by Mia Knight
“Why not? You waltz in and out of this family as if we’re nothing to you. You don’t give a shit what’s going on in our lives.”
Lyla opened her mouth to shout, but heard Mom calling her name. Instead, Lyla whirled and slammed the door on her father’s stream of insults and stomped downstairs.
“Everything all right, honey?” Mom asked.
Lyla bit back all the angry words that wouldn’t make a difference to her mother and nodded.
“Let’s go, then,” Mom said.
When they walked outside, her mother came to a stop when Blade gestured them towards the SUV.
“I have my own car,” her mother said, gesturing to an old Honda. “I have some errands to run.”
“We don’t mind,” Blade said.
“Come, Mom,” Lyla said and took her mother’s hand.
One of the guards moved into the last row of seats so she and her mother could sit together. Blade took the passenger seat and they were off. Her mother gave instructions to the driver, clearly embarrassed. Lyla climbed out of the car and watched as her mother stuck first one and then another card into the ATM machine with a pinched, worried expression as she typed in her PIN. Gut clenched, Lyla accessed her bank in Maine through her cell phone and grit her teeth when she saw that the account had been closed.
She dialed Gavin’s number as her mother tried a third card.
“Hey, baby girl,” Gavin said.
Lyla took a deep breath. “My money in my account, the five thousand, you have it?”
“Yes.”
Why the hell did she think seeing her mother would make her feel better? It made her realize how fucked up her life was. Gavin had all the power and she had nothing. She tried to tread carefully. “Is the five thousand a down payment?”
“Down payment for what?”
“Dad’s debt.” She paced as she watched her mother slap the screen of the ATM as if that would change what she was seeing. “I-I know five thousand is nothing but—”
“What’s going on?” His voice was clipped.
“I need some money,” she said.
Dead silence on the other end. Her heart began to pound and she tightened her grip on the phone.
“I can get a job to pay you back.” Still no response and her eyes stung with tears of desperation. “I know I owe you for dad’s debt and we haven’t talked about how I’m going to—”
“Blade has a credit card. We’ll talk about this later,” Gavin said and hung up.
Lyla swallowed hard as she pocketed the phone. Her mother walked away from the ATM without any money and hurried back to the car. Lyla got into the passenger seat and sat silently as they stopped at the post office and then the grocery store. Her mother chose a ghetto grocery store where people sold tamales and black market DVDs out of the trunks of their cars. Blade and the other guards had their hands in their jackets, clearly on edge. As her mother grabbed a wagon, Lyla sidled up to Blade.
“I talked to Gavin and he said you have a credit card we can use?” Lyla asked in a low undertone.
“He texted me. I have the card,” Blade said.
Lyla nodded and rushed to keep up with her mother who seemed to be trying to get away from them. “Mom, get whatever you need.”
Her mother wouldn’t look at her. “I just came for a few things.”
“Gavin will pay for it,” Lyla said, stomach tight with nerves.
Her mother flushed with embarrassment. “We’re okay.”
“No, you’re not and you might as well get what you can while we’re here,” Lyla said, dreading her conversation with Gavin.
“Really?” Mom asked, hopeful but wary.
“Yes. Just... get what you need. I don’t know when you’ll have another chance.”
Her mother took Lyla at her word and filled her basket to the max. Lyla grabbed a package of condoms because it couldn’t hurt and distracted her mother when they were rung up. Blade didn’t blink as he handed the credit card over. Her mother was in a better mood as they loaded up the groceries and headed back to the house. Lyla, Blade and the guards carried the groceries inside. Her mother filled the empty fridge with food and it comforted Lyla, even knowing that she had to deal with Gavin soon. Her mother insisted on making lunch for all of them. The guards were allowed to sit in the living room while Lyla watched her mother put away ingredients and start the preparations for her homemade fried chicken.
Under normal circumstances, Lyla would have been eager to taste her mother’s cooking, but not knowing how Gavin would react to this latest incident with her parents made her queasy.
“What’s this?”
Lyla saw her mom holding the box of condoms. Lyla held out her hand, but her mother didn’t hand them over.
“What is this, Lyla?” she asked as if Lyla was fifteen-years-old.
Lyla raised her brows. “Condoms. You put them on dicks to save yourself from an STD or getting pregnant.”
“Yes, but why would you need these? You’re with Gavin, right?”
“Yes.”
Her mother’s face turned sympathetic. “Is he cheating on you again?”
Arrow through the fucking heart. Lyla was stunned by the pain that simple question caused.
“They’re men, honey,” her mother said, patting Lyla’s cold hand. “But if they take care of you and come home to you, who cares?”
Lyla cared. She cared too fucking much.
“But it is better to be smart,” her mom continued, putting the condoms near her hand. “You still have your IUD? You might want to take that out if you want to hook him.”
“Hook him?”
Her mother began to roll chicken in flour with quick, practiced movements. “He’s a ladies man. He might move on and then where will we all be? You have to have insurance.”
A child as insurance... Lyla rose. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
She walked out before her mother could say anything else and passed Blade who had been standing just outside of the kitchen. She ran upstairs so no one would hear her vomit. Lyla used the mouthwash under the sink and sat on the closed toilet lid, hands over her face. When her phone rang, she jolted and reluctantly pulled it out of her pocket. When she saw Gavin’s name, she considered ignoring it, but he paid for her parent’s groceries and he might want to talk about how she could pay him back.
“Hi,” she said.
“I’m home. I want you here.”
Her hand tightened on the phone. “Mom’s making fried chicken.”
“I’m calling Blade. He’s bringing you to me.”
Gavin hung up and she sat there, wondering what the fuck was wrong with her life. It didn’t take even two minutes for Blade to knock on the door.
“Lyla? We have to go,” he said.
“A minute,” she said and took deep breaths.
He knocked again. “He’s pissed off. We don’t have a minute.”
Oh fuck. Lyla rose and opened the door. Blade gave her a sharp look.
“You okay?”
“Fine.” She walked past him and ignored her father’s curses when he caught sight of her. He fell silent when Blade stopped in the doorway.
“What are you doing in my house?” her father roared.
“Gavin told you what he’d do if he heard you talk to Lyla like that,” Blade said quietly. “I hear you insult her again, I’ll finish the job he started.”
Lyla ignored them and went into the kitchen to kiss her mother on the cheek.
“But the chicken!” Mom protested.
“Enjoy it,” Lyla said and put the condoms in her pocket.
“Remember what I said, Lyla!” she called.
Lyla rushed out of there as fast as she could and got into the SUV, feeling worse than she had this morning. How could she have forgotten that her parents had no income? Yes, it was her father’s fault, but how would they survive? She wouldn’t let them live on the street. They were the only parents she had. She could get a job and help until Dad was on his feet aga
in.
“You shouldn’t let your father talk to you like that,” Blade said.
“I don’t let him, he just does.”
“Gavin won’t stand for it.”
Gavin might cuss her out himself when she saw him.
“You have no idea what you mean to him,” Blade said impatiently.
Lyla glanced at the guards in the front seat who could hear every word and huddled against the door, wishing Blade would shut up and leave her alone.
“I heard what your mom said about hooking Gavin and him cheating on you again,” Blade said.
“Will you shut up?” Lyla snapped, finally losing her temper. What was going on in her own head was bad enough. She didn’t need everyone voicing their opinions. “I’m not going to trap him so you don’t need to report that to him! God!” What would Gavin think if he heard what her mother said? He would—
“You’re different from the others,” Blade said.
So there were still others... Lyla beat back the tears. “Blade, please, shut up.”
He finally shut it while her mind raced with ways to pay Gavin back for his generosity towards her family. She would never be able to pay him back for the five hundred thousand her father stole. She possessed nothing of value that she could exchange for even a fraction of the cost. Not only had Gavin paid for groceries, she had to ask him for a loan until she could get a job.
When the SUV pulled up to Gavin’s mansion, she had to force herself to move. She put her hands in her pockets and walked slowly towards the door. She felt as if she were walking towards a firing squad. Her fingers closed around the pack of condoms as she pushed the door open. She closed the door and stood there, listening. She jumped when Blade came in behind her.
“You’re supposed to stay outside,” she said.
“I have to give my report.”
When he tried to step around her, she blocked his way. “What report? About me?”
“Yes.”
“What is there to report?” she demanded. “Nothing happened.”
Blade walked around her. In a desperate move, she leapt on his back to stop him.
“Please don’t tell him,” she whispered, mortified.
“Tell me what?”
Lyla froze as Gavin came out of his office. She could feel his energy and it didn’t bode well for her. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and he looked pissed. Blade shrugged her off as if she were a flea. She dropped behind him and waited for the explosion.
“We need to talk,” Blade said.
Lyla bit back another plea as he walked into the office. Gavin beckoned her with one finger. Slowly, Lyla went to him and wasn’t prepared for the hand that shot out to cup her face. She couldn’t stop her reflexive jerk backwards. His eyes began to blaze.
“We’re back to this?” he hissed.
Lyla said nothing.
“Don’t go anywhere,” Gavin snapped before he slammed the office door.
Chapter Thirteen
Lyla sat on the couch for what seemed like an eternity, hands clasped between her knees. She would tell Gavin that she had no intention of trying to trap him with a baby. She had proof! She made an appointment with the doctor last night. As for her parents... that was harder. Why would he give money to help someone who stole from him? Her parents were her responsibility. She would get a job and help until Dad healed.
Blade came out of the office. She didn’t look at him as he walked outside, closing the front door with a quiet click. Tattletale. She needed to remember that in the future.
“Lyla, come here.”
Gavin didn’t yell. That had to be a good sign, right? Lyla rose and tried to conceal her nerves as she walked into his office. He sat behind the desk, in the office chair she rode him in yesterday. That felt like a lifetime ago. She didn’t have the courage to look him in the eye. She could feel his anger pulsing in the air. She clasped trembling hands together and waited.
“Blade had a lot to say.”
Loudmouthed, traitor bastard.
“Do you really think I’d cheat on you?”
Lyla ignored the painful wrench in her chest. “Not right now—” she blurted and stumbled back when he erupted from his chair.
“Not right now?”
“I mean, I meant—”
“Jesus Christ, are you fucking serious?”
“I don’t think you’re cheating,” she said, trying to sound firm, but it sounded unintentionally tentative.
He stared at her. She couldn’t read him, but she felt something building and tried to head it off.
“I-I believe you’re happy with me,” she said and when he didn’t comment, her confidence took a nose dive. How could he be happy with someone with such a fucked up family? “Or, satisfied.” Still no response. “I-I know I don’t have any right to ask for anything. Thank you for paying for the groceries today. I would have used my own money but...” But he had it. “Dad’s bedridden for a couple of months and Mom’s never worked. I need to help them, at least until he’s well enough to try to find a job.”
“And why would anyone hire a thief as an accountant?”
Lyla blinked. “You’d stop him from trying to get another job?”
“I’m not going to give him a fucking reference.”
Of course he wouldn’t. So, her father would never get another job? She twisted her hands together. “I can get a job, pay you back for the groceries and—”
“No.”
She stopped talking, but he didn’t elaborate. Lyla raised her eyes to his and was caught in his predator stare.
“You aren’t going to work,” he decreed.
“But I need to help. They’re my parents.”
“Then you ask me for money.”
“You’d give me money to pay for their bills?”
A muscle twitched near his left eye. “Yes.”
She felt awful, even though he could afford it. “Thank you. You don’t have to do that.”
“I think you’re confused about something.”
Lyla tensed.
“You think I don’t care about you.”
She frowned. “I know you care.”
“Do you? Because I’ve been trying to show you that I’m all in and you’re backing away from me like I’m going to hit you.”
“I’m sorry.” After all he’d done for her, he didn’t need this crap.
“Come here.”
She hesitated for the barest second before she rounded the desk. She stopped a foot away from him, eyes lowered.
“Look at me.”
Lyla looked up and his hands clasped her face. His touch was gentle even though his features were stiff and cut into brutal, unyielding lines.
“If I want pussy, I can get it,” he said.
Lyla jerked and his hold on her firmed. “I know.”
“I don’t want other women,” he continued, eyes boring into hers. “They don’t know me, don’t give a fuck about me. I know the difference between a slut and a real woman.”
His thumb brushed over her bottom lip as he considered her. Her heart pounded in her ears.
“You’re right.”
When he didn’t continue, she prompted, “About what?”
“Back then, the things I did for the business still bothered me. It kept me up at night. I didn’t want it to touch you so I used other women. I poured that shit into them. They welcomed it, craved it.”
When Lyla tried to twist out of his hold, his hand dropped from her face to grip her arm, hauling her close.
“Now I don’t need the other women. I don’t feel anything when I do what has to be done.”
Lyla said nothing.
“Three years without you, you think I’d be dumb enough to fuck it up again?”
Lyla’s eyes burned with tears and she whispered, “I think you need more.”
“More what?”
“More than I have to give. Right now you think I’m enough but eventually—”
He clapped a hand over
mouth and stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. “For the rest of my life you’ll be enough.”
Lyla’s heart thudded painfully in her chest. His eyes were hungry, desperate pools that wanted to swallow her.
“I never told you I loved you, did I?”
Lyla’s heart stopped.
“I never told you that I would die for you, that I adore everything about you. I can’t get enough of you. I never will.” His voice was strong and sure. “I’m fucking greedy when it comes to you. I don’t want anything between us, even my dad and that’s fucked up but I don’t care. I want you to need me and you don’t. You can live without me. You did it for years.”
He jerked away as if she burned him and paced, hands in his hair, breathing hard. She watched him, torn between backing away or going to him. She did neither and stayed where she was.
“I hate that you went on without me, that you could.” Veins popped out on his neck. “You let another man touch you, turned to him for—” He broke off and sent everything on his desk flying. “I forced you to run from me. I know that. Living without you was my punishment and I suffered, Lyla.”
He whirled back to her, his movements jerky and uncontrolled.
“I love you.”
It sounded like a threat.
“And I will never let you go, never turn to another woman. You’re everything I need.”
Tears poured down her face.
“I have men watching you. I call them constantly because I need to know you’re still here. I don’t care if it makes me look weak. I need to know you’re here waiting for me. I’m identical to my father in one aspect. When we love, we do it once and forever. I’ll never let you go. I recognize what you are, what place you have in my life. I can feel you slipping through my fingers. I won’t allow it.” He spread his arms wide. “You want to hook me, baby? Take me. Anything, everything. Show me you want something from me and aren’t waiting to run when my back is turned. I know I don’t deserve you, that most people only get one shot at love. If they blow it, that’s it. I forced you to give me a second and third shot. I’ll keep asking you for chances because we will never be over. I want legal ties.”
“Legal—?” she began, but her voice cut off as his meaning penetrated.
“You’re not a part of our world. That’s why Dad and I are drawn to you. Innocence, loyalty, purity and love. You remind me of my mom. You have her spirit. She kept my dad grounded. I lost it when you left. Suddenly, I looked forward to dealing out punishments, to sowing fear into the slums. I had nothing to lose, nothing to go home to and then I found you.” His eyes flashed with a rage so potent that goosebumps rose over her arms. “I haven’t had a weakness for them to exploit until now. Your kidnap was a test to see how I’d react. Their orders were to grab you, ask for ransom and see how quickly I’d react to get the money together, to get you back. You were never supposed to be touched. Someone’s fucking with me and everything in me wants to retaliate but I have to pass that duty onto someone else. I can be content with those worthless fuck’s deaths because I have what I want. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. What I want for my future flows through you so I’ll pay the price, whatever it is, to have you.”