Chapter 16
ALICE
As plans go, this one must work. I can’t rely on anyone this time because there is too much at stake.
“I can call the cops.”
Britney chews on her lip, and I smile at the compassionate assistant with reassurance.
As soon as we entered the changing room, I told her that Simeon had kidnapped me and the bruises were my reminder not to run.
She was horrified, and I played on her sympathy when I asked her to help me escape him.
I don’t feel bad, but there is a possibility that Simeon will take out his anger on her, which is why she must go along with my plan for her own safety.
“I don’t trust the cops. I just need a cab waiting at the back door and a distraction so I can take it.”
“The exit is to the left of the changing rooms. It’s the staff area that doesn’t lead back into the shop.”
I nod, grateful for the jeans and sweater I grasped along with several smarter pieces, not intending to try them on but taking enough to buy me some time and as we slip out of the cubicle, my heart is banging inside me.
As she makes the call, I swear I’m having a panic attack, and she whispers, “Five minutes.”
“Thank you, Britney,”
I hug her hard and heap some of the clothes into her outstretched arms with a grateful smile.
“Will you be okay, Alice?”
Britney is so sweet to be concerned because we have known one another for ten minutes at most, but I used them wisely.
It wasn’t difficult to persuade her that I’m being held captive. Simeon made it easy for me by banishing the other customers and turning the key to the main door outside.
I take out some of the money Sister Agatha gave me and press it into her hand. “For the clothes and, well, your help. I’ll never forget it.”
Her anxious smile is my reply as I turn to the left and as she turns to the right, armed with several outfits, I hope her acting is up to Oscar levels. She will explain that I require different sizes and take her time in selecting them before heading back inside to find me gone.
I’m hoping that will give me enough time to be safe in the cab on my way to the Goldsworthy head office and I’m almost wishing I could see the expression on Simeon’s face when he realizes I am three steps ahead of him.
As Britney heads through the curtains, I veer off to the left and, as she said, the exit looms in front of me leading to the rear entrance of the shop.
I ease it open and peer outside, taking in the small alley where the cobbles lie at my feet.
The noise of an engine purrs in the distance and with a deep breath, I take a step outside and almost jump out of my skin when a strong arm comes from nowhere and a deep voice says huskily, “The exit is through there ma’am. ”
My heart drops when I notice the man dressed in black guarding the exit, another one on the other side, trying extremely hard to contain his smile.
“I need some fresh air.”
They say nothing and don’t move and as the cab pulls into the street I wonder if it’s worth fighting my way out of here.
One of the guards notices the cab and steps out into the road, his hand up. As the driver stops, he says something to him, causing the cab to reverse back the way it came.
My mouth dries and the guard preventing my escape says in a deep voice, “You should go back inside. It’s not safe for you out here.”
“Safe?”
He nods. “We are here to protect you, ma’am. Allow us to do our job.”
The other guard returns, and it’s obvious I’m going nowhere. With a frown, I head back inside, fighting the tears that are more of frustration than anything else.
As I make my way back to the cubicle, my heart sinks when I find Simeon sitting on the seat inside and his amused smirk does little to lighten my mood.
“What are you doing in here?” I snap, so pissed that he is controlling my life right now.
“Reminding you of your responsibilities.”
“I don’t have any that concern you.”
“Is that any way to speak to your husband?”
“You’re not my husband.”
I am increasingly frustrated, and he shakes his head, an aura of cold control settling around him like a demonic cloak.
“I will say this once, Alice, because I don’t believe I spelled it out properly the first time.”
He stands and my mouth dries as his ominous presence stifles what air is left inside the cubicle.
“Sit.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
He actually rolls his eyes, and I squeak when his hand shoots out and he physically manhandles me into the chair and his arms land on either side of me, imprisoning me in a wall of steel.
His dark eyes power down to my soul and he is mere inches away when he says in a husky whisper, “If it’s not me it will be somebody else and you won’t get to choose. Remember how it felt when you were tied to the seat and watched a man die before your eyes. That could have been you.”
I swallow hard as the memory spears my bravado, and he hisses, “This is not a game, sweetheart. This is our life. Men take rather than ask. They never ask questions, just dictate, and they expect obedience, and any backchat is usually silenced by violence. They break your spirit and sometimes your bones, and they do it because they can.”
I am physically shaking as he delivers a hard truth and then shocks me by reaching up and cupping my face in one hand and as his thumb brushes against the purple bruises that are throbbing right now, he whispers, “I am not that man, Alice. Despite what you think, I’m a decent one and have no interest in adding to your pain.
So, here’s the deal because I believe honesty is important to you, which is why I have not lied to you about my involvement in this. ”
I swear the heat in this cubicle has nothing to do with the temperature because I am mesmerized by this man. It’s almost as if he is hypnotizing me into submission.
“We will marry, you will bear my child, and you will have the choice to leave at the end of it. I will fulfill my father’s wishes and you will be safe from a bastard who won’t be as agreeable as me and will use you for his pleasure while breaking your spirit.
In return for helping me honor my father’s wishes, I will do the same for you. ”
My breath hitches as his lips hover close to mine, and he sounds almost seductive as he whispers, “I will help you find your mom.”
Tears fill my eyes because he has taken the one thing that means the most to me and pinned it to the top of the board, circled in red ink.
He appears compassionate and says with a soft smile, “Work with me, not against me, angel and I will do the same for you. We will be better as a team than opponents, and I don’t envy the chances of anyone who gets in our way.”
His thumb is caressing my face, and I surprise myself by leaning into his hand, all of my fight deserting me under the pressure of a soft smile and a comforting word.
If anything, it’s a relief that he is being so kind.
I misjudged him because, of course, he’s right.
I am a walking target with many arrows pointing in my direction, and I have a feeling he is the armor I need to be wearing to survive the war.
I nod, all the fight draining out of me, and he sighs, his mouth so close it’s temptation of the most desirable kind. Somehow, having his child doesn’t seem like a bad decision at all, and I whisper, “Do you really believe that I would bear your child and then leave without it?”
My heart is breaking as abandonment issues return with a vengeance, and I sigh. “You see, Simeon, if I marry — and that is a strong if — it will be for life because I would never put any child of mine through my experience and I’m guessing you wouldn’t allow me to leave with our child.”
His eyes flash as I add, “So you see, we do have a predicament. You don’t want to marry me, and I don’t want to marry you and to be honest, I don’t want this stupid inheritance, anyway. Money corrupts, and this is merely one case in point. Why do you believe I want it, anyway?”
“That’s not what this is about, angel.”
He shocks me by pulling me to my feet, and as his arms curl around my body, I rest my head against his huge chest, and his deep voice rumbles through my soul as he states fact.
“We don’t get to choose. If it’s not me, it will be someone else. You really don’t have a choice in this. The money is too tempting for every villain out there, and I’m sorry to say, it has ruined any future you wanted before you get a chance of choosing what that future is.”
“I can return to the convent and then everybody loses.”
I squeeze my eyes tightly shut against the tears that will be my downfall.
“You will never make it that far.”
“You’ll kill me?” I state it simply, more out of interest than anything, and Simeon growls, “I’m not that much of a bastard, no matter what you think of me. No, I would be dead already because to take you they must go through me first.”
“You would die protecting me?”
I’m shocked, and yet the pleasure that sentence brings reveals more to me than any word.
He pulls back and smiles, almost sweetly, and nods.
“Of course I will die for you, angel. Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve said?
It’s do or die, touch her and die, and death do us part when you live in the shadows.
I am your best bet at navigating this hell we live in, so don’t fight me, work with me and we may come out the other side. ”
“By marrying you?”
He says nothing, and I wonder why that sentence doesn’t seem as scary anymore. If anything, when I dreamed of a husband, I never hoped it would be a man like him. I can think of worse, and for a minute back there it was way worse when the man on the jet forced me into becoming his wife.
With a defeated sigh, I nod, hanging my head as reality hits. He’s right; we must work as a team if I am ever going to see my sisters again. If I am ever going to find my mother and unlock the mystery of her death.
“Then we should leave.”
He drops my face and links his fingers with mine, and as we walk out of the cubicle, I’m surprised when we turn left, back the way I came.
“Why?”
He sighs heavily. “My car is waiting at the rear exit because I wouldn’t put it past your friend out there to have called the cops.”
“She’s a good person.”
“If you say so.”
As we leave, I wonder why he is wearing a self-satisfied smirk on his face.