Chapter 27 #2
She could hear someone swearing, but she was in too much of a panic to focus on who it was. The book she’d been reading when she’d fallen asleep went flying as she got up and dove behind the sofa where she’d been reading.
There she crouched, trembling and breathing heavily.
God, she was going to vomit.
Don’t.
You cannot vomit.
“Sweetheart, it’s all right. It’s just me.” A large figure moved around the couch, looming over her.
Another scream escaped her.
Fergus.
It was Fergus. He was going to hurt her again. He was going to tie her down, make her scream.
“No, no, please, please,” she cried. “I can’t. Not again. I can’t.”
“Baby, it’s me. It’s Jared.”
“F-Fergus, no!” she cried, too far gone to pay any attention to the words coming from the man’s mouth.
All she knew was that he was bigger than her and that he might hurt her.
So she did what she knew Fergus loved. She got on her knees and laid her chest on the floor, her head to the side, her arms splayed out.
Completely at his mercy.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop the shaking or the tears dripping down her face. But that didn’t matter.
Fergus loved making her cry.
“Fuck. Fuck.”
“She’s stuck in a nightmare,” another voice said.
A whimper escaped her. Oh God. There was someone else with him. Sometimes he did that.
Brought someone else with him to punish her.
She couldn’t . . . she couldn’t.
“She was having a nightmare and I came in to wake her. Only I fucking scared the shit out of her and she ran and hid. And now . . . now this.”
There was a broken note in his voice which made no sense. Actually, his voice wasn’t really making any sense. Why did he sound so upset?
Shouldn’t he be happy that she was breaking? That she was so upset?
That she was submitting to punishment even though she didn’t know what she had done?
Maybe it was because she’d fallen asleep. Perhaps she’d slept through dinner. He hated when she did that.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Baby, please, you have to stop,” someone begged her.
Someone who wasn’t Fergus.
Because Fergus didn’t call her baby. And he would certainly never beg.
“Angie, you’re not there. You’re here with Jared. And with me. North,” the other man said coolly.
Strangely, it was his voice that cleared the fog of terror from her mind. Maybe because it was so matter-of-fact.
He didn’t sound worried or concerned or upset.
He sounded like nothing. And God, she wanted that right now. To have no reaction. No fear. No terror.
“You need to sit up now. You’re upsetting Jared,” North said. “This is unacceptable.”
“North,” the other voice warned.
“No. She needs to sit up. Right now. This isn’t who she is anymore. She’s not someone who just gives in to the fear. She fights it. Fight it, Angie. Show us all how strong you are.”
But she wasn’t. It was all an act. A stupid act.
“I’m not strong,” she said as she realized what had happened.
She’d fallen asleep and gotten caught in a nightmare.
And now she’d thoroughly embarrassed herself.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” North replied.
Ridiculous? How dare he call her ridiculous? She sat up and scowled at him.
“It is not ridiculous!”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I am not strong. Look at me! I’m a mess.” She glanced over at Jared guiltily.
Shit.
Had she really just mistaken him for his father? That wasn’t good.
Sure, he could be arrogant.
And he definitely liked his own way.
He was always in charge.
But he wasn’t violent or mean or sadistic. All things Fergus had been.
And more . . .
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Jared’s eyebrows rose. Then, to her shock, he crouched in front of her. North was standing to her right, leaning against a book shelf with his arms crossed over his chest.
He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Well, he likely didn’t. The only thing he seemed to care about or show interest in was Jared.
And that wasn’t sadness she felt.
It wasn’t.
She didn’t want North’s attention.
“Why are you sorry?” Jared asked.
Um, wasn’t it obvious?
“For confusing you with Fergus. I didn’t mean . . . you’re nothing like him. I just got all confused because I’d been having a nightmare about . . .”
“About what?” Jared asked softly.
“About Fergus hurting me,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around herself. “And then you touched me and I woke up, but I was all confused. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“That’s what I should be saying to you,” Jared told her.
She shook her head. He couldn’t have expected that reaction when he’d gone to wake her.
“Sorry. Sorry.” She shook her head, trembling, her teeth now chattering. “See? Not strong. I’m so stupid and weak.”
Suddenly, she was lifted onto her feet. To her surprise, it was North who had grabbed her.
North, who barely touched her. Who didn’t seem to like her much.
He stared down at her, studying her.
“North, easy,” Jared warned.
“She really doesn’t see it, does she?” North asked Jared.
“No, she doesn’t.” Jared rose and stepped behind her, not touching her but close enough for her to feel his warmth. To know that he was there for her.
She wanted to lean back into him but she couldn’t do it. He wasn’t hers to lean on.
So she stood there between the two of them, feeling the heat of their bodies, wishing that she had their strength and power.
“She can’t see that she’s one of the strongest people we know,” North said.
If anyone else had said it, she’d have scoffed. But this was coming from North. She couldn’t imagine him making this up in order to make her feel better.
“How do you figure that?” she whispered.
“Because you’re still here,” North told her. “You’re still fighting. You could have just drifted away. You’re a fighter. You have nightmares, bad days, things you’re frightened of . . . but you still get up in the morning. You still keep going.”
God.
Was she strong?
“I’m not sure that’s strength. Pretty sure it’s just stubbornness.”
“That too,” North agreed.
She swayed slightly and Jared lightly placed his hands on her hips. Damn, she liked him touching her. “You look exhausted. You need to rest properly.”
Yeah, well, she hadn’t been sleeping that well. It was six days since she’d been kidnapped. Even though they’d sent Zander that message, she was worried about Keira.
And she was also worried about how much she liked being around these two. Of the fantasies she kept having about being caught between the two of them.
It was all so wrong.
“Come on, come with me,” Jared told her.
“W-what?” Go with him? Go where?
“We’re going to take care of you.”
“Take care of me? Why? What do you mean?” She stared up into his gorgeous face. The extra lines around his eyes that only added to his appeal. The hints of gray in his hair and beard.
The man was going to be the ultimate silver fox in a few years. God, it was unfair that he looked like this while she felt like a ragged old crone. Worn down and aged before her time.
“We’ll have dinner together, watch a movie. No cares. No worries about the future or what you should say or do. You don’t have to do anything or be anyone but Angie. In whatever way you want to be.”
It sounded like heaven.
Jared lightly touched her chin, turning her to face him. “What do you say?”
This felt like dangerous territory. She was already in deep with these guys. They were messing up her brain, her intuition.
She shouldn’t do this.
She should most definitely say no.
“Yes.”
Yeah, Angie had never been one to take the sensible route.