I couldn’t get enough of the girl, even in her damn sleep. The way her chest rose and fell, the way she gasped lightly every so often and made me wonder what she was dreaming about. God, I wanted her. I wanted to possess her, even though I already owned her after the sale. But there was so much more of Evangeline I wanted to be mine. And I was going to get all of her, no matter what.
My sleep that night was disturbed by dreams of her leaving me, and I woke up in a cold sweat and feeling confused as hell.
After a quick shower, though, I was mostly back to normal, and ready to get back to business. I had an important meeting that day, and I was dreading it because I knew my father would be there.
My relationship with my dad, Abraham, had always been strained.
Being an only child, Dad had put all his hopes on me – all of his eggs in one basket. And didn’t he fucking love to remind me.
I had to live with my father’s pressure every day of my life, until I was left bitter and constantly fearful of disappointing him. My mother wasn’t much help. She’d always been a quiet actress in our family dynamic, and it was so rare that she stood up for me I could barely remember the last time.
And now that I was older, my father had passed the reins of his company to me, but it didn’t mean he didn’t butt in constantly. He’d appointed me as a director, but he still owned the biggest share. And that meant being under his supervision the whole time, always at his beck and call, and sometimes forced to make decisions I didn’t agree with because my father thought it was the right thing to do.
I wanted to stand up for myself, but at the same time, as I grew up, I came to find out more about my father than anyone else knew.
I knew all of his faults and flaws. I knew when he’d fucked up and all the terrible things he had done… And he knew about it, too. It happened more times than I cared to admit, and I was sick of cleaning up his messes. Sometimes it felt like he got more childish as he got older. My poor fucking mother had no idea, either.
My father was the one who had introduced me to Empire Sin, a private gentleman’s club in the city I’d frequented for most of my adult life.
Empire Sin was just what it sounded like. The most well-kept secret of the richest, most influential men in the country, who used its services to get exactly what they wanted. For me, it was buying willing slaves, girls who would do anything to worship at my feet.
I knew of more sinister dealings within the club, though. I knew about men who bought girls so they could hurt them, men who used girls, men who used men. Everything, in the end, revolved around the club’s greatest power – sex. Sex was the ruler, and when money exchanged hands, there was nothing it couldn’t buy you in Empire Sin.
I hadn’t gone to the actual club downtown in a while. These days, all my interactions with them happened when I bought girls, usually from one of the founding members, Barron Savage.
My father had a much more sordid history with Empire Sin, one I didn’t want to know jack shit about. Still, I always somehow got involved in his messes, and I was always the one to sweep them under the rug.
When my phone rang that morning, I was just getting ready to head to work. I saw my father’s name flash across the screen and I sighed before picking up.
“Good morning,” I said sharply, and a groan greeted me.
“Too fucking early for that shit,” he said. “Where are you?”
“Nice to speak to you too,” I rolled my eyes. It had been two weeks since the last call, the last mess. I hoped this time it was a business call, though the early morning hour felt a bit of a weird time for a business call.
“You need to come to the Royale,” he said, groaning again. I could almost see him rubbing his eyes. “There’s been a bit of a conundrum here.”
“Conundrum?” I sighed. “Can’t someone else take care of this? I really have to get to work, Dad, I have a shit ton of meetings today.”
“Fuck that,” he growled through the phone. “I need you. You’re my fucking son, is it really so hard for you to help me? Get over here, now.”
He cut the call and I cursed out loud, fighting the urge to hurl my phone across the room. He really knew how to set me off every single time.
I got ready for my workday, promising myself I’d spend as little time as possible at the Royale Hotel before heading back to work. I was anxious to finish my workload, because I wanted to spend some time with my new little toy. The events from the previous night were still so fresh in my mind, and I wanted her back at my feet.
The driver took me to the Royale, no questions asked. I ordered him to park up and wait for me, and headed upstairs.
My father had a permanent suite in the hotel, and the staff nodded at me politely as I headed up there.
The elevator led straight to his penthouse, and I swiped my card and waited to get up there. My heart was pounding, and I felt really fucking uneasy.
I finally arrived, and the doors opened to let me into the luxurious, beautifully designed suite.
It was fucking trashed.
The debris of a party was everywhere, smashed glasses, empty bottles, clothes littering the floor. There was a broken lamp and a door hanging off its hinges, and my father was sitting on the couch in the midst of the madness, flicking through the TV channels.
He didn’t even look at me when I walked in, just motioned towards the bedroom and said, “She’s in there.”
Seething with anger, I walked past him into the bedroom.
There was a girl sprawled on the bed, tiny and looking completely broken, her body twisted in a way that seemed unnatural to me. I rushed to her side, checking for a pulse. She was wearing revealing lingerie and my heart pounded at the sight of her. She couldn’t have been much older than Evangeline, and she wasn’t fucking moving, her chest perfectly still.
I cursed out loud, wanting to kill my father for it. But then the girl gasped softly, and I held her, cupping her cheek in my palm.
“You’re going to be fine, darling,” I told her softly. “You’re going to be fine. I’m calling someone now.”
She groaned as I dialed a number on my phone, barking instructions into the receiver. There was a doctor that worked for Empire Sin; he was discreet and good at his job. He agreed to pick the girl up in the lobby and take her back to her owner. She had a collar with a tag, and I recognized the name as one of my main business competitors in the city. I didn’t even fucking want to know how my father had gotten his dirty hands on her.
“What’s your name?” I asked her, stroking her cheek.
Her eyes opened and they were pretty, brown.
“Becky,” she whispered, and I smiled down at her. She was very cute, very sweet-looking. Any other time I would’ve felt fucking tempted, but not that day. My thoughts were still full of beautiful, sinful little Evangeline.
“You’re going to be okay,” I promised her again. “I have someone coming for you. Let’s get you dressed.”
I got her up carefully and helped her put on a dress she must’ve worn the previous night. It was a little crinkled but not torn or anything, so she didn’t look too bad. I smoothed down her hair and ushered her into the elevator, explaining that someone would pick her up in the lobby. My father didn’t even glance up when she left the room, but I could feel how tense Becky’s body got as she had to pass him.
I wanted to ask her what he’d done to her, but I knew fucking better than to pry. Chances were, I wouldn’t like finding out anyway.
Once she was gone, I went back into the living room. My father was chuckling at something on the TV when I hurled a bottle at him.
It smashed on the wall behind his head, and I wished I’d been brave enough to actually direct it at him. But I was fucking weak when it came to my father. A damn pussy.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked me angrily. “You need to work on your aim, apparently.”
“What did you do to her?” I snarled at him. “She wasn’t fucking breathing when I came in! She cou
ld have died, Dad.”
“She’s fine, isn’t she?” he rolled his eyes, changing the channel. “She seemed perfectly walking out of here.”
I fought the urge to wreck the TV too, just walking up to him instead and switching the screen off. Dad looked at me with annoyance and I wanted to fucking kill him.
“Another day, another slut,” he told me with a grin.
I ran a hand through my hair and watched him. He looked like shit.
He was definitely getting too old for this lifestyle, and I think he was starting to realize it. But instead of slowing down and taking a break, he only went at it harder. As if any of these girls could make him younger.
As if any of them could cure him.
“How’s the prognosis?” I asked him darkly, and he chuckled, shrugging.
“Still dying, if that’s what you want to know,” he replied, and we glared at each other.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was attached to my father. Maybe it was that boyish need to please him, to make him proud of me. I never got that warm feeling of being accepted, of someone being excited about my accomplishments. Dad was always after the next thing – the next fuck, the next buck. That was his motto.
I didn’t like the thought of him being gone. But according to the doctors, a few months was all he had. And that was if he stuck to his diet and the lifestyle they recommended, not if he spent his nights drinking too much booze and choking eighteen-year-olds in hotel rooms until they passed out.
“So, I hear you got yourself a new toy ,” he grinned at me, and I stared at him as he went on. “I would love to fucking meet her. Did Savage tell you I had my eye on her too?”
I wanted to smash his face in, and my fists shook as I spoke up.
“She’s off limits,” I told him harshly. “She’s my fucking property now.”
“So I’ve heard,” he sneered at me. “Reminds you of Carolina, doesn’t it?”
My fists tightened some more.
“That was a fucking mess,” I told him.
“We took care of it.” He waved his hand dismissively. “She wasn’t worth the money anyway, even before the scar.”
“I have to get to work,” I told him, gritting my teeth.
“Of course you do, you have a company to run,” he said with a grin. “And hey, I might drop by yours when you’re working. I want to see this new toy of yours. Evangeline… Beautiful name. I wonder what her pussy is like.”
I had him up by his collar in seconds, practically raising him off his feet. His face reddened and he coughed helplessly. I should’ve felt like a fucking dick for hurting a sick man, but I couldn’t help myself, and he damn well deserved it.
“I will kill you if you touch her,” I snarled at him. “I swear, Dad. You won’t have to wait a few months to fucking die, because I’ll take care of it for you.”
He stared at me, and started to laugh weakly.
“You’re just like me, son,” he smiled through my grip. “Just like your old dad.”
I let him go and watched him fall to the floor.
“I am not,” I told him pointedly. “Don’t fucking insult me.”
I walked away, hearing his cackle echo in my ears all the way down to the lobby.
Ten
Evangeline
I didn’t see Carter for the whole day, and being left alone made me feel kind of empty.
When I woke up the next morning, my cage was unlocked, the door open. I crawled out on my knees and for once, decided I wouldn’t have my breakfast in the room. I was too anxious, almost desperate to see him. But I was bound to be disappointed, because when I walked downstairs that morning, there was no one in sight except for the pretty, scarred maid.
I smiled at her shyly and she gave me a long look before silently showing me to the dining room. If she was surprised by my sudden appearance, she didn’t show it one bit, and I didn’t mention it either. Instead, I just followed her into the dining room where she sat me down at a big table and brought out some food for me.
There was so much I could have my fill and then some. Eggs, avocado on rye bread, oatmeal with a big dollop of cream and maple syrup on top, and so much fresh fruit I didn’t know where to start. My eyes glowed as I tucked into the feast. I ate my fill, and it felt good. For once, I wasn’t watching what I was eating, wasn’t obsessing about whether Carter would like my bones or my curves. It felt amazing to let go of those worries.
I watched the maid closely as she brought out my food, and I tried to make eye contact, but she evaded my gaze every time. I wasn’t sure whether she was under the strict instruction not to speak to me, or if she just didn’t want anything to do with a girl like me. She didn’t say a word, though, and neither did I. I felt childishly offended that she hadn’t paid any attention to me. I would’ve asked Carter about her, but I was too scared. She seemed like a permanent fixture in the house, and I had no idea what I was. Yet.
After I’d eaten, I went back to my room. It felt lonely without him, and I felt a pang of guilt when I remembered my true purpose in the house. I was here to get revenge, plain and simple, and it should’ve been the only thing on my mind.
I busied myself with some books, and after a while, my mind felt so numb I couldn’t read another word. It wasn’t quite time for lunch yet, and I set my book aside with an exasperated sigh.
He really couldn’t have expected me to do nothing all day. This was so boring, I was losing my mind. Carter hadn’t told me whether I was free to go outside, and I didn’t want to test his patience. I needed him smitten with me.
I wandered out of my quarters and down the hallway. The house was deserted – not a servant or maid in sight, not even the pretty scarred girl.
I kept walking down the hallway, pressing on doors gently and peeking behind them. The rooms here were mostly guestrooms, or loungerooms. I came across a huge library that I didn’t dare step into, but I decided I’d ask his permission to explore its shelves. I kept walking, seeing more bedrooms, more nondescript rooms.
And then finally, I found a room I couldn’t stay out of.
As soon as the door opened, I could tell it was his study, decked out in expensive, smooth mahogany and rich, buttery fabrics . It was very masculine and traditional with a hint of modern, and not even the appearance of that maid could keep me out of the room. I needed to go inside. I needed to see.
I’d spent most of my teenage years digging up dirt on Carter Knight . I knew mostly everything about his company and how it was run. His father still owned it, but it was really Carter who did all the work – his father just pulled the invisible strings behind the curtains, and made all the big, important decisions, leaving Carter to the hard work.
Still, Carter was the one I blamed for everything that had happened.
He was the one who messed up, and he was the one who would have to pay.
I sat down on his chair and felt the smooth cream leather, and I wondered if I was going to get caught. I almost didn’t care. I wanted to find out more. I wanted to know more about him, the man who I was supposed to hate more than everything else, and who had somehow managed to get under my skin.
I fooled myself into thinking I wanted the information so I could hurt him more, but some part of me knew I was genuinely curious as to what made Carter Knight tick.
Opening the first drawer of his desk, I pulled out some files with shaky fingers, and I pored over the information.
And it was a fucking mess.
The Knight empire, which had been a family owned business for the past two centuries, was practically on its knees.
I’d taught myself to read business reports when I was researching my own family’s past, and I knew exactly what I was looking at in those files.
A crumbling empire.
Carter was trying to fix mistakes desperately, but his actions were being overridden by his father’s, often foolish, business decisions. Reckless, not well-thought-out choices that made the empire lose as much wealth as it had
been worth only a decade ago, before Carter took the reins. And now it seemed as if it was all his fault, and only someone with access to the files in my hands would be able to decipher that the fault lay solely on Carter’s father.
I didn’t know much about him, but I knew he was a ruthless man. And from what I was reading, it seemed he had lost his Midas touch, and suddenly, everything he touched turned to dust instead of gold.
I put the files away carefully once I was done with them, and closed the drawer. Instead of feeling more anger towards Carter, I felt something akin to pity, feeling sorry for the man who had ruined my life. It wasn’t part of the plan and I didn’t fucking like it.
I wanted to hate him.
I needed to hate him.
When I was leaving the room, I didn’t notice the maid, Carolina, coming towards me. I shrieked when we bumped into each other, and she dropped the stack of towels she was carrying.
“Watch where you’re going!” I said exasperatedly, and she gave me a long look, once again not saying a thing. She looked over my shoulder though, right into Carter’s study, and it made me blush deeply.
She didn’t say a word as she picked up those towels, and I didn’t say anything either. I practically ran back to my room.
Back in my room, I found myself sleepy as I thumbed the pages of another paperback. I was starting to doze off, and I didn’t even have time to worry about the dreams I’d been having lately before the nightmares pulled me under again.
The little girl missed her daddy.
He was never around anymore, and she was getting used to spending most of her time with her mom. But it didn’t mean she didn’t miss her daddy dearly, and every time he finally came home, exhausted and with his face etched with worry, she’d run up to him and hug him tightly. She couldn’t reach past his waist, but she loved that he always hugged her back. Sometimes he even picked her up and she shrieked with pleasure when he threw her in the air.
But not that day.
That day, her daddy came home with a weary expression on his face.
Vengeance: A Dark Billionaire Romance (Empire Sin) Page 7
