“What…” I was angry, but I felt so slow and sleepy, I couldn’t sum up the anger somehow. Then I began to get really scared. Edward was smiling, but it wasn’t a smile I had seen on him before. I’d seen his eyes flash with a dark kind of anger and now his lips slowly turned up in a kind of sneer and I felt like I was seeing him for the first time.
“It’s okay,” Edward said slightly. “I needed a slut. I needed someone I could get to breed my heir without complaint before I killed her. I never wanted a mate, you see. But a son...a son is very useful. And you have such good genes.”
Kill me...he was going to kill me?
I should be panicking, I thought. But I couldn’t even move. I was losing all ability to move at all and had begun to slide right off the chaise but Edward hopped to his feet and came around.
No, I thought. No, I have to run, I have to shift…
But I couldn’t shift or even move as Edward picked me up in his arms. “It could have been much easier. I wouldn’t have let it be painful. Although it does have to look like an accident, of course. Once you bear my child, I mean. I figure once I have a child, I’ll whip up a secret wife, make it all good and proper. Then I’ll have my heir. Which is all I want.”
“Jude,” I murmured. I wanted to scream but I could barely even speak. “Jude…”
“Well, I’ll definitely kill Jude,” Edward said, laughing softly. “I would have at the gathering but I suppose that wouldn’t have gone over well. My temper got the best of me. That much is true.”
I felt utterly helpless, unable to so much as lift a finger as Edward carried me through his dingy old mansion, around one corner and then another. The place was a bit labyrinthine and then he was taking me down a narrow flight of stairs.
You’re crazy, I wanted to say. My parents would go looking for me and so would Jude.
“Couldn’t have made this so much easier,” Edward was saying. “You know, I thought at first about getting some poor dragon shifter girl but who wants those genes in your offspring? Do you know what I mean? I want good breeding and you’re the best. Now don’t worry, Sierra. It will be hard on your parents. They’ll mourn you. We’ll just have to come up with a convincing death but I’ll think of something. These things are a lot easier than you might imagine and I know some talented witches.”
Eddie came to the bottom of the narrow stairs and took me down a long, wide corridor so dark it took my eyes some time to adjust even as I felt myself falling asleep against my will.
His vault. He was taking me to his vault. Once he had me locked up and he found some way to convince everyone I was dead...he’d have me trapped. I wanted to cry out of sheer terror but I wasn’t even able to do that.
Eddie reached his vault or at least I assumed so as my head was helplessly lying back on his arm and I could see a big steel door out of the side of my eye. He punched a code into a control panel and the door swung open.
The place was huge. I hadn’t realized how far down underground we’d gone but the vault was as big as any I’d seen and I’d seen some impressive hoard vaults. It was very organized. Unlike some dragons who got a romantic kick out of their gold and treasure piled up like in some cave of old, Eddie had his gold bars in stacks, his jewels and other trinkets and riches in glass cases on display or hanging from hooks.. But the vault was as big as a ballroom.
“You’ll stay here a while,” Eddie said, as casually as if he were offering his drugged tea again. He lay me down on the floor and it was uncomfortable to lie on a hard floor on my side but I couldn’t so much as roll over. “You sleep. Later, we’ll discuss what will happen next. And don’t be mistaken, Sierra, I’ll hurt you if I have to. You mean nothing to me.”
He turned to leave and then abruptly knelt down and grabbed my hand roughly. “One more thing. I have to use your phone. Throw Jude off. Tell me your passcode or I’ll break your finger.”
I whimpered but I manage to murmur the passcode. It didn’t seem worth the pain to lie or not give it to him. Besides, Jude knew me better than anyone else on earth. Eddie would only be able to throw him off so long. At least, that’s what I hoped.
Eddie stood and left, shutting the door behind. Then I was left there, alone in the dark and unable to move.
Chapter Thirteen: Jude
How have you been?
My friend Jessie’s text came in while I was typing away at a potential mission statement for my new charitable venture. The last time I’d felt so excited about something (other than Sierra) was back when I helped with the car design at Fairchild Corp. That had been fun and I did have kind of an eye for design, but it didn’t light a fire under me the way this did. This was something I truly cared about and the idea that I could finally truly pull away from my dad and strike out on my own was even more exciting.
When my phone buzzed with Jessie’s text, I pulled myself away from the list of potential investors I’d been jotting down. Really, they wouldn’t be investors, they’d be donors. I’d have to remember to start thinking that way. It wasn’t like any of this was going to be for a profit.
I cut off my dad, I reported to Jessie.
I smiled when I typed it. I liked putting it that way. Of course, in terms of money, he was cutting me off. Not that it would really hurt me. That only meant I’d be very rich instead of very, very rich. I had enough of my mother’s money in my name plus my shares in the company to be just fine. But I had cut off my dad in terms of our relationship and that was more important to me anyway.
Jessie responded with some exclamation points and then he called me and I let him know what was going on. I was fairly close with all the guys in the little circle of young, wealthy dragon shifters that met every once in a while to socialize and bond. I was probably closest to Justin. We were somewhat like-minded, although now that he had found his mate and become a father twice over he wasn’t the playboy buddy he used to be. But Jessie was very kind and used to reaching out. It was a little strange because I was pretty sure he was in the mob. At least that was what the rest of us assumed but he never talked about that. We only knew him as a good friend.
I ended up pacing my apartment, getting wired up and coffee, and talking to Jessie for a long time. It was a good talk, and it reminded me that I needed to do better about keeping up with my friends. We didn’t see each other as often as we wanted but there were regular hangouts to go flying or play poker at Justin’s penthouse and sometimes those nights really did me a lot of good. It was nice to be with guys who were a lot like me.
“Got your mate,” Jessie said. “Got your way out of that messed up relationship with your dad. It sounds like you’re on your way.”
“Feels like it,” I said, looking out my big window to the city outside. “I feel different. I feel like an adult.”
“Will wonders never cease?” Jessie said dryly.
It was getting dark now, I noticed, and I frowned. Sierra had said she would definitely come by around six and it was nearly eight now.
“Hey, Jessie. I gotta call my girl. I’ll talk to you later.”
I let Jessie go and checked for any texts I’d missed. It was really stupid. I knew that, except Sierra was almost chronically punctual. I had a tendency to be late sometimes, but she never did and she was really good about letting people know when she was running late.
Besides that, I had a weird, bad feeling. But it was so vague it probably didn’t bear paying much attention to.
Hey. What’s up?
I sent Sierra the text and went to make myself a snack in my too fancy kitchen. I’d planned to eat with Sierra but my stomach was rumbling and I couldn’t wait any longer. I’d begrudgingly settled on an energy bar when my phone buzzed and I scrambled to read a reply from Sierra.
Sorry. Can’t make it tonight. See you soon!
It was followed by a couple of heart emojis and a kissy face. I frowned at the phone.
“What the hell?”
It wasn’t that she was cancelling on me. That was fine, in principle
. But the tone of the text felt so wrong somehow. We’d just confessed our love for each other and followed it with passionate sex. But Sierra’s text sounded like it was from a casual acquaintance skipping out on a coffee date.
I texted back immediately: Anything wrong?
Nope. Love you!
I snorted at that. Something was definitely wrong.
For a while, I just stood there in the apartment, trying to figure out what I should do. Maybe I was just being paranoid. I didn’t want to be one of those overly possessive asshole boyfriends trying to account for their woman’s every move. That wasn’t me.
I was about to head over to Sierra’s parents house just to see what was up when Sierra texted again.
I’ll explain everything soon, promise. Sorry I couldn’t make it tonight.
I chewed my lip. That text sounded much more like Sierra. I decided I was definitely making too much of this. It was just passion and the fever of love making me act like an idiot, and I’d certainly done that enough already. I decided to focus on my work for the rest of the night. I was disappointed that Sierra wasn’t coming over, but I had plenty to do and we’d see each other soon enough.
In the morning, I woke up bright and early and grabbed my phone to text Sierra. I didn’t get a reply right away, which I expect for the morning. She had always been an earlier riser than me. But I tried not to think about it too much. I made coffee and ate a bagel and looked at Twitter and kept myself busy for a while. I had an onslaught of emails from people within my dad’s company (some of whom were shifters) who had heard already that I was striking out on my own and some of them wanted to join me which was great news. I took a while replying and going back and forth with some of the shifters. I still had it in mind to start a program for underprivileged shifter kids and they seemed particularly interested in that.
But by noon, I still had not heard from Sierra and I was actually starting to get worried again. I texted her once more and got something quick and dismissive. It almost felt like she was annoyed with me.
Now, I was real paranoid. Except I wasn’t worried that Sierra was blowing me off. More like, I had this wild idea that she wasn’t the one who texted me. Because I had the time on my hands, I grabbed my jacket and took off for her parent’s place.
It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, I told myself. Or anyway, it hadn’t been twenty fours since she’d cancelled plans.
But I figured, if I was just being crazy, it was a worthwhile risk to take. Better safe than sorry and all that.
At the door to the Lowell’s stately home, I knocked and braced myself. Sierra’s parents had never been overly fond of me and I was about to declare myself their daughter’s mate and on top of that I had shown up without having shaved and in a leather jacket. I probably looked like a hoodlum to them.
“Jude!” Sierra’s mother answered the door herself, her eyebrows raised. She looked perturbed, but I put on my most polite demeanor.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Lowell,” I said. “I’m sorry to bother you like this. I was just wondering if you’d seen Sierra since yesterday?”
Mr. Lowell came up behind us and they looked eat each other in alarm. “She’s not with you?” Her father said. “We were sure she was with you.”
Well, shit.
“I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning,” I said. “She left my place-”
“Yes,” her mother said. “Yes, that’s right. She came here from your apartment.”
“Yeah, and we were supposed to get together last night, but she texted that she couldn’t make it but she wouldn’t say why. She didn’t…” I shook my head, hoping I wasn’t going to worry the Lowells unnecessarily. “She didn’t sound quite like herself.”
“Jude, I’m worried.” Sierra’s mother actually grabbed my hand and it made my heart lurch. “Listen, we know you and Sierra are together now. Believe us, we think it’s wonderful.”
“You have our blessing!” Her father put in.
“We loved how you stood up to Edward Didion,” her mother said. “We know you always have Sierra’s best interests at heart. And I’m worried now. I can’t think of where she would go overnight if she wasn’t with you.”
“I’m gonna find her,” I blurted out. “I promise you. I’ll find her. I’m sure she’s okay. Hell, maybe it’s all a misunderstanding. Please don’t trouble yourselves too much.”
“You’re a lovely boy Jude,” Mrs. Lowell said fondly. “I’m sorry if we’ve ever made you feel unwelcome.”
“Well, I did throw up in that antique vase that time,” I said, shrugging. That made them chuckle, so that was something anyway. “Do you have Edward’s address by any chance?”
“Do you think he could have done something?” Her father said. “If he’s done something, I will rip his throat out myself-”
“I doubt it,” I said firmly. “Even after that fight. It doesn’t seem likely. But I should stop by. See if he knows anything. But maybe ask around to her friends. She hasn’t been home too long, I don’t know if she’s reconnected with many people yet but you never know.”
“We will, Jude,” her father said. “Thank you.”
“We’ll sort this out,” I said firmly. “It’s gonna be fine.”
Her mother was teary and all at once she hugged me tightly. “Thank you, Jude.”
I didn’t go straight to Edward’s. My theory was that it seemed like the last place she’d actually be. Instead I spent a few hours going to her old haunts and texting some of her friends who I knew, mostly girls she’d known from school and college and a few old shifter buddies from our socialite circle. Some of them had heard from her recently but nobody had heard from her in the last couple of days.
On impulse, I texted the group text of my Alpha Dragon Club.
Sierra is MIA. Might need your help soon. I’ll let you know.
Everyone texted back their support, and that made me feel somewhat comforted at least. It was good to know I had such a solid group of guys who would come through in a clinch.
Finally, when I found myself back in his neck of the woods anyway, I went to Edward’s house. I wasn’t looking forward to it. It was going to be awkward at best. But any port in a storm was worth trying, I figured.
His place seemed more old-fashioned than I might have expected, at least from the front. I knocked and took a deep breath. I had to be on my best behavior here, I figured. I had the upper hand, having won our little duel and come out looking like a hero while he had looked like a huge coward. The upper hand was useful and I couldn’t squander it. I could afford to ‘be big.’
“Jude Fairchild.” Edward said it like a question he was very curious about when he opened the door but he smiled tightly and stepped back to let me in. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I hope there’s not still a problem between us?”
“No,” I said firmly. “Absolutely not. I’ve just come to ask after Sierra. I wondered if you’d seen her. She’s been missing since yesterday morning? Not too long, I know. But her parents are worried.”
Edward shut the door behind me and tipped his head. “Sierra? Hmm. Say Jude, do you want some tea?”
“Tea?” I shook my head. “No thank you. I’m fine.”
He took me to the sitting room and then just as quickly said he needed to excuse himself and he’d be right back if I would just wait a moment. I checked my texts. Just as soon as I put down my phone, I kept having the urge to pick it up again and see if Sierra had contacted me. Nothing yet. Unthinkingly, I set the phone on the table and when Edward beckoned me, I rolled my eyes and followed him deeper into the house.
He led me through the foyer and I sighed following him all the way to his library. He seemed to be thinking deeply, as if it was a really deep question to simply answer whether he had seen or heard from Sierra in the last day. But I thought he was just being difficult because I had “stolen” his woman in his eyes or something like that.
“You know, I want to apologize again,” Edward said gravely. H
e’d brought me into his library which looked about how’d I expect it to in a grim, old-fashioned mansion like this one. None of the books looked like they’d ever been read and the place smelled like mothballs. “I do so apologize for my behavior.” Edward had slick blonde hair and a big grin. His blue eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
“It’s fine,” I said a little huffily. I was beginning to get impatient. “I’m just looking for Sierra. I have no problem with you, man.”
“Are you sure about that?” Edward said, smiling slow and cutting. “Because I have a problem with you.”
Oh. Great.
Chapter Fourteen: Sierra
I woke up and at first, I didn’t remember where I was. I’d had dark dreams but I couldn’t remember them clearly. But when I fully woke up, reality was so much worse than any nightmare I’d had. I was sore and uncomfortable and at first I just groaned and slowly rolled over on my back. When I opened my eyes, it was so dark, I couldn’t tell I’d opened my eyes at all. I was abruptly filled with terror. My mind was fuzzy about things. I couldn’t remember where I was or why. Jude...I wanted to see Jude…
I struggled to sit up and felt a bit dizzy as all the blood seemed to rush to my head. I’d gone to see Edward… Slowly, it came back to me. Edward had drugged me. He’d drugged me and locked me in this vault. I felt like my heart was seizing up in my chest.
I screamed, and I heard my own scream echo back at me. I staggered to my feet and fell twice, so disoriented was I both from my sluggish mind as a result of the drugs and the pitch black darkness.
“Somebody help me!”
It was utterly useless, but I was pretty hysterical and it took me a while to calm myself down. I sat on the floor and let myself cry into my hands. Edward was going to keep me here as his prisoner. His intentions were so heinous I couldn’t even let myself think about them. I’d heard about shifters, usually poor girls, sold to rich male dragon shifter just to give them heirs but it was sort of a business arrangement. Not that it was broadly considered acceptable, at least not in my social circles. My parents thought it was disgusting. Edward’s intentions were so much worse than that.
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