Fighting for Control (Against the Cage Book 3) (36 page)

Barry was a master at mind games, and like a fool, she’d underestimated the lengths he’d go to win. Taking her phone and isolating her from her old life was just another way of controlling her. She could find a way to contact Nikko if she really wanted to, but what good would it do? It wouldn’t change anything. They couldn’t be together, even if there was a chance he still wanted her, which he’d made abundantly clear that night at her house that he did not.

She had plenty of freedom to come and go as she pleased. Barry gave her that. She was a prisoner of her own making, living in an invisible cage. In an effort to protect Nikko’s secrets, she’d become a slave to her own demon. And as long as Nikko let his control him, she would never be free of hers—Barry.

This was all her fault. She had no one to blame but herself. She’d
trusted Barry to help her, and in doing so, she’d given him the power to
destroy her, both professionally and personally. Under no circumstances
would she ever be responsible for the truth about Nikko getting out.

“Back only a week, and your schedule is already full. You just may single-handedly save this practice.”

She looked up to find Barry standing in her doorway, just as he’d done so many times over the years, and she wondered how she had once found this man attractive.

“I was thinking we might go out tonight. I know Shelly and Don really want to see you. We could meet them for drinks. It would be just like old times.”

Old times? Who was he trying to fool?—everyone, apparently. And she was stuck, acting her part in his sick, macabre puppet show.

“I have some work to catch up on. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll meet you there.” She dismissed him by turning her attention back to her chart.

A glimpse of movement caught her eye as he stepped inside her office. Doing her best to ignore him as he approached, she tensed when he stood behind her and tried not to shudder when he swept her hair to the side, exposing the long column of her neck. When he spoke, his words were a whisper against her ear. “Don’t be too long, huh? You don’t want to keep our friends waiting.”

His friends. They were his friends. This was his life. She didn’t belong here anymore, and every second she was forced to live this ruse was slowly destroying her. He dipped his head and kissed the side of her neck. Bile rose up the back of her throat, her skin crawling with disgust.

Her hair fell back against her shoulder as he stepped away. Feigning interest in her client’s chart, she waited for him to leave. His footsteps retreated down the hall, and she released the breath she hadn’t
realized she’d been holding. She was finally alone. Or so she thought.

“Hey, Clover . . .”

Vi’s head snapped up and a startled gasp broke from her throat. “Nikko . . .” A few seconds ticked by where neither of them spoke as she sat there staring at him. She couldn’t believe he was here. And the sudden burst of joy flooding her veins was immediately doused with the harsh reality—it changed nothing. “What are you doing here?” Praying her voice wouldn’t betray her as the dam of emotions broke loose inside her, she cleared her throat, trying to dislodge the swell of unshed tears, and cast an anxious glace to the lobby behind him. He had to go before Barry found him here.

“I came to make sure you were all right.”

All right? She was anything but all right. “I’m fine.”

“You’re a shitty liar, Clover.” Nikko took a step into her office and closed the door. “Come back home with me.”

Those five words nearly destroyed her. She knew how hard it was for Nikko to be here, what it cost him to swallow his pride and stand before her seeking reconciliation. For him to come here for her proved how much he’d changed. There had been a time when he would have walked away, never looking back. The thought of destroying that fragile part of him was like tearing her own heart out. Forcing the words past her lips, she whispered, “I can’t.” Her vision swam with tears she refused to let fall. “It’s too complicated. There are too many lies between us now.”

“Like why you really left?”

He came closer, each step sucking more and more oxygen out of the room. He stood across from her, planting his palms on her desk, and leaned forward, bridging the small gap separating them. She forced the air into her frozen lungs and inhaled Nikko’s scent. Her body responded to him with a will of its own, tingling with anticipation. His silver eyes locked on hers, daring her to look away.

“I saw you.”

The low growl of his voice sent her heart hammering so hard inside her chest that it would surely stop beating at any moment. “Saw me when?”

“At your house that night. With him . . .”

Oh, no
. . . “You came back?” This time she couldn’t hide the break in her voice. Nikko had come back for her. And he’d found her with Barry. The thought of what he must have seen that night made her stomach turn.

“Tell me you love him and I’ll leave.”

It was as simple as that. There was no emotion in his voice—nothing but cold, hard steel. This was her chance, her opportunity to end this before Barry caught them together. She hadn’t gone through all of this for nothing, dammit. But when it came down to uttering those words, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t destroy him like that. But she’d hesitated too long. He’d taken her silence for admission.

“Forget it,” he growled. “I never should have come here.”

The finality in his voice broke her. Spinning around, he stormed out the door, and in that moment she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she’d lost him. The words left her lips before she was even aware she’d spoken them.

“Nikko, wait!”

But it was too late. He was already gone.

N
ikko couldn’t fucking believe it! She was actually protecting that piece of shit, or she still loved him. Either way, he was done. Pen had been wrong, and so had his instincts telling him she didn’t want to be here. A bunch of wishful thinking was all it was, and the time had come to face reality. Violet didn’t love him. Just like he’d thought, her declaration had been nothing but an impulsive whim that night, spoken out of guilt and remorse over betraying his trust. How could a month of being with him begin to compete with the years of history she had with Barry? Sure, the guy was an asshat, but she’d loved him once, and, let’s face it, Nikko was no blue ribbon prize himself.

His finger connected with the button for the elevator as he waited impatiently for those doors to slide open so the metal box could swallow him up. When the patter of footsteps echoed down the hall, he hit the button in a rapid succession in an attempt to get that cursed door to open. The best thing for them both right now was for him to get as far away from her as possible, because he was about to lose his shit.

“Nikko, wait!”

Come on, come on, come on
. . . he chanted, watching the countdown as the elevator passed the floors above him, growing closer until,
bing!
Finally . . .

He stepped inside but wasn’t fast enough in pressing the Close button. As the doors slid back together, Violet slipped inside at the last minute. If she weren’t so damn tiny, she never would have made it through. The elevator began to drop, and Violet reached out, hitting the emergency stop button. The floor bounced, suspending them between levels three and four. Nikko wasn’t a fan of small places, and being stuck in here with Violet made it all the less bearable.

“So that’s it?” She spun around to face him, fisting her hands on her hips and scowling up at him like
he
had done something wrong.

Fuck this . . . If she wanted to have it out, then he was ready to throw down. “Why did you leave Vegas?” he demanded, throwing the question right back at her.

“You come all the way here and then you just walk out on me!” she shot back, ignoring him.

“Why did you fucking leave!” he roared, slamming his fist into the metal wall. It dented beneath his knuckles, and the concussive bang echoing in the small space was deafening.

Over the ringing in his ears and the hammering of his heartbeat, he heard her cry, “I can’t tell you!”

The hell she couldn’t. Neither one of them was stepping out of this elevator until this was settled. “It’s him, isn’t it?” He grabbed her shoulders and bent to her level, meeting her eye to eye. “You’re protecting that piece of shit. Why?” he demanded.

“It’s not him, it’s you!” she cried. “I’m trying to protect you!”

That gave him pause. Grasping at his last thread of control, he struggled to temper his voice. His eyes narrowed. “Protecting me? From what?”

Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared up at him, looking utterly broken. He wanted more than anything to take her in his arms, but he couldn’t do it because he knew the moment he touched her, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“Barry . . .”

What?
“I don’t need your protection from Barry. I need you. I survived a fucking war, I think I can handle your ex. It looks like I’m not the only one who needs to learn how to trust, huh, Clover? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“Barry knows!”

And when that first tear broke free from her lashes, it shattered his heart.

“He knows, Nikko! Barry read your file. He told me if I didn’t come back to Manhattan with him he was going to expose your secret. I left because this was the only way I could stop him. This is the only way I could make it right.”

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

“I left to protect you. It was the only thing I could do. I’m so sorry, Nikko. I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted to help you, you have to believe that. I didn’t know he would read your file. I didn’t think he would do this . . .” Her explanation was swallowed up by her sobs.

She buried her face in her hands, and he pulled her against his chest. His arms wrapped around her slender shoulders, wracked with grief. “Shh . . .” he hushed, holding her. His voice was soft and calm, belying nothing of the storm that was raging inside him as he silently vowed,
I’ll kill him
. . . “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take care of this.”

She tensed against him and pulled back far enough to fix her pleading eyes on him. “Nikko, you can’t say anything! He said if I told anyone, he’d contact CNN. What happened over there will be broadcast all over national news!”

Of course it would. It was a big story with an even bigger cover-up. But Nikko would be damned if he’d allow this son of a bitch to get away with blackmailing Violet. What else had he required of her in order to buy his silence? The possibilities turned his blood to ice. What if returning to New York wasn’t all he’d forced her to do? How far would she go to protect him?

Nikko turned to stone as his thoughts went down a road that made his stomach threaten to revolt. Vi must have felt his tension because the worry lines in her brow deepened.

“Nikko . . . ?”

He took her face in his hands, holding her so she couldn’t look away. He needed to see the truth in her eyes when he asked the question tasting like poison on his tongue. “What else have you done to protect my secrets, Violet? I have to know. Have you? Has he . . . ?” His voice broke. He couldn’t even bring himself to say it. But he swore to God if that bastard touched her, he would make his death long and full of suffering. The knot of dread fisting in his gut was unbearable as he waited for her response.

Holding his stare, she shook her head. “I haven’t. I couldn’t . . .”

He exhaled the air he’d held trapped in his lungs, and relief swept through him like a heat wave. He pulled her back against him and rested his chin on top of her head, taking a few stolen moments in the silence of the elevator to savor the feeling of holding her in his arms again. Something in his chest shifted back into place, and for the first time in over a week, he could finally breathe again.

“Nikko, what are we going to do?” she whispered against his chest.

“I’m taking you home.”

“This is your home? Nikko, this place must have cost a fortune! Look at this view . . .”

Nikko came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling her back up against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and chuckled. “This isn’t my place. A friend of mine owns it. He’s out of town right now.”

“He doesn’t mind if we stay here?”

“Not at all.”

For the first time in over a week, she let herself relax, her body easing into the solid strength of his. She couldn’t believe she was here, that Nikko had come for her. He had told her on the way to the condo that he would fix this—that he would take care of Barry, whatever that meant. And right now, she didn’t really care to know the details. She just wanted this to be over.

“Well, it’s very beautiful. I’ve never seen a view quite like this.”

“I prefer the view right in front of me,” he whispered against her ear. She felt the deep, husky rumble of his voice all the way to her toes. A familiar ache bloomed between her thighs when his lips found that sensitive spot beneath her ear and he slipped his hand beneath her shirt, a slow glide over her ribs before capturing her breast. “Fuck, I missed you, Clover . . .”

“I missed you, too, Nikko. I can’t tell you how sorry I am—”

“Shh . . .” He cut her off, whispering between kisses. “No more of that. We’ve both made our share of mistakes we could be apologizing for, but right now I just want to enjoy you for a little while.”

His lips brushed over hers, tentative at first, as if seeking permission—like he’d ever need to ask. Vi parted her lips, granting him entrance. His tongue swept in for a sweet invasion. Hunger rumbled deep in his throat as he delved deeper, and his grip on her tightened as he pulled her closer. She could feel every hard-muscled peak and plane of the fighter’s powerful body, but the one that thrilled her most was the length of flesh-covered steel pressing into her hip.

Need tore through her veins like a firestorm, heating her blood and centering in her core. Violet slipped her hands beneath Nikko’s shirt as she returned his kiss with fervor. She’d missed this—something she believed she’d never have again. Yet here he was, kissing her, touching her . . . It was too perfect, too good to be true. She feared at any moment she’d wake and realize this was only a dream.

Desperate for this, Vi rucked up his shirt. They broke contact long enough for it to hit the floor, and then his mouth was back on hers. His kiss was ravenous, at her throat, her breasts. The frenzy of his touch was carnal bliss. All thought, all reason, ceased beyond the here and now. The only thing that mattered was this moment and his promise of pleasure. His hand slipped up her skirt, fingers curling around the crotch of her panties as he jerked them down to her knees, the tight elastic stretched, hobbling her from spreading her legs. His fingers breached her sensitive folds. The callused pad of his thumb found her clit, and she cried out at the jolt of white-hot pleasure tearing through her.

“Nikko . . .” His name was a wanton moan on her lips. She needed him inside her—right now. She reached for the button of his jeans and was inching down his zipper when the cell in her purse began to ring. She immediately felt him tense and she panicked.
No
. . .
Not now!
“Just ignore it,” she pleaded. Speeding her efforts in an attempt to distract him, she reached into his jeans and grasped his cock in her tight grip. Vi dipped her head and kissed his chest, trailing desperate little kisses down his stomach. Before she could drop to her knees, Nikko caught her under her arms, and with a muttered curse, lifted her back to her feet.

“I’m sorry, Clover. I can’t ignore it.” Letting out another nasty curse, Nikko turned away and strode over to her purse. Shoving his hand inside it, he pulled out her cell. His scowl deepened as he glared at her screen, reading her messages. He typed back a response and pocketed her cell before fastening his jeans. He came back over, but instead of picking up where they’d left off, Nikko snagged his shirt off the floor.

“Wait, what are you doing?” she asked, sliding her panties back up.

“Something I should have done over a week ago,” he growled. The
change in him was like night and day. Was this really the same man who minutes ago had held her in his arms? Because right now, Nikko looked about one step away from murder. “Stay here.” It wasn’t a request.

“Where are you going?” she demanded, rushing after him as he headed for the door.

“To finish this.”

He paused long enough to grip the back of her neck and pull her in for a quick, hard kiss on the mouth, and then he was gone.

Violet’s phone vibrated in Nikko’s pocket again just as he was walking into La Grenouille. He stopped in the lobby and grabbed her cell, checking the message.

Where the hell are you, Violet?