Love Me (Trust Series #2) (37 page)

I scream with all that I have, “DAMIEN! PLEASE FIND ME! HE’S SHOOTING ME WITH SOMETHING! I LOVE YOU!”

At the click of the gun, my entire world immediately starts to dim. There’s no way I can hold on to the light this time. It’s slipping away too fast.

“Damien…”

I open my eyes, and everything is blurry. It’s as if there are two of everything. A haze over my mind is trying to lift as I move my lead-filled limbs. I’m lying down in a small room filled with all sorts of things that I can’t make out at the moment.

Where am I? What happened?
I close my eyes, trying to focus while hoping it will bring some clarity as to what is going on. I know I’m in a blue room with dark-colored furniture.

I cannot place this room from anywhere that I’ve ever been. Part of me wants to go back to sleep, but my brain is telling me to wake up as it tries to burn through the residual haze.

What’s that smell?
It smells like something was cooking but burned. Blurry images start to clear and take form.

I was with Sam at the spa, getting a pedicure. I left because I figured out who was behind all this.

With that thought, it all comes back—me getting in the car, Ben somehow being the driver, and then him shooting me with what must have been a tranquilizer gun.

Damien.

My eyes spring open, and I shoot up so quickly that the room spins. I have to put both hands out to the side of me, and then I feel something abrasive on my right wrist. I’m tied to the bed with only a couple of feet of rope.

Closing my eyes again, I try to find my center, physiologically and psychologically.

How much time has passed since I was in the car and talking to Damien? Where am I now?

Slowly, I reopen my eyes and start to take everything in.

As long as I keep my movements steady and slow, everything seems to stay in focus overall. As I take in my surroundings, my eyes get more and more clear.

Ben is more messed-up than I ever could have imagined. Photographs of Ben and me are all over the room. He’s taken Damien out of the pictures and inserted himself. There are pictures of me by myself—getting out of Brad’s SUV at the bar the night Damien first met Sam, running from the hotel in Vegas when I was clearly upset, reading in the library at my home, eating lunch. The list goes on and on.

How the hell did he get all these?

My heart rate hits an all-time high when I look over at the closet and see my turquoise shirt, purple silk robe, various T-shirts, and random pairs of pants all hanging up neatly. My red scarf is draped over the door.

Is that my discarded dress from Vegas? Oh shit, this is so bad.

He’s collected an entire wardrobe of my things.

I’m trying to keep my breathing regulated by taking deep breaths, but I can feel my chest heaving as I try to get enough oxygen in my system. I go to get off the bed and am reminded of the rope as it digs into my skin.

What kind of rope is this?
It scratches my skin at the smallest of movements. It’s only my right arm, but the trapped feeling instantly consumes me. I bite down hard on my lip to keep myself from completely breaking down into a sobbing mess. I don’t want Ben to hear that I’m awake until I have some kind of plan. I need to calm down and get back to the rational side of my brain.

Deep breaths, I focus on taking deep breaths. I focus on everything Damien said before I had to put the phone down. He said he was tracking me and not to take off my sapphire ring. I look at my right hand and breathe a sigh of relief that the ring is still in place. I look to my left hand and notice that my wedding ring is gone. My lip quivers, but I remind myself that Damien is on his way to find me.

I know he will. He loves me.

I just don’t know what’s going to happen to me until he gets here. Anything within reaching distance has been removed. It’s not even worth me trying to stand as my body continues to sway internally. My purse is lying on the chair across the room, and there is no way for me to get to it. I try to loosen the knot, but they only get tighter around my wrist every time I try to pull, causing my skin to start getting angry small welts.

I open up the nightstand drawer with my left hand, praying that something of use has been left in there by mistake. It’s the only thing I can reach within the two feet of rope I’ve been given. There are condoms, lubricants, handcuffs, alcohol pads, and some things that I’ve never seen before. I slam the drawer shut, feeling bile rise in my throat, and nausea starts to hit. It’s clear what he has in store for me, and I honestly think I’d rather die than have anyone in me besides Damien.

In a desperate attempt, I try to yank the wrought iron bar, where the rope is tied, out of the bed. Hearing the door creak open stops my attempt. I spin around to see Ben standing at the door. He’s in jeans and some sports T-shirt. I don’t recognize the team name. His hair is done differently. I’m used to his boring slicked over brown hairstyle, but it’s a mess now as if he’s trying to pull off that fresh tumbled look.

He gives me a wink. “Why, hello, sweetheart. You woke up faster than I thought you would. Can I get you anything?”

How do I even respond to this guy?
My insides are shaking with terror after seeing what is inside that little drawer, and my skin is crawling at his term of endearment.

Maybe if I keep him talking I’ll be able to delay him enough until Damien comes to get me.

Taking a deep breath, I try to respond as calmly as possible, but my voice is shaking, “I’m okay, just a little confused.”

He leans off the doorframe and starts walking my way. Instinctively, I move as close to the wall as possible.

“I’m sorry about that, sweetheart. I know you’re a little confused, but you’re safe now.”

With his hands held up and sympathetic eyes, he’s acting as if he has saved me.

Is he delusional?
I’m about as unsafe as I could possibly get right now. I say a silent prayer over and over again, hoping I make it through this mess. “I’m still trying to process it all.”

He sits down at the end of the bed. “I’ve been told that the drug can cause some disorientation and confusion.”

I slowly nod my head. Hopefully, if I appear amenable, he’ll untie me, and then I am going to run like hell.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to wake up alone, sweetheart. I’m sorry that I was detained, making a phone call. I tried to make you dinner, but accidentally burned it.”

The sincerity of his voice is so odd. He’s holding me captive, and he thinks this is normal.

He continues on as he looks at my left hand, “I removed your wedding ring because I figured that’s what you would want. Before I took the sapphire ring, I wanted to see if it was from him or your mother.”

I look at my right hand. I have to keep this on me as Damien’s words echo yet again inside my head. Without even thinking, I respond, “It was my mother’s. I started wearing it again to keep her close to me.”

Please, please, please believe that lie.

He inches a little closer to me from the end of the bed. There’s nowhere for me to go.

He gives a smile small as he responds, “Very well. I’ll let you keep it because of how special she was. I know how much you loved her.”

I want to start screaming to tell him to stay the hell away as he continues to move closer to me.

As he closes the gap, he starts talking, “I’m so glad we can finally be together, Allison. I’ve been in love with you since I saw you for the first time in Miami. Do you remember that afternoon?”

Ben pauses, and my mind is chaotic. My body sways slightly.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I know your mind is still slow. In Miami, I left prior to the end of the fucker’s meeting in order to prepare for another meeting. I was walking out by the pool when I saw you sitting in a lounge chair. Our eyes connected, and we stared at each other for a few brief glorious moments. I knew right then and there that you loved me, and we were destined to be together.

“Then, that fucker came and thought he owned you when he saw you at the pool. I know you had no choice but to do what he said. I had to wait until the right time to get you, so the same thing that had happened to my precious Rebecca wouldn’t happen to you. I made it as difficult for him as I possibly could. I hope you saw the messages in my actions, proving that I was working on coming for you. I love you, Allison.”

He loves me? He saw me at the pool in Miami? We stared at each other? I’m so confused.

“Messages?”
What is he talking about?

He becomes visibly irritated at my question. I’m going to have to tread more carefully when I talk.

I try to salvage the situation. “I’m sorry. Everything is just very jumbled. I still feel the drugs in my system.”

That seems to placate him as he relaxes his shoulders. “I should have used a milder dose.”

Really? He’s now considering my dosage?

He continues on as if it’s no consequence to him that he probably used enough to bring down an elephant. “In the beginning, I did everything I could to keep him away from you. I stalled the planes and caused scheduling conflicts. I sent text messages and notes to you, trying to send you warnings. Then, that incident with that fucker Brad happened, and he increased security. I tried to let you know you weren’t safe with him when I let Brad’s parents through security. I almost had you, and then he tightened down security, so I couldn’t come to get you, and that only fed your delusion of him. I had to blackmail Cassandra for things she had on Damien, but I don’t think those messages made it to you. He kept changing your fucking number. Did you get any of my messages, notes, or warnings?”

Oh. My. Gosh.
I shake my head. There is no way I’m admitting to knowing anything. This guy has been causing problems from the beginning. I swallow hard, trying to push down the bile that keeps rising. I need to say as little as possible and get as much information out of him as I can.

I must keep him talking.
“Did you mention Rebecca? As in Damien’s sister, Rebecca?”

Ben closes his eyes for a second. “Yes, I loved her all through high school, but she was so controlled by who she could and couldn’t see. Rebecca and I were friends all those years, and I sat back and watched her date, waiting for my turn. One night at a party, she finally realized her feelings for me. She said she didn’t remember it the next morning, but I knew she was just trying to protect me from her family. I found out later she was pregnant. I wanted to marry her. Rebecca told me she had been drunk that night, and making love didn’t mean to her what it did to me. She said I could be involved in the baby’s life, but that was it. I know Damien was instructing her on what to do. He’s the only one she would have listened to. She loved me and wanted to marry me.”

I don’t know how much Ben actually knows about what Damien and Bane have uncovered, so I think the best thing is to play completely dumb. He hasn’t mentioned Martin once. Bane must have done a good job making it appear Damien was trying to find Martin. I’m just going to act clueless until it gets me into trouble.

“Rebecca was pregnant?”

The sad thing is that, per her diary, Rebecca was actually drunk the night she slept with Ben. Damien had no idea that she was going to have a baby.

“Yes, her mother knew because she went to the doctor with Rebecca, but they were keeping it secret. Damien wanted her to have an abortion.”

He’s been slowly edging my way, and he’s only about two feet from me at this point. “Allison, has Damien told you anything about Rebecca going missing?”

He pauses, and I shake my head.

He continues, “I had to get Rebecca away from her horrible family life. I took her from the house that night when she went missing—as they called it. I had gone to the Wales home that night to talk to Damien about getting his blessing when I asked Rebecca to be my wife. I knew that was her only reservation. As I was leaving the main house to go out to the pool house, I ran into Rebecca. She was so upset from her encounter with that bastard, and I started trying to console her. She went ballistic and told me to stop. In my effort to calm her down, she hit her head and passed out. I wrapped her up and brought her here, so she could see the truth about us being together. I contacted her parents to get a payoff to keep quiet, so she could live in the means in which she was accustomed to. I only ever wanted what was best for her.”

My head is swarming with all the information he’s just freely telling me. He must not have known about Rebecca’s inheritance. She was actually wealthier than her parents.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

I want to slap myself for slipping like that because he moves another foot closer to me and reaches out to caress my knee. My muscles are so taut at the unwanted contact. I’m staring at my knee, like it’s going to combust into flames at any moment.

“Sweetheart, I want you to trust me, and I want to trust you. I don’t want any lies between us. I should have never let your relationship with him progress so far, but he married you so quickly. Then, basically because of various other assholes, security increased to the point where I couldn’t get to you like I had planned. Your pedicure appointment was genius. It gave me the perfect opportunity to get you. Thank you, Allison, for letting me know how much you still cared. I was starting to lose faith in us, thinking I had lost you to him. I had another plan, but it was riskier. No one but me will ever have you.”