Shaking my head, I bring the phone to eye level, scrolling down for the number I need. I’m interrupted by a thud outside the door, as if a sack of bricks just hit the floor.
Cautiously, I open the door a crack to take a peek outside. I have to get down to the ground and look under the hutch to see if anyone is in the kitchen. There’s nothing, no feet, just the empty kitchen. I’m about to close the door when I feel a breeze. Someone has opened a window. I listen closely and can hear the lazy dance of the curtains.
There’s a sinking in my bones and I trust it. I slowly push the hutch away from the door and squeeze out from behind it. I walk through the kitchen and out into the hallway. I immediately spot one of my uncle’s personal security men, already on duty in his dark suit and glasses. Johnny. I’ve spoken with him a couple of times. Lucius trusts Johnny with his life.
Johnny waves me over as soon as he spots me.
“Where is Lucius going so early?” I ask as that would be the only logical explanation for Johnny to be standing by the kitchen at six in the morning.
“Your uncle asked me to take you to him,” Johnny says, extending an arm to show me the way.
This doesn’t feel right. How would Johnny know I was up already or where to find me? And why wouldn’t Lucius just call me or text me?
I decide to play along but keep alert in case there’s something off. “Where is my uncle?” I ask casually.
“Just follow me.”
“Now’s not a good time, Johnny.”
“I was afraid you would say that.”
Almost simultaneously something heavy and pointed strikes my right shoulder blade from behind, causing my eyes to blur. I feel the sharp tip of a needle pricking the muscle on top of my shoulder. I spin around and punch the goon holding the syringe on the jaw as my vision begins to spin.
I stumble on my feet for a moment, reaching for my gun, as a terrible pain races from my spine to the top of my head.
Johnny’s gun is already on me before I can get to mine. “Sorry, Jaxson,” he says, searching my pockets until he finds my gun. “Orders are orders.”
“Whose orders? My uncle’s?”
Johnny motions to the two guards that enter my blurred field of vision to take me away. After only a few steps, I know where they’re taking me. My mouth goes dry and my legs weaken but I retain consciousness.
*
I’m in a basement cell again. Counting time along with the pulsing beat that’s splitting my head in two. It’s a joke how easily I was overpowered. Carter was right, I’ve become a powder face.
The last time Lucius threw me in a cell in the basement was over four years ago when I first stated I wanted out. He left me down here for days with barely any food and only small amounts of water until I recanted.
When I finally managed to leave the organization, this kind of authority over me came to an end, but now I’ve fucking given it back to him when I promised him loyalty once again. How long will he let me rot this time? Hours? Days? Weeks? Did he fucking find out what I was planning to do? But how? I haven’t told a soul yet. He’d have to read my mind to know. Or… I stop that thought, there’s no way I’m letting myself believe he got to Ella somehow.
When Elaine Parker shows up, I begin to understand that something else is going on, something far graver than me being imprisoned for a day or two. Why else would she be here? She’s an administrative employee. She takes care of matters on the outside, not deep in the ugly basement side of things.
Elaine stands outside the cell, saying nothing. Her face is pale, her eyes piercing through me, trying to communicate without words.
“That bad?” I say with a grin.
“Your uncle wants to make an example out of you,” she says. There’s way too much emotion in her voice. I don’t think I can handle an emotional Elaine. I like her better when she’s being a calculated bitch.
I nod, resting my head against the wall. I’m being unfair. Elaine has taken my side more than once against my uncle even if in the end she always ended up giving in to his pressure.
“I tried to talk him out of it, Jax.”
“I know you did,” I say, feeling too tired already. When Lucius gets something in his head, there’s no stopping him.
“There’s maybe one thing you could do.”
“Yeah. I know. They might have mentioned it a few hundred times.”
Elaine sighs. “If only you weren’t so stubborn.”
If only this, if only that. Wishes aren’t going to get me out of this mess. “Do you know what he has in store for me, Elaine?”
Her silence is as good as an answer. She decides to try and deflect anyway. “He doesn’t confide in me about these things, you know that.”
There’s no point beating around the bush. I have only this one chance to convince Elaine to help me. “I don’t want to put you on the spot, EP, but there’s something you could do,” I say, grabbing onto the cell bars to look straight into her eyes.
Her whole face goes red. “I’m no match for Lucius and you know it.”
“Haven’t you ever loved, Elaine? Aren’t you tired of Lucius treating you like you’re nothing? You might be my only hope.”
She shakes her head as if to get rid of the idea I’m trying to plant in it. “He’d kill me, Jaxson. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”
I’m not even sure why I asked.
“You know what, Elaine? You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t want to get you hurt. I’m just fresh out of options. Lucius always wins.”
She seems to be searching inside herself. She sighs. “Listen, you have to keep your head,” she says. “If you want to beat Lucius, you have to be patient. That’s what he does. He waits. He delays. He creates as much time as he can until he finds a solution, a path. People lose to him because they rush themselves. They panic.”
Wow. I had no idea Elaine had been paying such close attention. I thought she just followed along, kept her head down. Her words are all she can offer, but at least they’ve calmed me, helped me focus.
“Elaine,” I say quietly. “Thank you. I know that wasn’t easy.”
She nods with a tenderness and concern I have not seen on her face before. To be honest, I never thought she had it in her.
“I’ve always liked you, Jaxson,” she says. “Be safe.”
She regains her icy composure which makes me feel she has vanished on the spot. I might never see the human side of her again. I watch her walk out of the room. I realize what my uncle does.
He reduces people.
—eight—
Ella
The pool room looks larger in the abounding daylight that filters through the patterned window glass, sketching rainbows on the water’s surface.
My time at HQ might be more enjoyable than I thought if Jax and I can meet here every day. He can make my days easier, pampering me and giving me the multiple orgasms that have become my primary defense against depressing thoughts.
I squint my eyes, thinking I ought to call my mother. What stops me is that I don’t want to have to lie to her. I’ll have to pretend I’m in Paris and in a great mood, enjoying all the city of light has to offer.
According to my phone, it’s almost noon. Jax should show up soon. That was the plan we made last night before he kissed me goodnight—to meet at the pool at noon so he can fill me in on the progress he made regarding our escape plan. I’m still not sure we should leave but I’ve decided to trust Jax and, let’s be honest, I’m in way over my head.
My heart leaps in my chest when the door opens. I spring to my feet to greet Jax but I’m taken aback by the sight of a woman who looks vaguely familiar. It takes a moment to locate her in my memory bank, but when I finally do, I’m even more startled—Elaine Parker, the elegant, sophisticated assistant to Donald Jameson at the fashion agency.
Elaine gives me a wide smile as she approaches. In return, I’m almost lifeless and totally confused. “Miss Wade, nice to see you again.”
“Me too
,” I say, robotically offering her my hand. “Call me Ella.”
Elaine Parker goes straight for a hug, patting me on the back, before she plants a kiss on my cheek. I’m at a loss for words.
“I wish it was under better circumstances,” she says.
Wait. What? Not only has she entered HQ, she also seems to be completely up-to-speed on my predicament.
“Why are you here? I don’t understand.”
“I’m friends with Jaxson. He told me where to find you.”
I think about this for a second or two. “I’m sorry, he never mentioned anything about your friendship but, I suppose, it makes sense. You work together at the model agency.”
She gives me another wide grin, this one a little condescending. “Here, too.”
“Excuse me?”
“Mr. Lucius Bernard runs a wide variety of enterprises. I’ve done administrative work for him. Don’t be alarmed.”
That explains why she has access to HQ but it doesn’t explain why she’s here at the pool with me. “Is everything okay with Jaxson? He was supposed to meet me here.”
“Relax. Everything’s fine. He just asked me to give you this.”
She opens her purse to take out a piece of folded paper. She hands the paper to me with a friendly smile.
“A note?” I say. “Why didn’t he just text me?”
“I’m not sure, honey. He just asked me to deliver this.”
Could his phone be bugged? Mine? Both? Maybe he’s worried about that or maybe his phone was dead at the time. I unfold the piece of paper to find a short, typed message.
Change of plans, the note says. A meeting with Bronson has been set and I need to attend, you can have your bodyguard take you back to your apartment so you can collect your things. It should be safe for now. I’ll meet you there tonight. Love, Jax.
I’m not sure what to make of this. It doesn’t seem likely Jax would let me out of his sight after all that has happened. Why should I trust Miss Parker?
She’s still smiling when I get a text alert. I check the sender fast as lightning. The text is from Jax’s phone.
“Excuse me,” I tell Elaine as I open the text.
Sorry about missing our date. I hope Elaine is there with you. Get your stuff. See you tonight. Love you.
So it’s true after all. Plans have changed. As disappointed as I am that Jax won’t be joining me for some private time, I’m also relieved to go back to my place, my own private space where I can be myself even if it’s temporary. Nothing like home sweet home even if home happens to be a cramped apartment in Studio City.
“Everything all right?” Elaine says. “I hope the note wasn’t upsetting.”
“No, not at all. It’s actually good news, sort of.”
“Well then, I’m glad to have been of assistance.”
“Sure, thank you.”
I pick up my purse, extending my hand to Elaine. She takes it absentmindedly, her gaze going blank as if she has just remembered something very important she must attend to urgently.
“What does it feel like?” she says.
“Excuse me?”
“To be so young and so in love?”
Is she for real? “Have you forgotten already?”
“Dear girl. It was a lifetime ago.”
“Can you really forget love?”
Her eyes seem to disappear into some long ago past. “No, it’s not something you forget.”
“I shouldn’t think so,” I say.
“Especially if it was only once,” she says so low it’s almost a whisper.
“It’s the same for me. Once.”
She laughs without humor. “It’s that way for some people, at least for you there’s still time.”
“There’s still time for you, too,” I say, a little ticked off at what she’s suggesting.
“I’m sorry, Ella. I didn’t mean to imply that you and Jax…”
“It’s okay, everyone else has tried to break us up. You might as well join the fun.”
“I was your age once,” she says, pensively. “I remember myself, a young woman of twenty-two, sitting in a friend’s living room, discussing my love life. I was having a largely one-sided relationship at the time, living with a very narcissistic older man. It was not healthy. It took its toll.”
I have no idea why she’s confiding in me but I can’t lie, it’s fascinating to see that side of Elaine Parker. “Did you love him more than he loved you?”
“I don’t even know if he ever loved me or could love at all.” There’s no bitterness in her voice, just stating facts. “I have often wondered what makes us gravitate toward a particular person. What is it inside us that tells us to invest time in a single stranger when there’s no proof it’s going to work?”
“We try,” I say. “What else can we do?”
She glances at the pool with melancholy. “He was ten years older. He led a dangerous life. I guess it was exciting. That must have been it.”
Oh, fuck. She’s talking about Lucius. It just dawned on me.
Her face snaps back to a professional chill. “Look at me, going on and on when you are busy. I hope everything works out for you, love.”
Okay. That was completely random. People have always told me secrets my whole life. It’s like there’s a confession sign on me or something.
I have things to do? Right. My apartment. I need to find Tanner.
—nine—
Jaxson
The guards show up shortly after I’m finally given a cup of lukewarm, turbid water. Would it be too much to ask to have some decent drinking water? I gulp it down all the same. It might be a while before Lucius allows more.
These two guards I have not seen before. They don’t look anything like Lucius’s usual lackeys with the slick suits and gelled hair. These new dudes are rough in their appearance and manners. They are not finesse players at all. I would categorize them about one evolutionary tick above cavemen.
As soon as they enter the cell, the grunt brothers grab one of my wrists each, twisting them behind my back.
“You guys suck,” I say as they put cuffs on me silently. This handcuffing business is getting on my nerves.
“Dude, deodorant,” I protest loudly as I take a whiff of one goon’s sweaty armpits when he raises his arms to check on two small metal loops hanging from the ceiling.
He doesn’t bother to respond. In fact, he shows no signs he even understands English. Seconds later, Lucius arrives with two of his regular henchmen. I didn’t expect my uncle to show so quickly. It can’t have been more than a few hours since I was thrown in the cell.
Whatever he wants is as urgent as what I want.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, unable to control my anger. It’s not a smart move. Lucius likes to lead a conversation.
He walks around me in a perfect circle, surveying me from head to toe. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, my boy.”
“What? Are you going to kill me?” The words come out of their own volition. I don’t know if I think him capable of killing me.
“The opposite would be more accurate,” he says. “I mean to prevent the death you so eagerly pursue for yourself.”
“Uncle Lucius always playing God. What’s new?”
“It gives me no pleasure to keep you caged like an animal, but, you see, I’m not stupid. You have no intention of breaking up with the girl. Without you meeting that singular request, I have no choice but to save you from yourself. You must learn not to oppose me. Jack, I am the only one who has your best interests as a priority.”
“Are you going to tell me you’re my best friend now?”
Lucius loses patience and fixes his heavy eyes on me. “I’m your only friend, Jack. I want to find you a place of power. If you run from this, you won’t stop being a target. You’ll be unprotected and a homicidal accident will befall you. I have dangerous enemies which means you do, too.”
“I’m out,” I say. “How many times do I have to say it?”
He waves at the goons who move in to release me from the handcuffs. As soon as I’m free, I spin around and land my fist on a face. A hard blow on the back of my head makes the room spin. Another hard fist finds my stomach folding me in two. I straighten my body to come face-to-face with the barrel of a revolver.
They raise my arms above my head to secure them to the chains that they throw around the metal loops above me. They pull on the chains to tighten them until my arms are stretched as far as my shoulders will allow.
Lucius grabs me by the hair. My hatred for him is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. “This hurts me almost as much as it hurts you,” he says. “It’s for your own good.”
I spit on his face, my whole loathing for him crystallized in that small, warm lump of saliva.
He cleans his face with the back of his hand, retaining his composure. “Do you think that’s what I wanted for you? I need to save your life. And make sure you respect hierarchy and the organization that will be yours one day.”
“Screw you and screw the organization. I want no part of your world.”
He touches my cheek gently. “Tough to the bone. I made you that way. Never forget that.”
There’s no way out for me, I can see that. Right now I have one concern and one concern only. “Do whatever you want with me, but if you touch Ella, I’ll destroy you. I’ll rip your guts out and fill you up with gasoline before I light a match. No matter how long it takes, Lucius. Even if I have to come back from hell to do it.”
Lucius gives me a short laugh before he puts his hand in the pocket of his tweed jacket. He takes out a phone and holds it under my nose.
“Maybe this is your phone, Jack. And maybe you texted Ella that you wouldn’t make it to your rendezvous. Maybe you told her to go to her apartment to wait for you and maybe my security team let her go already.”
My whole world goes dark. “You bastard, you might as well have signed her death sentence.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so much drama. She has her bodyguard. He’ll keep her safe, at least for a little while.”
Scandal: The Complete Series Page 21
