A Debt Repaid

by Wild, Clarissa

  “Um … some,” I say. “I have a father and a brother. And a stepmom, but I don’t count her along.”

  Ashanti laughs. “A stepmom? I wish I had one.”

  Deion’s eyes widen, and his cheeks start to glow as he whispers under his breath, “Ashanti.”

  “What? It’s the truth!” she exclaims, still chewing.

  He shakes his head. “Girls …”

  I laugh. They’re cute together. I didn’t imagine Deion as a dad, but now that I see them together, I totally get it. I wonder where his wife is, though, because judging from what Ashanti said, she doesn’t have a mommy anymore.

  “So … a stepmom, huh?” I mutter.

  “Or just a mommy,” she says.

  I gulp away my fish.

  “Uh, let’s not talk about this,” Deion says.

  “Why not?” Ashanti asks. “I miss Mommy.”

  I cock my head and sigh at the sight of Deion’s embarrassed face, so I grab his arm, and say, “It’s okay. I won’t ask if you don’t want to talk about it.”

  He nods and places a hand on top of mine. At first, it’s strange to have another man’s hand touch mine, but his warm, calloused hands make my skin glow. It feels good, and for some reason, I don’t pull away.

  “Thanks,” he says. “I appreciate that.”

  “Ooo ….” Ashanti coos, making us both laugh.

  “Will you stay?” Ashanti suddenly asks.

  “What?” I ask, instantly glancing at Deion.

  “Uh, maybe? If she wants?” Deion says, who looks at me too now.

  Wait … is he for real? “Well, if there’s room, and if it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to stay.” A broad smile forms on my lips. “For now,” I add, so I don’t sound too needy.

  “It’s fine by me,” Deion says.

  “Yay!” Ashanti says. “Roomie!”

  “Nee, nee, ze slaapt op haar eigen kamer, in haar eigen bed. Net als jij,” Deion corrects, and he looks at me, and says, “I told her you sleep in your own room and bed.”

  “Ah …” I nod. “Yeah, up in the attic.” I point up at the ceiling.

  “De zolder,” Deion explains to Ashanti.

  “Okay,” Ashanti replies. “As long as we get to play.”

  I laugh. “Sure. Why not?”

  Deion leans in, and whispers, “Don’t say yes. You’ll regret it. She’ll make you be her model the entire day so she can do your hair, makeup, and clothes.”

  I snigger as Ashanti says, “Hey! Are you talking about me?”

  “No, not at all,” Deion says, and I try to hold my laughter.

  These two are amazing. “I’ll play with you, Ashanti. I promise.”

  “Yay!” she says again, biting off another piece of fish as though she’s ripping it to shreds with her teeth.

  We all continue to eat the fish in silence. I don’t know what to say, and it looks like Deion’s too afraid to pry into my personal life. Ashanti keeps getting reined back by Deion, so she doesn’t push too far. But I don’t mind. I won’t tell them anything don’t wanna tell. Besides, I have to be forthcoming to them if I wanna stay, so I try to answer as many of the questions she asks me.

  After we’ve cleaned up the plates, we all go into the living room, where Deion turns on the television and puts on the news. I sit down on a comfy recliner while Deion curls on the sofa with Ashanti. I’m staring at the TV without even blinking. Without breathing.

  Because they’re showing my brother’s picture.

  And the reporter says, “And in small news, the new CEO of the major corporation Davis Holding, Elijah Davis, has been hospitalized due to unknown reasons, but sources within the hospital tell us he’s on bedrest after a possible heart attack.”

  I don’t hear any other words she says. The words “heart attack” ring in my ears over and over again while my own heart beats out of control. My brother … in the hospital?

  I have to call him. Right. Now.

  I get up from the seat and turn toward Deion. “Can I borrow your phone?”

  He looks up at me, surprised. “Um … yeah, sure.” He hesitates, then pulls it from his pocket and hands it to me.

  “I need to … call someone,” I say as I bolt into the hallway for some privacy. There’s only one hospital he could’ve gone to, so I type in the hospital’s name on Google. My father doesn’t trust any of the other hospitals in the area, and my brother always does what he says. There’s a number on the front page, so I call it and wait as the phone rings. A lady picks up and starts talking, but I interrupt her immediately.

  “Hi, is Elijah Davis there? Can you get him on the phone for me, please?” I say. “I need to know if he’s okay.”

  “Excuse me, who is this calling?” she says.

  “Charlotte … Davis,” I reply in a softer tone, hoping Deion doesn’t hear. “I’m his sister.”

  “Davis … hmm, yes, he’s here. Hold on, I’ll put you through.”

  The phone goes dead for a few seconds. Then I hear my brother’s voice. “Hello?”

  “Elijah,” I murmur, tears springing into my eyes. “You’re alive.”

  “Charlotte?” His voice is raspy, probably from the tube they had to put in his throat to save him.

  “Yes, yes!” I say, wiping away a tear. “It’s me.”

  “How are you?” His tone suddenly shifts. “Where are you?”

  Where … am I?

  Why would he ask that? He knows I’m supposed to be with Easton … unless Easton’s already contacted my dad and him.

  “I’m …” I swallow away the lump in my throat because I can’t answer this truthfully. “It doesn’t matter. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” He sounds upset.

  “You’re in the hospital,” I reply, rubbing my lips together. “I saw it on the news, your heart attack.”

  “Heart attack?” he mumbles. “I’m only here for a broken foot. Fell down a few flights of stairs.”

  “Wha-what?” My words fail me as I try to make sense of the situation. “But I saw it—”

  Our conversation suddenly cuts off.

  “Charlotte!” It’s my dad. He probably ripped the phone away from my brother. “Tell me where you are right now!”

  So he knows. He knows I’m not in Easton’s possession anymore, which means Easton must have told him.

  “What is going on with Elijah?” I ask, ignoring his question. I want to know what happened because it’s as if I’m being kept in the dark intentionally.

  “Elijah is in the hospital, but you already know that. It’s exactly why you called. But he’s being taken care of perfectly here. Now tell me where you are.” I can hear the disdain in his voice, and I don’t trust him one bit.

  “Why d-did they say it w-was a heart attack?” I’m stuttering now.

  “Charlotte, if you’re that worried about Elijah, I can pick you up and take you to him. You two can talk over here at the hospital.”

  “No, tell me the truth,” I say.

  “Charlotte,” he says with a condescending tone. “Look, if you don’t want to tell me where you are, will you at least tell your brother? Then we can pick you up. He’s been dying to see you.”

  “That’s a lie, and you know it,” I say. “Is Elijah’s injury even real? Or did you tell the journalists some lie about a heart attack so they’d put it on the news? That’s it, isn’t it?” My blood boils, overflowing with rage. “You were trying to get me to contact you.”

  “Just fucking tell me where you are, goddammit!” he yells, making me hold my hand over my mouth in shock. “My life is on the line. If I don’t tell Easton where you are, he’ll …”

  “Don’t.” Tears roll down my cheeks. “Don’t hold this over me. This was not my choice. None of this was.”

  “This loan was the only way to save the business, and you know that,” he says. “My life’s on the line here. If he doesn’t get you back, what will stop him from coming after me again? Nothing.”

  “S
top,” I plead. “Just stop. Don’t do this, please.”

  “You helped me once, and I need you to continue to help me, Charlotte. Our family depends on you. Don’t abandon us.”

  I can’t stand this guilt-tripping, so I lower the phone and stare at it for a few seconds.

  Father is still shouting on the other end of the line. “I swear to God, Charlotte, I will find you. Whatever it takes! I won’t fucking stop until I’ve found you, you hear me?”

  Instead of saying another word, I press the cancel button and end the call.

  My father’s words have left me in shambles. That entire news broadcast was a farce, a ploy to get me to call them so he could force me to tell him where I am. My brother wasn’t even close to dying, and my father used his situation as an opportunity to get me back … And worst of all, I feel guilty for not telling him.

  Guilty for leaving Easton.

  Guilty … for knowing my father could die because of me.

  My hand is on my chest, fingers squeezing my skin, digging for something, anything, but I feel hollow inside. Even though my heart thrums in my throat, I’m devoid of emotions. The tears that once streamed have stopped and are replaced with a vapid emptiness on my face. All I can do is stare at the wall in front of me, wishing it would all stop.

  Suddenly, a hand touches my shoulder, and I’m instantly pulled back into reality.

  “Are you okay?” Deion’s standing right behind me, but when I turn my head to glance at him, he walks in front of me and grabs both my shoulders. “You look upset. What’s going on? Did something happen?”

  “I … had to call my family,” I mutter, desperately trying to keep it all together without spilling my guts to him. I don’t want to pull him into this. Involving him would only make this more dangerous than it already is. Just being here means he’s in danger … and Ashanti too.

  “Charlotte, was that your brother?” he suddenly asks.

  My lips part, but I can’t answer without giving everything away and making him part of this problem too.

  “It is, isn’t it? That man on the television was your brother. That’s who you were calling,” he says. “You’re a Davis.”

  I shake my head and close my eyes, desperately wanting it to be a lie.

  But it isn’t.

  “Yes.”

  Admitting that has never been more painful than it is now.

  I am a Davis. I was born a Davis, and I will always be a Davis … until I die.

  And him knowing this means he’s a threat to my father too.

  And any man who’s a threat to my father doesn’t live long to tell the tale.

  Chapter 7

  Easton

  Staring out the living room window, I note the overgrown pond and hedges. I should call the gardener and tell him to do a better job. Maybe I should fire him and hire a new one. After all, if one can’t do one’s job properly, then why have a job at all?

  Then again, the same applies to the man who lost the bond to his loan. The girl he exchanged for money to a ruthless son of a bitch who is now in some other man’s hands.

  The thought alone makes me clench my fists. If anyone should be fired, it’s me.

  Suddenly, my phone rings, and I immediately pick it up, hoping for news. “Yes?”

  “She took the bait.” It’s Davis.

  “Tell me what happened,” I reply.

  “My son broke his foot, and I used the opportunity to spin some lies toward the press, and voila … It came on the news, and when she watched, she called him right away.”

  “Do you have the location?” I interrupt.

  “No, we’re working on it,” he says.

  Dammit.

  “But I do have the number. I’m having it traced to the owner right now,” he adds.

  “Good,” I say. “Tell me when you have a name and an address.”

  Davis clears his throat. “I can handle this, Easton.”

  I narrow my eyes. What is he getting at? “Don’t overdo it, old man. You tell me the moment you find out more. Got it?”

  “She’s my daughter. I know how to find her and make her come back.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” I hiss. “I paid for her, and she’s mine, goddammit. You hear me?”

  He chortles. “I’m not a fool, Easton. I know what’s at stake here.”

  “Your. Life …” I growl.

  “I’ll bring her back to you, don’t fucking worry,” he says with a bitter undertone.

  “I don’t want you to even touch her. You tell me exactly when you have the address and then do nothing. Understand? I will be the one to get her back.”

  He’s silent for a few seconds. “I trust that by finding her, my debt will remain paid?”

  “Yes,” I reply.

  Then he hangs up the phone.

  No promises. Nothing.

  Something in my gut tells me this isn’t going to go over so well.

  * * *

  Charlotte

  I stare at Deion’s phone, my hands shaking. This isn’t right. My father intervened, and it was all a trap. I should’ve known.

  Shit. I have to get rid of this phone before they find my location.

  I rush to the kitchen while ripping apart the phone bit by bit until I find the chip, which I shatter and chuck in the trash.

  “Hey! Stop!” Deion calls out, chasing me. One look at his broken phone is all that’s needed for him to yell, “What did you do that for?”

  “I’m … sorry,” I say, swallowing. I know it isn’t right, but I had no other choice. If my father finds me—finds us—he’ll not only take me back to Easton, but he’ll kill Deion and Ashanti too. It would bring him shame to know they’re still alive and that his precious daughter spent time with what he’d call lowlifes. And I’d do anything to keep them from harm. Deion and his little girl don’t deserve any of his wrath.

  “I can explain,” I say.

  He puts his hands against his side, tapping his foot. “You’d better.”

  I lick my lips, staring at his feet for a while. How do I explain this without sounding like a total idiot? “They can’t track a phone this way.”

  “Track?” He makes a face and laughs, but the sarcastic smile on his face disappears like snow in the sun. “Wait, you can’t be serious, right?”

  I hesitate to answer. “Actually …”

  He throws a glance to the living room, probably to make sure Ashanti isn’t listening or watching us. “Who’s tracking you?” he asks with a soft voice. “Your family? The Davis family?”

  “Um …” I don’t know how to explain this even though I said I would try. How do you even begin with a story like this? “It’s complicated.”

  He cocks his head and sighs, then sits down at the kitchen table. “Sit.” He points at a seat, and I feel obliged to do as he asks.

  “My father sold me to a man named Easton Van Buren in exchange for a loan.”

  “Hold on, did you just say sold?” Deion leans in as if he didn’t hear me right.

  “Yes. It’s the truth. His business, Davis Holding, was on the brink of bankruptcy. No one would loan him a cent … except for Easton.”

  He shakes his head in disbelief. “And he wanted you in exchange?”

  I nod. “I know it sounds outlandish, but it really happened. And now they’re looking for me.”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “But how? And why? I mean, who would get away with that?”

  “Money buys a lot of things, Deion,” I explain. “And money makes people do bad things.”

  He sniffs, and says, “It’s a lot to take in.”

  “I know. It’s why I didn’t tell you,” I say. I’m too ashamed to look at him because to do so is to admit that I went along with it. That I allowed them to sell me and use me however they saw fit.

  “But what does my phone have to do with that?” he asks.

  “My father only tricked me into calling my brother so he could find out the phone number I used and use it to track
me down,” I say, swallowing away the lump in my throat. “If he can return me to Easton, the debt will remain paid. Otherwise, Easton would probably have him killed.”

  “Whoa.” Deion sucks in a deep breath.

  “I know. It’s why I went along with it.”

  “Yet … you’re here,” he says, his brows furrowing.

  “I couldn’t play pretend-wife anymore. I was trapped in that house, caged like a bird. I needed freedom,” I say as I look him in the eyes. I want him to see the real me and the pain that hides behind these eyes. “When I had the chance, I fled. And then you found me …”

  He nods a few times, and it’s silent for a moment. “That’s way worse than just a tough situation,” he jests, a lopsided smile appearing on his face. “You’re in deep shit.”

  I smile back. “Tell me about it.”

  It’s silent for a few seconds before he opens his mouth again. “So, what now?”

  “Now …” I sigh. “I don’t know, but I don’t think I can stay.”

  “Why not?” he asks, and my heart palpitates.

  “I don’t want to put you or your daughter in any danger.”

  “Pfft.” He waves it off. “As if this is the first time some asshole tried to own a woman. You’re not the first girl in trouble, and you won’t be the last. I can handle it.”

  I lick my lips. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean …” He grabs my hand, and for the first time in forever, I don’t want to pull mine back. “You can stay here if you like.”

  “But—”

  “I’m not gonna put a girl in need on the streets, Charlotte. That’s not my style.”

  I jump up from the seat and hug him tight. Only when the scent of his cologne enters my nostrils again do I realize what I’m doing, and I quickly pull back. His face is red, and mine probably is too. Shit. That was embarrassing.

  I clear my throat. “Thank you. And I’m sorry about your phone. I will buy you a new one, somehow.” But first, I need to make money.

  He grins. “Don’t worry about it. I have a backup phone in my drawer. Stay as long as you need to get back on your feet.” He pats my shoulder. “And you should go to the police with your story. I’ll help you if you want.”

  As nice as that offer is, I’m not sure I want to take him up on it. After all, who knows how far Easton’s power reaches. I’d be a fool to assume he doesn’t have the local law enforcement in his pockets too.