Hunting Truth (30 page)

I quickly showered and
ch
anged while Lucas had
a meeting with Carter in his office. I left my hair to dry unaided
and grabbed my laptop. I had some research to do before he returned
and I became totally absorbed in my task. So much so that I didn’t
know he’d returned until I heard him ask, “What’s that you’re
doing?”

I guiltily slammed the laptop shut and
jumped up to find him standing right behind me.
Oh God. Had he seen?
“Oh, nothing. How was your
meeting? Is there any news on Scott or Ava’s
whereabouts?

His brow was furrowed and he looked at me
with a dubious expression before he replied. “Unfortunately
not.
They both appear to
have disappeared without a trace.”

I shook my head in frustration. “Has anyone
reported them missing?”

An emotion that could have been irritation
crossed his features fleetingly. “No. It’s a little soon for that.”
His gaze was suddenly hard and uncompromising which seemed odd. Or
perhaps it just seemed odd to me because I disagreed.

My gaze was just as determined as I
replied, “I think you’re wrong. I’m going to call the police
department and report Scott as a missing person. I’ll tell them
that we suspect Ava is too.”

“
No you’re not.” The way he said it made it
clear that he expected me to comply. I bit my tongue as I struggled
to understand his stance. Then it occurred to me that he wouldn’t
want the police sniffing around because of Joel’s blackmail
attempt.

“
You won
’t let me call the cops because of Joel. Because of his
blackmail attempt. But this isn’t directly connected. You aren’t
calling the cops to report the blackmail attempt, I’m reporting
missing persons. Joel can’t renege on his terms because of
that.”

He stood, stony faced and unresponsive.

“
Lucas, anything could’ve happened to them.
I’m not having that on my conscience. I’m calling it
in.”

He leaned in towards me slightly, his
expression cold and hard. “I said no,” he growled, almost
menacingly.

Anger and confusion at his
unreasonableness bubbled up insid
e me. I stared back unblinking, wondering who the
hell he thought he was to speak to me like that. I wasn’t one of
his employees. I was supposed to be his lover. I felt angry tears
spring unbidden into my eyes. There was no way I was going to back
down so I blinked them back and whispered, “Fuck you.” Then I bent
down to pick up my cell, fully intending to make the
call.

His hand gripped my arm like an iron vice
as I reached for it. I instinctively tried to pull away, causing a
total loss of balance. I fell awkwardly to the side, the movement
making my trapped arm twist back. Searing pain shot through my
shoulder, making me cry out. Instantly, he released my arm and I
heard him curse as I fell to the floor. Although I fell onto my
other side, the impact jarred my shoulder causing me to cry out
from another bolt of agonizing pain. I cradled my arm in my other
hand and lay there, hoping the pain would abate.

Immediately, Lucas was on his knees
looking distraught.
“Oh
my God. Issy, I’m so sorry. Are you hurt? If you are I’ll fucking
kill Joel with my bare hands. I’ll make him wish he’d never been
born. Oh fuck! Issy, speak to me.”

I took a deep breath and realized that the
pain wasn
’t so bad. “I’m
okay,” I whispered. “No really!” I added when I saw him shake his
head.

“
Oh thank
God. I’m so sorry, Issy. You know I’d never hurt
you. Not intentionally. You know that, right? That was so stupid of
me. I just couldn’t let you call the cops,” he babbled, almost
hysterically.

As I watched him, two things sprang to
mind. Firstly, that my suspicion the day before was correct and I
was glad that my research had yielded some useful avenues to
pursue. And secondly, that there was more to him not wanting me to
call the cops than he was letting on. I decided that the first
could wait, at least for now, but whatever was going on with Joel,
I needed to know, right there and then.

He was still apologizing and beating himself
up.

“
Lucas, I
’m fine. Honestly. Now shut up and tell me what
the hell’s going on. I know there’s more to it than you’re letting
on. Why can’t I call the cops, exactly? And don’t think of
bullshitting me . . . I know you too well. Show me some respect and
be honest.”

His shocked expression showed that my
words had hit home. He shook his head in defeat. “Why couldn’t you
just leave it?” He sighed heavily. “Let’s get you up off the floor
and then I’ll tell you everything. I didn’t tell you because I
didn’t want to worry you or implicate you in any way.”

“
Implicate me?” I frowned, trying to figure
out
why I’d be
implicated, and, more to the point,
how
I’d be implicated.

“
Hush now. Let’s get you on to the couch.
Are you sure you’re okay? Should I lift and carry you?”

“
No, I told you I’m fine,” I muttered,
crossly. But when I released my arm, to push up off the floor with
the other, the tiny movement caused a sharp pain in the front of my
shoulder. I resisted the urge to cry out, not wanting to distract
Lucas from telling me what was going on and gritted my teeth as I
rolled on to my side, sat up and got my feet underneath me. I
managed to push myself up into a standing position but it was
somewhat ungraceful and I noticed Lucas looking at me
suspiciously.

I smiled in an attempt to disarm him and
quickly walked and sat on the edge of the couch, being careful to
keep my arm against my body to avoid causing any more pain. Lucas
was watching me with a frown.

“
Come. Sit. Then tell me what it is that
you’re hiding from me,” I said, deliberately sounding brighter than
I felt.

He pursed his lips, giving his cheekbones
a truly chiseled finish. “I
’ll fix us a drink then be right with you,” he muttered,
letting me know exactly how reluctant he was.

“Oh. Am I going to need one?” I said,
attempting a joke.

He looked at me pointedly.
“Issy, I’m not stupid either. I
know you already do.” Then he turned on his heel and went to sort
the drinks.

He returned with a large brandy for me and a
Scotch for him.

I thanked him and waited patiently for him
to begin. It wasn
’t long
before I needed the brandy for more than medicinal
reasons.

He turned towards me on the sofa after
taking a large sip of his drink. When he spoke, his voice was quiet
and his tone matter
-of-fact. I knew he was still reluctant to talk to me but
that he’d resigned himself to it. “I received another demand from
the blackmailer this morning. Well, it was more of a threat
actually. And it was definitely from Joel.”

My eyes shot wide open in alarm. “A
threat?” I shrieked. “What
’s he threatening to do to you now?”

Lucas shook his head and his mouth turned
down in the corners.
“See—this is why I didn’t want to tell you. You can’t do
anything except worry. He didn’t threaten to do anything to me. He
implied that he’s holding Scott and Ava hostage. So it was more of
a ransom note.”

My eyes must have been like dinner plates.
“He’s got Scott and Ava . . . oh my God, so what was the threat? Is
he threatening to harm them if you don’t go along with his plans?
What’s he going to do to them? And how do you know it’s definitely
him?”

He smiled wryly.
“You and your questions . . . I know it’s him
because he addressed the note to Loser. That’s what he called me
when I was a child. He didn’t specify what he’d do to Ava and
Scott, just that they’d be in danger if I didn’t acquiesce to his
request. And he helpfully pointed out that I only have until close
of business tomorrow to sign everything over. So you see, the one
hope of escape that I had, to disappear into the sunset with you,
is no longer an option. Not if he’s holding Scott and
Ava.”

I couldn
’t believe what I was hearing. Anger surged
through me. It was bad enough what Joel was doing to Lucas, but at
least they had history and it was all about money and assets—well
except for the part about Lucas never seeing me again. That was
pure spite. Scott and Ava had done nothing wrong and yet they were
being held captive, against their wishes. I just hoped he was
treating them well until Lucas did what Joel wanted. And he would
have to, I was sure of that. Then they’d be freed unharmed,
hopefully, if Joel was a man of his word. I wasn’t sure about that
part but I thought he’d surely not risk harming them when there was
no need. That would just make them more likely to go to the police
and for the police to take their complaint seriously. No, Joel was
evil but he wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t so sure about Lucas though.
Surely he hadn’t really expected us to take off and live our lives
in the middle of nowhere, penniless, after he’d signed everything
over to Joel.

“
Lucas, I told you. That was never an
option. Anyway, I
’m sure
Joel will be too busy gloating over ruining you and running your
empire to be bothered about what we do. Once the dust settles,
he’ll lose interest in us. We just have to be patient, pretend that
we’re totally estranged and bide our time.”

He laughed
but it wasn’t a nice laugh. His face was contorted
contemptuously. “You don’t know Joel, or what he’s capable of. He’s
relentless in his desire to see me suffer. He blames me . . . well,
you know what for. I’ll never be free of him, Issy. He’s sick and
twisted with hate for what I did—”

“
But you didn
’t do anything! What happened was tragic but it
wasn’t your fault!” I cried as frustration bubbled up within
me.

“
I was born, Issy. Carrying me made my
mother very ill.
Giving
birth to me killed her. Joel holds me to blame and let’s face it,
if it hadn’t been for me, it wouldn’t have happened.”

I clenched my fists, closed my eyes and
gritted my teeth, telling myself to calm down. I took slow, deep
breaths until I felt myself begin to relax. “Lucas, you need help.
You should have had therapy as a child. There’s no point in me
telling you that’s a load of crap, you need expert help so you can
accept it for yourself. And there are also therapists who
specialize in . . .” I broke off, not sure this was the right time
or the right way to tell him what I strongly suspected.

My eyes were still closed but I knew he
was looking at me.
I
also knew that his eyes would be narrowed and that he wouldn’t let
it go. “Therapists who specialize in what exactly?” he said slowly,
pronouncing each word carefully.

“
Never mind. This isn’t the time. So what’s
the plan? How does Joel want you to sign everything over to him?” I
asked, springing my eyes open with a forced smile.

His face was impassive. “Therapists who
specialize in what exactly?” he repeated.

Oh
God. I knew he wouldn’t let it
go.
“In the BDSM
lifestyle,” I muttered, looking away suddenly unable to meet his
gaze. All over my body, my skin prickled a little and my palms
began to dampen slightly.

“
And what’s that got to do with me?” he
asked, raising an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth to say that I just
hadn’t realized such therapists existed. But something told me that
he wouldn’t believe me. Perhaps he’d seen what was on my laptop
screen when I was researching therapists for . . . well, for his
issues. I suddenly felt trapped, like prey cornered by its hunter.
My palms were sticky and my skin crawled. I shifted in my seat and
cursed inwardly when I saw him register it. He knew how
uncomfortable I was but still those glossy, midnight-blue eyes
pinned me with determination. There was nothing for it but to tell
the truth.

I took a deep breath and tried to prevent
my words tumbling out in a careless rush.
I wanted to choose them carefully. I knew I was
heading into a minefield.

“I think it would be good for you to speak
with a qualified professional about your issues with consensual
sexual pain,” I replied eventually.

“
It
’s not an issue, Issy,” he snapped. His jaw muscles
clenched repeatedly and his mouth formed a thin, hard line. He
raked his hand through his hair before pinning me with angry, black
eyes. “I don’t and, more to the point, I
won’t
do it, so how can I have issues?”

I tried to keep my tone light in an attempt
to prevent further antagonizing. “That issue cost you your
relationship with Ava so I disagree.”

He smiled but it didn
’t reach those cold eyes. “But if I was
still in that relationship, we wouldn’t be in a relationship . .
.”

I sighed. “But it still happened, Lucas.
You’ve told me that there was at least one other girl before Ava
where the same issue raised its head. And, when we met, you’d been
celibate for several years because you’d given up on finding
someone who enjoyed being dominated without the pain
element.”

The muscles in his jaw were now working
overtime.
Maybe I’d gone
too far . . . but then, surely I needed to if it was a deeper
issue, as I strongly suspected.