by Mia Knight
“When I tell you to do something, you do it!” he shouted in her face. She closed her eyes against the sight of him. “You don’t leave me, Lyla. Do you understand me?”
She nodded because she couldn’t speak.
“Open your eyes.”
When she didn’t obey, his hand tightened in warning. Her eyes popped open.
“Tell me you understand.”
“I-I understand,” she whispered as he threatened her airflow.
“Tell me you won’t leave me.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I w-won’t leave you.”
He grabbed her lower lip between his teeth. She moaned and tried to turn her face away, but he increased the pressure and bit. She tasted blood. More tears slipped down her face. When he released her, a trickle of blood slipped down her chin. He glared at her as if he hated her, as if he were debating whether or not she was worth the trouble. She held her breath.
“You belong to me,” he stated without emotion, as if she were a chair that he was claiming ownership of. “You try to leave me again, I’ll hunt you down and make you watch as I slaughter everyone you love. Then, I’ll make you pay.”
Lyla couldn’t conceal her horror. In the four years they were together, Gavin never touched her in anger. He had been so gentle with her, so caring. With everyone else, he was a beast, but he always reined it in around her. Now, it was on full display and it made her tremble.
“Your place is by my side. You listen to me and follow my rules. You don’t have the freedom you had last time. You check in with me for everything. You understand?” At her slow nod, he stepped back. “Go upstairs and fix your face. Then, I’ll take you to see your mom.”
Lyla lurched into motion, making a wide circle around him as she left the kitchen on unsteady legs. She walked upstairs, focusing hard on putting one foot in front of the other. When she reached their bedroom she closed the door and stood there for a long moment, mind racing. If she stayed, he would kill her. But, there was nowhere to run where he couldn’t find her. Even though he suspected she had been killed by his enemies, he didn’t call off the search. He meant every word he said in the kitchen. He would kill her family if she ran again. He didn’t make idle threats.
Lyla walked into the bathroom and stared at the blood and mascara smeared over her face. Her lip was swollen and seeping blood in a steady stream down her chin. Her arms ached where he grabbed her and her neck began to darken with bruises. With shaking hands, she wet a washcloth and wiped her face.
The bedroom door slammed open. Gavin appeared in the bathroom doorway. He leaned on the doorjamb and watched her with brooding eyes. Lyla clutched the washcloth between shaking hands and waited for more punishment.
“You kill yourself, I’ll make your family wish they were dead, you got me?” he asked.
Lyla gave a jerky nod.
“Hurry up,” he snapped.
Lyla nodded again and finished wiping away the mascara. There was no chance of concealing her ravaged lip and she had no idea what other things lay in wait for her. She didn’t bother to reapply mascara. She turned to Gavin, head bowed. He snatched her hand in his. She swallowed hard to keep her breakfast down. Gavin grabbed the cell phone she had yet to touch and slapped it in her hand.
“You keep this on you at all times,” he said.
He led her downstairs and pulled her out of the house. His men, no less than fifteen were waiting for them. The men lounged on the steps and around the large fountain in the middle of the drive. Lyla dropped her head to conceal her swollen lip as Gavin opened the passenger door of his silver BMW. Lyla buckled herself in, clutched the phone between her hands and stared straight ahead. Gavin spoke to Blade for several minutes before he climbed into the driver’s seat. Lyla leaned against the passenger door in an effort to gain more breathing room. The small space made her feel claustrophobic. Gavin sped off his property towards automatic gates that opened at his approach. Neither of them said a word. When Lyla couldn’t stand it a second longer, she rolled down her window and took a deep breath to stop herself from vomiting in the expensive car. Gavin didn’t object as he navigated the freeways.
The Strip didn’t look as alluring in the daytime as it did at night. The Strip was Gavin’s playground. She wanted to stay as far from it and Gavin as possible. She wanted to believe this was a nightmare she would wake from. When Gavin drove up to her parent’s house, of its own accord, her hand reached for the door. She was out of the vehicle before it stopped. Lyla ran to her family house and raised her fist to beat on the door, but it opened before she could. Lyla saw her mother, burst into tears and embraced her. Lyla buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and cried silent sobs.
“You’re home,” Mom whispered in her hair.
Lyla shook her head, but didn’t have the restraint to stop crying and actually talk. Her mother smelled of garlic and sesame oil. It stirred up bittersweet memories. Lyla held her tight, wishing she was a child again when everything was simple.
“Mrs. Dalton.”
Gavin’s voice broke through her hysteria. Lyla stiffened in her mother’s arms. Would Gavin beat her in front of her mother or slap her mother around to punish her further?
“Gavin, thank you for bringing my daughter home,” Mom said, voice choked with emotion.
“No problem,” Gavin said. “How’s your husband?”
So her father was here, being tended by her mother. That was good news, but how dare Gavin ask about her father’s health as if he wasn’t responsible for his state? Lyla wanted to scream.
“I finished stitching him up a minute ago,” Mom said pleasantly and patted Lyla on the back as if she were a newborn.
“I brought Lyla by to reconnect. You don’t mind if I leave her here while I go to work?” Gavin asked.
“Of course not! I’m glad to have my baby back.”
“Good. I need to speak to her before I go.”
“Of course,” her mother said and loosened her hold, but Lyla wouldn’t release her. “Lyla? Gavin needs a quick chat.”
She didn’t want to lose touch with her mother even for a moment. A large hand touched the small of her back and she stiffened. Remembering the strength in that hand as it wrapped around her throat, she released her mother and whirled to face Gavin.
“Leave us,” Gavin said without looking at her mother.
“I’ll be in the kitchen, Lyla,” Mom said.
Her footsteps faded. Lyla was left facing Gavin alone in the foyer of her parent’s humble home.
“You don’t touch my mother,” Lyla said. She wasn’t sure where this burst of defiance was coming from when she felt so emotionally and physically battered, but she knew one thing. She would die before he lay a finger on her mom. She gave up her future for her father. She would give her life for her mother.
“There’s no reason to hurt your mother,” Gavin said.
But there was reason to hurt her?
“I have to go to work.”
Lyla nodded. Good. She needed time away from him to think.
“Blade will be outside along with several other guards. You’re not allowed to leave here. I’ll be back to pick you up.”
Lyla nodded again and took a step back. Before she could walk away, Gavin grabbed her arm in the same place where she was already bruised. Lyla let out a hiss of pain. He instantly switched his grip to her elbow. He looked down at her discolored skin and brushed a thumb over it.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said quietly.
She shuddered and waited for the attack. He cupped her chin and lifted her face. Gold eyes swirled with conflicting emotions. The maniac who attacked her in the kitchen was nowhere in sight. If she hadn’t witnessed it for herself, she would have thought it was a hallucination. Right now he was the cool businessman and appeared to have all of his emotions under control.
“You make me feel...” He shook his head. “Everything. You make me crazy.”
Lyla tried to ease away, but he tightened his
hold.
“Be a good girl,” he said and kissed her forehead before he released her.
Lyla didn’t bother to watch him leave. She turned on her heel and walked towards the kitchen. Her mother stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot. She wore white capris and a tight shirt that showed off her carefully maintained physique. Lyla was a mirror image of her mother. There was no sign of her father in her.
Mom turned. When she got a good look at Lyla, she dropped the wooden spoon, which skidded over the tiles.
“Lyla, what happened?” Mom whispered.
Bile rose and this time, she couldn’t stop it. Lyla turned and ran to the nearest bathroom where she retched. Her mother held her hair and murmured soothingly as Lyla gagged until there was nothing left in her stomach. Mom mopped up Lyla’s face with a warm rag and dabbed at her lip, which began to bleed again.
“Brush your teeth,” she ordered and Lyla did so.
Her mother led her back to the kitchen where she guided Lyla into a chair and made peppermint tea for both of them. Mom sat in the chair facing Lyla and tapped the top of her clammy hand.
“Tell me everything,” Mom said.
Chapter Four
Lyla wrapped trembling hands around the hot mug. She was shaking too badly to pick it up, but was grateful for the soothing smell and warmth. She surveyed her mother’s platinum blonde hair cut into a chic bob that framed bright blue eyes and animated face. When Lyla lived in Las Vegas, she rarely visited her mother after she moved in with Gavin. She had been too busy primping or partying to visit.
“I'm sorry,” Lyla whispered.
“For what?”
“I shouldn't have left.”
“Why don't you tell me why you did,” Mom prompted gently.
Lyla rotated the cup between her hands. “Carmen and I went to Malibu, a girl’s trip, but I missed Gavin and came back early to surprise him. I caught him having an orgy at a club.”
Her mother showed no sign of surprise. Gavin was a Pyre and this was Sin City, after all. The people of Las Vegas were as jaded as New Yorkers.
“I shouted at him, made a scene. I lost it.” Lyla had a vague recollection of smashing glasses and belting a prostitute across the face. “I drove home and he met me there. He apologized and told me it would never happen again. I wanted to believe him, but I asked if this was the first time he cheated on me. It wasn’t.” Lyla finally felt steady enough to take sip of tea. It coated her dry throat and warmed her from the inside out. “That week he bought me a new car, jewelry, more clothes. He told me we would go on a trip, just the two of us.”
Her mother listened without saying a word. There was no condemnation or anger on her face, just calm expectancy. Lyla buried these memories deep down and refused to think about them until now.
“One night, Gavin said he had to do something before bed. I was suspicious so I snuck past a guard and followed him to the basement. One of his security guards was tied to a chair. Gavin beat the crap out of him and injected him with something that forced him to stay awake. The guard fed information to the cops. Gavin questioned him and then beat him to death with his own hands in front of his men. I left the next day.” Lyla felt sick so she drank the rest of the tea, hoping it would banish the awful taste in her mouth. She witnessed Gavin systematically rip this man apart. She hadn't been able to eat for a week after. “I got a new identity and moved a lot, kept under the radar. I met a great guy in Maine.”
Lyla's voice broke and her mother reached out and squeezed her hand.
“We just moved in together. He’s so good to me... I came back to my apartment and Blade was there. He showed me a live video of dad. They told me he stole half a million. Gavin told me I would pay the price for Dad. I arrived yesterday.”
Mom got to her feet while Lyla sat at the table, staring into space. Lyla had always known that Gavin was involved in shady shit. His father owned casinos, hotels and clubs on and off The Strip. There were parts of Gavin’s job that were legit and other parts that weren't. Lyla turned a blind eye to it until she watched that guard die a slow, painful death. She couldn’t take her eyes off Gavin that night. She had seen him angry, but the detached, emotionless way he continued to beat the man to death chilled her to the bone. He never raised his voice, never lost control. The way he dealt out punishment that night made her realize she couldn't live this life any longer. She couldn’t get it out of her head that if she ever made Gavin that angry, he would do the same thing to her. Her fears were confirmed after the kitchen incident this morning.
“Here.” Mom set a sandwich in front of her. “It’s only peanut butter. Your favorite.” When Lyla made no move to touch it, she said, “You'll feel better.”
Willing to oblige her mother, Lyla took a bite.
“I warned your father about stealing from the Pyres.” Lyla’s mother leaned against the counter and wrapped her arms around herself. “I suspected he was stealing from them. I knew it meant his life when they caught him, but he wouldn't stop. He's addicted to gambling, always has been, always will be. I knew when Gavin's men showed up what it meant.” Tears sparkled in her eyes. “I never thought I'd see him again and now you're both here.”
Lyla tried to respond to her mother's watery smile, but she couldn’t.
“I know you don't want to be here, but I'm glad you came home to save your father's life.”
Her mother loved her father beyond all reason. It was the way Lyla had once loved Gavin—fathomless and irreversible. Her father was brilliant with numbers and had never been able to stay away from gambling. He would go through a streak of luck that resulted in her mother being showered with gifts before he hit a bad streak and then everything went to hell. Her father had a hard time keeping a job because of his addiction until he accepted a job as an accountant for the Pyre Casinos when she was sixteen. She visited her father at work one day and met Manny Pyre, the CEO of Pyre Casinos and Gavin’s father. Lyla felt an instant connection with Manny. Despite her father’s warnings, Lyla dropped in on Manny throughout the summer and helped with minor administrative tasks. In her senior year, Manny hired her as a personal assistant. She shadowed his every move when she wasn't in school. Manny introduced her to Gavin and the rest was history. Despite the fact that Gavin was eight years older than her, they began to date, much to her father's displeasure. It took her a year to realize something wasn't right with the business. Gavin never talked about it, but she wasn't stupid. Gavin pampered her and moved her into his mansion. She quit her job at Pyre Casinos and became a kept woman. She slipped her mother part of the allowance Gavin gave her when her father was on a bad streak. Life was good... until it wasn’t.
Lyla stared at her mother who had yet to address the darker parts of her story. Although it had never been discussed, they knew there was a dirty side to the Pyre fortune. It was an unspoken rule that it should never be discussed.
“Gavin's going to kill me.” The words burst out of her mouth before they materialized in her head.
Her mother waved a dismissive hand. “He won’t.”
Lyla stared at her mother and gestured to her injuries.
“What did you do?” Mom asked, a thread of accusation in her voice.
Lyla surged to her feet and didn't notice the mug totter off the table and shatter when it hit the ground. “What did I do?”
“Gavin loves you,” Mom said in a consoling tone. “He wouldn't have hurt you unless you made him angry beyond reason.”
“So it's my fault that I look like this?” Lyla demanded. Her mother always stuck up for her father and now, it seemed that she was sticking up for Gavin, the man responsible for her father’s nearly comatose state. “Did you not hear me say that he cheated on me and killed a guy with his bare hands?”
“He’s a Pyre,” Mom said as if that dismissed Gavin’s sins. “You should be grateful that he still cares for you. You have to keep him happy, Lyla, for all our sake’s.”
“I should be grateful,” Lyla repeated dumbly. She
should be grateful that Gavin was so furious that she left three years ago that he wanted to punish her? Her world was caving in around her and her mother was figuratively clapping her hands in delight. The feeling of homecoming and safety faded and the nasty taste of betrayal filled her mouth again.
“You didn’t mention how you escaped,” Mom said casually as she stirred the pot on the stove.
Lyla went cold as her intuition pinged. Her mother would tell Gavin who helped her escape and that person would die. Lyla had no doubt about that. “I made my own connections through the Pyres,” she said mildly and got to her feet. “I want to rest.”
“Of course, honey. Let me—”
“No, Mom, I got it,” Lyla said and escaped upstairs. She went to her old bedroom and found it untouched. The room smelled musty, but she didn't care. Lyla collapsed on the bed and heard her father yelling several doors down. Lyla covered her ears with her hands, buried her face in her pillow and screamed.
***
Lyla must have dozed off because she was asleep when the second assault came. Someone straddled her middle. As Lyla lost her breath and transitioned from sleep to frightened wakefulness, the person grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her while screaming a torrent of profanities. Lyla opened her eyes and tried to focus on her assailant as her head snapped back and forth. She reached out for leverage and encountered bare, silky skin. The person stopped shaking her and bounced on her tender tummy. Lyla finally recognized the slim woman on top of her and couldn’t hold back a delighted shriek. Lyla wrapped her arms around her cousin and hugged her tight.
“Bitch, you roll back into town and forget to call me? What the fuck?” Carmen demanded, voice thick with tears.
“Got back yesterday,” Lyla said, voice muffled by Carmen’s surgically enhanced bosom.
Carmen released her and sat back on Lyla’s thighs. Carmen wore a fire engine red dress that barely covered her ass with large cut outs on the sides. Her blonde hair had fine streaks of fuchsia and her face looked airbrushed, it was so perfect. Carmen’s eyes flared as she took in Lyla’s bruised throat, arms and scabbed lip.