Branded (24 page)

The yacht we boarded at Lake Union was massive.

The shocking thing was that there were still a few around that were slightly bigger. I could only imagine the amount of money they must have cost.

Apparently “
The Reward
” belonged to an old business partner of Alex’s grandpa. The man had been close to Alex as well and given him permission to use it for the night.

According to Alex, the man had only used it once since he had bought it four years ago. It seemed silly to me. Such a waste of money.

I had to admit though, the boat was beautiful. There were several bedrooms and bathrooms throughout it. There were two main decks and a kitchen that was four times bigger than the one in my apartment. I was afraid to touch anything, paranoid I might break something or smudge it with my fingerprints.

We had made one stop before we came to the lake located just north of downtown. Alex was making dinner for us tonight and I had high hopes that my stomach would continue to cooperate like it had all day.

Alex was incredibly focused when he was in the kitchen so I knew it was going to be difficult to try and keep up a conversation with him. I didn’t mind as I found myself alone on the upper deck. There was so much running through my mind, it was nice to have some time alone to try and sort my thoughts out.

I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes to the fading light. I tried to clear my head of anything but my senses of what was around me. I could hear traffic moving constantly around me, the symphony of the city. It wasn’t obnoxious though. It wasn’t a sound I was entirely used to.

Things got so quiet at Lake Samish it was a welcome change. I could smell the salt of the water, how it clung to the side of the boats. A faint breeze had picked up in the last half hour or so and I had grabbed a light jacket. The air felt crisp and refreshing on my face and as it flooded my lungs.

Just as I was opening my eyes it felt as if a pair of steel bands wrapped around my chest, pinning my arms at my sides. Another closed over my mouth, sealing in the scream that wanted to escape my lips and making it impossible to breathe. My eyes shot around, looking for the source of my captivity but they saw nothing but my arms frozen at my sides.

“Scream and I will kill you and then I will kill him,” a cool, even voice whispered into my ear. I knew the voice instantly. The tone and accent were unmistakable. My body instantly went limp but the steel bands of his arms held me upright.

“You’ve been doing some things lately that have not made me very happy, Jessica,” he breathed into my neck. I could feel his nose touching the skin just behind my ear. I shivered violently. “It’s not a very good idea to upset me. I do bad things when I get upset.” His last words came out as an angry hiss. I felt hot tears spring to my eyes.

“I happened to overhear the conversation you had with your daddy this afternoon. I half expected you to figure out my little secret sooner. I don’t exactly fit in in this world anymore. And I was so afraid your crazy little friend was going to figure it out and tell you. She knew there was something wrong. I had to take care of her before she exposed me.”

Black spots were forming in the edges of my vision and my head started spinning. I could feel the vying arms of unconsciousness pulling at me, trying to drag me into another form of hell. I suddenly wished for it. It couldn’t be any worse than this.

“I will make you a deal,” Cole’s invisible voice sliced into the night. “If you do exactly as I say I will let them live. Your family, your precious little Sal. Perhaps even
Alex
,” he drew his name out in a morbid and twisted way. It sent chills racing through my bones.

“Do we have a deal?”

I instantly nodded my head.

“I am going to need you to be the best little actress you can manage for me tonight,” he said, his voice smooth and even. “You are going to pretend that everything is just fine and that I am not here. If you give any indication that something is wrong I will kill you both without hesitation.

Is that clear?”

I nodded again, the dark spots in my vision growing bigger.

“Now,” he continued. “Alex has another special little surprise for you tonight. He did a little shopping while you were meeting with dear ole daddy. To a rather expensive little jewelry store. He wants to ask you a four word question tonight.”

I had a hard time keeping my thoughts straight enough to understand what it was exactly Cole was saying. It hit me with sudden force though. Alex had bought a ring while I was with my father. He was planning on proposing tonight.

The huge smile on Alex’s face that afternoon and the way he nearly glowed seemed so obvious now. He had insisted I get that stupid ring earlier so he could get my ring size. And the way he kept playing with something in his pocket all afternoon, there must have been a little black box in it. The way he insisted I wear something so nice when it was just the two of us alone. It all made sense now. I had been so blind. How could I not have guessed?

“You have to prevent him from asking that question,” Cole hissed. “I can’t expect you to be
that
great of an actress. And you will insist that you need to get to bed as soon as you can manage without his suspecting anything is wrong. And you will go to bed
alone
tonight.” When he paused I nodded once again. It wasn’t going to be easy. Of course Alex would wonder what was wrong when I insisted I needed to go to bed. That was something I never wanted to do. He would ask what was wrong and what he could do to help.

It wasn’t going to be easy to do what Cole insisted on.

But to save Alex’s life I could manage it.

“I am going to release you now but be assured; I will not be far away. Remember, any scream or if you give any indication that I am here and I
will
kill you both.” I nodded my head once more and I felt the impossibly strong arms that bound me release. My legs threatened to collapse from underneath me but I forced them to do their job, knowing that at any moment Alex could walk out here and wonder what was wrong.

Knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to make them cooperate for long, I took a seat at the table on the deck. I took two deep breaths, trying to clear the black spots from my vision. The effort it took left me feeling even dizzier than I had felt before. I wiped at my eyes, glad I had not worn any mascara that could leave evidence of the tears that still wanted to spill down my cheeks.

“That’s better,” I heard a cold voice whisper into my ear. I couldn’t help but shy away in the other direction. At this he chuckled, his voice fading into the background.

I felt almost composed enough to appear normal except for my hands that shook so violently I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to hold a glass. I folded them in my lap, hoping it would still be a while before Alex was done cooking.

Less than two minutes later, Alex came out onto the dock, wheeling a fancy looking serving trolley behind him.

He only flashed me a smile before he turned his attention to setting the table. I was overwhelmingly grateful for how intent he got when he was doing his culinary thing. It would only buy me a few more minutes but hopefully that was all I would need. It was all I was going to get.

After wheeling the trolley back inside, Alex joined me again at the table and immediately set to serving the food. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at what he had cooked.

Even though I was trying to not look into his face, afraid he would see past the careful façade I was putting on, I couldn’t help but marvel at him. He had never looked so stunning then he looked wearing black trousers and a black dress shirt. He had just shaved before he started making dinner, his face perfectly smooth and his skin as close to flawless as it could be and still be human.

But it wasn’t just the amazing exterior of this man that made me love him so much. If he knew what was truly going on right now I could only imagine what he might do.

And I knew he would do it in less than a heartbeat because it would be for me. No wonder I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man.

My heart gave a shuttering crack, knowing that was exactly how it was supposed to go tonight and now knowing that it was never going to happen.

He finished filling two tall glasses with something bubbly and handed one to me. He lightly touched his glass to mine then raised it just slightly.

“To a perfect day,” he said softly with a smile.

I raised my glass a fraction and could only manage a smile before taking a sip of the sparkling cider. Thankfully my hands had managed to stop shaking enough for Alex not to notice.

Still not fully realizing what I was eating, I forked something into my mouth. I didn’t taste anything but the texture seemed leafy. Just as I swallowed I felt the light brush of invisible feathers against my left arm. It took everything I had to not scream and jump away.

Alex seemed content to stay quiet as we ate our meal but unfortunately he seemed to want to stare into my face all night long. Under normal circumstances I would have loved the fact that he would want to but tonight it simply meant that I could not slip even for a moment.

As the meal progressed, I could feel the pressure of what I knew was coming and what I had to stop. I could only assume Alex would try and propose soon after we finished eating and we were now about to start dessert. My breathing came in shorter, shallower gasps as the minutes ticked by and the world felt tippy and unsteady. I was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were on a boat.

“Are you alright, Jessica?” Alex asked quietly as he looked sincerely into my face. “You look a bit pale and you’ve seemed really quiet all through dinner.” Here we go, I thought to myself.

“Actually I’m feeling a little off again. I guess I haven’t completely kicked this thing yet,” I said, trying not to lie as much as I dared to.

Alex gave a half smile, as he set his spoon down. “Ya, I guess we probably did a little too much today considering.

I’m sorry. I should have thought about that a little more.” I shook my head, feeling a sheen of sweat breaking out on my forehead. My hands suddenly felt incredibly clammy.

“No, it’s fine.”

Alex’s brow furrowed a bit as he looked at me closely.

“Maybe you should go lay down for a bit,” he said, his voice full of concern.

I felt a pair of cold, inhumanly strong hands settle on my shoulders, much too close to my neck for comfort. I was going to have to be careful. Alex apparently could already see some change coming over me.

“I think that might be a good idea,” I managed to whisper, not meeting his eyes.

Alex nodded and stood, grabbing two of the plates from the table. “Why don’t you go ahead and lay down and I will be down as soon as I get everything cleaned up?”

“No!” I half squeaked as I felt Cole’s hands tighten on my skin. “I mean, I think it might be best if I’m alone for a while. My head is kind of pounding so I think I’m just going to turn the lights off and lay in the quiet for a while.” I could see two flashes of disappointment cross Alex’s face. The first I could tell was just because I was refusing the only kind of help he knew how to offer. The second was a deeper, resolved sense of disappointment. He was realizing that a proposal tonight was not how he wanted it to happen. He would want everything to be perfect, not with me feeling sick and acting distant.

“Alright,” he said. I could tell he was trying to sound positive. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” was all I could say.

A slim feeling of relief washed through me as I walked down a set of incredibly narrow stairs to the bedroom. The task Cole had assigned me was completed. I had acted as normal as possible, prevented Alex from proposing, and was headed to bed alone.

I could bear whatever Cole might have in store for me now so long as Alex was safe.

My body felt numb as I walked into one of the luxurious, but tiny, bedrooms. The door closed quietly behind me but not by my hands. Beads of sweat formed on my brow as I stood frozen.

The still invisible hands rested on either side of my bare forearms, slowly sliding up till they rested on either side of my neck. I felt the air rustle slightly as he breathed into my hair and felt his lips trail lightly against my ear.

“What do you want?” I barely managed to whisper.

“Why are you here?”

“The answer to that question is the same thing,” he said in a low voice. His right hand trailed from my neck, down my arm again, all the way down to my hip where he paused. “You.”

My blood seemed to chill and come to a standstill as his words penetrated into my system. Of course that was why he was here. In truth I had known that all along. I had simply been unwilling to see it. What else could the reason possibly have been?

“Now,” he continued, his right hand returning to a less insistent spot on my arm. “It’s been a long day for you.

Why don’t you lie down and get some rest?”

He didn’t wait for a response from me as he started pushing me toward the king sized bed. But even as he did so I felt myself hit a wall, everything I had been dealing with falling before me like a pile of bricks and I couldn’t move past it. I was exhausted and my body was going to refuse to deal with any more tonight. I was going to have no choice but to sleep. My body was shutting down.

I could tell I wasn’t thinking straight when I didn’t feel afraid as I lay down on the expensive feeling bed. There was so much to be afraid of. For simple starters, I was always afraid to sleep. Secondly, I had a demented angel lying down next to me and he had threatened my life multiple times tonight. And he had admitted the reason he was here was for me. And thirdly, I still had no guarantee that Alex would be safe while I slipped into hell.

No, I wasn’t thinking straight. The fear that was so familiar as of lately wasn’t coming. I only wanted to sleep.

I didn’t have to wait for more than a few seconds.

The bars that held me captive felt like a welcome home but I could not figure out why they felt so safe at the moment. I knew there was something I needed to hide from, something out there waiting for me beyond the normal of the terror of the trials. It sat at the edge of my mind, looming like a shadow that refused to reveal its true ugliness.