Chapter Sixteen
Sabrina.
Eleven hours prior
Don’t break, you stupid bitch.
I have expelled so much of the contents in my stomach from Kane kissing and touching me that I’m lightheaded.
I’m going to fly to Texas when all of this is over and eat a very hearty Bar-b-que meal with a substantial amount of southern-style sides.
And french fries. My mouth waters. How can I be sick and hungry?
Oh, great. Now I'm irritated that I’m hungry.
I’m feeling so many feelings and it’s all making my skin crawl.
While Kane has kept his promise and has ‘treated me like a queen’ by taking me on a shopping spree to replace whatever I lost in the fire, the last thing I want to be doing is shopping.
I change into the new black high-waisted, wide-leg trousers, a black wool turtleneck, and little vintage Oxfords.
Okay, maybe I do feel slightly better now that I’m out of sooty clothes.
I’m also a bit ticked off at Raven.
She had to blow up the manor?
And where did she go? Granted, seeing Maverick in disguise and hearing him use an English accent was amusing, but she put me in a predicament.
I saved Kane.
I heard the window smash and pulled him down just in the nick of time before the first floor exploded and caught fire.
And now he won’t stop calling me his little angel and kissing me every time he looks at me.
Ugggghhhhhhhhhh.
I’m getting fucking hives.
I miss Parker.
I slip on the last piece that will hopefully taper down the hives that want to burst along my hands—new gloves—then throw on the black coat.
I leave the dressing room to find Kane sitting there, staring blankly at me, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He smiles brightly at me. “Better?”
“Much,” I nod.
“Perfect. The clerk already had someone put your items in the boot. Is there anything else you need?”
My husband, a shower, and calamine lotion. I put my hand over my stomach. “If we can just stop by the chemist’s? I need a few lady products.”
He makes a slight face of disgust at the mention of ‘lady products.’
I hold in the eyeroll, but a memory of Parker pulling my tampon out with his teeth like the safety pin from a grenade just a few weeks ago flits across my mind, and I blush.
He stayed above the string only to get annoyed by it, pulled out my tampon, and ate me silly.
Then fucked me to within an inch of my life.
Maksim found us, and with every vile, hard thrust of his hips, he kept praising me, telling me how beautiful my blood looked on him.
They’d looked like they'd been to war. And won.
The sheets were utterly ruined.
Then Maksim called me his little strawberry shortcake when their cum started leaking out of me.
Parker laughed hysterically.
I did not.
I freeze for a moment, counting back the weeks.
But I have an IUD…
“Right,” Kane says, standing. “Let’s get you sorted then, shall we?”
I grab my purse, the one holding the gun I DIYed to make pretty, and Parker’s favorite switchblade I know I’m going to use on Kane if I can’t use my gun.
“It’s crazy you had time to grab that,” he says nonchalantly, eyeing my purse.
“It has my phone and my passport,” I quip back steadily, doing my best to keep the sass out of my voice. “Plus, it was on the sideboard by the door. I also had time to grab my coat. As did you.”
“Right,” he nods as we leave the boutique. When the driver stops by the chemist, I tell him to wait there. He didn’t need to see the products I was going to purchase. That I’d like to leave some mystery between us. He agrees, and off I go.
Two hours later
We drive past the Barclay Manor… then the Winters’, which is looking completely empty.
As it should. They’re doing their part. I’m doing mine, I chant silently.
But my heart is beginning to betray me, not calming, but spiking in pace.
I have to will my knee not to bounce and for my fingers not to tap my thumbs. I withhold every tremor.
Don’t break.
We arrive at the Ainsworth Estate, which is heavily guarded on the outside despite the snow falling around us.
When the driver opens our door, Kane gets out first, helps me, and then holds out his arm for me to take.
The guards don’t greet us, only eyeing me suspiciously for seconds at a time as we pass them.
You’d think they were the Queen’s guards. Practical statues.
Once inside, it’s the same. More guards standing around all dressed in black, and I’m beginning to feel both in and out of my element.
I pretend this is just another building with Maksim’s men.
It is showtime after all. I square my shoulders, raise my chin, and let Kane lead me.
The space, while opulent and immaculate, reminds me of the Barclay manor, except the floors are polished honey oak and there’s a matching grand staircase that splits, leading up to the second floor.
The furniture is modern but with antique flair.
Lots of dark colors instead of light, like Mama chose for all of our homes.
I follow Kane to an office on the first floor, hearing voices within.
We pass the threshold to see Kane’s grandfather sitting behind the large antique desk.
His light blue eyes find mine, and he holds a finger up to us.
“Yes, that’s fine. We’ll see you tomorrow,” he says and hangs up the call he had on speaker. Fuck. Another landline.
Clearing his throat, the old badger stands and comes around the desk to greet us. First his grandson, then me. “Hello, Sabrina. It’s been a long while.”
I return the partial hug. “It has, hasn’t it? About… a decade or so?”
Because he was at Charlie’s funeral. With Kane. Mr. Ainsworth nods. “Seems about right. How’s your father?”
“Doing well,” I lie, “about to open a new firm in California.”
He steps away from me and goes back to his desk. “Oh? That’s news to me.”
It should be. “Yes, seems to be a quite recent development. Heard it from his lips just before I left New York.”
He nods, staring at me.
Don’t break.
“Kane tells me you’re to be a guest… for a little while.”
I smile brilliantly. “Yes, sir, if you’ll have me.”
“Would you mind if I speak to my grandson alone?”
I lift my brows. “Not at all. I’ll give you some privacy. It was wonderful to see you again, Mr. Ainsworth.” I give Kane a kiss on the cheek and leave the office, not shutting the door completely, thankful there aren’t any guards out here.
“Son, what are you thinking?”
“She wants to make sure he dies. She’s frightened, Grandfather. Says both the mafia and the bratva have been following her since he disappeared.”
“And you’re sure they haven’t followed her here?”
Kane scoffs. “Please. I’m not stupid. I went to the soiree. The only Italians I saw were either staff or—” he mumbles something else I can't decipher, and I panic a bit. But then, “Besides… she saved me. If she truly hated me, she could have left me there to asphyxiate.”
I roll my eyes so hard I'm pretty sure I see my grey matter as he continues to tell his grandfather all about my heroic act. I want to throw a tantrum like a toddler and throw myself on the ground. Why did I have to do that? Your husband, you idiot. I roll my eyes at myself. While they exchange a few more muffled words, I back away from the door and lean against the wall, waiting for Kane. When he comes out, he’s grinning.
He takes my gloved hand in his and leads me up to the second story, showing me to a room that already has all of the bags containing my new wardrobe sitting on top and around the large four-poster bed—same as the one on the island.
Either Beatrice, his mother, had the same interior designer work here, or they truly value antique furniture.
I hear small taps behind me and look over my shoulder to see Kane leaning against the door frame with his arms and legs crossed, knuckle on the frame where he just rapped.
He lets his lower lip roll out and gives a quick smile.
“I have a few more things to take care of, and then I’ll possibly have a small snooze before dinner. Shall I pass by for you then?”
“Am I not to have a tour here like on the island?”
His smile drops, features harden, and his gaze turns glacial. “No. Our guests are to begin arriving tomorrow afternoon. Grandfather and I need everything to go according to plan, so I’ll be helping him. I’m sure you have enough to do with—” He gestures to the bed. “all of that.”
“Right,” I concur.
“I’ll have someone bring you a bite, and then I’ll get you for dinner.”
“Of course.”
Four Hours Later
I’m simmering with a bit of fury. I’ve finally been able to charge my phone, but there’s no fucking service here, like it’s been blocked off by all the goddamn trees around the goddamn property.
Can trees do that? Maverick gave me a tiny little knapsack with what seems to be a device to be able to connect with them.
But every time I’ve tried to turn it on and speak to them, nobody answers.
Ugh! Why can’t I remember what Maverick said?
In my defense, I was particularly distracted by the stupid faux sideburns peeling off, and I was trying not to snort.
I finally give up looking for signals like I'm in a terrible cell phone commercial from the early 2000s right before Kane comes to retrieve me for dinner.
Dinner is quiet and unnerving. There’s a very serious tone throughout, and it’s making me nervous.
Don’t break.
I excuse myself once I’ve swallowed as much as I can of the quail and vegetables, letting them know I’m still tired after what’s transpired this morning.
I force myself to kiss Kane and ask him if he’ll be joining me in bed later.
I know he’s about to say yes, but he seems to remember we stopped by for lady products earlier and tells me not tonight. He has to get ready for tomorrow.
I take my leave after thanking Mr. Ainsworth for dinner and head up.
An hour later, after I shower, I dress in thick, black wool tights, another black turtleneck, and shove my feet into thick socks.
I head to the window and pull my necklace out from between my breasts, where my wedding ring hangs.
I fidget with it, dying to feel the weight of it on my finger, watching men go around the property, putting things on the ground.
I gasp when I realize what they are.
I look around the room, trying to see if I can find a trapdoor or something that may lead to a hidden passageway, but find nothing.
I feel hopeless.
I can’t sleep.
I am sixty-eight and a half kilometers away from Parker, and I am quite literally on top of my husband without being on top of my husband.
And I really want to be on top of my husband.
He really loves to fuck me face-to-face, and I really miss that.
I miss his weight on my body, his constant need to have my full attention, and the way his too-large cock fills me.
Not to mention the way he loves to tear me apart as Parker watches or joins us.
Every time I get a phantom pang in my womb, I’ve resorted to believing my pink parts can sense he’s near.
I head to the window once more and see men beginning to come out of the woods from every direction. But instead of coming inside of the manor, they’re going to what looks like a tool shed. If they’re going there… then that means…
I pad over to the bedroom door and open it very carefully, sticking my head out.
Seeing the hallway completely void, I quickly move forward, dashing down the stairs, keeping to the sides by the banister so the boards don’t creak.
Once I reach the base, I continue on my path, looking for any rare item that may look out of place.
Exhausted, I find nothing, not letting myself fall into the pit of hopeless despair that’s waiting for me.
I head to the kitchen, where I find a very awake senior Ainsworth eating a small piece of cake on a dainty plate at the island. I let out a small yelp, and it causes him to chortle. “Are you alright?”
I nod. “Yes, I’m so sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone to be awake at this hour.”
He digs his fork back into the cake. “Would you like a slice?”
“Yes, please.”
He serves me a slice after grabbing a second plate from the cupboard. “Milk?” I dip my chin and he serves me that as well. We eat in silence for a moment or two, and then, “My grandson says you are to marry… once your… husband is—”
“Yes,” I interrupt him, not allowing him to put ‘your husband’ and ‘dead’ in the same sentence. “Kane assures me these… games do not leave anyone alive?”
Mr. Ainsworth blinks at me. “That is correct.”
“Perfect.” I go back to eating my cake that tastes of ash and sawdust.