Chapter 6
Salvador
I stay with Jema for a little longer after she falls asleep to make sure she stays that way. And also because I love the way it feels to have her cling to me. It’s almost painful to pull myself out of bed and leave her there alone, but I have to get this taken care of.
Taking one last look at her sleeping peacefully, I close the bedroom door and make my way out of the east wing. Never in my life have I experienced a high like giving her an orgasm, and I intend to do it again as soon as possible. Just as soon as all the loose ends are tied up.
When I get to the main hall, Edward is waiting to greet me. “Good morning, sir.”
“She’s awake. Get Watson out here so she can sign the papers.”
“Of course, I’ll speak to him personally. Anything else?”
Edward is so used to me barking orders that he doesn’t take offense at my lack of cheerfulness. Normally I wouldn’t be so abrupt, but we’re on a time crunch. Now that Jema is awake, I need her locked down. If she somehow gets her memory back, I need to make sure the airtight contract is in place.
“Where’s Marco?”
“I believe he went to the wine cellar around three a.m.,” Edward says.
He’s well aware of what I do, especially after working for my father before he died. Edward also let the entire staff go last week on my orders so that I could construct a new story about my life without anyone trying to tamper with it.
How would it have looked to everyone if I suddenly had a woman I claimed to be my wife locked away in my room? They might have never said anything to me about it, but they could have easily tried to free Jema or help her escape. No, I couldn’t take that chance.
When the new staff arrived, I made sure they knew my wife wasn’t well. That sometimes she’s unstable and has delusions. She can also have long spells in bed followed by wild stories of being kidnapped or not being my wife. It was the perfect cover and one that will ensure she’s not getting away.
There’s only one little hiccup that remains that could ruin everything.
“Let one of the kitchen maids know I’ll want fresh flowers and breakfast brought up in an hour.” That should give me enough time to finish this task.
“Certainly.”
“Thank you,” I say as an afterthought because I’m already focused on getting downstairs.
The lower part of the house is the same square footage as the floor above.
It’s a huge space with lots of rooms, and people unfamiliar with it have been known to get stuck down there after taking a wrong turn.
There are storage rooms, accommodations for staff, and places I keep inventory if there’s overflow from my warehouses.
The wine cellar is a little different from the rest of the space. It’s guarded by a vault door that requires a code to get in. It’s where I store some of the most expensive wines in the world and a few pieces of priceless art that I don’t particularly want anyone to know about.
Marco, Edward, and I are the only ones with the code. Its location and soundproofing are what make it the perfect place to hide someone.
When I step through the vault door, I bypass the wine cellar and room of antiques and go all the way to the back. As soon as I do, I see Marco standing in front of a man tied to a chair. He’s slumped over in his seat, but I can tell he’s got a busted lip, and one of his eyes is swollen shut.
“Anything new?” I ask Marco, and he shakes his head.
“Nothing.” Marco sighs heavily as he uses a rag to wipe the blood off his knuckles.
“It won’t be long now,” I tell him as I walk over the chair and squat down. “She’s awake.”
My words make the man in the chair sit up so he can look at me. He doesn’t speak, but I can see the understanding in his good eye.
“Tell me everything you know about Jema and you can walk out of here a free man. All will be forgiven.”
Marco makes a low, whistling sound. “He’s a thief and a rat, boss. Are you sure?”
“She’s worth it,” I answer.
The man in the chair presses his lips closed tightly and shakes his head.
Anger boils inside of me, and I want nothing more than to put a bullet between his eyes. I’m not one that takes kindly to being defied, and this motherfucker has defied me over and over.
But he’s smarter than he looks because the only reason he’s still alive is because I need to know more about Jema. As soon as he tells me, I’m going to kill him. He’s the loose end that has to be silenced.
The first time I looked at Jema, I knew she was going to be mine. No matter what, I was going to claim her. So when she ran from me, of course I chased her. Then she fell through the floor, and my world stopped.
Right before she passed out, she said the name Joey.
She was there that night to find him. While Marco called our doctor, I found her wallet and discovered her name and where she lived.
She didn’t have the same last name as Joey, so I assumed he was her boyfriend.
It made me want to hold her even tighter because there was a chance someone would try and take her from me.
When I got her home and settled in, I tried to look for more information on her. I searched for her in the system, but there was nothing. It was like she didn’t exist before her license was made, and it pissed me off. How am I going to convince her that she’s my wife if I don’t know about her past?
That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands. “Listen to me, Joey,” I say, and the man in the chair stiffens. “I’m running out of patience, and soon enough, you’re going to run out of fingers.”
His wrists are tied to the arms of the chair, and he’s already missing a pinky on his right hand. With what he tried to do to me and my organization, he’s lucky to still have his arm.
Joey whimpers as I grip his wrist and take my knife out of my back pocket. “So what’s it going to be?”