Chapter Three
~ Daniel ~
I shuddered as William ran his hand over the side of my hip. Fear balled up in my throat like a gag when he laughed, threatening to cut off my oxygen.
I didn't want to be here.
I wasn't supposed to be here. Jerald had promised. This was supposed to be my safe space, and it was, until he died. Once he was gone, this safe space had turned into a nightmare, a cage to hold me until William sold me to someone new.
I ached with the knowledge of what was to come. This wasn't my first time being auctioned off to some stranger. Until I died, I doubted it would be my last, and dying was sounding better and better with each passing second.
Unfortunately, William had been smart and had bound my wrists behind my back. If that wasn't bad enough, he'd put a collar on me and attached it to a chain attached to the ceiling. Even if I wanted to run, I couldn't.
I just wanted my hell to end.
Was that too much to ask?
I'd experienced five years of peace, five years of not being forced to serve someone I hated, five years of not living in fear. It had all ended when Jerald had gotten sick and then died.
I missed him so much. He was the father I never knew, the safety net I needed, and the patient teacher bent on teaching me to stand on my own two feet.
Life wasn't fair. I'd learned that before I learned to crawl. Life never asked what I wanted or what I needed. It just threw me into the deep end and told me to sink or swim even if I didn't know how to swim.
I was drowning.
I let out a small whimper when the lights suddenly went out. I cried out when the room was suddenly lit up by a flash of light so bright it was like looking directly into a camera flash. A bang loud enough to make my ears ring followed right after.
I didn't understand what was going on.
Someone grabbed me.
Despite the collar around my throat and the way my hands were cuffed behind my back, I tried to struggle away. Despite the flashes of light from moments ago, I couldn't see who had me.
When someone or something tugged on the collar around my throat, I turned my head and sank my teeth into the closest piece of flesh to me. I received a small smack to the back of my head for my troubles.
"Knock it off," someone snarled in my ear. "I'm trying to free you."
Like I believed that.
But, mere seconds later, the collar fell away. A moment after that, my hands were free. Before I could get up and run, I was wrapped in something cottony soft and then lifted into a set of muscular arms. I had no choice but to latch onto the man carrying me out of the room.
I heard a door slam and then the overhead lights came on, blinding me again. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes until they adjusted to the sudden light.
Once I could see without agony burning my eyes away, I glanced around. I instantly recognized that we were in the study.
I turned to look at the man holding me as he set me on the couch. I swallowed tightly when I saw the same gray eyes I'd been seeing for years, although Jerald's had paled with age.
"Jackson."
The man's dark eyebrows lifted. "You know who I am?"
"Sir showed me pictures."
The pictures I'd been shown really did not do Jackson Wyatt justice. They didn't show the way his gray eyes seemed to see right down into my soul or the way his brown hair curled around the edges of his ears.
They didn't show the thick muscles rippling under his black shirt or the sheer size of the large man. His muscular thighs, his broad shoulders, the square cut of his jaw...I could go on.
"You look like your father."
Jackson grunted.
The door opened and three men walked in, two of them dressed in something that looked like combat gear. I whimpered as I scrambled closer to Jackson. He was the safer bet here. At least I knew he was.
"Jack."
Jackson stood up and shook the man's hand. "Thanks for getting here so quickly, Miles."
"Of course." The brown haired man glanced at me. "Is this him?"
"This is the Daniel."
Apparently, he knew who I was, too.
The brown haired man's eyebrows went up as his eyes darted to Jackson. "This is Daniel?"
Jackson nodded.
"Why was he being auctioned off?"
I quickly dropped my eyes when Jackson turned to look at me. He was supposed to be my new master, but I didn't know what his rules were. Better to be cautious until I did.
"I haven't had the chance to ask him yet," Jackson replied. "We were just introducing ourselves."
Were we?
Jackson squatted down in front of me. There was something soothing in his soft gray eyes when he looked at me. "Daniel, you said you knew who I was, right?"
I nodded without lifting my eyes. "Jackson Wyatt."
"That's right," Jackson said. "And you're Daniel Wyatt."
I nodded again.
"Who was the man in the white suit?"
"That's William," I replied, a small shudder shaking my body. "He worked for Sir as the butler until Sir passed away and then he became the master."
I peeked up through my eyelashes when Jackson growled. It was a very interesting sound, part disgust and part rage.
I hoped it wasn't aimed at me.
"I can assure you," Jackson stated firmly, "William, or whoever he claims to be, is not the master here. I am."
I nodded once, understanding what he was saying in those few words. Jackson was my new master and I needed to obey him in all things. Sir had explained it to me before he died so I was kind of expecting it.
It was better than what the butler had planned for me.
"Can you tell us what happened tonight?" the one of the Jackson referred to as Miles asked.
I hadn't been given permission to speak to others so I tucked in my lips and kept my mouth shut. Until master explained his rules, I was sticking with what wouldn't get me punished.
Jackson took one of my hands and held it gently between his much larger ones. I marveled at the size difference between us. He totally encased my hand with his.
"Daniel, I know you must be very scared right now, but we really need to know what happened here tonight. Can you tell us?"
Since Master had asked...
"Sir passed away in his sleep a month ago. A week after he passed away, things began to change here. I was told that William was in charge and I had to do what he said because he was my new master."
There was that angry growl again.
"I was moved down to the servant's quarters and William moved into Master's suite. He threw a couple of parties, but never anything too big until tonight. He planned to auction me and two others off to new masters."
"Where are these two others?" Miles asked.
I kept quiet.
Jackson's eyebrows slowly came together as he glanced up at Miles for a moment before returning to look at me. "Daniel, do you know where the other two are?"
"The last time I saw them they were being held in the kitchen pantry."
Miles quickly walked over and spoke to one of the men in combat gear. The man took off out the door as soon as Miles turned and walked back to us.
"Can you tell us anything else about William?" Jackson asked.
My brow flickered as different thoughts flowed through my mind. "I think he knew Master Jackson was coming and he wanted to run away with as much money as he could get his hands on. He's already taken several items out of the house."
"How long has William been the butler?"
"He was here before I came," I replied, "so at least five years."
"Before my father died, has William ever said or did anything that made you suspicious? Made you think he might do something like this?"
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. "No, he's always been a bit stiff with me, but I just thought that he didn't like me. He didn't seem to approve of Sir marrying me."
"The people that were here tonight, have you ever seen any of them before?" Miles asked.
I tucked in my lips once again and kept quiet.
Jackson sighed. "It's okay to answer Miles, Daniel. He's my friend. He's just here to help us."
I peaked up at Jackson to make sure what he said was true. All I found on his face was concern.
Maybe he was telling the truth?
"I've never met any of these people before Sir died, but after that a few of them came to the house to meet with William. A couple of them even came to his other parties."
"We need you to point out who they are," Miles stated. "Can you do that for us?"
I swallowed tightly before looking at Jackson, silently pleading with him. If I never had to see those people again, I'd be happy. They had humiliated me. They had watched and laughed as I was humiliated.
Sir had promised I would never suffer like that again. While I didn't fault him for this because he was dead, the resentment was there. Maybe not at Sir, but more at the people that had done this.
"How about this?" Jackson started. "Miles is going to take his phone into the other room and show you pictures of everyone that attended the party tonight. You point out the ones that have been to the house before. Okay?"
I nodded eagerly. That would be so much easier than ever facing those people again.
"Daniel, I'm going to send one of the guards here to get you some clothes," Jackson stated. "You said your room was in the servants' quarters?"
"Yes."
"Which room?"
Oh, right, Jackson had grown up here. He probably knew more about the estate than I did. "Second door on the left." I swallowed tightly again. "Sir, can you make sure they bring me socks? My feet get cold easily."
I was surprised by the small smile that slid across Jackson's lips as he pated my knee. It was the same smile I'd seen on his father's face many times.
"Of course."
Jackson stood up and walked over to talk to one of the guards. I pulled the blanket up tighter around me as I watched him talk to the man. Sir had said that his son had a strong personality, which was one of the reasons Sir wanted Jackson to be my new master.
I could see it in broad width of his shoulders and the firm set of his jaw. He carried a self confidant air about him as if he was a man who knew his own worth. This was a strong man.
He might even be strong enough to keep me safe.