* * *
Mason
My Mom is not your ordinary mother, so we spent many hours on Sunday trying to figure out a way for me to escape the situation I’ve put myself in. The problem is, many of her solutions included me sacrificing Isa. I know she’s a trained spy, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to throw her to the wolves.
“Why not, Jake? She knew the risks when she went undercover.”
“She didn’t know this was a national mission, and you know ‘why not.’”
“Falling in love with her is what put you in this position.”
“So you’d give Dad up to save yourself?”
There’s silence on the other end of the line, and I know I’ve got her. “You know I wouldn’t.”
“Then how can you ask me to do the same to her?”
“You love her that much?”
“I love her with everything I have in me. Most of which is dark and ugly. I’m ashamed of what I’ve had to do.”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare talk about my baby like that.”
“I haven’t been a baby for a long time.”
“You’ll always be my baby.”
“You know the things I’ve done.”
“You didn’t always have a choice, Jake.”
“There’s always a choice. You taught me that.”
“I love you, kiddo. You know that, right?”
“I do. And I love you, too. Now go hug Dad for me.”
“We’ll figure this out.”
“I’ll figure this out. I shouldn’t have called you.”
“I’m going to be talking to some people.”
“Mom…don’t jeopardize yourself. Or Isa. Promise me. Please.”
“I won’t, but I will be talking to some people about what’s going to happen when we get you out of this.”
“I’d tell you not to. Again. But I know you’ll just do what you want.”
“I will,” she tells me with a chuckle. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Yeah.” I hope so.
I force myself to wait a couple of hours more before calling Isa. I want to rush over and be with her, but she was distant last night. I did what I could to help her, but I could tell she didn’t really want my help. Not touching here while we were in bed yesterday nearly killed me. I wanted to hold her close, and tell her it didn’t matter. Whatever the hell Ryan Griffin made her do doesn’t change how I feel about her. It makes me want to murder him, and I will pay him a visit before I leave Vegas, but it’s not her fault. None of this is.
When I call her, she doesn’t answer. Any of the seven times I try. She also doesn’t respond to any text messages for most of the day. I’m about to go over there even if she doesn’t want me to, when a single text comes through.
“I’m fine. I just can’t talk right now. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
I text her back that I understand, and I love her, but there’s no response. I’ve learned over the years to trust my gut, and it’s telling me that something is very wrong. Which spurs me to do something I shouldn’t do. I set up a meeting I shouldn’t. But I have to know.
I drive through the gates of Ryan Griffin’s house twenty minutes later. I have to sit in my car for almost a full minute to get my rage under control. I know I could kill him easily, despite the size advantage he has on me. I also know I can’t do that without getting myself in even more trouble than I’m already in. I’m not above hurting him, though. I need to know what he did.
I’m more than a little surprised when Chloe Griffin answers the door. “Hi. You must be Mason. I’m Chloe.”
I shake her hand, and follow her inside. Their house is a masterpiece, but I wouldn’t expect anything less. Ryan’s a world-renowned architect, and Chloe’s just as well known for her interior design work. We walk down a hallway to a giant playroom. Ryan’s in there with their daughter, rolling around on the ground. My rage starts making its way back to the surface. How can he play with his daughter after spending a night with a woman he bought in a bidding war?
“Ry, your guest is here.”
He looks up at me, and I see the emotions as they cross his face. Annoyance, and rage that could rival my own, before he settles his features into a smile. “Hello, Mason. Let’s go to my office.”
He extricates himself from his little girl after promising her he’ll be back soon. We walk in silence to a room down another hallway. The door is barely closed before he wheels on me, pinning me with a look that’s meant to intimidate. It doesn’t work on me, but I’m more than a little impressed.
“Thanks for meeting with me, Ryan.”
“Why are you here, interrupting my Sunday?”
“I need to talk to you about Friday night?”
“You came to my home to talk about that? Are you insane?”
“I asked you to meet, and you told me to come over. What did you think I wanted to talk about?”
“Shit. You’re right. Well get it over with. Is there a problem with the payment or something?”
I couldn’t give two fucks about his damn payment. “What did you do to her?”
“Excuse me?”
“The girl you…won. What did you make her do?”
He smirks at me then. A fucking smirk. Does he have a death wish? Because I’m not caring about my future at the moment. I clench my fists at my sides, and he suddenly realizes how on edge I am.
“Are you okay, man? You look like you’re a little on edge.”
“Just tell me what you did to her.”
“Ask her.”
“No. I am not going to make her re-live what you made her do. She’s better than that.”
Understanding dawns on his face. “You care about her.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“All I’m going to tell you is that I didn’t hurt her.”
“She’s broken. Something happened to break her on Friday night.”
“It wasn’t me who did that. She was fine when I left Saturday morning.”
“Maybe we should call your wife in here and have you tell her that.”
“I’m trying to be nice here, but don’t threaten me. What happened on Friday has nothing to do with my wife. If you try to involve her, I will react. And not in a way that’s going to have you leaving here in one piece.”
“You don’t scare me.”
“Really? Because if you think I’m going to let a piece of shit pimp threaten me in my own house, you’re dumber than you normally come across.”
“Don’t come to another auction. You’re not welcome.”
“If I never see you again, it’ll be too soon. Now get the fuck out of my house.”
I don’t even remember my drive home. I wanted answers that I didn’t get from Griffin. I could’ve gotten violent with him, but his wife and kid didn’t need to see that. Maybe his wife should’ve seen it, but it’s really not my business to bust up their marriage. Plus, if it got back to the boss before I manage to get out, I’d be dead. Then no one would be around to protect Isa. And she definitely is my business, whether she wants to be or not.
Chapter 12
Isa
I walk into school on Monday with my head held high. He can’t break me. I won’t let him. My heart’s broken, but no one will see that. They’ll just see a well-dressed teen, with a killer manicure.
“You’re practically glowing, Isabelle. Friday night agreed with you, it seems,” Kurt says, putting his arm around me as we walk down the hall.
“It was very enlightening, that’s for sure.”
“The boss was very happy with your winning bid. You’ll be going on a special trip this weekend, so no dates until then.”
“What kind of trip?”
“That’s a surprise. One that will make you a nice chunk of change.”
“When am I leaving? What should I pack?”
“Enough with the twenty questions. You’ll know when the time comes.”
He leaves me at my locker, which gives
me time to text Reina. This could be the break we need. If I’m going somewhere, that means she was right about this being about more than Vegas. It also means that Mase will have to reveal himself to me. That’s not going to go well for either of us.
I manage to avoid him for most of the day. I can’t do that in his class, though. He calls on me twice, and I answer, but that’s all I give him. No smiles, and definitely no chewing on my pencil. I’m like a robot version of myself. Speaking when spoken to, but showing no emotion. It’s not like I don’t know how to do that. I lived most of my life being like a robot. I just didn’t think I’d ever go back to the old me again.
“Isabelle, a word please,” he says when the bell rings.
“I have a test next period, Mr. Wells. Can it wait?”
“Please come see me after school. But I do need to speak to you.”
“Okay.”
“You think you’re pretty great, don’t you?” Grace says as I walk out.
“Yeah, I do.” My friends helped me realize this weekend that I am pretty great. “But what does that have to do with you?”
“I’m top girl. I have been since I started.”
“Okay.”
“Tell Kurt you won’t go on the trip this weekend.”
“I wasn’t given a choice, Grace.”
“I was supposed to go. I’ve been promised that trip for months.”
“Again, I didn’t ask for this. I don’t even want it.”
“Just like you don’t want Mr. Wells’ dick in your mouth again? You know that’s what he wants to see you about. He’s under your spell, too.”
“This conversation is over.”
“It’s over when I say it is.”
“You just accused me of using a ‘spell.’ Imagine what I could do to you if I really am a witch,” I tell her as I walk into my next class.
I don’t want to go see him, but I really don’t have a choice. He’s technically my teacher here, and if he says he needs to speak to me, I have to go to him. I know it’s not school he wants to talk about, but I couldn’t exactly accuse him of it in front of a classroom full of students.
“Isa,” he says, pulling me to him and locking the door when I walk into his office. “I’ve been so worried. I wanted to be with you yesterday.”
I let him hold me, and I even manage to put my arms around him. He kisses me all over the top of my head, and then my face. I pull back when he gets to my mouth. I can’t let him kiss me like he cares.
“My friends came over. I was fine.”
“You’re not fine, though. You can’t even look me in the eye.”
I force my eyes to his, hoping I can succeed in looking like I’m not disgusted by him. “I’m looking at you now.”
“You’re so sad,” he says, searching my eyes with his own. “I hate that you’re sad.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it. You didn’t sell me to the highest bidder.”
His eyes go wide for just a second. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been looking. We both know he did indeed sell me to Ryan. He just doesn’t know that I know.
“I-I…I’m sorry, but I can’t talk about that. About what happened on Friday. I want to be here for you, but I can’t talk about it.”
“You wanted to talk about it on Saturday. You asked me what I had to do.”
“I know. But I realized yesterday that it’s probably better if I don’t know.”
“What if I need to tell you?”
He swallows hard before answering. “Do you? If that’s what you need, I’ll listen.”
“No. Not now. I may need to later, though.”
“Whatever you need, Isa.”
“You mean it.” I can tell he does, and that unnerves me a little. Okay, a lot.
“Of course I mean it. I love you. I can tell that you still don’t believe me, but it’s true.”
“Why? What’s so special about me?”
“Everything. You already know you’re almost always the smartest person in the room, but you’re also the kindest. Your heart is so big and brave…I’m just in awe of you whenever I’m near you. And let’s not even talk about how beautiful and sexy you are.”
No. It’s not supposed to be like this. He’s not supposed to be like this. Because it really doesn’t feel like he’s lying. I know he’s been lying about other things, and I missed it. But I’m watching closely now. So either he’s that good, or he really does love me. I’m honestly hoping for the first, because I don’t know how to deal with the second after knowing what I do.
“I love you, too,” I tell him as I burst into tears. “So, so much.”
He pulls me into his arms, and I let him. Because no matter what he’s done, those feelings are still there. And having his arms around me makes me feel safe, even though I know he’s dangerous. It’s messed up, but right now I just don’t care. I need him. I want him.
“Here, Jake. Make love to me here. Now.”
“The classroom. God help me, but I want you in the classroom.”
“Can we?” I ask as he picks me up.
“We’ll be quiet.”
“Are you sure we can?”
“No,” he says with a laugh, placing me on my desk. “But I’m going to have you here anyway.”
“I like this reckless side of you.”
“I’m so glad you wore your hair down today.”
I don’t say anything else as I start unbuttoning his shirt, kissing every inch of skin I expose. I love his chest. It’s perfectly defined, and oh so sexy. I know this is probably the last time we’ll be together, and I should take it slow, but I can’t. He has my shirt and bra off in seconds, and spends long, glorious minutes worshipping my breasts. My jeans and his pants are still on as I rub against him like we haven’t been together in months, instead of just days.
He keeps a nipple in his mouth as he reaches down to undo my jeans. I push them and my panties down my legs. He takes care of his own pants and briefs before thrusting into me. He stops once he’s fully seated inside.
“Home. My God, Isa. Nothing has ever felt like coming home before you.”
“It’s the same for me,” I tell him as I kiss him.
I shift my hips back and forth, loving the slide of him inside of me. He groans before taking over the work. We’re completely silent as he makes love to me, going slow until both of us need more. As he speeds up, he moves my hand between us.
“Touch yourself. I’m getting close.”
I do it without question, moving my fingers like I would if I was alone. It should embarrass me, but it doesn’t. Everything he does to me, and with me, makes me feel bold and desirable.
“I love this. I love being inside of you, Isa. I’m just jealous of my cock right now because I didn’t put my mouth on you first. I should have your taste on my tongue right now.”
He goes back to nibbling on my neck and collarbone as I use that boldness he infuses in me to give him what he wants. I take my fingers from between us and move them to his mouth. He pulls back to look at me as he sucks my fingers into his mouth. His eyes close as he savors what I just gave him and that’s all it takes. I come hard, harder than I think I ever have.
He’s right behind me, and when his head bangs on the desk next to my head, I know he’s just as affected. We both lie there for a few minutes, breathing hard. He slips out of me, but stays where he is. I rub his back as he runs his fingers through my hair.
“Did that help, babe? To erase whatever Ryan Griffin did to you?”
I stiffen in his arms, because he just made real-life come back into this room. “I never told you it was Ryan Griffin.”
* * *
Mason
Fuck. “Kurt told me.”
Isa pushes me off her. “Don’t lie to me after what we just did. I know you’ve been lying to me since the beginning, but not now. Please not now.”
She pulls her jeans up, and crosses her arms over her chest. I don’t pull my pants up, because I feel like she need
s me to be a little vulnerable right now. She needs to be in control of what is happening. And I need to own up to what I can.
“What do you know?”
“I know that you were the one who sold me to the highest bidder. That despite the fact that I believe you love me, you did that to me. Anything could’ve happened to me, and yet you did it. You sold me to him.”
“I went to see him yesterday. I wanted to kill him. He wouldn’t tell me what he did to you. His wife and daughter were there, or I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“You-you went to see Ryan?”
“Yes. Friday night was the worst night of my life, Isa. I’ve had a lot of bad nights, but nothing compared to that. I didn’t sleep, and I wanted to go up to that room and get you. I knew I couldn’t, but I wanted to. Thinking of him touching you…and whatever else he did. Tell me what he did that we haven’t. I need to do it if you want, or do something else to help erase it. Please. I need to know.”
“We did it Saturday.”
“Saturday? But we just slept in your bed. Away from each other.”
“Yes. And that’s what Ryan and I did.”
“He didn’t touch you?”
“Well, he held my hair when I threw up, and washed my face. After he told me you were Kurt’s boss.”
What? Oh shit. She’s been broken because of me. Because she knew. Which means she lied to me, too. I’m a bastard for it after what I’ve been hiding, but I call her on it anyway.
“You lied to me. You said the other Griffins didn’t know.”
“Don’t you dare try and turn this on me. You sold me. More than once since Kurt works for you. How is what I’m saying not getting through to you? You can’t deflect the blame, or try to pretty it up.”
Her movements are jerky as she puts on her bra and shirt. I want to go to her, and hold her again. But I can’t. I did what I had to do, but that doesn’t make it right.
“I didn’t have a choice. That doesn’t come anywhere close to excusing what I did, but I need you to know that I had to do it all.”
“You’re the boss.”
“And I have a boss, too.”
I shouldn’t tell her that. It means she’ll know that this thing, this disgusting and horrible thing, is bigger than she thought. But I need her to know that I had to do what I did. What I’ve been doing.
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