by Nikki Chase
I can’t believe that was just a few days ago. So many things have changed.
“Enzo,” I say.
“Who is this? Where is Elena?” he asks.
“Don’t worry. She’s okay. She’s safe.”
After a pause, Enzo asks, “Damon?”
“Bingo.”
“Why do you have Elena’s phone?”
I pause, letting his mind wander and explore all the horrible possibilities.
Perhaps this is all innocent. Maybe Elena and I are in love, and we’ve eloped after that first date.
But why would I be the one calling him? Why not Elena?
Has something happened to Elena? Did I just lie to him?
Why would I do that?
Did I find out about what he did to my parents?
. . .
Is Elena even still alive?
“Because she’s with me,” I answer.
“Is she okay?”
“I told you. She’s fine.” I walk across the living room, feeling power course through my veins. I’m in complete control in this moment. Staring into Elena’s eyes, I say, “Tell your dad you’re okay.”
Elena looks up at me, but I can no longer read her like I used to. She’s closed the window through which I peered inside her mind. And she probably won’t ever let me in again.
It shouldn’t affect me, but a cold, sharp pain pangs in my chest.
Focus, I tell myself, reminding myself what could happen if I let weakness and sentimentality take control.
I hold the phone in the air, inches away from Elena’s face. “Go on.”
“I’m okay, Dad,” she says.
I hear Enzo speak but the volume’s too low for either one of us to hear.
I don’t want to put him on speakerphone either, just in case it gives them ideas. I don’t want them giving each other secret codes or whatever. I’m the one in control here.
“She didn’t hear one word you said, old man,” I tell him. “But she’s okay. She’ll continue to be okay if you agree to my terms.”
“What the fuck?” Enzo curses. “Are you fucking blackmailing me?”
I chuckle. “Does the thought bother you that much? You’ve done the same to plenty of people before.”
It doesn’t surprise me that he’d be outraged, though. Someone like Enzo, who thinks he’s at the top of the food chain, never believes the rules apply to him.
I’m here to remind him that he’s still just a man. A man with resources, sure. But a man nonetheless. Mortal.
“What do you want?” Enzo asks.
“What does everyone want?” I muse. “Money. Power. Wealth. Revenge.”
“Fucking revenge? I’ve done everything for you. Helped you finish your schooling. Given you a job,” he says.
“Come on, Enzo. Don’t insult my intelligence like that. I didn’t waste all that money you spent putting me through school. I’m not an idiot. What we have is a mutually beneficial relationship . . . or so I thought, until I learned the truth. It really is too bad. I would’ve been happy working for you if I didn’t know.”
“What truth?” he asks, indignant.
“The truth about what you did to my parents.”
There’s a long pause as the gravity of the situation sinks in for Enzo.
“I didn’t do nothing to them,” he says. “I’m sorry to say this about your parents but they destroyed themselves. They thought they were strong enough for this life but they weren’t.”
“Bullshit. They’d still be alive if it weren’t for you.”
“Giving up is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a hard life,” he says. “You’re different, though. You have potential. I had plans for you. Big plans.”
“Sure you do,” I say. “And now I’ve gone and destroyed my only path to success. That’s what you want me to believe, right?”
“You’ve just destroyed yourself, period,” he says. “You think this is a shortcut to success? This is the best way to ensure that you’ll never get there. My men will annihilate you when they find out what you’ve done.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still stop this. I’ll let you go, and you can start over somewhere else. Just give me back my daughter and walk away.”
I laugh. “You think I’m going to buy that? You really think nothing of me, do you? Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to do everything I’ve done under your nose.”
“Whatever you’ve done, it can still be fixed. We can talk about it,” Enzo says.
“Have you been watching some cop TV drama lately? You think you’re a hostage negotiator now?” I ask, mocking him. I know he’ll hate that. “Enzo, I call the shots here, so stop talking and listen.
“You’ll meet me tonight at seven. Alone. If I see so much as a shadow following you, Elena is dead.” I continue pacing around the room, avoiding her gaze. Looking at her would just weaken my resolve. “Don’t try to test my patience. You’ll regret it.”
“Okay, Damon. Whatever you say. Nobody needs to get hurt, least of all Elena. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Bring me five million dollars and have your lawyers draft the paperwork to give me ownership of Dive and Mercury.”
“Two of my best clubs. You have good taste,” he says.
“Don’t forget how long I’ve worked for you. I’ve seen how much money changes hands there.”
“And it only made you want it all for yourself,” he says.
“Loyalty is important to me, Enzo,” I tell him. “My parents were loyal to you, but you repaid them with ruin. You’re not capable of loyalty, so giving you mine would’ve been a waste.”
“Okay. I’ll get everything prepared.”
“You’ll be there alone,” I remind him. “Not even a driver in the car. You’ll drive yourself.”
“I don’t remember the last time I did that, but I’ll manage.”
“Good.”
“And then you’ll give me back my daughter? You’ll let her go safely?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Can I speak to her again? Let me see a picture or a video of her so I know she’s okay?” Enzo asks.
“No. I don’t want you trying to figure out where she is or sending her some kind of a hidden message,” I say. “Just meet me tonight, and I promise you I won’t hurt her. I’ll text you an address at six. Go there right away. A man will meet you there to take you to our meeting place.”
I hang up. I said everything I need to say and he heard me loud and clear.
“So that’s it?” Elena asks. “I’m just a bargaining chip for money and property?”
“That’s generally how kidnappings work.”
“Are you going to let my dad go too?” she asks.
I guess there’s no need to hide it from Elena. She won’t get any chance to see her dad until the meeting tonight. I can gag her so she won’t be able to warn him.
But on the other hand, knowing won’t do her any good either. I only have a few more hours with her, and I’d rather not have her see me as a monster during this small window of time.
“Sure. If both of you do as I say.”
Elena
A loud ring interrupts me just as I’m about to ask Damon another question.
He walks over to the buzzer panel by the front door, picks up the handset, then presses a button to presumably let someone into the building.
Damon unlocks the door and walks down the hallway to pull out two suitcases from inside a closet. I’ve seen them in my quest for weapons, but they were locked, and I had no time to try guessing the combinations.
They seem heavy, judging by the way Damon carries them and the thuds they make when he places them on the kitchen counter.
The door opens, and two men enter the apartment. They look familiar. If they work for my dad like Damon, I’ve probably seen them around the house before.
“Hello there,” says the younger, bigger guy as he shoots me a grin and walks over to the couch where I’m sitting. He’s weari
ng a black shirt that flaunts his muscles and a pair of sunglasses even though we’re indoors.
“What’s the plan, Damon?” The older guy, who looks to be in his mid-thirties, approaches Damon. He’s wearing a suit two sizes too big and his yellowed teeth are a mess.
I hear metal clicking as Damon opens the suitcases. “Grab these.”
From where I’m sitting, I can’t see what’s in Damon’s hands, but my guess is on weapons. Weapons they’ll use to threaten and hurt me and my dad.
“You’re so pretty,” Sunglasses says as he takes a seat on the couch, his thigh only an inch away from mine. He stares at my bare legs and smiles creepily to himself. I scoot away from him and avoid eye contact, but he puts his hand on my knee. “Where are you going? I won’t hurt you.”
“Antonio,” Damon yells from across the room. “Get your hands off her, or I swear I’ll break your fingers.”
Sunglasses jumps from surprise, then lifts both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Geez. I was just being friendly.”
The three of them—Damon, Sunglasses, and Teeth—huddle in the kitchen, speaking in low, conspiratorial voices.
I can’t make out much, but I hear mentions of kicking junkies and homeless people out of some abandoned house. Probably where we’re meeting up with my dad tonight?
Their discussion doesn’t last long, so I’m guessing they’ve planned this for a while. Sunglasses gives me a wink that I pretend not to notice as he walks out the door, followed by Teeth.
Damon stands in front of me, right across the coffee table. He gazes at me and, in a firm voice, says, “Don’t be scared, princess. Nobody will hurt you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I’m not scared,” I say. “I grew up among dangerous men.”
“You’re not scared?” Damon smiles like he finds my answer amusing as he walks around the coffee table and sits next to me. “You continue to surprise me, princess.”
To be honest, I surprise myself.
As I look at Damon, I don’t feel any fear or anger. I’m sad for him, for what he’s gone through. It must be traumatic to lose his parents in such a tragic way.
I can’t blame him for wanting my dad to pay for what he has done to Damon’s family. I know my dad is no saint.
“Are we ever going to see each other again?” I ask.
Damon falls silent. “Probably not.”
Those two words feel like a cold blade slicing through my flesh and stabbing into my heart.
I stare at Damon, taking in the sight of him, every little detail of him. The way the sunlight shifts on his hair as he moves. The shadow of his own scruff on his skin. The exact shade of brown in his eyes.
I’ll never see him again.
I glance down at his muscular arm, his broad chest, his long legs. My vision blurs as tears fill my eyes.
I’ll never see him again.
I want to feel his warmth on my skin. I need to memorize the size of him compared to my body. The way his hard muscles feel against my soft flesh.
Would that be inappropriate? This man is blackmailing my dad, after all.
Before I can stop myself, I reach my hands out and jump into Damon’s embrace as tears roll down my cheeks. I bury my face in the crook of his neck.
His arms wrap around me, his fingers running up and down my spine like he’s trying to memorize the shape of me too.
I kiss the strong column of Damon’s neck. My own tears stick to my lips; they taste salty on my tongue.
I’ll never see him again.
I drag my lips up his neck and feel the roughness of his facial hair on my skin. I need to remember every little thing about him. After tonight, my memories will be all I have of him.
“Princess.” Damon’s voice sounds contrived, like he’s speaking through gritted teeth. The muscles in his neck are tense. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I pull away just enough to look into his eyes. I wish I could take a picture of him, but even the best camera in the world could never capture enough detail to satisfy me.
Leaning closer, I press my lips against his.
This. I need to remember this.
Damon kisses me back, tentatively at first, like he doesn’t mean it. But then his hands move up my back to trap my face as he gives in to this magnetic pull between us, crushing his lips against me. He sweeps inside me and takes full possession of my mouth.
The emotions in my chest wage war, demanding my attention, but I ignore them.
Nothing matters. Nothing except for what Damon is doing to me and this heat he’s building up inside me.
I’ll never see him again. So to hell with everything else.
This moment is just between Damon and me. It’s got nothing to do with our parents, our pasts, or even our separate futures.
This is about the present. About the two of us, breathless and panting on this couch. Because the present is all we have.
Like a junkie shooting up the last dose of her life, I just want to enjoy this high one last time. And then I’ll quit.
Unlike most junkies, I mean that. Damon’s both my drug and my dealer, and he’s cutting me off after tonight.
As our tongues twist together, I climb onto Damon’s lap and wrap my thighs around his waist. He tangles his hand in my hair and grabs my hips possessively.
Damon bites my bottom lip, pulls away, and looks straight into my eyes. “Princess. I won’t be able to stop myself if you keep going.”
“Then don’t,” I say. “Don’t stop yourself. Don’t hold yourself back.”
Damon remains quiet as his eyes study me. His pupils are dilated, making his dark eyes appear even darker. I can see the conflict in those eyes reflecting what’s going on inside me.
We may be thinking completely different thoughts, but I don’t care about our differences anymore. We both want this despite the circumstances surrounding us. That’s enough common ground for me.
I inch closer and press our foreheads together.
“Princess,” Damon warns with a hoarse voice.
“We’re both here right now, in this moment. And we both want this.” I pull Damon’s oversized shirt over my head, feeling my resolve grow stronger as the fabric drags up my body. I let the shirt fall to the floor. “Let’s forget about everything else.”
The tension in Damon’s muscles grows and grows until finally it snaps. Desire flares in his eyes as he lets his gaze roam down from my face. His eyes take in my breasts, my waist, my hips . . . .
Damon grabs me and pulls me down against the bulge tenting his jeans. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, princess,” he says.
I spread my legs wider and let my weight sink me lower onto his lap. I grind myself against him, letting my instincts take over. Despite the apprehension in my heart, I stare straight into his eyes. “Do your worst.”
I notice a smirk on Damon’s lips, but only for a split second before he throws me down onto my back, making me cry out in surprise.
Now lying on top of me, Damon’s eyes gleam with danger. “You’re too good for me, princess. But fuck if I don’t want to take you anyway.”
“Then do it,” I challenge him.
My heart is pounding inside my chest as Damon slides his tongue down my body, stopping to knead my tits, grab my waist, and lightly trace his fingers up my thighs.
My head spins from the sensory overload. I’ve only ever read about this and watched it on the Internet. I never knew that lips and tongue could feel this good on my skin.
Despite my bravado, I have no idea what’s coming. I’m just doing whatever I think romance novel heroines would do in my situation.
What will Damon do? And how will that feel?
Somehow, knowing there’s a time limit gives me the boldness I never even knew I had.
Damon dips his head between my legs, kisses the insides of my thighs, and looks up at me, his hot breath seeping through my panties and caressing my pussy. Without even thinking, I lift my hips off the couch, chasing after something I do
n’t even know.
Damon chuckles. “I know you want it. I can smell your arousal, and I’m dying to taste it.” He pauses, trapping me with his gaze. “Beg me for it, princess.”
“Please, Damon . . .” My voice blends with my heavy breathing. The sound is foreign to my own ears. I’ve never heard myself like this before.
Damon presses his lips against my panties, driving me crazy with the contact. A moan escapes my lips.
“Tell me what you want me to do.” Every time Damon’s lips move, pleasure sparks between my legs and entices me to chase after the explosion that will finally sate me.
“Anything you want,” I moan.
“Say it again, princess,” Damon groans. “Tell me I can do anything I want to you.”
“You can do anything you want to me,” I say breathlessly.
Damon yanks my panties off. “You won’t need this anymore.”
Without wasting any more time, he spreads my legs and buries his tongue between them, shoving his tongue deep inside me. My muscles spasm, and I grasp the fabric of the couch as my toes curl.
“You taste like honey,” he says.
“Damon, please . . .” I beg again, knowing I can feel even more pleasure than he’s already giving me. I know it from the way my clit is throbbing.
“Tell me what you want, princess.”
“Make me come.”
Smack!
I exclaim as a sharp sting hits my mound and heat spreads across the area. Damon has just smacked my pussy with his palm. It wasn’t hard, but I wasn’t expecting it either.
“Be a good girl and beg for it,” he says firmly.
“Please make me come.”
As Damon gets up to his knees, I wonder if I did anything wrong. Is he going to walk away and leave me hanging?
“I’ll make you come, princess,” he says as he pulls his shirt off, revealing his mouth-watering six-pack. “But I’ll be inside you when you do.”
I bite my lower lip in anticipation as Damon sheds all his clothes. What will it feel like this time? Will it hurt at all? Will it feel good from the start?
“Fuck, you’re so wet and ready for me.” Damon grabs his hard dick in his own hand, then pumps his fist up and down.