Captive to the Dark (17 page)

“Mr. Roberts, it’s a pleasure to have you back with us. Your table is ready.”

A woman no older than myself, dressed in a black pencil skirt and white button up shirt, led us to the back. Her blonde hair swayed from her ponytail with every swing of her hips. My internal claws came out with the way she kept looking back at Slade. He was
my
master, no one else’s.

We rounded a corner and stepped up into a private area containing only one table. It was big enough to easily sit ten people. The room was of decent size, decorated in rich colors of deep green and gold. A man rested at the far end of the table. He stood, placing his hand out to Slade.

“Would you like the usual, Mr. Roberts?” The hostess smiled as she stared up in what looked to be awe. I could have probably kicked her and she’d have never known. And what was she doing taking the drink orders, anyway? Was that even her job? I breathed in deep, trying to calm. It was all nerves. Slade finished shaking the detective’s hand, nodded to her, and turned to me.

“What about you, Mary? What is it that you’d like?” A slight smile came to his face. The question was full of hidden meanings that had my body bursting to life. Ever since I’d sampled his cock in my pussy, I was dying to have more.

“Martini. Dry.” Hell, I wasn’t a drinker. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted and I was sure ordering a soda at one of these places wasn’t going to look very good.

The hostess nodded and left. Slade pulled out my chair and waited for me to sit before taking his own, right next to me. The detective eased down across and leaned forward. “Miss Hagen, it’s a pleasure meeting you. Your disappearance caused front page news. I’m glad to see you’re all right.”

“I am. Thank you. I’m afraid Mr. Roberts and I got swept away with running into each other. I should have contacted my sister to let her know I was leaving, but she’d been so busy that I didn’t even think she’d notice I was gone.”

“So where have you been? I’m surprised you didn’t see something about your disappearance on the news.”

My eyes went to Slade. I’d yet to see the true impact the kidnapping had caused. “We were in Washington. Slade and I were pretty much off the grid for a few days. The TV was the last thing we were thinking about, I assure you.”

The detective smiled. “I see. Well, I’ll get the word out and let everyone know you’re alive and well. I might need to ask you a few questions later, but I’ll contact you if that’s the case.” I nodded and took a deep breath as he stood. “You both have a great night.”

“Oh, we will.” Slade shook his hand again and we watched while he left.

My palm pressed into my chest at the pounding. “Shit. That went well, I think.”

“You did great,” Slade assured.

Suits came around the corner and, slowly, I brought my gaze up to my father, Mr. Brighton, and Jordan. My hand clasped to my thigh as they ceased their whispering and made an abrupt stop just a foot from the table separating us. Two men stepped around the corner, no doubt my father’s detail. I glanced over, immediately frozen by the biggest nightmare of my life. Time all but died the moment my gaze connected with Thomas’.

Short gasps came from my mouth as I fought to catch my breath. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be him. Grey now laced his dark hair, but I knew that face. Sharp angles. Pointy, straight nose. The chair toppled over before I even realized I had stood. I could feel myself cowering, lowering, as I walked backward, blindly reaching as I tried to get as far away as possible.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” My father’s voice echoed somewhere in the distance, but I wasn’t there with them anymore. I was suddenly back in my old room, shivering, shaking from the cold air against my wet bathing suit.

The door click closed behind me, stopping the advance to my dresser. And there he was. My bodyguard. My protector. Walking toward me with a look I’d never seen on his face before. A look I hadn’t seen on anyone’s face. It was evil. I knew that even at thirteen. Warnings and terror swirled around inside me as I backed away, just as I was doing now. Reaching, praying there was somewhere for me to go when I knew there wasn’t. Trapped. I was trapped, again.

“Breathe, Mary.” Hands were on my face, but I couldn’t take my eyes from Thomas. “Mary.” The voice was growing further away. Agony crushed my chest in inwardly, like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my frail, little body. Little. Yes, I was so small compared to him.

Darkness spotted my vision and I tried blinking it away, but it only got worse. “Slave,” the voice growled loud into my ear, but I was going down. My body was suddenly so heavy… and tired. Yes. This was just a dream. I’d wake up and everything would be fine. I’d be... fine.

****

Slade

“Mary.” My hand patted her face, but she was out. Unconscious. I reached into my pocket while my eyes scanned the room. What in the hell had set her off? Her father? Jordan? No, it couldn’t have been. I took in Mr. Brighton and stopped at the man who rested at the very back. He looked to be trying to ease out of the room. Why?

“Marcio, get the fuck in here.” I hung up just as Jordan rushed over.

“Let go of her. Let me see her.”

My arm was grabbed at the wrist and I glared. No way was I handing over my Mary to that son of a bitch. Not now. Not ever.

“I’ve taken some classes. If you want me to help her, you have to let her go.” Jordan tried putting his fingers on her neck, but I brought her closer to me. She was breathing now. I could feel it. She must have had a panic attack of some sort. Nothing that I couldn’t take care of myself. Once Marcio got here, I’d let him check her out.

I jerked, pushing him back with my other hand. “Get the hell away from her. She was fine until you all came in here. Who the fuck is that?” I pointed to the man I was suspicious of. I’d been so focused on Mary that I hadn’t paid attention to where she was looking, but it had to have been in his direction.

The Governor swiped his hand as if it were no big deal. “Just one of my detail. Thomas, why don’t you take Marcus and go wait downstairs for us to finish?”

Thomas.
I’d remember that.

Victor walked forward. “Mary, get up.” The harshness in his tone had me starting to rise. Mary’s weight stopped me. No, I wouldn’t let her go. Not with Jordan so close. “Mary.”

At his increase in volume, her eyes fluttered open. She immediately tried to scramble from my arms. I locked them tighter. “Mary.” My hand cupped her face, making her look at me. The fear behind her eyes I’d only seen once. In my kitchen.

“Thomas?” I whispered the name, testing her reaction. Fingers gripped to the lapels on my jacket as she tried to pull me closer while she scanned the room. Nausea formed in my stomach, and I knew.
Knew
the man who was in here not seconds ago was her rapist.

Marcio burst through the room, pushing Jordan out of the way as he moved to Mary’s other side. “What happened?” His hand went to the pulse point at her wrist while he stared at his watch.

“I’m fine,” she said, leaning in closer to my chest. “I think I just need to sleep or something.”

“She passed out. She was pretty upset.” I eased the blonde strands of hair back from her face. The high bun she’d had was still surprisingly presentable.

Victor pulled out a chair and sat down. The aggravation on his face was clear. He shook his head at me and I couldn’t help but clench my jaw. The man didn’t cease to amaze me. I thought he’d have killed the rapist, yet he had him working right by his side the whole time. Had Mary not been clinging to me, I would have been over that table in a heartbeat, strangling the life out of him. Fuck, maybe I still would.

“What the hell were you thinking bringing her here?” Victor’s voice dripped with rage, but not more than I had at the moment.

Marcio began quietly asking her questions and I turned my attention to her father. “My slave doesn’t leave my side, and won’t, until Lily is back in my care.” Fuck that. She wasn’t leaving, period. I wouldn’t have to keep her against her will, either. Not after what she just saw.

Jordan and Julian sat down and I picked up Mary’s chair, helping her to stand and sit. I pulled Marcio close, turning us away from everyone in the room. “What’s the word?”

“She’s in shock. Her speech is slurred, she’s a little out of it right now, not making sense. Mary will be okay, but don’t keep her here too long. I expect she’s going to go through ups and downs. One minute happy, the next, possibly a crying mess. It’s common.”

I nodded. “Terrance and Brace still outside?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Two men just left here. One’s blond, the other has salt and pepper hair.”

Marcio glanced toward the opening of our private room. “I saw them as I was entering.”

“The dark haired one, his name is Thomas. You have Brace and Terrance get him to my place. He’s mine. As for the other one, I don’t care if you have to kill him to get him out of the way. You have that fucker, Thomas, tied up and waiting for me. I won’t be too long. I’ll call when I’m headed to the limo so you can pick us up.

“You bet, boss.”

I took my seat as he stormed from the room. We all paused as a waiter eased in with my and Mary’s drinks. Lord only knew what he saw before his approach. Obviously something because he was hesitant as he came to the table. The men ordered their drinks and menus were laid out in front of us. I glanced at Mary. Her face was pale as she stared ahead in a daze.

Jordan leaned forward, reaching for her hand. I didn’t think. I grabbed the fork and slammed it into the table an inch away. Mary jumped, reaching for me. I knew she had no idea what in the hell was going on. She was out of it and it made me sick. Jordan glared and turned back to Mary. “Hey, honey, talk to me. Let me see how you are.”

Almost robotically, she turned to him. “I’m okay. Just a little jumpy.” A ragged breath left her and Jordan looked toward Victor. He knew something was going on. Jordan wasn’t stupid, but I wasn’t about to inform him.

“Can we get to business?” Victor tossed down a folder. “Here, take a look.” He tossed a pen on the top. Did I even need to see what rested in that black folder? I’d assumed I needed to rely on these men to bring Lily back, but was that truly the case?

I grabbed my Scotch and took a sip as I flipped it open. The typing before me blurred as Mary took over my vision. The memory of the absolute terror on her face as she stared ahead stole every ounce of my attention. I blinked, wishing I could erase what I’d seen. Wishing I could mentally remove every bad thing that had ever happened from her mind. I glanced up, just to return back to the contract. “Where’s my sister?”

Mr. Brighton leaned in. “We’re in the process of negotiations.”

“I see.” I shut the folder and tossed it toward Victor. “I’m not signing shit until she’s in front of me. We’re done here.”

“Sign the fucking papers.” Victor didn’t move, but I did. Right over the table to grab him around his throat. The firm clasp he placed around my wrist didn’t budge the death grip I had on his windpipe.

Mr. Brighton stiffened and Jordan stood, but I didn’t let go. “What are you going to do if I don’t, Mr. Hagen?” I tightened, causing his cheeks to turn a bright shade of red. “You don’t scare me and I sure as fuck don’t take orders from the likes of you.” I pushed back and eased to my chair as he started coughing. “Let’s get something straight, right now. All of you.”

Jordan eased back down, although I could tell he didn’t want to. The blood lust he had behind his stare was evenly matched with mine. We were both monsters. The hatred between us was as mutual as our want for Mary.

I downed my Scotch, waiting for the waiter to place the men’s drinks down and leave before I continued. “What you are all doing makes me sick.” My attention turned to Victor. “And the shit you pulled tonight with Mary makes me wish I wasn’t in such a public place. I can promise you, I wouldn’t have stopped. But as it is, I’ll get a little satisfaction before it’s over with. I think Mary will, too. You’re going to have to find new guards. At least one, for sure. He’s mine now, and I can promise you he won’t be seen again.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Jordan leaned over, trying to get in the conversation. “I fucking asked a question, dammit. If I’m going to be with Mary, I deserve to know. Everyone else apparently does.” He turned to my slave and I braced myself to not attack like I wanted. “Mary?” Jordan cocked his head to the side. “Can you tell me?” His voice was caring. Soft. Her eyes looked up at him and I noticed her eye lids looked heavy. She was still in shock. It was known to last up to hours in some cases.

“What?” She blinked and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I was thinking.”

Jordan growled and looked over at Victor. “What the hell is going on? Which man is Slade referring to? What happened?” When silence was all that met him, he looked to me. “Tell me. I’m asking you, please. I know shock when I see it. Did one of those men hurt her?”

Tears escaped down Mary’s cheeks and she began rocking. The waiter came in and I waved him out, angrily. “It’s not my place to tell you, Jordan.” I reached over, bringing Mary’s face to look into mine. To hell with what any of them thought or saw. “Are you ready to go home, slave? I think it’s time for bed. What do say?”

Mary blinked and looked around as if only waking up. Her eyes scanned the room and stopped on her father. The chair scraped loudly against the wooden floor as she stood. “Taken care of? Taken care of?” The volume of her voice rose and she grabbed the knife from the table. I knew the state she was in hadn’t worn off completely. Not even close.

“I’ll fucking kill you.” She flew around the table and although I didn’t want to stop her, my arm caught around her waist and I pulled the knife from her hand. “You’re a liar. A fucking liar. I swear, I’ll kill you.” She lunged across the table and I stood, holding onto her.

Victor stood too, grabbing the folder. “I
did
take care of the bastard. Now get over it, Mary. I got him away from you. He paid for what he did. He’ll never rape again. Kind of hard with chemical castration.”