by Sam Crescent
“He’s the monster you’re afraid of?” he asked.
“He took everything, and then he made me do things I’m not proud of, Lewis. I’ve never wanted to kill a man so much as I want to kill him. I know he’s here. I know he’s watching, and he’s waiting. I can feel it. Robert’s here, and he was always so loyal to him. I think it’s why I don’t hold much stock in the law or cops. They’re easily swayed. Throw them some cash, and they’ll look the other way.”
“They’re not all like that, sweetheart. Some of them are good.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve only ever known the shitty ones.” She rubbed her temple and leaned back. “I’m sorry. I thought being free would help me. That I’d feel different. Right now, I feel more trapped than ever before. Even now when he’s not near. He’s controlling.”
The car came to a slow stop.
“Feel any better?” he asked.
“The truth? Not really. Not at all.”
The press was outside, and they didn’t have time to keep on talking.
“Let’s go and show them we can do this together.” He climbed out of the car, trying not to glare at the photographers making him blind with the bright, flashing lights. Taking hold of Mandy’s hand, he helped her from the car, and the smile she gave him was utterly dazzling. Her hand was shaking, and together they were not exactly fit to be in front of the camera, but he played it.
Much to his embarrassment, Jamie had paid a visit to his office and told him exactly where he was going wrong, and what he could do to change everything. Being told how to stand, smile, and charm was not a course he wanted to be taking anytime soon.
“Make sure you keep your arm around her.”
“Every chance you get, smile at her.”
“Let the world see that you’re totally in love with her.”
“If you love her, and she loves you, the world will fall in love with you both.”
Cameron had giggled as she watched him, telling him to relax. That he was way too stiff to showcase his love for Mandy.
His love for Mandy was not a ploy or a tactic to get people to want him. He wanted to marry her, and was already looking at houses away from the city.
There was a life nearly within his grasp. He just had to fight a little harder to take it.
Entering the gala, they were surrounded by fellow businessmen, women, models, actresses, and anyone who was anyone.
It was a huge celebrity event, and this was the first time he’d come through the door. Mandy held his arm in a death grip as the rest of society smiled and whispered. Some were blatant in their pointing and stares.
Malcolm, one of the club men, was the first to come over. He shook Lewis’s hand and then kissed Mandy’s cheek, showing everyone that she was known. She was accepted, and no one was going to push her aside, or make her feel differently.
“We can do this,” Mandy said.
Leading her into the main room, they stayed together. Malcolm moved away, and then Jamie came close.
“You look dazzling, darling,” he said.
Mandy giggled. “You’re crazy and insane.”
The dress really was stunning. Lewis had been totally blown away when she came downstairs and asked him what he’d thought. He didn’t know how to respond, and now seeing some of the male stares, he wanted to wrap her up so that she was for his gaze only. He was a selfish bastard and didn’t want to share her.
“I think the feather dress would have been wonderful,” Lewis said, earning himself a little tap.
“Don’t be silly.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “You’d have never gotten me out of the apartment in that monstrosity.”
“I don’t know. You’d have been the talk of the night.”
“For all the wrong reasons,” Jamie said. “Make sure you come to me for advice on what’s worth wearing and what’s not.”
“Already noted. I don’t think I could handle his kind of fashion.”
Lewis smiled and found himself relaxing. He could do this. It was just another event. He had to put everything else out of his mind and just focus on Mandy.
The night wore on, and donations were made for priceless jewelry, art, and then of course the dinner. He found that with Mandy at his side, he could handle anything. After dinner, there was a small party, a dance with a band, and more donations.
It was there that Lewis began to lose his patience.
By Robert Jones.
Mandy tensed at his side, and she squeezed his arm a little tighter.
“Hello, Mr. Cox. We’ve not been properly introduced. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask you,” Robert said.
“I know of you, and I take great offense at having my private life invaded. This is a charity gala, and right now I don’t need to be talking about such matters.”
“It matters a great deal. It’s about her, Mandy.”
Lewis wasn’t impressed. One look toward Jackson, another club brother, and he was there. “I need to deal with this … person. Would you entertain Mandy for me?”
“Certainly.”
Lewis didn’t want her near one of the men who’d hurt her.
Turning his attention back to Robert, he stared at the man who had allowed women to be hurt. This was not a man he wanted in his presence, or that of his future wife.
“Are you a member of a club called the Billionaire Bikers MC?”
“What a ridiculous thing to say. You know, I’m curious if your boss is aware of your interference and general lack of social grace. We are at a charity gala, and I believe my office is private. All things that require a warrant, which you do not have.”
“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Robert said. “You know who I am, and I know who you are. You’re not just some rich businessman doing this for kicks. You’re the guy that went looking for her. The one that wouldn’t give up no matter what warnings you were given.”
Lewis recalled the first time that he was getting close, long before he made his first million. Even Mandy didn’t know about the beating he’d gotten for looking for her. Broken ribs, bruises, and a concussion were what he got for not going away.
He stepped forward. “You’re not dealing with a teenage boy completely filled with guilt. You’re dealing with a man who knows what he’s about.”
“You’re not going to win. That bitch belongs to my boss. He will have her.”
Lewis smiled. They were in a public place, and he knew that Robert was trying to get him to make the first move and hurt his reputation. Attacking a police officer was a criminal offense. His face would be all over the newspapers, and he’d get arrested.
He wasn’t without control.
“Why don’t you tell your boss to bring it on?” Lewis asked. “Let’s see how he can handle a man rather than a defenseless woman. Tell him to stop being a coward and face me himself.” He smiled. “Good talking with you.”
One day soon, he was going to kill Robert, and as he did, he was going to smile.
A billionaire he may be, but deep down, he was a ruthless fucking bastard who wanted to hurt everyone responsible for Mandy’s pain.
****
Mandy hated leaving Jackson, but she couldn’t hold in the need for the toilet. She’d not been able to stop anyone, and she knew she was stupid for rushing off, but she had to go.
Sitting down, she relieved herself and closed her eyes.
Not long to go and she and Lewis could be going home.
Finishing her business, she flushed the toilet and left the stall. There was no one around, and she didn’t like how uneasy she was becoming. Washing her hands, she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t jerk back or flinch. She finished washing her hands and used a paper towel to dry them.
“You look fantastic,” Elijah said, pointing to the dress. “I was never able to mark that pretty back of yours. That was something I didn’t think was necessary.”
She tossed the paper towel into the trash and then gave him her full attention. “I should have
known you’d show up.”
“How could I not?” he asked, running his hand down his jacket. He looked like one of the toilet attending staff. They didn’t have to have anything other than a standard pass to get through. They kept the toilets clean, and men along with women were known to be available. Elijah was hiding in plain sight, just like always. If she screamed right now, it wouldn’t do her any good. Glancing up, she saw security cameras trained where they were standing. Elijah didn’t cover his face, but to anyone watching they were just having a discussion. He always was a slimy bastard when the need arose. “I thought you were dead, and now I hear that you’re engaged to be married to a very wealthy man.” He tutted. “I clearly didn’t train you well enough.”
She didn’t say anything else, just stared at the man who was her monster. He’d done everything to her, made her nothing more than a lapdog.
He chuckled and stared at her. “You know, one of the trainers we have, he took one look at you and said you weren’t trained at all. That I had failed and there was a fire that wouldn’t go until you died. I told him that he was wrong. That I could have you do anything I wanted, and I showed him, right? You remember?”
Again, she didn’t say anything. That was one of the nights he’d given her to the trainer, and she’d had to fight all of her instincts to keep subservient even as she was used as nothing more than a toy.
Her silence was starting to irritate him.
He didn’t like it when she had nothing to say to him, when she treated him like nothing, as if he didn’t deserve her words.
“You will be mine once again,” he said. “Do you think for a second that those men out there can keep you from me? That they won’t screw up, and then the opportunity arises, you won’t be exactly where you need to be. At my feet, serving me. Once I’ve done having my fun, I’ll be sure to send Lewis your pretty head, with no body of course.”
This time, Mandy did smile. He was grasping.
All of her life she had looked at this man as a monster. He was her jailer, and she had feared him. He made those around him fear him. At the moment, he didn’t have any other power than the kind that she let him have. Right now, he was slowly walking toward her, trying to make the room that little bit smaller.
She was tired of feeling like she was the one trapped in a cage.
They were on equal footing right now.
Pulling out of her frozen state, she stepped right up close to him, shocking him with her sudden advance.
“Let’s get one thing straight. You and I end up in that situation again, you will be the one on the floor licking your own blood. That trainer was right. Every single second of every single day I was with you, I thought of all the ways I could kill you. Go ahead, Elijah, kill me. Hit me. Do your worst. There’s a roomful of witnesses outside. They’re closing in on you and on Robert. Your days of being king are numbered. If you were smart, you’d get out and leave. But you and I both know you’re not smart. You’re stupid, and I was a fucking idiot to think that you were anything more than a pathetic excuse for a man.” She held her hand up, showing off her engagement ring. “Lewis is a man. He’s one hundred percent perfect. You, you’re a coward who gets power out of beating women. That doesn’t make strong. You’re weak. You’ve always been weak. You could never break me because I am strong, and you’re not!”
When he made to grab her, she shook her head, tutting. “Don’t forget, Elijah, someone might see.”
She had him. He’d wanted to come tonight to scare her, but all he did was show that with the Billionaire Bikers MC on his case, any power he had was slowly being stolen away. Slowly, he was dropping to nothing more than a kidnapper. A pathetic excuse for a man, and one she had no intention of being afraid of ever again.
The door opened, and there were some giggles.
Mandy didn’t wait around. She left the bathroom without a backward glance. Any hold that Elijah once had, crumbled. She held her head high, and moved toward Lewis, kissing him as the camera flashed in her face.
The game had changed. She was no longer the mouse, but the cat.
Elijah would come again, and so would Robert, but with Lewis and the Billionaire Bikers at her side, there was no chance of their enemies succeeding.
It was time to start hunting again.
Chapter Eleven
Two weeks later
The gala had been a fantastic event. Lewis and Mandy had been seen out as a couple, and in doing that had brought to light part of Mandy’s past. Blake had made sure the story that ran protected a great deal of details. Mandy was a kid who’d been snatched by traffickers, and she’d lived an awful life. However, Lewis helped fund the agency that tracked her down and brought her home.
It was a dark fairytale love story.
He already had Hollywood wanting rights to make a movie.
The biggest problem with being in the public eye, his every single movement was monitored. He couldn’t go to the club, nor could he go out on a quiet picnic with his woman. Even Mandy couldn’t go anywhere. Everything had gone completely crazy in his world. The only thing that had changed, and gone back to normal, was his work for the Billionaire Bikers. He monitored a ten-mile radius of the city. He checked for girls being taken or reported missing.
It was extra work with running his business, but he liked it. Mandy was also good at helping to find the ones that could be high risk.
Late one evening after making them both pasta with pesto, Lewis broached the subject with Mandy of what he wanted to do.
“I’ve been thinking about opening a shelter of some kind,” he said.
“For the homeless?”
He’d purchased multiple warehouses that were in different states of repair. He could have them fixed and ready to be used in no time.
“Not just for the homeless. I was thinking for the women we rescue who don’t have a family to go to, and also for kids who run away.”
“How do you think that will work?” she asked.
“They’re running away for a reason, right?” She nodded. “It can be problems at home, or feeling like they’re not being listened to. They’re easily preyed upon. I want to create a sanctuary they can go to. They’re protected. They can have food, a warm bed, a place to stay, and I can employ someone, or a lot of people, who can help to figure out their problems.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” she said.
“But?”
“Isn’t that why they have foster homes and child protection?”
“They fail. We know that. We don’t like to admit it, but they do. This could help boys and girls make that fresh start. I want to give it a try. I think it is something that could really work.”
“I’m with you a hundred percent.” She leaned over and kissed his lips.
“Have you seen the girls that run away? The boys?” he asked.
She chewed her food and finally nodded. “Yes. Even though they were … guarded, they were at times the easiest to fool.”
“The offer of food, warmth, love?”
“Yes. Something that is easier than what they’ve experienced so far. I didn’t say any of this was pretty.” He watched as she bit her lip. “There was something I wanted to give to you. I finally finished it, and I wanted you to have it.”
She lifted six full-length notebooks. He had watched her write in them a lot over the past couple of years.
“What is this?” he asked.
“This is my story. It’s not always pretty or nice, but it’s my story. I wanted you to have it, and before we get married, I want you to read it. I want to see if you still wish to marry me afterward.” There were tears in her eyes.
“This won’t change my view of you, Mandy.”
“It hurts at times.” She took a deep breath. “I feel like the pain won’t stop, and then I can’t breathe. I want you to read my story.” She stood up, and took their plates. “I’ve numbered the notebooks so you know the first one.”
Lewis watched as she left the kitchen,
and his heart felt heavy. He was saddened that she thought he would care about that.
Everything she had been through was at the hands of monsters.
Picking up the book, he flicked open the first page.
I’ve been wondering how I should do this. One of the therapists I was with said that it would be good for me to talk to someone, or write it down. How do you write down multiple years of being a girl and then a woman of trafficking? For ten years I knew love. I knew laughter, joy, and a crush that stayed with me throughout every single second of pain.
Those ten years helped to define who I was. During the worst part of my life, I remembered my upbringing. The strength in my character was because of that. I’ve not spoken to my parents since I got out. For as much strength they gave me in ten years, they abandoned me so easily. I couldn’t … I don’t want to talk to them.
My life changed forever one sunny July morning. My parents had to take my brother to some kind of appointment, but I didn’t want to go. I begged, pleaded, and acted like a complete child until Lewis Cox, my sexy-as-sin neighbor, offered to keep an eye on me.
In that moment, neither of us realized that our lives would be changed forever.
He was mowing the lawn, and I was watching him. He was so pretty. So strong. So handsome. I didn’t even think about anything as a car pulled up close to the curb near where I was skipping.
“Hey, girly, can you tell us where the gas station is?”
I was so busy in my fantasy that I didn’t think of all the warnings. I was at home. I wasn’t in any danger, and yet I was.
I moved toward that car, and the door opened. A kind-looking man got out, and he offered me a lollipop. It was a multicolored one. Really sweet, and my favorite. He leaned down as I pointed in the direction. I never got to tell him directions.