“I’m going to rip every last one of you apart,” Xander yelled.
“Enough,” James said coldly. “Stay calm.”
If terror bore a name it would be Ballad. His intensity burned white hot, as searing as a furnace of wrath.
The men observed his every move and even Xander gave a nod of compliance and stepped back. Even now, after what Ballad’s men had done, Xander deferred to him.
“Who has the key?” asked Xander. “I want her out of these.”
James raised his hand to quiet him. “My orders were clear. No one touches her.” He assessed the cuffs, reaching up and running his hand along the metal. “Who put her in these?”
The one with the cigarette threw it down and extinguished it with the heel of his boot. “We used the necessary force.”
“There are four of you,” James replied.
The man with the gun tapped his holster. “She made a scene. We made sure no one heard.”
James blinked. “You pulled your gun on her?”
The bully shrugged. “No one saw.”
My teeth clenched. “You threatened me.”
“Emily, your silence is appreciated.” James turned to face the man. “Show me.”
“Show you what, sir?” he replied.
“What you did with your gun?” James closed the gap between them. “You cut her lip.”
“I made her quiet down, sir.”
“Give it to me.”
The gun was unclipped from its holster and handed to James. It happened fast, with James grabbing the man by his collar and shoving him to his knees. There was no struggle, just compliance from his victim to prove Ballad owned this room and everyone in it.
James shoved the gun into the bully’s mouth. “Is this what you did to her?”
The man’s eyes went wide as he tasted the metal barrel.
“Nod to answer,” added James.
The air seemed to crackle with tension.
James looked at me. “Close your eyes, Emily.”
“No, don’t, please.”
“I asked you to close your eyes.”
I didn’t want to look, didn’t want to think my actions had led to murder. Xander’s hand came up and his palm covered my eyes.
James’ voice broke the quiet. “If I give an order, follow it. Don’t get creative, Samuel. Am I understood?”
My eyes squeezed shut beneath Xander’s palm. “It’s my fault,” I blurted out.
“Are you taking responsibility?” asked James.
I shifted my head to see his expression. “Yes.”
The man remained kneeling with his head bowed. No one tore their attention away from the sinister scene.
“I love you,” Xander whispered to me.
And it felt like goodbye.
This was the man I loved, the person I had given myself over to in every conceivable way, and seeing him again, being this close was all I had needed in this moment to survive.
Uncertainty hung in the air like invisible smog.
James rested his palm on the kneeling man’s head. “Key.”
Samuel reached into his pocket and offered up the small cuff key he’d used to secure me.
James took it. “We leave in fifteen minutes.”
I let out a sigh of relief that he was going away.
No arrogance remained in my attacker’s expression. He looked up at Ballad with gratitude and respect. Then he rose and strode quickly to the door, leaving without looking back.
“Everyone out,” ordered James.
The other men followed. The door shut behind them.
I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my trembling limbs.
James handed Xander the key and he used them to unlock the cuffs. As soon as I was free, I fell into Xander’s arms and he embraced me tightly. My limbs ached as my circulation returned. More bruises marked where the metal cuffs had chaffed my wrists. I stretched my fingers, relieved they were unharmed.
“You shouldn’t have gone there,” Xander whispered.
“I needed to know you were….” Tears stung my eyes. Still alive.
“Did they do anything to you?” He tapped near my lip. “Other than this?”
“No.”
James shoved his hands in his pockets with his usual stance—confident and unshakable. “I couldn’t have been clearer, Em. And to be transparent now, no one has ever gotten more than one pass from me. You’re the exception. But I’m done giving second chances.”
“Hurt me and you’ll lose Xander.”
James faced him. “You know what needs to be done.”
“I can handle her,” said Xander. “And it’ll be my way.”
“Because so far you’ve done a stellar job.”
“I can deal with her.”
James looked angry. “I’ve yet to see her convinced.”
Xander rested his hand on James’ shoulder. “Trust me. I’ve got this.”
“Meet me at the rendezvous. The pilot has already burned through enough fuel.”
I stared at James. “I’ll never forgive you.”
“Raise the stakes,” James said sharply. “If you think it will help.”
“Does he know?” I asked. “Does he know what you did to me at my audition?”
He turned to face me. “Yes, he does.”
It was a strike to my heart.
“Then you’re both as bad as the other,” I snapped. “I’m going to go see D.I. Stewart. I’m going to tell her everything.”
Xander flinched. “Em, shut up.”
James turned to me with a dangerously serene expression.
“I have evidence that Xander exists,” I said. “I have it hidden. I’ll show her those photos and she’ll believe me. She’ll investigate you.”
“I’ve failed you,” said James. “My men were too harsh. I should have been more…”
“She doesn’t mean it.” Xander rubbed my arm.
“Show her what you’re capable of, Xander,” Ballad said darkly.
My gaze snapped from James to Xander.
Xander looked away from me, his expression conflicted. “It’s better if it’s me, Em.” He eased me against the wall and reached his hand down, unzipping my jeans.
“What are you doing?” I stuttered.
Firm fingers slid along my panties, finding and flicking my clit, bringing a jolt of pleasure. “I need you to listen to us,” said Xander. “Say you understand the danger you’re in.”
It felt good. It felt wrong.
They were trying to scare me. Make me regret defying them.
Having James watch Xander finger-fuck his girlfriend was a walk into a realm that was forbidden and twisted and yet darkly beautiful.
I gave a whimper of pleasure.
Muscles tightened around fingers that were a fierce piston as he plunged inside me in a steady rhythm, faster and more insistent. The pressure of his thumb on my clit was bringing me closer to the edge.
I turned my head away, confusion raging in my mind at the way these two men were trying to scare me.
What I wanted from them both would scare them more…
Rising out of the depths of my imagination was the fantasy of Ballad touching me, too—of both their fingers playing with my clit, both fingering me, bringing me to a heady climax. I wanted it to be Ballad’s lips on mine and Xander’s on my pussy. If I was brave enough to let my thoughts fly free with what I truly wanted, it would be Xander’s intensity and Ballad’s fierceness capturing me between them.
Xander withdrew his hand and I cupped my sex at the loss of his touch, a near climax never to be realized. When I opened my eyes, Xander was showing me his wet fingertips.
“Lick it off,” ordered James.
My face flushed wildly. Xander’s fingers brushed my mouth and I suckled them, tasting my sweetness, arousal flooding through me like the rush of a drug.
A frisson owned my being and it felt like perfection, a poetic need as potent as life itself that couldn’t be denied. A soft moan escap
ed me as a shudder wracked my body. I needed to come and being denied this pleasure felt crueler than any words.
They’d teased me to the edge of an orgasm and denied me fulfillment in a final punishment.
I shoved Xander’s hand away and narrowed my accusatory stare on James. “I hope you die a devastating death.”
He headed for the door.
Xander called after him. “I’ll have her sign an NDA.”
“The time for such reasonable actions is behind us. See you at the flight pad.”
Even though he’d left the room, James’ aura haunted the seconds that lingered, and his presence still saturated every molecule of air.
Xander reached into his pocket and withdrew a phone. “Let’s get you out of here.”
What kind of man follows an order to touch his girlfriend in front of another? Xander would never know what was in my thoughts…he wouldn’t guess my secret longing.
They couldn’t break me.
Xander held his iPhone to his ear and barked an order. “I need you to fly me off base.” He listened carefully. “I’ll tell you the location when we get there.”
A slither of dread snaked up my spine.
Xander hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “We have three minutes to get to the pad.”
“Where are we going?” I held my breath.
“I’ll do what I can to get you away from here.”
I sprinted toward the door.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, his strong grip refusing to relent.
I tried to wriggle free. “Let me go.”
“You won’t get off this base without me.”
“Where are we?”
“Doesn’t matter. You won’t be coming back.”
Shaking off his grip, I made another mad run for the door.
He trapped me against the wall. “I need you to listen.”
“What’s your real name?” I said on an exhale.
“I don’t want to put you in any more danger.”
“Tell me,” I seethed. “Or I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes squeezed shut. “Xavier.”
“Xavier,” I whispered.
“Look, I know how to convince Ballad to give you another chance.”
“Why did you leave him?” I tried to make sense of it.
“I wanted something he couldn’t deliver.”
“And he can now?”
“Yes.”
“And you believe him?” I tried to read the truth in his eyes.
He looked away. “I need to get you somewhere safe.”
Xavier led me out of the room and down the whitewashed hallway. With each step we took, I couldn’t help but feel I was trading one trap for another.
The heat inside the military helicopter was oppressive—the noise so loud it almost drained out our voices.
Exhaustion pulled me down, my body aching, reminding me of my harrowing journey from Buckinghamshire and the rough treatment from my kidnappers. The view below gave me no clues as to our destination. Far below, sprawling homes and endless woodland merged together in a blur until there was nothing but open land.
“Water?” Xavier offered.
I studied his face. All this time I’d been living with a man and I hadn’t even known his real name.
I shouted over the chop of the blades, “Are we going back to London?”
“Somewhere a lot safer,” he replied.
I just wanted to go back to my hotel in Covent Garden. Seeing my boyfriend again came with a catch. The cut on my lip was a reminder of that. It hurt each time I tried to talk. There was an upside of having nothing to smile about.
Behind where Xavier sat was camouflage paraphernalia wedged behind mesh to keep it in place. Ballad had connections to the military. With each interaction, I learned more sinister facts about him…and this one was truly terrifying.
“I left my Strad in the hotel,” I called over.
Xavier loosened his necktie.
“Where were you going tonight?” I gestured at his tuxedo. “I’ve been in a living hell and you’ve been living it up with the boys.”
“You shouldn’t have gone to my family home, Em.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
He shook his head. “You’ve complicated everything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You should have gotten on with your life.”
I leaned forward. “What kind of girlfriend would that have made me?”
“I told you I was going back to them. I asked you to forget me.”
“I’ve been out of my mind.” I pointed at him in frustration. “You…you never loved me. I was just a girl you used for a distraction until you were ready to go back to them.”
He sat back in surprise. “I’ve been trying to protect you. I think of you every second of every day. Seeing you hurting like this is ripping my heart out. Don’t accuse me of having fun while you’re out there living your life. What I do is impossible, and you were the only respite from that.”
“Why didn’t you explain?”
He drew in a calming breath. “If saving you means I have to do the unthinkable…”
“What does that mean?”
But he punished me with silence.
“If you really love me…”
His gaze rose to find mine. “There’s only one way this can work.”
“You and me? How?”
“If it doesn’t, we’re both fucked.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Do you know where all our things are?” I asked. “Our passports?”
He ignored my questions, glancing down at the scenery below. “We’re here.”
Beyond a strip of land on the horizon I made out a dense forest. As we banked left over the woods, an estate came into view with a great lake surrounding it. A magnificent vision—we were flying towards a castle.
My jaw tightened. “Where have you brought me?”
“Hold on. We’re landing.”
The helicopter touched down, the blast from the blades bending the trees on the edge of the forest. Xavier unclipped his buckle and came over to help with mine. With my hand in his we leaped out onto a grassy bank, then bent over while hurrying to avoid the bluster from the blades above.
Hand in hand we ran toward a drawbridge. When we made it to the edge, Xavier turned and signaled to the pilot. The helicopter rose off the ground.
I watched my last hope of escape fly off over the trees and bank left until it was out of sight. We walked across a wooden bridge to reach a medieval gate.
I pulled my hand from his. “Are you sure James won’t find us?”
All he had to do was ask the pilot where we were dropped off.
Xavier whipped out his phone. “That’s always a possibility.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Let’s get inside.”
Looking down at the moat surrounding the castle, I had an uncomfortable vision of me swimming across it if the bastard found us.
“Who is opening the gate?” I followed its rise into the stone archway.
He’d punched a series of digits on his phone. “This place is teched-out.”
“You’ve obviously been here before.”
Another layer of his life was peeled away, and it dug the knife of betrayal deeper.
My lungs filled on a panicked breath. “I don’t feel good about this.”
In fact, it was hard to recall my last settled thought.
I walked beside him down the ancient stone pathway towards the entrance. A click signaled he’d unlocked the big door ahead. I only hoped it was as easy to get out.
The door was as heavy as it looked. Xavier gave it a shove and it opened into the castle’s grand foyer.
The décor was as I imagined it would be. Everything reflected old-world England with impressive antiques and a well-worn stone floor. Two regal knights stood frozen in time at the foot of the sweeping staircase, which swept up to an imp
ressive upper floor with ornate railings. From upstairs, one could easily view the entire foyer below.
I could hide out here for a while. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.
Crisscrossed jousting lances hung on the wall of a hallway that we strolled down as though we were on a tour and not two people being hunted. I tried not to think about the reality of our situation, choosing instead to admire the brass chandeliers that hinted at the centuries that had seen this place once lit by candle flame.
“How old is this place?” I asked.
“Sixteenth century.”
“You know your way around well enough.”
He led me into a modern kitchen that still had an ancient hearth with a large empty pot hanging within.
Xavier pointed to a bricked area. “They still make their own bread. It’s delicious.”
“When was the last time you were here?”
“Been a while.”
Over to our right was a long antique dining table, surrounded by several high-back chairs. He shrugged out of his suave black jacket and threw it over the back of one of them.
“How can you be so calm?” I snapped. “After what just happened?”
“I think better when I’m calm.”
“We need to devise a plan,” I said. “We need to think about leaving the country.”
“We should probably eat something first.”
I was still running on adrenaline. “Where’s the staff?”
Xavier unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. “He releases them for the weekend.”
“Who owns this place?”
Xavier headed for the fridge.
“You brought me to his home?” My heart rate took off and my legs wobbled at the rush of panic I felt.
“This is as safe as it gets.”
“Are you sure he won’t suspect us coming here?”
“How do eggs sound? Scrambled on toast? Your favorite.”
We’d just escaped Dr. Evil and fake name here wanted to play house. Xander…or Xavier…had always been quirky, but this was veering off toward madness.
He was keeping something from me.
Leaning on the central island, I watched him open the fridge and grab a wire basket filled with eggs, a jug of milk, and a tub of butter. He placed them on the central island. Then, he grabbed a pan from a cupboard.
“Xavier,” I began softly, “the pilot will tell him where he brought us.” My fingers gripped the edge of the island.
Pervade Duet: Pervade London & Pervade Montego Bay Page 13
