Monsters in the Dark

by Winters, Pepper

  I never told him exactly what happened, but somehow he tripped me up enough to give away my history. To unveil most of my secrets and give me someone to confide in.

  The moment he saw me, his lips twitched into a smirk. He ran a hand through his glossy gay-ass hair.

  Glowering, I pushed my way past into the boardroom, eyeing up his carefree smile.

  “Quoi?” What? I demanded when he put his arm up to barricade me from entering.

  I only knew five people in this entire building. And those five people I trusted only so far. Frederick was one of them, but he was also the only one who got away with driving me batshit crazy with his antics.

  “Bonjour.” He clicked his teeth. “I wondered when we’d be graced with your famous presence again.”

  I knocked his arm away, and stalked toward the large oval table. Picking the head seat, I sat with my hands steepled on the tabletop. “Get to your point, Frederick.”

  “Well, I assumed with a hot piece of ass at home you’d take longer than four days before coming back to this chaos.”

  My temper exploded. “Don’t. Ever. Disrespect. Her.” I squeezed my eyes. Not for the first time I regretted stringing Tess up from the ceiling for the impromptu business meeting. I hated that Frederick saw her like that.

  I’d been a fucking bastard to do it, but I had my reasons. Reasons that didn’t add up with the way Frederick Roux gloated at me.

  He threw himself in a chair next to me, holding his hands up. “Hey. Just stating a fact.” He shuffled forward eagerly. “So…you’re finally letting a woman tame you, huh?”

  “She didn’t tame me, she—” I stopped mid-sentence, swallowing back the pansy thing I was about to say. She didn’t tame me, she set me free. Definitely not appropriate for my fearsome reputation.

  I seized the huge pile of paperwork that I’d requested to catch up on, and pretended to ignore him. I couldn’t deal with his shit right now.

  Leaving Tess alone had been the hardest thing I’d done since making an oath to never become my father. I left my capacity to breathe upstairs with her. Only the knowledge that she was completely safe and untouchable allowed me some relief to get to work.

  What the fuck was with her panic attack? She was so strong. It didn’t make sense for her to let memories get the better of her. I’d seen enough women lose their entire lives to reliving what happened. The switch that sent them spiralling into depression and destruction never turned off.

  I would never let that happen to Tess.

  “Stop gloating. I can feel your smugness from here,” I grumbled when Frederick refused to look away.

  “Hey, man, I’m allowed to gloat when my long-time friend finally comes to work looking well-fucked and a tinge happier than every other day of his sad little life.”

  I dropped the paper and took a swing at him. Half-hearted, but I missed all the same.

  He ducked, laughing. “I’m pleased for you.” Inching forward, he slapped me on the back, grinning. “Welcome to coupledom. You’re no longer a sulky bachelor who has to get his wallet out to get his kink on.”

  “For fuck’s sake, keep your voice down.” My eyes darted to the door. Any moment we’d have company, and people did not need to know what I did with the cash in said wallet.

  Frederick nodded. “I’ll stop now. Just happy for you, that’s all.”

  Warming a little, I leaned back in the chair. “What makes you so sure I’m keeping her? I sent her back the first time. I could do it again.”

  He snorted, covering up a loud laugh. “Seriously, Mercer? You were a fucking wreck the day you sent her back. Or are you forgetting I found you almost comatose, lying on your pool table, mumbling about God knows what?”

  It was unfortunate that he’d found me. I’d planned on getting a lot drunker. I needed something to numb the pain.

  He ducked to sniff my shoulder. I managed to deck him, not hard, but enough to make my point. “Plus, you smell like sex. You reek of it, my friend, and that little glow you’ve got going on tells me that you’ve kept her, and you’re finally going to stop kicking yourself in the balls for needing what you do.”

  “Back off, Roux. I get it. You’re happy for me.” I narrowed my eyes, gathering the papers once again.

  He smirked and his blue gaze, so bright that I always secretly wondered if they were fake, glinted. “You’ve got a wrinkle.”

  I paused, rubbing my forehead. Great. A fucking wrinkle. It was only fitting, I supposed—I felt ancient. Ever since Franco forced Tess to bow at my feet, I’d aged a little every day, worn down by the monster inside, cursing my urges that would end up killing me one day.

  Or killing the one you care for.

  The thought stopped my heart, and I glowered at Frederick. “Is this another one of your fucking analogies?”

  He nodded, chuckling. “Wanted to see if you cared. Bet you’ll care if I tell you there’s a crusty tie and a pair of what I’m assuming are panties sticking out of your pocket.”

  Merde!

  I hastily shifted in the chair and stuffed Tess’s underwear, along with my come-encrusted tie, back into my pocket. I couldn’t stop my smug grin at the vision of Tess on her hands and knees while I pile-drived my cock deep inside her. Goddammit, I wanted to do it again.

  I wanted to fuck and hurt her right on this boardroom table.

  As much as Frederick drove me nuts, I liked that he wasn’t afraid of me. He knew how far he could push. Whispering under my breath, I said good-naturedly, “Va te faire foutre.” Fuck off. “Stop being a dick about it.”

  Frederick chuckled . “Fair enough.” His eyes darted to the door, looking to see if we still had privacy. My hackles shot up when he leaned forward, bowing his head. “I heard from the Russian mob. The man you shot for touching your slave, he’s out for blood.”

  My hands fisted, and I shot forward into his personal space. “She’s not my fucking slave. Her name is Tess and she’s a part of my life now. You’ll never discuss how she came to be that way. Am I understood?”

  Frederick nodded, non-repulsed by my temper. He had the disposition of an unflappable pilot. Always smooth, forever calm. I wished I could steal some of his serenity; maybe then I could stop the swirling mess of feelings inside me.

  “You have my word. But can I ask one question? You made it your life’s work to save so many women from situations that you put Tess into. Why did you string her up to be eye-fucked if you hate it?”

  Trust Frederick to see through the ruse. Yes, that night had been fifty percent selfish. I wanted to do something as horrid as my father. I couldn’t help it. Just once I gave into the beast and did something I deplored. I got hard watching Tess struggle and put her in a situation that fucked with her mind. But I also knew the Red Wolverine wasn’t happy with me.

  Too many times I accepted his bribery—agreed to an underhanded real estate permit, or provided my name as collateral against a mob enterprise—all to get my hands on the women he traded.

  My reputation was sick and tarnished in the underworld—exactly the way I wanted it. They didn’t know I used black money to fight filth; every penny went into saving slaves. But Tess. Shit, I wanted to fuck her so badly that night. I wanted to cut off the dress and take her so many fucking ways.

  And with the darkness running thick in my veins, I knew it would be a good opportunity to show the minion of the Red Wolverine that I did enjoy my bribes.

  Whispers had begun. Foul gossip that I released the bribes I accepted. That I turned them loose and never touched them. Something had to be done.

  I couldn’t let that information leak. It would mean all the girls I’d saved would be rounded up, tracked like vermin, and sold once again into nightmares. So, I gave them a show. I put Tess on stage and fucking forgot it was all a pantomime to calm the gossip and halt one of the largest mafias involved in trafficking from suspecting me. I let myself get achingly hard, entertained visions of fucking Tess like the slave she was, and allowed other men to drool
over what was mine.

  She was too perfect. So amazingly sexy hanging from the ceiling, tempting me like the apple tempted fucking Eve.

  The entire dinner I couldn’t concentrate as Tess hung like a gold-imprisoned doll, completely helpless, completely defenceless, completely at my mercy.

  Frederick slapped my shoulder. “Stop gouging the table, Q. Your temper is getting out of control.”

  Fuck. I placed my hands into my lap, cricking my neck from the overwhelming tension in my back.

  “I did it to protect other women. I sacrificed Tess’s dignity and fucked with her mind in order to put on a show for the cocksuckers we do business with.” I glared at him. “Happy?”

  He nodded as if it made perfect sense. “I thought as much. If you weren’t emotionally invested, you wouldn’t have ruined the show by shooting the same cocksucker you were trying to impress in the fucking leg.”

  I snorted, remembering how satisfying it’d been to pull the trigger and cause bodily harm. He dared put his hands on Tess—hurt her, torture her. I would kill him next time I saw him.

  Then my heart died with black repulsion remembering how Tess fainted from pain and shock. That night would go down as one of the best and worst of my life.

  Shaking away the memories, I asked, “Have you heard anything? Did you rush through that bastard’s paperwork?” I wanted to confirm the building permits he requested as soon as possible. After all, the approval of his application represented Tess’s freedom. Her life for a piece of concrete and glass in the heart of Moscow. A front for laundered money, weapons, and women.

  “Yes. The permits have been approved thanks to some carefully greased palms. But I don’t think that’s the end of it. The guy you shot wasn’t just his minion. It was the Wolverine’s son.”

  My eyes popped wide, and I choked on my own spit.“Merde.” Just my fucking luck. I put Tess in harm’s way to protect the truth, and I go and shoot the fucking mafia’s golden child.

  The blond idiot in his ridiculous white jumpsuit sprang to mind. I’d thrilled with pleasure when his blood seeped through his pants. He’d been taught a lesson, and Franco gave him an extra little something to remember us by when he kicked his ass out of my home.

  What the hell did it mean? Would the Red Wolverine come after me for hurting his only offspring? I needed to pre-empt him before he got any wild ideas about retribution.

  Frederick interrupted my plotting. “I want to meet her, Mercer.”

  My eyes shot to his. “You think I want you talking to her? Telling her to run as far as she can away from me?” He never would, I knew that, but my chuckle held too much pain and stark truth to be ignored.

  Je suis un faible idiot. I’m such a weak idiot.

  Frederick laughed, dispelling the awkwardness. “I won’t divulge your secrets. But I do want to talk to her. I want to make sure she’s worthy of my friend.”

  I rolled my eyes, ignoring his sappy comment. Damn idiot.

  The door swung open and in siphoned the managers we’d been waiting on.

  Frederick shifted from happy-go-lucky-friend to strict-second-in-command, facing his underlings with an iron grip. The hierarchy in the room included me as the big motherfucker and Frederick as my right-hand man. He was the link between my orders and making sure that the thousand plus staff did as they were told.

  I sat silent as Katya, a long-legged fiercely intelligent woman who had bigger balls than most men, strode in. Her talents lay in project managing and sourcing new contacts. Kevin, with his balding head and spectacles, was in charge of accounting, Samuel, with his dreadlocks and scruffy clothes, worked mainly with trade staff and hands-on affairs, and last but not least was Sandra, the stern, grey-haired woman in charge of human resources.

  They smiled and murmured greetings, but no one dared talk to me outside a business level. And that’s the way I liked it.

  Once everyone was seated, I clapped my hands once and said, “Now we’re all here. Let’s begin.”

  * * *

  Two hours into the debrief, an ache formed relentlessly behind my eyes. The headache I’d fought since the helicopter nagged stronger and stronger.

  Logistics and figures swarmed in my head until I couldn’t hear anything but a gentle buzz. I battled through it.

  Turns out I had two weaknesses: control and fucking migraines.

  I poured some water, hoping it was just dehydration. Forcing myself to focus when all I wanted to do was go back to Tess and curl up to rest.

  Ten minutes later, the numbers on a new acquisition in Hong Kong bounced off the page and slithered onto the table. My vision fuzzed then sharpened like I took a strong hallucinogenic. A sure signal I’d left the realm of headache and ploughed straight toward a migraine.

  “Yes, but what if we bought the building next to it. We could consolidate the lots and secure the permit for a thirty-story hotel,” Frederick said to Katya, chewing on the end of a pen.

  I shook my head, trying to dispel the overwhelming thickness taking over my brain. Shit, this couldn’t come on a worse day. What with the stress of Tess’s panic attack and hearing the Red Wolverine wasn’t happy, I didn’t have time to be fucking sick.

  Katya said something and the entire table turned to stare at me.

  I couldn’t move my tongue to make a proper sentence. Merde, I never got this bad so fast. It normally crept over me, stealing a little of my senses, giving me time to get the hell out of there and hide my one bodily weakness.

  “Mercer. You all right?” Frederick patted my hand. My eyes shot to his, but I had to squint against the pain of bringing him into focus.

  I can’t do this.

  The only way to break it was a dark room, and Tess’s heavenly fingers to massage away the agony.

  Tess.

  All I wanted to do was be with her. I needed her. She’d help cure me—just like she cured me of everything else.

  The beast inside whimpered, agreeing that in this circumstance, it didn’t want to hurt her. It wanted her to be gentle and nurse me.

  Shaking my head, I swallowed back the rush of nausea and stood. Forcing myself to act cool and fully in control, I said, “It sounds as if you’re more than under control here. If you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend to.”

  Frederick frowned, but nodded. “No problem. I’ll keep you up to speed with what we decide on the Hong Kong and London development.”

  I nodded approval, which sent the world suffering a bout of turbulence. I hated when it got this bad. I hated being so weak.

  Keeping my lips tightly together, just in case my morning coffee decided to make a reappearance, I strode firmly out of the room.

  The second the door closed behind me, I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. It felt as if no oxygen existed inside this goddamn building. I fumbled with my collar, trying to undo the top button.

  The door clicked open, and I spun painfully to face whoever it was.

  Frederick watched me with concern. “Another one? That’s one a month for a while now, man. You promised you’d go to the doctor.”

  I didn’t have the strength to tell him I did go to the doctor. And for me to admit I had a problem was a big fucking deal. But on paper there was nothing wrong with me.

  The headaches were stress related, apparently.

  In my painful haze, I mumbled something incoherent and headed on the marathon journey to get back to my private office.

  Don’t think. Just get to Tess.

  Frederick followed me to the elevator, and I swiped my identification to activate my private lift. It was the only elevator that went to the roof. I didn’t want anyone else going up there without my permission.

  The whir of the arriving machine cut off as the metal doors swung open. Frederick’s arm stuck out, barring my way.

  Fiery hot shards poked my brain, stealing my colour vision, making him look as if he dripped with sienna and taupe. “Get out of my way, Roux.”

  He lifted his arm and le
t me enter, but jumped in a millisecond later. He eyed me, prodding me in the temple with a finger.

  I winced and swung at him, but my perception was way off; I punched the mirrored wall instead.

  “Yep, you’re having a full attack, man. Not good.”

  Agony flared in my knuckles and I growled, nursing my hand. “Thanks for the advice. You going to charge me for that?”

  He smiled. “Nope. That’s on the house.” He pressed the top button and we rode in silence before he said, “Don’t bother wasting your breath telling me to fuck off. I’ll stay until you’ve had some painkillers and that woman of yours has got you on the couch and resting.”

  I didn’t want to argue with that. It sounded fucking perfect. But I hated being told what to do. The last time I obeyed anyone I was eight and let my father kill a slave for sneaking out to find food for her starving bed mates.

  Fuck that shit. I never wanted to take orders again.

  Frederick snuck glances at me, but I ignored him, focusing on curling my fists so hard my fingers threatened to break. The chance of a fracture prevented the fog of pain from devouring me completely.

  I stepped back a little and skidded on a puddle of water. I figured my brain was playing tricks on me. I discounted it, but then froze. I could smell it.

  Frost.

  Orchids.

  Tess.

  My body locked down as panic charged through my limbs. Why the hell had she been in the lift? And without me? She wouldn’t be able to get back without my keycard.

  Frederick raised an eyebrow, noticing my trembling muscles. “What the hell, Q?” He came forward but slipped, too.

  His eyes shot to the floor, reaching out to grab the side rail to avoid slamming to the floor. “Huh. That’s strange. There shouldn’t be a leak in here.”

  My instincts roared to life—trying to tell me something—something I should’ve noticed the second I entered the lift.