Squaring my shoulders, I moved toward the open archway. What I hadn’t heard were the footsteps behind me. Suddenly, a heavy hand gripped my shoulder, making me stumble backward. I pushed out to rebalance and turn. That was when I eyed the gun holstered on the belt of the bulky man standing over me. The thought crossed my mind as to why a matchmaking party would need armed security, but then his hand clutched my face and lifted it up high enough to pinch my neck. The jagged scar running from his temple to his chin was raised above his pocked skin. “What the fuck are you doing out here? Why aren’t you with the other girls?”
I swallowed down the fear that rose in my throat and clawed at his fingers to twist my head out of his grasp. “Don’t touch me. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here to see Dane Westbrook.”
He ignored my protests and reclaimed my arm. This time his grip was as tight as a vice, and his cracked lips quirked up on the side. “Let me set you straight, chickee,” he said through gritted teeth. “None of the men here want you for anything more than sex. That’s all you do with them and their friends.”
I took a deep breath to fight back my anger. I didn’t need his speech. I just wanted to go, but he wasn’t letting me.
“Please listen,” I said, trying to reason with him. “I’m not…” I sucked in air. A prostitute, escort, or whatever. “I’m a client of Dane’s and came to speak with him about a business deal.”
It was a lie, but right away I realized that wasn’t my only problem. The coldness in his eyes silenced me, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. My answer was the wrong one. He wasn’t going to let me go.
“How did you get back here?” He dragged me toward the pavilion and stopped at the entrance, pausing to press on his headset. “We’ve got a situation.”
My heart hammered in my chest as the thought crossed my mind that he might harm me, or worse. I squirmed and kicked in his hold. All I could think was that whatever he was up to, it wouldn’t be good for me to go away with him.
“Stop fighting,” he hissed as he grabbed my neck.
“Take your hands off her.” Dane’s baritone voice cut through the night air. He had on a tuxedo and held a golden mask in his right hand.
The man reluctantly complied with his demand, though he stayed within reach so I would be easily accessible should he choose to take me again.
Dane tensed, clearly alarmed by his presence. He took my hand and moved me close to him. I went willingly, if only to be away from the guard.
I could not stop myself from being drawn to look at Dane, no matter how hard I tried. His face was chiseled stone, cut with rage. However, when our eyes met, there was a softness there that I knew was for me. I didn’t know what to make of him or this situation. My mind flooded with disturbed thoughts and waves of apprehension swept through me. I began to shake.
“You must speak to me now,” I stuttered to Dane.
Dane moved us away from the guard and wrapped me in his strong arms. A ripple of awareness danced across my skin at our exchange. There was a sensory retention that clung between us. Our intimate encounter had had an effect, and it wasn’t easily erased. Even after all he’d done, I wanted his comfort right then, and I hated myself for it.
I stiffened, but he held fast to me. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered, “Don’t respond to what I say to you. You can’t leave. You must follow what I tell you to do if you want your company back.”
“You bastard,” I muttered, careful not to speak too loud, thinking there must be a reason he was speaking low enough that only I could hear.
“I am, but I’m also too close to what I’m after to risk losing it,” he continued cryptically. “I’ll do my best for you tonight, but if you don’t follow everything I tell you to do, you will be hurt.”
I trembled, and he hugged me closer. “I’m scared.”
“I know, but I can’t take you out now that they know you’re here,” he said. “This mixer’s theme is pain or pleasure. You must be certain which one you are. I’m booked as pleasure.”
“What do you mean? I’m not having sex with you again,” I whispered harshly.
“You choose pain and you will get pain,” he said. “And when I mean pain, I’m speaking of what you saw on my back.” His words came out calm, but the memory of the brokenness had fear gripping my chest, taking away the anger I felt. The last thing I wanted was to be vulnerable in his arms again, but I didn’t want to be hurt or maimed. I glanced back at the guard with the gun. It appeared I had no choice.
“I choose pleasure, but I’d rather not,” I told him. “I will follow your lead as long as you promise to tell me everything.”
His chest expanded against me. “Good.” He nodded once then faced us toward the guard, who was eyeing us suspiciously. Dane clasped his hand at the back of my neck. “I ordered this one specially for me earlier. She was procured by Mr. Carmichael.”
I blinked at him. Procured? Was Elliott some type of pimp? I wanted to get away, but a second armed guard joined us at the entrance. The first guard hadn’t blinked when Dane said Elliott had procured me. Dane had a part of my company, and he had known me before I came to The Agency mixer. Had I been acquired? Had Liz? I had been a terrible friend, ignoring her warnings. At the time, I’d been too busy thinking about my own pleasure to stay away. Had she known this would happen? What was going on with her?
“But she said she wasn’t here for the party. She said she was here for business,” the first guard said.
They stared at me, and I could feel Dane’s will compelling me to follow his lead. “I was told to ask to speak only to Dane Westbrook,” I explained.
The guard dismissed me and talked directly to Dane. “That’s not following the rules.”
“The host gets to set the exceptions,” Dane replied in a sharp tone. “She belongs to me.”
I furrowed my brows. I do? I looked at Dane, but he stared straight ahead.
“Now, I’ve decided to send her to my house to await my return,” Dane said before stepping toward the guard. “In the future, if someone asks for me, you get me. I don’t care who you work for. This is still my place.” The glimmer of hope that I could leave was quickly extinguished.
“When she is cleared by Mr. Santiago,” the second guard said. “He’s an Agency elite member, and I have my orders. I apologize for the disrespect that has been shown to your guest, but I will have to get his approval before she leaves.”
“Of course you do,” Dane intoned, but what that meant hadn’t escaped my awareness. Dane had little power at his own house. There was someone else running the show.
My stomach pitched at the implication. If Dane had no control, would he be able to save me? Was there a way I could save myself?
My immense regret for showing up and disturbed thoughts filled the moments as the guard kept us standing there while he made calls. What I knew right away was that a negative mindset wasn’t going to help me get through this. Dane wanted something, something he was willing to risk me to get. He promised me answers—and pleasure. I’d avoid any more intimacy with Dane as much as I could…if I could leave. The possibility was elusive.
An older man in a tuxedo approached us, and Dane quickly placed his mask over my face. “Hold it there.”
“What is this I hear about you bringing along another woman to our special party?” His smile contrasted with his eyes, which were dark cavernous pits staring out of his mask. He studied me with an intensity that had me instantly folding into Dane, who placed his arm around my body.
“I was just about to send her home,” Dane answered.
“Well I think you should bring her along,” he said as he took my wrist, moving my coat aside. “She’s doesn’t have a tag, I see. I can take her off your hands right now—”
“I have her band with me,” Dane replied, moving me closer to his body. “She’s mine. I never said I didn’t want her, I just wasn’t sure about bringing her along.”
The old man came closer to my
masked face and his rough hand brushed against my chin. The breath he let out smelled of liquor. “Is she for your pleasure? If not, she can go with the group heading to Antigua.”
“No,” Dane answered. “She’s pleasure.”
“Then why not bring her? Or are you going to stay home too?” the old man said with a dry laugh. Dane stiffening next to me let me know he, like me, didn’t find it funny.
“No,” Dane said. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m already set to go. I’ll bring her along.”
“If things don’t work out, there is the trade show,” the man replied. “Of course, there is a matter of price for bringing her in as a late entry.”
My gaze shot to Dane, who went very still.
“I will pay whatever you request,” he told him.
I scoffed. He has to pay this creep because I showed up?
“I don’t like surprises, but I’m interested,” the old man said. “She comes along.” The guards flanked him, and he walked up a short path over to a few limousines that were idling nearby. “Let’s talk, Dane.”
Dane turned his head and spoke in a loud whisper. “Elliott, please get her out of here, now.”
Discovering Elliott had appeared didn’t put me at ease. “Quiet.” He picked me up like I weighed nothing and put me over his shoulder. “Don’t you say another fucking word, or you’ll make the situation worse.”
Once we were farther away from the group, I wiggled in his grasp. “What are you going to do with me? Just let me leave.”
Elliott didn’t respond, just kept carrying me up the path toward where more limousines were parked. When he placed me down, I noticed a few men and women filing out of the building. A driver came forward and opened one of the doors for us, and with guards all around, I had no choice but to get in with Elliott.
“Can you just get the driver to drop me somewhere?” I asked once the limo cleared the gate.
“You shouldn’t have come, Gia,” he said. “You’re ruining everything.”
CHAPTER TEN
* * *
When the car door closed, Elliott got the driver to pass him a mask. “You’ll need to wear this. It’s part of the festivities. The one Dane gave you was for the men.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, not putting it on.
“To a party on a cruise, just outside San Francisco,” he answered, motioning to the mask.
“I can’t do that,” I said. “Tell them to take me home.”
“If you haven’t noticed, there are people with guns,” he said. “We don’t show up, we’re all in trouble.”
My mouth dropped open. “But—”
“No more questions.” He pointed to the window divider between us and the driver. “As soon as we can, you’ll be on the first flight back home.”
I followed Elliott’s lead and stopped speaking. We arrived at an airfield and parked with the other limos then waited with a few men and women to board. They were dressed formally with Mardi Gras type masks. A few glances came our way with my informal attire and mask, but no one bothered us. They appeared joyous, a complete contrast to what I had encountered with the guards, though they were standing by.
I caught a glimpse of Dane boarding, but Elliott kept us at the back. The flight took off almost immediately despite the weather. During the flight, I declined any drinks offered. My eavesdropping on the conversations of the few men and women on board didn’t set off any alarms. I didn’t know what to make of any of it. Was it a masquerade party? I’d have thought it was if it hadn’t been for more armed guards waiting by the limousines when we exited the private plane. The ride landed not far from one of the piers where we were all helped onto a private ship.
Once on board, we took an elevator a floor down, and it opened to a corridor of mahogany wood and Italian marble paneling. We stopped once we reached an ornate set of double doors at the opposite end. Elliott unlocked them and motioned for me to go inside, slamming the door behind us. Being alone with him didn’t make me relax. Elliott, like Dane, was a part of something that included men with guns who forced me to go along. The only reason I could come up with was crime, and that meant being with Dane and Elliott was unsafe. Still, I turned to him for answers, opening my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to stop me.
“Stay where you are and don’t move,” he instructed. “I’m checking the room.”
My pulse quickened at yet another blow to my stability. I had taken his and Dane’s word that he was an interior designer and Dane an architect. Now I could only stare, dumbfounded as he did a sweep of the spacious suite, checking the small lounge, the built-in dining area, the side lamps by the large custom bed, the bathroom, and the glass-enclosed balcony. When he was satisfied, he went over to a suitcase, took out what looked like a flashlight that glowed red, and set it against the wall. “I was told this will disrupt any video, but that’s not one hundred percent. We are alone right now, so you can take off the mask.”
I reluctantly untied the fabric holding the mask to my face and placed it down on a nearby table. “Will you tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ll have to trust me when I say it’s better you don’t know.” He wiped his hand down his face. “The less you know, the easier it will be for you to go back to your life.”
I didn’t believe it could be so simple.
He sat down at the end of the bed, pulled off his bow tie, and rubbed his neck. “You may as well sit down.” He patted the space next to him.
I tried to ignore the interest that arose within me at his beckoning. It could lull me into a false sense of calm when this situation was nothing short of frightening. I took steps back to lean against the door, keeping my distance to avoid falling under his or Dane’s spell again. I also couldn’t remain standing there, acting like I was a guest. “You can’t expect me to just sit down and act like this is all normal. You and Dane are involved in something…illegal.”
He gave me a hard look, his jaw clenched tight. “It’s not what you think, but yes, there are things going on that make it so we can’t let you go safely.”
“Don’t you think I deserve to know instead of being left in the dark? Tell me,” I pleaded.
“You’ve gotten out of me more than you should have. Stop asking questions.” His voice was strained, and I should have stopped questioning him, but I couldn’t.
I walked over and sat down next to him. “You haven’t said anything, and you know it. I need to know more. I want to know if anything you shared about yourself was real. No one was surprised when Dane mentioned you procured me. Is that your real job? Is this what you and Liz were arguing about at my house? You acted like you didn’t know me when I came to the mixer—”
“At the orgy, I didn’t know it was you,” he interjected bluntly. “You weren’t going to get involved with what’s going on here, but then you showed up at Dane’s house out of the blue.” The derision in his voice intensified. “The Agency has zero tolerance for breaching security.”
I snorted. “So this cruise is part of The Agency? I’m a new member, so you should be able to share what you know with me. Now, tell me why I can’t leave.”
Elliott sat there with his arms folded like I was inconveniencing him.
A wave of apprehension swept through me as I waited for him to say more. Seconds stretched into minutes, and each one that passed felt increasingly more unbearable. I’d had enough. “Fine. I’ll come to the conclusions myself. Dane and you toyed with me, and the whole time you were scheming to take my company away from me. You forced me to come along in some sort of game you’re playing to continue to ruin me.”
“I don’t care what you think about me,” Elliott said before clearing his throat. “But leave Dane out of it. He’s trying to help you right now. You made him vulnerable by making him stick his fucking neck out for you, and I can’t even be in the meeting to help him.” He cursed and wiped his hand down his face
The blood pounded in my temples. “I’m supposed to feel sorr
y for you and Dane when Dane’s trying to take my business from me? I had no idea what was going on tonight. I still don’t. I came to negotiate for my company—”
“With what?” he interrupted. “We already know you don’t have the money.” A chill hung on the edge of his words.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. “How do you know that unless you’ve been investigating me? Is that how you procure—you look into my life for Dane?”
His nostrils flared. “I didn’t procure you. I know it’s hard to believe, but we’ve been trying to save your ass. Your name and company are all over social media for the Dalton financial disaster. You also listed your company ownership for the remodel. We could have easily found out about you.”
“But that’s not how you did. I don’t believe you. Dane had my company before I even came to that mixer.” I stood up and folded my arms. “Stop pretending to be a designer. Stop avoiding the truth, and stop holding me against my will. If your involvement is as innocent as you claim and you’re really trying to ‘save my ass’, as you put it, then we can go explain everything to whoever is in charge and they can let me off this ship.”
Panic rioted within me as my thoughts raced, analyzing my situation. I had gone willingly to this prison. Elliott was quick to take hold of me before I could reach the door, and I was no match for his strength. Tears threatened my eyes, but I held them in. Instead, I thrashed out with my arms and legs, making his hold on me tighten. “Let me go.”
“Gia, calm down,” Elliott said.
“You remain with me,” Dane said as he entered the room, stopping only to lock the door behind him. He had the same solemn look he’d had after we had sex. “If we let you go, another man on board will take you because that’s what a woman at this mixer is expected to do,” he explained. “You’ll also have to reveal who you are, and that’ll be putting you out of the reach of my ability to help you.”
I gaped at Dane and Elliott let me go.
My eyes darted around the spacious room. The Pacific Ocean was in front of us, and the door led to more guards. There was nowhere to go, no way to escape. There was the devil before me or the unknown. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up.
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