Captive Bride: A Dark Obsession Romance

by Dark Angel

  Capulet guards are coming. There’s nowhere to hide.

  I rush to the corner, crouching down low, dagger clenched to the point of pain in my hand. Images of Tristan being shot play repeatedly in my mind. The blood, the way he collapsed.

  I try to block them, but they swarm violently through my head, ensuring me that he’s dead. That I’m all alone. Tears flow to my eyes, and I make no effort to hold them back now.

  They spill down my cheeks freely.

  From outside the door, the sound of rushing feet meets me.

  So they really are here then.

  I flinch as the first blow lands against the polished door, followed quickly by another. Then another. They’re breaking the door down, and there’s nowhere to run.

  I push myself to my feet, legs trembling beneath me.

  The door gives way under one final blow, chunks of wood exploding inward.

  They step through, three of them, Capulet guards. The largest stands in the center, looking expertly around the room. His eyes find me quickly, doing a quick scan of my quivering form.

  “Ms. Capulet,” he says. “Come with us now.”

  I point the dagger towards them, tears still streaming from my eyes.

  “No,” I say simply, voice surprisingly firm.

  “We don’t have time for this,” one man says to the leader who turns his attention to me.

  “Come with us now!” he yells, stepping closer towards me.

  “No!” I scream in return.

  He moves in a flash, quickly closing the distance between us. His hands wrap firmly around my waist, lifting me, kicking, from the floor.

  I fight back with all my strength, limbs flailing wildly against his hold.

  His strength largely outmatches mine though, my efforts not even seeming to faze him.

  I feel desperate, panicked, trapped. I lash out without further thought, driving my dagger firmly into his shoulder. It enters easily, flesh tearing against the blade’s fearsome point.

  I hear his breath leave him in a rush, a groan escaping his lips.

  Pulling back, the dagger exits his body with a sickening squelch, his hands releasing me in the same moment. My feet find the floor, and I hastily step back, trying to force more space between me and my would be rescuers.

  The man I’ve stabbed is clearly in pain, but it won’t kill him.

  He bites down on his lip, hand reaching around to inspect his newly torn skin.

  “You bitch!” he manages.

  I hold the dagger back out in front on me, it’s now bloody surface reflecting hauntingly in the dim lighting. My hand shakes, tears stream from my eyes in a rush.

  Still, I feel nothing so much as anger. It starts as a spark in my chest, growing quickly to a smoldering mass.

  “Stay the fuck away from me!” I shout.

  The biggest of them takes a step towards me, his eyes shining in anger.

  “You’re coming with us,” he says. “I don’t care if I have to—”

  His words cut off as his head turns towards the door, drawn to the sound of feet crunching of splintered wood.

  “Tristan!” I scream, seeing him pass through the doorway, Merc and Benny hot on his heels.

  The guard never finishes his sentence or any other for that matter.

  Tristan’s finger moves inhumanely fast on the trigger of his gun, three loud shots ringing out in the enclosed space.

  All three guards collapse as one, blood quickly pooling onto the floor around them.

  “Isobel,” he says, relief evident in his voice.

  He rushes to me, at my side in the blink of an eye.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, his hands already running the length of me, checking for himself that I’m okay.

  “I—I’m fine,” I answer, my own hands reaching back at him. “Tristan, you were shot!”

  He smiles weakly, looking at me with eyes that seem glazed.

  “I’ll be okay,” he says, turning to Benny and Merc.

  “We need to check the rest of the rooms,” Merc offers. “Make sure no one’s hiding in any of them.”

  “Yes,” Tristan says. “I’ll help.”

  He begins to walk forward, motioning for me to follow. He makes it only a few steps before he starts to sway. His hand reaches for a nearby dresser, clearly trying to lean his weight against it.

  It swipes a few inches short, his body leaning dangerously. He collapses the next instant; the sound of his body hitting the floor draws a cry from my lips.

  I drop to my knees beside him.

  “Tristan!” I scream.

  “I’ll go get the doctor,” Merc says, disappearing from the room in a flash.

  “Here!” Benny shouts, tearing the sheet from the bed before handing it to me. “Press this to his wound.”

  He kneels beside me, his hands guiding mine.

  “Press hard,” he tells me, and I do so without question.

  “Isobel...” Tristan chokes out in a hushed voice.

  “I’m right here,” I say. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

  His hand finds my face, fingers trailing delicately across it.

  “God, I love you Isobel,” he says. “You’re the only good thing that ever happened to me.”

  “I love you, too,” I whimper. “So hold on!”

  “For you?” he asks. “Anything.”

  There’s a faint smile on his lips as he loses consciousness.

  24

  Tristan

  The building is taller than most of the skyscrapers in town. It’s dark, ominous, and foreboding. The Montague headquarters downtown is much more magnificent than the gilded Capulet cage my princess used to live in.

  I’m glad to be back in the city.

  Country life was nice for a while, especially with Isobel who appreciated the grounds. I’ll miss target practicing with her and showing her the merits of living the good life outside of the city.

  In truth, if none of this business or crime or anything existed, I could disappear with Isobel somewhere and be totally happy in the absence of people. I can see us living on a private island, just the two of us. As it is, I have to attend to my family’s dealings, and I’ll always probably have to.

  The deals I had to do today involved how to take down her father and her cousin Theo.

  He’s been increasingly annoying about trying to find her. I know Isobel cares about Theo, but I’m afraid because he’s in the crossfire. There’s no way around it.

  It’s either him or me. He’ll kill me the first chance he has.

  I walk into the building and feel better knowing that it’s so secure. I have armed guards everywhere, and trust me, these ones aren’t gonna flip sides.

  I pay them too much damn money for that.

  I took Isobel here back to the city, straightaway after our little incident in the country. The war has officially started. And I have the wound to prove it.

  It was only superficial, but still.

  I take the elevator up to my penthouse, and once the doors open, I see her sitting there in a soft leather chair, just relaxing.

  The room is imposing. It’s dark, and chic, and modern—just like me. Isobel’s drinking a glass of white wine.

  I walk over to her and take it from her hands and help myself to half of it. I need a drink after the day I’ve just had. I’ll bet I need something stronger than wine.

  “Hi Tristan,” she says, looking up at me with those blue eyes of hers that make my heart stop every time I see them.

  “Hi, baby. I need a fucking drink,” I say, walking over to the bar.

  I pour myself a strong glass of scotch and come to join her at her place by the window.

  “It really is a breathtaking view, Tristan,” she says to me.

  Looking at her, I see that she’s sad.

  She’s worried. And I know she feels like she’s back in prison.

  Another damn skyscraper keeping her inside.

  “I know you don’t like being here, Isobel. I
know it’s just like your Capulet home. But we have to keep you safe. At least, until this thing blows over,” I say.

  She looks at me with a determined, yet downbeat expression.

  “Oh yeah Tristan? When is that gonna be? When are you ever gonna be at peace with my Capulet family?”

  I look at her, my eyes pleading.

  I need her to understand that this is all about business. It’ll be sorted out soon.

  “Isobel, it’s not gonna be like that. I’m resolved to figure this out, sooner rather than later. I want you to be happy.”

  She’s pensive. She doesn’t even look at me. This war has been an ongoing source of contention between us for as long as either of us can remember, and I’m fucking sick of it.

  I know she’s worried about me. I know she’s worried about her cousin and Thelma.

  But there’s nothing I can do about that now. If I don’t kill them first, they’re gonna kill me and everybody I love—including Isobel, probably.

  If the Capulets ever find out that Isobel and I are in love, they’ll abandon her quickly.

  It happened to Rosaline, and it’ll happen to Isobel, even if she is their princess.

  She doesn’t seem to understand or care about any of this.

  She just wants to run away. What she doesn’t see is that no matter how far we run, they’ll follow us. She’ll be found at some point.

  Before I have time to debate this any further with her, Merc and Benny walk in. I walk over to them and whisper in hushed tones.

  I say, “What’s up? Tell me everything that’s going on.”

  They look over my shoulder to Isobel who’s waiting with an expectant look on her face. She wants to know what’s up too. I‘ll never tell her.

  She needs to be in the dark about most of what’s happening.

  Merc says, “Tristan, the word on the street is that we have Isobel here at our headquarters in town. The Capulets are probably all over our place. This thing is getting out of control. It’s a bad idea. You need to let her go. Give her back to her father and to the Governor. Just let her go, so we can protect ourselves.”

  I look at him, and my blood is boiling at the thought of him even mentioning me letting her go. It’ll never happen.

  How can Merc be saying this to me?

  He obviously doesn’t know the depth of my love for her. He has no idea that I intend on being with her for the rest of my life, whether we live or die in the process.

  “That’s not an option, Merc. You should know that by now,” I say through gritted teeth.

  “Tristan, Isobel is in danger by being here. If you love her, you’ll let her go. They might kill her if they find out that you two have been together,” Benny chimes in.

  They’ve obviously been talking about this for a while before approaching me, because Benny seems nervous.

  “I just can’t fucking do that, Benny. I’m never gonna be away from her. Do you understand? We have to solve this thing while making sure Isobel stays by my side,” I say.

  He’s about to object, when my phone rings. I look at the number and show it to Merc.

  “It’s Theo,” he says.

  How did he get my number?

  I answer it and say, “Theo? It’s been too long.”

  “I’m not calling for you, Tristan. Let me talk to her. I need to know Isobel’s all right.”

  “I’m sorry, Isobel’s busy right now. Is there something I can help you with?” I say, antagonizing him.

  Before I can get to the bottom of what exactly he’s calling about, I feel Isobel slide her arm through my own, and she takes the phone right out of my hands.

  “Theo? Is that you? I’ve missed you so much,” she says.

  I’d be lying if I said that her talking to her cousin with such affection doesn’t make me jealous.

  I want all of her affection to be reserved for me. My possessive nature is coming out. It’s reckless and wild, especially when it comes to Isobel.

  I take the phone from her and put it on speaker. She’s not gonna talk to her cousin without me knowing every single word that’s exchanged.

  “Isobel,” he says. “Are you okay? Just tell me if you’re okay. We’re working on rescuing you.”

  She looks at me like she doesn’t know how to answer. In the end, she tells him the truth.

  “Theo, I know this’ll be hard for you to hear. I don’t need to be rescued. I’m happy here. I’m happy with Tristan.”

  He immediately goes on a rampage. “Isobel, you can’t be serious. He’s got you brainwashed or something. Remember who he is. Tristan Montague is not to be trusted. He’s a known killer. We’re gonna get you out of there, and I need you to be ready when I come for you.”

  I grab the phone.

  “She’s never coming with you, Theo. Get that through your head right now.”

  Isobel gently takes the phone out of my hands. I swear her sweet nature can smooth over any situation, but there’s no good ending to this.

  “Theo, I really am alright. Please believe me. You guys have to end this thing now.”

  “Isobel, your father’s going crazy trying to find you. If he ever finds out you’re with Tristan Montague and that you like it, that’ll be the end of him—and likely the end of you too.”

  Her eyes reflect pain and fear. At the mention of her father, she goes back into this sort of shell. My strong girl becomes the fragile prisoner once more.

  She doesn’t even know half the things I know about the guy. Her father is a very bad man, to say the least. Worse than me, if you can believe it.

  I take the phone from her hands and put it off speaker.

  Then, I walk away to talk to Theo alone.

  “Tristan, if you fucking touch her—I will fucking kill you. I promise you that,” he says to me over the phone.

  “I wouldn’t hurt her, Theo. You have to understand that. But her father’s different story. You know that he’ll kill both of us if he finds out.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have given him anything to find out. You should’ve just left her alone. You kidnapped her, for god’s sake. What did you think he would do?”

  The conversation’s starting to get heated, and I don’t like it. I’m trying to smooth things over because I know Theo is important to Isobel, but the guy’s starting to piss me off.

  “We fell in love, Theo. You can’t take something like that back,” I say.

  He becomes increasingly angry. I don’t know why the fucking asshole can’t just think about his cousin’s happiness.

  “I’m done talking to you, Tristan. You’re my sworn enemy. And I vow that I’ll kill you someday. Do you understand that?” he says.

  “Fine then. Do it,” I say, not afraid of him for a second. “Come meet me, anytime, anywhere.”

  “I’ll fucking kill you, Tristan. Don’t think I won’t do it.”

  “I know you will. I’m just daring you to even try,” I say, taunting him.

  I can’t help it. Isobel may care about him, but this guy isn’t worth it.

  He’s not taking the out that I’m graciously providing. He’s purposely provoking me, and I know it’s not gonna end well...for him. But I can’t back down now.

  “I challenge you to a duel, Tristan Montague,” he says the words, and I know exactly what they mean.

  Nobody in our world backs down from a duel. Especially me.

  “Fine, we’ll do it then. The day after tomorrow. My guys will text you the address.”

  I hang up.

  Isobel comes up behind me and says, “What was that all about?”

  I’m more afraid of her that I am of her cousin.

  I’m afraid of her withholding her love for me.

  I’m afraid of her punishing me forever because of what’s about to go down.

  “Tell me, Tristan. What were you guys talking about? What’s gonna happen the day after tomorrow?”

  I sigh deeply, not wanting to break her heart.

  In the end, I tell her.
>
  “He challenged me to a duel, Isobel. You know I can’t back down from that. Besides, in killing him, I’m gonna buy your freedom.”

  She looks at me like I just betrayed her.

  There’s hate in her eyes. Hatred for me like I’ve never seen before.

  She doesn’t say a word, but turns around and runs to her room.

  I wish I can say I didn’t care. I wish I could say none of this means anything to me, that I’m a hardened criminal, and I’m used to this sort of thing.

  But with Isobel in the picture, all of that has changed.

  Her fucking cousin did this. He’s the one that won’t back down.

  And I know that if I don’t kill him, he’ll kill me first. Which one does Isobel want?

  And how can I make her choose between her true love and her own family?

  Fuck this war.

  25

  Isobel

  I run away to my room.

  Tristan doesn’t come after me.

  A part of me wishes he did.

  I go to his master suite and slam the door, making sure the entire penthouse can hear it. I don’t care what his guards or cousins or anybody else think. He’s ruining my life.

  I imagine Theo provoked him. I imagine that neither side wants this to end in death. But I can’t forgive Tristan for what he’s just done.

  He’s forcing me to choose between him and my beloved cousin Theo. More than that, he’s not asking me my opinion at all. He’s just made a decision to go ahead with this duel, and I can’t think of a more reckless move on both their parts.

  If only Theo hadn’t called today. If only Theo would just let it rest and let me be with Tristan happily.

  But I imagine my father breathing down his throat, constantly making him find me.

  My worst fears are coming true, and I don’t know how to get out of it. Someone is gonna die. Either Tristan will or my cousin.

  The thought of losing either of them is too much for my heart to bear.

  I fling myself down on Tristan’s bed and just cry. Years of frustration come bubbling to the surface. Our families put us in this precarious position, and now it’s all coming to a head.

  I don’t see a way out of this. No matter which way I turn, there is blood and death.