Chapter Ten
~ Jackson ~
My lips thinned into a small line as I watched Daniel lightly stroke his fingers across the bandage on his hand. He had sworn that it didn't hurt when Norris put the tracker in his hand, but I had to wonder if he was telling the truth.
Frankly, I didn't understand how it couldn't hurt. I had almost punched Norris when he used a scalpel to make a small incision in Daniel's skin. I didn't care if he used a numbing agent or not. I didn't like seeing Daniel in pain, not for any reason, even one that was supposed to keep him safe.
I glanced to the front of the car where Daniel's new bodyguard was sitting. While I liked the idea of Daniel having an extra layer of protection, I didn't know how I felt about a total stranger living in our home with us.
Jake and Alejandro swore up and down that this guy was one of the best at what he did. I trusted them. I did not trust this guy. It wasn't anything specific about him that put me off other than the fact that I didn't know him or what he was capable of.
The only person I trusted to truly keep Daniel safe was myself, but I couldn't be vigilante twenty-four hours a day. Hence, the muscle bound bodyguard.
"Tired?" I asked as I glanced back at Daniel.
He sent me a small smile and nodded.
It had been a long day so I understood that.
I was tired, too, but my day wasn't over. I glanced at the briefcase at my feet with trepidation. The look on the face of my father's lawyer as he handed over the files that I'd put in that briefcase was enough to tell me I wasn't going to like what I was going to find inside of them.
He'd been all business once I handed him the certified marriage certificate Daniel and I had gotten not an hour before. It had taken almost an hour to go through all the paperwork to transfer my father's business and assets into my name.
It wasn't until that was all done and the lawyer had brought out another file that his stoic face had taken on a grimace of distaste. His words of, " Don't open it here. I don't want to see it again ," had sent a cold chill down my spine.
Daniel was my husband now and if this was something about him, I needed to know.
"We're almost home," I told Daniel. "I had Edward order us something from my favorite Thai restaurant so you don't have to cook tonight. After you eat, I want you to get a good night's sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"More than today?" Daniel asked, which surprised me. He didn't talk much, but he seemed to be getting more vocal as time went by. I was highly in favor of that. I wanted a husband I could talk with, not one that needed an order to speak.
"About the same, just different," I told him. "Today was all about making sure you were safe. Tomorrow is about making sure you can live comfortably."
I'd seen what Daniel had brought with him from the estate, and it wasn't much. Tomorrow, I planned to take him shopping. Besides the fact that he needed a complete new wardrobe, he was now legally my husband. He needed to dress the part.
"You'll have to let me know if there is anything you need."
"Just a trip to the market."
I smiled as I curled a strand of Daniel's blond hair around his ear. "Then we'll put that on the schedule as well."
When we reached our building, I waited for the bodyguard to get out, check the area, and then open the door before sliding out of my seat. I might not have a bodyguard right now, but I'd had one in the past on different occasions. I knew how they worked.
"Daniel, whenever you go out somewhere with Austin, you always let him check the area before going ahead. Austin will let you know when it's safe to move or get out of the car."
Daniel gave a brief nod as he glanced at Austin. I wasn't sure how he felt about having a bodyguard, but it wasn't up for debate until William was caught. I doubted he had come to the city specifically to catch Daniel, but I wasn't taking any chances.
Once inside the building, we did stop by the security counter to introduce Austin and Daniel and get them signed in as residents of the building. I wanted to make sure they both had access to the facilities and the penthouse.
Daniel seemed to be lagging a bit as we walked toward the elevators twenty minutes later. He'd said he was tired and I could see it in his dropping eyes. I had wanted him to eat something before he went to bed, but I wasn't sure he was going to last that long.
"Daniel, do you want to eat now or sleep now and eat later?" I asked as we stepped onto the elevator.
"Sleep now," Daniel whispered. "I'm still full from lunch."
Jake had been kind enough to take us to Le Bernardin for a celebration lunch after we'd gotten legally married. Daniel had picked at his food so I don't know how he could be full, but maybe he was more tired than he was hungry.
When we reached the penthouse level and the elevator doors slid open, I grabbed Daniel and pulled him. It took a moment to recognize the large shadow standing in front of me to realize who it was.
"Fred."
Fred gave me a respectful nod. "Mr. Wyatt."
"Heading in or heading out?"
"In, sir."
"Ah." I kept an arm around Daniel's shoulders as I led him off the elevator. "Can you please tell Jake thank you for me and that I'll call him tomorrow? I have a few things to discuss with him and Miles."
"I will, sir. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Fred." I gave him a little wave before heading to the penthouse door with Daniel. Austin already had the door open waiting for us when we got there.
I still debated on whether or not to insist Daniel eat before he headed to bed, but he veered right into the bedroom when we reached it. I chuckled as I followed him in and helped him get ready for bed. With the way his eyelids kept drooping, I suspected he couldn't do it on his own.
Once Daniel was all tucked in, I brushed the hair back from his forehead. "I have a little work to do in my study. If you need me, come get me."
"Yes, sir."
I was getting more and more used to that whole "sir" thing, and liking the way it sounded on Daniel's lips. Part of me felt that that was a slippery slope. Another part gloried at the honorific.
I left Daniel to sleep and made my way down the hallway to my study. I left the door open just a crack so I could hear him if he called out to me. After everything he had been through I was worried that Daniel might have nightmares.
Once at my desk, I opened the briefcase and took out the two thick files the lawyer had given me. I set one of them aside. It was the one with all the legal transfer of power paperwork.
I wanted Miles to give the papers a quick look in the morning just to make sure everything was completed successfully. No sense trying to take over my father's company if I couldn't legally do it.
I was a bit confused about the second file. I opened it up and slide everything inside out onto my desk. There were the usual paperwork I'd expect like my father's and Daniel's birth certificates, their marriage license, and my father's death certificate.
It was the two computer discs that confused me. One read "Watch First" in big black letters. The other one said "Medical Records". I grabbed the first disk and slid it into my computer and the brought up the media program and hit play.
I swallowed tightly when my father appeared on the screen. I hadn't seen him in ten years and hadn't realized how much he had aged until this moment. He looked so old.
"Hello, son, I assume if you're watching this that you've agreed to the stipulations in my will." He sighed for a moment, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose before dropping his hands to the desk and clasping them together. "You're going to need a drink for this, Jackson. Put me on pause while you get it. I'll wait."
My eyebrows shot up and I stared at the screen for a moment before getting up and walking over to the liquor cabinet. I grabbed a glass and a bottle of bourbon, carrying both back over to my desk. I poured a healthy amount into the glass, drank it all down, and then poured another glass before hitting play again.
"I'm sorry it came to this, Jackson. If I could have kept you from being forced to marry Daniel, I would have. I just didn't expect to get sick like I did."
When does anyone ever expect to get sick?
"The first thing that I want to tell you is that my marriage to Daniel is not a conventional one. There is no romantic love between us. We've never even been intimate. Our relationship is not about that. If anything, I suspect that Daniel sees me more as a father figure."
Wait...what?
"I married Daniel to save him and to keep him safe from people that wanted to use him for their own means. Along with this video, I've included a record of the abuse Daniel has suffered as well as his medical records since the day he came into my care."
I sucked in a shaky breath.
Abuse?
"Daniel was five years old when he was sold into slavery by his drug addicted mother. He was seventeen when I bought him for fifty thousand dollars. I married him the day he turned eighteen in order to keep anyone from ever hurting him again."
Holy shit! My father had bought someone. A living, breathing person. How? Why? And in what world would my father even know about something like that?
"I know you probably think I was crazy to do this."
Uh, yeah.
"What you need to understand is that from the time Daniel was sold when he was just a child, he's been trained to be submissive to his owner. He knows no other life. I've tried to teach him that he doesn't have to be anyone's slave, but I think it's too engrained in him. Not even therapy worked, which is another reason why I married him and I want you to marry him. He needs someone to care for him that understands him, but won't abuse him."
The weight of the responsibility my father was placing on my shoulders was crushing. What did I know about having someone so submissive? Someone that had been abused as badly as this?
"Daniel had four owners before I bought him. I'm hoping you will be the last. I know I'm asking a lot, Jackson, but I am hoping you will care for Daniel for the rest of his days and ensure that no one ever takes advantage of him again."
When my father suddenly started coughing, Daniel walked into the screen, holding a glass of water to his lips. I'd never seen the two of them together so I watched them carefully, trying to understand the dynamics of their relationship. I know what my father said, but that didn't make it fact. Just because my father said they didn't have a romantic relationship didn't mean Daniel felt the same.
But as I watched Daniel care for my father, I couldn't say he was wrong either. He was gentle and caring toward my father, but insistent that he take his medicine. There was a hint of sorrow in his eyes as he stared at my father.
My father patted his hand. "Go make lunch, Daniel. I'll be done in a few minutes."
"Yes, sir." Daniel didn't argue. Just walked off screen. A moment later, a door closed.
My father sighed as he stared back at the camera again. "I've tried for years to get Daniel to stop calling me sir. He just won't, so don't be upset if he starts to refer to you that way. I've told him about you and the fact that you will be his new husband if you marry him. He knows you will be taking care of him."
I wanted to scream at my father. What would he have done if I hadn't agreed to the marriage? Sold him to someone else? He hadn't even talked to me and made sure I'd agree. I almost hadn't.
How could he be so careless?
"I would encourage you to continue to send Daniel to therapy. While I doubt it will cure him, it does help him. The things that were done to him before he came into my care..." My father shook his head and then reached up and wiped at the corner of his eye.
Was he crying?
The only time I had ever seen my father cry was the day my mother died.
"Just be gentle with him. I know I'm asking a lot, Jackson. This is a huge responsibility, but I'm not asking you to build a life with him. Just take care of him and make sure no one hurts him again. Maybe you could be a big brother to him or something."
I think it was too late for that.