"They're just about the best pop group that ever existed. Such a pity they broke up."
He looks genuinely saddened by this.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there will be other future bands you love just as much. Maybe Brian could be front man—or shall I say woman—in the next one."
We start laughing as Brian places a hand on his heart. "Oh, darling, that would be a dream come true." When the laughter ends, Brian takes my hand. "Tell me, what is a stunning lady like you doing at the bar all by herself?"
I glance over to see if I can spy Owen or my mom anywhere, but they're nowhere in sight. "I came with my mom and stepfather, but I can't see them. They must be mingling amongst the crowds."
"Who are your parents?"
"Well, it's really my stepfather. Owen Montgomery, CEO of Montgomery Cars."
Brian frowns slightly, like he's trying to think. "Oh, was he the one who donated a James Bond style Jaguar to some charity event a few months back?"
"The one and only."
"He's obviously very generous, and I also hear…handsome." Brian winks again.
"Yes, that he is," I laugh.
Brian glances over my dress. "Absolutely beautiful. Do you mind giving me a twirl?"
Amused by the whole thing, I agree, and I'm surprised when both Brian and Frankie spin me around, still holding my hand afterward. They're very tactile people.
I'm so busy laughing, I don't hear my name being called. It's only when both Brian and Frankie look behind me that I turn my head and find a very pissed Owen.
"Can I have a word with you please?" he asks, through gritted teeth.
"Sure," I respond, not understanding why he seems so mad. I focus my attention back to the men. "It was lovely meeting you."
They take my hand, giving it a little squeeze. "It was lovely meeting you too. Don't be a stranger now."
When I step away, Owen turns to leave, and I blow a kiss behind me as I begin following Owen to wherever he's about to take me. Two minutes later, I'm being pulled into a dimly-lit, empty conference room.
"What the fuck was that?" Owen snaps the moment the door's shut.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Come on, Savannah, they were both pouring all over you. What were they hoping to get, a Savannah fucking sandwich later?" I can't help the burst of laughter that escapes me at the thought. "What's so fucking funny?"
"You getting angry at something that's completely unnecessary."
"Unnecessary is you flirting with two men in full view of the fucking ball. Are you trying to embarrass me?"
Jesus, he's wound up tight. I don't know what's gotten into him. My hand flies up in the air, halting him before he says something he may regret. "Those guys are a couple. The one on the left was admiring my shoes because he's a drag queen over at a club in Hell's Kitchen. They both thought I looked stunning in my dress and wanted a twirl. That's all it was. Plain and simple."
Owen, looking at ease, but still slightly stressed, wipes his brow. "It didn't fucking look like that from where I was standing."
Realization dawns. "Were you jealous?"
My heart rate picks up at the prospect. It would make perfect sense considering his reaction to what I’m assuming he thinks he saw.
His head snaps up, his green eyes looking dark and dangerous. "Of course I wasn't. You just fucking embarrassed me."
"Owen, it's okay to feel…"
"I don't fucking feel anything, okay? Now, grab your shit. I'm getting your mother and we're going home." He leaves, and when the door slams behind him, I jump.
Shit, what’s wrong with him? It seemed my teasing hit a nerve. He can protest all he wants, but the fire and fury in his eyes at the thought of two men wanting me was definitely present. Until now, I had only seen that one emotion. It seemed that was all he was capable of.
Sucking in a deep breath, I make my way to the cloak room to get my coat. With the heat inside, I decide not to place it on my shoulders and instead carry it with me to the exit. There, I find Owen, but not my mother.
"Where's Mom?"
Yanking down his shirt sleeves, he turns to me, his snarl still present. "She's decided to stay for a few more hours. She's been drinking, so I doubt we'll see her ’til morning."
He takes the steps down, not even bothering to look if I'm following. The journey home is quiet, the tension thick and palpable. Owen's still pissed, but considering I've explained what happened back there, I can't see what his problem is. I want to ask him, but I sense now is not the time. Instead, I turn my head and stare out the window for the remainder of the drive.
It's only when we walk through the door, Frank taking our coats and me starting to walk up the stairs, a whisper of his voice freezes me.
"I was jealous."
My foot stops mid-step. My heart accelerates, and so does the pulse between my legs. Gripping the banister, I turn my body to find Owen in the hallway, staring down at his feet. When he senses I'm staring, he looks up.
"I got jealous and I don't know why. It's a foreign emotion to me, and I'm finding it hard to deal with."
Was that's an apology? I’m unsure, but I'll certainly take it. At least he's opening up—however small it may be.
"You're peeling away layers of me, Savannah," he whispers, causing a hitch in my breath. "Layers that reveal a monster within me I never knew existed."
When he turns, opening his door to the office and shutting it behind him, I'm left completely bewildered, completely turned on, and completely spellbound.
I've known from the start he's capable of passion, and now I've seen he's more than capable of jealousy, but the one question I'm asking in my head more than anything is: will he ever be capable of…love?
I’ll Keep Holding On
Simply Red
Present
There's a tight ache in my head. My mouth feels dry and my throat is burning so much, it’s like someone's poured acid down my throat. Nausea erupts in my stomach, but I'm way too groggy to even contemplate being sick.
I groan out loud, and within an instant, a hand covers mine. "Savannah? Thank fuck, you scared the shit out of me."
Owen? What's he doing here? Where is here?
It all starts coming back to me.
My mom. Ethan. Their plan B. Ethan's disgusting hands all over me, trying to defile me as I lay completely helpless and alone.
My eyes snap open, my breath coming out of me in short, sharp bursts. My eyes take in the room, trying to see if Ethan is here.
"It's okay, Savannah. You're safe. It's me, baby. It's only me."
At the sound of his voice, I relent, relaxing in his arms. "What happened?"
I don't know if I really want to know, but I have to. I need to know if he did what he was going to do.
"I got there before he…" He stops, like the thought of saying it burns a hole in his throat. His body turns rigid, then he pulls away, catching my face in his hands. "When I saw him on top of you like that and what he was about to do, I lost it. I almost killed him, Savannah. If it wasn't for Frank, Ethan would be dead. And do you know what? I wouldn't have fucking cared."
A sob rips through me, but Owen is there to wipe away my tears. "I'm so fucking sorry, Savannah. I should have been here to protect you."
"But you were," I protest.
Gripping his eyes shut, he shakes his head. "I know what kind of person he is, and I left you, unprotected. I will never forgive myself."
Frowning in confusion, I take his hand. "What do you mean?"
The pain etched in his face changes so quickly, it almost makes me catch a breath. His eyes have turned almost black.
"You don't deserve me," he simply says, shocking me. "You don't deserve any of this."
Trying to shake his hand to look at me, I reply, "Owen, you're not making any sense. This wasn't your doing. It was my mom and Ethan."
His head snaps to me then, his eyes wide. "What do you mean your mom?"
In that moment, thinking back to Eth
an makes me feel ashamed. I should have known what kind of person he is. I should have sensed…something.
"They had a plan to try to get rid of me. Mom knows about us, and she wanted me gone. Ethan was trying to get me to fall in love with him so I would follow him to California. When that didn't work, they hatched a plan to fake my kidnapping, but even if they got the money from you, they would have made me disappear."
"Son of a fucking bitch, I'm going to kill her!" Owen jumps off the bed, his body rigid with anger, his face flushed with rage.
"Owen, calm down. Let the police handle this."
Looking panicked, he sits by the side of my bed, taking my hand. "No, we can't involve the police. She needs to disappear—permanently."
Confusion fills me. "Wouldn't getting her arrested for attempted kidnapping suffice?"
He shakes his head. "Do you really think she’ll admit to it? Do you have any proof?"
Feeling a punch to my stomach, I shake my head. "What are we going to do?"
Owen squeezes my hand in his, looking tired but determined. "Ethan has been taken care of. He's in custody for attempted rape…as well as something else. Your mom needs some careful planning. I know a guy who can make people disappear. Don't worry, Savannah. I will make her pay. I will make them both pay. In the meantime, tell the police everything that happened to you with Ethan."
Shaking my head, tears pool in my eyes. "There's got to be another way. I can't…" It's then I remember what he said. "What do you mean attempted rape and something else?"
Owen glances down on the bed like he's ashamed. He's about to answer when there's a knock at the door and two police officers—one male, one female—walk in.
"Savannah Williams, how are you feeling?" the female officer asks, standing beside my bed.
"Tired, sick, and sore. I've been better…"
She offers a sympathetic smile. "Are you up to answering some questions?"
I nod, and she proceeds to ask me everything I know. I tell her all I remember, minus the bit about my mom. I have no clue why we're protecting her, but I guess Owen's right. We have no proof, other than my say so.
After all is said and done, Owen sits beside me, almost shaking with rage. I can understand his anger, but for some reason, he blames himself for this.
"We have another woman who’s come forward—a woman who was given the same date rape drug as you some five years ago."
Realization dawns on me. I snap my head to Owen, but he's not looking at me now. Instead, he keeps his eyes to the floor.
This is what he meant. Owen knew all along and never told me. Why?
"Why didn't she come forward sooner with this?"
The female officer glances toward Owen. "We believe it has something to do with the fact that the girl comes from a poorer background and didn't think it would go anywhere in court. The girl, who was barely seventeen at the time, felt she couldn't go through with possible ridicule at school."
Clutching my chest, my heart almost explodes. I assume this is the thing Owen knew and did nothing about.
"That poor girl," I reply, my frown deepening with sorrow. What makes her less than me? Why didn’t she receive the justice she deserved five years ago?
"We have her testimony, and now yours and Mr. Montgomery's. We also have your blood sample, which tested positive for Flunitrazepam. We'll be in touch as soon as we know more going forward."
All I do is nod and say thanks. I wait until they leave, then turn to Owen. "You knew and did nothing!"
Fear and anxiety swim in his eyes as he fixes them on mine. "It wasn't like that. I wanted him put away, but the girl’s parents knew I had money and could get him an expensive lawyer."
"Oh my God, this just gets worse."
"Listen, if I had the proof he did this, do you not think I wouldn't have made sure he served time for it? The girl never went to the police afterward. She never had the evidence we now have. It would have been her word against his, and she knew it. I wished she had fucking gone to the police the night he raped her, then what happened with you would have never taken place." I grip my eyes shut, not knowing if I want to hear anymore, but a dip in my bed has them open again to find Owen staring at me. "That's why I told him to leave, to set up something on his own and never come back. You really think I would abandon my own son over a bullying incident?"
My anger rising, I shout, "You never told me!"
"Because I felt ashamed!" he shouts back, his face morphing with anguish. Tears start to pool in his eyes, and all my anger disappears.
"I figured if I sent him to the other side of the States and had someone watch over him, if he tried any of that shit again, at least we could stop it this time."
Shock reverberates through me. "You had someone watch him for five years?"
His jaw ticks slightly. "Yes, and although I was told he was with a number of girls over the years, he never tried that shit on them. What I'm pissed at is the fact that I was never told he was coming to see me over Christmas. If I had known, I would have stopped that shit right then and there."
Something dawns on me. "I bet it was my mom who asked him to come."
His eyes widen in realization. "I think you might be right." He sighs heavily, shaking his head. "My life has been nothing but a shitshow since your mom came into it. And now I've gotten you involved. You don't deserve any of this. Not one fucking bit. You should have had a mom who took care of you, instead of the hand you were dealt."
The anger he obviously has makes me warm inside. I reach out, grabbing his face and gently pulling him to look at me. "I got to meet you."
Owen smiles, but like a sudden switch in his head, he gets up from my bed. "Don't think this changes anything, Savannah. It doesn't."
If I thought I had been gut-punched enough, I was wrong. Hearing him say this hurts more than anything I've been through.
"I just thought…"
"Well, you thought wrong." His cutting words slice through me like a sharp blade. I suck in a breath, determined not to let him see my tears. I could have sworn he was softening to us…after everything that's happened, he and I could…shit, I don't even fucking know anymore. It seems as long as my mom's around, we will never be together. But, even worse, I don't even know if that’s true.
"I'm going to get the doctor and ask him if I can take you home."
He starts to walk out, but I stop him. "I'm not going back there."
With his back to me, his shoulders slump. "I know. That's why I've asked Brandon to pack you a bag and take it to the lake house."
Without looking back, he walks out…along with my heart.
Blackmail
Robert Palmer
Two months earlier
My mind, body, and heart have been reeling since Owen's confession three nights ago. I try hard not to fall deeper for him—a battle I lose little by little every day. We're only supposed to be a fun fling, and it has been. I've enjoyed every second of his hands on mine, his body pressed against my own, but I seem to be enjoying it a little too much. His possessiveness has started to kick in. Every time he fucks me, he claims I’m his, and every time he does, my body robs me of sight from the most explosive climax. His words tend to say one thing to me, but then his actions tell me something completely different. It's no wonder I'm so fucking confused.
"Will you stop badgering me? You're giving me a headache."
My mom's words halt me from my journey to the kitchen from my room. Owen and I have just gotten home from work and I'm famished.
"I don't care that you go around fucking other guys, but can you do it more discreetly? Kane said he saw you with your hands all over your personal trainer. You're making me look like a fool."
Knowing I should go, but also not being able to, I sneak up to the living room door and hide next to it so I can listen.
"Anyone would say you're jealous."
He scoffs like it’s the most preposterous thought. "Oh, please."
"Why not? We are married after all."
"Yes, under duress, I might fucking add. I may have agreed to this shambles of a marriage, but what I can't abide by is my wife openly sleeping with every fucking man with a pulse. Use a bit of discretion."
My heart starts thumping at the knowledge Owen got married to my mother under duress. By what, though? How did she pull it off?
"You know, I wouldn’t have to if I got it at home."
A wave of nausea hits my empty stomach. I had never put too much thought into what Owen and my mother did behind closed doors. I knew it would drive me crazy if I did.
"Please, woman. I can't stand to look at you, let alone fuck you."
I let out a relieved sigh at this gem of information.
"Who says you have to look at me when you fuck me?"
"Fucking hell, Sarah, are you even listening to yourself? All I'm asking is you be discreet in your affairs. You get this lavish lifestyle and a paycheck for doing fuck all, what more do you want?"
"Your cock. One night. One night is all I ask."
My heart rate accelerates again. I don't want to hear anymore, but my feet are cemented to the ground.
"You're absolutely delusional.” Footsteps have me almost scurrying away when my mom's voice stops me in my tracks.
"You know I can make things very difficult for you, don't you, Owen?"
Her words, ice-cold, send shivers down my spine. I stand there, body rigid at the wall by the door, waiting for Owen's response.
"Get to the fucking point, Sarah."
She slightly chuckles before speaking. "I'll tell Christian Locke you've been fucking his wife."
I catch the gasp that almost leaves me. Knowing he's married to my mother is one thing, but sleeping with other women while he's with me is something else entirely. I at least thought I was the only one.
"That was before I had even met you…"
"And you think I care about that little detail? Christian was still married to his wife when you decided to stick your dick in her. How do you think he's going to feel knowing you've been sucking up to him for business while cozying up to his wife for pleasure? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Christian Locke doesn't look the type to let that one slide, does he? I believe he's an amateur boxer and martial arts expert in his free time."
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