by Dark,A. A.
“Quinton.”
“Quinton, this Mrs. Harper. Is my jet ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Perfect. My husband won’t be able to accompany us on our journey. It seems we’ve run into a problem. West said I could trust you. Is that true?
No pause or hesitation. “Absolutely, Mrs. Harper.”
“Someone is there at the airport waiting for me. They’re going to try to stop me from leaving. I can’t have that. What do I do?”
“We will take off without you and fly to Laramie. You can meet us there. It’s less than an hour drive from your location.”
Laramie. Yes, I remembered the sign for the town. “How do you know where I am?”
“Your phone number matches the one I have for Mr. Harper’s safe house. Am I right?”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize, Mrs. Harper. Are you able to drive? Do we need to send someone to get you?”
“I don’t have time to wait. I have to leave now.”
He paused. “We will be ready for your arrival. Your men will be waiting the moment you arrive to escort you on and offer any protection or assistance you need. Have you decided on a location?”
I fingered the new cell phone I’d left out of the box. Flashes of Master Vicolette came back to me. He always used to rock me in his lap when he told me stories of his travels. From the glow worm caves to the castles he’d vividly describe in different countries. Nothing was beyond me now. I used to dream to someday see the things he did. Now, I would. “The man waiting will expect me to pick somewhere tropical. I won’t do that. I’ve heard New Zealand is beautiful. I wish to go there first. I’ll see you in Laramie.”
I hung up, picking up the cellphone and stuffing it and more stacks of money in my purse. As I grabbed the handle to my suitcase to head for the attached garage, I couldn’t help but look back at my husband’s dead body. A small sob escaped, but not for him. It was for me. From what he’d put me through—what he turned me into. How was it now that he was dead, I still wasn’t satisfied? I had his death. Shouldn’t that had been enough? It wasn’t. I stole Bram’s revenge. There was no satisfaction in that.
I made my way through the living room, heading for the garage West had pointed out when we first pulled up. With each step, my slave made herself known. Anxiety sparked, causing me to shake. I wouldn’t let her love and loyalty to her Master stop me. Each footstep was closer to freedom. To safety. I opened the door, immediately pushing the light against the wall. The garage door opened and I couldn’t get over the surreal, yet horrified feeling. Desperation was the only thing that kept leading me forward, making my actions faster.
I threw my suitcase in the back of the SUV and climbed in, turning on the vehicle. The keys had been in the ignition, right where West had told me they’d be. He was so informative. Every little question, he answered. Even on the simplest things like driving.
Cautiously, I put the SUV in reverse and let my foot ease off the gas. The pressure of me trying to slow jolted me. I tested the gas and brake, nodding as comfort took over. I could do this. And I was right. It didn’t take me long to turn and head out of the driveway. Exhilaration collided with doubt and once again, I won. I rounded the turn and not a few miles down, I drove by a house that made me grin.
The phone I took from Jarrett. I had thrown it in their yard. Had Bram enjoyed listening to me and West’s conversation? I knew there was a possibility he hadn’t heard, but I didn’t put anything past him. I’d seen Bram at work. I knew what he was capable of. If he had somehow tapped into it, he would have known me and West were headed to the airport. He’d know we talked of an island. I couldn’t risk anything concerning my plans. Even now, I feared he would outsmart me.
I reached forward, pushing the map button on the screen like West had done in the other car we’d gotten into. I jumped when a voice came over the speaker for the location. It hadn’t been like that in the last one, but then again the SUV I was in now was expensive. I didn’t have to live in this world to know luxury when I saw it.
“Laramie … airport.”
“Routing Laramie Regional Airport.”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath. Could this be any easier? I didn’t have experience driving, but I had paid enough attention and asked enough questions to stay going. If I could get there, I was home-free.
I passed a speed limit sign, holding the steering wheel in a death grip and increasing my pace regardless that the motion blurring to my sides scared me. The traffic was picking up, but I kept control for what felt like miles upon miles in the mountains. My heart almost stopped beating as two black SUV’s zoomed past. Time seemed to stop and the cry that left me was nearly followed by a sob. I knew those. Was it Bram? Was it the guards? I’d seen the Whitlock vehicles during their searches before. If it wasn’t them, it was the same model vehicle.
Light broke over the sky and tears trailed down my cheeks. I looked between the beauty of the future before me and at the horrors of my past in the mirrors that gave a glimpse behind. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen a sunrise. If I had it had been before Whitlock. Bright orange and pink painted the sky and it took all of my focus to stay on the road with how hard I was beginning to cry. I was so close. So fucking close.
I wiped the tears and tried my best to get control over myself. Mountains turned to flatness all around. Before I knew it, the GPS was leading me off the main road and an airplane flew overhead. A small building appeared and I glanced in the rearview, feeling my entire body lock up. A dark car and SUV was off in the far distance and they looked to be gaining on me.
Ring. Ring.
The scream was automatic. My eyes went crazy, searching the interior for the loud ringing. I went back to the screen, staring at the green button that was lit up. Hesitantly, I reached forward, staying quiet as I increased my speed.
“Everleigh? Everleigh?”
This wasn’t happening. I pressed my lips together through the whimper. Just hearing Bram’s voice nearly made me sick from the fear that associated that smooth, deep tone.
“I know you can hear me, slave. Don’t do this. You’re in trouble now, but if you get on that plane, that is unforgivable. I cannot forgive that! You have to stop. You have to pull over right now. You can come with me. I … We need to talk. We’ll come to terms and work something out.”
“I’m not going back, Bram. I’m never going back.”
“Don’t do this.” He paused. “My men found West. I know what you did to both him and Jarrett. I’m not going to lie. I’m pissed at you, but it’s done. It’s over. All of it. You have to come back with me. I know your life hasn’t been easy. I know you’re afraid of what’s to come, being at Whitlock. I was wrong, hitting you. What I did was inexcusable. You can hate me for that. I know you probably do, but let’s not focus on us. Let’s think about you. You don’t know that world. There are dangers you can’t even imagine. You need to come back before you do something I can’t protect you from. You’re not safe out there.”
Wasn’t that my biggest fear? The fear of the unknown? Of a world forgotten to me?
“No. Goodbye, Bram. Please stop coming after me. I …” My eyes closed for the smallest moment. “I love you.”
“I know you do. That’s why I’m begging you not to do this. You’ll force my hand—my love for you—you don’t want to do that. Don’t make me come after you because if I have to …”
I hit the button to end the call, slowing to turn next to a building. I could see the planes sitting on the runway. They were right there. And men, they were all lined up in front of one. I knew they now belonged to me. They were mine.
My SUV jerked to a stop as I pushed down on the brake. By the time I had it in park, I saw the dark car and SUV getting so much closer. They were almost here and I knew Bram was in one of them.
I turned off the SUV, throwing the door open. The men in dark suits were running toward me and I was barely abl
e to grab my suitcase and purse before they arrived. Guns were being pulled out and one of the men took my bag. Repeatedly, I looked over my shoulder, running toward the plane with everything I had.
“Everleigh! Everleigh!”
“Get on the plane, Mrs. Harper.”
A dark skinned stranger was practically pushing me up the steps to the plane as he guarded the majority of my body with his. More men were moving in to follow us, but at Bram approaching, my feet wouldn’t budge. The look he had on his face. There was no mask. Just a man. A man who feared losing me. If it was because of Whitlock or his love, I may never know, but I had to see it. To remember.
Whitlock guards surrounded him, some of which I knew. Their guns were drawn too, but it wasn’t them I noticed. Bram’s hair was disheveled and his suit jacket was opened with his shirt undone at the top. He wasn’t even wearing a tie. To see him that way showed me just how hard he was taking this. It showed me just how desperate he’d try to get me back if he chose to.
“Everleigh, don’t you fucking do this. Just come back to me,” he said, lifting his hand almost in surrender. “I’ll make this right. You don’t have to be afraid. I read your poem.” A pained look crossed over his face. “Please. I know you don’t trust me after what I did, but I’m begging you to give me a second chance. Come down from those steps and let’s leave here. It’s over. You win. Just tell me what you want. Me? You have me. A position under me? It’s yours.”
My head shook and I took a few more steps up. “This isn’t about winning, Bram, this is about surviving. Why choose you, the board, or status, when I could choose myself?”
“Because you won’t be happy. Because I won’t let you,” he rushed out. “I can’t let you leave, slave. You know that. And … I don’t want you to. I want you to be with me. I want you to help me raise Alvin. Like you, he never asked for this life, but he doesn’t have a choice, either. We’ve all been wronged, but you and I, we can make this right. We can make the best of what we’ve been dealt. I need you, Everleigh … What you typed for me, I understand what you were saying. Those words, the insight into who you really are … they made me feel. They awoke a part of me. Please, just come down so we can fix this. Don’t force me to come get you. No matter how this plays out, you know I will. Even if you leave here, I will track you down and I will bring you back.”
For a moment I couldn’t breathe through the whiplash I felt. He was offering the slave everything she had ever wanted. It tore me right in half. To have a purpose in Whitlock—a family with the man I truly loved, longing and sadness impaled me. It was the threat that kept me grounded and true to who I was, now.
My head shook as I stood taller. “No. I’m leaving and you’re not going to stop me or even try to find me. You can’t. If you do, I give the word and every secret I know will be exposed to the outside world. Including the location of your precious Whitlock. It’s all set up, ready to be released if I choose to make it happen. You have my silence. That is the only thing I’m willing to give you if you let me be free. And I need you to. I saved your life. Here is where you save mine. It’s time for me to ask my favor of you. And you will keep your word.
“Don’t look for me, Bram. Forget I ever existed. I promise you my silence if you release me. If you do not keep your word after I leave here and I find out you’re trying to have me brought back, I expose everything. It may get me killed in the end, but I don’t care. I will never go back. Not for status. Not for a dream. Not even for you. Forget me and I will do the same.”
“You lie, you’ll never forget me. You love me and I love you. It’s why my word right now means nothing. Men who love like me are not honorable, slave. We fight for what we want. We kill, if need be. You are mine. You have always been mine. If it’s a game of cat and mouse you seek, you have it, but I wonder if it’ll even come to that. I truly wonder just how far you’ll make it alone.”
A smile pulled at his lips, increasing the terror inside of me as he took a step closer. “You’re brave now because you have no choice, but do you really think it will last when weeks or months of loneliness set in? What will happen within that mind of yours when what you’ve gone through—what you’ve done—catches up? I bet you anything, you’ll end up running back to me. You can’t escape this life, Everleigh. You can’t escape me. Whitlock and I may both hold horrors for you, but we also cater to what and who you are. You’re part slave and part Mistress. You will not fit into that world no matter how much you try. You like power. You enjoy killing. But you love how I can balance them out and take control. There, you can breathe. With me, you’re truly free and we both know it. When you see that for yourself, you’ll be back. And when you do show up at my door, I will welcome you in. I will welcome you home.”
My head shook and tears blinded me. How did he know me so well? How could he read my deepest fears when I could barely face them, myself? Would I end up not being able to stay away? Would my evil ways and my love for Bram come to shine through so strong that Whitlock—that possible death from the man I love—be ignored and I would be lured back in?
I didn’t know, but as the bodyguard below applied pressure to the middle of my back and I took another step up to the plane, there was only one thing clear to me. My Master wasn’t stopping me. He couldn’t right now and we both knew it. I soaked in his smug expression—the way his lips were still tugged back at the side. The way his blue eyes were slightly narrowed. I knew that look. It was mine in my most confident moments. Whatever he was thinking, he was sure of the outcome. It was opposite of the way I was feeling. He mentioned a game of cat and mouse. Yes, in this moment, I felt every bit the scared little mouse he viewed me as. I was afraid and I was sure he saw that. And maybe he’d even come after me, playing with me like his own personal little toy, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did but the fact that today I was in control. For now, I was free.
The End.
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About the Author
Alaska Angelini/A.A Dark is a Best Selling Author of dark, twisted happily-ever-afters. She currently resides in Wisconsin, but moves at the drop of a dime. Check back in a few months and she's guaranteed to live somewhere new.
Obsessive, stalking, mega-alpha hero's/anti-heros are her thing. Throw in some rope, cuffs, and a whip or two, and watch the magic begin.
If you're looking to connect with her to learn more, feel free to email her at [email protected], or find her on Facebook. You can also stop by her website http://www.alaskaangelini.com.
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Other titles from this Author:
Unbearable
SLADE: Captive to the Dark
BLAKE: Captive to the Dark
GAIGE: Captive to the Dark
LILY: Captive to the Dark, Special Edition 1
CHASE: Dark and Dangerous CCTD Set 2
Watch Me: Stalked
Rush
Dom Up: Devlin Black 1
Dom Fever: Devlin Black 2
This Dom: Devlin Black 3
Dark Paranormal lover? Check out Alaska’s other reads …
Wolf (Wolf River 1) *Optioned for FILM!
Prey: Marko Delacroix 1
Blood Bound: Marko Delacroix 2
Lure: Marko Delacroix 3
Rule: Marko Delacroix 4
Reign: Marko Delacroix 5
Coming Soon!
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