"Yeah?" Caleb asked. "Well, where the fuck are we right now?" Frost solidified his words and their pierced through her skin like sharpened icicles.
"In a warehouse," Elaina replied.
"And what are we doing?" Caleb asked.
"We're trying to find protection from a deranged gunman," Elaina snapped. "I don't see why—"
"Right. So unless you're going to strike up a financial merger or arrange to trade stocks with this loon, then why are you still in office mode?" Caleb flicked the ash off of the end of his light and dragged on it once more. "Right now you need to be real with me. Let down whatever walls are protecting you because they are only holding you back. You know what you'll be if he gets his bullets in you? Meat. Bones and meat nothing more than that. So while you still have a chance to be alive, enjoy your humanity. Be a human, not a machine. Success is fine, but you'll never enjoy success unless you allow yourself to be alive."
The words he spoke came from somewhere deep. Whether they'd been rattled loose by the desperation of their situation, or whether they'd been triggered by something else in Caleb's life and had just found their host in her after time spent gestating inside, Elaina was not sure. What she did know for certain was that Caleb was invested in them, and their genuine message cut her through to her core.
"And so what do you want me to do?" Elaina asked, standing before him uselessly. Caleb rose from where he'd been leaning to approach her, the red cherry of his cigarette burning bright against the darkness. Each step taken was calculated, like a predator stalking its prey, and she couldn't help but feel small against him. Since she'd been a child Elaina had been fighting to be equal, and here Caleb was so easily overthrowing her defences.
"Cry," he told her. "Scream. Laugh at how futile this is. Panic. Whatever you do, I want to see that humanity inside of you. I want to see you be a person and not just a mask."
Now he stood so close to her she could see the speckles in his eyes. The dim lights glinted across their surface and let them shine. Elaina's pulse, already rapid from having sprinted from a gunman, now beat fast for different reasons. Caleb Colten, her rival and enemy, was gorgeous.
The hand free from his cigarette lifted and cupped the side of her jaw, holding her head in place as he peered into her eyes.
"There's a frightened girl in there," he said, letting their faces draw closer so he could get a better look, "and I want her to come out to play, because if you give her an inch, she's going to take a mile. If we're going to face our deaths I don't want you to regret your life in the last moments you have. Let go, Lainey. Sometimes life is about losing control."
Elaina's eyes traveled between his eyes and his lips, realizing how close he'd come. The smell of his tobacco, pungent and acrid, rooted in her nose, but she found she did not mind. Slowly Elaina's eyes began to close as he drew nearer, and yet the moment before their lips were destined to meet, a terrible crashing noise rang out against the metal shuttered doors of the warehouse.
Caleb jumped away from her, startled. His eyes, so critical, moved to examine the door and make sure they were safe. The sound rang out again, metal against metal, and Elaina had to cover her ears.
"We need to hide," Caleb said, drawing her away once after dropping his cigarette and crushing it underfoot. Hand in hand they jogged down the aisles made by towering shelving units. "If we can find cover up on one of the higher shelves somewhere in this maze they'll never find us."
The warehouse was huge. From where they stood, Elaina couldn't spot the back wall. Filled with organized shelves and storage items, it was the perfect place to hide. It was a shame that they hadn't been the first ones to think that.
Lost in the labyrinth, Caleb and Elaina worked themselves deeper into the guts of the building before Caleb stopped dead in his tracks and held out his arm to make sure she stopped as well.
"What's the matter?" Elaina asked.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear wh—"
The cold hit her first, solid against the back of her skull, and the click followed second. Elaina had watched enough movies to know what that sound was — someone had unlocked the safety of a gun. A gun now pressed to the back of her head.
"Caleb," she whimpered, eyes wide.
From around them men emerged from behind wide storage boxes and amongst the shadows of the shelves. The warehouse was crawling with them.
"Don't make a sound," a gruff male voice said from just behind her, "and do what we say, and we might decide to let you go with your life."
Tears of fear beaded in Elaina's eyes, but she was too afraid to say or do anything. Caleb's gaze swept the room, but the men who crept from their hiding places were armed as well, and it wasn't long before there were guns on him. They were caught.
The night that was supposed to serve as a life lesson had quickly turned into what might be her last moments alive on this earth. And Caleb was right — Elaina did regret holding herself back. The success that she valued so much did not comfort her here; business prowess would not follow her to the grave.
As the men led them away, Elaina thought back on all of the opportunities she had missed, and all the emotion she had so willfully pushed away. If she got a second chance things would be different, but right now a second chance seemed as unlikely as the pistol pressed to her skull being loaded with marshmallows instead of lead.
A cluster of men kept Elaina under surveillance while another surrounded Caleb. One of them had pulled out a box and told her to sit upon it, and she'd complied without argument. In hostage situations it was best to be agreeable, or at least, so she thought. Elaina had never been caught up in something like this before.
One of the men broke through the circle to approach Caleb. They'd left him standing, but he had dropped his gaze to avoid looking at any of them.
"Where's my money, Colten?" the man asked as he approached his prisoner. There was a revolver in his hand, and he caressed the barrel against Caleb's cheek once he stood before him. There was silence. The silver of the revolved gleamed in the pale light as it traced back and forth with affection, and then the man drew it back and smacked Caleb across the face with it suddenly.
"WHERE IS MY FUCKING MONEY, COLTEN?" he shouted this time. It was hard to see through the men that separated them, but Elaina was sure she could see a dark splatter of blood spray from Caleb's lips. It took a great deal of restraint not to cry out.
"I don't have it yet," Caleb mumbled. Was this really happening? Elaina knew that the Coltens were billionaires; why was money an issue? "I need more time."
"And I need my money. Looks like both of us are waiting for something we desperately need, but aren't able to get. But you know what the difference between us is, Colten?"
Caleb closed his eyes and exhaled heavily, trying to ground himself.
"No."
"The difference is, I told you how much time you had to get my money, so while I am unpleasantly surprised, there is no surprise for you. You agreed you'd pay me back by today."
"I know," Caleb mumbled. Elaina's heart was breaking for him. There was something so crushed and defeated about his words that, even though he was the enemy and had gotten her into this mess, she couldn't help but pity him. The man who threatened him did not feel the same way. How much money were these two talking about? Caleb might have been a billionaire, but she wasn't exactly poor.
"So what can I take as collateral? I was foolish enough to think your name alone would guarantee payment, but I suppose even the rich can't be trusted."
The gun had gone back to caressing Caleb's cheek.
"Maybe I should take your girlfriend, pretty little blonde thing that she is. She good in bed, Colten? Because I want to—"
"Stop!" Elaina surprised even herself by speaking out. She'd been told to remain quiet and she always played by the rules, but she couldn't bear to hear Caleb harassed and the ownership of her body called into question. "You want money? I'll pay you whatever money he owes you if you'll let us go."
The circle of men around Caleb broke, and the man who'd done the speaking left it to walk towards her. He parted the cluster of men who guarded her and stood looking down upon her from where she sat. He was a tall, skinny man with a nose like a hawk and thick brows that sank down to shadow his eyes. His hair was black, but Elaina was willing to bet it was dyed that color. Like the rest of them he wore black clothing, as if to blend in with the night.
"You?" he asked. Elaina could not look away from the revolver in his hand. "Colten, this is rich. You bring your blonde to pay your debts for you?" The man laughed, and with him his gang. Elaina's heart was racing.
"Please, I'm serious. There's three hundred in cash in the left pocket of my hoodie you can have right now, and then you can follow me to an ATM and I'll take out whatever else you need."
The man's eyes flashed between Elaina and Caleb, thinking.
"You know what?" he said. "I'm feeling generous. I'll take the money and then give you a ten minute head start. Then after that, I'm coming for you. Survive the night and you and the Colten kid can go free, but if I catch you…" One corner of his lip lifted in a malicious smirk. "Well. You don't want to find out. So…"
His free hand dug into her pocket and took the cash, then nudged her off the box so that Elaina stood on trembling legs. Was this happening? Was this really happening?
"Run," he said. "I'm keeping Colten 'til sun up. This game's all on you."
How could she leave him? Elaina's eyes cut through the crowds to look over at Caleb. His blues met hers, expression unreadable.
"RUN!" he shouted. One of the goons knocked him across the back of the head with his gun, and Caleb fell to his knees. Elaina ran.
The maze of shelving units didn't faze her anymore. Elaina cut through the gaps between boxes to weave her way through the makeshift walls, destined for the warehouse wall she knew the door was on. Soon enough she'd arrived, and with fear and deep regret clutching her heart, she sprinted through the night.
The chain link fence Caleb had helped her over was now an obstacle she had to surmount on her own. Propelled by adrenaline and a life or death mentality, Elaina took to it like a spider. In moments she'd climbed over the top and was sprinting away from the pier and back towards the main streets.
If she could get back to her car — but what if they were already waiting? What if they'd rigged her vehicle? No. She'd have to get to the main streets and flag down a motorist. Only this part of the city was dark, and there were no pedestrians or motorists to be found.
The streets stopped making sense. Instincts did not guide her correctly. Fear had clouded her mind like a drug and left her at its mercy. And then the hand grabbed her. She'd been running for fifteen minutes when it had happened, and she knew that the man and his lackeys were on the hunt for her already. But when she was tugged into the alley, it was a familiar face that came into focus.
"Caleb!" she gasped.
"Shh," he whispered. "I got free, but we've got to get going. Come with me."
Down the alley was a descended fire escape that Caleb had liberated. He let her climb first and then followed, and once they were on the landing he pulled the ladder back up to seal off the way up. Up and up they climbed until Caleb yanked a window open and slipped into the room on the other side. Elaina from two hours ago would never have agreed to follow, but the Elaina of right now was a drastically changed person. She ducked inside after him, and he slid the window closed.
It was an apartment. Small, but functional. They'd entered through the bedroom, but the bed was empty and unused, and despite the furnishings, the place didn't look lived in. Held by a gang, shot at, and now breaking and entering, Elaina felt like she didn't know herself anymore. Caleb was bad, there was no question, but he brought out exciting things in her.
"We should be able to spend the night here, and then in the morning this'll all have blown over."
Caleb turned away from the window to face her, but as soon as he did, Elaina threw herself at him. He caught her in his arms with a grunt, and she wasted no time in locking her arms around his neck. There was no time to play games, no time to be coy or worry about rivalries or family histories or any of the wrong Caleb had obviously done in his life. All that mattered was that she had a second chance, and Elaina wasn't going to deny herself any longer. It had been a long time since she'd met someone who challenged her as Caleb did, a long time since she met anyone as handsome. She would make him hers.
Elaina pressed their lips together and kissed him hard with the passion that only desperate times could muster. When she drew away it was Caleb who was left to catch his breath, eyes lidded with arousal over her boldness.
"Lainey," he muttered.
"We're alive," Elaina murmured, running a hand through his hair. Although it was kept short, it was silken and wonderful to touch. Even the air she breathed smelled sweeter and felt more satisfying in her lungs now that she'd survived. "I'm not going to let anything stand in the way to my personal happiness any longer. Right now this is what I want, and I don't care how wrong it is. How wrong for me you are. I want you."
Before Caleb's eyes had darkened with critical distaste, but now they darkened with something far more sensual. His arms wrapped around her waist and drew her close as though promising to never let go, and the strength in them drove her wild. His hands wove their way down the curve of her spine and to her pert ass, gripping it tightly to claim it as she'd claimed his lips just moments before.
"That's a good girl," he praised her, voice low and husky. Arousal had already started to drag him beneath his depths, and she was sure with just a little more the animal inside the bad boy who'd saved her life would come out to play. "You're not your job, Lainey. You're you. And you deserve to invest as much into yourself as you do your company."
The words were like silk against the glossy black depths of the night, and Elaina found herself falling. The action. The excitement. The uncertainty. The gritty reality of it all. Beneath their squeaky clean exteriors there was danger and deception, and now they were caught up in this enticing web of a world Elaina had never envisioned.
With her arms wrapped as they were around his neck, Caleb adjusted his grip on her so he could scoop her off her feet. Supporting her beneath the ass he carried Elaina to the empty bed and tossed her down upon it, looking down upon her with his predatory gaze.
"And I'm ready to invest a little in you tonight."
The words stole her breath away. Heat rose up her neck and into her cheeks, and she pressed her thighs together to try to stem her rising arousal. Caleb wasn't having any of it. He followed her onto the bed and pushed her shoulder down with one hand while the other secured her thigh and pried it away from the other. Tonight she would deny herself nothing, and he would see to it.
Once her body was pinned, Caleb caught her lips hungrily. Beneath his strong body she was helpless, so out of control, and yet she loved it. For the first time in her adult life Elaina let herself be directed and used by another, and she found she wanted nothing more. Caleb was exactly the kind of strong, capable man she needed — his name be damned.
The kiss they shared was heated and passionate, and she lost herself to it. In that moment the loss of staff and the staggering budget cuts they had to sustain didn't matter; Elaina was finally free. Caleb's body, so firm and tone, pressed down against her as the kiss continued. The cotton of his pants was soft and easily gave way to the growing desire she stirred for him. Feeling Caleb grow hard only served to heat her own fires, and soon Elaina was doing more than just lying beneath him. Her hips rose, grinding gently and drawing a corresponding gesture from him. Fully clothed they grinded against one another as Caleb's tongue slipped into her mouth to dominate.
It seemed like his broad hands were everywhere at once. Over the black clothes she wore he traced the lines of her body, savoring the curve of her hip and the small rounds of her breasts. It trailed down her flat stomach and then further, until his fingertips had reached her gro
in and teased at the spot between her legs that he'd worked into frenzy. "Stop playing with me," Elaina breathed between breaks in their kiss. "Take my clothes off."
Even though Caleb had taken control, Elaina could wait no longer. The fingers had dipped downward, teasing over her clothes and between her thighs.
"Greedy," Caleb teased her, smirking wide. "But I guess I can agree. Even if you're bossing me around, the request is for something personal. I won't deny you."
But granting her wish meant a punishment of another kind. Caleb's hand rose from where it had been teasing her needy sex to undo the zipper of her hoodie, leaving her unstimulated. Elaina exhaled at the loss, trying not to come across as weak. But wasn't this union all about giving in to weakness and emotion?
"You have to keep touching me," she begged him at last. "I need it."
He laughed, somewhat mocking but somewhat sincere.
"After what happened tonight I don't blame you."
The Sheikh's Secret Page 11
