by Alexia Praks
CHAINED
TO YOU
book 2: trapped & entwined
Alexia Praks
Chained to You
Book 2: Trapped and Entwined
Dark Billionaires Series
Alexia Praks
Copyright © 2017 by Alexia Praks
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without agreement and written permission of the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Published by Xia Press
The author can be reached at: www.alexiapraks.com.
CONTENTS
Part 3: Trapped
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Part 4: Entwined
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
About Alexia
Part 3: Trapped
Chapter 1
Mia
When I told Andy to have fun at work yesterday evening, when he’d kissed me on the forehead fondly and said, “See you tomorrow, then,” I thought of nothing but the fact that yes, I’d see him again tomorrow. It’d be just like our life previously, when we used to live together, going about our daily routine. We’d been poor and struggling financially, but at least we were free and content.
Oh, how naïve I was.
I was still green in this cutthroat, dark and dangerous world I’d just entered when I had decided to come here to the West Coast of America, first to Los Angeles and then Las Vegas. It was the world of James Maxwell, my brother’s debtor and, more recently, my master and lover.
At first, I had no idea why I suddenly woke. Oh, I was a light sleeper, always waking up in the middle of the night, my eyes wide open as I stared up at the ceiling in the dark, my mind alert and my body tense. It was hard to change old habits, especially when fear played a huge part of your daily life. When your uncle would sneak into your room and do the unmentionable to you and your brother. When you were emotionally, mentally, and physically drained. When you had no support or help. When you had no one to turn to when you needed it most. When you were left to fend for yourself at such a fragile age.
That had been why I’d always woken in the middle of the night, around two or three in the morning, because that was the time when the unmentionable started happening.
I’d always feel tense and sick to the core, always wanting to run away, yet I couldn’t find the strength to even move an inch as Uncle Herbert began to molest me. I’d cry, of course, quietly sobbing away until he was satisfied and moved over to Andy instead. Deep down, I knew I was a weak, unhelpful sister, and I despised myself for that. Hated the fact I couldn’t stop the disgusting man from torturing us, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
We were two small, broken children, Andy and I, and we vowed to protect each other no matter what might come.
We were close, and since we were little, I could always sense something was amiss if things were to happen to Andy. Something bad, such as an accident, for example, and now was one of those times.
As I suddenly woke, which I assumed to be the usual time of two or three in the morning, I felt that nagging feeling something was awry. I could taste the bitterness in my mouth and feel the knotting of my stomach, the heart palpitations, and the restlessness. Something wasn’t right, and I knew in my gut Andy was involved.
Lying there in bed, I was aware of the cool and empty space around me. Curiously, I turned over and found James had disappeared. I blinked and flicked my gaze to the bathroom door, wondering if he was in there.
There was no light shining from within the room where the door stood ajar. I flicked my gaze to the door leading into the living area and saw the light was on. Perhaps James was having a drink or something.
I felt chilled and hollow, and I wanted James to return to me. I wanted it so badly, in fact, that I knew I was a loon.
Why did I want him to be close to me so badly?
Oh, I knew why. It was because he gave me warmth. Every time I was with him, the cold, solitary hours disappeared and within their place was this warm sunshine glowing within me. He made me forget about my fear of the past, of Uncle Herbert, of the torturous things I’d experienced through my young years. I didn’t know it before, but I had just come to realize it now. James had changed my life in such a short space of time since I had met him.
I quieted myself from wanting him and made myself comfortable. I was just closing my eyes again when I heard hushed voices. I knew James was talking to Matt. But at this hour? Surely nothing could be that urgent for them to discuss it now and here of all places. But then a single name triggered an alarm within me.
“Andy…”
I sat up. Another word followed that made my heart race with dread.
“Missing.”
I felt as though my heart just dropped and the world spun before my eyes. Oh God! I was going to faint. I could feel it coming.
But I didn’t have time for that. No fainting. Not now. I needed to find out what was going on with my brother. Now!
I hastily got out of bed, donned James’s pajama shirt I’d worn last evening before he lovingly peeled it off my body, and headed to the door.
In the living area, I found James and Matt near the window, talking in hushed tones. They looked dark and utterly dangerous.
I noted James was already dressed in his gorgeous three-piece suit. His hair was still a little wet, so I assumed he must have just showered. He looked disarmingly sleek and handsome, ready to take on the world. At the same time, however, I thought he looked ready to kill. Every line of his features told me he had switched from the hot, mysterious billionaire to the threatening predator searching for his prey, and when he found them, he would coldly annihilate them.
A shiver passed down my spine at the thought that this was the other side of James Maxwell. The darker side that would kill without mercy. I’d known that particular side of him existed when I first met him, since I’d first learned he was my brother’s debtor. Yet I still found myself beguilingly attracted to him, like a magnet, unable to draw back.
I could sense the same threatening, ruthless aura from Matt as the man looked taciturnly aggressive at the moment, ready to slaughter anyone who dared to lay a hand on Andy.
“James?” I called out, my voice weak, my body t
ense with worry.
James and Matt turned their attention to me. I could tell they weren’t pleased to see me, especially James, because he wore a dark scowl on his face that would scare the living daylights out of any innocent youth. It did me, too, but I was persistent. My brother’s life was on the line, for God’s sake.
I determinedly headed to them, my legs weak but steadfast. Once I was close to both men, I gazed up at James, a sort of begging look radiating from my eyes.
“James?” I started and then licked my lips. I swallowed before continuing. “My brother? I heard something about Andy.”
I noted in my peripheral vision that Matt was looking at James, waiting for the man to react to my query.
James, as always, was blunt and straight to the point. He didn’t care to soften the news for my sake. Honest to God, I was thankful for that. I wanted a direct answer. Not some fabricated story to comfort me, when in reality, my brother was in deep shit, when he very well could be hanging between life and death.
Why did I think my brother’s life was in jeopardy? Because I just knew so. My gut told me so. And I felt sick with worry, with the thought the balance leaned farther toward the death side.
James’s voice was calm when he said, “He’s missing.”
I swallowed at his answer. Yes, I had surmised he was missing. What I needed was more information.
“When? How? Where?” I couldn’t get the questions out fast enough. “Have you any idea where he could be?”
Chapter 2
Mia
James cupped my face with his large hand. I wasn’t sure whether it was to shut me up or comfort me. I preferred to think it was the latter. At least I hoped it was.
Warmth radiated from his body to mine, and I did indeed feel comforted, if only a little.
“We’re looking for him,” he said.
He pulled me into his arms, and I rested my face against his thick, muscular chest. I felt him burying his nose against my hair.
I took in a slow, deep breath, inhaling oxygen into my lungs to calm myself, to think logically. James’s warm, masculine scent tantalized my senses, which only made me want to bury myself deeper into him. He made me want to entomb myself within him and never let go.
“Go back to bed,” he instructed.
Go back to bed? Like I’d be able to relax knowing my brother was missing. God only knew what was happening to him now.
Suddenly, my mind flicked to the Mexican and the Albanian.
I pulled back from James’s arms in a rush and said, “The Mexican! The Albanian!”
James only stared down at me, his face a hard mask, his Prussian-blue eyes dark fires in the depth of the night.
I continued in a hurry, my words jumbled and fighting one another to get out before my brain could process them. “They must have got Andy. We have to find him, James. We have to get him back. We have to get my brother back. He must be still in Las Vegas. Please, James, we have to find him. It’s the Mexican. I swear it’s the Mexican!”
I was a little hysterical, I knew, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Mia,” James said. “Calm down. Everything is going to be okay. We’ll get Andy back.”
I was shaking from head to toe. I knew I sounded like a child when I asked, “Promise?”
James had the gall to chuckle at my childish query. He caressed my cheek when he said, “Promise. Now be a good girl and go back to bed. Matt and I have a lot to do.”
I licked my lips and then nodded.
I knew I would be no help. Las Vegas was a new, unfamiliar city to me. I’d get lost just walking down the streets of this bustling metropolitan. Not to mention the numerous gangs out there who controlled their turf with an iron fist. I would only trouble James even more if I were to get into the wrong hands, as I was sure Andy had.
I turned around and headed back into the bedroom, leaving the two men behind to discuss or whatever they were doing in order to find my brother.
In the dimly lit bedroom, I slid between the sheets, staring up at the ceiling. In my mind, I thought about my brother, and once again, my stomach knotted sickly and my heart raced.
Oh, Andy, where are you now? Are you all right? I knew he wasn’t all right. What if he was hurt badly? What if his head got bashed in and he was bleeding? What if he got stabbed numerous times? What if he got shot?
The images of my brother wounded and on the verge of dying made me shiver in dread.
I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I just wouldn’t be able to live. Andy was my one and only relative, and I loved him dearly. Without him, I was alone in this world, and I just didn’t know if I could move on.
“Stop thinking about shit like that!” I muttered to myself, a sob escaping my lips.
“I agree,” came the manly voice at the door.
I sat abruptly to see James’s silhouette, mysterious and handsome, heading my way.
“It doesn’t help,” he said bluntly.
He was right, of course. Thinking like that didn’t help in this type of situation. I needed to stay calm and collected. I need to keep my head clear for every eventuality.
Looking at James as he was now—dark, powerful, and ruthless—I knew he was exactly that: calm and collected, his mind clear and ready for whatever eventuality. He was a billionaire elite who ruled this city with a firm hand, after all, and he was used to this type of situation and knew how to deal with it.
A moment later, he was on my side of the bed and staring down at me. He rested his hand against the side of my face and said, “I’m leaving to sort some things out.”
As I stared up at him, I desperately wanted to know what those things were, but I was too afraid to ask. In my gut, I knew it was to do with Andy. Suddenly, the thought struck me.
Why? Why would a billionaire like James Maxwell even care if his mistress’ brother was missing? Why would he even go further to help her? Was it because he thought it was his obligation as my master, my lover? Or was it something else?
I didn’t know and I didn’t care. Just as long as I had this man to lean on during times such as these, which I never had before. It was a blessing for me.
He asked, “Will you be all right?”
I licked my lips and nodded. I’d be alone and scared and worried sick, both for Andy and James. Matt even. But I was determined to be brave, determined to aid them in the process of finding and saving my brother by staying out of the firing line. It was best that way.
James lowered his head and brushed his lips against mine. He was warm and very inviting, easing my mind of the worry.
Then he really kissed me, urging my lips to part for him. I obliged, and he plunged in his tongue, stroking and caressing me until I was almost mindless.
“Mmm…” I groaned as I clutched to him. “Mmm…”
When he finally let my lips go, I was breathless and dazed, my whole body boiling, aching for more.
“Good girl,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”
I nodded, praying very hard he’d bring me good news of my brother as I padlocked my desire for this billionaire for a later time.
He moved his lips to the side of my ear and whispered, “I’m going to really fuck you like you’ve never experience before once I’ve returned with Andy, safe and sound.”
I sucked in my breath at his arrogant proclamation as a delicious shiver passed down my spine.
When he moved back a little and I saw his face, his features and eyes were dark. My tummy fluttered in exquisite delirium and my body ached even more for him.
He lightly brushed his thumb across my sensitive lips, marveling at my red flesh, thrilling every nerve of my being.
He smirked when he saw my wanton reaction to his promise. “I expect full submission from you, sweetheart,” he whispered. “It’s a wonderful turn-on when you cry while I fuck you.”
He was chuckling lowly as he moved back, leaving me breathless, dazed, enthralled, confused, and terrified.
I watched him walk out the be
droom door, his gait easy and graceful, like a lion ready for the kill. I was fascinated, mesmerized by his dark charm that bound me to him, entrapping me in his dominating embrace. I was captured, ensnared, and to be honest, I had no desired to escape. Not one bit. It suddenly struck me I wanted to be here with James Maxwell, in his world, being ruthlessly ravished by him.
Chapter 3
James
The Mexican mob was going to fucking pay for the stupid mistake they made by kidnapping Andy for a deal they demanded, which they weren’t going to get. James wasn’t a very nice man when it came to this sort of bullshit. Anyone who dare to even step foot into his territory, crossed the line, and hurt one of his boys, especially if that particular boy happens to be his good friend’s lover, more especially if that particular boy happens to be his lover’s brother, was something James could never forgive.
James was usually a very reasonable man, famed for his trustworthiness when dealing with any business. When they crossed the line, however, the ruthless predator came out and nothing was going to stop the catastrophe heading their way.
In the sleek black limo, sitting beside James in the backseat was Matt. The man looked as dark and dangerous as ever. He wore a scowl so fearsome that most of the men who were accompanying them for the operation were silently praying he wouldn’t mistake any of them as one of the Mexicans when they were going all out. Because really, Matt was a maniac when it came to this type of thing. His bullets were faster than the blink of an eye. Blood and guts were sure to burst everywhere, and bodies would be falling like flies.
The atmosphere was tense as the chauffeur silently drove the limo toward the west end of the city. The Mexican headquarters. Their hideout.
Breaking the silence, James said, “I told Tory. Unfortunately, Mark left already. Back to New York.”
Matt’s scowl became even darker. “Why the fuck did you tell him?” he asked coldly. “We don’t need him.”
