by Sam Crescent
“You’re hurt.”
“No, I’m not hurt. Hurt is for people who have other people giving a fuck. I don’t. No one cares if I live or die. Your family wants to use me to bring you in. I’ve got nothing and no one. At least you’ve got a family who cares.”
“My father killed her.”
“I don’t care. From what I hear, you killed him. An eye for an eye and all that bullshit, right? Stop being a twat and let me go. Help me get back home and you’ll never see me again.”
She watched him.
He didn’t say anything or move a muscle.
She screamed and wriggled. “Let me the fuck out.”
“It’s not going to happen. I’m sorry.”
“This is total bullshit. Total and complete bullshit.”
Landon got to his feet and walked toward the dead fireplace.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Somewhere I can’t be found.” He walked back toward her and crouched down. He was a looker, no doubt about it.
His hands went to her thighs and she waited. So far, other than the kiss, he hadn’t tried anything.
“You’re not a rapist, are you?”
“No, I don’t need to use force to get what I want.”
“Did you cheat on her?”
“I never cheated on Sarah, no.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“She never knew about you either.”
Tulip glared at him. “I don’t imagine estranged twins would have much to talk about.”
“Her parents all checked out. There was no record of you. We would have found it,” he said.
He touched her cheek and she jerked away. “Don’t even think of touching me.”
“What does my family hope to gain from you?”
She wanted to tell him to go to hell. “If I help you, you’ll get me back home. No lies. I want the truth. I don’t like being here. I want to go home. I’ve probably lost my job.”
“I’ll help you.”
“Before you guarantee it, I want you to know I have no passport, no way of getting out of this country.”
He smiled. “I’ll handle it. You won’t have anything to worry about. I promise.”
She nodded, looking at him. She doubted his word, but so far, he was the only one willing to help her, and considering he’d evaded his family, it had to mean something.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
“What do my uncle and brothers hope to achieve by using you?”
“This is going to sound crazy, believe me. They think I’m your real soul mate. That your true feelings weren’t strong enough for Sarah. I’m the real deal. They believe they could use me to bring you back home.”
Chapter Five
“You bring me home?”
“Look, I didn’t make the plan, okay? I was just the one they used to execute it. It’s not a big deal. Besides, they weren’t wrong, were they? You’re here and I have no idea where here is.”
He watched her.
His cock was already rock-hard for her and he wanted to tear her clothes off. He’d never felt this overwhelming sensation with anyone before.
She started to wriggle. “Let me go. Please.”
“No. There’s nothing I can do.”
“You’re going to lock me up here, seriously?”
“I’m going to do what I need to do.”
“Ugh!” She screamed. “What is it with you and your fucked-up family? Why did he have to come to the restaurant where I was serving? I finally had a life, had my shit together, and you have to come along and ruin it.”
She kept on screaming but he needed some air, some space.
After leaving the room, he flicked the lock into place and went outside. He didn’t go far, just leaned over the railing near the garden.
“Do you want me to cook her something to feed her?” Jade asked.
He turned toward her. His hands shook.
“She is really getting to you, isn’t she?”
“She’s not supposed to exist.”
“She does exist. What’s all of this about?”
He hadn’t told Jade everything about his life. About Sarah. He didn’t know what the fuck any of this meant.
Running fingers through his hair, he knew he had to call his uncle and brothers. It was the only way to clear this mess up. He couldn’t make contact with Sarah’s parents. They were still grieving and with all the shit he’d caused, there was no way he could go to them, not now.
“Fuck!”
“Do you want me to feed her or not?” Jade asked.
“Go. Cook some food. I’ll feed her but we’re not letting her go. We’re going to have to move to another secure location.”
“She’s not going to cause us to get captured, is she?”
“Not if I can help it. You’ve got to learn to trust me.”
“You know I trust you, Landon. I just hope you know whatever the hell it is you’re doing.”
He didn’t know but he wasn’t about to tell her that. His life was already fucked up enough as it was. Tapping his foot, he tried to figure some shit out, but he was drawing a blank, again. This was a nightmare.
Bringing out his cell phone, he knew he needed to make the call, but he couldn’t make it inside the house. As he walked out the front door, he grabbed the baseball cap and then made his way thirty minutes away from his actual location to a small collection of shops that were mostly cafes and takeout places. He didn’t stand out in the crowd, and there were multiple people using cell phones.
There, he dialed his home phone. It was the first time he’d done this in years.
The shaking in his hands diminished, but all the questions remained the same. All of them directed at Tulip. The girl he’d chained up. The girl he wanted more than anything but knew, deep down, he could never have. Not really.
Or could he?
No. Sarah.
With every passing day, Sarah was becoming nothing more than a mere thought. He didn’t know if he liked the feeling, and it was certainly upsetting.
“Hello,” Rick said.
With the years Rick had been in England, his voice had picked up a twang of the accent.
“Hello, Uncle,” he said.
“Landon, I figured I would hear from you.”
“Did you get the girl to go through extensive plastic surgery?”
“Such a striking resemblance, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe it myself but the moment I saw her, I had to wonder.”
“So you brought her right back here.”
“Of course. I don’t want you to be all alone now.”
“I’m not coming back.”
“Landon, it’s not safe for you.”
“I’ve survived this long.”
“Blind luck. All the tricks I gave you are going to run out. People are hunting you.”
“And I’ll kill every last one of them, but I didn’t make this a call about me. Who is she? Sarah never had a sister.”
“You feel it, don’t you? I was right. Sarah was just a connection to Tulip. With her, you were never completely whole, but your need to make Tulip yours is strong. You will give your life to protect her, won’t you?”
“I’m not coming back.”
“To protect her, you will. As long as she is with you, she’s in danger, Landon. You know how this works.”
“I’ve made it work before. I know you’re a thorough bastard. The moment you saw her, you would have someone on it. Did the Smiths give up one daughter and keep the other?”
There was a long pause. Landon knew he was doing it on purpose.
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” He hung up the cell phone. For some strange reason, he was even more furious with the Smiths than he cared to be.
Pocketing his cell phone, he walked back toward the house, taking the longest route possible. He had a gun on his inside jacket and two knives strapped to his ankles. Years of training had paid off. Being under his uncle’s wing wa
s where he truly learned to be himself, a killer.
Arriving back at the house, the smells of tomato and garlic were heavy in the air. He entered the kitchen to find Jade stirring a large pot.
“What is it today?”
“I think it’s lasagna soup. I could be wrong. Really wrong.” She nibbled her lip. “I don’t know what I’ve got.” Her brow furrowed and she looked confused.
“I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
“I hope so. I don’t know why some days I seem to cook the most amazing food, like ever. And now, this. Look, I’m not trying to kill her, I promise.”
“Food is food.” He scooped out a bowl and had a taste. “It’s not too bad. Stop being so hard on yourself.”
He left Jade to clean up the mess and found Tulip slumped in the chair.
Of course she looked red in the face but it didn’t detract from her beauty. She really was stunning to look at.
He sat back in his chair and she lifted her head. The shiner on her face glared back at him.
“My head hurts.”
“I’ll get you some painkillers, as soon as you eat something.”
“There you are, so bossy.”
“It runs in my DNA.”
“Yeah, well, if I was a witch, I’d curse your entire bloodline.”
“We’re already cursed.”
She blew a raspberry. “You’re cursed to now the woman you love. Such a bad curse, love.”
“It is actually.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If you don’t think love is bad, you’re fucking delusional. Love is the end of the world. it’s fucking horrible. We’re at their mercy. I know who my true love is but the woman doesn’t have a clue. There’s no feeling there for her. I have to create it and if I don’t, I risk losing her.”
“You already had your love,” she said.
“Exactly, I had Sarah and she died. For a short time, I thought I wanted to die.”
“And now?”
“Now, there’s you.”
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve got feelings for me?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. Dipping the spoon into the bowl, he lifted some up. “I’m not going to lie, this tastes like shit.” He’d lied to Jade. “Her cooking is hit or miss.”
Tulip took some of the soup and scrunched up her nose. “That’s poison.”
“It’s not. Food is food, and you’re going to need it to keep your strength up.”
“I’ll eat more when you tell me the truth. You’re in love with me?”
He stared at her, wondering how best to word exactly how he felt, but there was no way to describe it. No subtle way to let her know she wasn’t going anywhere but be at his side for the rest of her life.
“Yes,” he said.
“You’re kidding, right? There’s no way you’re in love with me. You don’t even know me.”
“I do know you.”
“No, you think you know me. Who you really know is Sarah. The girl I look like.”
“You’re not her.”
“So what? You get a second chance, is that it?” she asked.
She was really starting to give him a headache with her constant questions he didn’t know the answers to.
“I know how I feel. That’s all I can tell you.”
“But it’s impossible. You don’t know me and I certainly don’t want to know you. I was happy in my little insignificant life and now you’re saying that because of some divine meaning or coincidence, you and I are destined to be together?”
“I know how it sounds.”
“Yeah, it sounds like a bunch of horseshit.”
“Horseshit or not, it is what it is.”
****
Never in all of her life had she been loved. No one had ever cared about her, loved her. She’d been nothing but a passing glance when some parents came to care or watched them. The foster parents, they weren’t always loving, and those that tried too much, well, they were the scary ones. Some kids were lucky. They got out of the system, into loving homes with people who cared.
She’d been cursed to a lifetime of regret, so having this guy look at her and say things like they were destined to be together or that he loved her was impossible to believe.
It just didn’t happen that way. She wasn’t a fucking idiot. She knew the way the world worked.
He fed her some food. It was really bad but after starving for some part of her life, she knew how to eat food in desperation. She needed her strength more than anything else.
Gripping the edge of the chair, she watched him.
He was easy on the eyes, that was for sure. Cute, sexy, and he was more muscular than he was in the picture she’s seen him in. He looked like a hero on a book cover, or at least the rebel.
What she didn’t know for sure was if this Sarah was really her sister.
Biting her lip, she glanced around the room. “Is it true?” she asked.
“Is what true?”
“If you have feelings for me, which I really don’t believe, then does it mean that Sarah, was she … really my twin?” She didn’t want to feel anything when it came to learning about Sarah. She had no understanding of a twin or a concept of what it meant to have a family member.
Landon put down the empty bowl. “Yes.”
Tulip nodded. It shouldn’t hurt.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
She laughed. “You think you’ve got problems. You think knowing love and experiencing it is bad. How about not knowing what it’s like at all? In fact, you, your fucked-up uncle and brothers, none of them know what it’s like to have the mother lode dumped on you. Let me tell you, I don’t like it. Up until last week, as far as I was aware, I was just another unwanted baby. A nobody. I could live with it. No one wanted me, not even my parents. But now I learn I had a sister. A twin. Not only was I not wanted, my other half was. She got the parents, and the boyfriend, and I bet she had a good life, didn’t she? I bet she never knew what it was like to go hungry, or to be afraid because your foster dad’s steps stopped outside of your room and you know he’s been staring at you no matter how hard you try to hide your tits.”
She hadn’t cried in a very, very long time. Only, she couldn’t seem to stop these tears.
They fell thick, fast, and she gritted her teeth, angry at herself for even caring that no one had given a single fuck about her in all of her life.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“No, you’re not sorry. If you were sorry, you’d release me. Let me go. Instead, I’m still chained to a fucking chair.” She started to wriggle with more force. “Let me go. Let me out.”
She screamed until her voice was hoarse.
Landon didn’t leave. He didn’t untie her.
He simply watched her.
“I hate you. You know that? I hate you and your family.”
“I know.”
“Ugh, stop being so agreeable. It sucks. Do you know that? It sucks to watch you. To see you. I hate all of this.” She kept on spewing vile words she didn’t even mean, but she couldn’t help it. Hearing him, seeing him, it was a sick and twisted reminder that she was nothing more than second best.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
She watched him walk to the corner and drag a bucket beneath her chair.
“Are you kidding me right now?” she asked.
“It is what it is.”
She gritted her teeth. Hatred filled her. She shook her head. “If you loved someone, you wouldn’t do this to them.”
“I have no reason to believe you wouldn’t escape.”
She laughed. “As much as I’d love to run away from you right now, where exactly would I go? I have no identification. No passport. I don’t know how your uncle got me into this country, but I’m nothing. I have no money. I’m all alone, again. I shouldn’t be surprised. Running from you, I’d go back to your uncle’s. Great plan, they woul
d just send me back here to you. Believe me, not a great plan. I may be angry and I’m not going to pretend I don’t want to punch you in the face, but I’m not stupid either.”
“You can punch me if you want.”
“I’m going to give it a try but not when you expect it.”
He watched her again.
His gaze heated her flesh, making her think of a whole load of things, stuff she didn’t allow herself to ever consider. She knew what assholes men could be when they wanted a fuck, and she wasn’t going to give in. Not ever.
Once Landon was back with his family, she wanted out of there so fast they wouldn’t know what hit them.
Landon tilted his head from side to side before finally coming toward her. He began to release the binds.
She didn’t charge at him or knock him out. Wrapping her fingers around her wrist, she rubbed the blood back to them. She hated being tied up with no way of escaping. It freaked her the fuck out.
“If you try to leave, I want to remind you I have a bounty on my head.”
“I know.” Maybe she should kill him? No, she wouldn’t make it that easy.
With her legs untied, all that remained was her waist.
She wanted to run for it, but she grabbed the arms of the chair instead. There was no way she’d make it out in this world. As much as it killed her to admit it, she needed Landon to protect her. To keep her safe until he got her home.
Landon took her hands and it was her first instinct to pull away, which she did.
His gaze landed on her hand then on her face.
“You don’t have to restrain me.”
“I wasn’t restraining you. I …” His brows drew together, his lips pursed.
“You what?”
“I know you think this is all bullshit and I accept that, but I still need to hold your hand. I want to.”
“Seriously? I’m going to piss myself because you want to hold my hand?”
“Don’t judge me.”
“It’s kind of hard not to.” She smiled. “No one has ever held my hand before.” She rubbed at her temple. “This is weird. You know that?”