by Gow, Kailin
“Yeah, I heard the D.A.’s preparing a press conference for tomorrow.”
“And guess who he’ll be pointing the finger at.”
I couldn’t bear the thought of Serena being accused of Michael’s murder, but I also knew she wouldn’t quietly sit by and let her friend go down for something she had nothing to do with.
“I’ll tell my secretary to pick up what’s left of Price. Let’s go to the girls.”
Chapter 7
Laura
While Peter went up to check on Sebastian, I waited around the corner of the lobby with Serena trying to keep her from rushing to the elevators to go up, find Price, and throttle him for keeping her prisoner at Sebastian’s place. With everything that was going on, she was a wreck and I knew the strain was getting to her. Thing was, the strain was getting to me too and I didn’t know how much more I could bear. “Peter said to wait down here while he check out the situation…we can’t go barging in right now.”
“Laura,” Serena said nodding her head to the elevator. “Look who just popped out.”
I turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Brooks exit the elevator, a sour look on both their faces. Just as quickly I hid behind the corner trying to look inconspicuous but my ears were in tune to every word they said.
“I can’t believe that Bash Sorensen,” Mrs. Brooks snapped. “Just like his father to change his mind like that.”
“We all know Bash never had a head for business. The boy has no idea what he’s doing,” Mr. Brooks said.
“And we were so close to getting them,” she went on. “Do you think…?”
“Branson? Yeah, of course the scheming weasel had something to do with this. That brown nosing idiot has had a soft spot for Bash from the start.”
“I never did like him… never trusted him.”
“I don’t know what he could have told him, but I don’t doubt Bash will keep his shares for at least another week.”
“When the value soars.”
“Right.”
“I think you should get one of our associates to pay Mr. Branson a little visit,” Mrs. Brooks said. “He needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut.”
Mr. Brooks shot her an admiring glance. “We can certainly see where Willow gets her determination, can’t we?”
I glanced up at Serena who was red with anger. Shaking my head, I silently begged her to stay quiet. We both looked sidelong at the older couple as they walked past us.
Beaming with pride, Mrs. Brooks slipped her hand over her husband’s. “We Brooks women don’t give up easily. If we can’t get Bash to sell his shares fair and square, we’ll have to go back to plan A; get him married to Willow.”
Mr. Brooks nodded. “From the looks of things Price is just about to rein Serena back in. Heartbroken and devastated, Bash will need some consoling.”
They both laughed, proud of their devious plot.
“Willow should do everything she can to get pregnant this time. That will seal the deal once and for all.”
Serena finally let out a long puff of trembling air when they exited the building. “The nerve of those people. Who do they think they are?”
“I thought you were going to blow up right there.”
“I just about did. Can you believe them?”
“Come on.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the elevator. “What floor is Sebastian on?”
“Twenty-seven.”
I punched the button and moments later the doors opened onto a vast hallway. “Which way is the boardroom?”
She hesitated then glanced one way and the other. “I’m not sure. I think…”
“Have you ever been to the conference room before?”
“No,” she said plainly. “Only to Sebastian’s office.”
“Okay, you take the left and I’ll take the right. First one to find it lets the other one know.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We went our separate ways. At the end of my corridor I turned to the right but aside from a small, untidy office, I found myself at a dead end. When I turned around, I was abruptly stopped by a cool hard hand to my chest.
“Looks like the bitch came back for more,” Willow hissed.
Startled, I gasped and didn’t have time to protect myself before she jammed her hand against my throat and leaned into it, pushing back into the tiny office. The blinds were pulled down, sending eerie shadows across Willow’s high cheekbones and elegant nose.
“Damn it. I thought Jackson had taken care of you.” With eyes bulging and a white film lining her lips, she pushed me up against the desk and shoved her knee up into the tender part of my thigh. “You just can’t trust a man to do a good job anymore.”
Her fingers tightened around my throat and I felt helpless to stop her. My fingers were weak and numb as they tried to pry her off. Oxygen no longer reached my lungs and my only thought was, why?
“You think you can just kill off a Brooks and walk freely?” She spat in my face. “Think again, bitch.”
She released her choke hold just long enough to slap me. The sting of her fingers against my cheek was almost imperceptible. All that mattered was the flow of air that now filled my lungs. But the second slap by way of the back of her hand didn’t just sting, it nearly knocked a tooth out.
I fell back and crumpled onto the desk. Taking advantage of my fragile position, she jumped on me, pulling my hair with one hand while punching wildly with the other.
“Why the fuck won’t you die, bitch?”
Her fist made a few harmless contacts with the top of my head, but then she managed a painful blow to my ear. The pain echoed through to my brain and all was silent for a moment. It took a while, but my killer instincts finally kicked in. They had to, or else she would succeed in killing me.
I brought my leg around and managed to land the heel of my foot into the back of her calf. She grimaced but continued to strike until I managed another hard blow of my heel to her calf.
“Shit, bitch,” she screamed as she toppled off me.
I took advantage of the moment and punched her in the nose. I’d never been a fan of fighting and the thought of drawing blood from another human being was deplorable, but in that moment of fight or flight, my only real option was to fight and fight hard.
Getting up and taking a step back, she wiped the blood from her upper lip with the back of her elegant, finely manicured hand. What an odd picture she made. Wearing a beautiful ivory silk shirt over a pristine linen skirt, the bloody nose and vengeful eyes were definitely a mismatched.
Feeling a little dizzy, I managed to get off the desk and tried to walk back to the door, but she deftly kicked it closed.
“What d’you come here for, Laura? You want to ruin another aspect of my life. Isn’t it enough that you killed the only sibling I had? Isn’t it bad enough that you ruined everything I had planned for Bash?” Sucking in her cheeks she gathered up the blood and saliva and spat it at me.
“Your plans for Bash were flawed from the beginning. He doesn’t want you, Willow. He doesn’t love you. Hell, I think he barely likes you. If anything, I think you need to finally understand and accept that. Your family’s twisted plot to marry you two together so your parents can get Sorensen Holdings is just sick. You’re all sick.”
“Bash and I have a history together, a history you could never understand, Laura. Coming from where you come from, there’s no way you could understand the bond we have. We’re of the same cloth. My parents may want us to marry for their own reasons, but I want to marry the man I’ve loved since adolescence.”
“You're crazy if you think Sebastian would ever marry you.”
Her eyes darkened to something akin to maniacal. I’d always suspected she had a far darker side than she let on, but not like this.
“I’ll show you just how crazy.” She grabbed a letter opener from the desk and lunged at me, the dull blade of the opener held high above her head as she aimed at my heart.
In that split second my mind ran from; t
he blade is dull, it can’t get far, to; hell, but it’s still going to hurt. I never got to find out just how much. In a flash the blade was whipped from Willow’s hand.
The loud snap echoed in the room and stunned Willow. “What the fuck.” She turned to face Serena who stood in the doorway. “I should’ve known. Wherever bitch Laura goes, bitch Serena has to follow.”
Chapter 8
Laura
Serena snapped the long leather whip which cracked through the air like nothing I’d ever heard before. I never would have thought her so talented with a whip, and judging by the expression on Willow’s face, neither had she.
“You never let up, do you Willow?”
“This little meeting has nothing to do with you.” She looked to me and waved her hand between us.
“It has everything to do with me.”
Willow took a step toward her, but Serena cracked the whip once more, this time clipping the tip of Willow’s white leather pumps, virtually making peep-toes out of them.
Gasping with shock, Willow glared up at Serena. “How dare you? These shoes are worth more than the heap of trash you probably drove up here with. Look at them. Look at them!” She kicked her leg up, sending the expensive footwear in the air and almost catching the side of Serena’s face.
Surprisingly quick, Serena caught the shoe with her left hand and examined it with feigned admiration. “Impressive, Willow. Sebastian bought me a pair just like them a few months ago; twelve hundred dollars, but mine are in passion red.”
I couldn’t believe it. Serena was goading Willow, almost insulting her.
“Some of us need fiery red to bring out the passion,” Willow countered. “I don’t need such childish maneuvers. No matter what I wear, the passion rides high, and Bash knows it.”
“Nice try, but who’s been sleeping in Sebastian’s bed lately? And don’t be so foolish as to believe he misses you at all while he’s with me. I keep him far too busy to even remember your name. Willow who?”
I stifled a giggle.
“Witch,” Willow hissed. An angry blue vein appeared on her brow and I thought she’d fall from a heart attack right there. Instead, she ignored Serena’s constant sweep of her whip across the floor and reached for the stapler on the desk. Her fingers had barely grasped it then Serena sent the end of her whip around Willow’s delicate wrist, slicing through her platinum charm bracelet. She dropped the stapler with a plaintive whine and glared up at Serena.
“You're really a slow learner, Willow. I’m surprised. I thought you were more quick witted than that.”
Undeterred, Willow reached for the stapler again and managed to swing back to throw it, but her attempt ended there. This time Serena wrapped her whip around Willow’s ankle and gave the whip a firm yank.
“Get off me,” Willow cried as she slipped back and almost fell, but managed to stay upright by grabbing onto the edge of the desk.
Serena pulled harder on the whip and Willow had no choice but to fall to the floor. Once her foot was free, however, she kicked like a wild animal in distress. Taking charge of the scene, Serena repeatedly cracked the whip around Willow, preventing her from getting up or moving.
“Stupid bitch,” Willow cried when Serena almost caught the side of her face. “If you leave one mark on my face, I swear Serena, you’ll never stop paying for it; never.”
I smiled at Serena, amazed by not only her talent, but the firm hold she had on Willow. I’d never seen her so strong and forceful; so aggressive.
“I take it you didn’t find the conference room,” I said with a light hearted chuckle.
She playfully flicked the whip at her feet and cocked an amused brow. “No, but I did find Sebastian’s playroom. I thought the whip might come in handy should we run into trouble.” Turning her attention to Willow, she once again cracked the menacing whip. “Did Sebastian ever show you how he enjoyed a little pain?”
“Let’s see if he enjoys having his little princess submissive in prison, Serena, because by this time tomorrow, everyone will be pointing a finger at Laura, and if they find she had nothing to do with my brother’s murder, who do you think they’re going to turn to? You. And once you're out of the way, Sebastian will come running back to me, back where he belongs.”
“Go see where the guys are, Laura,” Serena said with a quick sidelong glance at me.
Willow jumped to her feet and took one hobbling step toward Serena, but she snaked the whip across the floor and made it snap at Willow’s feet, nicking her calf in the process. Jumping back as she yelped with pain, Willow looked down at the thin trickle of blood streaming slowly down her ankle.
“You’ll pay for that,” Willow said through grinding teeth. “With everything that I have, with everything that I am, I’ll make you pay for that.”
“Go, Laura,” Serena said.
I turned to the door.
“Laura,” Serena said as I passed behind her. “Price might have some of his men roaming the halls. Be inconspicuous and careful.”
I nodded and gave her a tap on the shoulder. “You be careful too. You never know with that one.” Knowing she was in complete control of the situation, I ran out of the small office.
The opulent offices of Sorensen Holdings were a veritable maze of corridors that brought employees to modern offices decorated with class and functionality. Nothing was forgotten or left to chance. From the soft carpeting to the rich wood finishing and every intricate light fixture, the décor screamed of money and luxury.
At every corner, I hoped to find this elusive board room, or a helpful employee, but found neither. I turned away from another empty office and bumped into something hard.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
I immediately shook with fear. That voice again, taking control of me and sending me into a fit of panic.
With the hope I was mistaken, I turned to face him. “Jackson,” I whispered.
Chapter 9
“I actually prefer to be called Mr. Harris when I’m in the middle of business. You do remember that I’m a wealthy businessman, don’t you?”
“I’d just as soon forget everything about you.”
“Really? That’s not what you said when I was treating you like a princess; taking you to every glamorous place on earth.”
“That was the impressionable and vulnerable Laura. Today’s a new day, Jackson, or haven’t you noticed yet?”
“Always quick with a retort. No wonder you became a lawyer.”
“And you became what? Willow Brook’s whipping boy? Look at you, doing her dirty work for her. I’ve never held you in high esteem, Jackson, but I certainly never thought you’d wind up bending to the whims of a woman like her.”
“I’m here on business.”
“Right. And what business do you have here other than helping Willow out? Are you telling me it’s a coincidence that I happen across you two minutes after running into her? That you're both here for something other than to catch me and Serena?”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t even know Willow was here, and, quite frankly, I don’t really care that she is. She’s probably trying to find some new way to worm her way into Sebastian’s pants again. I’m here on legitimate business.”
“What legitimate business could you possibly have with Sorensen Holdings?” I jutted out my chin in challenge.
“I’m on the board.”
“Ha,” I scoffed. “You, on the board of such a prestigious company? I don’t believe it.”
“Whether you believe it or not, I am, for the past few weeks, in fact.” His eyes gleamed with pride as he leaned in closer, pressing me up against the wall with his chest. His breath brushed my cheek, bringing back fiery flashbacks of the heated nights we’d spent together. “But that’s enough business talk. Let’s get down to what really matters.”
“The only thing that matters is that I find Sebastian and Peter.”
“Peter?” he said with a dark chuckle. “That schoolboy? No, Laura. You deserve more than tha
t.”
“Are you going to try to tell me that I deserve you?”
“Nothing but the best for my delicious princess.” He ran the back of his fingers along my cheek and down my neck. “Remember how great we were together.”
“You might remember it as great. All I remember is the pain.”
“You can lie and deny all you want, Laura, but your body tells a different story. It tells me just how much you want me. I can smell it; smell your arousal. I can sense every little tingle that runs through your body, hungering for my touch, for a taste of me. Just look at you. Your parted lips, your hungry eyes, and your body… your body is just biting at the bit. You want me and you don’t even know it.”
“I’ll admit that my body may not be as smart as my mind is. My body reacts to you on an animal level. But don’t underestimate how strong my mind is.”
“Why would you even fight what your body needs?”
“All you want to do is hurt me, Jackson. That’s how you get off. That’s what thrills you. If you can’t get me to wince, to cry out, to scream, you can’t get a hard-on. You get off on causing people pain. There’s nothing romantic about that.”
He threw his head back with laughter. “Can’t get a hard-on? Sweetum, not only are you underestimating my ability to get a hard-on whenever I choose to, but you're ignoring the thrill you get when I give you that added little sting. Admit it. You love the pain with the pleasure. It heightens your pleasure.” He leaned in closer and brushed his lips along my earlobe. “Don’t you remember all the times you asked for the tickle of a whip, or the snap of a sound slap? You’re even the one who initiated sex on the pebbled drive of my mountain hideaway. You had pebble marks on your back and ass for nearly a week, but you had never had such a mind blowing orgasm.”
I turned away from him. “Leave me alone, Jackson.”
“What’s the matter, Sweetum? Afraid you’ll fall for me again?”
“The only thing I’m afraid of is that you’ll force yourself on me like the animal you are.”