My mind was reeling when I slipped back into my room and closed the door. I flicked off the lights and went to the bed. But I didn’t climb in between the sheets. Instead, I sat on the edge and stared into the darkness. “What the fuck was that?” I whispered to the empty room. “What the actual fuck was that?”
I tried to think, tried to come up with some reasonable explanation as to why London St. James might have a journal full of entries…about me.
They weren’t just handwritten, rage-filled entries, either. They were pages and pages of personal details filled with dates, photos, and details from the moment I’d been dragged into that place by my shitty foster parents, all the way to the day he’d brought me here. Some entries I found toward the back were even before that, from when the robots allowed me to attend my last years at Harlington Prep. Jesus, he even had an image of me with my face buried in a book while I hid in the school library.
How the fuck did he even get that?
A shudder ripped through me, then it was followed by the icy grip of panic as the thud thud thud of heavy steps echoed along the hallway, heading for my room. I jumped up and took a step backwards toward the wall. I shouldn’t have found that journal. Panic took hold. I shouldn’t have looked, shouldn’t have read. Shouldn’t have…
He was going to take me back.
My breath seized. I fixed my gaze on the murky blur of my bedroom door. He was going to take me back to The Principal and The Teacher and The Priest. I lowered my head, my shoulders curling as shudders raced through me. Oh, Jesus…no…no…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look. I didn’t mean to find that jou—the words rose THUD THUD THUD thud thud thud…as the steps faded, then were gone, thundering down the stairs, leaving me behind.
He was leaving me?
I hated the pang that tore across my chest. Hated the way in those fleeting seconds I felt…desperate. Like I didn’t want him to leave me at all. But then the feeling was gone, just like the booming of his boots, and slowly the realization slipped in. Something was wrong.
I took a step toward the door as that thought took hold. Something wasn’t just wrong…it’d gone to shit. There was no way Mr. Stone Cold Asshole would run for anything less. I didn’t have to think too hard as the memory of what I’d witnessed on that monitor came rushing back to me.
Ryth…
And men who had to be her brothers.
Torturing Killion before they killed him.
She’d stabbed him…stabbed him before her brother…shot him in the head.
“Jesus,” I wrapped my arms around my body, desperately wanting to unsee that shit.
But no matter how much I wanted to, I refused to block it out. I needed to remember. I needed to understand. Why the hell would London have something like that? More importantly, how the fuck did he get it?
The how bugged me more than it should.
I mean, it was a damn CCTV camera, in a man like Killion’s home. He wasn’t just any man. He was one of The Order’s biggest clients. A reputation like that meant he had money and power and a fuck load of both. A shiver raced along my spine…I suddenly grew still. If London could invade a man like Killion’s home, then he could pretty well invade anywhere, couldn’t he?
I closed my eyes. “Jesus, who the fuck is that man?”
My breath stilled as the memory of those journal entries came rushing back.
And what the fuck did he want with me?
I sank back onto the bed, this time sitting on the damn pillow. But I didn’t care, because right now, my life hung in the balance—by one very fucking thin thread. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t work it out. I sat there staring into the dark until my eyes burned, and slowly I realized he wasn’t coming back. Not for a while, at least.
I leaned backwards, curled my feet underneath me, and slipped lower in the bed, still dressed in the clothes he’d laid out for me, but then I realized. He wouldn’t like that…no, he wouldn’t like that at all.
A low snarl, and I shoved upwards and made my way to the bathroom, flicking the light on with a slap. “Goddamn motherfucker, now I’m his puppet on a string, aren’t I?” I winced, worked the top buttons on my blouse, then yanked it over my head. “I’ll wrap that fucking string around his throat if he’s not careful.”
I undressed and glanced at the camera before I stepped into the shower. I didn’t waste time as I scrubbed myself, then stepped out and dried myself. Then I dressed in the goddamn lace negligee he’d had waiting for me on the bathroom counter, peach colored this time. I picked it up, slipped it over my head, and tugged a brush through my hair before climbing back into bed.
London St. James was ruthless and possessive. Still, he hadn’t lifted a damn hand to hurt me. I needed to understand why. I closed my eyes. It wasn’t because of sex, that was for sure. No matter the hunger I saw in his eyes, he couldn’t do a damn thing to me…
Him or his goddamn sons.
I was protected by one flimsy piece of paper…and his signature.
The contract he’d signed was as powerful as his need for me. One broken rule and they’d come and take me back. I scanned the opulent room in the dark. As much as I hated being here, I hated that place more.
That thought carried me down. I drifted, losing time, until the booming of my pulse dragged me back to the surface. Click. My eyes snapped open with the sound of the lock on my bedroom door. That heavy thud carried, moving closer to the bed.
“Get dressed,” London snarled in the dark. “You have five minutes.”
I shoved upwards. “What?”
But he didn’t answer, just stood there…waiting.
Cold air slipped in to chill me to the bone. I slowly pushed the comforter aside. “London…”
“Four minutes.”
I flinched at the cruel tone. He was sending me back there…sending me back to that place. “No,” I whispered.
“No?”
I lifted my gaze. Moonlight spilled through my bedroom window, catching the glint in those dark eyes. “I’m not going.”
He lunged, grabbed my ankle, and dragged me toward him. “You will do what I goddamn tell you. Do I make myself clear?”
Fear filled me. The kind of fear I hadn’t felt in a long time, not since they’d shoved me in that prison cell at The Order and slammed the door closed behind me. I kicked out, throwing off his hold, and scrambled for the other side of the bed. He was on me in an instant, lunging to drive his body against mine, smashing my face into the soft comforter.
“Get off me!” I bucked, kicking and thrashing.
Until he grabbed my wrists, pinning them to the bed above my head. “Stop fucking fighting me!”
“I won’t go back!” I roared, thrashing my body from side to side in an attempt to dislodge him. “I won’t go back to that place. I’D RATHER DIE!”
He fought me, gripping my wrists. There was no way I could fight him, no way I could win.
“I’M NOT TAKING YOU BACK TO THE ORDER!”
I froze, heavy breaths sawing through my chest until they burned. “You’re not?”
He released his hold and lifted his weight from me. “No, I’m not.”
I turned, looking at him over my shoulder, and taking in lungfuls of air. “Then where…the fuck…are you taking me?”
A savage growl filled the room. “I’m taking you to Ryth.”
I spun around, sat in the middle of the bed, and stared at him. “Ryth? You’re taking me to see Ryth?”
He just stared down at me with that stony glare, brushing back the stray strands of his hair with a swipe of his hand. “You now have two minutes, Vivienne. I suggest you hurry.”
He was taking me to see Ryth? I’d never moved so fast in my life. I didn’t care that I’d just watched her and her brothers attack a man like a pack of wild beasts. Killion deserved to die a painful death after what he’d done to her. I only wished I’d been there to help.
I raced to the closet, yanking the lace nightgown over my head. “I need the light, London!” I snapped, not caring that I was naked.
Click.
The soft white glow illuminated the room. He stood there watching as I yanked on panties and a bra, my hands shaking as I fumbled with the hooks at my back. I didn’t care anymore that he watched me. There was no privacy when it came to London. I was starting to learn that the hard way. I pulled on a soft caramel cashmere sweater and cream-colored slacks, then slipped into heels because that’s all he fucking gave me. “Okay.” I jerked my frantic gaze to him. “Okay. I’m done.”
One brow rose. “All that in less than a minute. I’m impressed.” He stepped away from the wall and motioned toward the door. “You run from me and I’ll—”
“I’m not going to run, London.” I held his stare, lowering my voice. “You know that.”
He gave a nod, then turned and strode out of my bedroom with long, commanding strides, making me hurry to catch up. We were down the stairs in an instant, heading through the house to the garage. My stomach clenched when I scanned the garage and saw the black Mercedes he’d abducted me in.
But he didn’t head to that. Instead, he lifted his hand and aimed the remote at a sleek black Audi parked next to it. “Get in,” he commanded…
And I didn’t have to be told twice.
I climbed in and yanked the seatbelt across, clasping it as London started the engine and hit the button for the garage door. We tore away from the house in an instant, hit the bottom of the driveway, and accelerated hard as we raced through the night.
My mind was a mess, trying to put it all together. Had I misjudged London somehow? Was he actually…the good guy in all this and not the asshole I thought he was? My stomach sank at the thought. Maybe I had him all wrong? Shit…shit shit shit. What an idiot. I’d been fighting him this entire time and he’d been what? Spying. Scheming. Finding a way for me to escape with Ryth?
Excitement took hold.
“London…” I turned to him in the soft wash of the dashboard lights.
But that’s all that came out. The words froze in the back of my throat, lodged there with the memory of his hands…and the way he looked at me. He was the good guy here. Still, I couldn’t stop a ripple of fear from shaking me as I turned my head. My pussy clenched as my gaze traveled from the rolled sleeves of his black shirt to the faint silvering of hair at the edge of his temple. The man was old enough to be my father and savage enough to be my tormentor.
“Keep looking at me like that, Vivienne, and I might just pull this damn car over to the side of the road and make use of that perfect mouth of yours.”
Heat burned in my cheeks. I swallowed the burn, refusing to let him see how much he’d rattled me. “Do that and I might just fight you every step of the fucking way.”
He just smirked and changed gears in a seamless transition. “Defiant just enough to keep things interesting and yet aching to be submissive,” he murmured as he glanced my way, then said with utmost certainty. “One day, Vivienne, you will choke on my goddamn cock…and you’ll fucking love it.”
That heat seared in my cheeks. I jerked my gaze away and turned to the darkened city streets as I fought the need to lick my lips. I swallowed as I wondered what he might taste like…and how he’d look as he loomed over me, those chilling, empty eyes pinning me in place while he fucked good and hard.
Oh God…oh God. I clamped my hand between my thighs. He noticed, then turned back with a smirk. Fucking asshole. How the fuck had I ever thought he was a nice guy? He wasn’t a nice guy, even if he was turning me loose to run with Ryth. London was a goddamn snake.
He turned, accelerated hard, and turned again. I scanned the buildings around us. It didn’t matter how many streets I tried to memorize, I didn’t know this city at all. I didn’t know how long we drove for, but we seemed to find our way to some back street behind an old apartment building.
London slowed the Audi, then pulled into a gated underground parking garage. One that was locked, except for one section that seemed like it had been left open for us alone. I gripped the armrest, then flinched as he turned sharply and braked hard, swung in the pitch-black gloom, and parked.
The engine died in an instant, leaving a tick, tick, tick behind. London didn’t speak as he climbed out and closed the door behind him. Then he was gone, leaving me to release my seatbelt and reach for the door handle. But it opened before I had a chance to pull the lever.
“Vivienne,” he murmured.
My pulse thrummed as I climbed out, unable to take my gaze from him.
“Stay close,” he ordered as he closed the door behind me and reached into his pocket for a small flashlight. “This place hasn’t been used in a while.”
The bright light was instant, illuminating the empty parking area. I opened my mouth to say what? But he was already moving, striding out into the dark, leaving me to scramble after him once more. All I thought about was Ryth as I ran. Ryth, who’d promised to take me with her. Ryth that had felt the closest I’d ever had to family. We’d run together, her, me, and her stepbrothers. We’d leave this place and never look back.
London stopped at a set of chained glass doors, but the chain hung free. The lock was snapped and lay on the ground, the shorn bolt glinting under the wash of the bright light. Hinges howled and grated as London opened the door and motioned me inside.
“We’ll need to take the stairs,” he said. “The elevator is inoperable.”
“Is Ryth up there?” I asked. “Is she up on the roof?”
But he didn’t answer, just strode past heading for a door. I focused on my steps, wincing at the filthy floor. The place didn’t just look unused. It looked abandoned. London climbed and I followed, clenching my hands into fists to not touch the peeling paint on the railing…
That lasted until I hit the third floor. My breaths had turned heavier and hotter, leaving me to ignore the filth and grab the damn thing instead. By the fifth floor, I was gasping and out of breath. London barely seemed to be breathing heavy, his steps strong and sure, and I hated that.
“London…” I gasped, losing count of exactly what floor this was. He stopped and turned. His face was flushed in the glow of the flashlight. “Ryth…is she…”
“Three more flights to go, Vivienne, then you get to see her. You want to see her, right?” His gaze bored into mine
I gave a nod, straightened, then kept going…three more…just three more…two now. I lifted my gaze as we rounded the landing, and kept pushing. My stomach clenched, that burn now a searing rasp in my chest. Higher and higher. By the time London slowed, grasped a door and yanked it open, I felt like my soul was leaving my body.
Cold air rushed at us, carrying with it a faint crack…crack…crack!
“What the hell?” I gasped, following London out onto the roof of the building. The further I came, the louder the sound got.
Crack!
Crack!
CRACK!
I flinched, yet drawn by the sound as London moved closer to the edge. Sparks flared in the street below, bright against the dark. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at. “Is this some kind of training exercise?”
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK!
I jerked, sucking in hard breaths, unable to know where to look as men dressed in black raced around the corner of a building and opened fire.
“No training exercise, Vivienne,” London answered, taking a step closer as movement peeked out from the edge of the building. I barely saw them as four figures stepped backwards and fired back.
An icy grip of terror moved through me as I whispered. “What is this?”
Those figures moved further out into the empty street, desperately firing back as their attackers advanced, and as they did, they became clearer…it was a woman…a familiar woman…
“You wanted to see her.” London snarled. “So see her.”
A moan tore free as I narrowed in on Ryth as she unleashed a guttural scream of desperation and fired the gun in her hand.
I jerked my gaze to his. “What the hell are you doing?” I stepped closer to the edge, flinching with every pop of gunfire that reached me. “They’re firing at them!”
“They are.”
I tore my focus away, searching the empty streets as my pulse boomed in my ears. Movement came from further behind them with the shine of headlights as they splashed against a building, and a dark SUV skidded to a stop.
They were boxed in. No way forward…and no way back. The sudden realization dawned on me. Blood drained from my face. “You bastard.” I turned my gaze to those unflinching eyes. “You cold, ruthless, fucking bastard. You meant for me to see this all along? You dragged me up here for what? To watch her brothers die and her to be taken back THERE?”
He didn’t look away, just stared down my fear and murmured. “If you want Ryth and her brothers to survive this, then you will tell The Order what they need to know to sign you over to me. You will not cause me problems, do you hear me?”
He turned toward me and took a step closer. Seamless. Smooth. Sliding close like a snake in the water. He moved against me, that punishing stare seized mine as the crack…crack…crack of gunfire sounded. “You will obey my commands. You will belong to me, in any way I see fit. You do that, and I’ll get them out.”
Sawing breaths cut me to the core.
“You do that, and I’ll save her. You do that, and I’ll allow her to live. But you will obey me, Vivienne. I will have no more disobedience. Do I make myself clear?”
I didn’t think, I just acted, lifted my hand, cocked it backwards, and lashed out.
SLAP!
His head jerked to the side as I felt the sting in the palm of my hand. “You bastard…you fucking…bastard.”
He slowly turned his gaze back to me, rage glinting in that pitiless stare as his phone started to ring. Jaw muscles clenched, nostrils flared, he wanted to hurt me in that moment. I could see that. As he swiped the icon and answered the call, I realized that he could…with just one command.
Dread moved through me as he answered. “Are you in position?” His voice was husky, his question raw.
I shook my head, unable to speak. Fists clenched at my sides, I held onto that sting in my palm as my entire body started to shake. Not once did he look away, not to the attack below, nor to the stars sparkling in the sky above. All he looked at was me.
“Wait,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Please don’t do this.”
Something moved between us. A chilling clarity.
He stopped speaking, his gaze fixed as I lowered my head. Defiant just enough to keep things interesting and yet aching to be submissive. My fate foretold. He knew with one look…he knew he’d won. In a low, careful tone, he gave the command. “Engage.”
