In Enemy Territory

by M. E. Clayton

  Fiona – Is there a ‘Being In Love With A Psychopath For Dummies’?

  Damien had nerve. I mean, he always had a hell of a lot of nerve, but acting the way he had in the bar after he just had some blonde tramp wrapped around him was even beyond what I thought he was capable of.

  I dropped my shawl and purse on his couch and turning to face him, crossed my arms over my chest. “Excuse me?”

  He had stripped off his jacket and was working on the tie as he answered, “Don’t fucking play with me!” he roared. “What the fuck did you think you were about drinking and flirting with other guys after I just spent the night introducing you as my goddamn girlfriend?!”

  I couldn’t describe what I was feeling. When I had walked out of the restroom and seen that blonde draped over him, it had felt like my heart was literally breaking into pieces inside my body. I wanted to cry because it felt as if I had just caught my boyfriend cheating on me. It felt like him walking into Ben Lester’s graduation party with Heather on his arm all over again.

  But he wasn’t my boyfriend then, just like he’s not my boyfriend now.

  We have an arrangement where I fuck him on command to keep my parents out of trouble.

  I didn’t have the right to be upset and so I put on a brave face and acted as if everything was fine. It had taken a lot of convincing on my part to make Vicky play along with my charade. In the end, I had to remind her of how many times I’ve been humiliated at the hands of this man. I wasn’t going to let him do it again tonight in front of California’s elite. So we had sat at the bar and pretended like we were at Mercury’s without a care in the world. It was going fine until Damien showed up.

  “We were just talking and having a few drinks.” I raised a brow. “It’s not like I had my arms around either one of them whispering in their ear.”

  He stood there with his hands in his pockets saying nothing and the silence made my insides crawl. He wasn’t going to explain what he was doing with her and he wasn’t going to apologize for it.

  And I was done being a fool.

  My childhood self was done with wanting her childhood nemesis to like her. My grown up self was done with wanting to matter to this man after all these years.

  I was just done.

  I gave a curious glance around his apartment “So where do you want me?”

  The look on his face had my heart ready to beat out of my chest. “What do you mean ‘where do I want you’?”

  I uncrossed my arms and gestured outwardly around. “Where do you want to fuck me? The couch? Kitchen? Shower?” As I was looking around, I noticed his living room led out onto a balcony. “How about the balcony?” I suggested. “We can give your neighbors a show.”

  He was in front of me, snatching my arm up before I could finish with my suggestions. The tick in his jaw was so prominent, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked a molar. “Did those guys get you so turned on you’re willing to let me fuck you out on the balcony in front of the entire goddamn city?”

  I tried to master the art of being cold. I wanted to be disconnected and hard. But the illusion was shattered as the tears pushed their way out of my eyes and down my face. I wasn’t going to back down though despite the tears. “Of course not,” I snapped. “I’m willing to let you fuck me anywhere there’s a surface because that’s how a whore’s supposed to cater to whoever’s paying her, right? And, Damien, I’m no longer confused in the least about me being your whore. Only the payment is my parents’ freedom instead of cold, hard cash.”

  Damien let go of my arm and stepped back from me as if he had been burned. His chest was heaving and the look on his face was pure fury. It was beautiful and frightening.

  He was beautiful and frightening.

  He regarded me for a few minutes before he spoke, his voice was low and lethal, “Is that how my touch makes you feel? When I’m buried balls deep inside you, is that what you’re thinking?”

  No! I wanted to confess that I feel desired when he’s inside me. I feel wanted and needed and sometimes, maybe, loved. But he’s gotten enough laughs at my expense over the years. I wasn’t about to tell him how I really felt whenever he touched me.

  “I understand that it was better for business to introduce me as your date or girlfriend rather than your whore.” I shrugged a shoulder as if the realization made me feel nothing. “But either I’m just a whore and available to those guys at the bar, or I’m your girlfriend making you unavailable to the blonde.”

  “Goddamn it, Fion-”

  I held my hand out to stop him. “I get confused in my role when you try to have it both ways, Damien. I can handle the whore part of this deal, but I’m done with the somewhat girlfriend part of it. You can fuck me in private until the six months are up, but you’ll have to pick someone else to be your girlfriend in public. I won’t do it any longer.”

  Each word out of my mouth felt like a razor blade across my skin. Vicky had been right all along. I’d always felt something for Damien and it wasn’t always hate. He singled me out and I convinced myself that it must have meant something. I must have meant something to him. This arrangement wasn’t anything other than a bored millionaire stumbling across an embezzler and deciding to use the connection to me for entertainment purposes.

  I’d never felt so low and like such a fool as I did when I walked out of that restroom tonight.

  “And if I don’t agree to that amendment?”

  As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep my voice from cracking. “Then I’ll sell Fiona’s and my house and hire an attorney if the value doesn’t equal enough to pay off the debt.”

  I could see his entire body lock up at my ultimatum. “She’s the daughter of a client whose done business with us almost from the start,” he explained, going back to my questions about the blonde.

  I told myself I didn’t care.

  “She’s exactly what she appears to be…a gold digging socialite.” He came back to stand in front of me. “I have never wanted to nor will I ever want to sleep with her. That little display was because she took offense to Will mentioning that his date was in the restroom with my girlfriend.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Damien,” I whispered. I was emotionally in tatters because of this man. I would be beyond stupid to let his words affect me now.

  His next words confused the hell out of me. “Don’t do this, Fiona.”

  I glared up at him, tears still streaming down my face. “Don’t do what, Damien?”

  And then he did his worst. “Fine,” he hissed. “If the sale of your parents’ assets, your home and your business equal the amount that your father stole from me, then I won’t prosecute on the criminal charges. But if the total is short so much as a dime, then your parents are fucked, Halloween.”

  I stood there and watched him storm out of his own apartment and I briefly wondered why he was leaving instead of kicking me out. It wasn’t until I heard the doors of his private elevator swoosh that I finally broke down in sobs. I curled up on the couch and cried until I had nothing left to give.

  After about an hour, I realized I couldn’t stay here any longer. I grabbed my purse and checked to make sure I had some cash for a cab and then made my way to the elevator. My stomach was tied in knots the entire ride down. I was losing everything I worked so hard for and I couldn’t even blame Damien for it. Sure, he was the one pushing all this, but there’d be nothing to push if my father hadn’t stolen from him to support his gambling addiction.

  It was almost midnight as I rushed my way through the lobby of the building. I could only hope it wouldn’t take too long to flag down a cab. I didn’t want to call Vicky because I was pretty sure she was on board with whatever Will had planned for her tonight and I didn’t want to ruin that for her.

  I was standing in front of the building looking up and down the street when I realized Damien could be coming back at any moment. I mean, this was his home after all. I took off down the sidewalk looking for a café or all night diner or something where I cou
ld safely sit as I called a cab company or call for an Uber driver.

  I found myself about three blocks away when I stumbled upon a cab idling on the street. I approached the side door and knocked on the window. The window rolled down. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but are you available?”

  The cab driver looked me up and down before his brows drew down in concern. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

  I smiled at him. “I am. I just need to find a hotel for the night, preferably one that won’t cost me a payment of my future children.” This was San Francisco after all.

  He chuckled a bit. “Sure, honey. Get in.”

  I got in and he suggested a mid-star hotel a couple of blocks further down. I started crying when I went to pay and he refused to take my money. “Just get some rest. I promise things will be better in the morning when you’ve rested and can think more clearly.” I thanked him for his kindness and went inside to book my room.

  I made my way to my room, which wasn’t bad at all, and fell right into the bed, dress and all. The cab driver was right, a good night’s sleep and I’d feel better in the morning.

  It wasn’t moments later that I let the exhaustion take me under.

  Suddenly, the unexpected ringing of my phone jerked me out of my sleep. I reached over and through my sleep haze I saw Vicky’s name flashing brightly at me. “Hello,” I croaked.

  “Jesus Fucking Christ, Fee! Where in the hell are you?!”

  “Uh…”

  “Damien has lost his fucking mind, Fiona. He’s tearing the city apart looking for you!”

  I sat up. “I’m fine, Vee. I found a hotel and-”

  “What’s going on? Why didn’t you call me?”

  I let out a sigh. “I didn’t want to ruin your night with Will and-”

  “Fuck that, Fee. I’d much rather be there for you than shacked up with some random dick that I can get anywhere.”

  I heard a faint ‘what the fuck’ in the background, which I presumed was Will. “Vicky, I’m fine, honestly. I was actually in a very deep and comfortable sleep when you call.”

  “Oh,” she whispered. “Well, text me where you’re at before you fall back to sleep and Fee?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I meant what I said about Damien. He thought I knew where you were and I seriously thought he was going to kill me for not telling him. He really is ripping this town apart looking for you.”

  “It’ll be fine, Vee. I’ll call you in the morning. The real morning,” I chuckled.

  As I hung up, I saw that it was almost two in the morning. “Fuck,” I muttered. I fell back onto the bed and prayed I’d be able to fall back asleep. I was just closing my eyes when the pounding at the door shattered all my illusions of a good night’s sleep.

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was on the other side of the door. My suspicions were confirmed seconds later. “Open up this fucking door, Fiona, before I break it the fuck down!”

  I really didn’t want to deal with the police at two in the morning after already having a shitty night, so I threw the covers back to go open the door. I mentally slapped my subconscious when she accused me of wanting to open the door because we were secretly glad Damien came looking for us and not because we didn’t want to deal with the police.

  The backstabbing, unsupportive whore.

  I turned the lock and barely moved out of the way in time before Damien came storming into the room looking like a vengeful god. He turned to face me and I’d never seen him look this disheveled. His dark hair looked like he’d been running his hands through it all night and his face was dark and livid.

  I closed the door behind me and stood my ground. “How’d you find me?”

  He stormed towards me and grabbing my arm, shook the shit out of me. “I will always fucking find you, Fiona. I will always know where you’re at, what you’re doing and who the fuck you’re with. Always,” he seethed.

  I tried to yank my arm out from his grasp even though I know it was futile. “Let me go, Damien.”

  He threw his head back in a sinister laugh. “You don’t think I’ve fucking tried?”

  What’s he talking about?

  “And so help me God, Fiona, if you ever take off like this again, I’ll…”

  I pushed at his chest. This man’s audacity knew no bounds. “You’ll what, Damien?”

  He peered down at me and the look on his face had me believing every word he said. “I will buy out everyone in my building and lock you down in the storage basement and keep you down there until we destroy each other. I swear to God!”

  Having spent all my tears earlier, now all I felt was rage at his mixed signals. “Well, seeing as how I’m handing over everything I own to you, I fail to see where we’ll find ourselves in this situation again. You can go to hell, Damien. And once I hand over the check, I never want to see you ever again!”

  He grabbed hold of my other arm and slammed me up against the wall. “That’s not how this is going to go down, Halloween. You’re going to see me every day for the rest of your fucking life, if I have anything to say about it.”

  I got back up in his face…well, as much as my 5’2” could against his 6’3”. “But you don’t have any say about it. I’d rather lose everything I own than be your goddamn toy!”

  “You’re not my fucking toy!” he roared down at me.

  “Then what am I? Jesus, please, Damien! Why are you doing this to me? Why can’t you just let me have a peaceful, normal life?” My voice began to betray me and I hated myself for it.

  The bottom of my stomach fell out when he answered. “Because I’ve been obsessed with you since we were five and I still can’t control it twenty-three years later. It’s always been you.”

  Chapter 16

  Damien – It’s not enough…everything is just not enough.

  Fiona stared up in shock at my words and I couldn’t blame her.

  I couldn’t begin to describe the panicked sensation I felt when I had gone home and couldn’t find her anywhere. I knew I was losing it when I actually threatened Vicky with bodily harm. I was not my father and I knew I had to put an end to all this when I found myself starting to act like him. It was time for the truth.

  Well, some of the truth.

  “What are you talking about?” she whispered in disbelief.

  I let go of her arms and stepped back from her. Fuck! I was so not equipped for this shit. I was used to taking without reservation. I normally never had to explain myself. I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m obsessed with you. I always have been. It’s the reason behind everything I’ve ever done to you.”

  She shook her head, trying to will my words to be lies. “That’s…that’s…that can’t be.”

  “Oh, I can assure you it can be, because it is.”

  I could see all the fight physically leave her body as she slump back against the wall. “I don’t understand. I…”

  “Are you unfamiliar with the definition of the word ‘obsessed’?”

  She shot me a withering glare. “Quit being an asshole, Damien. Of course I know what the word means. What I don’t understand is what you mean by it.”

  I took another step back and jammed my hands into my pockets, but I held her stare. “You made and make me feel things that no other person on the planet ever has. I’m not going to try to explain the feelings you invoke because I can’t. But believe me when I tell you that everything I have ever done has been because of you or related to you in some way.”

  “You need to leave.” She stepped away from the wall and headed towards the door, presumably to open it and push me on through.

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and anchored her back against the wall. “I’m not leaving and I’m not letting you leave me. Well, not until you’ve heard me out.” Like fuck I was going to let her leave me.

  I could see her wrestling with herself. Her face gave away everything. “Fine, but you better make it quick. It’s past two in the freakin’ morning.”

 
“Give yourself to me for six months and I’ll stop-”

  She stomped her foot and if I wasn’t in the middle of making the deal of my life, I’d laugh. “I already agreed to give you six month-”

  “Stop. Let me finish.” I gave her a pointed look and she zipped it. “I want six month of actual dating with you. No past, no parents, no jail time, no extortion, none of it. Be with me for six month like we’re a real couple and if at the end of the six months you still hate me, then I’ll let you go.” I wouldn’t, but she didn’t need to know that.

  “Why?”

  “Because I wasn’t lying when I said I was obsessed with you. I need to see what I can be with you without all the hate and games. Maybe if the reality isn’t what I’ve always fantasized, I can finally shake you and move on.” I was lying, but I was desperate.

  Her face was the most sincere I had ever seen it when she spoke, “You don’t deserve the chance to cure yourself of me. Not when I’m so damaged by everything you’ve done to me.”

  I could only nod because she was right, but I needed a plan. The first plan of force and extortion fell apart, so I needed her on board with this one because I didn’t have a plan C. “True. That’s why I’m asking you for the chance instead of threatening to ruin everyone you love for that same chance.”

  “So you’re essentially asking me to be your girlfriend, like an actual girlfriend where we go to the movies and dinner and crap like that?”

  “Pretty much.” She didn’t answer immediately and I could feel my body turning cold with the realization that she was mostly going to call my bluff on ruining everyone she loved.

  “Okay.”

  Fiona’s acceptance was uttered so softly, I had to ask her to repeat herself. “Can you repeat that? I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”

  She squared her shoulders like she was going into battle and met me head on. “I said okay. I’ll be your girlfriend for the next six months and…try to…I’ll just try.”

  I took her face in my hands. “Thank you, Halloween.”

  “Why do you call me Halloween?”