by Penelope Sky
But he was there.
And he wasn’t himself.
He was more irritable than usual, giving me a gaze full of contempt. He seemed angry before I even opened the door—but his anger appeared to be directed at me. He stood at the table with his hands resting on the surface. Normally, he would stare down at his work until he completed his sketch. But this time, he wasn’t working at all. It seemed like he’d been waiting for me to walk through that door all morning.
Did he know I was quitting?
I stepped inside and purposely stayed on the opposite side of the table, out of arm’s reach. This man made me melt, but he terrified me at the same time. He could turn into a monster once you became his enemy.
His eyes remained glued to my face, waiting for me to speak.
What was going on here?
Another minute passed, the silence rigid and tension growing.
I finally caved. “What is it, Conway?”
“What is it?” His voice came out as a quiet whisper. It was far more terrifying than if he’d screamed at the top of his lungs. “It’s a lot of things, Sapphire.”
I couldn’t prevent myself from reacting, from jerking slightly at the use of my name. My heart slammed into my chest when my secret was thrown across the table. He knew I was up to my eyeballs in debt. He knew I was wanted for tax evasion. He knew my entire life had been destroyed, and now I had nothing left.
I was weak.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered. “I could have helped you.”
“You couldn’t have helped me, Conway…”
“I’m a billionaire. And all problems are solved with money.” He snapped his fingers. “Problem solved.”
He must not know everything. If he did, he would understand I was over a million dollars in debt because I owed Knuckles seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars alone. That wasn’t on the books. That was a blood debt. “I could never take your money. You don’t owe me anything.”
“You could have worked for it.”
Even if I could model for him for another five years, I would never make that money back. And if I managed to pay it off, Knuckles would still get to me eventually. It would all be for nothing.
He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
“Why are you so angry? It’s my business, Conway. I’m not obligated to share anything with you.”
“Why am I angry?” His chiseled face was still beautiful when he was angry, but it was all full of lethal threat. “Your own brother did this to you? He got wrapped up in stupid shit and left you to deal with it?”
I lowered my gaze because thinking about Nathan was always hard. I hated him for what he’d done, but I still ached from the loss. Both of my parents were gone, and my brother was nothing but ash. I was the only person I had left in the world.
“It’s fucking bullshit.”
I lifted my gaze again.
“Family doesn’t do that shit to each other.”
I told myself there was a reason for Nathan’s actions. It hadn’t been intentional, and it hadn’t been careless. But I would never know because I couldn’t talk to the dead. “It is what it is…”
With a clenched jaw, he shook his head.
“I decided to leave America once I felt overwhelmed. With so much debt and no way to pay it back, I didn’t see any other way out. I can’t finish my education because no bank will give me a loan, so I’ll never make a salary that would even give me the privilege of paying it back. There was no way out…so I took off.”
Slowly, the anger softened on his face.
“I saw you on TV and knew you were holding auditions, so I went for it. I was desperate for money, and I thought I could start over here. I didn’t give a name so I couldn’t be traced here. But after what happened this weekend…I can’t stay. It’ll only be a matter of time before they figure out where I am.”
He dropped his hands and slowly circled around the table toward me.
I held my breath when he drew near, feeling my heart thud inside my chest. Even though my soul had been poured out on the table, I still felt the tightness in my chest when he drew near. I felt the pull, the attraction.
He stopped in front of me. “I have a new offer for you.”
There was nothing he could offer me to entice me. Being a public figure was only putting my life on the line.
“Ever since you walked in here, you’ve changed my life. My output is ludicrous. My designs are beautiful. You’re inspiring me in a way no other woman ever has. Everything I created for the show is being critically acclaimed—that’s because of you. So I need you, Sapphire. I can’t let you go.”
I wanted to step back because the proximity was too much. But I didn’t dare move, didn’t step away from the heat that radiated from his body.
“I’ve realized I don’t want to share you. I don’t want other men to stare at the woman who inspires me this way…I want her all to myself. So I’m asking you to be my muse—my private muse.”
That meant I would be alone with him all the time, half naked and objectified. He would sprinkle more kisses on my body, and eventually, those kisses would escalate into something else. It seemed like I was selling my body for money—no better than a prostitute.
“In return, I’d pay off your debt.”
My eyes shifted back up to his, seeing the green emeralds that possessed unshakable confidence. I heard what he said, but I needed the reassurance in his eyes. He just offered me a generous gift, the most generous offer I’d ever find. “And what exactly would you expect?”
He moved his hand to my arm and slowly trailed it down. “Everything.”
“Then you expect me to sleep with you?”
His fingertips stopped at my elbow. “Yes.”
The money had been placed on the table, but now it didn’t seem appealing. “I’m not interested in providing sex for money. I may wear nearly nothing on stage, but I’m not a whore, Conway.” I was desperate for money, but I wasn’t that desperate yet. Anyone else would have taken the offer because it was a great one. It solved my problem with the American authorities. But something about the offer rubbed me the wrong way. Conway touched me like I mattered. He kissed me so gently, held me when I felt most afraid. He praised me when I felt insecure. Perhaps I’d developed feelings for him along the way. The fact that he only saw me as a sexual object was insulting. I probably would have slept with him anyway…but I wanted it to mean something. “Maybe I misjudged you. I thought we had a connection…but I guess I was wrong.”
“We do have a connection, Sapphire. But sex is just sex to me. I like it hard and meaningless. I like it purely physical. I only want to fuck you, only want to use you—I’m sorry if that was unclear.”
I had no reason to expect anything else, but I was still disappointed in him. When he was surrounded by gorgeous women all the time, there was no incentive for him to have a relationship. They were just toys in his eyes. But I didn’t want to be a toy…at least not for my first time.
“Take my offer.” He moved his hand to my waist, and he squeezed me gently. “I want you to be my fantasy. I want you to fulfill my desires. I want you to inspire the sexiest line of lingerie I’ll ever create. And in return, I’ll make your problems go away.”
Even if I stayed, I still had a bigger problem on my hands. Knuckles would find me, and he would cut me into pieces before he dumped me in the river to be fish food. It was too risky for me to stay behind. I owed nearly another million to that man, and there was no way Conway would offer to pay for that. “No.”
Conway stared at me in disbelief, his right eyebrow cocked. He could have any woman he wanted without paying a dime. He knew I was attracted to him, must have realized the way I reacted to him. For me to turn down both him and the money must have been a surprise.
“I may have nothing…but I won’t settle for less than nothing.”
* * *
Walking away from Conway was more difficult than I let on. I
’d become attached to him in the last month, enjoying the way he put me on a pedestal and called me a queen. I liked being his fascination, the inspiration for such beautiful lingerie. He was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen, and the fact that he thought I was worth anything was incredibly flattering.
I felt a connection with him.
He made me feel safe, made me feel treasured. I called him an asshole to his face, but he never got upset about it. He seemed amused by my attitude more than annoyed by it. And once he knew my secret, he’d offered me a way out.
He basically wanted to pay his way between my legs so he could fuck me on his terms, but since a beautiful man like him didn’t need to pay for anything, that made me feel special too—in a twisted way.
But now I would never see him again.
That chapter of my life was over.
I wasn’t sure how many chapters I had left.
I returned to my hotel room to sleep for the night. First thing in the morning, I’d be out of the city. I hadn’t decided where I would go yet. Staying in Italy seemed too risky. France and Switzerland were close, both countries I could reach via train. Each with hostels I could crash in. Having a phone would make my travels easier, but I refused to ask Conway for anything else.
That implied I needed him.
I could figure this out on my own.
When I stepped inside my room, I noticed the paper sitting on the bed the maids had already made. I tensed in the entryway because that piece of paper looked familiar—too familiar. Silent threats had been unleashed exactly like that before, finding their way into my bag or on the couches where I slept.
I inched closer, aware of the blood pounding in my ears. It was like a current rushing in my canal. I could feel my heartbeat quicken as I prepared to read the words that still haunted my dreams.
One step closer and I could read it. In masculine handwriting I’d recognize anywhere was the message I most feared.
* * *
Run.
* * *
I shoved all my belongings into my bag and then hopped out the window. There was a fire escape that led directly to the street, and I’d take my chances going that way instead of through the front doors.
He was probably watching.
I dropped down in the alleyway then turned to the main road. A black car was against the curb, with two scary men standing beside it. They both had tattoos that disappeared down their necks and into their t-shirts. They both wore sunglasses even though it was dark. I didn’t need to recognize their faces to know who they were.
I turned the other way and headed to the next street. Knuckles was the kind of bastard that liked to play with his food before he finally feasted. He wanted to watch me squirm and run until he decided to capture me.
Maybe this was all just a game.
Maybe he was letting me go—for now.
I crossed the street and entered another alleyway, moving as quickly as I could without running. Running would only draw more attention to myself.
I doubled back on my path and cut through different businesses just to make it more difficult to be followed. I found abandoned clothes in a dumpster, so I quickly changed my outfit and pulled a baseball cap over my head. The clothes were baggy, and my hair was tucked underneath the cap. Hopefully, no one would recognize me.
I kept moving, trying to get lost in a city I didn’t know so well. If I found a nice hiding spot and stayed there long enough, they would assume I’d fled the city. Perhaps staying lost within a ten-mile radius might be the smart move.
Now that danger was imminent and my life was at risk, I wanted to run to Conway. I’d never felt safer than when he was watching me. Anytime a man made me uncomfortable, Conway always came across the room and rescued me. He commanded respect from everyone around him, and no one even considered disrespecting me in his presence. The idea of being his muse felt like a missed opportunity.
Maybe I should have said yes.
But if I told him what I was running from, he might not have wanted me anyway. Why would a respectable man such as himself want to get involved in the underworld? He wanted me, but not that much. I wasn’t worth going to war over.
So I kept running.
12
Conway
I’d never met a woman with that much pride.
She took the hard way out rather than compromising her morals.
It annoyed the fuck out of me, but damn, I respected it at the same time.
Made the loss hurt even more.
But I couldn’t let this stubborn woman go out into the cruel world without a single resource. She was too innocent for the shit out there. If I hadn’t been so ticked by her answer, I would have given it to her when I saw her in my office.
I walked in the lobby of the hotel where she was staying and checked with the front desk. “I’m looking for a woman named Sapphire. I’m not sure what name her reservation is under. She’s American. Really quiet.”
The woman wouldn’t have provided that information to me under normal circumstances, but since she recognized me, she was cooperative. “She didn’t check out, and her room is empty. So she took off.”
She already left? Leaving me behind obviously hadn’t hurt her as much as it hurt me. “Any idea where she might be going?”
“No.”
I walked back outside and stopped at the sidewalk. A black car was parked at the curb, and two sketchy men were watching me. They weren’t part of the Skull Kings, but I could tell they were part of something sinister.
Maybe it was a good thing Sapphire had left.
I had twenty thousand Euros in my pocket and a phone for her to use.
If only I’d given it to her.
Now I would never see her again.
13
Sapphire
I sat on the ground with my back against the wall. The overflowing dumpster beside me was the only comfort I had that night. Dressed in these clothes with my face hidden under my cap should keep people away since I looked like a bum.
Actually, I was a bum.
My knees were against my chest, and I closed my eyes as I drifted off. Without a watch or a phone, I had no idea what time it was. But I knew it was sometime after midnight.
If Knuckles knew where I was, he would have found me by now.
I must have thrown him off the scent by changing my clothes and turning back the opposite way.
But I didn’t feel victorious. Just this last weekend, I was the headliner in the Barsetti Lingerie fashion show. Now I was dirt-poor and sleeping beside a garbage can. I had some of the money Conway gave me, but I’d spent most of it on my hotel accommodations and food. I had to make the rest of it last if I was going to afford a train ticket.
I was completely asleep when I felt my cap move on my head. Someone was turning it, pulling it away from my forehead to reveal my face.
My brain immediately snapped out of its unconscious state. I couldn’t afford to be robbed when I barely had anything to get by. My eyes snapped open, and I saw a man a few years older than me grinning into my face. He wasn’t a bum, judging by his nice clothes and expensive watch. But his smile was deceptive because there was nothing pleasant about him.
I kicked him in the knee and pushed him back. “Get off me.”
His heavy body fell back to the ground, and he brought his knee to his chest. “It’s her. It’s the bitch from the lingerie show.”
They recognized me.
The man behind him lurched at me. “Talk about an easy million.”
Now keeping my stuff wasn’t important. My bag would just slow me down, and my life was more important than the clothes off my back and the pictures I brought along. I dashed to the right of him, determined to get out of there no matter what.
He grabbed me by the elbow and yanked me back. “I don’t think so, Lingerie Bitch.”
I twisted my wrist out of his grasp then threw the butt of my palm into his nose. I struck with as much force as I could muster, the a
drenaline giving me an extra push. I heard the crack and felt it at the same time.
“Fuck!” He stumbled back, covering his nose as the blood squirted everywhere.
I sprinted again, running for my life. The second they called me, “An easy million,” I knew exactly what they were and what they intended to do with me.
Ain’t gonna happen.
I sprinted down the alleyway then turned right to the street. The second I reached witnesses on the sidewalk, I would have more protection. At one in the morning, there wouldn’t be many people out, but it was better than staying in that alleyway.
Knuckles crossed my path then glanced down the alley in my direction. His shoulders were relaxed and he was on the phone, so he obviously hadn’t been expecting me to emerge right under his nose.
His six-foot-three frame was chilling, even at this distance. He was all muscle and flesh. Built like a monster because he had the soul of the devil, he was a bull that had been provoked. “Call you back.” He hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your run?”
I turned back the way I came but saw my earlier assailants coming my way. This time, their guns were drawn. I suspected these two groups had no connection. I was just the unlucky woman stuck between the two.
I knew exactly what would happen if I turned to Knuckles. He would rape me in brutal ways until I begged for death. He would torture me every day, getting the most mileage out of me before he finally crushed my skull the same way he did to Nathan.
With the other guys, I would be sold to someone.
Chances were, he would be better than Knuckles.
So I made my choice.
* * *
I was tied to a dirty cot in the corner. My hands were secured behind my back, and my clothes were stripped away. Even my panties were removed. The men hadn’t tried to force themselves on me yet—thankfully.