by L. P. Dover
“How do you know that?” My stomach clenched and I froze in horror. I didn’t want his men following Kellan.
He pulled out another phone from his pocket and a man appeared on the screen. “Mr. Carrigan, could you please show me Kellan’s whereabouts, please?”
“Sure, boss.” The second he disappeared from the screen and I got a good look at his surroundings, I gasped. The Carrigan guy was watching Kellan from across the lake at his house.
“Why is he watching Kellan?” I demanded. He zoomed the camera in to where Kellan sat on his dock. The turmoil on his face was evident and his right hand was bloody.
Mitchell leaned close to my ear, his breath blowing across my neck. “He’s there to make sure you cooperate. Do as I say and your precious Kellan can keep his life. If you deny me, he’ll get a bullet through the head. I don’t want to see you hurt, but obviously there’s no other way you’ll listen.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. There was no doubt in my mind Mitchell would kill Kellan if he could. Holding my head high, I looked straight into Mitchell’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want, just get your guy away from Kellan.”
He smiled triumphantly. “I’ll do that after you make the call. Tell Kellan you’re happy and you’re not coming home, that you don’t want to marry him. If you do it convincingly, I’ll get Carrigan off his back. I’m keeping him alive for your sake, but the first time you deny me, I’ll end him.”
“What do you mean deny you?” I felt like I was going to throw up. Having to be intimate with him would break me apart.
He brought his face closer and I had no choice but to stand there and let his lips close over mine. Lips trembling, I tried to keep from crying and failed. “When I want a kiss,” he murmured, “I expect you to comply.” His hands drifted to my breasts and he squeezed. “If I want to touch you, you’re going to let me. And if I want to lay you down on the bed and make love to you, I want you to open willingly for me. If you don’t…well, you know the consequence.”
“Please, don’t do this to me, Mitchell,” I cried.
He kissed me again, pressing his arousal into my body. “Shh, it’s okay. I know you’re not ready for that yet. Once this phone call is made, we have a lot to discuss. There’s something I want to tell you.” I looked down at the phone showing Kellan pacing back and forth on his dock. I had to lie to him to keep him safe. The thought of never seeing him again shattered my heart, but I’d do anything to keep him alive.
Mitchell held out his phone. “Do it fast, angel.”
I grabbed his phone and hit the call button. It was strange watching Kellan on the other phone, knowing I was about to talk to him. His phone rang and I saw him pull it out of his back pocket. My lungs tightened, but I sucked in a breath, hoping I’d be able to speak when he answered.
“Hello,” he said after putting it up to his ear.
I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears. “Kellan,” I whispered.
“Holy fuck, Kristen are you okay?”
I opened my eyes and I could see the relief on his face, only it wasn’t going to last long. “I’m fine,” I lied. “I just wanted you to know I was okay.”
“Where are you? Is Blackwell there?” Mitchell shook his head, his dangerous glare giving me warning.
“He doesn’t have me, Kellan. I left on my own.”
“On your own? I don’t understand.”
Lips trembling, I sucked in a ragged breath. “I’m not ready to get married. I thought I was, but I’m not. I don’t think I’ll ever be. Staying away will help me clear my head.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said.
“Yes, I do. It’s over…I’m sorry.” Mitchell grabbed the phone and hung up, but I could see the despair on Kellan’s face as he slowly sank to his knees.
Mitchell watched, his body tense. “Reminds me of the day I found out you were dead. That was the worst day of my fucking life.” He ended the video feed on the other phone and stormed to the door. “Be downstairs in an hour. We’ll have dinner together.”
As soon as he left, I collapsed onto the bed, crying silently into my pillow. I had to get out of there, but I didn’t know how. All I knew was that I had to be strong.
—
Dinner was ready and I could smell it all the way upstairs. If I was going to get out of there, I had to watch the patterns. Darren circled the house, keeping his eyes on the woods in the distance. I couldn’t see any other men, so I assumed he was the only one. If it was just him and Mitchell, I could probably figure out a way to evade them both.
Taking a deep breath, I walked downstairs to a candlelit table. A man in the kitchen was getting our plates ready. Mitchell was in there, too, and lifted his head. “Right on time.” He walked over and handed me a glass of wine. “Your favorite.”
I took a sip and sat down at the table while Mitchell took the seat across from me. There was a large manila envelope on the table and I was curious as to what it was. “Who’s that?” I asked, nodding toward the man in the kitchen.
“His name’s Mario, a personal chef. He’ll be cooking for us while we’re here. He’s been instructed not to talk to you.”
Mario was an older gentleman with dark gray hair and a trimmed beard. He walked over and set our plates down in front of us, making sure to avoid eye contact with me. “Enjoy.”
He sauntered off and I rolled my eyes. “Really, Mitchell? Keeping me in solitude will drive me insane. You might as well kill me.” The chef had made an herb-crusted chicken with asparagus and tiny yellow potatoes. I’d rather starve than be his slave for the rest of my life, but if I refused to eat, I could see Mitchell holding me down while he force-fed me. I felt like I was walking on eggshells; any little move could make him crack. I didn’t know what to do, so I picked up a piece of asparagus and nibbled on it.
“It’s not for forever, angel. As soon as I know you’re completely mine, we’ll go back to Boston.”
I coughed, almost choking on my asparagus. “To Boston? How do you plan on doing that with me?” His lips spread into a grin and he slid the envelope to me. I opened it and pulled out the contents. The first thing I saw was divorce papers. “You’re getting a divorce?”
Mitchell looked into my eyes and nodded. “If I’d done it a long time ago, you and I would be married now.”
“You’re the one who lied to me,” I spat.
He sighed. “I know, and that’s why I’m trying to make it up to you. The divorce will be final next week. I had it expedited.”
“Why so fast?” I asked, swallowing hard.
Setting down his fork, he reached over and grabbed my hand. “So you and I can get married. I’ll give you your life back, everything you’ve lost. I can make it so Kristen Robinson never died.”
Teeth clenched, I squeezed his hand as hard as I could. He winced, but kept his hold. “I’ve lost more than you can give back. You can’t give me back Kellan or Cole.”
“No, I can’t. And I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m trying my best to make it up to you. Don’t you want to go back to Boston, get your old job back at Simon?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been gone for so long I don’t even remember what it’s like.”
“What about who you really are? Do you want to be Kristen Holt for the rest of your life?”
“She was happy,” I said. “Free.”
Mitchell kissed my hand. “You’ll be that way again soon. All I need is proof you won’t leave.” I knew what his proof needed to be and I wasn’t ready for that; I never would be.
Pulling my hand away, I slid my chair back. “I’m not feeling so well. I think I want to go to bed.”
He ate a bite of his food and smirked. “All right, I’ll be up there shortly.” When all I did was stare in horror, he chuckled. “You didn’t think I was going to let you sleep alone, did you?”
“Don’t force me, Mitchell,” I warned. All I wanted to do was run away and never look back, damn the consequences.
His penetrating gaze bore
right through me. “I won’t as long as you don’t keep me waiting too long.” My gut clenched and I wanted to scream. I rushed up the stairs to my room and slammed the door, dreading the moment I heard his steps coming down the hall. What the hell was I going to do?
Chapter 33
Kellan
Kristen’s phone call ripped me apart, but I didn’t believe it for a second. It hurt like hell to listen to the things she said, but it was all Mitchell’s doing; I had no doubt. But at least I knew she was okay.
Mitchell had his money in numerous accounts all over the world. Every time we’d lock into one, it’d lead us nowhere, except the one we found under Kristen Blackwell’s name. The only purchase using that one was the house in Wyoming. I knew Jason and the others were working hard, but it wasn’t fast enough. My mother led us in the direction to other possible bank accounts that Aylee and Brooklyn were investigating now. I prayed like hell one of them was the one we needed.
Jason set a burger in front of me. “You need to eat something, Carter.”
“I can’t until we find her.”
“And when we do, you’re going to be worth shit. If you plan on kicking Mitchell’s ass, you need to have energy.”
Huffing, I ate the burger and it made him happy. “I’m going out for a run.”
“Good, I’ll join you. There’s something I want to check out.”
“What?” I asked.
He stretched out his arms and legs and then strapped his gun holster to the waistband of his gym shorts. “There’s a car at the end of the road. I never noticed it before, but I don’t like it being there. It’s like a sixth sense I have; something’s off with it.”
“Do you think someone’s following me?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. Mitchell probably hired someone to watch you so he’d know your every move.”
“Fuck,” I growled. “I hadn’t thought about that. What do you suggest we do?”
He glanced out the window. “Take the trail through the woods and I’ll come at you from another angle. I want to see if someone follows you.”
“Or tries to kill me?” I countered. If Mitchell was having me followed, there was a good chance they were waiting for the right time to strike.
Jason cleared his throat. “I wasn’t going to say it, but yeah. Think you can handle it?”
I was itching for a fight. If someone wanted to kill me, they were about to face hell. “I’m ready,” I growled low.
Jason gave me a gun strap for my ankle with a nine millimeter inside of it. “Do you know how to shoot?” he asked.
I nodded. “My father taught me as a kid. We go hunting every year.”
“Good. You ready?”
The adrenaline coursed through my veins. “Yep.”
I opened the door and took off across the street into the woods. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the car Jason was talking about. There were no houses at the end of the street, only vacant land for sale. That car had no business being out there. The sun was starting to go down, but underneath the shade of the trees, it was much darker. All I could hear were my thunderous steps, pounding against the dirt and sticks. The cove was about a half mile away and when I got there, I stopped to catch my breath.
A twig snapped behind me and I thought it’d be Jason, but when I turned around, it wasn’t him. I couldn’t see who he was because he was about a couple of hundred feet away, but I could see the gun pointed straight at me. Only he didn’t get the chance to pull the trigger. Jason shot him in the arm, the sound of his gun just a poof of air from the silencer. Jason kicked the gun out of the guy’s hands and clocked him on the head. I raced toward him, my heart pounding. I didn’t realize the true threat against me until that moment.
I looked down at the guy and didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t one of Mitchell’s bodyguards. “What are we going to do now?”
Jason holstered his gun and sighed. “We carry the bastard back to your house and tie him up. Once we’re done questioning him, we’ll take him to the station. I have some friends there, so they’ll keep things quiet until we find Kristen.”
Grabbing the guy’s wounded arm, I jerked him up and Jason held his other arm. I was going to enjoy beating the answers out of him.
—
Once we had the fucker tied up and secured in the basement, I couldn’t wait any longer. I punched him hard and watched his eyes snap open. “Wakey, wakey, you son of a bitch.” The guy growled and spit out a mouthful of blood onto the floor. He wasn’t going to cooperate; I could see it on his face.
Arms crossed, Jason came up beside me. “I’ll ask the questions, you do the beating. Sound good?”
I grabbed one of the hockey sticks I had lying in the basement. “I’m ready.” If I broke one across his head, I had plenty more.
“What’s your name?” Jason asked.
The guy jutted his chin forward, refusing to look at us. Jason nodded at me and I raised the hockey stick high, slamming it down on the man’s hand. The sound of his bones cracking echoed in the room and he screamed. I wanted him to feel the pain. Not long ago he was about to kill me.
“I’m going to ask again, what’s your name?” Jason demanded.
His breaths came out in rapid pants. “Carrigan. Jonathan Carrigan.”
Jason circled around him while I stayed ready with the hockey stick, never once taking my eyes off Carrigan. “We all know Blackwell wants Kellan dead, so I’m not even going to bother asking why. The question is…where’s Kristen?”
After we tied him up, we searched his phone, but there were only restricted calls on it. Jason said it could take days to crack the safety code, and we didn’t have time.
“I don’t know,” Carrigan answered.
I didn’t even wait for Jason to nod; I slammed my hockey stick across Carrigan’s knee. It snapped in half from the force and he howled in pain. “Liar! Tell us where she is,” I shouted. I thought I could keep it together, but I couldn’t. I wanted him to suffer and I didn’t care if I got in trouble for it.
“Fuck, I told you! I don’t know!”
I pounded my fist against his broken hand, bending down so he could look into my eyes. My body shook with rage and I could feel myself slipping over the edge. “If I have to break every bone in your fucking body, I’ll do it. That way, when you go to prison you won’t be able to walk or fight back when you’re fucked up the ass. Your choice, cocksucker.” When all he did was stare at me, I raised my stick and slammed it down on his other hand.
He screamed and tried to jump out of the seat, but he was tied down. “The only thing I was supposed to do was kill you when I got the call,” he stormed angrily. “But I don’t know where your girl is. That information wasn’t disclosed to me.”
Footsteps pounded on the floor upstairs and then the basement door opened. Brooklyn came charging down the steps and she froze, her focus on Carrigan. “Yikes. Wouldn’t want to be you right now.”
“What’s going on?” Jason asked her.
A wide grin spread across her face. “Aylee and I think we found something. If everything pans out, we’ll know where Kristen is by tomorrow.” There was a big if in that sentence. She pointed to Carrigan. “You can probably get rid of him now; we don’t need him anymore. A shot in the head will do just fine.” Jason tried to hide his smile as Carrigan squirmed in the chair, yelling about how he didn’t know where Kristen was. The scare tactic worked, but it was obvious he didn’t know anything.
Jason glanced over at me and shrugged. “I guess we’re done with him. Let’s take him to the station.”
Jaw clenched, I slowly stepped toward Carrigan. “First things first.” Raising the hockey stick, I slammed it down on Carrigan’s other knee as hard as I could. He cried out, but I grabbed his throat, squeezing until he couldn’t make another sound. “That was for trying to kill me. Hope you enjoy being ass-raped.” Carrigan’s face started to turn blue and I let him go. Going to prison was far worse than anything I could ever do to him. “Let’s
get him out of here.”
Chapter 34
Kristen
For three days, I’d endured what I never thought I could. My hope dwindled every second I spent with Mitchell. All I could feel were his hands on me, demanding that I enjoy his touch. Pretending was going to be the death of me. It wasn’t going to be long before he demanded something I refused to give. The only thing I could think about was Kellan and keeping him alive.
“Good morning,” Mitchell murmured, his warm breath against my ear. His arousal pressed into my back and he slid a hand down my body, wrapping it around my thigh. He tried to pull my legs apart, but I stiffened. “Still not ready?” I could hear the displeasure in his tone; he was getting impatient.
“I’m sorry. It’s only been three days. You can’t expect me just to get over everything so quickly and have sex with you.”
Holding my waist, he turned me onto my back and straddled me, his raw gaze staring down at me. “I need you, Kristen. It’s been too long since I’ve had you beneath me.”
He started to lift my shirt, but I grabbed his hands. “Why don’t we eat breakfast and then take a walk outside? I’ve been cooped up in this house for three days.” What I really wanted to do was get an idea of the surroundings. It was up to me to save myself. If Aylee taught me anything with our self-defense classes, it was to remain calm and vigilant. I’d been preparing for this day ever since I fled Boston.
Mitchell slid off my body and I breathed a sigh of relief. “If a walk is what you want, we’ll do it. All I want is for you to be happy with me.”
He rolled out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and T-shirt out of the dresser while I quickly changed into some clothes. It was the first time I’d ever seen him look normal, but there wasn’t anything normal about him. I’d often wondered why he was the way he was, and it all boiled down to his lust for controlling everything. He dominated his company and made it into the empire it was with everyone falling at his feet. I was the only thing in his life he couldn’t control. For a while, he did control me because I was in love with him, but it didn’t take long to realize how selfish he was. It was a dangerous game, and in the end, I planned on winning…even if I risked my life to escape. If I never saw Kellan again, I had to at least warn him.