“Don’t go outside,” he continued. “Close the blinds in front of the windows. Lock the doors, don’t open them for anyone. Don’t pick up the phone and don’t answer any emails.” He pecked me swiftly on the cheeks.
“You’re going again? You can’t be serious. You expect me to sit here and be quiet?” I said, furious he was leaving me again without telling me what he was doing.
“I have to deal with this, okay? Just promise me you’ll do what I say. Do this for your master, please.”
The word please had an imploring tone, which I had not heard from him before.
I swallowed and closed my eyes. “Fine.”
He kissed me on my forehead. “Good.”
His fingers slid over my cheek, and he lifted my chin. “I do love you. That didn’t change and it won’t, no matter what happens.” He kissed me tenderly and then left my lips empty, as he rushed downstairs and closed the door behind him.
***
I tried so hard to get my fingers to type something, but they kept hovering over the keyboard without striking a key. I couldn’t muster the will to push them. Nothing good would come out anyway. I hadn’t written anything since Dominic left. I’d been sitting here all day, mulling over what he was doing, and it was eating me up inside.
Damn it! Why does this have to be so hard?
The doorbell phone rang, and I stood up to answer it, even though I remember Dominic telling me not to do so. I didn’t really think there was any danger in it. Sure, some shit was happening with him and the casino, and he’d hired a private detective, but what in the world would that have to do with me or his home?
I shrugged, and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Is this Miss Julie Fury?”
I flushed. “Excuse me?”
“Fury? Julie Fury?” It was the doorman down below, I recognized it.
“No, my name’s not Fury. Just Julie. Julie Valentine.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve got a package here for you,” he said, his voice sounding oddly hoarse. “I’m bringing it up in a second.”
A package for me? Who in the world would know I was here?
“Ah, no thank you,” I said. “I’ll pick it up later today.”
“Sorry Miss,” he said, stuttering. “But I insist. I will bring it up right away.”
I sighed. “If you have to.”
There was no response. The bleeps were already audible.
Did he just hang up on me?
I counted down the seconds it took for the elevator to arrive. If he really was in a hurry and went in the first one that was available, he would be here any moment now. I walked over to the door and opened it. A short guy, our doorman, stood there with a package in his hand. The only weird thing about it was that his face was red, his eyes glazed with tears and that his fingers were trembling.
He dropped the box in his hands. “I’m sorry …” he mumbled.
A gun appeared out of nowhere. It came from the side, and my eyes couldn’t register it, but the booming sound it made was enough for me to know what happened.
The doorman dropped to the floor, a dark mark on his temple. Red fluid seeping out.
My mouth dropped open, a shriek came out.
I panicked and stepped back a few times. A man turned his head around the corner and looked at me. A mask covered his face, but I could see his eyes. His eyes were like a predator’s eyes; vicious and threatening.
I tried to slam the door shut, but he wrenched it open. I ran as hard as I could, back to the kitchen. I pulled open all the drawers until I found a knife large enough to protect me. If I even could protect myself.
His pounding footsteps echoed through the house. The tears stung in my eyes as I walked backwards, my fingers grasping the counter, as I felt my body shake. Someone just got shot right on front of me and now he’s after me.
What the fuck is going on?
This was otherworldly and so surreal, but it was really happening. Someone was here. Was he going to take me? Or worse, kill me?
My breathing was ragged, and it felt like my heart almost jumped out of my chest. Then I saw his face. My shuddering was accompanied by loud weeping, and I cringed. He walked toward me with calculated steps, his eyes quickly glancing at the knife in my hand.
Shit, I need to do something or he’s going to get me.
I lunged forward. The knife straight ahead, a battle cry coming from my mouth. I put everything I had into it. It almost felt as if I wasn’t in control of my body, like I was this raging mad woman.
I missed. He stepped aside and grabbed my arm like I was a toy. He swished me around and snatched the knife from my head, throwing it aside. I pushed his arms and shoved my elbows up his ribs, but he didn’t even flinch. He laughed, the sound of it sending bile up my throat.
“You’re a pesky little thing,” he said.
His arms wrapped around me so tight I could barely breathe. He put a cloth over my mouth, and I screamed. The substance I inhaled made me woozy and sleepy, and I couldn’t resist anymore. Slowly, my mind drifted off into nothingness.
***
All I saw was darkness. No light. Not even when I opened my eyes. There was only nothingness around me, and I couldn’t move. It was like I was trapped in an eternal shadowy vortex.
I could barely breathe.
Something covered my head and my face. It was dark, so dark, and the air inside was thick and it stank. The musty smell made me drift off again, but I forced myself to stay awake. I needed to know what happened. Needed to find a way out of this mess. Wherever the fuck I was.
My fingers tingled. Something bound them together. I sat on something hard and cold. I tried to focus on the senses that did work. I could feel some kind of fabric covered my face and I could taste my own sweat. My eyes began to feel wet.
My muscles ached. They were strained by the strange position they were in. I could barely feel my legs anymore. I didn’t know how long I’d been here. It could’ve been hours, days, weeks, for all I knew. The mere thought sent chills up my spine.
I tried to feel some more, my fingers stretching to their limit, but could only make out a cold, hard wall behind me. My stomach growled, and I had the sudden urge to hurl. I held it back though; I didn’t want to suffocate in my own vomit.
“Is she awake yet?”
I vaguely heard someone’s voice. A woman. A few clicking steps came closer, and I flinched, trying to protect myself, even though I had no possible way to do so.
“I guess so,” she said.
I could feel someone jerk my neck, and I cowered in fear. Someone ripped off the thing that was on my head. Air.
I gasped. My lunges filled with oxygen, and I could feel my body shudder from the release. I groaned. The sunlight in my eyes was blinding me. If it were sunlight. I couldn’t make out the difference between what was what yet. The only thing I saw was dark and light, and her eyes staring down upon me.
Her face was hidden behind a mask. Only her eyes and lips were visible. A mouth which showed a cunning smile. A smile that instilled fear in my heart.
“Well, hello there,” she said with the most cutesy voice. “I hope your ride wasn’t too rough.”
My blurry vision started to get better, my eyes getting used to the light again. I coughed, trying to get my vocal cords to work properly again. “What do you want from me?”
She laughed. “I don’t want anything from you, my dear.”
Her voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
She flicked her fingers, and a man stepped forward, carrying a bottle of water. He gave it to her, and she opened the cap. Just looking at that flowing water made my mouth dry up.
She pressed the bottle against my lips and forced them open. “Drink.”
I didn’t have a choice. I was practically drowning in the fluid. I gagged and spit half of it back up again.
“Don’t want you to die on me,” she said. “I still need you for something, and since you’re my guarantee that I’l
l get it, you have to stay fit.”
“To get what? Who are you people?” I said, my voice hoarse and painful. “I don’t have any money, I’m not important, let me go!”
“You’re not important to us, you’re important to him.” I could hear the tone of her voice crackle. It was full of rage. “Sorry, darling, but mister Fury hasn’t been quite honest with you, has he?”
My eyes widened and my heartbeat rose. “Dominic?” I muttered.
She laughed. “He has you calling him by his full name already? Oh, isn’t that lovely.”
“Who are you? How do you know him?”
“I’ve known him far longer than you have, so don’t go thinking you’re all that.” I could hear contempt coming from her. What was she talking about? Why did she sound jealous? It didn’t make any sense. I’d been taken from the apartment, tied up, had been blinded by a sack over my head, had been drugged and was now afraid for my life, and she was talking to me like she was jealous?
What the fuck is going on here?
“Boss, it’s time.” Another voice. I couldn’t see who it was because of the blinding light, but I could hear it was a man.
“Take her with you. I’ll make the trade,” the woman said.
Someone stepped forward out of the shadows, and I could see it was the same man that had grabbed me in the loft. Fear struck me down, and I couldn’t help whimper as he picked me up like a sack of potatoes and put me over his shoulder.
I was still woozy, unable to resist as the put me in the back of a truck. My arms and legs were tied, and I had no way of escaping. When the trunk was closed, I screamed.
No sound penetrated the thick armor of this car. I was all alone again, in the darkness, kidnapped by people who wanted something, and Dominic was involved. Dominic.
Shit, this is what he meant.
I should’ve listened. I shouldn’t have opened the door, should’ve stayed put and kept quiet. Why was I so stupid? I risked my own life, and now I wasn’t certain I would survive.
After a half an hour, the car came to a halt. My body rolled back and forth because of all the sudden turning and twisting and brakes being pulled. When light shone into the trunk again, I was happy to see it. Happy to know I wouldn’t be in this tiny space anymore. At the same time, I was terrified of what would happen to me.
The man grabbed me and put me down. I quickly glanced around and saw we were in a parking lot. The man untied my legs and held my arms so tight that I could feel my veins pulse underneath. My tears had slathered my entire face and my hair was stuck against it. I felt miserable and sick to my stomach.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” The woman said. I could hear her voice only faintly, as she was in the distance. She probably wasn’t talking to me.
“Come to take your sweet girl home? Are you finally man enough to honor your agreement? I’m surprised you came alone.”
I couldn’t see what was happening, because I was still kept behind the truck by the man that had abducted me, but my other senses were on sharp. I could hear something being thrown and slide across the floor. A zipper being opened. Someone muffling through it.
“Show her to him.”
The man squeezed me harshly and took me to the front of the car. I blinked a couple of times.
Oh my god. I can’t believe my eyes. Is this really true?
It was Dominic, standing there, on the other end of the parking lot. A bag of money lay in between the two sides.
Chapter 6
“Dominic?”
“Julie!” He yelled.
His voice brought more tears to my eyes. How I wanted to run into his arms and be free.
The man’s hold on me tightened.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
“Soon, honey,” the woman said. “I’ll need to check if your Dominic here gave us what we asked for.”
Money? They wanted money? And they took me for it?
The woman searched through the bag and counted the stash with her thin fingers until she held a finger up in the air.
“You sure about this, boss?” the man said to her.
“Yes, yes, go ahead. A deal is a deal.”
He pushed me forward and then let me go. I ran. My lungs were burning with heat as I crossed the parking lot and threw myself into Dominic’s open arms. His warm hands enwrapped me into his coat, and he shuffled me toward his car, which wasn’t the usual limo. He quickly opened the door and nudged me inside, then got into the driver’s seat. He hit the gas, and I could hear the squeaks of the tires as he raced off.
***
Dominic carried me up in his arms, all the way to the loft. The man in front of the door was gone. Traces of his body, the blood, the bullet shells vanished. It was as if he never existed.
I was too stunned to talk.
Dominic used his elbow to open the door and his foot to close it. With care he put me down on the sofa. He ran to the kitchen and came back with a knife, which he used to cut open the bonds around my arms. It slithered off me and I wrapped my arms around him.
“Oh, Jesus, Julie …” he whispered. The knife dropped to the floor.
He sniffed, and I could hear him cry. Tears ran down my face as well. I used my hand to wipe my face, and when Dominic looked at me, I could see he’d been worried to death about me.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he said, and he clenched my face between his hands and smothered me with kisses. I could barely breathe.
He stood up and grabbed a wet towel from the kitchen, which he used to clean my face. He rubbed my painful arms between his hands and left kisses all over my skin.
“What happened? What did you do?” I said, my voice still wavering.
“I never thought they’d actually do it … I’m sorry, Julie.” He whimpered, and his head sank between his shoulders. “My dad had an arrangement with a drug gang. The casino was on the verge of shutting down, and he needed money to keep it going, so he borrowed some from the wrong people. He still owed them money when he died,” he said in between his sniffs.
“So they went after you?”
He put his arms around me and kissed my shoulder. “Yes. And the company. That’s why I hired Sharon, to figure out how to get them. I couldn’t let it get out to the public. The casino was only just recovering from the huge slump, and if that shit had gone public, it would’ve destroyed the casino.”
“So you chose to keep quiet?” I said. My body shivered from the sheer knowledge.
“I wanted to do what was best,” he said. “They sent me all kinds of threats, which got me so frightened … God, you don’t want to know the disgusting things they sent to me.”
No wonder he turned to the booze.
“I don’t even know how they found out where I live,” he said.
I closed my eyes, trying to come to terms with what just happened. I was kidnapped, because Dom owed some drugs gang money. The thought made me furious. Why hadn’t he protected me? Then again, it wasn’t his fault he was in this mess to begin with. Plus, I didn’t listen to him, which would’ve been the smart thing to do.
“That’s why I told you not to talk to anyone,” he said. “I was so afraid they’d take you away. I knew that if they found out I cared about you, they’d use you. That’s why I was so scared of falling in love, because I knew they could use it against me.”
“You let them use you, Dom, and they used me. Why didn’t that private investigator do anything?” I said, my voice still hoarse.
“She did. She tried to help me figure things out, but I didn’t want to give in to them either. I tried to go against them, Julie. Giving criminals what they want is not what I do, but when they took you … I couldn’t just stand by any longer.”
“You gave them what they wanted? Why?” I said, flabbergasted. “They kidnapped me!”
“No, I didn’t. I gave them fake money. It’ll only take a few hours before they find out that it’s not real and then they’ll come for the both of us. That’s why we need to
move. We can’t stay in my house anymore. It’s not safe.”
I looked at my hands, which were covered in bruises. I didn’t want to look at him. Couldn’t, maybe. All I knew was that I just had the most horrifying experience ever and that I didn’t want to feel that ever again. Something had to change.
“Do you know what I’ve been through?” I whispered. “I saw a man get shot in front of my eyes.”
“What?” Dominic’s eyes widened.
“It was right there,” I said, pointing at the door. “The doorman. He was killed, and I don’t know what they did, but there’s nothing left of him. He was there, I swear!”
“I believe you, Julie,” he said, and he frowned, biting his lip. “Shit, this is far worse than I imagined.”
“They grabbed me, drugged me, chained me and locked me up,” I continued. “I’ve been through hell, Dom. I can’t … I can’t …” I was hyperventilating and crying at the same time.
He shushed me and tried to calm me down by rocking me back and forth. “You’re safe now. You’re with me.”
“I don’t feel safe,” I muttered.
He looked down upon me. “What can I do? Please, tell me what I can do to ease the pain? I cannot tell you how sorry I am, because the words don’t feel like they’re enough. I’ll never let them get their hands on you again.” He squeezed me tight against his chest. “They’re going to pay for this. I’m not going to let them get away.”
We sat there, on the couch, still rocking back and forth, crying against each other. His fingers were spread out across my back, his warm body encapsulating me. I blocked out everything that happened today, to cope with the pain. I pushed the memories to the far corners of my mind, trying to erase them.
Dominic left soft pecks on top of my head. “I don’t want to lose you, Julie. Never again. I’ve never loved a woman this much and I’ll do anything for you. I want to keep you safe and from now on I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.”
“Like telling me what the fuck is going on?”
He chuckled shortly. “Yes, something like that. You’ve given me so much and all I’ve done is hurt you. I don’t want that anymore. I never wanted that.”
The Billionaire's Bet #3: A Risky Raise (Erotic Romance with alpha male) Page 5
