Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
AVA
Someone moved the book from my hand. I vaguely registered it along with the whispered, “Goodnight, wildcat,” once he repositioned my body so my head was on the pillow.
My eyes were too heavy to open, sleep having cast its spell on me, but I knew it was Emerson.
A man who continued to pique my curiosity, although I thought it might be more than that now.
No matter that two days seemed like too short a time to find the cold, cruel mafia boss everyone feared endearing.
The thought drifted away as I fell further into sleep’s grasp.
My dreams were gentle, flickers of blue eyes the color of a clear summer’s day, baritone words that settled too comfortably in my drifting mind, a smirk that left my knees weak.
But the calm slowly shifted, and a sense of dread crawled up my spine.
Darkness crept in even as I backed away from it.
I swiveled to run, but a brick wall faced me.
Familiar and constricting. Red bricks the color of dried blood with scrapes across them, the markings of days that passed.
Turning back, the darkness eclipsed me, and I gasped for breath, terror striking like a venomous snake and forcing the scream from my locked lungs.
I ran through the blackness, up the stairs.
One, two, three…ten and a door. Locked and restricting.
I pounded at it, screaming as the dark compressed its heaviness into my skin like an oily substance.
Something skittered below the stairs. Pings and creaks my rational mind told me were nothing, but in the pitch, there was only my overactive imagination to create the monsters lurking below.
I screamed and scratched, clawing at the door.
My nails tore, my skin ripped, and my tears fell.
Something wrapped around my waist, and I bellowed out a cry as that terror hit like the wall tumbling onto me. The stairs collapsed, yet still the surrounding sensation continued.
Safety, my mind whispered, and I relaxed into that pressure.
Streams of light broke through the darkness, my fall cushioned by a gentle tide that swept me to shore.
The sun shone down on me, and I blinked my eyes at it.
The sensation, that presence that told me I was safe, that nothing would hurt me, continued and I let my tension go, noticing it slide from me, taken away with the tide.
I relaxed further into the hold, letting it encompass me and knowing I never wanted to lose it.
The sense that something was missing woke me.
I blinked my eyes, adjusting to the sunlight flooding through my window.
The window in my prison, not in Emerson’s room.
Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and looked around the room.
He had moved me at some point, but I remembered his touch in my nightmare this time.
The secure hold he kept on me as I’d fought my way from my memories had been solid enough for me to recognize.
I rubbed my hand over my waist, missing his touch.
The T-shirt he’d given me was still covering me and I brought it to my nose, smelling his scent that still lingered on it before I dropped it quickly.
I didn’t want to recognize the feeling that fluttered in my lower belly, but it was difficult to ignore.
This was something out of those dark romances Riley and I read.
And I was the crazy female lead, falling head over heels for the corrupt mafia man within days of being kidnapped by him.
This was madness. Wasn’t there some syndrome associated with victims and their kidnappers? Maybe that was what this was.
I fell back onto the bed, trying not to think of Emerson Tides and the undeniable effect he was having on me.
He wanted to be hard and cold, but he wasn’t that way with me.
There were too many sweet moments, things he did and said that led me to believe this man wasn’t as bad as everyone made him out to be.
Or maybe he was different with me. I couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth.
The door opened, and I quickly pulled my sheets up, giving Breaker a nasty look.
“Boss said to bring you breakfast if you weren’t awake by ten.” He placed a tray on the bedside table.
“Ten? It’s ten already?”
He nodded.
“Where is he?”
“Meetings. He and Pack left with a few of the guys early this morning.” He walked away. “Eat. Jill will be by soon.”
He closed the door, and the familiar click of the lock assured me that Emerson had imprisoned me again. I sat back up and folded my legs under me, looking over the tray Breaker had brought.
Eggs and toast. I couldn’t stop my laugh or the excited squeak when I spotted the coffee that was still warm. I brought it to my mouth, savoring the taste. The eggs were warm as well and I thought maybe he had instructed Breaker to warm everything up for me. A sweet gesture to add to the others.
When I was chewing the last bite of eggs, the door opened again.
A woman entered the room, her auburn hair streaked with gray and pulled up in a stylish ponytail.
She wore a pair of tight jeans and a mauve blouse that buttoned down the front.
Stylish and attractive. If Emerson hadn’t laughed at my questions about their relationship, I would have considered the jealousy that pushed at me was more than her looks and dressing skills.
Her flats clicked on the wood floor as she walked to the foot of the bed and stood there, peering down at me.
“Hi,” I said, not sure if I should talk or continue letting her study me like a science project.
“So you’re the one who has Cade acting so out of character.”
I bit into a piece of crust and tilted my head. “Out of character?” I hated how my heart fluttered in response.
“Not his usual grumpy, demanding asshole self.”
My brow shot up, and I almost coughed out the crust. “Should you be calling your employer an asshole?”
“I’ve known Cade long enough to get away with it.
” She walked around the side of the bed as I tried to adjust to hearing Emerson called Cade.
It just didn’t sound right to me, but I knew he let me call him by his true name and it wasn’t something he allowed anyone else to do.
Another check on the sweet side of his list. “Get up and let me see what I’m working with. ”
And she called Emerson demanding.
“If I’d known he wasn’t kidnapping the tall, skinny one, I wouldn’t have spent all that money. Now I’ll have to donate all of it.”
“Tall, skinny one?” I asked, her comment irritating me. Sure, I was rounder in places than Riley and a few inches shorter, but I liked my body and my curves, and I wasn’t about to let her put them down. Besides, at five eight I didn’t consider myself short.
“Yes. You have more body to work with. Curves are more difficult to shop for.”
“Oh.” There went the steam from my argument. I threw the sheets back and stood. Jill towered over me. She had to be almost six feet tall.
Her eyes flitted to Emerson’s T-shirt, her lips twitching like she wanted to smile but it would be painful for her to do so. “That explains it,” she murmured.
“I’m not sleeping with him,” I snapped, not liking the condescending look she gave me.
“No? Why not?”
My mouth hung open before I could stop it. “He kidnapped me for one.” A lame argument now that I recognized his smell and looked forward to seeing him. Not to mention, technically, I was sleeping with him until my meds arrived.
“Shame. You seem like the type of woman he needs.”
I crossed my arms. “As opposed to what?” I asked, not really sure where this conversation was going or why we were having it.
She pushed me aside and began making the bed. “The women he normally sleeps with. Snobby, spineless, often brainless…at least the ones he bothered bringing into the house.” Fluffing the pillow with a fervor fit for a boxer, she continued, “Most don’t make it that far and haven’t for a long time.”
I wasn’t certain that was something Emerson would want her to share.
And I didn’t like the sting of envy it caused.
Like I was any better. I had my fair share of one-night stands, taking what I wanted and ghosting them if they got clingy.
Commitment wasn’t my thing, and I was beginning to think it wasn’t Emerson’s either.
She turned to me when she had mauled the pillow sufficiently. “You, on the other hand…” Her hand came out to tug one of my dyed locks. I had switched back to pink after playing with purple, thinking the pink flattered me more and was softer for Riley’s wedding. “…have spirit.”
“And you know that from the five minutes you’ve been in this room?” I said, hearing the sarcasm that emphasized the words.
“That and the grumbling he did when he called me. It takes a lot to get under Cade’s skin, but you succeeded.”
I scratched my head as she made a point of surveying me like an inspector. “He complained about me?” The thought soured my mood further. “He kidnaps me and has the nerve to complain about me?” The words I planned to volley at him when I saw him next would not be kind ones.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about.” She turned me around, lifting my shirt.
“Hey!” Glancing back at her, I pulled at it, but her hold was firm.
“I need to see what I’m working with here.” Her eyes landed on the tattoo on my hip. “Yes, you’re definitely something new for him.”
This time, I yanked the shirt away and faced her. “I’m nothing more than a hostage he’s using to bait Greyson Tides.”
A sleek arch of her brow had me doubting my words. “We’ll see.” Twisting on her heel, she strolled back to the door. “I’m off to shop. I’m assuming T-shirts, ripped jeans, and flannel are your style?”
An indignant huff came from me as I gaped at her back.
“I’ll try to improve on the quality of your wardrobe, but I’m sure whatever I get, you’ll make it your own.” An insult mixed with a compliment. Who was this woman?