Chapter 8
Zara
I can’t stop shaking. He took my horse. I don’t know if I should call my father, the police, or try and talk with him tomorrow. I know what I should do, but seeing Drew with Jasmine, she loves him, and she wanted to go with him. She hasn’t come anywhere near me in the two weeks that she’s been here.
I sneak back into the house, praying I won’t be seen, and head straight for my room.
“Where have you been?” my father’s deep voice snaps behind me.
“I just went out to check on Jasmine.”
“Did it decide to play ball?”
I hate that he calls her it. I shake my head, responding no.
“Hmmm. I’ll call the vet in the morning.”
I nod. I know I should tell him what’s happened, but the only person who will suffer is me. I might as well get a good night’s sleep first.
I open my bedroom door and close it behind me. Every nerve I have is on high alert. He’s going to kill me when he finds out what I’ve let Drew do.
I don’t sleep. I just toss and turn waiting to get up and get out of the house. I’m usually downstairs first, so Father’s going to notice when I’m not there. With any luck, he’ll think I’m already out in the paddock. Richard won’t be arriving till around 10:00, so that possibly gives me three hours to tell him around. I feel sick. Everything I touch I either drop or knock over. My whole body is shaking, and as I close the door as quietly as I can, I swear I’m about to throw up.
Hiding in the hedgerow, I make my way down the drive and out onto the road. I’m early, so I don’t expect to see Drew parked up waiting.
He leans over and pops the door open. “Get in quick,” he growls, and as soon as the door closes, he sets off before I can even think about belting up.
“Nobody saw me, so you don’t have to drive like a crazy person,” I snap as I try desperately to click the belt in place.
“I’m not risking it. You need to learn to drive. It’s ridiculous that someone your age can’t get around. It’s not like you can’t afford it,” he grumbles and huffs some more.
“You’re right, everything you said is right. But it’s not my choice. I’m not allowed to drive. Not that I can’t—I don’t have a licence, but I’ve driven my cousin’s car a few times. She was teaching me until my father found out.”
He turns slightly to look at me. Does he think I’m lying?
“So . . . no phone, no car, no licence, no school, and from what you’ve said, your only friend is your cousin. Am I getting all this right?” he asks, a hint of doubt in his voice.
“Pretty much. I know you think I’m privileged, but it’s not as glamourous as you think.”
He shakes his head, his fingers tighten on the steering wheel, and his eyes squint tight. What’s his problem? It’s me who lives it.
He doesn’t speak again until we pull up outside his stables.
“Drew . . .”
“What?” he snaps turning to look at me.
“You’re going to get caught. You know that, don’t you?”
“No, I’m not!” he snaps again as he gets out of the car and heads into the stables. I sit there waiting for a second until I realise, I need to open the door myself.
“Drew!” I call after him whilst trying to catch him up.
“I’m not going to get caught. If the police come, you’re going to tell them that you have decided to have her stay here for a while.”
“Oh, and you think that my father will allow that? Drew, you don’t know what you’re asking. He will . . . He will . . . Drew, please don’t do this.” I’m running alongside him as his long legs stride away.
“Zara, what the hell are you so scared of? She’s your horse.”
“I’m begging you, please.”
He stops dead in his tracks. “Say that again?”
“What . . . that I’m begging you?”
As he steps towards me, I step back, and when he steps forward again, I take another step back. The fire in his eyes should be disturbing, but it’s not. It’s exciting and hot and oh god . . . What the hell? My back hits a wall just as he places one hand either side of my head. Is he going to kiss me? Shout at me? My breath stalls, and I feel the panic rising, but in a flash, the look goes out of his eyes. He focuses on my lips for a brief second, and then he pushes off the wall and walks away, leaving me panting, hot, and very bloody bothered.
I take a deep breath and set off after him again. “Will you please listen to me? If I let you keep her here, my life won’t be worth living.”
He turns and looks at me straight on. “So, don’t go back there then.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen and then at me. “Time’s running out, Princess. Your father has been out in the paddock looking for you.”
“I’ve nowhere to go! I’d have left years ago, but I don’t have any money of my own, I have no friends, I don’t even have a passport that I can get my hands on.”
“What about your cousin?” He is stepping forward again.
“She can’t get involved. She does what she can, but I’m not going to let her life go to shit, too.”
“What’s really going on, Zara? Why are you so scared?”
Shit, I can feel the tears coming. Not now please. “Nothing . . . I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I suppose if you have absolutely nowhere to go, you can stay here. I mean, you can stay in the house. I stay upstairs above the stables, so you’d have as much room as you’d need.”
“And why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”
“I can tell when someone is in trouble, Zara. I don’t know what kind of trouble, but a twenty-?four-?year-old should not be that scared of her father, and I also think you’re the only twenty?-?four-year-old I know who doesn’t have a damn phone.”
I hadn’t noticed, but he’s standing right in front of me, so close, I could rest my head on his chest. He looks at my mouth again, and his strong arms wrap around me and pull me close to him.
“I promise you; I won’t let him hurt you or Jasmine, but you’ve got to help me, too,” he says quietly as he holds me tight against him.
I haven’t felt warmth like this in forever. My heart steadies, and I finally begin to breathe slower. “Thank you, but you can’t protect me . . . he’ll ruin you. He’ll ruin your business.”
“Let him try, Princess. Let him try,” he whispers into my hair, and I feel the warmth of his breath tickle down my neck. I also feel . . . Oh my god, that’s either his phone in his pocket or . . . Oh god.
I pull away slowly and look at him. He’s gorgeous, with his dark hair, dark eyes, perfect stubble, and lips that look soft and inviting.
My tongue darts out and licks my bottom lip as my top teeth graze and nibble. I want him to kiss me. I want him to devour me. His eyes are fixed on my lips, and as his head bends slowly, my heart flutters.
Those soft, warm lips touch mine, and the hands that held me in his arms move until one is cupping my face and the other is twisting in my hair.
He lets out a slight groan as his lips push mine open, and he kisses me softly at first, but with each passing second, it becomes more and more intense.
“Ergh, hum . . .” A gruff noise sounds from behind Drew, and he pulls away so fast, he leaves me dizzy, and I almost fall over.
“Carlos. Any more news?” he asks as he turns and walks in the direction of the voice.
“No, he’s still out there looking around. It won’t be long though. Don’t you think we should hide her? I know a place that’s not connected to you,” he says.
“No need . . . Zara has agreed to let her stay, and as the legal owner—”
“Are you sure about this, miss?” Carlos asks.
I’m not sure, and doubt starts to creep in. Did he kiss me to get me on his side? Was it all part of his plan? Make me feel wanted?
I shrug my shoulders. Carlos raises his eyebrows, and Drew spins around and looks at me with panic in his eyes.
“Fuck . . . I swear I didn’t just kiss you so that you’d . . . I swear . . . Ask Carlos . . . I’ve been wanting to do that since we first met.”
What? Oh my god, I’m so confused. But I know that if I go home now, he’ll never believe that I didn’t just bareface lie to him last night.
“Okay, but I’m going to have to stay here, and I’ll need clothes and toiletries.”
The relief spreads across Drew’s face, and Carlos instantly looks more relaxed. “Oh, and I want my own room, but not in the house. That place looks too big, and I don’t want to be on my own.”
Drew nods. “Do you know how to shop online?” he asks, and I raise my brow this time.
“Is the pope Catholic? Of course, I know how to, but I don’t have any money.” I slide my hands into my pockets. I’ve never felt poor before. I don’t like it, but the alternative is much worse.
“Take this. It’s not got a limit on it.” He hands me a bank card. “Have anything you want delivered, but make sure you buy some work clothes; you’ll be helping out around here to earn your keep. You’ll also need a good pair of boots.”
I look down at my boots. “There’s nothing wrong with my boots,” I argue.
“Okay, suit yourself, but when you get horse shit inside them, don’t complain to me.”
I realise what he means. My boots are riding boots, not working boots. He wasn’t trying to control me; he was giving me advice. Warmth spreads through me again. “Thank you, I misunderstood what you meant. Can you help me choose a pair that will be suitable?”
“I’ll get one of the stable hands to help. I’ve no idea what the girls wear,” he says with a smile. I’ve only seen him smile a few times, but it does something to me.
“Drew, what do we do if—or more realistically, when—my father turns up?”
“I’ll tell him to fuck off. You’re here with your horse. He can’t do shit about it.”
“But he’ll make me go home.”
“Don’t see him then. Go and wait upstairs. You can see and hear everything on the cameras.”
“And you won’t tell him where I am?” I ask, nerves kicking in.
“Not if you don’t want me to. But he might need to hear it from you that you’re safe, or he’ll have another reason to call the police.”
“I definitely don’t want to see him. He’ll drag me back. Do the cameras work both ways?” I ask, feeling a little naive.
“No, but follow me,” he says, smiling as if he just thought of something wonderful.
I follow him up a wide staircase, and he enters a code into the lock on the door and then steps inside. This must be the apartment he talked about. It’s beautiful, very masculine. No fleur-de-lis to be seen and no brightly coloured carpets. It’s all neutral and really calming.
He walks away and comes back a minute later. “Here, have this,” he says, handing me a mobile phone. A brand-new, still-in-the-box phone.
“I . . . I . . . Wow. Thank you, but I don’t know how to set one up or even use one really.”
He shakes his head. I can tell his frustration is not at me, but him being frustrated irritates me, too.
He opens the box, flips it around, presses some buttons and then hands it back to me.
“My number and Carlos’s number are in the contact list. If your father wants to talk to you then we’ll call you. All you have to is press the green button. It’s that easy.”
I swallow hard. This is a lot . . . First, I’ve let him steal my horse, then I agreed to stay here for a while, and now, I have a phone, and let’s not forget that kiss . . . My father will have a heart attack if he finds out. Half of me hopes he does, and then I feel guilty for wishing him harm.
“Thanks. I feel like I’m causing you all kinds of trouble.”
“No, I shouldn’t have sold Jasmine. That’s on me. I don’t know what the deal is with you and your father, but . . . you’re safe here okay?”
I nod, my eyes not daring to look up at him. He steps forward, and I desperately want him to hold me in his arms like he did before, but he simply rubs my arm and turns and leaves.
The tears I had been holding back fall silently down my cheeks. I’m such a mess. Part of me wants to run and go home to familiar surroundings, but the biggest part of me wants to hide away here forever. It’s peaceful. I can see the stables on the TV screens, and I can see the moment Drew leaves the staircase. Carlos is waiting for him. They don’t speak to each other, obviously knowing that I can hear them.
Drew unlocks one of the gates and brings out a huge horse. It’s beautiful, and you can tell he’s a winner. His coat is pristine, and every muscle moves like a well-rehearsed dance.
I wonder if Drew is as well-toned as his horses. Stop it! I chastise myself silently. Now is not the time to be fantasising over Drew whilst my father is on the war path and heading our way.
I sit watching the screens for an hour, and then there’s movement. Drew and Carlos both stop what they’re doing and walk towards the entrance. They don’t go outside but wait just inside the doorway.
I hear my father’s voice, but I can’t see him yet. “Where are they?!” he shouts.
“Keep your voice down. I don’t want you spooking my horses,” Drew replies calmly.
“Where is my horse and my daughter?” he barks, but a little quieter.
“Safe!” is all Drew says.
“Well, I’m here to take them back.”
“You’re here to take what back? There is nothing here that belongs to you.”
“I want that horse and my daughter. I know she’s here.”
“And what makes you so sure?” Drew asks so calmly, it’s almost scary.
“Stop fucking with me, Blackmoore. Give me back what’s mine, and we’ll leave the police out of it.”
“Oh, no, you call the police, by all means. I have enough on you to have you locked up for a while, plus all the bad publicity you’d get, and . . . Do I need to go on?”
“You have nothing. I’m as clean as a whistle, so stop fucking around and go and get Zara. I’ll get Richard to pick up the nag.”
Although Drew is remaining calm, I see his shoulders tense when my father calls Jasmine a nag. I shake my head listening to him. I’ve always known he was a nasty man, but he’s ignorant, too.
All of a sudden, Drew’s voice changes, and his calm almost soft tones are gone. “Leave,” he growls.
“No, not without my daughter.”
“She doesn’t want to go with you. It’s such a shame; she’s a lovely girl.”
“This is your last warning, Blackmoore. Go and fetch my daughter now!”
Drew and Carlos both look at each other, and then as if they’ve practiced it, they take one step forward and then another, and when they take the third slow step, my father takes a step backwards, and in slow motion, my father walks backwards out of the stables.
“Get. The. Fuck. Off. My. Property. Come here again, and I’ll be the one calling the police.”
“You’ve not heard the last of this!” my father screams.
“Never doubted that for a minute,” Drew replies, and then I hear him laugh. Drew and Carlos walk back inside and pull the stable doors closed behind them, leaving my father locked outside.
“Give it five minutes, and you can come down,” Drew says, looking up at one of the cameras.
I look around his apartment and find a bathroom and wash my hands and face. At least I manage to wipe away the tear stains and sweat from my palms.
Tentatively, I decide to go down and face the music. Drew must think I’m awful, just like my beast of a father.
“He’s gone,” Carlos says with a smile.
“I’m so sorry. As soon as I can get enough money together, I’ll be out of your hair.”
“And where will you go?” Carlos asks tipping his head to the side.
“I . . . I don’t know, but I promise I’ll find somewhere. You were right to take Jasmine back, I know that, but I’m not your responsibility,” I say, looking at Drew.
“Forget it. There’s work to do; this horse shit isn’t magic. It doesn’t pile itself up outside.” He winks and hands me a large fork. “Fill your boots, Princess. I’ll go and make us all some coffee.”
And that’s the last we see of Drew for an hour. Carlos shows me what to do and where to put things. It’s backbreaking, but when Drew comes back with a tray of coffee and biscuits, there’s worry on his face.
“Is everything okay? Well, I know it’s not, but he hasn’t done something else has he?” I ask, concerned.
“No, it’s not that. My brother has just got some shit going on, but the fact he didn’t call me is more worrying.”
“So, how did you find out?” I ask.
“My eldest brother Brax left me a voicemail. I never noticed it until I was making the drinks.”
“Do you need to go?” I pray he says no . . .
He shakes his head. “I’m the last person Carter wants to see right now. Brax will let me know if I need to do anything. I’m best leaving it to him, plus, he has some people helping. I’d only get in the way.”
He takes a large gulp of his coffee and looks around. “You’ve done a good job. Time to knock off now.”
“She’s worked hard. She’ll need a nice long soak in the bath though. I don’t think you knew you had all those muscles, did you?” Carlos laughs and squeezes my bicep. Pain floods through me instantly, and I can’t mask the cry that leaves my lips.
“What the fuck? Why did you do that to her?” Drew snaps at Carlos.
“I only squeezed gently. I’m sorry, Zara, I didn’t mean to—”
“It wasn’t you. It’s an old injury. You weren’t to know. Please don’t fuss. It just shocked me that’s all.”
I watch the exchange between Drew and Carlos. They don’t say anything, but I know this isn’t the last we’ll be speaking of it.