A Prior Engagement (28 page)

Tom was smart to leave her alone. He said she needed simmering down time. He didn’t know the half of it. He had no comprehension of the hate she held for him and scoffed that he thought time would set things right between them.

She cried—weak, a little drunk, and drugged for hours. He came into the room several times in the night to check on her and seemed worried that she might be worse off than first assessed. Delirium had set in and she laughed at him—maybe it was the relaxer making her laugh in the face of evil.

Finally passing out, she woke up once around three in the morning, seeing the skyscrapers out the windows and realizing where she was. She lifted her head, which felt heavy, her thoughts foggy, and looked at the door across the room. There was a sliver of light coming in at the bottom and she knew then she was indeed still at Tom’ place.

Everleigh approached the doors with fear coursing through her, making her hands shake, as she silently tiptoed across the room. She didn’t know why she was quiet other than the moment seemed to call for it. When she tried the door, she found it locked. Fear turned to anger as she shook the handle hard. Walking to the window, she stared into the bleakness of the dark for several minutes before climbing back into bed, hoping it would rest her chaotic mind. It didn’t, and she turned back to the nightstand and finished her water. She felt drowsy once again and fell asleep ten minutes later.

Chapter 23

Tom, just outside the bedroom door, had not found the same peace. As he looked at her phone in his hand, he heard her try the doorknob to no avail and was now at a crossroads with her. He didn’t know where either path would lead, and for the first time in their relationship, he felt like he might lose her. The feeling was very unsettling to his pride and his heart. He couldn’t let that happen. He slipped the SIM card out of her phone and hid the device in a console table drawer. He would need to replace it, and wiping out all the missed calls, the next day.

He unlocked the door and left for work early the next morning. On the way to work, he came to the outcome that would best serve his purpose—if she wasn’t going to give William up, then he needed to make
him
give up on
her
.

By ten in the morning, he received the information he needed to continue with his plan and he made the call without hesitation. After a few hours of work, he enjoyed a leisurely lunch with a friend down at one of the fancier restaurants in the area.

When Tom returned, entering his office, he spotted the courier he had specifically requested sitting across the lobby. A large column blocked the guy’s view, and he didn’t see Tom as he walked toward the receptionist’s desk. She looked up from her tabloid then jumped to cover her break-time obsession by draping her arm over the paparazzi photos of the latest hot, young star. She cleared her throat, trying to recover from her shock of seeing her boss in front of her. “Mr. Whitney, the messenger is here for a pick-up, but I didn’t see a package going out. Do you have one in your office?”

Tom glanced back at the man seated and felt a rush of anger flow over him. Possessiveness and jealousy hit his heart, making it beat faster and harder in his chest when he answered, “Um, yes, but I’ll handle this. Give me twenty minutes then send him into my office.”

The receptionist gave him an odd look of confusion, but nodded, happy in the fact that he didn’t say anything about her reading a magazine while at work.

Tom pushed off the tall desk and made his way down the hall toward his office. He stared out at his amazing Manhattan view, reaffirming how great he was when Everleigh’s backpack caught his eye. The police had given him the bag the day he got her back, the day her
friend
was arrested. He laughed at how well that played out in his favor.

Leaning down, he dug through the bag looking for clues to her betrayal with the messenger boy. He tossed it to the side, irritated. It held nothing but school related stuff, which frustrated him in his quest for more details about their relationship.

He wasted time making a few phone calls and returning e-mails before he sat back down in his custom made Italian leather chair and propped his feet up on his solid mahogany desk as if waiting for something to happen. He didn’t have to wait long once he called the front desk and told her to go ahead and send the messenger back.

William was too caught up in his own misery to notice Tom saunter into the lobby. If he’d been paying any attention, he would’ve had enough warning to know what he was walking into.

He wasn’t sleeping much and was now a walking zombie. He tried to play the free puzzle app on his phone, but focusing was impossible with his heart broken and from the utter fatigue. He was hurt and that pain was eating away at his soul piece by piece, driving him to distraction.

He stopped his knee from bouncing by slamming his hand down on top of it. As the minutes ticked slowly by, his agitation grew. He sat in the well-appointed lobby of the downtown high-rise not even tempted by the free coffee and snacks like he usually was when he was working.

Flipping through his phone photos, he landed on the one of Evie he’d taken. William felt his heart begin to ache, but he stared anyway, trying to reason that she must be tied up. She must be so busy, that she didn’t have time to call or text him.

His pain was being replaced with rage. He stood up, not giving two cares about some random suit’s package, no matter how much he needed this job, and was about to head for the exit when the receptionist told him he could go to Mr. Whitney’s office to retrieve it.

William decided to do his job since he was already here. He walked down the long corridor, the weight of his hurt weighing heavy on his thoughts. He still couldn’t come up with anything that would explain what really happened that day and why Evie chose
the monster
over him. William felt a twinge of pain in his heart thinking about the memories of being with her and then it twisted at the reality of her betrayal.

“Of course, it’s the corner office,” he mumbled under his breath while clutching his bag tight to his side. Only a jackass with a corner office would believe he’s important enough to make me wait twenty minutes.
Like I don’t have anything better to do, jackass!
These thoughts continued as he entered the office without knocking.

“Mr. Ryder, do come in,” Tom said. His voice was too threatening to sound welcoming as he stood up.

William froze in his tracks, shocked that he was in
this
jackass’s office. But his shock gave way to anger again and he rushed him. Diving over the desk, William tackled him to the floor, both of them rolling and slamming against the floor-to-ceiling window. He got in one good punch before Tom pushed him off by hitting him back in self-defense.

Tom yelled the only thing he knew would stop this attack. “I want to talk about Everleigh!”

William’s heart was pounding from the rage inside, but when
he
said
her
name out loud, it felt like it had exploded in his chest. He grabbed Tom, dragged him by his lapels, and slammed him against the large wood bureau. It took all of William’s self-control to not beat the shit out of him. “Don’t you ever say her name, you fucker, you girl beating fucker,” he yelled through gritted teeth.

Tom managed to put his hands up in surrender, and although he enjoyed provoking and hurting William, he was still a coward, and smart enough to know he would lose if they continued as they were. Tom was going in for the kill, not the fight. “I know what I’ve done is wrong, okay. I just wanted to give you an update.”

Tom sounded sincere and even though William didn’t want to trust him, he knew he had to. He was desperate to find out anything when it came to Evie’s well-being. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself and get the information he most desired. “Where is she, you prick?”

“Back up to the door over there and I’ll tell you.” Tom directed William by pointing across the room, putting his own safety first.

William released Tom’s suit, shoving him back into the window for good measure before crossing the room. Wanting the information about Evie, he was willing to play Tom’s game to get it. Turning around, he positioned himself across the room with his arms crossed and his jaw tense before he demanded. “Tell me now!”

Two beefy security guards walked in and seized each of his arms without a fight. William didn’t struggle because he was concentrating so hard on Tom who was currently stalling in front of him.

Knowing he had backup now—unwavering and heartless—Tom mocked William with his words. “She’s in my bed right now.” His eyes darkened, leaving no trace of sincerity in them as he continued. “And she’s already put my ring back on her finger. She’s fantastic when she’s feisty. She was like that when I met her. But, like a wild stallion, she’ll be broken. She was before and she will be once again. She’s mine and if you ever go near her again, I’ll make sure you aren’t released next time. Take the other night as a warning, Mr. Ryder, and leave my fiancée alone.”

William’s body reflexively lunged forward, but the two large guards gave him no leeway and he was jerked backward, against his will, and dragged out of the office. William did what any man in his position would do, he fought back and struggled, but to no avail. He yelled every curse word that came to mind, but it made no difference to Tom who stood there smug and protected behind his desk. Tom smiled, crossed his arms over his chest, and raised his chin proud in his victory.

William was thrown onto the sidewalk in front of the building with no care to the passing pedestrians. He didn’t even care when a guy stepped over him as he hit the pavement, because in that exact moment of impact, it became clear he had been set up again by Tom. He pushed himself up off the ground and walked to the building’s brick wall, kicking it as hard as he could.

The asshole baited me and I fell for it. He’s trying to get me to screw myself and I almost did. He can forget that because I won’t give up on Evie
!

Evie woke up at two in the afternoon, groggy with a fuzzy mind. She sat up rubbing her face and then saw it, her chance. With the door cracked open, she lunged for it, opening it all the way and peeking out before taking a step into the corridor. There were no sounds of anyone around, but realizing she was in her pajamas, she went back into the bedroom and got dressed in a haphazard fashion. Rushing toward the front door, her pace was stealthy.

“Good afternoon, Miss Wright,” Tom’s housekeeper said with a smile.

Startled from being caught in her escape, Evie jumped. “Hi, Barbara, I’ve got to go.”

“Would you like something to eat first?”

“No, I have to go. I’m sorry. Thank you.” Her words were rushed as she backed out the front door then turned and ran. She didn’t remember even taking a breath until she was a block away from Tom’s building.

Evie slowed her pace and exhaled a deep sigh of relief. She had just walked another block in the direction of William’s apartment when a car pulled up next to her—
his shiny sports car—
to be exact. The window rolled down as she continued walking, ignoring the car the best she could, but the tears gave her away, and she started running.

“Everleigh, I’ll drive you home,” Tom said as soon as she stopped another block down for a breath, his tone was controlled.

The word home had new meaning to her these days. She turned to Tom with spite. “You’ll drive me to William’s?” She had no intention of getting in that car, but she used the only weapon she had in her arsenal to hurt him.

“No, I’ll drive you home.”

“That is my home now.”

Tom looked down at the steering wheel before speaking, as if choosing his words carefully. When he looked back up, his expression broke her heart, not for
him
, but because she could tell what was coming. She knew right then that he had done something to William.

His smug smirk reinforced that thought. “He came by the office today, Everleigh.”

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. “Why?”

“He doesn’t want to deal with
all of this
. I hate being the one to tell you, but he put the burden on me to hurt you. He’s a coward for not telling you in person.” Tom paused for effect then held her backpack up. “He dropped this off and said he didn’t want to see you again.”