Chapter Eleven
By the time the armored vehicle Reuben had ordered arrived, along with a dozen men and three other vehicles, the helicopter had already swung away and disappeared.
I’d dressed into black panties and a bra, the lacy fabric prickling my skin—perhaps because it was some other woman’s intimate underwear—along with jeans and a loose jade T-shirt.
A cropped leather jacket with multiple zipped pockets helped to conceal my wings.
Then I’d pulled on a pair of ankle boots with little spiked heels before I’d grabbed a small bag with some of Mimi’s clothes tossed in.
Reuben’s off-grid home no doubt already stored some of his clothes there, along with other supplies. I exhaled slowly. I didn’t have the time or energy to second guess myself, not while my freedom was at stake. I’d chosen to put my trust in him from the moment I’d agreed to his plan.
Reuben slung his arm around my shoulders as we sat in the backseat, but I wasn’t certain if I drew comfort from it. In some ways it felt like another chain around me, another prison. I pushed back a shudder and glanced out the side window as we left the city behind.
It was later in the morning, but light was barely visible thanks to zero streetlights and the fog that hung heavy over the road, making progress slow.
Neither of us spoke. I felt his tension as much as my own. He regularly checked the mirrors, but as the city faded behind us, he relaxed back into his seat.
I glanced at him. “I didn’t take you as the cautious type.”
He shrugged. “If it was only me I probably wouldn’t give two fucks. But I have you to protect now.”
“I know how to look after myself.”
He nodded. “I sense how tough you are, but a part of me still wants to protect you.”
I managed a smile. He had no idea how tough I really was. Lord only knew how many scientists had tested my limits. “Honestly, I’m just glad we left your place before Adam caught up with me.”
Reuben turned toward me, his stare sharpening. “Adam? As in the Adam Segmund? That’s who you’re running from?”
“You know him?” I asked tightly.
There had to be hundreds of Adams in this city alone. But I supposed very few Adams were rich enough for helicopters and security. Even less would be top scientists and investors. I only hoped Reuben didn’t know that much about Adam.
“I know of him,” Reuben replied. He made the other man sound like some kind of god to be worshipped and idolized. I hid a frown, but didn’t answer even when he added, “Who doesn’t?”
I should have known Adam would be a household name, probably even more well-known than Reuben with his adoring fans. I resisted a dry laugh. How had I managed to associate myself with two such renowned men?
I turned back to the window, noticing the fog had begun to lift, revealing the road ahead like the truth I could no longer hide.
Then I heard it.
A distant, rhythmic pulse, like a tremor in my chest. It was too faint for any of the humans to notice, but it hit me like thunder. I caught my breath sharply, my spine straightening.
Reuben narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”
I didn’t speak. I just kept listening, counting the beats.
Whup-whup-whup.
The sound rose fast, growing clearer with every second.
“Helicopter,” I finally whispered. “Same one.”
Reuben tensed instantly, straightening his arm to tap the shoulder of the driver in front of him. “Stay alert,” he barked. “We’ve got movement in the sky.”
I turned in my seat, my heart hammering as the chopper burst through the thinning mist behind us—sleek, dark and predatory. “He found me,” I said, my voice hollow.
The steel and chrome bird moved overhead, then floated in front of us, its shadow darkening the ground. Reuben’s driver cursed before slamming on the brakes. The helicopter continued to descend, landing directly ahead and blocking our path, its rotors stirring up dust and leaves.
Reuben’s jaw tightened, his curse muffled as a line of black SUVs—easily a dozen—appeared behind our own smaller convoy, boxing us in.
Everything felt suspended in slow motion even as my senses sharpened, became supercharged. My heart pounded frantically, my wings vibrating against my back. It took everything I had to keep them still, hidden from Reuben.
He had no idea who I really was—what I was, just as he had no reason to believe Adam was anything more than a jealous lover. At least, I hoped not.
The helicopter’s door hissed open and Adam stepped out, calm and controlled even as the jacket of his dark suit along with his signature ruby tie, flapped in the rotor’s wake.
My breath caught. I’d almost forgotten how easily he made me react. A cold weight settled in my chest, tightening my heart’s rhythm. Even with my body’s betrayal, I’d never forget how much I despised him, never forget everything he’d done.
He stalked forward, his tawny-golden eyes fixed on me through the windshield, searching and assessing. No doubt debating on whether I’d been touched or harmed. Whether I was still innocent...or not.
Reuben’s jaw tightened beside me, his silver eyes narrowing as he followed Adam’s every move.
Adam’s stare shifted to Reuben, his eyes growing colder, more lethal.
The exchange between the two men made my skin grow cold, my blood pressure roaring in my ears.
Adam stopped several feet from the vehicle, his eyes again locking on mine even as he raised a hand in a practiced gesture.
Doors opened in unison behind us. One by one, his team stepped out of their SUVs, weapons visible, formation tight. They moved fast, surrounding our smaller convoy with silent efficiency, boxing us in completely.
Reuben’s jaw flexed. He didn’t speak, but his hand twitched near his side, where a glint of metal caught my eye.
I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t realized he was armed. I shook my head. But of course he was. In his own way, Reuben was just as dangerous as Adam.
“Let her go,” Adam called out, his voice clear and commanding. “And I’ll let you walk away. Alive and unscathed.”
Reuben didn’t answer. But tension radiated off him as his fingers flexed near his weapon.
I turned to him, my voice low, steady. “Leave, please. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
He stared at me, his jaw tight, war raging in his eyes. His grip tightened on his gun, his other hand closing into a fist. Every part of him wanted to fight.
But then, slowly, I saw the shift. The flicker of understanding.
Reuben might have fought and won in every ring he’d entered. But this wasn’t a ring. And Adam wasn’t someone he could outmatch. Not here. Not today.
Something passed between us then. Trust, maybe for the first time. I asked, and he’d chosen to listen.
Reuben nodded tightly, then pushed open the passenger door before stepping slowly out of the car with raised hands.
Adam’s team didn’t move. Not yet. Behind us, doors creaked open as Reuben’s men began to emerge from their vehicles, weapons drawn, eyes sweeping the perimeter.
Even inside the car I felt the air thicken, knew an eruption was imminent.
Reuben didn’t look back at his men, his attention sliced between me and Adam. “Stand down,” he said, his voice low but sharp. “Weapons down. Now.”
A few seconds passed. Then, slowly, his men obeyed, lowering their guns with visible reluctance.
Only then did Reuben back toward one of his other vehicles without a word. Just before he disappeared inside the SUV, his men hovering close to him, he turned toward Adam. The look he gave him was sharp, measured.
A warning that this wasn’t over.
Adam barely acknowledged the other man as he approached my side of the vehicle, his intent clear. But though he was quiet and composed, I’d learned his stillness was one that came moments before something broke.
He opened the door and stopped in front of me, his gaze sweeping over my face. I swallowed hard. His eyes told me everything I needed to know. I belonged to him now.
Or so he believed.
“You’ve been reckless,” he said, his voice low. “But I forgive you.” His eyes burned into mine. “Let’s go, Bella.”
The name hit me like a slap. He was reminding me exactly who I was to him. Though I tensed, I didn’t fight. Not yet. It was pointless. Hopeless.
But the moment his hand settled at the small of my back, right against my concealed wings, I flinched. That it was less from revulsion and whole lot more from yearning was my own damn fault.
I swallowed back my all too familiar, toxic reaction as he guided me toward the helicopter. The wind tore at my clothes and hair, the blades thundering above us.
I climbed in first, sliding onto the leather seat. He followed, shutting the door behind him with a deafening finality. He reached over and secured my harness, my breath hissing at his close proximity.
How could I hate this man so completely while I simultaneously burned for him? I glanced out the window to the convoy of cars outside. Right then it was as if Reuben no longer existed.
I pushed down a wave of bitterness as I reached for my headset and put it on, the noise of the rotors and outside world vanishing, sealed off like it never existed. The cabin seemed to instead hum with sterile calm, my pulse thudding like a drum in my ears.
The moment we lifted off, I felt the shift, not just in altitude, but in control. I was in Adam’s space now.
He didn’t speak for a while. Just watched me. Then quietly, he asked, “What is he to you?”
I didn’t answer. My hands stayed folded in my lap even as I kept my expression unreadable.
Adam’s tone turned colder. “I saw the kiss. At the fight. Don’t insult me with silence.”
I’d been right to be nervous by the cameras and media at the fight. I’d guessed how far-reaching his influence was. How quickly he’d no doubt intercepted the footage. I couldn’t help but sense he’d watched that kiss between Reuben and I dozens of times.
Still, I said nothing. He deserved my silence, my cold shoulder.
His jaw flexed. “You’re not a virgin anymore, are you?” he asked flatly. “Did you give yourself to him?”
His voice wasn’t loud in my headset. But it was sharp-edged, unraveling. He wasn’t just jealous. He was obsessed. And he wouldn’t accept anything but the words from my mouth.
So I gave him a lie instead. A cruel one.
I lifted my chin, forcing a slow smile. “Reuben gave me the best birthday present I could’ve asked for,” I said, my voice calm and deliberate. “He showed me what it means to be a real woman. And I enjoyed every second of it.”
The silence that followed was instant and lethal.
Adam stared at me. I stared back.
I wanted him to burn, to slowly incinerate with pain. Just like he’d let all those innocents behind their cell doors, slowly rot and die.