Conquered: She Who Dares Book Two (27 page)

My car is still there when I get back, thank fuck. I drive back and wonder how someone could sell the rights to their own flesh and blood. Surely when you have a child you do anything for them. I know there’s obviously bad blood between Lilly and her mother, but if that was my child…if I realised I made a mistake, then I’d do anything to make it up to them. If she had turned down the money for a chance to make amends with Lilly, it would have spoken enough that maybe Lilly could have given her a chance…eventually. Fuck, I don’t know, I’m probably just grasping at straws. I guess the idea that she vaguely cared is too close to home for me. My mother couldn’t give a fuck. I know the sting of that. It pains me that Lilly has to suffer that too.

I decide to go straight back to her flat. Might as well get it over with and tell her.

Chapter Twenty

Lilly

Fucking Harry. I can’t believe this shit. Theo left earlier and I left to go to the dance studio, but before I could even make it to the street George came through the door with a smile on his face. So now I’m sat on the sofa, bored out of my bloody mind because Harry’s decided to go all macho and forced George to babysit me.

“This is bullshit.” I whine for the hundredth time.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a miserable bitch.” George says from the kitchen. He’s attempting to bake me cookies. Bribery food, no matter what he says.

“Hey, you’re not the one with the psycho brother trying to keep you locked up.” The truth is, if it were anyone else I’d be out of here so fast, consequences be damned, but it’s Harry. He worries about me, and if staying here for one day is going to stop him worrying then I’ll do it. That doesn’t mean that the whole thing isn’t absolutely ridiculous.

I hear the buzzer for the door and practically run to get it. “Hello.”

“Hey sugar. Can I come in?” Oh god his voice is so smooth and deep, it still makes me go all weird every time I hear it..

“Hmm hmm.” I grunt as I press the buzzer.

I open the flat door before he’s even knocked. He smiles and it knocks the wind out of me. Isn’t he just the perfect distraction from my prison. I grab his shirt and pull him inside. He follows me to the kitchen where George is studying the back of a cookie dough box.

“Are you baking?” He frowns at me like this entire notion is ridiculous.

“Maybe.” I say.

“I’m baking.” George says. “Have you tasted her cooking?” He snorts.

“You’re not much better.” I retort.

“Hey. I’m trying to cheer you up. I get no thanks.” He feigns a wounded expression.

“You’re trying to bribe me. It’s totally different.”

“Bribe you into what?” Theo smiles.

“Staying in the house and not resisting arrest.” I cock an eyebrow at George letting him know I’m not happy. Hey, I may not fight it, but I don’t have to be happy about it. He volunteered for my bitching.

George rolls his eyes and snorts. “You should never have given up the acting classes, you’re sooo melodramatic.”

Theo watches the entire exchange with a small smile on his face. I grab his arm and drag him to the sofa. “So, what did you find?”

“Well, I found her.” I meet his eyes. “And it’s dealt with. She’ll be out of London by tonight. You won’t hear from her again.”

What the…? “You went to see her yourself? I thought we agreed.”

“I wanted to deal with it myself, ensure that she took the deal and left. This was too big a task to entrust to someone else.” He says carefully. “Look, it’s done. Harry won’t have a shit fit because you spoke to her, you don’t have to deal with her, everyone’s happy.”

“Did she…did she say anything to you?” My voice wavers slightly. Shit, this is bad.

“No. I made her an offer and she took it.” He’s lying. I can always tell when he’s lying because he rarely does it. The guilt is written all over his face. Whatever she said to him, he doesn’t want me to know. She wouldn’t tell him about Shaun would she? That thought makes me shiver involuntarily

I drop my eyes to my hands in my lap. “How much?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Theo, tell me. I want to pay you back.”

He smiles softly and reaches out to touch me. He runs his fingers along my jaw, then across my lips. My breath quickens and my skin heats. “You pay me back just by being. Your smile lights up my world. If her leaving will make you smile, then no amount of money in the world matters.” Oh god. My heart thumps harder in my chest. He’s breaking down all my barriers all over again. How can I fight him? How am I meant to stand against this when he says things like that to me? I ask for his help and he’s there without a second thought. He holds me when I feel like I’m falling apart. No matter how many times I push him away he’s always there. Truth be told, it’s killing me. He’s everything I want. He’s everything I need.

He leans forward and gently brushes his lips across mine in a whisper of a kiss. I close my eyes and savour his touch, the closeness. I take a big long drag of my addiction. Him.

He pulls away and stands. “Call me if you need me.” He smiles that beautiful smile that brings women across the country to their knees, and then he’s gone.

I lean my head in my hands. Fuck. One night and one day, and that’s it. All the hatred I’ve built, all the barriers I’ve constructed, blown to shit.

I feel George sit on the sofa next to me. “Well fuck, if a man said that to me I’d jump his bones before he’d even finished. And if Theodore Ellis said that to me…” He starts fanning himself. “Seriously does he ever have a bad day? It would make me feel better if he had ugly days, or fat days.” I smirk at him and his little rant. He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Do you need me tell you this time?” I frown at him, confused. “He really loves you.”

“I know.” What else can I say? I know. I love him too, but everything’s a fucked up mess. Romantic.

He shakes his head. “You know, you could work through this if you really wanted to. If you don’t try how will you ever know? You could look back in ten years time and realise he was the love of your life, and you gave him up.” He places his hands on his chest dramatically. “You’ll be like one of those girls in a sad romance film.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re such a fucking queen.”

He laughs. “So, what are we doing tonight? Molly said she’s hanging with us, she’ll be back soon. If I get a vote, I’m saying pizza and Magic Mike. It’s been a while since I’ve had my Channing dose.”

“I’m not sure Harry would agree with you on that one.” I grin.

“Well, if Harry has a problem with it, he’s more than welcome to be a stand in. I want man candy and I don’t care what form it comes in.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“George. My. Brother.” I reiterate for what must be the thousandth time in our friendship.

He grins. “Your brothers fucking hot Lill’s. You guys got good genes.”

“Fine. We’ll watch Magic Mike.” I sigh.

“Don’t act like it’s a hardship.” He snorts. “We both know the old floor grind gets you going.” He says as he gets on the floor and starts imitating the exact move. I laugh.

“Fuck babe, how are you single with moves like that?”

“Baby girl, you know it wouldn’t be fair for me to limit my amazingness to just one person. That would be a travesty.” He winks. I will say this for George, he always makes me smile.

Molly comes in a few minutes later. “Hey.” I greet her.

“Hey.” She drops her bag on the chair and makes her way to where I’m sprawled on the sofa. George is ‘making some calls’, translated; he’s organising a hook up for later. Molly spots the Magic Mike DVD on the coffee table. “Again?” She whines.

I shrug. “George is due a fix apparently.”

“That boy has got issues. He’s one step away from humping legs and a trip to the vet.”

“I’d keep that to yourself. He might get aggressive if he feels his favourite man parts are threatened.”

We’re in the middle of watching Magic Mike, the good bit I should add, when Harry comes in, or should I say storms in. The front door slams behind him. “Lilly!” He shouts.

I stand and reluctantly leave Molly and George to watch their film, but they pause it anyway, apparently sensing a much more entertaining show.

“What?” I hiss when I get closer.

His body is rigid, his eyes narrowed at me. “Did you call him?”

“What? Who?” I pull him slightly into the hallway, not wanting to get chewed out by my brother in front of everyone.

“Either you called him, or he went to her off his own back. Which is it?” Oh shit. I press my lips together. Can I deny this? He looks really bloody angry. His dark hair is a mess from where he’s obviously been dragging his hands through it. His green eyes are volatile. He steps closer to me. “He bought her off for one point five million.” I gasp. One point five million. Holy shit. The concept of Theo’s wealth is something I accepted a long time ago, but he’s not that guy. He’s rich, he has a nice house, drives nice cars, wears nice clothes, but I guess I’ve never really thought of him as a typical rich guy because he doesn’t flaunt his money in your face. The fact that he can just throw one point five million at a problem that isn’t his makes me think again. Harry grits his teeth. “You think that he won’t want some kind of return on that investment? He’s been waiting to get to you, and you just sold your soul to the devil.” He looks away clenching and releasing his fists. “You should have fucking left it to me.” I want to tell him that Theo’s not like that, that he wouldn’t do that, but I can’t. He paid Cruise off didn’t he? He’s already proved that there are no lengths he won’t go to, to get me. The thing is with Theo though, he’s too arrogant to bribe me in any way. He wants me willing, preferably begging for him, or not at all. Of course, I’m not about to tell my brother that. I’m also not about to tell him that the original agreement was that we’d pay him back. One point five million though…I don’t think Harry’s good for that somehow. He’s wealthy, but he’s not disgustingly rich. I had hoped that Theo would take that into account when negotiating. Maybe he wants me in his debt? Fuck, did I make a mistake turning to him? I really hope not.

Harry’s eyes meet mine, and the tension radiates from him. “You call him and you tell him not to go through with it. The money might not have been exchanged yet.” I know differently. Theo said she’d be gone by tonight. She wouldn’t leave unless the money was in her account. The money will have already been exchanged. Besides, I’m not going to turn down Theo’s help just to soothe my brother’s ego. Why do men have to be such Neanderthals?

“It will have already gone through. Theo doesn’t hang around with these things. He wanted her gone as quickly as possible. That means he would have paid her as quickly as possible.”

“Fuck!” He turns and paces in front of me. “I will not be in debt to that fucker.” He shouts.

“You’re not. I am.” Maybe this should trouble me, but it doesn’t. Theo isn’t like that. I know him. He didn’t have to help me. He wanted to. He still loves me. I can’t tell Harry that though. My brother hates Theo. “I can’t deal with knowing she’s here Harry. I need her gone. Theo made that happen. I won’t apologise for it.” I say quietly.

“You should have left it to me.” He repeats. Harry watches me for a moment before he shakes his head and storms away down the hallway. “I don’t like this, it’s too simple. “ He grumbles as he goes.

Truth be told, this entire situation is giving me a headache. Why was my mother even here? What are her motives? Can I trust Theo, despite all that’s gone on between us? Why did he go to her alone? What did she say to him? That last one is my biggest worry. My mother has been dead to me for the past eight years. I buried my secrets with her, but now she’s back. She knows things that could ruin me. Things I definitely don’t want Theo to know. I may be unable to be with him, but I still love him. I never want him to look at me and see who and what I really am.

I move back into the living room and flop down onto the sofa. Will the drama ever end? I feel close to breaking point. I glance up at the paused screen depicting a swoon worthy, and very topless Channing Tatum. It brightens my mood slightly.

I sigh and turn toward Molly and George who are both staring at me silently.

“What?” I snap.

“One. Point. Five. Fucking. Million!” Molly screams.

I roll my eyes. “You say it like I came up with that money.”

“Holy shit.” She breathes.

“Told you. Guy is so fucked up on you Lill’s.” George says with an ‘I told you so’ expression on his face.

I’m not having this conversation. Again. “I’m going to bed.”

“Ah, Lill’s don’t. I’m sorry.” George holds his hands up, a pout on his face.

“No, it’s fine. It’s been a crazy day. I just need a minute. You know?”

He nods and I go to my room. I lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Why is it that my life always feels like this big mess that I can’t clean up fast enough. As soon as I manage to clean up one mess, another one has formed. It’s never ending. I just need to go to sleep and pretend my life is normal.

Oh, how I wish… As soon as I lay down and close my eyes, the images come to me, memories…nightmares.

I lay in my bed waiting, just waiting. It’s dark except for the shaft of light coming from underneath my bedroom door. I watch that small patch of light as if my life depends on it. I hear the creak of the third step on the stairs. He’s coming. I start to shake, violently. I sit up and pull myself into the furthest corner of my bed. I pull my knees up to my chest and press my face into them. Please don’t come in, please don’t come in. I recite it over and over in my head, praying that he doesn’t come in here, hoping desperately that this won’t be one of ‘those’ nights.

I hear his heavy footsteps across the landing, one, two, three and then he stops. I slowly lift my head as my heart hammers in my chest. The patch of light is almost gone, disrupted by a large shadow. He’s here.

The door handle moves and I whimper at the loud click which sounds like a firework going off in the silence of my room. The door slowly swings open and there he stands. His broad frame fills the doorway, he sways slightly as he steps into the room.