Chapter 29
Stop
In the fancy red dress Jagger selected for me, I walk through the front foyer doors of the Moretti family casino Sinners Paradise on Asher’s arm.
He looks gorgeous, they all do, but their looks were never up for dispute.
If attraction was all it took, then I would be theirs, hook, line, and sinker.
Unfortunately, there is a little more to a real relationship.
My stomach has been in knots since I had that damn fight with Jagger.
As much as I kept to myself today, I could feel the tension in the air.
They know I’m not myself, I can see it in the way they look at me.
As usual, Georgina worked her magic and painted my make-up all glamorous and flawless, with ruby-red lips and gold eye shadow.
She also found a sexy-as-hell long blonde wig to complete the look, and I have to say, with the shade of my dress, I not only look a million dollars, I look like a new person.
Maybe this version of Daisy has the balls to do what I need to.
With my gun strapped to my thigh, I almost feel like a Bond girl. That has to give me an edge, right?
Jagger hands me a glass. “Sparkling apple juice for the lady.” He grins like the motherfucker we all know he is.
“Thanks,” I sass through clenched teeth. Asshole, keeping up his promise to stop me from drinking tonight. He has to know he’s only helping to dig his grave.
I’m led around the party and introduced to anyone they decide is important.
I’m not here properly though, not really.
I’m twitchy and on edge, looking for an escape or a way out of this party, but from what I can see, the exits are all covered with armed men in suits.
I also haven’t seen Sloane yet, but I’m dying to find her.
She might be my only hope with such tight security.
Cruz takes my hand in his. “Stop fussing, little darlin’, you’re making me nervous.”
I glare at him, a fuck-off look that could turn him to stone.
He drops my hand like I just burned him. “What the hell, Daisy?” He looks me over, and I see the hurt in his eyes; it mirrors my own. Then he shakes his head and mutters something about needing a drink before wandering off in the direction of the bar.
Asher drops his lips to my ear as he backs me into a quiet corner. “Are you okay?” he whispers, trying to keep his voice light.
“Why wouldn’t I be, Ash,” I snip back, still searching the room in front of me for Sloane. I’m getting desperate. If I don’t find her soon, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.
He pulls me into his arms, and the kiss he presses onto my lips is so hot it feels like the ground is shaking around us. “What are you doing?” I whisper when I pull away from him, trying to catch my breath.
“Trying to snap you out of this.” He waves his hand over me.
“A drink might help.” I smile at him, all charming, knowing very well he won’t go against boss’s orders. But it’s worth a try.
He gives me a half smile that’s almost sympathetic. “What about we play some games? You can be my good-luck charm.”
I spot Sloane walking toward us. “I’m not good at games, Ash. I want to catch up with your sister.” I pull out of his grip and move toward her as quickly as my extra-tall heels will take me.
“Look at you, girl, you look great as a blonde.”
“Thanks.” I fake a smile, the way I look tonight the last thing on my mind. “Love you in green.”
She has on a flashy little number that looks fresh out of the nineteen-twenties, with its tassels.
Her hair is in a high ponytail that hangs down her back.
She grins at me and does a little shimmy.
She pulls me closer to her side so we can both see the boys.
“Tell me, sis, tension’s looking high. Are you alright? ”
Jagger watches us together like a hawk. He can probably lip read and is about to come over here and break up our little catch-up. I drop my head, pain radiating through my chest. “I’m not going to marry Asher,” I whisper so only she can hear me.
She grips my arm, pulling me further back into the shadows. “What, why?”
“I don’t need his protection. I want to do this on my own.” I try to sound confident, but it’s hard when thinking of being without them rips my insides to shreds.
“You’re really sure about this, aren’t you?”
I look her over. She’s the strongest woman I know, and I love it.
I want to be just like her. Not some weak little mouse like my ma, doing as she’s told to keep the men in her life happy.
“I’m not the pathetic girl they all think I am.
I can do more than be someone’s wife, Sloane.
I need to prove to my family who I really am. You get that, right?”
Her peachy lips turn up at the sides. “I get it, girl. You have my backing.” She takes my hand in hers. “But Daisy, this was more than a marriage of convenience for Asher. You have to know that, don’t you?” The melancholy look on her face makes me believe her.
I try to shrug it and the sick feeling her words give me off. “I don’t know anything right now, Sloane. They lied to me, hid important life-changing shit from me that benefits them. I gave them plenty of chances to come clean, and none of them had the guts.”
She nods. “I hear what you’re saying, girl. Maybe just let Ash down easy.”
I sigh, catching Asher in my line of sight.
He’s chatting to some young pretty girl, but his eyes are on me.
When he spots me looking back, his lips twist up into the most charming grin ever.
My heart does a little happy dance at the sight of it.
This is going to hurt. “I’m not skipping town or anything, I just want my life back,” I whisper, the words almost too painful to say out loud.
“What do you have in mind?”
I glance over my shoulder, looking for them.
Asher is still at the bar and tips his drink in my direction.
I don’t see Cruz or Jagger, but we’re far enough away from anyone, so I know I’m safe.
“I want you to call a board meeting and announce me as your co-CEO. I want my old job back dancing, I want to move back into your apartment, and I want a fucking phone again.”
“Not demanding much then.” She laughs.
“You know it’s only reasonable. My papa and brother won’t hurt me. Yes, they might try to drag me home, but I’m ready for them now, and it won’t matter. There is no way I will ever marry who they choose for me. I’m ready to fight for what I’m entitled to now more than ever.”
Her grin widens. “I knew you had it in you.”
“I didn’t. But I do now.” My head drops. “Sloane, they hurt me so much. I have no idea how to recover. All I know is I need to fight for myself and get that right first.”
She squeezes my arm. “Good for you, girl.”
“So will you sort out that board meeting for me? The sooner the better,” I ask, hopeful.
A hand comes to my side, and I freeze. A shiver moves down my spine like someone has walked over my grave.
Cruz’s breath dusts over my ear. “I think we need to talk, little darlin’.”
I shove out of his grip and spin around to find him and Jagger glaring down at me. Shit, where did they come from and how much of that conversation did they hear?
“Leave her alone, Jagger,” Sloane snips from her brother’s side.
Jagger glares angrily at her. “You’ve done enough, dear sister,” he spits back at her.
My heart kicks up a beat as I stare up at the two of them.
She offers me a sympathetic smile. “I’ll leave you to talk, but give her phone back so the girl can call me when she needs to.” She flicks Cruz in the forehead, then she’s on her way. “And try being less of a fuckwit. Seriously, brother.”
A heaviness washes over me. I wasn’t prepared to deal with this yet, and somewhere so public as well. But here goes nothing. “All this time I was just a job for you. First my brother, then Alex Moretti!”
“Don’t give me attitude over something you don’t understand, flower,” Jagger cuts in, his voice cold as ice.
He calls this me giving him attitude. A fire ignites within me.
“Fuck you,” I spit, my body so damn tense it feels like I’m going to erupt.
“Tell me one thing, Jagger. That press conference out front of Ricky’s clinic with my brother.
Did you set that shit up? Was that all part of your manipulation? ”
His eyes flash with something deranged, and his mouth forms a thin line. “I did what I needed to do to get you to safety, and it fucking worked, so I don’t need you giving me shit over it now.”
I huff out a breath, my fists clenching at my side as I try to stop myself from lashing out, but it’s too late.
I slap him right across the face. “You’re unbelievable.
You set that shitshow up to scare me so I would beg for your help.
You know how terrified I was, and you manipulated me when I was suffering enough already for your own greedy reasons.
” My palm connects with his chest repeatedly.
“What is wrong with you? Are you seriously that selfish that you used my fear against me to lock me away, unaware of the inheritance I was owed. You fucked me over to help a Moretti.”
Cruz grabs up my hands, holding them hostage behind my back. “Are you done? Maybe it’s time you listen to us.”
I pant like a crazy person, erratic energy racing through me.
I want to hurt them like they hurt me. But it wouldn’t be enough because nothing will take away this terrible feeling now slithering under my skin.
I trusted them against my better judgment.
I thought they cared about me. “I’m so damn far from done.
The marriage to Asher, that was all part of it, wasn’t it? ”
“Do you want to run part of Moretti Media?” Cruz tilts his head, looking deranged. “You want a constant target on your back from all the corrupt pigs who control that world?”
I stare up at him. “I… I want the choice… I want to be told what’s going on in my life, not lied to and kept in the dark. Manipulated to help your allies and you three.”
Cruz’s face softens. “Not manipulated, protected. There is no way you were well enough to make decisions for yourself after such a terrible head injury. This wasn’t forever, Daisy, it was temporary.”
Jaggers face lowers, his eyes locking with mine in a way that makes me shiver. “Until we figured out a solution. Alex didn’t come to us. I went to him to ask for his help; that’s his world, and you were about to be forced into it with no clue what you were getting into.”
I stare back at the two of them. “I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouths anymore.”
Jagger shrugs. “That’s your choice.”
“Yeah, it is.” I glance past him, looking for an escape, so done with this shit. When I left Italy, all I wanted was to find my independence and follow my dreams and dance. And I let that all slide because I got wrapped up in everything Stryker brothers. I’m more lost now than I was then.
Jagger’s hand laces with mine. “Dance with me,” he demands.
My eyes narrow. What is he on? Why would he think I want to dance with him right now? “No,” I snap back.
“It wasn’t a request.” He tugs me onto the dance floor with him, joining a sea of already moving bodies.
I shove against him. “I’m warning you, Jagger, if you keep pushing me like this, you’re not going to like the consequences.”
“That sounds like a threat, flower.”
My body shakes. “It is a threat, and I hope you hear it loud and clear. I’m done with this shit.”
He spins me then brings our bodies back together, closer than before. His hold on me is impossible to escape, the power he exudes a threat in its own right. I know exactly what he’s doing, but tonight, it’s not going to work. I’m done with all the bullshit. I need out.
My eyes narrow, and I glare right through him. “What if I made you a deal, one too good to refuse.”
“There is no deal to be made,” he mutters then spins me.
I come back face to face with him, my breath short.
“I’ll hand over my share of Moretti Media Italy to you and your brothers if you set me free.
” I don’t know where it comes from, because it’s not what I really want.
Now that I know about this, I want to prove to my family what I’m capable of, but I can’t go on like this with the three of them.
He stops moving, and his hold on me tightens. “No fucking chance in hell.”
My angry eyes meet his as my heart beats out of my chest, not sure who I’m testing here more, him or me. But I need to know the truth, need to see it. “What? I’m giving you exactly what you want. A thirty percent share of Moretti Media Italy to add to your growing empire and run with your sister.”
“Not what I want.”
I blink back at him, fear coursing through me. “Why can’t you let me go off and live my life?”
His eyes meet mine, darker than ever. “If you think I would take you up on such a bullshit offer, you have no idea what I truly want.”
I want to burst into tears, but I think I’m too angry. “You’re fucking impossible. You can’t keep me hostage with you forever. The business is what you want, take it,” I growl out, sounding more like one of them than I ever thought I could.
He spins me, pressing his front to my back, his lips coming to my ear.
“You’re what I want.” He spins me again so I’m back facing him.
To anyone else this would look like the two of us having some fun, it could look romantic even.
He takes my hand and places it on his chest right over his beating heart.
I stare up at him. He’s okay with me touching him?
“I won’t let you go because I’m in love with you, Daisy. ”
Tears fill my eyes because I can’t believe him. I know it’s not true. He uses people to get what he wants out of them. This is a trick, it has to be. I can’t be his end game here. But he’s letting me touch him, and the way his heart hammers feels all too real.
The song comes to an end, and the MC announces dinner.
The other dancers who were around us disband and head to their respective tables.
But I’m left in the middle of the dance floor in Jagger’s arms, his heart thumping erratically.
“I’m not letting you go for anything, Daisy, and you’d better get used to the idea that all three of us brothers are in this for you, nothing else.
” He lets me go and stalks off, leaving me more confused than ever before.