Chapter 30 Josie
The soft light woke her and catching sight of the view, she got out of bed, as if pulled by a magnetic force she moved to the windows.
The mountains seemed to disappear into the horizon, the waves high, rolling far away in the distance and the light changed as she stared at the majestic view.
She pulled herself from the glass, eager to see Ares and hear more about where exactly they were. She wondered if there was beach access but this house was on a cliff and she couldn’t imagine an accessible way for her to get down the rocky surface.
After she showered and dressed, she grabbed her cane, to find Ares. Walking through this house felt like being in some kind of art installation.
The frosty glass doors closed off Ares’s office.
She bit her lip, shaking off the feeling of disappointment. Don’t be silly, she chided herself. It’s Christmas. He could be on the phone to his brother. Even if it's Christmas he still has to work and it's not like the man didn’t tell her about his obligations.
Continuing on to the kitchen, she caught sight of the stove she wanted to pinch herself. This wasn’t a dream. The rope scene from last night, being in this amazing place. This fancy stove, all real.
She texted her mom, Maisy, and Cecillia Merry Christmas greetings. “Hello?”
Josie startled, while looking in the fridge.
“Can you help me?”
She turned and noticed the laptop on the counter. On the screen a woman with dark hair sat behind a table, staring into the camera.
“I’m sorry,” Josie said. Her stomach sunk to the floor. She didn’t notice the laptop open, and she didn’t mean to interrupt a meeting. “I didn’t realize there was a meeting. Ares should be back in a minute.”
“No, it's fine! I want to talk to you,” the woman said.
Josie closed the cupboard, opened the next one, wondering if she should go get Ares.
“I need your help.”
“I'm not part of the business. I’m just Ares’s…friend.”
Saying the word girlfriend felt too personal to reveal.
“That works for me,” the woman pushed back her long black hair and started crying.
“I’ll go get Ares.”
“No! Don’t. Look, I need your help. They won’t let me call my sister and I overheard them say it’s Christmas. Christmas Day and he can’t be a human being and let my sister know I’m alive?”
A cold wash of fear rolled through Josie’s body. “I should go.”
“Please! I haven’t spoken to anyone in months. Just the guards. They have me in this compound locked up twenty-four-seven. I want to come home.”
“I’m sure Ares is working on it.”
The woman tilted her head back and laughed. “He’s the one who captured me and locked me up. Your friend isn’t the upstanding gentleman he claims to be. I have barely seen sunlight and what for? Because my business might expose theirs? Please.”
“That’s…. awful.” Her mind whirled to her mother’s warning when she first started seeing Ares. Her belly tightened in knots.
The woman hugged herself, rocking back and forth.
“Yes! Mr. Montague,” the woman said with so much sarcasm Josie could practically feel it through the screen. “Ruined my life. Can you get in touch with my sister and let her know I'm alive? Her name is…” and then the screen flickered, going blank.
Josie wasn’t thinking as she raced back to the bedroom, past the still closed doors of Ares’s office, she grabbed her purse and her bag. Her vision clouded with tears as she shoved her feet into her shoes, grabbed her jacket.
The door beeped as she opened it, but she counted on Ares not hearing that in his soundproofed office.
All lies.
The driveway was one long slab, and she didn’t know the address, but she turned on her GPS on her phone. She walked down the driveway, with anger and disbelief churning through her veins, carrying her further down the street.
The concerns her mother raised, her own inhibitions about why she and Ares didn’t belong together, took centre stage in her mind.
When she was at cross streets, she called for an Uber home.
How could she be so naive?
Wild to think that a billionaire is an actual upstanding human being. But she let her guard down because Ares warmed her over with his charm, with his piercing green eyes, with his insistence.
Yeah, he was a man used to getting what he wanted.
He warned her that he’d do anything to protect his brother. It was her naivety that didn’t think that meant capturing a woman and keeping her locked up.
She choked back a sob, wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to calm herself down. She didn’t want to scare the driver when they arrived.
At least her mom was with Carlos, and she wouldn’t ruin her Christmas. She felt so exposed on this corner, so alone.
Swallowing over the lump in her throat she leaned hard on her cane, needing to stay upright.
Finally, her ride came.
Josie got in, willing herself not to cry. Ares was the only man she fell in love with, with who she started to see a future with and it was all…a lie.
She stared at the ceiling of the car, willing it to move faster.
All she wanted to do was to get in her own bed and stay there for a week.
Josie distracted herself by going through her phone. She wanted to reach out to her friends but not wanting to interrupt their Christmas kept her from sending a message.
Her mother had been right about Ares.
But even Fleur had come around.
No, she couldn’t think about the happy memories, it was too raw. She needed to keep everything the woman said to her in her mind, wrapping it around her heart like a shield. If she thought of how kind Ares was, how attentive he was, how he made her feel, she’d unravel.
Because how could she be loved by someone who captured women? And whatever his reason, there was nothing that justified that.
The car stopped at her little house. She’d never been so grateful to see home as she was in that moment.
She got out, her hands trembling as she tried to get her key in the lock. The keys slid out of her hand and fell to the ground.
Putting her bag down on the stoop, she grabbed her keys.
“Hey!” Something sharp poked her, making her drop her keys.
Josie screamed as a gloved hand came around her mouth. She tried to kick, to fight the arm that came around her waist but it was too strong.
“Let go!” she screamed into the glove.
But the strong grip on her didn’t let up.
Fear froze her. She couldn’t move her body to fight.
Bile rose in her throat.
She was lifted and thrown into the back of the van. Her cheek came down hard on a mat covered in dirt.
The van started to move.
Josie tried the back doors, but they were locked.
Her heart raced. Her stomach turned. She tried the handle again, willing it to open even though she knew it wouldn’t work.
Though she tried to scream, not a sound came out.
Who grabbed her? Why? What did they want?
She closed her eyes, a wave of nausea making her dizzy. Oh god. What was happening?
Is it Ares? Did he send someone after her? She couldn’t think, her thoughts grew fuzzy before she lost consciousness.