by Fawn Bailey
I turned back to face Amber, her eyes just as wide as mine. It seemed impossible to think we were truly free. Surely there would be another obstacle in our way, something else to make this harder.
“We need to call for help,” I said, my hands shaking as I stroked a tear off Amber’s cheek. “We need clothes, we need the police, we need someone to come get us.”
She nodded, and we stared at each other like lost little lambs.
Suddenly I was afraid, afraid of the responsibility I’d put on myself by taking Amber with me and afraid of the possible danger I’d put us both in by escaping Thorn. I felt a mix of guilt and fear so overwhelming I had to clutch the wall to help myself from falling over, but I knew I needed to be strong. I’d been praying for a chance like this, to run away and get out of the life I’d never asked for. Now it was finally here, and I needed to take advantage of it and run as fast as I could.
We held each other’s hands and walked towards the gas station. We were about to walk inside when I saw a car pull up, a car I’d seen parked in front of the Mansion. My heart hammered in my chest, and I pulled Amber back just in time, watching a man I recognized as one of the guards run into the building, shouting something at the cashier. The man shook his head, and the guard cursed, slamming his fist on the counter. Then he was gone.
“We can’t go in there,” I said to Amber. “They’re already looking for us.”
It was light outside now, almost noon, judging by the sun’s position in the sky. I desperately needed to pee, and I was exhausted from the uncomfortable journey in the van.
“Let’s find the bathrooms,” Amber suggested, and I quickly agreed.
We walked around, dodging behind walls to hide until we reached a small brick building. We used the bathrooms, and while I was waiting for Amber to finish, I saw that there was a shower section in the back for truckers. I snuck back there, praying to God no one would see me. Only one of the showers was running, a dingy polyurethane sheet separating me from the trucker inside. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw his belongings hanging outside.
I took them all. I felt no shame for stealing, but on second thought, I only grabbed the money from his wallet and left his documents intact. I took the clothes, too, a fresh change of jeans and a shirt he’d probably meant to change into after his shower.
I grabbed Amber on the way back and pulled her into the ladies’ room.
“Put this on,” I told her with my voice shaky as hell, passing her the shirt.
We got dressed in a hurry. I pulled on the much too big jeans, keeping my nightie on as a camisole, and Amber dressed in the plaid shirt, which looked like a dress on her. I heard the trucker cursing through the walls and blushed at what I’d done, but there was no time to think. We needed to keep moving. Digging through the man’s pockets, I almost cried at the sight of a phone. I hadn’t seen one in so long, and right then it seemed like our only chance.
“S-should I call the police?” I asked Amber, and she bit her bottom lip nervously.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I’m scared he has connections there. I’m scared we’ll be brought back.”
“I don’t even know where we are,” I said, trying to keep my shit together. “I don’t even know what number to call.”
“The studio,” Amber suddenly said. “You can call the studio. Do you remember the number?”
“Y-yes,” I whispered.
I only realized then how alone I was in the world. Yes, I had my father, but he stopped giving a shit about me a long time ago. Amber had never been close with her family, either.
“Put in the country code,” Amber urged me. “And call. Come on. It’s evening time there, right? Surely someone’s there.”
I typed in the number, and we held hands, feeling utterly lost as the phone rang and rang.
I almost gave up when I finally heard crackling static and a voice I’d almost forgotten came on the line.
“Oh my God,” I cried out on the verge of tears.
“Harlow?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes,” I replied. “Amber is with me, too. Please help us. Please. Please, you need to help us.”
There was a pause and more crackling of static. Then I heard the words I’d been praying to hear.
“I will help,” she said. “What do you need? Where are you? What’s going on?”
All I could do was cry.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you, Carina…”
Chapter 14
Thorn
The incessant knocking on the door could have woken the fucking dead.
I hated sleeping alone now that I had her. I hated the feeling of the empty bed, the space where she should have been, feeling empty next to me. We’d had an argument, and she asked me to leave. This time, I’d decided to respect her wishes. After all, what she found out came as quite a shock to my little Rose.
“Calm the fuck down,” I called out, getting out of bed with a groan. “I’ll be right there.”
I slipped on a terrycloth robe over my naked body and walked over to the door. I opened it wide to reveal Pia on my doorstep and fought the urge to roll my eyes, but I changed my mind the second I saw the look on her face. She looked scared, and I never knew her to feel that emotion.
“What’s wrong?” I barked, and she blanched at the sound of my voice.
“It’s Harlow,” she whispered, and right away, my mind pictured the worst.
Something had happened to her. She’d gotten hurt.
“Where?” I growled, pushing passed her into the hallway and feeling like a wild fucking beast. “Where the fuck is she? Is she okay?”
“We d-don’t know,” Pia stuttered nervously. “She’s gone.”
“Gone?” I turned towards her. “What the fuck do you mean ‘gone?’”
My mind pounded with the possibilities. Someone had taken her away from me. Someone who knew how much she fucking meant to me. Stolen from the man who had kidnapped her. How ironic.
“W-we think she ran,” Pia whispered. “Amber’s gone, too.”
It only took two sentences to break my damn heart. She ran. She ran like I knew she would, but I’d thought I’d delayed the inevitable, that I’d convinced her to stay with me at least for a little while.
“How?” I demanded, and Pia shook her head uselessly.
“We don’t know,” she admitted. “Someone saw a knocked out guard in front of her bedroom. They called me. We checked both rooms, and they’re both gone. I’ve sent men to search the grounds.”
“How many?” I asked, and she risked a look at my eyes then turned away the second she saw my thunderous expression.
“Seven,” she said. “Seven on the grounds. Two driving out.”
“Not enough,” I barked. “Send everyone out.”
“But what about…” she started, and I glared at her which shut her up faster than my hands could. “I’ll get on it. Are you going out to look for her too?”
“Of course,” I growled. “And you’re coming with me.”
It was impossible to miss the glint in her eyes, the neediness to help and be around me. I fucking hated it, but she was useful. She’d be intent on finding my girl if for no other reason to watch me punish her, and God fucking damn it, what a punishment it would be.
“Wait while I get dressed,” I told Pia, and she nodded while I disappeared back into my room. The second the door shut behind me, I felt the weight of what she’d told me on my shoulders.
I’d fucking messed this up royally.
The only girl that mattered, the one that actually managed to ignite my heart like no other… I’d let her slip through my fingers. I’d never been angrier with myself.
I knew she would run eventually. Not because of our arguments, or because of her love of dancing, but because she was fiercely independent despite her submissiveness and her youth. I thought taking her from her home early on would prevent this, but I was obviously wrong. She’d taken the first chance she saw t
o get the fuck away from me, and I wanted to hate her for it. How could she not sense the madness between us? The connection that now felt severed and so fucking painful each breath felt like an ordeal.
I punched a wall and screamed my anger out. Then I walked away, washed my bleeding knuckles and dressed as sharply as I always did. It would be the only sign of weakness I’d show. I had to be strong. I had to show my Rose who held the reins.
I’d already told her she’d be punished if she ran, but I wasn’t sure she knew exactly what that meant. It was hard to think rationally when she wasn’t in my arms, and I was worried - not about not finding her, but about what I would do to Harlow Granger once she was back at my mercy. It wouldn’t be fucking pretty; that much was for sure.
I rubbed my eyes and left the room, finding Pia waiting patiently on the other side of the door. Only then did I notice she was perfectly made up, dressed to the nines like always and wearing heels that still made her half my height.
“We’re leaving,” I barked at her, and she nodded, trying to keep up with me as I strode downstairs. “We’ll take the BMW. I’ll drive.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, her heels clicking on the floor.
“London,” I replied. “The place she feels most at home in.”
We were sitting on my private jet, and I had a glass of scotch in my hand.
My men had come back to us with empty hands, making me roar in anger. I knew there was a better chance of finding her back in her hometown, but I was still desperate to get my hands on her as soon as possible. Maybe we’d even get to the UK before her, but instinctively, I knew it was where she would go. It was where she felt at home, where she believed her life fell off the tracks. I knew where to find her. As soon as I had tabs on her, I would begin her punishment. There was no doubt about it - Harlow Granger would be coming back with me. She’d unwittingly entered in a game of cat and mouse that would end with me sated and with her hurt. My mind hurt from imagining the possibilities.
I could cane her.
She hadn’t experienced proper pain yet, pain that left her in bruises for weeks, until I redid them and showed her true fear.
I could brand her. Make her branding a mark of me wherever she went. Burn her skin with my emblem and ensure she never fucking forgot whom she belonged to.
Piercings, beatings, denied and forced orgasms that drove her to absolute madness.
There were infinite possibilities.
I would find the one that hurt her the most and design a punishment that would teach her a fucking lesson.
“What are you thinking about?”
I snapped out of my thoughts, my eyes focusing on Pia across from me.
“What the fuck do you think?” I barked at her, but this time, she simply smirked back at me.
I drank the amber liquid in my glass and handed it to the stewardess. We were already in the air, and the view was breathtaking, not that either of us gave a shit. It was a trip we’d made before, and I absent-mindedly realized I hated Pia more with each one of these trips.
“I’m sure you’ll find her,” she said, a bored note to her voice. “Just like I’m sure you’ll eventually get sick of her.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I barked at her.
“I don’t?” She had the audacity to laugh at me, the little bitch. “I’ve known you for a long time, Thorn. I know more than you think.”
“You just think you do,” I corrected her. “But you’re just as clueless today as the day I met you.”
Her eyes glinted with anger, and she crossed her legs, offering me a view of her suspenders which I didn’t give a shit about. I stubbornly kept my eyes on hers, which seemed to annoy her even more and made me smile.
“She’s just a girl,” she went on. “You’ll get sick of her like you did the rest of them.”
“Never,” I growled.
“Face it,” she went on. “You got rid of them all. Every single rose, except for me. Why is that? Why do you choose to keep me around?”
I didn’t provide her with an answer. A man needs his secrets. She took it the wrong way, leaning back and giving me a triumphant smile.
“Even she realized it,” Pia went on. “I’m sure that’s why she left. She finally got it through her thick skull I was the one for you.”
Her words filled me with so much anger I wished I still had my glass so I could smash it on the table between us. Instead, I settled on leaning closer and giving her a threatening look, but she took it as a challenge.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she told me plainly. “I’ve seen you at your worst, and it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Something clicked in my brain and I asked, “Have you been telling her shit, Pia?”
She didn’t respond, and the anger made me grip the armrests of my seat.
“Did you fucking tell her you and me…” My words drifted off to nothing, and she smiled sweetly, making my blood boil. “You fucking bitch.”
“She’d find out eventually,” she shrugged. “Someone needed to fill her in.”
I’d heard enough. After busting her the previous night, I was under the impression she’d only hinted at something, but now I realized she’d given my girl the full story. I should’ve fucking killed her for it. Her side of the story was a fucking evil construct of her devilish mind. And now I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever get to tell my Rose my side.
“I could have you killed,” I told Pia.
“Yet you haven’t,” she snapped back. “You keep threatening me with it, but you’re too fucking scared to do it, aren’t you? You’re a fucking coward.”
My fingers itched to wrap around her throat and squeeze the life out of her, and yet we both knew I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t. Not with our fucking past. I couldn’t do it to either of us.
“Don’t think I won’t punish you,” I told her, and she laughed again.
Her legs parted, and I was given a free view of not just her suspenders but also her naked pussy. I didn’t take the bait. I kept my eyes on hers, my gaze filled with the contempt that had done nothing but grown and festered in the years after she stopped being mine.
“Why do we do this to each other?” I asked her, my voice softer than I would have liked it to be. “These… fucking games, Pia. You used to mean something to me. You used to fucking love me, for God’s sake. Remember that? Remember how happy you were?”
Her eyes watered, and she finally shut her whore legs, staring into my eyes with longing that would have hurt me before Harlow, which now only made me feel sorry for her.
“One day you’ll forgive yourself for what happened,” I told her gently, and she turned her head away, closing her eyes, the tears falling down her cheeks. “One day, you’ll be able to move on from this, from me. And I’ll be there for you.”
“I hate you, Thorn,” she whispered, and I shook my head.
“No,” I said, reaching for my headphones and giving her one last look before I blasted music through my system. “You’re still in fucking love with me. And that’s the problem.”
I felt her eyes on me for the rest of the flight, but I didn’t acknowledge her presence again.
Chapter 15
Harlow
London.
My beautiful, beautiful London.
It felt surreal to be back home. When I stepped off the plane, my eyes were wide and filled with tears. Amber seemed happy too, though her reaction was more reserved.
Carina was waiting for us at the terminal, and our meeting was more emotional than I could have imagined.
I had decided not to tell her the whole story.
She’d been told a variation I deemed wouldn’t get Thorn in trouble. I’d battled with my decision for a while, but Amber supported me in it, and I could only hope it had been the right thing to do.
We’d told Carina I had met a dangerous man whom I’d followed to the other side of the world. After that call, we quickly realized we were in the States, but I
doubted I’d be able to find the Mansion again. Something deep down in my soul prevented me from telling Carina about Thorn’s crimes, and I wanted to hate myself for it, but a part of me cared for him deeply. In fact, a part of me still believed he would come after me, collect me and claim me like he had once before.
Amber had joined me in this fictional story to keep me company, but the man we were both with turned abusive, and we had to find a way out. I fed Carina lies and felt guilty the whole time, hoping that one day I’d be able to reveal the truth to her.
After I’d told her everything, she arranged for us to be picked up. She made sure we arrived in London safely - I didn’t even dare ask how much it all cost, but she told us she’d do anything to help us out, and we were both grateful for it.
Carina had moved back home with her parents. I carefully avoided the topic of her miscarriage, knowing Amber had no clue about it, but I knew she needed all the support she could get from her family in such a difficult time. Her parents accepted us both with open arms, and I was eternally grateful to them as well.
That first night when we got back, Carina set us up in separate guestrooms, but sometime in the middle of the night, Amber crawled into my bed and we slept curled up together.
Her hair smelled like strawberries and reminded me of a time when things were easier. I pretended to be asleep when she stirred awake and pretended like I hadn’t been crying at all. The next morning, neither of us mentioned it.
We spent the morning having breakfast with Carina’s parents, who inquired politely about our traveling. The conversation was awkward and stilted, but I soon realized I was the only who felt that way. Carina’s parents barely seemed to notice, her dad buried in paperwork and her mom busy chatting on the phone. They wore matching distant expressions that didn’t give off their true feelings. But if they were upset about Amber and me being there, they didn’t mention or show it.