Corrupt Empire Series: A Dark Romance Boxset

by Sarah Bailey

  His tone left no room for questions. No room for disobedience. Nothing. I was expected to obey. He’d called me Avery before. I wasn’t sure why he referred to me by my last name now.

  He picked up the box. I didn’t move as he approached me. He sat next to me and took my hand. Looking over the cuts in the light, his brow furrowed.

  “What did you do?”

  “Hit the door. Repeatedly.”

  His eyes met mine, the disapproval in them making me flinch. He rested my hand on his knee before opening the box. It was full of medical supplies. Carefully, he cleaned my split knuckles. His touch was gentle, completely at odds with his appearance. I wasn’t about to try work him out. Wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He’d murdered my parents.

  He bandaged my hand when he was done and gave it back to me. I held it to my chest, staring at him with narrowed eyes. He closed the box.

  “Next time you want to hit something, try not to make it a reinforced steel door.”

  “No shit,” I muttered.

  I wasn’t planning on hitting anything else except maybe him.

  He stood up, walking around and standing in front of me. I craned my head up to look at him.

  “You saw something you were never meant to see or be a part of. So, Daniels, I have rules. You will obey me in all things. You will not talk back to me. You will stay here until I decide otherwise. Simply put. You. Are. Mine. As I said before, there will be consequences if you break these rules and any others I decide are appropriate. Have I made myself clear or do you have questions? This is your one and only opportunity to ask.”

  My heart thudded in my chest at the finality of his words. His? Was he certifiable or just a psycho? Either way, I wasn’t a piece of property or someone he could own.

  “What the actual fuck is all that supposed to mean?”

  His expression didn’t change. I wasn’t sure what I expected.

  “Are you deaf?”

  “No. I just don’t understand anything. You killed my parents in front of me and now you’ve chained me up in a room with nothing but the clothes on my back. I didn’t even do anything. Why? Why are you doing this to me? Give me one fucking good reason.”

  I’d had enough. The hold I kept on my temper snapped entirely. I dragged myself off the floor. I only came up to his chest, but I didn’t care. He wasn’t going to get away with any of this.

  He took a step towards me, backing me right up against the wall as I tried to get away from him. He slammed his hands against the wall by my head, effectively caging me in.

  “Do not take that tone with me.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “And you are a spoilt brat.”

  I spluttered. How dare he make assumptions about me? Spoilt? The last fucking thing I was. Did he think I was some rich kid who thought she was better than everyone else? Hell no.

  “Fuck you.”

  His eyes hardened to steel.

  “Listen very carefully, Daniels. I am going to let that slide because you’re clearly not in the right frame of mind to understand your situation. Make no mistake, you talk to me like that again, it will not end well for you.” He paused, appraising me for a moment. “In answer to your question. Why am I doing this to you? I don’t need you running off and telling tales. What happened last night will stay between us.”

  It most definitely wasn’t going to stay between us. The moment I got out of here, I was going to the police. Not only had this man killed my parents, but he’d essentially kidnapped me. No way I would allow him to get away with either of those things.

  “I’m just supposed to accept that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, let me make something clear to you. I am not your slave. I will not bow down to you. Go. To. Hell.”

  He straightened, his hands falling back to his sides. He shook his head.

  “Perhaps a little time to reflect on your circumstances will put you in a better frame of mind.”

  He turned away and walked towards the door. He gave me one last look before he flipped a switch from outside, plunging me back into darkness.

  “No. Don’t put me in the dark again. No.”

  I couldn’t face it. I started towards the door but it slammed shut, stealing away the last bit of light I had. I let rip and screamed. I raged until my voice was hoarse and my throat hurt. I collapsed on the floor in the middle of the room and cried again.

  When my tears dried up, I turned on my back, staring into the blackness.

  My parents were dead.

  I was a prisoner.

  And I didn’t even know the name of my tormentor.

  All of those things made my head hurt and my heart feel tight.

  My life as I knew it was over.

  Nothing would be the same again.

  Chapter Two

  Aiden

  I slammed my hand against the wall beside the door as I heard her muffled screams. That fucking girl would be the death of me. The wild look in her eyes when she told me to go to hell made my blood boil and my cock stand to attention.

  What the fuck was I doing? Never in my life had I felt more out of control. If I had any other choice, I’d get rid of her in an instant.

  The problem was… her. When I’d seen those doe eyes staring back at me after I’d executed her parents, my entire world shifted on its axis.

  She wasn’t meant to be there. No one else but Mitchell and Kathleen Daniels were supposed to be in their penthouse. My entire fucking plan had gone tits up the moment I realised she was there.

  Now I was stuck with Avery Daniels. The daughter of the fuckers who stole my life. I couldn’t kill her. I wanted to, but she just happened to be innocent of all the crimes the rest of her family had committed. My moral code wouldn’t allow it. I might be a fucked up bastard but killing an innocent girl would be a whole new low.

  Thing is, I was going to do something so much worse to her. So much fucking worse.

  Avery would become utterly dependant on me for everything. Then I was going to use her to destroy the Daniels legacy for good. Sick. I was sick, but nothing would stand in my way. The twisted pieces of shit needed to be stopped. Mitchell and Kathleen were only the beginning.

  I walked away from the room I’d put her in, unable to listen to her screaming any longer. She’d wear herself out eventually.

  I had every intention when I went in there to feed her and let her see to her needs. The stupid girl had hurt herself. First mistake. And then she’d openly challenged me after I’d laid down the rules. I wanted to pin her down on the floor and shake some sense into her. Hell, I wanted to do things I really shouldn’t to Avery.

  I needed to break her. Break that girl so she’d be mine. Mine to use. Mine to manipulate. I had a new plan and Avery was key to its success.

  She would learn the hard way if she decided to keep up this little act. That’s if she didn’t fucking break me instead. She’d already tested my patience and it had barely been eight hours since I’d taken her.

  Doe eyes. Fucking doe eyes. Behind them lay a girl who’d watched me kill her parents. Of course, she was going to hate me for it, but she didn’t understand. Literally no clue about what her family really did. Innocent. Too fucking innocent for this.

  I couldn’t stray too far. Avery would need me sooner or later. She’d grown up pampered. There was no way she’d cope in that room alone for long. It was the very reason I put her in there. The fact I even had it installed was fucked up. I’d done unspeakable things to people in there. All at the request of fucking Chuck Daniels, Mitchell’s younger brother. I wasn’t sure who was worse. Him or Mitchell. Both of them were sick fucks.

  I didn’t want to put her in there but needs must. Enough time alone and she’d be begging me to let her out. Exactly how I wanted her. Obedient. Only then would I tell her the truth. The real reason her family needed to die and their entire company razed to the ground.

  I had
the heir to Daniels Holdings in my hands. And nothing would stand in my way as I took them all down with me.

  My phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket, looking down at the display.

  Chuck.

  “What?”

  I knew why he was calling.

  “Shit has gone down.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Someone killed Mitchell and Kathleen and my niece has gone missing.”

  I smiled. With the exception of Avery, everything was still going to plan.

  “Shit, man. I’m sorry. Missing you say?”

  I wasn’t sorry. Not at all. Not one bit. Fuckers deserved it. Chuck didn’t need to know that.

  “The police went to see her, but she’s not in her flat. No one has heard from her. She’s the fucking heir to the company, Aiden. Mitchell refused to change the fucking papers even though she’s not ready. This is all fucked up.”

  When I took Avery, I knew plans needed to change. Chuck hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know.

  “No trace of her at all?”

  “As of right now, no. Anyway, it’s all fucked. I don’t know how long it will take for the media to get wind of it.”

  “Do they have any idea who did it?”

  They wouldn’t. I’d covered my tracks well. No CCTV footage existed. Nothing. I knew how to take that shit out. The only issue I’d had was getting a passed out Avery back to mine without anyone seeing her. It was fucking lucky I’d brought the car instead of my bike.

  “As if the police would tell me anything. I don’t even know how they died yet. The housekeeper found them. Fucking bitch went to the police. She should’ve called me first.”

  I stifled a laugh. I knew the housekeeper would freak out. I pitied the woman finding her employers dead by a single gunshot to the head. That gun was long fucking gone now. I wasn’t stupid.

  My careful planning was working, except for the girl in my cell. The girl with doe eyes who made my cock so fucking hard when she’d challenged me, it hurt.

  “Can’t get the staff.”

  “No, too fucking right. I’ll need you when I find out more.”

  “No problem.”

  Chuck hung up. I’d help him, but not in the way he thought. Help him to his fucking grave along with the rest of those involved in their sick operation. Chuck was a motherfucking scumbag. Living in the shadow of his brother his whole life. Now, I’d see just how fucking much he could take before he snapped.

  And I was going to enjoy every moment of it.

  ~~~

  I opened the door to her cage. Avery lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. I flipped on the light. She blinked as the room lit up. Her long, dark hair fanned out around her head like a halo. The sight of it made me feel things. Things I shouldn’t fucking feel for the girl I chained up.

  I’d left her for an hour, hoping it’d be long enough for her to calm down. She didn’t move when I approached her. Up close, I could see her face was tear-streaked and red. She’d been crying again.

  “Sit up.”

  Surprisingly, she complied. Her eyes were bloodshot. She stared at me with almost unnerving intensity.

  “Do you need anything?” I asked.

  A blush crept up her neck. She looked away.

  “Water… and the bathroom, please,” she whispered, her voice a little hoarse.

  It hardly surprised me given how long she’d raged for after I left her alone.

  “I will take you on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m not leaving you alone. Either you have me there or I give you a bucket. The choice is yours.”

  Her eyes widened, her face growing redder. A dimple appeared in her cheek.

  Fuck.

  “I don’t like either of those options.”

  “You don’t have to like them.”

  After a long moment of silence, she looked at me.

  “A bucket is too degrading.”

  I slipped the key to her ankle manacle out of my pocket.

  “You’re going to behave if I take this off you, Daniels.”

  “Yes.”

  She shifted, giving me access to her ankle. I knelt down and unlocked it. The manacle dropped. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.

  “Let go of me.”

  I ignored her. She could get pissy with me all she wanted. The moment I gave her an inch, she’d bolt. I dragged her out of the room and down the hall. She struggled to keep up with me.

  “Slow down, I’ve got short legs compared to you.”

  It made me smile, but she couldn’t see my face thankfully. I opened the door to the bathroom and shoved her inside. Standing in the doorway, I watched her teeter on her tiptoes for a moment.

  “Get on with it.”

  “How can I go when you’re watching me?”

  “I’m not watching you. I don’t trust you not to do something stupid. So go.”

  She walked towards the loo, looking at me from over her shoulder. I knew it made her uncomfortable, but until she’d learnt her place, this would be her reality.

  “Can’t you at least avert your eyes?” she asked.

  “Avery, stop making this harder on yourself.”

  I hadn’t meant to use her name again, but her expression made me feel weird. I didn’t want to watch her pee any more than she wanted me there.

  She unbuttoned her jeans and shoved them down just as I turned my head away from her. I couldn’t look. Seeing any part of her would fuck with my head. She’d already started fucking with it the moment our eyes met.

  When she was done, she washed her hands and walked over to me.

  “We can go back now.”

  I took her arm and this time she didn’t object. I didn’t have to drag her. She followed along and walked back into the concrete room. She sat down and put her leg out for me. I replaced the manacle, chaining her to the wall again.

  “Was that so hard?” I asked.

  “No. Can I have some water now, please?”

  “Wait here.”

  I’d give her more than just water. She needed to eat. I’d interrupted her dinner with her parents. Who knew how long it had been since she’d had her last meal?

  Stalking back down the hall, I went into my kitchen. Unsure of what she might eat, I played it safe and made pancakes. Who didn’t like them?

  I poured her a glass of water before snagging the plate and a fork. She’d have to make do. A knife could be used as a weapon. I didn’t want her getting any ideas.

  When I returned, she was still sitting where I left her. I squatted down in front of her. She looked at the plate in my hand.

  “Is that for me?”

  “Who else would it be for?”

  I handed it to her and placed the glass of water by her feet. The first thing she did was grab the glass and drain half of it.

  “Why are you feeding me?” she asked when she placed it down and looked at the plate.

  “I need you compliant, not starving.”

  I rocked back on my feet, watching her cut the pancakes with the fork. She ate slowly, taking her time over each mouthful. Did she think I wouldn’t feed her again?

  Fuck.

  I needed her to obey me, not be scared I wouldn’t look after her. I wasn’t an animal.

  She handed me the plate when she was done. When she’d drained the glass, I took that too. Standing, I eyed her for a moment.

  “Since you’ve decided to be good, light on or off?” I asked.

  She looked down at her hands.

  “Off.”

  Walking away to the door, I tried to work out why she’d want to sit in darkness. She told me not to leave her in the dark before. Avery was a bit of an enigma. She wasn’t what I expected from a girl who’d grown up with every privilege imaginable.

  “Wait.”

  I paused in the doorway, turning slightly to look back at her.


  “What do I call you?”

  I smiled.

  “Aiden. You call me Aiden.”

  Chapter Three

  Avery

  His name whirled around and around in my head as I sat in the pitch black cell. The cell he’d put me in.

  Aiden.

  I finally had a name to hate. Except the name made my heart fucking ache.

  I’d seen him as an avenging angel. I couldn’t reconcile the man who’d fed me with the man who’d shot my parents. I hated how conflicted I felt.

  His. He’d said I was his. The completely fucked up part about it. I was beginning to think he was right.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed since he took me, but he’d mentioned it had only been last night when I saw him kill my parents. I was already losing my mind and it’d barely been twenty-four hours. How the hell was I going to survive this?

  The glaringly obvious answer to that question was simple. I wasn’t meant to. Not if Aiden had his way. The fucking prick was in for a wakeup call. I didn’t have the energy to fight him earlier. Next time he wanted to start with his bullshit, I’d be ready for him. I had to make it out of here so I could turn him in. That meant surviving. Surviving a man like Aiden was impossible, but no one could blame me for trying. I had time to work out how. Too much time.

  I shifted back until I hit the wall. I brought my knees up and rested my head on them. Exhaustion settled into my bones. Everything I’d been through suddenly felt like too much. Perhaps I’d just rest my eyes for a little while. Who knew when Aiden would grace me with his presence again. I needed to regain my strength.

  I let myself drift. Fading in and out of consciousness.

  ~~~

  I snuck into my daddy’s office when he left for a moment. I loved the smell of his cigars and whisky. Crawling under his desk, I smiled. My nanny, Esme, would be looking for me.

  “No, now isn’t the time to move the date forward,” I heard my dad’s voice and his footsteps on the carpet. “I told you, we have to be careful. Things are delicate right now.”