him. I saw the moment when he knew that if they reached him he likely wouldn't survive the encounter.

For a split second he hesitated but then it seemed he decided he wanted to live to fight another day.

"This isn't over. I'm coming for you..."

He didn't just drop me but pretty much threw me towards them and I did all I could to land on my feet but it was impossible. I landed hard on my arm, skidding along the pavement into a rubbish dumpster. My head snapped to the side and hit the cement hard and then everything went black.

I woke up to hushed but angry voices nearby. I recognized the brothers and then another...Pavel. As I lay on the stretcher in the ambulance, a young man sat beside me cleaning the area of my arm that had almost no skin left. I hissed as the antiseptic stung and he glanced up.

"Good, you're awake. You hit your head so there is a risk of concussion. Now that you're awake I'll check for that again," he said quietly as if he didn't want the men outside to hear. "I would normally have taken you to the hospital for observation but they wouldn't hear of it..."

"And you weren't going to argue with..." I glanced out the back door of the ambulance. "Seven determined men -- I get it, no worries."

He began shining lights in my eyes and asking me for symptoms and there seemed to be no concussion on my horizon.

"I've told them what symptoms to watch for and when getting to hospital is vital, do you need me to go through them with you?" I shook my head and then groaned slightly.

"I'm going to dress your upper arm to prevent infection and I can give you some painkillers and a prescription for more, if needed. Then you're good to go...if you want to."

I smiled, thanked him and assured him I was ok to go with them but I didn't blame him for being skeptical. Ryan was in full Mafia Don mode and the other men were surrounding the vehicle as if there was royalty inside.

I lay back down, let the paramedic do his job and blatantly listened in to their conversation.

"This is getting way too risky. We have to tell her now, we can't keep her in the dark," Fionn urged, the edge of panic in his tone sent shivers down my spine.

"Keep your voice down..." Ryan growled and then glanced in at me our gazes locking. He gave me a head tilt and I tried for a weak smile. The paramedic declared me fit to leave and helped me down into the group of waiting men. The paramedic stepped down behind me and touched my shoulder lightly causing them to glare.

"Remember, any changes to your symptoms and get yourself to a hospital. Concussion isn't something to mess with. Gentlemen." He pushed through them and disappeared around to the front of the ambulance.

"Do you want to head home tonight?" Ryan asked and I shook my head. The world tilted slightly and he steadied me with a hand under my elbow.

All I wanted was my bed. Pavel pulled up in a SUV and we all climbed aboard. He'd obviously been called in from Dublin when the incident happened and I noticed that another car was following behind.

"Are they yours?" I asked gesturing behind us with my good arm.

"Yes," Ryan replied from the seat opposite where he sat beside Dónal. Fionn sat beside me staring out the window into the darkness. Our gazes met in the reflection of the black glass.

"Well then, what is it that you have to tell me?" I asked and Fionn's hand that was resting on my thigh squeezed it instead. He looked across to Ryan and Dónal.

"Ok, maybe now is the time," Dónal said but silence fell and no-one spoke. Pavel glanced back from the driver's seat and Fionn punched a button and the privacy screen slid into place making the older man scowl.

"None of you brave enough to do the deed and tell me what's really going on?" I challenged.

"Look, Lee..." Fionn turned in his seat and so did I so we could better look at one another. "There's no easy way to tell you any of this but we need you to keep an open mind about it all, ok?"

"I can't promise, but I'll try."

He took my hands in both of his and began playing with my fingers. I knew it was a nervous action and so I tried to be patient but they were scaring me.

"The man that grabbed you tonight, he wasn't just a stalker, Lee. We've fairly good evidence to suggest that he's the serial killer."

There was a pause while I caught up with what he'd just said.

"The serial killer? You mean the one that killed Callie and those other women?"

I shook my head.

"No, that can't be right. Why would he be targeting me?"

"We think you were right and the media attention attracted him. You're exactly the type he hates. Strong women who aren't afraid to voice their opinions and stand up for what's right," Ryan added to the explanation.

"But isn't it a mad coincidence, then, that our lives intertwined?" I asked but their grim expressions told me the next part wasn't going to be pretty.

"It wasn't a coincidence. We'd managed to narrow down the suspects to two anonymous online IDs and both of them began following you in earnest since your documentaries came out. When we heard that the business under your apartment was up for sale we bought it so that we'd..." he couldn't finish what he was saying and I knew why.

"So that you could catch him when he came for me...right?"

"We always intended to keep you as safe as possible. That's why we hired you, so that we could protect you, keep you close," Dónal interjected.

"Is that also why you pretended to want to be with me?" I dropped my head, not wanting them to see the pain that would be etched into my expression.

"We never pretended about that, Lee. The personal stuff was real and true."

"Oh, right, so that was 'real and true'," I injected a venomous tone into the two words. "But everything else was a lie, is that it?"

Ryan went to speak but I just held up my hand.

"Leave it. I need to sleep. I'm exhausted. We can see where we stand in the morning."

My heart was breaking and I wasn't really sure why. I'd barely known these men for more than a week or so and yet I felt like their deception, well intentioned or not, was tearing my heart out. The next time I spoke was in the hotel room to ask them to separate the beds again so that I could try to get some sleep before our trip home.

I managed a few hours of sleep and we all just wanted to leave when morning rolled around. One of Pavel's men drove my bike as I couldn't manage it with my sore arm which felt like it was on fire under the dressing. The rest of us rode in the SUV and the cars they'd brought before.

By the time we got back to Dublin all I wanted was solitude but as soon as we stepped into the club we could feel the atmosphere wasn't right.

"Please everyone we need to gather in the office," Pavel announced and despite Ryan's frowns they followed his instructions and when I moved towards the stairs to my apartment Pavel corralled me back in.

"You too, Miss Roach."

"Pavel, what the fuck is going on?" Ryan growled when we encountered a strange man and woman in the office and armed men and women dotted around the large room.

The woman was older, maybe in her forties and she sat in Ryan's chair. The man was nearer to our ages and stood behind and to the left of her. They were both dressed in dark trouser suits with crisp white shirts. Her auburn hair had flecks of grey around her temples and was pulled into a ponytail. He was clean cut with his sandy hair slicked back. She gestured to the seats around the room.

"Please everyone, sit."

"Who the fuck are you?" Dónal asked, refusing to move further into the room.

"My name is Niamh and this is Michael. We work for an international law enforcement agency tasked with bringing serial killers to justice. Pavel is one of our operatives."

The three brothers glared at him and he held up his hands, palms facing them.

"I apologize for the deception but it was necessary."

"Please...sit. Miss Roach, it's lovely to finally meet you in person," Niamh looked to me with a slight smile.

"I wish I could agree but what the hell is going on here?"

Sheer exhaustion had me sinking into one of the couches and that seemed to set off a domino effect and everyone found somewhere to sit.

For the next thirty minutes or so we sat and listened. She explained that when Callie was killed and the Vincenzi brothers decided to try to track the killer they saw an opportunity to refresh their efforts to bring him to justice. They'd put Pavel into position and he'd begun feeding the brothers with intel that their team had or were collecting.

"Naturally your financial resources were invaluable also. Like most government bodies we are grossly underfunded so that was a bonus. Buying this place, for example, would have been impossible when Leona came under his attention and then decided to move back here. We were a little concerned about your links to the criminal world but that also proved useful along the way."

She drank from some bottled water that they'd obviously brought along.

"Kudos are due to you also, Leona for handling having a stalker so well and not running a mile from this lot. Michael here had doubts about whether you could handle us putting you on Hawthorne's radar but it's all worked out well and now we need to plan the next phase so that he doesn't get spooked and shift to another target."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Ryan growled just before I got a chance to ask the same question. "You deliberately made him aware of Lee in order to lure him out? You used her as bait and hoped that we'd step in and keep her safe while you waited for him to strike?"

"We had to be sure we knew who his next target would be. It's been so random that we haven't been able to get ahead of him but now...we have all the advantages we need to bring him down. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Not at the expense of another innocent life," Ryan replied his knuckles white as he gripped the arms of his chair possibly to stop himself from throttling her.

"Thanks to your identification of him, Leona, and last night's attempt to snatch you we have him under surveillance at last. We also have a name although it may not be the one he was born with. Nigel Hawthorne," she looked to me.

"So arrest him for my attempted kidnapping last night and be done with it," I suggested but she shook her head.

"That would only put him away for a short period and then he'd be back out and free to begin again."

"So what? You're waiting for him to kill me so you can charge him with murder? At least the Vincenzi's just took advantage of what they thought was happenstance...but you?" I jumped to my feet stalked over to the desk. "Fuck you and your plan. I'm not playing this sick game any longer." I turned to leave but one of her men stood in front of the door.

"Are you really that selfish?" she asked and I spun back to face her.

"Oh no...don't do that," Fionn rose and came to stand next to me. I was torn as to whether I wanted his support. "Don't land a guilt trip on her about Callie and all the past or possible future victims. None of that is on her."

"We'll find another way to catch him now that we know his face and name. He has to have been seen around Callie before he snatched her that night. The event she was at might have footage we could use," Dónal began to strategize immediately, trying to find a way to work it without me.

I wasn't sure what to feel about what they were doing. They'd invested years of their lives into finding this killer for Callie and now they were so close to their goal but for me they were prepared to almost begin again.

Ryan turned in his seat and looked up at me.

"We'll set you up in a safe house far away. Once he realises he can't find you he'll change his target and we can stop him before he kills again. You're right to leave now while you can and it'd be with our blessing."

I took a deep breath, stepped forward and put my hand onto his shoulder.

"He only managed to get close to me because nobody thought to tell me I was in danger. Obviously I wasn't being careful, the last minute trip, staying overnight, the carpark incident all being cases in point. If we all work together from now on we can bring this bastard down. But that means that you," I pointed at Niamh, "will have to keep us closely informed via Pavel here and we all have to agree on the plan for moving forward."

She turned to Michael and it took me all my time not to lean over the desk and slap her smug face.

"You see...I was right...she's well up to the task. All we need to know now is whether you three are ready to finish what you started?"

The three of them looked to me and so I gave a slight nod. They sighed but every line of their bodies spoke to the conflict they were feeling.