Entangled

by E. C. Land

  I called an Uber and left Kenyon a note by the coffee maker letting him know I had to get to the bookstore and didn’t want to wake him.

  After getting to the bookstore, I head to the coffee counter and start a pot of regular coffee. I’m no barista, but I can work a coffeemaker by pushing a button. Okay, so Zoe sets it for me when she knows I’m supposed to be in early.

  I can cook. I can bake. But I can’t make coffee. I’m the worst. It always comes out sludge-like or too watery.

  While drinking my coffee, I start unloading the inventory onto the counter. Zoe comes in soon after and starts preparing for the coffee run that always hits when we open. Zoe’s made it a science to make the best of the best.

  Before I can open the bookstore for the day, Kenyon comes storming in with his friend Marc behind him.

  From the expression on his face, I know he’s livid.

  “Hey,” I say quietly.

  “That’s all you have to fuckin’ say? Hey? What the fuck, Enya? You left the house without waking me, let alone knowing I want to take you,” he yells.

  “Ken, man, cool it,” Zoe says, coming to my defense.

  “I suggest you stay out of it,” Marc growls, narrowing his gaze on my friend.

  “Kenyon, I was only trying to be nice and let you rest. You’ve been stressed, and I didn’t think it was a big deal for me to come here on my own,” I mutter quietly, feeling ashamed to be doing this argument in front of others.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not wanting you to be fuckin’ nice and let me rest. I need to keep you safe, and I can’t do that if you’re sneaking off without me knowing it.” I stiffen when Kenyon’s anger seems to rise in him.

  We’ve bickered but never argued. Well, not since the first day after he confronted me for leaving the club the way I did months ago.

  “Kenyon, I’m capable of takin’ care of myself. I don’t need you to bring me to and from work every day. Not when you’re exhausted from being out late the night before,” I mutter with a huff and I cross my arms over my chest.

  “You weren’t takin’ care of yourself, Enya. You were surviving while giving your sister every last fuckin’ dime you had that didn’t go into this place,” he snarls, stepping even further into my space.

  Feeling as if he’d slapped me across the face, I lower my head. “I think you should leave,” I utter, trying to fight back the tears.

  “I don’t think so. Not until I know you get where I’m coming from,” he snaps.

  “Oh, I get where you’re coming from and I think you need to leave. I don’t need to be talked to like I’m insufficient to think for myself. Or that I’m nothing. I lived through years of hell, and I’ve told you this, but I’m not going to be treated that way anymore. Going from the hell of a Supreme Masters’s hold to another is not something I want to do,” I yell as my stepfather’s voice pops into my head.

  “What did you just say?” Kenyon demands in a tone that’s deathly eerie.

  Oh boy.

  Marc utters something about Supreme Masters to Kenyon, and his face grows redder.

  Oh no.

  “You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me,” Kenyon growls, narrowing his gaze on me before turning to the door. He stops long enough to look back at me for a split second. “You leave this store without a man on you, I’ll tan your fuckin’ ass. I’m not playing with you either.”

  With that, he storms out of the bookstore.

  “I suggest you listen to him, Enya. He’s pissed but it’s not completely at you. Shit’s going down and he’s stressed. You fucked up by leaving without him knowing. Now I’ve gotta go make sure he’s good. I’ll have Ian on the bookstore today so if you go anywhere, have him take you,” Marc states and goes to follow Kenyon.

  Tears prick my eyes, but I suck in a breath to hold them at bay. I don’t have time for a meltdown right now. I need to come up with a plan and figure out a way to make things right with Kenyon. I knew things were stressing him out. Maybe I’d have understood better if I’d known what was bothering him.

  Now I’ve done screwed things up.

  I’ll wait until this evening and hopefully work things out. Even if I have to go to him at Sinner’s Cove.

  Chapter 14

  Kenyon

  After leaving the bookstore, I went about handling business for Dean. I had a ton of shit to deal with and the last thing I needed was to think of what she’d said.

  Supreme Masters.

  What the fuck does she know about them?

  Her stepfather is one of them we’d figured out after looking further into him, but I didn’t think she knew.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Waking up to her missing fucked with my head and pissed me off. I didn’t want to think of what could have happened to her. We’ve yet to find who shot Chance. He’s still recuperating from the gunshot wound and didn’t see who shot him.

  I finish up with what Dean asked me to do when it came to his business deal with Gregory. A Russian leader who he’s working with on getting a certain product brought in. Hell, the shit they’ve got going on is making a mint, and they split it straight down the middle between the two of them.

  Instead of going straight home to Ryland, I head to Sinner’s Cove. I need a drink and time to finish cooling off.

  I sit in a booth by myself off to the side, not wanting to be bothered by anyone. Marc sat in the seat across from me.

  “Enya’s still at the bookstore, according to Ian. Store’s closed and lights are on upstairs,” he informs me.

  Fuckin’ great. She intends to stay there the night. I don’t fuckin’ think so. Can’t fix shit if we’re not together.

  I went off on her and said some messed up shit, but fuck, I’d been pissed something could have happened to her. To make matters worse, I spoke with my seanathair and informed him that Kean is no longer breathing. I also told him about Enya. The fact she’s Doran O’Farrell’s daughter and he doesn’t know about her. He suggested that I inform O’Farrell right away, that he needs to know of this because he’d thought the child died.

  Everything seems to be getting far more complex than it should. I asked my seanathair if he’d handle it for me as I’ve already got my hands full with making sure nothing happens to her. He agreed and that was the end of the discussion. At least it was until my seanathair called to inform me yesterday to expect company in two days. Not only was he coming to visit, but so was Enya’s father.

  I need to tell her about this and intended to tell her this morning about it all.

  Nodding to Marc, I wave to the waitress signaling for her to bring me another drink.

  “You think it’s a good idea to get fucked up tonight?” Marc asks.

  “Not getting fucked up, you know I have a high tolerance for this alcohol. I need to wind down, come up with a game plan, and then I’ll go deal with it all,” I mutter, taking the tumbler from the waitress as she steps close to the table. “Thank you,” I mutter.

  The front doors to the club open, catching my attention. Sinner’s Cove starts getting busy around this time, and I’m not surprised to see it starting to fill. What catches my attention, though, is finding Enya coming my way dressed in a sexy as fuck skirt and a tight-fitted shirt that scoops down to give an ample amount of view to her tits. I eye the boots covering her feet and up past her knees. It takes everything in me not to stand from my seat and move to her.

  What is she doing here?

  Marc just said Ian reported she was still at the bookstore.

  Unless she decided to come here to talk to me.

  Fuck.

  Enya approaches the table and looks at me sweetly like she always does. “Can I talk to you?” she asks.

  I nod and stand from the booth. I down the rest of my drink, intending to take her home after we talk outside.

  I guide her out of the club and to the side somewhat to find out what’s going on. Enya looks up, seeming shy and biting her lip nervously.

  Enya steps into me and reaches
up on her toes while wrapping her arms around my neck. I’ve never known her to be this bold. She captures my lips with hers and thrust her tongue into my mouth.

  Immediately, I stiffen and shove her away, realizing this isn’t Enya. It’s Ensley.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I growl.

  “Oh, come on, Kenyon, you know you want me. I felt that hard cock of yours,” she says, purring like she’s some cat in heat.

  “Bitch, I don’t want fuck all from that cunt of yours. You’re nothing more than a bréagán,” I sneer, taking a step back from her.

  “What’s so different between Enya and me? We look just alike. Our bodies would feel all the same. Only I know how to fuck a man right while she doesn’t.” I grip Ensley’s wrists tight in one hand to keep her from touching me when she reaches out to run her hands up my chest.

  “The difference is I’m with Enya and fuckin’ love her. You are nothing but a look-alike of the real thing. Stay away from Enya and me. Next time you come near either of us, I’ll make you wish you didn’t.” Releasing her wrists, I give her a slight shove to get her away from me.

  Storming off back into the club, I run into Marc and Beau, a grim expression on both their faces.

  “Guess you know that wasn’t Enya who you went out there with,” Marc remarks.

  “Fuckin’ Ensley thought she’d try to make a play,” I growl, furious and wanting nothing more than to get the taste of the bréagán out of my mouth.

  “Whatever her play was, it worked,” Beau mutters.

  “What the hell do you mean?” I demand.

  “Enya, she saw it. I was in the security room and saw her get out of an Uber. She said something to the Uber driver and started through the parking lot. Enya saw you kissing a woman, didn’t see her sister’s face. She turned and ran right back to the car and left,” Beau states.

  Fuck. Fuck. Motherfuckin’ fuck.

  I’m going to kill Ensley for this shit.

  “I want Ensley found. I need to go after Enya.” I turn from them and storm back out of Sinner’s Cove, knowing that Ensley is already long gone from here.

  This shit is fucked, and I need to fix it. I only hope she’s willing to talk to me.

  Getting in my car, I head for her apartment first, hoping she’s there. I go inside and find it empty. Sighing, I get back in my car and head for my house, hoping she’s there. If not, I’ll search the whole damn town until I fuckin’ find her.

  I meant what I said to Ensley about loving her sister, and I won’t stop until I have her back.

  Chapter 15

  Enya

  I’m such a foolish idiot. Not just a foolish idiot but a stupid one.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  I let myself get into this mess and now I’m paying for it. How could I fall for a guy who could kiss other women? God, he’s probably doing more with them than just making out with them. I didn’t think I’d been that bad during sex for him to have to turn to someone else.

  Sex between the two of us has been amazing, or at least it has been for me.

  God, I spent all day thinking about his reaction this morning in the bookstore and wish I could take it back. It’s why when Lillian told me earlier he wasn’t home yet that I’d tried catching him at Sinner’s Cove. I knew he worked around tons of beautiful women who danced for the club. But I didn’t expect to catch him in a lip lock with someone.

  God knows my heart hurts right now. No, it’s shattered to pieces.

  After getting into the Uber, I’d asked to wait for me, I had them drive around for hours, knowing it would cost me a mint.

  Finally, he takes me back to the bookstore, and I pay the large amount that I owe him. I get out and start toward the stairs leading to my apartment. I barely make it up the first step when I feel a hand wrap around my waist, and a cloth is put over my nose.

  I scream in terror into the cloth until everything goes dark.

  A slap comes across my face waking me up.

  “Wake up, my sweet pet.” Fear consumes me at the sound of my stepfather’s voice.

  Opening my eyes, my heart begins to race as I find him standing in front of me with his shirt unbuttoned, still tucked into his slacks like he’s some type of model for a book cover. I mean, if it weren’t for the fact he’s tormented me for years he’d be an attractive man. Dark hair with silver peppering the sides, a goatee, and a fit muscled body. One I dread knowing because he’d forced himself on me.

  I panic even more so at realizing what I’m attached to. He’s stripped me of my clothes and placed me on the St. Andrew’s Cross.

  Oh, God.

  No. No. No.

  This can’t be happening.

  The last time he’d done this to me hits me like a bowling ball knocking over all its pins.

  “My sweet, sweet beautiful pet. Restrained for me to do as I please,” he says. It’s my eighteenth birthday, and I’d wanted to be able to leave today. Only I woke up this morning attached to a contraption I dreaded. He taunted me with it for a while and now here I am strapped down.

  Mom would have died if she knew her husband was doing this to me. Too bad she’s already in the grave.

  “Please let me go,” I pleaded, tears spilling down my cheeks.

  “Never, you are mine to do as I please. Or would you prefer I take Ensley,” he gloats.

  “No. Leave her be,” I cry, wanting him to leave my twin alone.

  “I will for now, but she’ll have something special later. Both of you will.” Cackling, he cups me between my legs. He then proceeds to treat me to his deranged touches, biting, licking, leaving no part of me untouched.

  I close my eyes and try to stop the thoughts of that day.

  “You look even more beautiful than you did the last time I had you, my pet,” he chuckles, drawing my attention to him.

  “Why are you doing this?” I cry.

  “I told you I’m never letting you go. That you’re mine. See, I’ve always known where you were. Did you think it was that easy to get away from me?” His cackles grate my ears. “Foolish to think so, pet.”

  “Then why?” I ask.

  “Because I’ve enjoyed watching you pay your sister everything you had while I enjoyed her body.” My stomach churns at his words. “I’ve taken her to my bed since the day I took you, but unlike you, my sweet pet, she’s not as fruitful. However, she loves the drugs I give her and the touch of the men who also enjoy her body,” he says, moving close enough I can feel his breath on my skin.

  Vomit threatens to come up and I’m more than ready to get out of here. If only Kenyon or someone else knew where I was.

  “Though it seems that man you’ve been laying with isn’t too keen on her and turned her away tonight when she attempted to draw him away from you as I told her to do. Though seeing you walk away from him hurt and devastated was a damn good feeling.” I swallow the bile back down and do my best to keep the tears at bay.

  How could my sister do something like this?

  Why?

  We’re twins. We’re supposed to want to protect each other.

  My tears spill down my cheeks before I can stop them, and I shake my head as my heart aches for all I know I’m about to endure at this man’s hands.

  “You’ve been a very naughty girl, my sweet pet. I think it’s time you were punished,” my stepfather announces, stepping away from me with a shit-eating grin on his face that tells me he’s up to something.

  Turning to a table I notice he has set up, I see him lift something into his hands. “This, my pet, is what we all call Heavenly Rose. I think you’ll find it quite enjoyable.” He comes closer and sticks the needle into the side of my neck.

  I cry out as he plunges whatever this Heavenly Rose contents are into my body.

  It burns and I wish I could tear at my skin to get it out of me.

  “Don’t worry, my sweet pet, the burn will pass, and soon you’ll be begging me to take you in any way I possibly can,” he chuckles and moves back to
his little table. He lifts something else, and I immediately know what it is. It’s the whip he used on me when I didn’t listen to him. “I’ve made some upgrades to your favorite toy and I look forward to hearing you scream.”

  Standing in front of me, he pulls the whip back, and I close my eyes, bracing for the impact.

  The first touch of the whip against my skin causes me to scream. It’s then I know what he means by upgrades as the tiny sharp needles attached to the tips break through my skin, drawing my blood.

  Oh, God.

  Please let someone come find me before it’s too late and I don’t get the chance to make things right with Kenyon. That is if I can.

  Chapter 16

  Kenyon

  Getting home, I wish I’d stayed at Enya’s and waited for her. I should have known I wouldn’t find her here.

  Fuck.

  Stepping into the house, I figure I’d check on Ryland and go back out to find her. Holding my son should help calm me down somewhat.

  “You know you’re an idiot, boss man,” Lillian quips, hands on her hips as she faces off with me.

  “Don’t start with me. I’m just looking in on my son then going to look for Enya,” I mutter and move to stare at my son, who’s napping in his playpen.

  “Good, because how you treated her this morning was not cool. Not one bit. She’s never been in a relationship and from what I heard from Zoe, you treated her like a dog. I held better standards for you, Kenyon, and you devastated one of my best friends,” Lillian chastises.

  “I get it. But it’s worse than that. She came to Sinner’s Cove and found me kissing her bitch of a sister. The cunt was acting like Enya and lured me outside. When she kissed me, I shoved her away from me. Not fast enough, though, considering my woman saw it happen and ran off,” I state, becoming far more pissed the longer I think on it all.

  “Then why are you here?” Lillian asks.