CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
E LODIE W ALLACE STOOD in the heart of London. A stretch of ludicrously expensive stone residences curved before her, the city homes of many of the world’s wealthiest, those supposedly important, probably corrupt, definitely powerful people. The kind of autocrats who’d do anything to ensure their wealth and power didn’t just remain intact for all eternity but grew like rampant weeds through millennia—strangling anything and anyone in the way of their relentlessly upward trajectories.
Cynical? Why yes, Elodie was. Dramatic? That too.
But sometimes in life everything does happen all at once. Bad things truly happened ‘in threes’, and ‘when it rains, it pours’ wasn’t a strong enough forecast—a whole hurricane had hit her world. It wasn’t enough that her dream career was under threat or that her best friend’s livelihood was also at risk, but her younger’s sister’s life was basically at stake.
So she would enter the den. Slay the dragon. Save the princess. Though admittedly now she was confronted by the imposing buildings that so spectacularly signposted both wealth and sticking power, she regretted not bringing backup. But both Phoebe and Bethan, her compadres in pursuing a life of personal liberty, needed protecting too. Phoebe was away taking the first holiday in her life, while Bethan was still fragile from a deeply wounding disillusionment. So Elodie had not told them about the call she’d taken from her sister Ashleigh late last night, nor of the decision she’d made to come here today.
One step at a time .
The clichés would get her through, they usually did. She loved using them at work—twisting them to mean the opposite and thus confusing her customers. She stalked along the pristine path until she hit the right numeral beautifully painted in black on twin marble columns. The portico was ridiculously grand, the neoclassical architectural style exuding timeless and impenetrable exclusivity.
She registered the security cameras. They were subtly situated but still able to be seen, thus acting as deterrent as much as actual recording devices. Breaching this citadel would be a challenge. She drew breath and climbed, staring straight into the lens of the camera nearest the front door as she pressed the button.
Somewhat amazingly the door opened after only a few moments. Elodie’s attention zipped to the man blocking the space. He looked like a cross between a pro wrestler and a secret service agent. Blank expression, black earpiece, built physique complete with a bulky bit in his black jacket that made her suspect he was carrying a weapon. That last might be her over-active imagination but she was pretty sure. Quelling her rising nerves, she fixed her gaze squarely on him. She’d pretend she was meant to be there, as if she were someone important too. She was good at pretending.
‘Elodie Wallace,’ she announced with the particularly precise enunciation she used at work. ‘I’m here to see Ramon Fernandez.’
‘Snootily confident attitude’ crossed with ‘bulletproof ballbreaker facade’ had got her into some of the most exclusive clubs when she’d needed to destroy her own name. But, bold as she’d been on those nights, she had to be even more so now.
‘Is he expecting you?’ More than a touch of scepticism tarnished the man’s reply.
‘I’m his fiancée’s sister,’ Elodie elaborated crisply. ‘I’m here to discuss the arrangements for this weekend’s engagement party.’
The butler/bodybuilder/probable assassin might’ve been immaculately trained but even he failed to hide his startled moment at her answer. Elodie maintained her frigidly polite expression. Bluffing was an art form and fortunately she’d had plenty of practice. There was a pause. Though he kept his gaze on her, the man’s eye muscles narrowed slightly and she sensed his attention was elsewhere. His earpiece perhaps? She tilted her chin slightly. She wasn’t leaving without talking to the man she was sure was inside. She’d chain herself to one of these columns and scream like a banshee if required. Ashleigh’s future literally hung in the balance.
The behemoth drew an audible breath but suddenly muttered, ‘Of course.’
Was he talking to her or—?
He stepped back. ‘Please come in.’
As she followed him inside she sneaked another steadying breath, unable to appreciate the sudden temperature change from the stifling summer heat outside to a cool, high-ceilinged sanctuary of an atrium.
The body-built butler gestured towards a comfortable-looking chair. ‘Please take a seat.’
‘I’d prefer to stand.’ She smiled glacially. ‘While you let him know I’m here.’
‘He knows you’re here.’
A prickle of fear scored its way down Elodie’s spine. Had he been watching the feed from those cameras? The butler paused again, this time not even trying to hide that he was listening to someone. Elodie stood defiantly but her already erratic pulse zipped from rapid to frantic. Cold sweat slicked across her skin.
‘If you’ll follow me,’ the man said, abandoning any attempt to hide his wide-eyed curiosity, ‘Senor Fernandez is ready for you.’
She very much doubted that. Ramon Fernandez was the man Elodie’s parents were bullying her baby sister into marrying and she intended to eviscerate him.
Although now she was actually here she realised she had little concrete idea as to how.
She followed the man, reluctantly impressed by the interior. She’d expected ostentatious decor—a gallery of gilt-edged frames housing priceless portraits, gleaming sculptures on plinths, luxurious rugs handmade by a city of workers a century ago...that sort of thing. But this home was sleek with black-painted walls and dark polished wooden floors, punctuated by occasional warm lights that only partially illuminated the way. It made Elodie feel as if the world were growing gloomier with every step—as if she were being led into a lair. A dark, sumptuous dwelling for a predator.
Way too fanciful... Elodie mocked herself.
This wasn’t one of the escape rooms she designed and managed. Though she memorised the way as she went in case she needed to actually escape in a hurry. She tugged her blazer sleeves and swept her hands down her tailored pants. The sleek suit formed part of her armour as did the make-up she’d applied only half an hour ago. She’d had to mask the shadowy ravages of an utterly sleepless night. The bustier beneath her blazer was extremely well-fitting—literally giving strength to her spine. Black and embellished with orange and gold beads and yes, while those did completely clash with her red hair, that was deliberate too. She wanted to project fearlessness. That she was a rule breaker. Reckless. A possible threat. Indeed, she wore it to project intimidation. But it was pure projection. A ploy because deception was her trade. But today wasn’t mere playful pretence, she needed the armour for real and it was burnished with rage.
‘Senor Fernandez...’ The butler paused just outside a wide open doorway. ‘Ms Wallace is here to see you.’
‘How delightful.’
A drawl. Complete mockery.
Elodie froze on the threshold, barely aware of the butler’s departure behind her as the man stood up from the sleek desk that housed a bank of slimline screens.
Blue eyes. Black hair. The sharpest cheekbones she’d ever seen. Not chiselled but sliced—angular, masculine, stunning. Eagle-eyed, he stared back at her. For a timeless moment she just stared back. Then he moved. She didn’t. Couldn’t.
For a split second she felt a hit of hope . Surely this man couldn’t be the monster her sister meant? Ashleigh had described him as slimy and weak. Elodie had gone online to track down his London address but there had been little else and so nothing had prepared her for the cinematic perfection of Ramon Fernandez. He looked like Hollywood’s version of the ultimate, suave hero.
She blinked. It didn’t help. The tuxedo amped up his attractiveness. Formal evening wear suited most men—maximised their height, breadth, length—but this suit did all that and more for him. His frame was leaner than the butler’s but she suspected his muscles were no less lethal and he had an air of command the other man lacked. But it was those eyes and the aquiline features that mesmerised her.
‘You’re far too old for her,’ she breathed, so stunned that her first thought simply fell out of her mouth in a puff of disbelief.
Not just too old. Too everything . Too wealthy. Too handsome. Too successful, surely. Because he was smug with it. She watched him stroll towards her, his demeanour relaxed yet predatory, as he calmly took in every aspect of her appearance. He enjoyed wielding his power and he had it in spades. Both personal and professional. Why on earth would a man who lived in a place like this and looked like he did, need to buy himself a teenage bride?
‘Do you think?’ he asked conversationally.
So it was true. He didn’t even try to deny the arrangement. Bitter disappointment squashed that little leap of hope and her rage returned. But still she couldn’t move.
Undeniably overwhelming, he was tall, dark, intolerably, impossibly handsome.
Yes, a cliché. But again, the cliché was flipped. Like the conundrums she created, Elodie’s exterior ran at a complete counterpoint to her interior. While she projected a confident demeanour, on the inside she was terrified. This man was the same but in a far worse reverse. Beneath the beauty, this man was a beast. Angelic on the outside, a monster within. It was knowing this that caused her heart to stop altogether, right? The absolute horror before her. She almost lost her nerve.
‘You realise she’s only just turned eighteen,’ she spat contemptuously.
He stopped less than a foot from her. Much closer and he’d be breaching generally accepted boundaries of polite personal space. Not that he apparently gave a damn given the arrogance oozing from him. Doubtless he considered himself not just above convention but above the law.
‘You realise she only left school a few weeks ago?’ she added when he still didn’t bother to reply. ‘She’s beautiful, but she’s a baby.’
His gaze dropped, lingering on the beadwork of her bustier. He was looking at her like he was assessing an item for the art collection he didn’t even have. But his was a keen, knowing eye—summing up her valuation with a singular glance and to her shock and mortification a torrent of reaction released within her. She blushed —actually blushed. Heat rose everywhere as she endured his remorseless appraisal. Her response was fierce and uncontrolled—appalled outrage, right? Not any other kind of response.
‘You have nothing to say to that?’ she goaded desperately.
‘I thought you wished to discuss the arrangements for the engagement party, not her age.’ A cool reproof.
Her jaw dropped for a split second before her wild anger unleashed, driving her forward into the room so she stood toe to toe with the monster. ‘There shouldn’t be an engagement party! If you had any scruples you’d end this deal.’
He cocked his head ever so slightly and looked down his nose at her. ‘Deal?’
It was that smallest curl of a smile that did it.
‘I know all about it,’ she derided furiously, any last self-restraint in flames. ‘I know you’re paying for your bride.’
‘You think?’
How could he be so sanguine?
The intensity of her anger overrode everything. ‘You’re investing in my parents’ hotel. Which is madness. Surely you’re aware it’s never been a commercial success. Some would say it’s a lemon. Why do you want it?’
He remained relaxed. ‘Surely you know how good I am with hotels—’
‘Right, I do. So forgive me if I don’t believe that you need another one. Certainly not one that isn’t anywhere near the size of those already in your stable.’ She glared at him.
‘Perhaps I like a challenge,’ he said quietly.
‘You’re bored? You need entertaining?’ she said sarcastically. ‘Join a Scrabble club. Better yet, hire a children’s party entertainer.’
Something flickered in his eyes, but she couldn’t quite define it and he still said nothing.
‘No?’ she mocked. ‘Because it’s another sort of filly you want, isn’t it?’
His beautiful lips curved again.
She shook her head in total disbelief. ‘Why do you need a wife, exactly? Is it image management? Because in case you hadn’t worked it out, I’m going to be a problem here.’ The only thing she could think was to shame him. She knew too well that shame was a vitriolic thing. ‘I’ll go to the media,’ she added. ‘I’ll cause such a scandal, I’ll—’
‘Publicly embarrass your own family?’
She stared into his intense blue gaze. Clearly he didn’t know that she’d already embarrassed her family on a professional level. Entirely deliberately, knowing they’d disown her. Because four years ago this had happened to her . She hadn’t been eighteen, but nineteen when her father had driven her into the arms of a man she didn’t love. He’d always been controlling—from the subjects she studied at school, to the clothes she wore, to how she spent every moment of her time. He was the head of the family and Elodie, her sister and her mother were expected to do his bidding without question. Elodie had long accepted that as normal, but in her late teens her frustration grew. Her father had never valued her as anything more than a decorative source of free labour. He’d never listened to her ideas for the hotel. And she’d barely paid attention to Callum Henderson. Yes, he’d been at her school, but he was three years older and honestly off her radar. Not her father’s though. Son of the local mayor, monied and influential. Her father had been thrilled to recruit him as assistant manager. Elodie had been hurt her father had laughed at her own quietly voiced inclination to apply.
But Callum had gone out of his way to talk to Elodie. He’d told her about a couple of interactions between them at school. Truthfully, she’d never even remembered them. He’d listened to her ideas—even enacted a couple—presenting them to her father as his purely to get them over the line. To Elodie’s surprise her father hadn’t been angry about Callum taking her time—he’d told her to be nice to him. For once she seemed to have pleased him.
The proposal had come out of the blue—a rose-petal-strewn moment in front of her parents and half the hotel staff. Blindsided, there was no way she could reject Callum publicly . Especially not when she’d glimpsed the hard expectation in her father’s eyes and realised that he hadn’t just known about it but that he’d approved it. She’d had to say yes in the moment. And then her father wouldn’t hear her misgivings. She would never ‘do better’ and Callum was going to invest in the much-needed hotel upgrade and she couldn’t be the one to deny the rest of her family that much-needed resource; moreover, she should be honoured someone like him wanted someone like her.
At that point Callum hadn’t even kissed her. It had never occurred to Elodie that he’d want to. But he’d been patient and persuasive. He’d promised to manage her father once they were married. And here’s where Elodie had been so at fault herself. She’d been flattered because he’d listened, because he’d seemed to truly care. She’d believed him, blind to the fact that what he wanted wasn’t what she really was. So swiftly she’d been swept into a situation she couldn’t escape.
The gravity of her mistake hit within mere days of the marriage. Callum’s promised support and freedom had been fiction while the intimacy he’d promised would develop between them hadn’t. Asking to end it had been futile. Turned out appearances mattered more than anything to both those men and ultimately Callum was every bit as controlling as her father. In the end she’d stopped asking. She’d acted. Badly.
‘Well?’ the too good-looking tower of a man right in front of her now prompted, somehow sensing her unsteadiness. ‘How far are you willing to go to stop this?’
‘As far as it takes.’ She blinked away the shameful memories, furious with her weakness—for thinking about herself in this moment. Because this was about Ashleigh—and she completely understood her sister’s inability to say ‘no’ to her father. She wouldn’t let her sister endure more than the unfair pressure she’d already faced.
‘What’s weird is why you have to go to such icky lengths to get what you want,’ she pushed back on him. ‘What’s so repellent about you that forces you to buy a bride?’
That slow, wide smile curved his lips. Apparently he wasn’t shamed in the least by her acidic question.
‘You tell me,’ he invited softly, leaning closer still. ‘How repellent do you think I am?’
Oh, he was so very arrogant. She refused to respond to such a blatantly outrageous diversion. ‘You need to call the wedding off.’
‘But won’t your family—’
‘Lose the hotel?’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t care. Ashleigh isn’t for sale.’
‘Ashleigh,’ he echoed calmly. ‘She hasn’t mentioned you to me.’
Of course her sister hadn’t. Elodie was an outcast for deserting her ‘perfect’ husband and ‘perfect’ life. Her parents now lived as if she’d never existed. She and Ashleigh had only remained in touch online until Ashleigh had borrowed a friend’s phone last night.
‘No.’ Elodie’s words slowed as she registered that somehow Ramon Fernandez had moved even closer to her. ‘She wouldn’t have dared.’
Ashleigh couldn’t disobey her father. Not yet. Elodie understood that too. She’d been the same for so long.
Ramon was serious now. Finally. ‘Because you’re a danger to the deal.’
‘Yes.’
The startling blue of his eyes thinned as his pupils flared and she found herself sinking into their dark depths. The crackling sensation across her skin was so foreign it took her too long to realise what it was. Chemistry. Sexual chemistry. To her horror she realised her heat wasn’t entirely comprised of rage at all. Her pulse thundered because this wasn’t some tempting tendril of intimacy. This was an untrammelled cannonball of lust suddenly running amok within her. All because he was standing so close. It was something she’d never before felt. Instant. Intense. Completely and utterly inappropriate. Horrified at the utterly unbidden rush of want, she gasped sharply. But the attraction was overpowering—and terrifyingly unstoppable.
‘And you’re a danger to me,’ he whispered.
‘Very much so.’ She bluffed.
Because she knew now that the opposite was true—he was an absolute danger to her. But she couldn’t seem to back away from him. She should. She should get away. She didn’t need to test his measure. He thought and said and did what he wanted with no compunction and no remorse and certainly no consideration for another’s feelings. And yet here she was, a heartbeat away from him.
‘How, exactly?’ he breathed.
That heat from deep within spread across every inch of her body and burned her skin. To her amazement a light flush echoed on his—colour scorching those angular cheekbones as his intense focus dropped to her mouth. With innate understanding she realised that he was considering kissing her. Instinctively her lips parted—that was to breathe, right? Because the shock stole her breath.
But she didn’t step back. She refused to let him intimidate her. Because that’s all this was—an attempt at intimidation. He was so sure of himself—enraptured with his own power—sensual and otherwise. But this close she caught a hint of his rich, oaky scent and the reason why she was even here at all began to slide from her mind as a shadowy, heated haze enveloped her. His long jet lashes lowered and suddenly his lips were but a whisper from hers.
With the last thread of resistance she remembered. Murmured, ‘You would cheat on your fiancée so easily?’
His eyebrows flickered but he didn’t pull back. ‘You would betray your sister?’
‘It’s no betrayal,’ she denied huskily. ‘I’ve already told you I’ll do anything to stop this marriage.’
She would put herself between him and her sister.
His lips twisted in triumph and he lifted his head away from her. His eyes glittered as he stared as she ran a tongue across parched lips. She realised that he’d been testing her . He hadn’t actually intended to kiss her and that she felt disappointment was truly awful.
‘You’re not in love with her,’ she accused bitterly.
‘No,’ he admitted with brutal candour.
Pain and fury and humiliation coalesced within her. How could he—and how could her parents—do this? Elodie wouldn’t let them hurt Ashleigh in this way.
‘So she’s nothing but a toy?’ she flared scornfully. ‘A pawn in some bigger game you’re playing? Just a thing to be sacrificed?’
‘You think it would be so bad to be married to me?’ he asked too mildly.
‘Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that, given the lengths you’re having to go to get yourself a wife.’
His flash of amusement infuriated her all the more. How could he laugh? It was sickening.
‘It’s all about you,’ she erupted. ‘Your status. Your needs.’
‘You don’t think there’ll be any benefits to her in the arrangement?’
‘None that are worth it.’ Not Ashleigh’s innocence and liberty and dreams for her own future.
Elodie had long ago vowed never to get involved with another man again. She’d fought hard for her own freedom. She’d done horrible, necessary things. But she would suffer far more if it could save her sister from the same.
‘For some unfathomable reason you want to get married,’ she said. ‘So perhaps it doesn’t matter who the unfortunate woman is.’
He was unnervingly still, that intensity sharpening his eyes. ‘You have another candidate in mind?’
Candidate . As if it were a job.
‘Another poor soul, you mean?’
The devastating good looks of the man, his searing wealth, his callous lack of care and her own horrendously animal response to him fuelled her fury to the point where all control was lost.
‘Sure,’ she added acidly. ‘If you want a wife so desperately , then you can marry me !’