Captive to the Dark (24 page)

My eyes flew opened and I sat up.

It appears the engagement was either a hoax or very short lived. It would seem Mary Hagen has a new fiancé. Another billionaire, at that.” They both laughed and the woman continued, “Jordan Brighton and Mary Hagen were spotted going into Capone’s hand in hand, and the ring, although slightly concealed, wasn’t missed.
The camera was zoomed in, displaying the diamond glimmering under the bright lights.

I opened the nightstand and took out the one I’d purchased for her. It’d come to my door the day after my sister returned. If that hadn’t been a clear indication that she was finished with me, the new ring she was sporting sure as hell was.

The TV clicked off as I forcefully pushed the button. Everything in me wanted to go apeshit fucking ballistic. Instead, I let the agony eat at my chest. Blindly, I reached for the bottle of Scotch, never taking my eyes off that emerald cut diamond. She’d loved it. The way her eyes had lit up and got big as I slipped it on her finger brought tears rushing down her cheeks. It’d been so clear to me that she wanted this. What the hell happened?

The taste I’d come to know so well washed into my mouth and I sucked it down like there was no tomorrow. Without Mary, there really wasn’t. I felt so lost, just like I had before she came into my life. Empty.

Half the bottle later, my eyes were rolling. The sun was up and I knew my day was once again wasted to sleeping, dreaming nothing of the woman who’d turned my world upside down. A knock on my bedroom door had me looking down at the ring that set halfway down my pinky.

“What?” The slurring couldn’t be mistaken. The door opened and Christopher barged in.

“Jesus. Drinking this early. Don’t need to ask why. I watch the news. I knew you’d be in a bad state. Come on, ol’ friend. Let’s go get some food in you and sober your ass up.”

A small laugh left me and I had no idea why. “I don’t want food. Leave me. I’m perfectly fine just as I am.”

“I…don’t think so. You see, drunk Slade I happen to know very well—what the fuck is on your chest!” Christopher’s eyes were wide and I smiled bigger.

“Great, isn’t it?”

“You’ve lost your damn mind.”

Again, I laughed. “You know, Mary said the same thing when I told her we should go to Vegas to get married. Maybe she was right.”

“Uh, yeah. Up. Now. Come on, you need food. We can hit up Gilly’s Diner. I can tell you about the new company.”

The bottle hit the nightstand loudly and I swayed a little. “Even if I wanted to…I don’t think I could. And what do I need to know? It’s blossoming. You want to know why? Because I own it. Every decision I make there seems to flourish, unlike with my personal life.”

Christopher’s head tilted. “You’re wrong. We’re about to lose a hell of a lot of money. You’re failing. Slade Industries is busting at the seams. You’re about to go under.”

I sat up so fast I fell to the side. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been gone too long, my friend, and I can’t do it without you.”

The effects of the alcohol left my body in the sweat that began pouring from my skin. Numbly, I stumbled from the bed.

“Damn, you’re pale. Slade, I’m just fucking with you. The business if fine. Calm down.”

I turned around, swinging. Too bad I saw two of him. My feet tripped over each other and I fell to the mattress, content to just lay there. “You’re a bastard, Chris.”

“Sobered you up a little though, didn’t it?”

“Fuck you for taking that away from me. Help me up. I think I need something to eat. Or at least to throw up besides Scotch.”

“That’s my boy.”

The room spun as he helped me stand. Dazed, I put on the suit he handed over. It took me almost ten minutes to get the tie knotted, but I managed and could actually somewhat walk when I stood.

“Here, put your sunglasses on, you’re going to need them.”

The ride down the elevator took a millisecond. Before I knew it, we were walking into the diner. Nausea hit full force but I somehow managed to keep it at bay while I ordered and sipped coffee.

“You want to tell me what happened?” Chris’s tone was light, almost as if he were hesitating to ask.

“No.”

The movement around the busy diner made the room spin for a moment and I closed my eyes, holding onto the table. Damn, I’d screwed up. Throbbing on my finger had me looking down. The ring still sat around me, tightly. I winced, pulling it off. The indention was somehow satisfying.

“So, Jordan Brighton, huh?”

“Chris, drop it. Next time I swing, I promise you I’m not going to miss.”

“You used to tell me everything. What changed?”

My eyes lowered as I turned the ring between my fingers. “I’m not sure,” I murmured. “I guess maybe I grew up, decided that my personal life was just that. Personal.”

“I can understand that, not that I like it. How’s Lily?”

My sister’s name brought my eyes up. “She’s getting a little better. The nightmares are the worst. Every night so far.” My eyes darted around the room. Where was my damn food? I wanted to get this over with and go back home. Maybe try to get some sleep.

Blonde hair caught my attention and my heart skipped a beat. I was standing and walking through the diner before I knew I’d even moved.

“Mary?” I grabbed her shoulder and was met with blue eyes. Not green. I blinked, swearing that was the same shade and length as my slave’s. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” The room suddenly felt suffocating. My hand came to the tie, pulling at the knot.

A waitress flew by and my head snapped back at how quick she passed. Jesus. I had to get out of here. The door opened and I rushed for the exit. The moment I broke around the corner, I collided with a couple. My hands instantly reached out to right them.

“I’m…sorry.” My voice caught in my throat. “Mary.”

She was jerked to Jordan’s side so fast she cried in pain. The beast crashed into my insides wanting to be set free. Wanting to rip Jordan to shreds for making her experience an ounce of pain that wasn’t at my hands.

“Let’s go, Mary. We can eat somewhere else.”

“Don’t mind me, I was just leaving.” I stepped back, noticing how hollow my voice sounded. Weak. “Congratulations by the way. I hear you’re getting married. Must be nice.”

“Slade.” Mary couldn’t have looked more wounded if I would have backhanded her. I was being a dick, I knew that. But she’d hurt me more than I could have ever hurt her. “Please.”

I shrugged. “Please, what? Please don’t make a scene? Please don’t…I don’t know, tell you how you fucking destroyed…” My hand squeezed and pain flared. I laughed, not able to miss the irony. “Here.” I opened, displaying the ring resting in my palm. “Take it. I bought it for you. Just because you decided you didn’t want to be my fiancée anymore doesn’t mean you had to give it back.”

Mary’s lips parted and I reached out, grabbing her hand. As I enclosed her fingers over the diamond, more emptiness filled me. It had been all I really had left of her that actually meant anything. Her tears nearly brought me to my knees.

“Slave.” I couldn’t take my eyes off of hers. “Come home. I miss you.”

The moment the words were out, I wished I could have taken them back. Jordan pulled her to the side and they disappeared down the street. Mary glanced back right before they turned the corner. For an hour I continued to wait for her to return. Even after Christopher tried to convince me to go inside to eat, but I wouldn’t budge. I sat, and still, nothing.

“Can we go now?” The tired, yet slight annoyance took my stare from the masses of people walking the street. For some reason the crowds were extra thick today and I had no idea why. Was it a holiday? Were they all tourists? We were close to downtown. It was possible.

“Take me home.” I pushed from the building, already missing my Scotch. My new best friend and I had a date once I was back in the safety of my room. It’d put me to sleep, where I could see my slave again. She’d look up at me with all the passion and love I only wished she’d have.

Chapter 18

Mary

It took a week after Slade’s appearance in front of the diner for Jordan to lower his guard. Such bullshit. Work was something I needed to jump back into, and my new fiancé was having a hard time deciding whether or not it would be safe.
Fiancé.
Not that I really had a choice or had even been asked. The Jordan who had been so concerned throughout all of this was disappearing with every day that went by. I thought staying with him would give me full reign to do whatever the hell I wanted. I was wrong. He was just as possessive as Slade. The only difference was, I had allowed my master to somewhat control me at the end. Jordan wasn’t anywhere near as lucky. He was losing patience, and I was losing control.

“Victor wants us to meet him at Capone’s again tonight. Wear that dark blue number I bought you. That’ll go good with the tie I plan on wearing.”

My lip lifted in distaste. “I’m not going. I don’t want to see my father again.”

Jordan paused in cutting the lettuce. “Mary, we’ve already talked about this. If your father is going to believe that we’re a couple, he needs to see us together. It’s either that, or he makes you go home. We both know how locked down you’ll be if you’re under his roof. So, which do you want?”

Neither. I wanted to move back to my apartment. Start living my life again. Apparently, that was out of the question. Jordan had taken to our
relationship
as if we were already married. It took him two hours to forcefully pull Slade’s ring off my finger and put his on. A part of me died that day. I missed the weight of my master’s. Although I’d gotten it back, I couldn’t wear it. That part hadn’t been real. Now I was stuck with Jordan’s, which kept stabbing into my skin if I moved my finger a certain way. “I don’t have to be glued to your side every time the two of you meet. I’ll be fine staying here.”

Jordan shook his head. “No. I don’t trust that you won’t run.”

My jaw dropped. “Run where? I have nowhere to go. No money. No fucking cell phone. No computer. I’m just as much a captive here as I was with Slade. At least he actually gave a shit about what I wanted.”

The knife stabbed into the head of lettuce and Jordan flew around the bar, pulling me from the stool. Pressure gripped around my throat as he held me against the wall. “Don’t ever fucking compare me to the son of a bitch. Ever.” The grip tightened. “I’ve tried to take it easy with you, Mary, but you’re making it really hard. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you love him.”

Air flooded back into my lungs as his hand loosened. Jordan’s thumb rose, tracing the line of my jaw until he reached my bottom lip. “Is that it, Mary? Are you in love with Slade? Is that why you haven’t given me a chance?”

Maybe it was. There was no way I was going to tell him that though. Jordan may have cared about me, but I still didn’t trust him. He was in too deep with my father about things I’d yet to find out. “I don’t take kindly to my freedom being taken away. How am I supposed to fall for someone who won’t even let me work?” My head jerked to the side and I could feel my adrenaline running rampant throughout my body. Slade… yes, I loved him. It tore me apart at how much I longed to go back to be with him. 

“You want more freedom, earn it.” Jordan wedge between my legs, pressing against my pussy. My eyes narrowed at him.

“I’m not fucking you to gain a life.”

Fingers gripped the outside of my chin and pressed into my cheeks. “That wasn’t what I meant. Give me a chance and show me I can trust that you’re not going to run off and do something stupid. Give yourself to me, Mary. Prove where your loyalty lies, then you can have whatever you want.”

Numbness took over and arousal was nonexistent while he moved into me more. My eyes lowered. What did I do? I wouldn’t give myself to Jordan. Didn’t even want to be here. My father’s was out of the question. That only left Slade, and I couldn’t go back there. Not after everything I’d done to him. My mind raced. Hadn’t I been here before? Yes, another captive. This time of circumstance.

Fuck this. I’d had a plan before I’d fallen for Slade. If anything, I was a survivor. I knew how to manipulate to get what I wanted, but what options did I have? Two men, both of whom could easily come after me if I went home. I had no protection. Slade, I didn’t mind picking my battle with. Jordan, though, would force my father’s hand and then I’d end up back under my parents’ roof which was the least appealing. What did I do?

I bit my lip and looked up. “Isn’t it clear where my loyalty is? I’m here with you. Your ring is the one of my finger. I want to give you a chance, but taking away my rights is only making me put up my walls. Let me allow you in. Give me my life back. With it, we’ll both have what we want.”

Jordan’s eyes stared into mine. The mask I wore was what he’d want to see, and it made me sick. I did not want him. But, he would believe I did. My hands rose, clutching to the suit’s jacket. Just a little more time and I would figure out what to do.

“If I allow you to go as you please, what will you do if Slade shows up?”

Tricky question. What would Jordan want me to do? “I’ll call you and ignore him the best I can. If he won’t leave me alone, I’ll call the police if I have to. It’s that simple. I’m finished with people trying to bully me to get what they want. I know what needs to be done. I have to marry you, and if I’m going to be happy and continue to do that, I need to get back to school and work. Nothing’s going to mess that up.”

The answer appeared to satisfy him. His hand pushed the hair back from my face before lowering it to grip the back of my thigh. “You’re such a good fucking liar. You forget what I do for a living. Do you think I missed the way you looked back at Slade? You had a hard time leaving him at the restaurant.”

Had I thought he believed me? Fuck. I pushed his shoulder, trying to get him to let go. “You know nothing.” He moved into me more. “So, how the hell do you expect my life to play out then? What’s the plan, Jordan? I become your slave in private and Betty fucking Homemaker in the eyes of the public?”

A laugh had his chest vibrating against mine. He grabbed the back of my other thigh, making me straddle his waist. “A dream you speak of, but you see, I want you to give it to me. I don’t want to take it. And I sure as fuck don’t want to be competing with Slade for your affection. Even if it is all in your head.”