Bully Payback (Taking Revenge on Her Bully Book 1) Read online

  Taking Revenge on Her Bully Series

  Book One

  BULLY PAYBACK

  Lia Ellison

  Copyright © 2019 Lia Ellison

  All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For more information about the author, go to: http://liaellison.com

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Books by Lia Ellison

  Chapter 1

  I LEANED BACK IN MY seat, my gaze focused on the multiple computer screens in front of me. It wasn’t my job to monitor that everyone in my club was safe, but I still couldn’t help myself. I wanted to have everything under control, and it wasn’t like I had anything better to do anyway. The Hidden Pleasures was my life now.

  If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d end up running an elite underground pleasure club, I would’ve laughed in their face. And yet, here I was.

  I’d had to change my name and move away just to escape the life I could no longer bear.

  The life that had no hope.

  Here at least no one was judging me for my past or knew anything about me, and that was the part that I liked the most.

  Movement on one of the cameras caught my eye, so I reached for the phone that was on the desk. The guy on the screen was clearly drunk and he was advancing toward one of the strippers who was dancing on stage.

  There were all kinds of pleasures—both in private and public rooms—that people could experience in my club, and some came just to watch and have a drink. My security team vetted all the clients before allowing them inside, and the entrance fee was hefty, but still, there was trouble sometimes.

  Just as I picked up the phone to alert my security about the guy, I realized they were already on him.

  See Lexi? Nothing for you to do here. They can take care of everything without you.

  Maybe I should go out and have some fun. Go for a movie or something. Hell, I hadn’t been on a date in centuries, but I didn’t want to deal with telling the guy I liked that I owned the Hidden Pleasures.

  Even though I didn’t work with clients myself, I was sure it would be hard to find a guy who wouldn’t be jealous, and I didn’t want to leave my club to someone else or sell it. Maybe one day I’d get tired of it all, but not now.

  Not yet.

  A knock on the door made me jump.

  “Come in,” I said, turning around in my chair.

  Wendy poked her blonde head inside, her brown eyes settling on me. I had no idea if that was her real name, but it didn’t matter. She’d been one of the people who’d inspired me to open this place.

  Before starting to work for me, she’d been a prostitute on the streets and she’d almost died when a client who hadn’t wanted to pay attacked her. Here she was safe, just like everyone else who worked for me.

  It didn’t matter where they’d come from or what their reasons for doing this were. All that mattered to me was that they were in good health and here of their own free will. Everything that happened in my club was strictly consensual, and if any clients went overboard, we had more than one panic button in the private rooms where there were no cameras so that the security would know something was up.

  Luckily, we’d only had a situation like that once and the client was forever banned from the club, no matter how much money he’d wanted to throw at me.

  “We have a new client. A businessman,” Wendy said with a small smile. “I heard he’s young and hot.”

  The corners of my lips quirked up. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

  She gave me a nod and closed the door.

  A new client, huh.

  I lifted my gaze to screen that offered a view of the lobby. Since my security team had approved the client, he should be coming in at any moment. I wondered who he was, but I didn’t feel like pulling up his file since I’d have to enter more than one password and scan my fingerprint and retina to get to it.

  My clients’ privacy was of utmost importance. If any of it leaked, it would probably cause a scandal for a lot of people. But my security was very, very good, so I didn’t think that would be a problem.

  My guards opened the front door, and a man in a black leather jacket and dark blue pants strolled in.

  And my heart stopped.

  I stared at the screen, my pulse spiking up.

  No. It couldn’t be.

  No. It wasn’t him. I was hallucinating. I had to be. It wasn’t possible.

  No. No. No.

  My mind was screaming as I zoomed in on his handsome face. Dark brown eyes, short messy dark brown hair.

  His full mouth slightly curved up as he regarded the room around him with curiosity.

  Oh no.

  It was him.

  It was Ryker Cavano. One and only.

  I’d thought I’d never see him again. I’d thought I’d left that part of my past behind.

  My high school bully. The man who’d ruined my life. The reason why I’d had to leave everything behind.

  And now he was here. In my club.

  Shock quickly melted into rage, and I was up on my feet before I knew what I was even going to do. My heart was pounding like crazy, but I stormed down the hallway. I didn’t want him here. I wanted him gone.

  My mind couldn’t even process what I was going to say to him. He was going to find out that this was my club, but so what? I couldn’t stand for him to be here. I couldn’t.

  Gritting my teeth, I raced for the lobby.

  I curled my fingers into fists so that my hands wouldn’t be shaking, and as soon as I had him in sight, I slowed down. The last thing I was going to do was give him the satisfaction of seeing just how much his presence upset me, so I wiped all the emotion off my face.

  I took a deep breath and strode toward him.

  When his eyes settled on me, it was as if I’d been scorched with fire. It took all of my willpower to stay calm. His gaze traveled up and down my body.

  “If I’d known the women here were so beautiful, I would’ve come sooner,” he said before I could open my mouth.

  I blinked at him, all of what I�
�d intended to say flying out of my mind.

  “Here.” He handed me the form that all my clients had to fill in so that my workers would know exactly what they were looking for here. It made things so much easier for everyone.

  I grasped the piece of paper as if in a haze. His eyes were still regarding me with appreciation, but...

  Wait, he doesn’t know who I am, does he?

  I clamped down on the laughter bubbling up at the back of my throat. Sure, my hair was longer now, all the way to the small of my back, and it wasn’t dark brown but black.

  My eyes were still light blue as always. I was wearing tight black pants and a plain black top, but it didn’t look like he minded or had expected something sexier.

  Did he really not recognize me? Had he forgotten who I was? Had what he’d done to me meant so little to him? I wanted to punch him in the face over and over again, but then my gaze fell onto the piece of paper I was clutching in my hand.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  Oh shit. He really didn’t know.

  “Lexi,” I said.

  You used to know me as Avery, but I guess you don’t remember that either.

  I glanced at him. He’d always been handsome, and now, he had to be the hottest man I’d ever seen. Judging by how expensive his suit looked, being an asshole and a criminal had paid off well for him.

  For a moment, I debated what to do as I bit down on my lip. I could just kick him out, or I could use this to my advantage. Besides, one more look at the form that he’d filled in told me that I just might enjoy this too.

  Maybe I could tell him who I really was later. Oh yeah, that sounded way better than just throwing him out.

  A slow smile spread across my lips.

  “Come with me,” I said.

  Chapter 2

  MY LIPS PARTED AS I stared at Ryker hanging from the ceiling by his wrists, his toned, muscular chest exposed. I could do whatever the hell I wanted to him. The sole thought of it thrilled me more than it should.

  But what would be more fun? To take my anger out on him, which would only give me a short-lived pleasure and violate one of my most important rules here, or give him exactly what he’d come here for?

  Watch him enjoy what I did to him? And then reveal to him who I really was? Wouldn’t that be better? Oh yeah.

  Somehow, I liked that plan way better. I focused once again on the form he’d filled in. Too bad he wasn’t fully naked, but what he wanted didn’t require any sexual contact. Actually, he was against it.

  “You forgot to pick a safe word,” I said as I looked up at him. Damn, his pants were so low on his hips that, if he were anyone else, I’d be seriously tempted.

  “I don’t need one.” His eyes met mine. So sure about that, was he?

  “Yes, you do. Pick something.” I kept my gaze on his.

  He still didn’t recognize me. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. He’d always only cared about himself. I’d been completely insignificant to him in the great scheme of things.

  “No,” he said. “I’m sure you don’t want to lose your job here, and I know I can take whatever you can dish out.”

  So fucking confident.

  I pressed my lips into a forced smile. We’d see about that. I picked up the flogger, tracing my fingers over the leather strands as I circled around him. The rise and fall of his chest as the muscles in his arms strained fascinated me.

  Maybe, just maybe, I could forget who he was. For a moment. Then maybe I wouldn’t feel guilty about the traitorous tingling low in my stomach. I was looking forward to this, and it seemed like it was for all the wrong reasons.

  But I couldn’t let Ryker’s perfect body distract me from who he was.

  I gathered the leather in my hand before letting fly. The sound the leather made against the skin of his back was like thunder in the small space. Ryker tensed, his body swaying slightly, but he didn’t make any noise.

  I brought the flogger down again, harder. My attention was fully on the red stripes that were appearing on his skin. So damn beautiful. His back was now my canvas and I intended to paint it crimson.

  He let out a small gasp after a particularly hard blow, and I gripped the flogger tighter.

  For a moment, I thought that I’d succeed and stop the memories from flooding my mind. But then it all came back like a wave, and one of my memories played out in my mind.

  I’d been walking down the school hallway, keeping my head low so that no one would pay any attention to me, my books clutched to my chest. But then he appeared in front of me, along with a group of his friends who were almost always following him around.

  I didn’t even know what had happened, but suddenly, I was trapped. My back was pressed against the wall, and Ryker was so close to me that my heart was pounding, his hands on each side of me.

  My mind was paralyzed, and I was unable to move. Not that I’d ever escape him if he wanted to catch me. He was on the football team, and I knew exactly how fast and how strong he was.

  “You’d love to suck my cock, wouldn’t you?” he breathed, his lips only inches away from mine.

  His friends burst into laughter.

  I just glared at him.

  “What’s going on here?” a female voice rang out, and Ryker stepped away from me as if nothing had happened at all. “Go to class. All of you.”

  The teacher’s gaze flew from them to me, and she shook her head, as if she thought it was all my fault.

  “See you later, babe.” Ryker winked at me before brushing past me, stomping over one of my textbooks that had fallen out of my hands.

  When I picked up my book, I swore I’d make him pay one day. Except, that day had never come, and things had only gotten worse.

  Until now.

  I was back in the present, the flogger still in my hand.

  Ryker’s fingers curled around the chain that held the cuffs up. When my attention returned to his back, I almost dropped the flogger.

  I’d done something I’d never done before.

  Blood. I’d drawn blood.

  And it didn’t make me feel good at all.

  “We’re done here.” I tossed away the flogger and pressed the button to release the chain and cuffs.

  Why the hell hadn’t he stopped me? Why hadn’t he said anything?

  His chest was heaving, but there was a smile on his face.

  He’d enjoyed it.

  All of it.

  He rubbed his wrists, then turned his back to me so he could pick up his shirt. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. The whole thing was so confusing. I didn’t even know what I was feeling anymore.

  He winced as he pulled on his shirt. Damn, he really liked pain, didn’t he? Why wasn’t he someone else? Anyone else? Then I could admit to myself that, deep down, I was aroused by the whole thing, including making him bleed.

  Sure, I’d dreamed of doing that, but not in this way. Never like this.

  As he turned to face me, I was ready to tell him who I was and watch his face as I said it. Would he be embarrassed? Would he be angry? Would he be this confident and strong if he thought I might tell everyone what he’d come here for and how much he’d loved it?

  But before I could say anything, he opened his wallet and pulled out some cash, offering it to me. “I’ll be seeing you again.”

  I was about to tell him that he wouldn’t, but then an idea came to my mind. Beating the shit out of him might be mildly satisfying, but it would never get close to the payback he deserved for what he’d done to me.

  If I really wanted to make him pay, I had to think big. I had to destroy him and everything he cared about. And there had always been only one thing he cared about: his gang, the Scarlet Cobras.

  It was his source of power and money. His way of getting anything he wanted, including a session like the one we’d just had. If I found a way to expose him and take it all away, he’d go to prison and he’d lose everything.

  And now I might have a chance to do it. If he cam
e back, maybe I could get him to like me. Maybe I could find my way into his life. And then, I’d destroy it all. I’d destroy him.

  Yes, it was risky as hell, but I wanted him to feel at least a bit of the pain that I’d felt. Maybe then, I’d finally be truly free of my past.

  Ryker Cavano had had no trouble destroying my life to become the leader of the Scarlet Cobras, and soon, he’d realize he’d messed with the wrong person. All I had to do was play this right.

  “Yes, you’ll be seeing me again. If you’re lucky.” The smile that spread across my lip was genuine.

  Oh, Ryker had no idea what I had in mind for him. And once he realized his mistake, it was going to be too late. He was going to wish he hadn’t forgotten the young, helpless Avery Turner who couldn’t do anything to stop him.

  Avery was gone. He’d killed her a long time ago.

  But Lexi was here now, and she was out for blood.

  Chapter 3

  I WAS HAVING A NIGHTMARE, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t wake up. And the worst part was that my nightmare had happened in real life. It was all real. All of it.

  I knew what was coming, and yet, I couldn’t change anything or stop myself from seeing it all over again in front of my eyes.

  I was sitting on a bench in the school yard, reading a book. The sun was warm on my skin, and I pulled the sleeves of my sweater a bit up. But then the sun disappeared, a shadow looming over me.

  I didn’t want to look up from my book, but I couldn’t stop myself. My gaze lifted to Ryker’s.

  “Your lunch money,” he said. “Give it to me.”

  I blinked at him in confusion. This wasn’t the first time Ryker had stolen my lunch money, but ever since I’d started dating Sam, he’d eased off his attacks for some reason. I’d been a fool to think he’d forget about me and move on to someone else.

  Maybe he’d just been busy with something else. I glanced around me, lowering the book onto the table. Many other students were around, but even though I was sure everyone was aware what was going on, they were all looking the other way.