CHAPTER FOUR
KYRA
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OMG! My arms flail around me as shampoo stings my eyes. My legs slip under me as I gasp, but large hands catch me.
What the hell is happening?
I feel a sting in my neck as fear crashes through me, and my body turns to jelly. A second later, I lose control of my limbs.
“Hel—” My words are stopped by a hand which slams harshly over my mouth. Blinking, I try to make out who the large dark figure is, but the fucking shampoo is blinding me.
Where is security?
My home is surrounded by security guards and somehow this person has found their way inside the house, into my bedroom and bathroom.
Am I going to die?
Are these my last thoughts?
I have barely lived. No. I don’t want to die.
Please help me.
Even if I was stronger or had learned kung fu instead of stupid Pilates, the drugs have taken my ability to move from me. I’m powerless.
I almost pass out as I pant in terror, but then the rest happens quickly. I’m dragged from the shower, up against my assailant’s hard body, and wrapped in something while my mouth remains covered.
Then the world fades to black.
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WHEN MY EYES open again, I find myself staring at the ceiling of a room I know isn’t mine. There is a fancy-looking light shade and, as I gently turn my aching head, I note the drapes look thick and heavy.
This is not some dirty motel. Somebody with wealth owns this home and has brought me here.
Why?
I try to sit up and my head pounds. Then reality slams into me and I force myself into a sitting position as my heart races.
Where am I?
What day is it?
Beside the bed is a glass of water and some Tylenol. My brows lift in response, as if I’m supposed to believe my kidnappers are kind and thoughtful?
I wouldn’t say I’ve been trained to prepare for such a situation, but when your surname is Fox and you’ve lived most of your life with personal security, it would be ignorant to say I never thought this was a possibility.
I just never thought it would happen to me.
I’m nobody.
Well, except the heiress to the Fox & Co. fortune. Is there a chance I’ve signed away my inheritance to Pierce Sterling, so they have kidnapped me now to trade me back for my family’s money?
A thought strikes me.
If it worked, would that mean I don’t have to marry Pierce?
Wow. Talk about survival instincts.
I should be more worried about getting out of this alive.
I glance down and notice I’m in a bathrobe. Mine. So that’s what they wrapped me in. Then I notice I’m not wearing any panties, so I clench my core protectively.
Did they touch me?
I grab the neck of my robe and tighten my fist into the plush fabric.
Oh god, this is terrible.
Hopefully, this is over quickly, and my father pays them whatever they want. Surely, he will pay.
Right?
I clamber back up the bed and nestle myself into the piles of feather pillows as if they are some kind of protection.
Just in time, too.
The door opens and as light streams through, all I can see is a tall and imposing male figure.
“Good. You’re awake,” his rich dark voice says, void of emotion.
Then he steps in and turns on a low light. I almost gasp at how handsome...and terrifying he looks. And somehow familiar, but I can’t quite figure out how.
I take in his dark tailored pants, crisp shirt which is folded up his arms, clean shaven strong jaw, and heavy timepiece on his arm. It doesn’t make sense. This man doesn’t need money.
My eyes dart around the room, confirming my initial reaction. I’m lying on Egyptian cotton with a seriously high thread count, and the furniture looks antique or extremely well-made to replicate it.
This is a man of great wealth and power. His silver eyes study me as he holds his broad frame confidently, giving the strong impression this is a man very few would mess with.
My eyes study the rest of him. He has a lot of tattoos and what seems like a permanent scowl.
He’s rich and dangerous.
“Please let me go.” I beg as I try to remember if that’s the right or wrong thing to say to a kidnapper.
Give him your name. Yes, yes. They say to humanize yourself to appeal to their compassion. Although I’m not sure this man has any by his cold expression.
“My name is Kyra. My mother will be missing me.”
He slides his hands into his pockets and tips his head, like I’m some amusement at a museum instead of a human he’s kidnapped.
“My father...”
I trail off.
Even in a situation like this, I can’t lie and say my father would give him anything he wants to get me back. He might, but I don’t know for sure if he’d give away all our wealth.
Isn’t that fucking sad?
I suspect it’s better I stay quiet.
“I know who you are, Kyra Fox.” He steps farther into the room, reaching behind him to close the door.
“What do you want?” I ask, clenching my hold on the robe tighter and tucking it under my legs.
I feel so vulnerable.
This man can do anything to me if he so chooses.
At least he’s gorgeous. If I am going to die, at least he’s not some creep. Crazy and dangerous, but not creepy.
What is wrong with me?
He lets out a dry, quick laugh. “I don’t want your body, sweetheart, so you have nothing to worry about there.”
I blink.
Well. That’s good then.
Although I’m slightly offended. But I blink away my reaction, hoping he doesn’t notice. I’ve never attracted many men—that I’ve been kept at home most of my life probably doesn’t help—but a man like him? No, he wouldn’t look twice at me.
I’d barely reach his chin if I were standing up.
“All you need to do is stay in here, be quiet, and do what I say,” he tells me.
What the hell?
Does he think I’m going to accept that? Like, o h yeah, no problem, do you have Netflix or books?
Is he insane?
Clearly, that’s a yes.
“I need to go home. I can’t stay here!” I reply, panic finally starting to rise within me.
He draws in what appears to be an impatient breath, his chest expanding, and my eyes shoot to the rolled-up sleeves and his forearms, and I swallow hungrily.
Damn, why couldn’t the man I’m being forced to marry look like my kidnapper? And why the hell am I even thinking these crazy thoughts?
“You can make this easy or difficult. I know you’re a good girl, Kyra, so do as you're told.”
My core tightens at his words, and I feel my face heat.
“I’m not...good.” I stutter.
His brows lower and eyes roam over my robe-clad body, then dart back up to me. Then he pulls his hand out of his pocket and rubs his jaw. He blows out another breath, as if this conversation didn’t go as planned.
“I will provide you meals. You have a bathroom through there,” He nods toward the closed door. “And clothes, toiletries, and everything you need are in the closet.”
I gasp.
“You planned this?”
“Of course I did.” He frowns like the question is ridiculous and we stare at one another for a long moment.
“Are you going to hurt me?”
He glares at me this time, and I know the answer is yes. My eyes fill and my body begins to shudder despite every effort to stop it.
I’ve been kidnapped.
I know I begged to get out of my marriage to Pierce, but this wasn’t what I was thinking, universe.
“If you try to escape, yes, I will. The door is locked, the windows can’t be opened and you’re thirty stories high, so I wouldn’t recommend trying to smash them.”
I’m trapped.
No one knows where I am...or who—
“What is your name?” I suddenly ask.
“Maddox.” For the first time since he walked in, the dangerous and handsome man twitches his lips into almost a smile. “Your fiancé’s son.”
What?