Willing Captive (5 page)

Still confused. “But
that’s not you.”

“
I
know that’s not me. It didn’t stop people from looking at me like I
was destined to become someone like her.” She yawns. “Please tell
me why I’m here so I can go to bed.”

Since she doesn’t
give any appearance of dropping the subject, I figure it’s time to
drop the bomb.

“
Well, Lily, someone’s trying to kill you.”

Chapter Four
A cell fit for a king

Lily

“
What?” I shriek. Shaking, my chest heaves with every heavy
breath I take.

Nox looks stunned by
my outburst. He stands with his hands outstretched in front of him
in a pacifying gesture. “Calm down. You asked, so I told, but you
only heard one damn sentence. Let me finish, will ya?”

So many thoughts
rush through my head but I can’t seem to voice any of them. I nod
and he looks a little more relaxed. “Your father contacted us about
a month ago. He asked for protection for your family after someone
anonymously sent him a threat. The threat looked false to me so I
declined the job, but something didn’t feel right. A few nights
ago, I hacked into your father’s email and saw there were other
things being sent there. Hate mail and more threats. I immediately
saw a pattern regardless of the threats being sent from multiple
email addresses. I declined the job because I thought there was
nothing to it, but when I saw the other things he hadn’t told me
about, I decided to make a snap decision and get y’all out of there
quick.” There’s a twang to his voice I hadn’t heard before. “So
that’s when we broke into your house, and as you like to call it,
kidnapped you.”

I’m stunned
speechless. After a few moments silence, I ask quietly, “Why didn’t
I know about any of this?”

Nox shrugs. “I
assume your dad didn’t want you to worry. I don’t blame him. Women
tend to overreact.”

I blink a moment
before I screech, “Someone is trying to kill me! I think I have the
right to overreact!”

He runs his hands
down his face and mutters, “There she goes again.”

Shaking my head in
disbelief, I ask, “What exactly were the threats?”

“
One threat. Kidnapping and murder of Miss Delilah Flynn. Just
one threat made multiple times.” He says this as if he’s reading
out of a diner menu. No feeling. No emotion. Just cold.

I’m confused. “Why
me? I don’t go out or anything. I’m at home ninety-nine percent of
the time. It doesn’t make sense.”

Nox leans his hip
against the kitchen counter. “Well, from the past few days
surveillance I’ve had you under, it has shown me that your father
is more protective of you than your sister. I think that has
something to do with it. But I could be wrong.”

He’s right. My dad
is a lot more protective of me than of Terah. I never really
understood it. When I asked my parents if I could go to college,
dad got angry. He said he expected that one of his girls would take
over the business and Terah wasn’t interested. She was already at
college. I was basically guilt-tripped into doing an internship at
Flynn Logistics. I do all my studies externally in the warehouse
office and send it off to a training institute to get signed off.
It feels like I’m being home schooled.

I whisper, “Are you
wrong a lot?” Holding my eyes, he shakes his head. I sigh, “I was
afraid of that.” Then I remember something he said and glower at
him. “You had me under surveillance?”

He nods. “Yup. Sure
did, darlin’. And don’t look at me like that. You never would’ve
known if I hadn’t just told you.”

He’s right again.
Shit. Folding my arms in front of my chest, I ask, “How do I know I
can trust you?”

A small smile lifts
the corner of his lips. “You don’t.” My shoulders slump in defeat
and he asks seriously, “Have I given you any indication that I mean
to harm you? Any indication at all?”

Being my smartass
self, my mouth opens before I can think about what I’m about to
say. “Well, now, let me think. There was the time when I was
minding my own damn business, and I got restrained and kidnapped.
Then I was blindfolded and taken to a place I’m not even sure is on
a map. Then I was thrown down to my knees while I was being…” I use
my fingers to make slow quotation marks, “…protected. Now I’m here
being told that I can’t see or talk to my family. Indefinitely. You
have no idea of the harm you’ve already done, Nox.”

Although it felt good to get all that off my chest, as soon as
I see Nox scowling down at me, I regret my decision to run my
mouth. Too late to apologize now. He leans down until we’re almost
nose to nose. “I have a mind to tell you exactly what you can do
with your thoughts,
Delilah
.” He
smirks when he says my name.

He
smells good. My cheeks heat. I try one last plea for tonight. “If
you’d just let me speak to my father-”

But he cuts me off.
“No.”

My eyes burn with
unshed tears and I hate myself for it. I don’t dare blink because
they’d be sure to fall.

You’re so weak,
woman. Walk it off.

Dipping my chin, I shift from foot to foot. I don’t look up
when he says, “I like this situation about as much as you do, Lily.
We just gotta make the best of it. I am
not
a babysitter.” I raise my head at this comment. I’m
close to calling him some choice names when he adds, “Not that I’m
calling you a baby. Because you’re not. I’ve never had a job like
this before, so take it easy on me, okay? We’re both experiencing
something new here and it would go much easier for all of us here
if we got along. We’re gonna be spending a lot of time
together.”

We’re gonna be
spending a lot of time together? …Well shit.

His eyes bore into
mine, his brow bunched in a way that I know he’s expecting me to
say something nasty. If I were more myself, I probably would, too.
But right now, I’m so damn tired that sarcasm evades me. That’s
pretty damn tired, if you ask me. My eyes are suddenly heavy, too.
I puff out a long breath. “Whatever, boss man. Can you please show
me where my room is? I need a shower and sleep.”

He steps towards me
and reaches for my arm. I flinch back and his brow furrows. I tell
him, “Don’t do that. I’m not going to run and I’m sick of being
manhandled. Just escort me, please.”

His arm still
outstretched, he nods once, and drops it before walking ahead of
me. “Follow me.”

Following him up the
stairs, I can’t help but look around. All the rooms are open and
immaculate. The beds are made, the bathrooms are sparkling, and the
windows gleam. This place is beautiful and has such a homey feel to
it. I suppose it really doesn’t matter. I’m not fooled. I know what
this place is. You can dress a prison cell any way you like, but
it’s still a prison cell. Speaking of cells, I need to get my hands
on a cell phone and I know Nox has one. Being sly as I can, I ask
innocently, “So where do you sleep?”

His eyebrows raise
in question. Once I realize how that question could’ve been
construed, I flush bright pink but don’t say a thing. His gaze
falls to my cheeks and he grins. “I sleep in the west wing with the
rest of the guys. You’ll be in the east wing with Boo since she’s
the only other woman here. I should warn you, though, that you
won’t get much privacy while you’re here. If I see your bedroom
door closed, I don’t care if you’re half naked or not, I will open
it. The only place you’ll get some consideration is in the bathroom
and while you’re in there, you’ll be timed. You’ve been warned. I
don’t like closed doors. Locked doors in this house get broken
down.”

My heart skips at
that statement. Oh, I really don’t like it.

What choice do you
have?

I’d say none and
then some. When I walk in front of one room in particular, I stop
and stare with a gaping mouth. Nox walks ahead of me and up the
hall where he announces, “This is your room.”

Obviously having noticed I’m not behind him anymore, it takes
a few moments, but he clears his throat right at my back. I don’t
look to him. I can’t. Literally. I’m a moth drawn to a flame. This
room is…is beautiful. I’ve found my temporary happy place
. I feel his curious gaze on me and answer
his unasked question. “It’s beautiful.” This comes out
strained.

Looking over my head
and into the room, Nox sighs. Not an annoyed sigh but more of a
relaxed sigh. “Yeah. I like it too.”

Books everywhere
. The walls are lined with them. I’m not
talking a couple of book cases, but wall-to-wall books. And it’s
not like it’s a small room either; it could double as a ballroom.
The walls are actually shelved and I can’t see any free space. I
wonder aloud in awe, “How many books do you think there
are?”

His voice carries a
hint of amusement when he replies, “At least ten thousand.”

And my ovaries explode
.

Slightly weak-kneed,
I hold onto the doorframe and choke out, “Wow.”

I
know it’s highly unusual for people to get this excited over books.
But if you’re a reader, you get me
. I
don’t need movies. I don’t need TV. But books…I can’t live without
books. To me, a book is better than any movie. All I need is a good
book, my imagination, and I am set free. I’m in literature heaven.
And thank God, this may be the only thing that keeps me sane while
we’re here.

“
You’ll have plenty of time to read while you’re here. C’mon.”
With loose hands on my hips, he pushes me along. I look back in the
doorway one last time and mouth ‘I love you.’

Oh, screw sleep. I
have to explore that room once I’m unstinky.

He
squeezes
my hips to stop me from
walking and pushes me left into a bedroom.

It’s beautiful.

I
feel the concealed amusement coming off Nox in waves. And I get it.
He thinks I’m going to hate this room. Well, screw you, buddy,
because I
so
don’t. I
know I may not look like a girly-girl but the truth is, I don’t
really mind that stuff; I just can’t be bothered with it normally.
I’m usually so busy with work, that all I want to do when I get
home is curl up on the sofa with a good book.

Reading trumps
anything.

On occasion, I like
to listen to music of my mp3 player, but I don’t have it with me,
so I guess reading is all I have. And I’ll take it. Gladly.

Walking forward, I
face-plant on my bed with a huge sigh. Rolling over, I stare up at
the top of the soft pink four-poster bed. The window has been left
open, no doubt to try to get rid of the musty, unoccupied smell,
and I watch as the wind moves the sheer draping.

I really do like
this bed.

Sitting up, I look
around at my new room. It’s simple. It’s tidy. It’s similar to my
old room at what I like to call the ‘normal’ house, which is, of
course, the house we lived in before dad moved us into the mansion
formerly known as Alcatraz two-point-oh.

There is an open
door that I can see leads to a sparkling bathroom with a shower.
Next to the bed is a white wooden night stand; there’s a small
walk-in closet and a smallish white dresser. Which suddenly reminds
me, “I like the room. Thank you. But what am I going to do for
clothes?”

Nox watches me through furrowed brows. His silence feels more
like an interrogation. I hate that he has that effect on me, with
nothing but a glance.
Shit
. I lower
my gaze and hear him step into the room; the sound of drawer
scraping open makes me look up.

The dresser is full
of clothes. Knowing Nox for the short time I have, I’d say he’s
efficient enough to have those clothes in the exact size I need
them. Looking him in the eye, I blurt out, “How long have you known
I’d be kept here?”

I wait for an
answer, but of course, the answer to my question is yet another
curious glance in my direction.

Man, this guy is
giving me the creeps.

Clearing my throat,
I stand. “Okay, well, I’m going to shower now, so if you wouldn’t
mind-” I wait for him to get the hint and leave.

But he doesn’t.

I
try again. “Showering will commence in approximately one minute,
Nox.” And he still doesn’t move. I’m suddenly nervous. Wide-eyed, I
lean closer and hiss, “You are
not
coming into the bathroom with me while I shower!”

Thankfully, I notice his lip twitch reaffirming that he
is
not
a droid and indeed human.
He steps forward a second before he stops himself and takes two
steps back towards the door, watching me all the while. Once he’s
out of my room, I breathe a sigh of relief. He booms from down the
hall, “Ten minutes, darlin’.” My nose scrunches and I step toward
the bathroom. Just as I shut the door, I hear him shout again, “Or
I’m comin’ in after you.”

Turning on the hot
water, I sigh.

I gotta get out of
here.

***

Coming out of the shower, I wrap the towel around my body as
tightly as I can. Walking out of the bathroom, I stare at the door
and wonder just how long I would have to myself before the door was
thrown open. I decide to do an experiment. I call this
experiment
Captive
Throwdown
.

Walking over to the
door, I close it, taking my time so as to not make a sound. Once
it’s shut, I open the dresser drawers, take out a pair of simple
white underwear and a matching plain bra, remove the tags, then
step into the panties.

As soon as I reach
down to pull the panties up my legs, the door swings open. I see a
scowling Nox, but when he sees the position I’m in, his scowl
disappears to be replaced with a slightly gaping mouth.