He crowded me until my ass hit the conference table. It put me in a very awkward position, knowing it was the perfect height for what would be a nightmare come true. Because that’s what Gage was; a beautiful, addicting nightmare.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mystic,” he snarled. “You’re not worth risking a multi-million-dollar project on. Not to mention, I don’t play games when it comes to money.”
I gave him a tight nod, ignoring the insult. “Okay. I’ll just let Mr. Cavanaugh know that we’ve come to an agreem-”
Gage smirked and it made him look evil. “We didn’t come to an agreement,” he said, his voice like a whip. “I don’t know what you think this is, but I’m the boss here, Mystic. We don’t agree on shit. You do whatever the fuck I tell you.” It took everything in me to squash the feelings of longing, love, and, yes, arousal, because Gage was standing before, being everything that had drew me to him when we were younger.
Except, now, he was a grown man capable of so much more, and my body has been starved for him for so damn long, it was a miracle I wasn’t begging him for it as we speak.
Of course, that was never our game.
Gage took.
Gage took while I surrendered.
If he touched me, I’d push him away.
If he grabbed me, I’d fight him.
If he hurt me, I’d shamelessly, pathetically, let him use me, and I think we both knew it.
The hate and resentment were real, but we weren’t ignorant of what it was that brought us together in the first place all those years ago. We could feed our sick cravings judgement-free with one another.
But then I wanted to laugh because I was standing here, believing a man who looked like Gage, and was as wealthy and as powerful as he was, hadn’t been feeding his demons all these years. I was sure there were hordes of women who’ve jumped at the chance to let him control them, use them.
Suddenly, the weight of seeing this man again almost brought me to my knees. I was grateful the conference room table was holding some of my weight because I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to endure much more of this exchange. If we were going to get through this-if I was going to get through this-we needed to remain professional and distant.
I took a deep breath and did my best to keep my demons at bay. “Look, Gage, Mr. Cavanaugh is my boss,” I said, ignoring his outburst about him being my boss. “I take direction from him. I understand that you are the point person on your end, but I’m also aware of how all of this works. This project is a joint interest with your company and CI. However, the CEO’s don’t handle the details. Just assign an assistant from your company and I’m sure he or she and I can figure it out.”
I watched, petrified out of my mind, as he pulled his hands out of his pockets, planted each hand on either side of me, flat on the table, and leaned into me. His dark blue eyes were light brewing storms, full of destruction and lacking mercy.
When there wasn’t any room left between us, he said, “You’re right, Mystic. The research or leg work isn’t my job to do anymore. However, I think I’ll make an exception on this project.”
That’s when I knew.
Gage was going to make my life miserable and the only way out, that I could see, was to tell him what happened all those years ago. It might not make a difference, but I had to try. I couldn’t lose my job and I didn’t want to be at the mercy of his hate.
It might not help, but it couldn’t hurt.
“Gage, when I left-”
“Don’t,” he seethed before pulling away and taking a step back from me. “Just don’t, Mystic. Nobody gives a fuck about something that happened ten years ago.”
I straightened and arched a brow. “Clearly you do or else you wouldn’t be coming off as such a jerk,” I challenged.
“Either you have a shit memory, or you were never paying attention, Mystic. Newsflash: I’ve always been a jerk,” he replied, his voice cruel.
“Not to me, you weren’t,” I reminded him.
His laugh was dark and without humor. “You really are fucked in the head,” he replied. “I treated you worse than anyone else back then.”
I was pissed, confused, and a whole host of other emotions I didn’t have time for right now, but I was not going to let him rewrite history. I was not going to let him turn what we had into something that, while wrong, wasn’t fake. It had been real.
We had been real.
What we had felt for each other had been real.
Yeah, from the outside looking in, it would appear that he had treated me horribly, but he hadn’t. Once we had gone public with our relationship, everyone had been in awe of how attentive Gage had been towards me. No one dared call him pussy-whipped to his face, but nothing else had existed for Gage when we had been together.
Nothing.
“You never did anything that I hadn’t wanted you to,” I said, trying to force the truth out of him. “Everything we did, everything you did, was wanted. Craved, even.”
“Until it wasn’t any longer,” he tossed out. “Right?”
“Gage-”
Whatever I was about to say was cut off when he stormed my way, grabbed a fistful of my hair, twisted it, pulling a cry from my lips. “Right?!” he roared.
Suddenly, I was taken back to that restroom in the park when Gage had first taken me. Ten years later, I was still as sick as I’ve ever been, because this, right here, was what I’ve been waiting for. But before I could act, the conference room door burst open.
I guess indoor voices ceased the second civility had.
“Gage!” Mr. Cavanaugh’s voice rang through the tension in the room.
I watched as Mr. Cavanaugh’s gorgeous face loomed behind Gage, his hand on his shoulder. “Not now, Lorcan!” Gage snapped.
“Yes. Now!” Mr. Cavanaugh snapped back.
After a few tense seconds, Gage released me and stepped back. I stood there feeling stupid, scared, pathetic, and confused as hell as Mr. Cavanaugh maneuvered himself between me and Gage.
His back towards me, he said, “I have to draw the line somewhere, Gage.”
I could hear Gage scoff, even if I couldn’t see him. Lorcan Cavanaugh was every bit as tall and broad as Gage. “Since when do you acknowledge lines?”
Mr. Cavanaugh straightened to his full height. “Since the conference room, in which you’re standing in, has windows for anyone to look in and see you with your hands on Ms. Anderson, Gage. Nine-one-one being on everyone’s speed dial is that line.”
Before Gage could respond, Mr. Cavanaugh turned to me. “Go back to your desk, Ms. Anderson.”
And I did.
I fled like a coward.
Twice now.
Chapter 24
Gage~
The ice in the tumbler clinked with another pour gone; an entire bottle of scotch nearly gone.
What the actual fuck?
After Lorcan had kicked me out of his building, I’d gone straight home and have been nursing my rage with all the available liquors at my disposal.
Lorcan had been right to intervene, or else I’d probably be in jail right now, but I still couldn’t shake how right everything had felt the second I had accosted Mystic in that conference room. It had felt like a bear awaking from hibernation; alive and ready to do what’s in its nature to do.
There had been a lot going on in my mind-and in my fucking pants-but more than anything, I had wanted to break and ask Mystic why. I had wanted to ask her why did she fucking just up and leave me. But I hadn’t. Partly because I hadn’t been thinking straight, and partly because did it even matter all these years later?
I also knew, after my first three glasses of liquor, that I wasn’t going to be able to work with her on the Darwin proposal. There was no way I could stand to be near her and not lose my shit. I’d either kill her or fuck her, and neither was a good idea. I had too much to live for in regard to the former, and I valued my sanity in regard to the latter.
However, I still haven’t manage
d to calm down and I still found myself wanting to know why she left me. I knew it shouldn’t still bother me all these years later, but it did. I had loved that fucking girl with everything in me. I had loved her beyond reason, and she had walked away from me without any thought to what that rejection was going to do to me.
And it had done a lot.
While my father might have damaged me, Mystic had broken me.
She had managed to do the one thing that I had been fighting against ever since I first caught my father being a sonofabitch. Mystic had given me everything I had needed to cope, and then she had taken it all away. And now, all I could think of was doing the same thing to her.
I wanted to hurt her.
God, how I wanted to hurt her.
I wanted her to suffer in her own misery like I had to.
Fuckin, like I still was.
With that decision made, I called Lorcan. Sure, it was late, but Lorcan hardly ever slept. He was like me in that work ruled his world.
“How much?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.
“How much, what?”
“Is your bail,” he clarified.
Dick.
“I’m not in jail, asshole,” I replied. “I’m slightly drunk, but that’s about it.”
“Jesus, Gage,” he breathed out, and I knew I should be concerned.
See, Lorcan Cavanaugh was a ruthless sonofabitch, which was probably why he was my best friend. Early on, I had learned that, while I may be a prick, Lorcan was dead inside. If he had a heart, only a precious few have witnessed it beating. Me being one of those precious few.
So, if he was concerned for me, then that must mean I was really falling off the realm of reality, and nothing good could come from that.
“What?” I snapped, knowing I wasn’t going to like whatever it was he was about to tell me.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “I guess, even though I knew the story, I hadn’t really realized the damage that woman did you to. Seeing you almost throw away everything you’ve broken your back to achieve was…unexpected.” Okay. So, he was still in shock. I got it. “And now you’re calling me drunk, and you and I both know you never, ever get drunk.”
He was right. If I drank, it was for socializing purposes, but I never indulged beyond that. My demons were hard enough to control as it was, I didn’t need anything loosening the tight hold I had on them. But, apparently, that was all going to come to an end now because I had to know.
I had to.
“You care. Got it,” I said dryly, because Lorcan and I didn’t do emotions. I’d take a bullet for the man, but you’d never see me hugging him.
“I’m hanging up now,” he threatened.
“Don’t,” I hurried. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “What is it, Gage? And how many years in jail am I going to have to serve for it?”
“Not many,” I told him honestly. “You got great lawyers.”
“You’re a bastard,” he simply said. “What is it?”
“I need Mystic’s address.”
“Fuck me, Gage-”
“You’re not my type.”
“-you can’t be serious?”
“I am,” I assured him.
“First of all, why don’t you just look it up your damn self? And, second, you get a lot more than ‘not many’ years in prison for accessory to murder, asshole.”
“To answer your first question, I don’t want her last known address,” I replied. “I want her true and real address, which is on her employee file. As for your second concern, I’m not planning on killing her, Lorcan. I just want to talk to her.”
He laughed.
Dark and unbelieving.
“Bullshit,” he called through the phone. “You forget, Gage. I saw you in that conference room with her. You looked like a man possessed. And while I may be a sonofabitch, I’m not looking to see anyone get hurt.”
“Because, after everything you know, you think I’d hurt her beyond what she can take?” While Lorcan didn’t know the details, he knew enough to know our relationship hadn’t been normal.
“I wasn’t talking about her, Gage,” he said, surprising me.
Maybe it was the liquor, the emotional punch of seeing Mystic again after all these years, or the unwelcomed trip down memory lane, but I honestly didn’t think Mystic could hurt me anymore than she already had when she walked away from me ten years ago. At this point, I just wanted to know why she walked. Then, maybe, I could move the fuck on.
“I just want to know why, Lorcan,” I told him. “There’s really nothing left for her to damage further.” It was the truth. Mystic had ruined me in a way I wouldn’t wish on anyone. “I’m tired of living with that one unanswered question. I finally have the chance to put it to rest.”
“Fine,” he relented. “But I want to go on the record as saying that I think this is a bad idea.”
“Duly noted.”
“Also, you didn’t get her address from me.”
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. “That goes without say, asshole.”
“Motherfucker,” he muttered before hanging up on me.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was a bad idea, but I had to fucking know. Even if I never set eyes on Mystic again after tonight, I still needed to know.
My phone pinged and I looked down to see Lorcan’s text. It had Mystic’s address, phone number, and marital status.
Jackass.
I didn’t need that last piece of information. I had noticed no ring on her finger when I had seen her at CI. It was one of the first things I had noticed when my eyes had scanned the vision that’s haunted me for ten fucking years.
But even if she had been married, I wasn’t sure that would stop me from doing what I was about to do. She could have been married with two children, a pet, and PTA meetings scheduled into 2030, and it wouldn’t have mattered. No one would or could ever know Mystic the way I did.
The proof was in her eyes when I had wrapped her hair in my fist earlier.
Mystic was just as sick and twisted as she always was.
Lucky for her, so was I.
Chapter 25
Mystic~
My mind and body were still on autopilot as I sat in my living room, still trying to figure out if this was my reality or if I was caught up in a horrible nightmare.
That nightmare being a pissed off Gage Evans.
In all honesty, I had hoped to never see Gage Evans ever again. Even though I was the one who had left, it hadn’t been over for us. I had every intention of running away with him. I just never imagined it’d only take him two weeks to write me off. And I carried that pain heavily.
I had lost everything that had been important to me, but I wasn’t going to suffer through it if I had Gage with me. When I had realized I didn’t have Gage either, well, that pain had manifested itself into the empty woman I was today. If not for Rowan, I wouldn’t have any life outside work.
Ugh.
Work.
I wish I could say that this project was my biggest worry, but it wasn’t. When I should be stressing that my boss caught me breaking policy, I wasn’t. When I should be worried about retaliation from Reagan, after learning that my boss had demoted Reagan into my lowly cubicle space and had promoted me into her private office, I wasn’t.
The only thing that was taking up space in my head what that one, pivotal moment when Gage had put his hands on me, and I had been ready to surrender. I never denied I still had those sick, sexual urges, but I thought they were safely tucked away since there was no longer a Gage in my life, and it wasn’t likely I’d ever find another one.
But that was no more.
Gage was back.
Gage was back in my life, and that thought was scary as hell.
Of course, I could be jumping the gun. He was a CEO. He didn’t work on mundane projects. He had a million people under him to take on those types of tasks. I was fairly certain that, even if he di
d hate me and want to torture me, I couldn’t see him having extra time to dedicate to making my life miserable.
The knock on the door to my apartment snapped me out of my dark thoughts. Since I didn’t have much of a life, the person at the door could only be Rowan or some poor lost sucker, as no one else would bother visiting me. Besides, she was due for a visit since she was back from her work trip.
After learning that Gage had expunged me from his life, I had taken my anger out on my family and nursed my heartbreak using school. I had thrown myself into my studies, until nothing mattered but the perfect scores and grades. I studied myself into exhaustion where Gage could only make an appearance in my nightmares.
As for my family, I had distanced myself from them when it had been made clear that they hadn’t been interested in hearing my side of the story. Gage Evans was bad news, and nothing could convince them otherwise. I had finally stopped talking to them, altogether, after my first year of college, except for my brother. My aunt had made no judgements and had helped me through everything I had gone through, but even then, my bond with her wasn’t as strong as one would think. She did her ‘duty’ by me and I made sure she hadn’t regretted it.
As for Alaric, during my sophomore year in college, he had hunted me down and forced me to sit and talk with him. It was more than the rest of my self-righteous family had attempted, and so, I had spent an entire night telling him everything. No details, but enough that I was sure he’d disown me.
But he hadn’t.
Instead, he had listened and had accepted me without even really understanding why I was the way I was. I’ll also never forget the words that helped soothe my heartbreak.
“I don’t condone violence towards women, Mystic. However, being a man, I can understand being so enraptured by a woman that you can lose your sense of self. I’ve never harmed a woman,” he had clarified. “But there have been times in my life, where I wanted a woman so badly, I thought about ditching the condom, even though I knew I shouldn’t. I know it doesn’t compare but, let’s just say, I don’t hate the guy, fully.”
Our Broken Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) Page 11