SLADE: Captive to the Dark

by Alaska Angelini

  “Hmm.” Jordan followed me in. Relief had my body going limp. My legs were shaking so badly, I could hardly walk.

  The restroom was off to the side and I didn’t wait. I walked in quickly, locking the door behind me. The reflection showed a woman with eyes the size of a deer’s looking at an oncoming car. Curls hung past my shoulder where they’d come loose from the pins. I was in complete disarray and there was no way Jordan didn’t know something had happened. Tears came to my eyes. Would this postpone me having my freedom? There was only one way to find out. I had to face Jordan.

  Chapter 19

  Slade

  The engine to my Aston Martin revved as I hauled ass back to the penthouse. A smile was permanently etched to my face. She still fucking wanted me. At least sexually. Hey, it was a start. And the kiss. It spoke volumes. My Mary. Mine. I’d get her back. And it wouldn’t take me kidnapping her again to accomplish that. No, she’d come to me on her own.

  Music blasted around me and I couldn’t stop the happiness I felt for the first time since she’d left. The way my slave looked at me as she’d helped Jordan to the car repeated in my head. Desire. Fear. Shock. All of it had played out on her face.

  Truthfully, the last thing I had expected was for her to come back to the car. The only reason I had been there was so I could smell her perfume. Maybe see if I could find something that would be useful. Which I did. But her rushing back out had given me mixed signals. Was she fleeing? No. I quickly realized that wasn’t it. Then she got in and I knew I had to have her while the opportunity presented itself. Fucking perfection in the moment. There were so many things I had wanted to do to her.

  I took out her panties and held them up. Her smell had my mouth watering. My slave was the one for me. No doubt. Mary was the darkness to my monster. The blood to my blade. Fuck, I should have tasted her substance while I was there. My teeth could have sunk through her flesh so easily, but the last thing I wanted was her getting in trouble with a closet cutter. Fuck no. No one was going scar that skin but me.

  The traffic slowed as I neared my penthouse. I stuffed the panties back into my pocket and fought traffic until I was pulling into the underground garage. The ride up the elevator was a blur. Marcio stood as I stepped out into the entry way before my door.

  “Mr. Roberts.” His eyes narrowed while he studied me. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing anything. I strode through the door and paused as I saw Lily in the kitchen.

  “Hey, Brother. I was just making some popcorn. You want some?”

  The fact that she was easing back into routine had me coming to her side. “Sure. I’ll eat some with you. We watching a movie? What’s the plan?”

  She smiled and shrugged. “If you want. I know you, though. You hate television.”

  “Hey, I’m down. Let me just change real quick.”

  I walked into my room, shutting the door. Again, I took the panties out. “Mary. Mary.” A laugh came from my mouth as I stuffed them under my pillow. “Soon, you’ll be mine. It’s going to be hard for you to resist me if I’m always around. And you can bank on that.”

  The fact that I was talking to myself was a clear indication that the Scotch still had me loose. Not that I’d drank any in the last few hours. The dark suit fell to the ground and I kicked it out of the way, settling for a pair of dark blue silk pajama bottoms and a white V-neck T-shirt. Blue just like the color of Mary’s dress.

  Lily was sitting on the couch clicking through the flat screen by the time I walked back in. Lazily, I collapsed next to her, propping my legs up on the coffee table. The popcorn was still warm as I reached in and took a handful.

  “So, talk to me. How have you been today?”

  She shrugged. “Good. I’ve been reading a lot.”

  “Ah, from the device thing.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, it’s called a Kindle. You bought it for me for Christmas last year. I’m not surprised you don’t remember. Anyway, I can order books at the click of a button. It’s pretty cool.”

  “I remember buying it, I just wasn’t sure how it worked. Now, I do.”

  The way she looked at me had me sitting up taller. I knew that look.

  “You should try it sometime. Reading, that is. It’ll do you good.”

  Read. I’d done plenty of that over the years. Mainly business books, hardcovers on finance, but never really for pleasure. “Maybe I will. What do you suggest? Anything in particular?”

  “Oh. You wouldn’t want to read what I do. Just get yourself a Kindle and browse. See what catches your eye.”

  If it would make my sister happy, I’d try it. “Fine. I will.” My head turned toward the door. “Marcio!” The door opened and he peeked in. “Have me a Kindle ordered. Lily thinks I should read.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  I turned to her, lifting one of my eyebrows. “See? Already done. Now, what are we watching?”

  “Law and Order. SVU, I believe.”

  Shit, I didn’t see this ending well. Not when I knew one of the crimes might possibly trigger some sort of flash back. “Give me that.” I pulled the remote from her. “There has to be something better on. Ah.” I smiled and looked at her. “Food. This is always good to stare at. We’ll be drooling before no time and then we can order out and have them bring us a feast. How does that sound?”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Good, of course.” The smile faded and she leaned in, hooking her finger on the top of the V of my shirt and pulling down. A gasp exploded and I could have cursed myself. By this rate, Mary was going to be the last person to see her name on me. “What have you done?” Her stare rose up to meet mine, the horror taking over her features just like they did with Chris. I pulled my shirt up and leaned back.

  “You don’t worry about me or what I do. Now, watch the TV and let’s find us some food.”

  Silence settled around us and I knew the mood was ruined. A groan left my mouth and I turned to look at her. “I had to. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “I may not understand, but I know you love her. You say her name in your sleep. I’ve heard you when I walk the house at night. Love makes people do crazy things, at least that’s the saying. I’m chalking it up to that and all the booze you drink. Speaking of which, you’ll find there’s no more in the house. I...got rid of it all.”

  “What.” I flew forward. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

  Lily shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been worried about you. The drinking is getting out of hand. It scares me.”

  My eyes closed as I lowered my head and leaned forward, resting my forearms against my thighs. “Why didn’t you just talk to me about it? Do you know how many thousands of dollars you just got rid of?”

  “No. But I know one thing. My brother’s not going to die from alcohol poisoning tonight. That makes me feel better.”

  Shit. I hated that she was that worried about me. She was the one a mess and here I was, putting more stress on her. “You still should have talked to me about it.” On instinct, I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. It’d become habit after all the times I’d screwed up. Still, I hadn’t learned. “No more drinking myself under the table. I’ll agree to that, but I’m getting more Scotch and if you get rid of it, I’m not going to be happy.”

  “Fine.”

  We both leaned back and focused on the show. Before I knew it, we were ordering and eating Italian. Laughing filled the room and I watched Lily. The old her was making an appearance, but I knew when the middle of the night came, she’d be back to the broken slave she’d been when I got her home. Still, the nightmares plagued her and I was helpless to get them to stop. There were so many questions I wanted to ask. I’d tried at the beginning, but she’d completely shut down. The therapist was quick to pull me aside after Lily’s last session to tell me to ease off. My sister would talk about it, if, and when, she was ready. For me, that wasn’t fast enough. If only I could help her. She was so skinny. So closed off half the time. Everything scared her and the o
nly time she left the house was to go to her appointments. I hoped she would be able to get past this.

  As we parted ways and I walked into the room, I let Mary take me over. How was she faring after our fast fuck? Was she able to hide our encounter from Jordan? I’d watched him stare at the car as he met her at the door. Did he know? The question ate at me. Although deep down I wished he did, the rational part feared for my slave. The thought that he’d hurt her made me sick. My animal went crazy at the possibility. It screamed for me to go get her, to bring her home and ravage her viciously for leaving in the first place. Not that I could blame her. I knew she’d panicked when I made the order for her things to be packed. My intentions had been everything she was afraid of. My sister might not have even been home had I made that rash decision and hid Mary so she couldn’t leave.

  The sound of my cell phone ringing filled the room. I walked over to the nightstand and picked it up. Blocked. A frown came to my face. Who the fuck had my number that would be calling unidentified? I hit the button, bringing it to my ear. “Speak.”

  “I want them back.”

  Hesitation went through me and then a smile came to my face. I reached down to my suit jacket and pulled out the papers I’d taken from the floorboard where Jordan had been sitting. I wasn’t stupid, I knew who was on the phone. Just to cover Mary’s ass, I decided I’d better play like I was.

  “Who is this?”

  “You know who this is. I want them back, Slade. I know you’re the one who took my papers. You saw Mary too, didn’t you?”

  I bit my lip, feeling her pussy around me all over again. “Jordan? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you got the wrong person. I’ve been too busy taking care of my sister to be out doing anything.” My eyes narrowed from anger. “Do you know how fucked up she is? I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since she’s been here. She wakes up screaming from her rapists. But you wouldn’t give a shit about that, would you?”

  Silence lasted for a few seconds. “I had nothing to do with that. I give you my word. Now stop these games and just give me the papers back.”

  Crinkling filled the room as I opened them up. As the content became clear, I felt my eyes go wide. Oh…fuck no. My conscious became a massive battle over right or wrong. If I said anything, Mary was screwed. Jordan might seriously hurt her. But if I didn’t call him out on this, I was just as guilty to let it go through.

  “Why don’t you tell me about these papers? Maybe I can help.” What the hell was I saying? Help Jordan Brighton? Maybe I had lost my mind.

  Annoyance filled my ear. “I don’t need your help. I need those fucking papers back. Now. You have them, I know you do. If you don’t return them by tomorrow morning, so help me, I’ll kill you before they kill me or Mary.”

  All the air in my chest locked up. “What the hell are you talking about, Jordan? Are you telling me they’re threatening to kill both of you from what’s on those papers?”

  A sigh left him and frustration laced his words. “I’ve said enough. Please, I need them back by tomorrow. Tonight, preferably. Just tell me where to meet you. I’ll bring money.”

  This was bad. Very fucking bad. What in the hell had Mary gotten herself into? “Jordan, do you need my help? I’m serious. All bullshitting aside. I can hear you’re in trouble. You have Mary. Think about what’s best for her. The last thing I want is for her getting hurt. I know you don’t want that either. Think rationally here. Don’t let your pride get in the way of keeping her safe.”

  “Do you have the papers, or not?”

  Shit. This was a lose-lose situation whether I told him the truth or not. “If I said yes, will you let me try to help?”

  Jordan laughed. “Let me guess, you’re going to propose you keep Mary so she’s protected. Is that it?”

  My eyebrows rose. “Well, truthfully I hadn’t gotten that far into thinking about it, but it sounds good to me.”

  “Fuck you. I’m not giving Mary back.”

  “I didn’t think you would. What I was actually going to say is that you should come here, get together with me and my men, we’ll come up with a plan together. We can do this, Jordan. I can help you take down your father and Victor, if that’s the problem.” I took a deep breath. “I have more than enough evidence to do it. You’ll never be under their control again. You just say the word and it’s done.”

  He was silent for so long I had to look down at my phone to make sure he hadn’t hung up. “Fuck the papers. Keep them. I’ll get another copy. And just so you know, your little theft and touching of my slave just came with consequences. Stay the fuck away from her.”

  The phone went dead and I tossed it on the bed, clenching my jaw. What in the hell was he planning to do? He wouldn’t hurt Mary. I knew that, but what was the price? The papers didn’t have a date. Only a location and inventory. AR-15’s. Grenade launchers. I shook my head. Heroine. Cocaine. There was no way I could let Mary get around any of that stuff. Whether she knew or not was beyond me. I couldn’t imagine her going along with it, but if they were being threatened…maybe she had to.

  What the hell did I do? If I brought down Jordan and Mary’s father, I could possibly end up screwing us all in the eyes of the law. I needed expert advice. Marcio, Brace, and Terrance. My lead men. They’d know. At least I sure as shit hoped they did.

  Chapter 20

  Mary

  “Take them off.”

  Jordan’s voice may have been calm, but the rage behind his eyes had me hesitating. I’d said I would trust him by taking off my clothes, but I wasn’t so sure I could do it anymore. Not after Slade came back into my world, turning it upside down. My master. Fuck, I wanted him right now. To flee into his arms and have him promise that he would take care of me and make this disaster now known as my life disappear.

  My breath came out in deep, heavy pants. Jordan didn’t move from leaning against the wall. After we’d gotten in the car to leave the ER he went on a rampage, and I wasn’t sure why. I’d only been in my room for twenty minutes before he burst through in a flurry of destroying everything he could get his hands on. Only when my room was a complete mess, did he stop and look at me as calm as a saint and tell me to follow him. Stupidly, I did. Now, I was regretting not locking myself in some room and hiding. The fact was, I didn’t trust him concerning this.

  “I’m not going to tell you again, Mary. Take them off.”

  Shakily, my hand reached to the back of the dress and I tugged at the zipper a little. The trembling was so bad that the metal slid through my fingers. The basement was almost an exact replica of Slade’s playroom back in Washington. Everything from the cross to a spanking bench littered the room, but I felt nothing for it besides panic. “I…can’t do this.” I took a step back and watched Jordan push off the wall.

  With a grace I couldn’t understand, he strode forward. He was calm. Too fucking calm. I knew that was the most dangerous kind. What he held inside wouldn’t bring me pleasure. Not when I didn’t want him.

  “Come here.” His hands were deep in his pockets. The same ones that were covered with his blood. He’d yet to change. Something about that scared me even more.

  “I want to go back to my room. I made a mistake.”

  The side of his mouth lifted. “Yes. You made a huge fucking mistake tonight. How was it, Mary? Did he fuck you good? In my god damn car!”

  Jordan was on me before I even processed him moving. Pain exploded in my scalp as he slammed me to the ground and wrapped his hand around my throat. My dress was ripped from my body with violent pulls, sending sapphire shreds flying through the air. For the first time, this was different. He wanted to hurt me, I knew that. Possibly even kill me.

  My nails tore at his hands as I fought. Even my legs went wild while I tried to break free. The pressure increased as he brought his injured hand to join in on my throat. Air was impossible to get and I was sure my windpipe was on the verge crushing. Tears streamed down the sides of my face at the fire and pressure taking
over the top half of my body.

  “I bet you even gave him the fucking papers, didn’t you? You couldn’t just let go, could you? I would have given you fucking everything!” His yell echoed in the far distance while I felt myself slipping away. No, I didn’t want to die this way. With my last ounce of strength, I continued to swing my fists toward him. They were beginning to weigh so much. I was weak and I couldn’t stand it.

  Air tunneled through as he jumped up and pulled me to stand. I immediately sagged in his hold. Coughing burned my lungs and I couldn’t stop. The instant gagging made the tears fall even worse. Restraints locked around my wrist and I snapped back to reality. There was no way I could let this continue.

  “You have to stop,” I screamed. Nothing came out but a faint whisper. The blurriness in my eyes wouldn’t fade no matter how many times I blinked.

  The back of Jordan’s hand stung my face and I felt my eyes go wide. No one had ever physically hit me aside from Brace when Slade took me. It was only that much more of a sign that Jordan was going to go too far. He was physically making me pay for my interlude with Slade. How did he know? Not once on the way home or while we were in the hospital did he seem mad or act like he even had a clue.

  “I’m about to free you of your sins, Mary. This is what you need. Afterward, you’ll think twice about ever talking to that motherfucker again. You’re mine now. Mine!”

  “Please.” I sobbed, silently. It physically hurt to even swallow. Words were like blades tearing me to shreds.

  “No use begging, slave.” He laughed. “Slade called you slave. That’s my word now. I’ve tainted it for you, Mary. What do you think about that?”

  The restraint buckled on my other wrist and I looked up at the big X I was on. The cross once held so many good memories for me. Now, it was a nightmare. “Fuck you, Jordan. I’ll never be your slave. That’s a title one has to earn. You’ll never be deserving.” The last few words were mouthed, but I knew he understood them. Pain exploded on the other side of my face. Stars danced before me and my weight pulled at the sockets of my arms.