Chance Page 3

  “Payton,” I called to my little girl. She was playing on her swing set in the backyard with some of the other kids from Reed Security. It was July 4th and we were having a barbecue to celebrate.

  Payton ran over to me with a wide grin on her face. I caught her as she ran and jumped into my arms. As I spun her around in the air, smiling at her giggles, I couldn’t remember a time I had ever been so happy in all my life. Her hair was done up in pigtails and her eyes shone bright just like her mother’s. She didn’t have to be biologically mine. I loved her no matter what.

  “Daddy, higher. Higher!”

  “Do you want to help me with the ice cream?”

  Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. “Ice cream?”

  “You betcha, kid. I got your favorite!”

  “Daddy, you’re the best!”

  I hoisted her onto my shoulders and made my way to the back door. Morgan was sitting on the deck in her lounger, her large belly ready to pop any day now. I was nervous as hell that I would mess this kid up from the start. I didn’t know how to handle a baby, and the only reason I did so well with Payton was because she was older.

  I bent down and kissed Morgan on the lips before opening the door and heading inside. Payton and I scooped out ice cream into plastic bowls for everyone and gathered plastic spoons and napkins. We were just taking them outside when I stopped right where I was. Something was wrong. It was silent outside and everyone was frozen in place.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Gabe, but he didn’t answer. He just stood there staring off in space and no matter how many times I asked him the same question, he didn’t answer or even acknowledge me.

  I looked to Morgan, but she wasn’t sitting in her chair. Throwing the bowls down, I took off, running through the frozen people in the yard, looking for Morgan. I couldn’t find her anywhere.

  “Has anyone seen Morgan?” I shouted, but no one answered. I shook Cap, slapping him across the face when he wouldn’t answer. “Cap, tell me what the fuck is going on. Where’s Morgan?”

  His eyes were distant and unfocused as he stared off. Panic soared inside me as I continued to look for Morgan, but after checking the entire yard and the house, it was clear she was gone. Payton, I had to get Payton and get the fuck out of here. Something was happening with everyone. I sprinted for the back deck where I left her, but she was gone.

  I pulled at my hair in frustration, doing my best not to scream. I couldn’t lose it right now or I would never find them. No one could help me. I was all alone.

  I jolted upright, sweat pouring down my face as I tried to catch my breath. Looking around, I realized that I wasn’t at home. I was still in this damn cell with no idea where Morgan was and only the Broker’s word that Payton was on this island. How the hell was I supposed to help either of them when I couldn’t do anything for myself? No one knew where we were and with the Broker’s resources, there was a good chance no one would ever find us. I shook the negative thoughts from my head and focused on my objective, getting Payton and doing everything I could to escape. There was no other choice but to think positively right now.

  “Hey.”

  I rolled over to look out the cell door and saw the man from before squatting down with a syringe in his hand.

  “Come here. I’ve got antibiotics for you.”

  “How do I know that’s antibiotics?”

  He looked around quickly and then back to me. “You’re going to get me in trouble. I’m trying to help, but if you don’t get over here, I’m going to have to leave. People are keeping an eye on me. If I’m gone too long, they’ll start asking questions.”

  I moved over, not wanting to get the only person helping me in trouble. He quickly plunged the syringe into my arm and then quickly backed away.

  “Hey, wait.”

  He turned back for a moment. “What?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Give me something I can call you.”

  He hesitated, looking back one more time toward the path. “Mark, but don’t ever use my name around here.”

  He took off without looking back and I laid back in the dirt, grinning that I was making some headway.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Morgan

  It turned out that I didn’t have to fake wanting Wes around. When the man came in the morning to take the body away, he leered at me like I was his to do with as he pleased. Luckily, he was on the other side of the cage, so I wasn’t too worried. But when he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the cell, panic started clawing at my insides. He slammed the door behind him and stalked toward me. There was nothing I could do. The cage was too small to get away and I had nothing but a chair to defend myself with.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just seeing what the boss likes so much about you. Don’t worry. He’s already left for his trip, so he’ll never know. And if you tell him, you’d better sleep with one eye open.”

  When he reached for me, I quickly ducked under his arm and grabbed the chair, holding it over my shoulder like I would a bat. If he came near me, I would swing and I wouldn’t stop until the chair was in little pieces.

  He laughed at me. “Please tell me that you have a better idea than a chair.”

  “If I have to, I’ll break off a leg and stab it through your heart.”

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  He lunged at me and I swung with all my might, hitting him hard upside the head, but he didn’t stop. He tackled me to the floor before I could get another hit in and started tearing at my clothes. I screamed and kicked, but he was too heavy for me. Then he grabbed my arms and held them over my head as he fumbled with his pants. I screamed louder and tried to buck him off my hips, but nothing was working.

  A shot rang out and the man slowly collapsed to the side, falling onto his back. Blood was dripping from somewhere, but I couldn’t see. His eyes were staring at me, trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t figure out what. I distantly heard Wes making a phone call and that was when the man took his chance. I saw him reach for the gun at his side and I snatched up a broken leg from the chair that had splintered and left a sharp point. Without a second of hesitation, I brought the stick up over my head and slammed it down into his chest. It didn’t go in as much as I wanted. I had probably hit bone and I doubted I was strong enough to give the right amount of pressure. Either way, it did the trick because Wes saw it out of the corner of his eye and shot the man one more time. All the life drained from his face and I couldn’t look away. It was so strange to see a person no longer breathing.

  I stared at the man, shaking and stunned. I couldn’t move or even breathe. All I could think about was the fact that I had just killed another person. His eyes were staring at the ceiling and the blood pooling under his body was seeping into my pants. I willed myself to move, but I just couldn’t seem to.

  Wes pulled me up into his arms and I folded myself into his body, needing his warmth and comfort to stop the shakes that were taking over. But I still couldn’t take my eyes off the man on the floor. Wes pulled at my chin, forcing me to look away. I looked into his eyes for a moment before tucking my head into his chest and taking deep breaths to try and calm my racing heart.

  As I let reality sink in, I came to the conclusion that this was really for the best, not that I wanted to be attacked. This gave me the perfect opportunity to show Wes how grateful I was to him. And the best part was that he wouldn’t even doubt my sincerity. He had saved me from being raped by that disgusting pig, and I didn’t think that was something I would have recovered from while living with Wes.

  Without waiting another minute, I pressed my lips to his and slipped my tongue his mouth. His hold on me tightened as he deepened the kiss. I was still shook up from what had happened, but I had to use this time to my advantage. I pretended that I was weak, which wasn’t that far off. I let my legs collapse from under me, and like I had hoped, he caught me and swooped me up int
o his arms. Carrying me up the stairs, I held onto his neck for dear life and cried into his neck.

  When he finally sat down with me, I looked up and saw that we were in his room. “Why am I here?” I said weakly.

  He pushed my hair out of my face and cupped my cheek. “I didn’t want you anywhere near that asshole.”

  I nodded and looked around the room in a daze. I looked at the comfortable bed and thought about slipping under the covers, but I couldn’t with the way I looked.

  “How are you feeling?”

  I slid my gaze back to his and nodded slowly. His eyes were dark with concern and anger.

  “You saved my life.”

  “What?” I asked in confusion.

  “If you hadn’t stabbed him, I wouldn’t have seen the movement until it was too late. He would have shot me.”

  I hadn’t stabbed him to save Wes’s life. It was strictly selfish. I wanted to kill the man for trying to take something that wasn’t his. Besides, if I hadn’t stabbed him, he would have shot Wes and then taken me. I just did what I had to.

  “You saved me,” I whispered. “He was going to…”

  “I know, but he won’t hurt you again. Nobody will.”

  “How can you be sure? You can’t be with me all the time.”

  “After this incident, I will show my men his corpse as a warning to all that would consider crossing me in any way.”

  I needed a shower. I had blood on my hands and clothes from the gunshots and it had probably seeped through my clothes and coated my skin.

  “I need it off me.”

  “Of course. Do you want me to help you?”

  I didn’t know what to say. It felt way too soon for him to be that intimate with me, but this could be another opportunity to bring him further into my web. But if he joined me in the shower, he would assume I would sleep with him in the next few days. I just wasn’t ready for that, even though I knew it would happen sooner rather than later.

  “Come on.” He stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and stood. He led me into the bathroom and turned on the shower for me. “Go ahead. I’ll be in the bedroom when you’re finished.”

  “You’re not coming?”

  “I don’t think you’re ready for me to be in there with you after what just happened.”

  I nodded and stepped in, thankful that he had taken my indecision as worry over him being so close to me at the moment. I heard the door shut and stepped under the warm water. Blood flowed down my body and circled the drain. I grabbed a washcloth and poured soap all over it, scrubbing myself over and over for what felt like a half hour. I washed my hair, massaging the shampoo into my scalp. It felt oily from all the time I had been in the cellar.

  I stood stock still, letting the water wash the shampoo out of my hair and tried to reconcile what just happened with what I was trying to achieve. My emotions were all over the place. Fear over what happened was still coursing through me. I could still feel his grimy hands on me and I could still feel Wes’s warm body against mine as he held me afterward. I tried to shake that fear from my head and remember my objective.

  There was nothing I could do about what had almost happened, but I could feed off that and use it to my advantage. I had to, because it was the only way to convince Wes I needed him and get my daughter back. I shook the feel of the man off me and finished my shower. After conditioning my hair, I shut off the water, knowing that I couldn’t hide from him forever.

  I toweled off and slipped into the robe that was hanging on the back of the door. I thought about playing this as the damsel in distress, clutching onto him for dear life. It would keep him by my side and make him feel like I really needed him, but I didn’t think that was the way to go. When he met me at the club, he was attracted to the fiery part of me. He liked the woman that went after what she wanted or needed. If I was suddenly weak and clingy, he might lose respect for me or feel that I wasn’t the woman he had wanted in the first place. Staring at myself in the mirror, I mentally gave myself a pep talk and then opened the door and walked out.

  “Feel better?”

  “Yes,” I smiled.

  “Good. Would you like something to eat or would you like to sleep?”

  I eyed the bed and then listened to the rumble of my tummy. I wanted to sleep so badly, but my stomach was protesting loudly.

  “How about you get into bed and I’ll have the maid bring up trays for both of us.”

  “I thought you had to leave?”

  “It can wait.”

  Twenty minutes later, I was eating a delicious breakfast that I could actually stomach now that the smell of rotting flesh was gone. I ate the entire tray, gulping down the orange juice and then slowly drinking my coffee and enjoying the feel of the soft bed beneath me. I started to drift off and I felt the mug being pried from my hands. The tray was moved and then Wes pulled me down and wrapped his body around mine.

  I didn’t complain. I just wanted to sleep right now, and psychopath or not, this was where I was going to be from now on. It was a shame really, because if Wes wasn’t a maniacal asshole, he would actually be a pretty good catch. He was definitely sexy with his dark brown hair and stubble that always lined his angular jaw. His eyes were dark and seemed to take in everything. I could even feel when his body against mine that he took care of himself. When I found it hard to fully drift off, I pretended Chance was behind me and immediately fell asleep.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  When the last bit of sunshine came through the window, I peeled my eyes open and wished that I could just go back to sleep. I hadn’t slept like that since I had gotten here, and even though I had slept on a very comfortable mattress, it still didn’t feel like enough. When I didn’t feel Wes’s body pressed against mine, I rolled over and saw the bed was empty.

  With a sigh, I stared at the ceiling and contemplated my next move. I had successfully gotten out of the cell, and possibly made good headway in convincing Wes that I needed him, which was what he really wanted. My next move was to convince him that it wasn’t just a fleeting feeling, that I needed him for more than just comfort after I was attacked. It would take some finesse because he would probably be suspicious of this turn of events.

  The door opened and Wes walked in, followed by a woman dressed like she was going to a business meeting. He smiled at me and I sat up in bed so I could talk with him. I didn’t feel comfortable getting out of bed with this woman here. It felt too intimate.

  “I saw that you were awake and figured you might be hungry. This is Esmeralda. She will be your personal assistant. Anything you need, just ask her and she will make sure you have it.”

  I noted that there were cameras in the room and smiled.

  “Hi,” I nodded to the woman.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Morgan. Would you like something to eat? I can ask the cook to prepare anything you’d like.”

  I looked at Wes bashfully to defer to him. I wanted him to feel like I needed him to make the decision.

  “Tell the cook to prepare something comforting for her. She’ll take her meal up here.”

  “Very good. Is there anything I can get for you?”

  “Um…I haven’t really had the chance to look around yet. I don’t know what I’ll be needing.”

  “I’ve made sure that you have a full wardrobe and bathroom essentials. When you’re feeling up to it, you can take a look around and make a list of what you need.”

  “Thank you.”

  Esmeralda left quickly and Wes watched me carefully. “I hope you slept alright.”

  “Better than I have in a long time. I feel like I could sleep for another twelve hours.”

  “I’m sure. After what happened yesterday, your body needs to decompress.”

  Right. It had nothing to do with the fact that he had locked me in a cell with a rotting corpse for a week.

  “Maybe I’ll just eat and get some more sleep.”

  “Tomorrow, I can show you around again and we’ll discuss
what will happen from here.”

  “Okay. Um…I wanted to thank you again for what you did for me this morning. You really did save my life and I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he said with a glint in his eye.

  He left a few minutes later and I waited patiently for my food. I took the opportunity to look around the room and tried not to show my disgust at the opulence of the place. Nobody needed this much luxury. Then again, he had plenty of blood money to buy him whatever he could possibly want.

  My food arrived and after finishing the delicious dinner, I sank down into the plush bed and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow I would have to start dealing with the reality of things to come, but for now, I could pretend that I was at home, protected by Chance.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  The biggest question at the moment was how to persuade him to bring Payton home to me. He said that I had to prove my loyalty and I had a feeling that just falling for him wasn’t enough in his world. I would need something big that would make him see me in a new light.

  We walked around the outside of the house arm in arm. He told me about the different statues and gardens that were scattered around the massive property. He showed me a trail, telling me that it led through the woods and came out at a different section of the property.

  “That would be perfect for jogging.”

  “I hope you don’t have any ideas of trying to escape. The property is massive and the fences are lethal.”

  “No,” I smiled as sincerely as possible. “I used to be a runner, but that was years ago. I would like to get in the habit and this place would be perfect. It’s all so beautiful. I think it would be very calming to run here.”

  “Maybe we can run together. I’m always up for a run, but I usually go early morning.”

  “That sounds great.” I smiled and held his arm, pretending all along that I was needing him more and more by the minute. When he walked me back and told me he had to work, I frowned, disguising the frown so it appeared I was trying not to frown.