Chapter 3 Aurora
AURORA
Ican’t believe this.
I was ready for that dinner to be over, but I couldn’t imagine it ending like this. I guess Gabriel doesn’t want to marry me after all since he obviously had something to do with this.
Now here I am. Next to the man who dragged me out of my home after leaving my dad for dead. The house is quickly becoming engulfed by the time the dark-haired man behind the wheel steers us out of the courtyard.
“Bet you didn’t see your night turning out like this,” the murderer next to me mutters, snickering. “It’s just the beginning, Aurora.”
I hate the way he says my name, like it belongs to him. He has no right to speak it.
My hands are going numb after being tied behind me like they are. What I wouldn’t give to slap this snide, snickering asshole until he loses the taste in his mouth.
The inside of the SUV is illuminated by the flames behind us. My house. The only one I’ve ever lived in, the place where I’ve spent most of my life. I’m losing everything tonight. Everything that’s mine. I’ll never look at any of it again.
I’ll never look at Dad again, either. An icy shiver runs down my spine when I remember the way he screamed back there.
He wasn’t a good father, not by a long shot.
He was ready to hand me over to this asshole without another thought.
He only wanted to save himself, and to hell with me.
He kept me locked away my entire life—I was hardly ever allowed to leave the house, and when I was at home, I would usually be confined to my room.
Still, he was my dad. I already lost Mom before I could ever know her, and now he’s gone, too. And I’m trapped in an SUV with the people who killed him.
I should feel something, shouldn’t I? All I feel now is numb.
Glancing over at Prince Charming, I notice how his jaw tightens, and he taps his fingers against his thigh. The job is over. Shouldn’t he be relaxed? Then I remember what he said. The night’s not over yet.
“I already told you,” I mutter. “With my father dead, you can’t get anything for me. I don’t know what you think this is all about, but you’re going to be disappointed.”
The woman in the passenger seat scoffs. “You don’t have much of an imagination, do you?”
Was I talking to you, bitch? Careful, careful. My mouth is going to get me in trouble. Granted, I’m already in trouble, but it could get much worse. I’m not in the mood to find out how much worse.
The man with the plan chuckles. “Wait and see, Aurora.” He even pats my bare knee. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
The girl clicks her tongue. “Don’t even talk to her, Liam.”
Liam. At least now Prince Charming has a name.
He also has an incredibly large, incredibly hard body.
His thigh presses against mine, but it feels more like stone.
His hand engulfs my knee before he pulls it away.
Powerful hands—I can still feel where one of them wrapped around my arm. He could tear me to pieces with them.
Dread trickles through my veins, cooling my blood.
Exactly what is this all about? It’s better for me to keep my mouth shut for now, to watch and wait.
Even when we hit a particularly big bump in the road, it makes me bounce in the seat and fall back against my bound hands.
My arms and shoulders do not appreciate this position, and I can’t hold back a tiny gasp.
“Sorry if you’re a bit uncomfortable,” Liam taunts, like he isn’t sorry at all.
My teeth dig into my tongue. I won’t give him the satisfaction.
Instead, I watch the road, wondering where we’re going.
Are they taking me to some remote location?
Some hideout? I’m sure Dad must’ve had allies, right?
What if they decide they want to pay these guys back?
These people can’t just, like, walk around freely. Right?
Who am I kidding? I don’t have the first clue. I’m a living, breathing embodiment of being sheltered. I don’t know much about the real world. It looks like I’m about to get a crash course.
It’s already started by the time the driver steers the SUV into an underground garage in the heart of the city, so much for my theory about hiding out. No one says a word as he steers the vehicle into a space and parks, then kills the engine.
“Here we are, princess,” Liam announces, with that same snide laughter in his voice. “Home sweet home.”
“Are you sure she shouldn’t be blindfolded?” There is so much bitterness in the girl’s voice, I would swear I must have done something to hurt her if I weren’t so sure we’ve never met before tonight. It’s like she has something personal against me.
“What’s the difference?” Liam asks as he opens his door. “It’s not like she’ll ever go anywhere.” Now his hand is on my arm again, powerful and unshakable. He pulls me from the car, and I stumble when my feet hit the concrete floor.
We are joined by another man, who must have driven in a separate car. He looks more like a model than a criminal, I notice.
Liam pulls me along until we come to a stop in front of a pair of elevator doors that soon open, and I’m shoved inside.
“I don’t know about anybody else,” the handsome one groans. “I could use a hot bath.”
“A bubble bath, Pretty Boy?” The guy who did the driving chuckles while Pretty Boy shoots him a filthy look.
Yes, I guess they can all joke and laugh now that a bunch of people are dead, and I’m in captivity.
Liam only shakes his head, smirking, before tapping a code into the keypad inside the elevator car.
Then we take off, quickly rising floor after floor. I have never felt so small and powerless in all my life. What is the point of this? What are they going to do to me? Would I get any answers if I asked? Up and up we climb until finally, the letters PH pop up on the keypad.
Penthouse? I guess anybody would imagine Liam isn’t some small-time crook, not after pulling off what he managed tonight.
Still, I’m a little impressed and also a little intimidated when the doors slide open onto a large, sleek living room.
The men get out first, talking quietly, probably congratulating each other on doing their job.
That means they can’t see it when all of a sudden, the girl shoves me from behind.
It’s one of those things where I see exactly what’s going to happen before it does, and I know there’s no way to stop it. I can’t use my hands to break my fall, so I end up landing on my side hard enough to rattle my bones and make my shoulder scream in pain. “Whoops. Watch your step.”
The girl doesn’t bother helping me up, strutting away, while Liam doubles back to pull me to my feet. “What did we say, Selina?” He sounds annoyed. “Don’t bruise the merchandise.”
Merchandise?
“She should’ve looked where she was walking.” Okay, so we are obviously not going to be friends. I can’t say I’m heartbroken.
Liam sighs. “There’s still work to be done.” With his hand firmly around my arm, he leads me through the living room without giving me the chance to catch my breath. It takes effort to keep up with his long strides. “Can’t keep the lawyer waiting.”
I’m so busy wondering how he can sound so cheerful, I almost miss what he says.
A lawyer? I’m liking this less and less every second.
He takes me past one room after another in the enormous penthouse, walking fast enough that I don’t have the chance to actually look at anything.
Finally, we end up in what looks like a study or office, where there is a man waiting behind the desk.
He clears his throat when we enter, all business. “Are we ready to proceed?”
Liam turns and looks down at me, and for the first time, I let myself look up at him.
His green eyes are startling, striking, and they pair well with his short, black hair and thick brows.
But it’s the smirk twisting his well-sculpted lips that sets red flags waving in my head.
Though it’s not like he hasn’t given me more than enough reason to be worried.
“What do you think, dear?” As he speaks, he turns me to the side and unties my hands. Thank God. I mean, it hurts like hell once the blood starts flowing again, but at least I’m not totally helpless. Now I want to find that Selina chick and see how she likes being pushed around.
It hits me that he’s waiting for an answer. “What do I think of what?” I ask, rubbing my wrists, wincing against the pins and needles.
“Are you ready to be married?”
It’s funny how your brain can shut down for a second when you hear something so completely unthinkable, it’s impossible to process right away.
As if time stops for a second. Like the world stops spinning.
“Let’s get this over with,” he tells the man standing at the desk while I gape in stunned silence. “The sooner, the better.”
“Very well.” The man slides a piece of paper our way. Liam wastes no time, picking up a pen and signing it with a flourish before holding the pen out for me.
“What is this?” I see the words in front of me, but they’re not making any sense. This can’t be real.
“What, you never learned how to read?” Liam taps his fingers against the page, or more specifically against the words at the top of it. Certificate of Marriage. “This is our wedding night.”
I can’t help the disbelieving laugh that bubbles out of me. One night, two men suddenly want to marry me? “No way. You’re joking.”
“Yes, I’m sure if you’ve learned anything about me tonight, it’s how much I love to joke.”
“I won’t do it. You can’t make me marry you.”
He glances toward the lawyer before turning his gaze back on me. “Let’s get something straight. Your behavior now affects how you’re treated going forward. Cooperate, and we don’t have to have any problems. Do you understand?”
Is that supposed to scare me? Like, I haven’t spent all my life being intimidated.
He thinks an empty threat is going to convince me to marry him?
Now I see this small, pitiful person for who he is, and it almost infuriates me to think he could get the upper hand on Dad.
Glaring up at him, I mutter, “Do your worst.”
There’s a moment, maybe the length of a heartbeat, before the playful light in his eyes goes flat and cold. That’s when I know I’ve underestimated him. “Fine. We’ll have it your way.”
He picks up a folder from the desk, which I hadn’t noticed until now. With a grim smile, he hands it to me, and I open it, out of curiosity, if nothing else.
Yes. I underestimated him. The pictures inside are a punch to the stomach, but they’re very real. There’s no pretending I don’t understand what they mean.
“Mariella.” He carefully pronounces the name of my sixteen-year-old half-sister while I stare down at her smiling, cherubic face.
Her mom is walking her either to or from school in one of the pictures—there’s a pink backpack hanging from her shoulders.
In another, she’s playing volleyball. In another, she’s waiting in line at the movie theater.
“Dear old Dad was fucking the housekeeper,” Liam murmurs while I stare in horror at the images.
Nobody is supposed to know about her. That’s how Dad always wanted it.
Because yes, her mom was our housekeeper.
She’s not good enough for us, at least in his mind.
She’s always been his dirty little secret. One of many, I’d guess.
“In order to put the rest of my plan in place,” Liam explains while I reel from the shock and horror. “I need you alive. I do not, however, need her. So I would think long and hard about defying me, Aurora. Or else sweet Mariella might get hurt. Understood?”
How could he threaten an innocent teen? I wouldn’t say I’m close with her—Dad would never allow that—but she is my blood. She’s sweet; she’s pure. She deserves a chance at a life. Something I never had.
But all this maniac cares about is his plan. A plan that involves me. And now her life is in my hands. He’s taking away my options. I’ve seen what he’s capable of—I doubt I’ll go to sleep anytime soon without hearing Dad’s screams. I doubt he’s bluffing. Which means there’s only one thing I can do.
Setting the folder on the desk, I take the pen from him and grit my teeth.
He grins before murmuring, “I knew you would see things my way. It seems like you care a lot more about blood than your old man ever did. Remember how he handed you over so willingly to save his own ass? Do you think there was a single moment when he ever loved you?”
I will not let him break me. I might let him make me sign on the dotted line, which I do, even as everything in me screams not to, but he will not break me down. I’m going to find a way out of this, and I’m going to make him pay.
The lawyer lets out a satisfied little grunt before examining the marriage license. “There we are. You are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Knight.”
I suck in a gasp when Liam takes me by the back of my head and tilts it until my face is upturned.
“You know what? It might sound corny, but this really is the happiest night of my life.” I don’t have time to pull in a breath before he crushes his mouth against mine, bruising my lips, shoving his tongue inside my mouth, and claiming it as his the way he’s claimed me as his wife.