My arm remained speared in front of me, doing my best to keep the rope from cutting off my circulation.
Once done, I washed my face in the basin. With droplets raining down my forehead, I glared at the whiteness of my cheeks from anxiety, the purple of my temple from his punch, and the redness in my left eye from his smack. My blonde hair mimicked a mini tornado with out of control curls, and my makeup had smeared beneath both eyes making me look like a haggard aging rock star.
I hated the reflection.
Turning away, I sucked in a deep breath, preparing to tolerate him again. But I paused, eyeing the mirror.
I can’t go.
Not without checking.
Pulling open the medicine cabinet, I tried not to give into the despondency of finding nothing of use. No toe-nail clippers, no scissors, not even a Q-tip or floss.
The cupboard was bare, just like the water-swelled drawers beneath the sink.
Not one piece of human mess that I could use to saw at the rope or puncture Greg’s jugular.
He smirked as I stepped into the corridor. “All done?”
I didn’t reply.
He marched forward, tugging on the string. He didn’t guide me back to the living room. “I think we’ve done enough for the night. I’m fucking wiped.”
So he’s taking me to bed.
This is it.
This was where my one-man experience became an unwanted two.
At least, he won’t steal my virginity.
How would it feel to be taken against my control? Would I maintain my calm annoyance or break into pleading tears.
I don’t want to find out.
He carted me into a bedroom, and turned on the bulb that hung in a sad tasseled shade above the queen-sized bed with a patchwork quilt, ancient wooden side tables, and wrought-iron bedside lights.
My skin crawled at the thought of sharing that mattress with him.
“Here, let me help you.” His hands landed on my shoulders, spinning me around to undo the invisible zip of my silver dress.
“No, wait—” I darted forward, but he jerked the tiny zipper and yanked at the heavy satin on my shoulders.
“I’ve waited long enough.” He tore the gorgeous garment off me, pushing it over my hips until gravity puddled it to the floor. Turning me around, he groaned.
The slinky silver and white lingerie I wore had been for Penn’s benefit, not his.
Penn—the man who’d lied to me about everything. The man who didn’t deserve me, just like Greg didn’t deserve me.
I clamped my free arm over my breasts, hating that so much of me was exposed. I loathed the way his gaze latched onto my skin; how his hand came up to hover over my breast as if fighting his desire to touch me.
His eyes met mine as he licked his lips. “I was going to make us official tonight, but I’ve waited so fucking long to have you, Elle, I’ve become a bit of a sadist.”
He leaned in, brushing his mouth over my bruised cheekbone from the driveway gravel. “I’m so hard for you, but the anticipation of what I’m going to do to you is almost as good as doing it.”
Letting me go, he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the floor, followed by his shoes, socks, and jeans. “For the next few hours, we’ll rest. And then...we’ll have some fun.”
He wasn’t lying that he wanted me. His cock stood proud in white boxers, mimicking a totem pole and flagstaff.
I tore my eyes away in disgust.
He chuckled under his breath. “Time to sleep, Elle. Tomorrow is a new day, and we have a shit-load of things to do.” Pulling the twine around my wrist, he guided me to the bed and pulled back the sheets. “Get in.”
My throat swelled with tears. The scream inside wanted to erupt and destroy—to summon help even though Greg had successfully laid a red herring and driven in a car I’d never seen before to a cabin he’d never mentioned.
We’d cut through forest and roads and small townships.
We were well and truly gone.
No one would come if I cried for help.
No one could save me but me.
When I didn’t move, he pushed me onto the mattress. I fell forward, flopping angrily onto my side and curling my legs up to hide as much of my lingerie-clad body as possible.
Greg stared down like a doting lover, running his finger over my jawline, tucking in a curl. “I can’t believe we’re here. Together.”
I arched away from his touch, trying to kill him with my stare. “We’re not together. I don’t want this. You’re forcing me. Don’t ever forget that I don’t want you. I never have and I never will.”
He stiffened. “You’ll take that back. You’ll see.”
“Wrong. It will only become more and more real the longer you keep me. I liked you before, Greg. I thought you were a nice friend. But now...now, I hate you.”
Clenching his jaw, he swiped the comforter from beneath my legs, making me roll a little. “Your lies are almost as bad as his were.”
The painful barb wriggled inside me as he gently placed the linen over me. His footsteps fell heavy on the floorboards as he turned out the light and climbed into bed.
I remained stiff and unyielding, but he spooned me, gathering me tight in his arms.
His erection prodded my ass, making me sick.
The memories of sleeping with Penn and the chemistry between us tried to replace my current situation. But even that wasn’t comforting. Penn had destroyed what I’d felt for him by being so terribly linked to my past.
He’d proven I couldn’t trust anyone.
Only my cat.
Thank goodness, Dad had taken Sage home tonight; otherwise, she’d be unfed and unloved.
God, Dad will panic when I don’t show for work tomorrow.
Fear about his heart pushed through me, ignoring my situation, tearing me into pieces about what this would do to him.
I swallowed my loathing, whispering in the dark. “Greg?”
He snuggled closer, his hips jamming forward. “Yes, baby?”
I shivered. “I’m not your baby.”
“You are now.”
I wouldn’t let him distract me with an argument I couldn’t win. “I need to call my father. You know he has heart issues. He needs to know I’m okay.”
His nose tickled the back of my neck. “He’ll survive.”
I tried to wriggle away, but his arms looped tighter. The damn rope around my wrist kept me pinned. “He’ll panic.”
“Not my problem.”
I shoved backward, rocking the bed. “It is your problem. And I’ll tell you why. If he dies because of the stress of what you’ve done, I’ll never stop trying to kill you. You have my undying promise that I will—”
He slapped a hand over my mouth, dragging my head backward until my skull wedged against his chin. “Hush. I’m trying to sleep.” His cock thrust against my ass. “If you’re a good girl, I might let you call him tomorrow. If you agree to our agreement.”
I tensed.
No way in hell would I willingly sleep with him, but if he held my father’s health as bribery, I would do what he wanted. I’d obey because I could never live with myself if Dad had another heart attack.
I hate you, Greg.
He kissed my cheek. “Now, no more talking.” Wrapping the string from my wrist around his fingers, he stroked my hair with a threat disguised as tenderness. “Goodnight, Elle. Tomorrow is going to be so much fun.”
Chapter Four
Penn
“SHE’S GONE, LARRY.”
I fought every instinct to crush my phone with furious fingers.
My heart, my blood, my motherfucking breath raced with adrenaline from bolting from my place to Elle’s and grabbing the security guard with the threat of a lawsuit if he didn’t let me into her apartment to make sure she was safe in bed and not taken as I feared.
He’d done what I asked.
Her bed was empty.
And now, I stood in her kitchen where red wine stained the flo
or, her phone and silver bag from the party—the same bag I’d shoved off the limo seat to pull her into my lap—sat sadly on the counter.
A drawer hung open, the pantry unclosed.
Signs of an evident struggle made me fucking wild with rage and worry.
I’ll fucking kill him.
He’d taken her.
He’d hurt her.
And I hadn’t been there for her.
She’d run home because of me. She’d had to put up with that bastard for years because of me.
I have to fix this.
Larry cleared sleep from his throat, slipping into the authority figure I knew and respected. “Gone? Who’s gone?”
“Elle,” I snapped. “That idiot she works with has taken her.”
Larry didn’t ask how I knew or if I was sure. He’d never been suspicious of me because I only ever told him the truth.
He was the exception to my rule.
Mainly because he’d trusted me before I gave him reason to. After hearing my tale when we first met, I’d expected him to scoff and roll his eyes like all the others. But for the first time, someone believed me. He’d stayed by my side and done what he’d promised. He gave me a second chance when no one else would.
His voice lost its haze. “What are the details?”
“Greg came in and abducted her then sent his fucking goonies after me to scare me off.”
“Time-frame?”
“Who the fuck knows.” I paced the kitchen, ignoring the security guard who’d let me in and who was on his phone to the police. “Could’ve been the same time the assholes came to ensure I had bad dreams or could’ve been the moment she left the gala.”
“Have you called her father yet?”
“No.”
Rustling happened in the background as Larry no doubt clambered from bed. Waking him when he needed his rest was not a good thing, but I couldn’t do this on my own. I’d tried to navigate life without leaning on anyone and look where that got me. The day Larry found me was the day I learned how to share and let good things happen to me and not just the bad.
“Hang up and call her father. Tell the police, get all the information you can, then come here. We’ll go after him together.”
No, we won’t.
“Okay.” I cut the call before I could tell him that I’d get Greg’s whereabouts, but I wouldn’t take him as reinforcements. His health had only just improved. I wouldn’t risk him as well as Elle.
I’d go after her on my own. I’d chased her for my own selfish reasons. I hadn’t cared about her mental state when she found out who I was.
Most of the time, I’d convinced myself that I would walk away before it got to that stage.
Shit, it had already gone on too long.
I’d tried to end it.
But each time, she revealed a little more of herself, gave a little more, and fucking stole everything of mine in the goddamn process.
And now, I’d get her back—even if it was stupid to go alone.
I’d always done things the hard way.
I left the security guard to welcome the tardy police and stalked into her bedroom to call the brownstone where Elle used to live.
I knew the number by heart, just like I knew what window was hers, what her favorite food was (blueberry pancakes), how many times she’d snuggled with that damn cat (over six hundred since I’d starting watching), and how hard she worked for Belle Elle (every hour of her life), which was what made my guilt so much worse.
Guilt compounded on guilt for every awful thing I’d thought about her over the past three years.
The phone rang.
I paused with my fingertips tracing her pillow, noticing the pristine sheets with no feline ball indenting the mattress. Sage hadn’t attacked me when I arrived, which made me suspect the cat was either with Elle’s father or Greg had taken it when he’d taken Elle.
“Hello?” A groggy voice finally came on the line.
Thank Christ for landlines and the non-ability to silence them at night.
“Mr. Charlston? It’s Penn Everett.”
Joe Charlston cleared his throat. “What do you need at five o’clock in the morning that couldn’t wait for normal hours, son?”
My heart did a weird flip at the endearment. He was nothing like I thought he’d be. I’d despised him almost every day for three years. I’d misjudged him just like I’d misjudged his daughter. “I need all the information you have on Steve Hobson’s son, Greg. Any real estate purchases or favorite locations.”
His voice whipped sharp. “Why? What’s happened?”
I braced myself. “Greg has taken your daughter.”
“What?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, dislodging dried blood and activating bruises. I’d forgotten about my bare feet and bloody face when I’d shoved the security guard into the elevator. I must look fucking awful. “Elle has been taken by the cocksucker Greg Hobson. Her apartment is empty. There are signs of a fight. I need to find her. Immediately.”
Otherwise, who the fuck knows what he’ll do to her.
Joe barked, “Stay there, I’m coming over.”
“No—just tell me—” The phone went dead.
I growled into the empty room.
Goddammit.
More time wasted. More people involved.
I had to leave. I’d call him from the road.
I wouldn’t wait any longer than I had to.
Elle was mine.
I would bring her home on my own.
* * * * *
As planned, my cell-phone rang fifteen minutes later when Elle’s father arrived at his daughter’s apartment only to find me missing. “Where the hell are you?”
“Driving.”
“You should be here helping me look for Elle.”
My fingers tightened on the wheel. “I am helping look for Elle.”
“By what? Driving in circles?”
I didn’t bother telling him that Larry had contacts in the NYPD—that he could help me with phone records and credit card statements. I’d wanted a faster way, hoping Joe could provide, but if he was going to slow me down, then so be it.
He’d get left behind.
“Tell me everything you can about Steve and Greg.”
Joe sniffed. “Greg lives with his father a few blocks over from me. However, he’s not there. I called Steve, and he’s as freaked as I am about all of this. He said Greg never came home last night—but that’s nothing new. He has girlfriends who he stays with periodically.”
I ignored the fact that the slime ball slept around all the while trying to get Elle into bed.
I’d kill him just for that.
“Any other property? Known addresses he’d go to on his own?” My car broke the speed limit as I weaved down Broadway.
“Steve bought a log cabin a few years ago out in Rochester. He said Greg might’ve—”
“The address. Now.”
“It’s off the beaten track. Look for a creek called Bearfoot Rapids. The house is tucked away with a carved lumberjack holding a mailbox at the start of the driveway.”
“No street name or number?”
“No, that’s what made it appealing. It can’t be found easily.”
Fucking brilliant.
Holding back my curse, I gritted, “Thanks. I’ll call you when I’m there.”
I hung up and tossed the phone onto the seat beside me.
Rochester was a good five-hour drive away.
Christ, he could do anything to her in that time, and I’d be too late.
The Mercedes snarled as I stomped on the pedal, forcing gas to feed its greedy engine.
Hold on, Elle.
This time, I wouldn’t let her down.
Chapter Five
Elle
SUNSHINE.
A new day.
No sleep.
No rest.
Only panic.
Greg shifted, his arm still locked around my middle, his skin against min
e, his body sickeningly close.
Dawn had arrived, and I’d watched every painful minute of it as the sky switched from black to pink then pink to gold, basking the cabin, glittering on the lake through the windows.
It took all my willpower to stay calm and not give in to the panic gnawing at my bones.
How many more mornings would pass before I could get free?
Greg rolled over; the leash tethering me to him jerked my wrist. My skin was red and irritated from rope burn.
I grunted as he forced me to roll over, tucking me against his body. “Morning, beautiful.”
I bit my tongue and didn’t reply.
If I did, I’d spew curses and commands—neither of which would do me any good.
I had to hope that if I remained silent and obedient, he’d let me call Dad and ease his worry, so I remained parented and not an orphan.
The only good thing about Greg taking me was I didn’t have time to stew about Penn and his deception. I only had the brain capacity to currently hate Greg.
Penn will come later.
“I don’t care if you don’t speak, Elle. I rather like quiet women.” Unraveling the rope from his fist, he stood up and stretched. Morning wood once again speared his boxer-briefs.
He smirked, catching me looking. “That’s all yours the moment you’ve had a shower.” He bent over me, pressing his hands into the pillow on either side of my ears. “Can’t fuck you without washing you first. Who the hell knows if that bastard touched you last night.”
I fought the reply plastering itself over my face.
Penn had touched me.
He’d fucked me in the limo before I knew the truth. I’d believed he felt something for me while I felt something for him. I was excited, thinking he’d be honest and forthright and all the mistrust and lies would vanish like mist fading over the lake.
I’d begged for clarity.
Just not the clarity I’d been given.
My necklace had ruined those fantasies.
Grabbing my hand, Greg pulled me from the warm covers and into the crisp morning air. No heating meant goosebumps scattered over my flesh then layered with more as he leered at me. “All this time and we could've been waking up side by side, instead of working on different floors at Belle Elle.” His fingers traced my belly button. “Isn’t it nice?” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine.
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