When he hears Amber’s voice, Jack thinks she’s calling to him from the other side. He keeps pummeling Henry, telling himself that he’ll be joining Amber soon.
“Jack,” Amber yells, then starts to cough and wheeze.
Jack lets go of Henry, and slowly rises to his feet. He turns to see Amber lifting her head. She grips her chest, struggling to breathe.
“Jack,” she chokes out.
Jack approaches her carefully. He’s afraid she’s a ghost, an illusion created by his unreliable mind. He feels like if he moves too fast, she’ll disappear into thin air.
Amber rises shakily to her feet, then stumbles. Jack rushes over and catches her in his arms. He stares at her in disbelief, wondering if he can really believe what he’s seeing. Tentatively, he touches her skin, her hair, then puts his lips on hers.
She’s real. She’s here.
Amber runs her hands through his hair, over his chest, and feels the beating of his heart. Jack pulls her against him, hugging her tightly.
They both look to Henry, who’s now sitting up, coughing, and sputtering blood everywhere. Jack picks up the gun that’s on the closet floor, walks over to his cousin, and points. Jack tries to locate the anger again, but the once powerful emotion is shriveled up and dead. Outside, there’s the whirring of police sirens.
“Do it,” Henry says.
With one bullet, Jack could put Henry out of his misery. It would be a mercy, really, something Henry’s not deserving of. Jack shakes his head, and tosses the gun to the side.
“I’m not like you,” Jack says. He looks into his cousin’s eyes for the very last time, then goes back to Amber.
Amber is crouched over the other body in the closet. Jack takes a closer a look, and sees that it’s the waitress.
“Eva,” Amber says, tears in her eyes. She takes Eva’s hand, and gives it a gentle kiss.
Jack has a million questions, but they can wait. He scoops Amber up, and she falls weakly against him. The hallway descends into chaos as police swarm. Jack doesn’t watch as they cuff Henry and take him away. He stares into Amber’s eyes, the clear orbs that hold his world. After so many weeks of being unsure of himself and his sanity, he thought he was loosing his grip on reality. But with Amber in his arms, he knows he can trust himself, and that their future together is open and bright. The darkness that consumed him for so long has finally been released, and it’s all because of her.
Epilogue
Jack Larsen settles onto the white suede couch in Dr. Sheila’s office. He’s just come from work, and still wears the finely tailored three piece suit that befits his position as CEO of Larsen International. His face is closely shaven, and his neat hair has gone back to its natural, jet black color. This is the first time he’s seen Dr. Sheila since he broke into her apartment, and forced her to put him under hypnosis. He’s been meaning to schedule a session with her, but with transitioning Larsen International to his leadership, and all the legal matters that Joel now finally has a handle on, he hasn't had time for much else. It’s been four months since Henry was arrested, and things have finally started to settle down. He can finally breathe.
Dr. Sheila sits in a chair across from him. Her posture is as usual, legs crossed, back straight, her notebook in her lap, but there’s something different in her eyes. She’s not angry with him, it’s not that. She’s lost some of her cold professionalism, and regards Jack warmly.
“I’m so pleased to see you’re doing well, Jack. I’ve never seen a patient come so far.”
“Thanks in no small part to you. Have I apologized yet for threatening you with a knife in your own apartment?”
“Yes, you have, many times. And I appreciate all the flowers and chocolates you sent,” Dr. Sheila says with a chuckle. Her eyes brighten with something like admiration. “While I don’t condone that behavior, I understand why you did it. You were desperate for answers, and with so much mounting against you, you didn’t think you had a choice.” She clears her throat, her expression going sharp and professional. “I want to talk about Henry.”
“I don’t.”
Dr. Sheila purses her lips, doubling down. “Which is precisely why I want to talk about him.” Jack shifts uncomfortably on the couch while she continues. “He was a big part of your life, a trusted ally, and he betrayed you. Are you having any intense feelings of resentment or anger?”
Jack wipes his palms down the front side of his trousers. “No. It’s more complicated than that. I’m not angry.” He shakes his head, searching for the word he can’t quite put his finger on. “I think I miss him, as strange as that is. Look, I only had two friends to begin with, Joel and Henry, so I’ve lost half of my friends. It’s pretty noticeable.”
Dr. Sheila nods. “That’s completely understandable. And in my opinion, it shows tremendous emotional growth. Can you imagine what the old Jack would have done?”
Jack shivers at the thought. “I would’ve blindly followed my anger. I would’ve tried to inflict as much pain on someone else as I was feeling inside.”
“That’s very good, Jack.” She leans forward, taking off her glasses. “Why do you think you don’t have to do that anymore?”
Jack rakes his fingers through his thick, black hair. Since taking over Larsen International, and moving back into his penthouse with Amber, he’s felt a gradual change inside of him, an alteration of his very composition. He’s kept himself busy with mountains of paperwork, and Amber’s soft curves, to keep from having to put it into words. Maybe that’s why he needed this session so badly, to do just that.
“It’s like the emptiness inside of me, that huge, empty, gnawing hole, the one that made me feel unworthy, damaged, the one I tried to fill with drugs and sex, it’s gone, filled in. I feel whole. For the first time in my life, I feel… right.”
“I think I can guess as to why,” Dr. Sheila says, coyly. “The transformative power of love. It’s stronger and more effective than anything I could prescribe.”
“Amber,” Jack says, mostly to himself. With a surge of clarity, Jack remembers the promise he’d made to Amber, and the bread tie he’d wrapped around her finger. Now, it’s time to make good on that. He checks his watch, and stands up abruptly. “I should be going.”
“Back to the office?”
“No, home.”
“At only seven in the evening?” Dr. Sheila says, sarcastically. “You’re different than most of my clients.”
Jack pauses in the doorway, flashing her a brilliant smile. “That’s the point.”
*
The penthouse is quiet when Jack returns. He calls for Amber, but he doesn’t get an answer. He knows where she is though. She’s probably in her office, slaving over her manuscript. Once Amber started pitching her book idea to publishers, it wasn’t long before she started getting offers. Editors were chomping at the bit for a true crime story where the author was a first hand witness to the events that transpired. There was even a bidding war between two prominent publishing houses, which helped raise the advance she received.
Jack presses his hand against his breast pocket, feeling the small, square shaped box. He’d gone straight to the jeweler’s from Dr. Sheila’s office, where he’d made a hasty decision. None of the rings, no matter how glittering or elegant, seemed worthy of being worn on Amber’s hand. So he went for simplicity, just one, circular, three carat diamond on a white gold band.
In the office, Jack finds Amber facedown on the desk, papers strewn around her head. She’s sleeping. Jack bends down to read the document on her computer screen.
Chapter One: I’m not going to lie. It’s fun flirting with a killer.
Amber goes on to describe the night they met at the diner in White Oak. He’s at the part where she mistakenly says his real name when he feels Amber’s warm hand on his lower back.
“Hey, Baby,” she murmurs, picking up her head. Her dark wavy hair falls gently over her face, and her eyes are soft with sleep. Jack would like to lift her warm body into his arms
and carry her to the bedroom, but the ring is burning a hole in his pocket. Amber turns her eyes to the computer, and her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “That’s just a draft. It’s not ready for you to read.”
Jack patiently grabs her wrist, and pulls her hand away from the screen. “I like your first line, but I’m not the killer.”
Amber sits up, stretching her arms up to the ceiling. “I didn’t know that then.”
Jack sits on his knees in front of her chair, wrapping his arms around her waist. Amber wriggles closer to him. The sweet scent of her hair is already making Jack hard.
“You didn’t know that, did you?” He leans his head into her torso, breathing hotly onto her collarbone. “The danger turned you on.”
“Not danger, the possibility of danger,” Amber says, arching her back. “There’s a difference.”
Jack stretches up, kissing her neck. He gathers her hair in his hand, and pulls slightly. “I see,” he says against her ear.
Amber sighs with regret. “I have to get back to work. I have a deadline coming up.”
Jack smiles against her ear. “You don’t have an ending yet.”
“Yes, I do.” Amber picks up one of the newspaper clippings that are scattered across her desk. The article features a picture of Jack, the newly crowned CEO. “Henry gets put away for life. You rise to the top of Larsen International. Case solved. The end.”
Jack shakes his head. “You’re leaving out the best part.”
Amber squints in confusion as Jack reaches into his breast pocket. All Amber sees at first is a flash of light, a tiny ball of glitter. Then it suddenly dawns on her what it is. She takes a sharp breath in, letting her eyes focus on the diamond ring.
Jack doesn’t bother to ask. He takes her hand and slips the ring onto her finger.
“I want to marry you as soon as possible,” he says, definitively. “As soon as we get a marriage license, we’ll find a judge to perform the ceremony. I don’t want to wait. I’m not going to wait. Do you understand?”
Amber studies the dazzling ring on her finger. In that instant, all girlhood fantasies about horse drawn carriages and white lace dresses on her wedding day fly out of her head. None of that matters. All she wants is Jack. She tears her eyes away from her finger, and focuses on him.
“I understand,” she says.
Jack kisses her deeply. He pulls away with a deep growl. “Now, I’m going to take you into that bedroom, lay you down, and get you pregnant.”
Amber laughs, though hot desire flushes her face. “Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?”
Jack grips her waist, pulling her up from the chair and into his arms. “I told you I didn’t want to wait.”
Jack throws Amber over his shoulder and carries her into the bedroom. He lays her on the bed, then aggressively pins her arms above her head. Jack hovers over her, his expression hard and intense. He fucks her with purpose, and claims her body by planting his seed.
Later that night, while Jack is naked and soundly sleeping in bed, Amber steals away to her office to write down the words ringing in her head.
Attraction is irrational. Sometimes we need to run away from it.
And sometimes, there’s no other choice but surrender.
The End
Keep clicking ahead for your FREE bonus chapters from HOSTAGE: A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE
A note from the author
Thank you for reading, and for supporting an independent author.
I hope you enjoyed what you read. Please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think!
Email me at [email protected]
Sign up for my mailing list
Like my Facebook page
And don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon!
Cheers,
Samantha
Hostage
A Dark Mafia Romance
Samantha Cade
‘Hostage’ Copyright Samantha Cade 2016
All Rights Reserved
Stay in touch!
Sign up for Samantha’s mailing list
Like Samantha on Facebook
Chapter One
———————-
Mia
Pretend.
That’s what I have to do. That’s all I can do. In this snake’s den, they can smell fear, sense any small vulnerability that can be exploited.
I wipe the innocent doe look from my face, tighten my jaw and lower my eyebrows, and pretend. I pretend that these aren’t very, very bad guys. I pretend that the ungodly amount of liquor they’re consuming isn’t out of the ordinary, and neither is the guy crushing up pills in every one of his shot glasses. I pretend they aren’t killers and thieves, and ignore the fresh gash that runs diagonally across the pill crusher’s cheek. I pretend I’m not certain that the guy who did that is dead.
I tell myself that the warehouse hidden in the industrial part of town doesn’t give me the creeps. The dim, hazy glow that hangs just above the card table isn’t foreboding at all. I don’t ask myself where the nearest police station is.
This is all worth it. Just one night will pay for one month’s rent. Just one night. And all I have to do is pretend.
The bartender loads up my tray with shots of vodka. I hesitate, watching the clear liquid ripple in the small glasses. The bartender gestures impatiently. I lift the tray carefully on my shoulder, and teeter towards the card table on my impossibly high heels.
I pretend the skimpy red dress I’m wearing isn’t showing half of my ass, and that it doesn’t ride up even further when I walk. The goosebumps spreading across my chest and the top of my boobs aren’t from fear, but the cold draft sweeping through the open space.
I circle around the card table, slipping the drinks in front of them so quickly they don’t notice me. I’m quiet as a mouse, invisible. The men are engaged in a story told by a man with a clean shaven head. His eyes light up as he mimes dragging a knife across his throat. The other’s respond boisterously, shouting in the gruff language I don’t understand.
My tray is nearly empty. I’ve almost gone unnoticed. When I get to Pill Crusher, he turns and grabs the shot from my tray. I should turn and go quickly, but I’m caught staring at the dried blood that’s nestled in the wrinkles of his cheek. He gives me a sickening smile, then gestures to the wound on his face, murmuring something in Russian.
I push the terror from my face with a forced smile, and nod politely. When I turn to leave, Pill Crusher grabs my wrist, sending the empty tray toppling to the floor. I pretend my ankle doesn’t twist painfully when he pulls me towards him.
I bang into the side of him. He twists my arm around my back, pinning it there. His lips open and close wetly as he talks, trailing his eyes up and down my body. I pretend my nipples aren’t standing stiff against the thin fabric of my dress, and that he doesn't smirk when he sees them. I pretend he’s not going to drag me into the back room, like the other men have done with the other girls.
Pill Crusher reaches down and grabs a big handful of my ass. I don’t want to dig my nails into the gash in his cheek. He abruptly shoves me away, and turns back to his card game. I retreat back to the bar, pretending I’m not wholly relieved.
I fiddle around the bar, trying to look busy. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dani. She’s a master, a professional. I watch her chat flirtatiously with a man with a spider tattooed on his face. She twirls her long dark hair and bats her lashes. When he makes a move towards her, she presses her hand against his chest with a giggle. He watches her ass as she turns from him and slinks towards me.
“How’s it going?” Dani asks, squeezing my arm. The bartender slides a tumbler of bourbon in front of her. She picks it up and takes a sip. “I told you it was easy money, didn’t I?”
I nod, pretending I agree with her. When I speak, my voice croaks. I clear my throat and drop the pretense.
I grab her arm and whisper in her ear. “Dani, these guys are scary as hell.”
She rolls her dark eyes. “What did you e
xpect? I told you this was the mob.”
“Shhh,” I say, my eyes darting around the room.
Dani laughs, a light, tinkling laugh. “It’s no secret to anyone here.”
“I’ve just never…” My voice trails off as I look to the card table where the men have erupted in loud yells. The bald man stands and triumphantly smashes a beer bottle over his head. Blood drips into his eyes as he beats his fists against his chest. I exhale forcefully, then turn back to Dani. “I’ve never been around these kind of people before. I’m not supposed to be here.”
Dani’s lips twist, and her smile disappears. “None of us are supposed to be here, but here we are.” She downs the rest of her drink, then slams it on the bar. “Can I tell you something, Mia? Once I stopped being the victim, I wasn’t one anymore.”
I turn towards the bar, ignoring her gaze. What she says doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a choice, never have. But I don’t tell her that. Dani’s been carrying my ass for months now, paying my share of the rent when I couldn’t come up with it. The least I can do is suck it up and make some money.
Dani sighs apologetically. “There’s nothing wrong with doing whatever you can to take care of yourself. It’s good money, really good money for a night’s work.” She nudges my side with her elbow. “And you can make even more if you’re willing to do some overtime.”
My face twists with disgust. I immediately wipe it away, wondering if I’ve offended Dani. She just shrugs her shoulders and walks back to Spider Face.
Chapter Two
——————-
Leo
My black hoodie is pulled low over my head as I watch the card game through the window. I have to be very still. If they so much as sense my presence, or glimpse my shadowy figure, they won’t hesitate to draw their guns and shoot out the window. Luckily, I’m an expert at being invisible.
WANTED: A Bad Boy Crime Romance Page 20
