by Jani Kay
Reaching the end of my tether, I pointed to the door. “Just get out. I'm not interested in your stories—”
“I have a surprise for you. I know you love surprises.”
“I hate surprises.” My voice was filled with venom, but the prick still didn’t get it.
I fished the phone with the cracked glass from my purse. Savage. I’d call him to come help me. Surely he’d answer my call? I scrolled through my contact list, looking for his number, and as soon as I found it I hit the green phone icon. I hadn’t spoken to him since the incident with Jessica, and I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited on him to pick up.
Laughing, Nolan reached out and grabbed the phone out of my hand. He smashed the instrument against the wall and watched with glee as it bounced onto the floor before he stamped on it with his heel.
“What the hell are you doing?” I cried as the already cracked screen shattered further.
“You’re coming with me. I’ve planned a vacation for us. You always wanted to get away, saying I worked too hard. Now we are. Plane is waiting. Just you and me, dearest.”
“Fuck off, Nolan. I'm not going anywhere with you.”
In an unguarded moment, I snatched my dog and turned my body away from him while I stroked her head, soothing her with shhh sounds. I walked toward the kitchen and placed Miu-miu in her bed. I needed all my attention focused on Nolan, because I’d push him out of my apartment my damn self if he didn’t leave soon.
He had the nerve to follow me to the kitchen.
Damn. Further to push to the door. I was only a woman, but when I was angry I had strength in me that didn’t back down for anyone.
“Ahhh, that’s where you’re wrong. A romantic getaway . . . we’ll get engaged again, maybe married, and everything will be just like it used to be.”
I ground my teeth. The arrogant idiot wasn’t listening. “You’re being ridiculous. I'm not going anywhere with you. It's over between us. It's final.”
“Don’t make me force you. I brought my boys with me. You have a choice—walk out of here like a lady, or get carried out. No other options.”
Fear pushed up into my throat. “Jesus. Have you gone fucking crazy? Get the fuck out of my apartment and stay away from me.”
“Okay, option two it is then. I suspected as much, so I’m prepared.” He hit a button on his phone. The door burst open and three burly bodyguards stormed in, as if they were on a mission.
I broke into hysterical laughter. “What the hell is this? You’re not serious, are you?”
Nolan smirked. “You know I always get what I want. And I want you. It's simple really. No is not an option.”
I looked at the men, one by one. They avoided eye contact, staring at the wall behind me.
“Fellas, take her to the jet. Put her to sleep if necessary. Takeoff is in an hour.”
My heart lurched. My pulse speeded up and my palms went clammy.
Shit’s getting real.
“Guys, please. I don’t want to go. You can’t make me.”
Nothing.
Three pairs of blank eyes still studied the walls behind my head.
Fear gripped my insides. My heart beat hard and fast and my mouth went dry. I could hardly talk. “It's illegal . . . kidnapping . . .” One of them flinched. “What if I was your sister or girlfriend? Would you want this to happen to her?”
The guy in the middle cleared his throat. “Sorry, ma’am. We have orders to escort you to the jet. Please co-operate.”
The biggest of the three men stepped forward and gripped my upper arm. “Come with us.”
Miu-miu barked like a crazy dog, growling and snapping her teeth at the man. It was futile, but I loved her for it.
“No. Let me go.” I screamed, twisting my arm to break free. With every grain of strength in my body, I planted my knee in his balls. He groaned and let go of my arm, cupping his manhood.
“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath.
“Use the needle,” Nolan barked.
Jesus! Drugs?
“No, please. Don’t—” I sucked in the biggest gulp of air I could and tried to fight as a needle pierced my skin and broke into one of my veins. Burly arms held me around my waist, nearly lifting me off the ground. The last thing I remembered was the sneer on Nolan’s face as my knees buckled underneath me and blackness stole my consciousness.
Chapter 27 — Eva
“Hey, wake up.” The voice sounded far, far away. “Eva.”
The voice was louder, booming and controlling. “Darling, wake up.”
I don’t like that voice. Make it go away.
My head was bursting, and my throat felt like sandpaper.
Thirsty. Water. Please.
Nausea pushed up from my stomach, and I had to fight to keep the swirling contents down. I tried to open my eyes, but the lids were just too heavy and I gave up, drifting back into nothingness.
How much time passed between then and the sensation of drowning I had no idea, but I sat up with a gasp as icy-cold water hit my face. I licked my lips even as I sucked air into my lungs, desperate to catch just one drop to ease my parched throat and get rid of the metallic taste in my mouth.
What the hell is happening to me?
I tried to pry my eyes open, but they stayed shut. Maybe this was one of those surreal dreams I occasionally experienced since my mother died, and I’d wake up shaken at how real it felt.
Voices.
Were they real or in my head?
“That should wake her, sir.”
“Fuck, you didn’t need to be so heavy-handed.”
“Sorry, sir, you told me to get her awake immediately. That’s the best way.”
“Okay. Get out of here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Footsteps. A door closing.
“Eva, darling. Are you okay?”
That voice. I know that voice.
I kicked my legs, my arms flailing wildly.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” I rasped.
Slivers of bright light caused my brain to want to explode as I willed my eyes to open. Slowly, the face I dreaded came into focus.
Nolan.
No. Not him. What did he want with me?
“Sweetheart, calm down. You’re safe with me.” His hands gripped my upper arms, pushing me down. “Here, let me help you.”
My teeth chattered as cold seeped into my bones.
“Where the fuck am I? What’s happening to me?”
“We are on my plane. Just relax; it’s going to be okay. I’m going to remove your wet shirt and dry you.”
Sickening nausea overwhelmed me. As my stomach heaved I rolled to my side and vomited.
“Jesus, are you okay?” Nolan sounded shocked, and it took me by surprise. Wasn’t he the one responsible for my situation? The scene at my apartment was coming back to me. The men. The needle. The blackness. The drone of an airplane.
This isn’t a dream.
Turbulence caused the airplane to dip and shake.
I emptied the remainder of my stomach’s contents and sank back onto the bed, weak and dizzy. Air travel wasn’t something I handled well without taking motion-sickness tablets. And whatever the hell they’d injected into me—
Spasms hit my stomach and I pulled my legs up and rolled into a fetal position, groaning as my head throbbed and palpitations seized my heart. I just wanted to curl up and fucking die.
Someone knocked at the door of the private bedroom. Trust Nolan to have a plane with its own bed. How many of his sluts had he fucked there when he went on ‘business’?
More voices.
“Sir, the pilot recommends you and Miss Ryder take your seats and buckle up. We’ve hit heavy storms.”
“How bad are the conditions?”
“Pretty bad, sir. He’s instructed everyone to strap up.”
The plane dipped again. My stomach cramped and I retched once more, the pungent stench hanging in the air.
“Shit. Whatever the fuck you inject
ed into her is making her sick. And throwing water over her hasn’t helped. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“I suggest you leave her on the bed, and you take a seat until conditions improve. We just have to ride it out.”
“Fuck. You said it would be okay. You didn’t tell me she’d be violently ill.”
“She must be having a reaction to the sedative. It happens.”
“Now you fucking tell me that?”
“You didn’t ask. There is always a percentage of risk involved. Surely you were aware of that?” A pause, and another dip. This time it felt as if the plane was free falling for a few seconds. Good. I’m going to die anyway. Better in a plane crash than from this excruciating pain.
“Senator, take a seat and buckle up. I’ll take a look at Miss Ryder.”
A long pause, and then the shuffling of feet.
“Okay. Take care of her.” Typical. The fucker only cared about himself. I wasn’t in the least bit surprised.
“Jesus, the stench. Fuck.”
I don’t care. Leave me the fuck alone. I just want to sleep.
The man gripped my arm and yanked roughly. “Eva, don’t go back to sleep. You’ve got to wake up.”
“Fuck off,” I mumbled.
“Listen, I really don’t care if you die. You’ll just be one more on a long list. So don’t make this hard for me.”
“Let me die.”
“Turn over so I can take your clothes off.”
“Fuck you.”
“Christ, you really are a piece of work.”
Strong hands gripped my hair and yanked hard. I was too weak and in too much pain to put up much resistance. He flipped me onto my back and grabbed hold of my shirt. With one hard yank he ripped it open, and with another tug it was off my body.
As a last defense, I reached out with every last bit of energy left in me. My nails dug into his skin and scratched across his cheek.
“I said . . . fuck off.” In my head I was screaming, but the words were hardly above a whisper.
“Little bitch.” The slap that hit me across the face caused white spots to flicker behind my eyelids. With a thump, my head fell backwards and hit the wall behind the bed.
I prayed for mercy.
I prayed to die.
Everything went black.
Mercy. At last.
Chapter 28 — Eva
When I awoke, a rush of cool air over my skin was accompanied by a whirring sound of a fan. I tried to move my arms, but they were heavy and impossible to shift.
I never imagined heaven to be like this.
Quiet. Dark. Motionless.
What would I see if I opened my eyes?
Afraid, I lay still, hardly breathing as I tried to piece everything together. My brain was still fuzzy—as if I was still drugged.
My life passed before me. A little girl in pigtails who adored her daddy. Fun years at college. My engagement to Nolan. My mother’s illness. Her death and funeral. Discovering that my father had had a mistress and I had a stepbrother. Meeting Ryder and Jade. Falling for Harrison. Finding out I was becoming an aunt.
Wait. Falling for Harrison?
What the hell was I thinking? Those drugs they gave me were making me delusional.
And where the fuck was Harrison?
He’d freaked out and left me without saying a word. Not even the obligatory “it’s not you it’s me,” or any other explanation.
One day he was in my life and then he’d disappeared.
I sighed. The ache in my heart hurt so much more than the physical aching of my body.
Nolan. Abduction. The man. The slap. They were nothing in comparison.
I tried to move my arms again, but I still couldn’t budge. Something cut into my wrists and held me down.
It took me a long time to convince myself that I should at least try to see where I was. I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves and slowly opened my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the dark as I stared at the ceiling without moving.
At least I knew where the whirring sound came from. A large bamboo fan was positioned above the bed and I watched, semi hypnotized, as it went around and around and around.
Moving my head slowly, I looked down at my arms. No wonder I couldn’t move. I was strapped to the bed. Panic rose up in my chest, threatening to make me scream. I pushed down the urge as a scream bubbled in my throat.
That would be a bad idea. A very bad idea.
My breath quickened as my heart raced, hammering against my ribs. I wasn’t dead. I was trapped in a fucking nightmare. Held against my will. As for mercy? There was no such fucking thing.
Not for my mother and neither for me.
How long had I been there? Did anyone even know I was gone? A thousand questions ran through my mind.
I gritted my teeth and steeled myself. This wasn’t the time to cry or play victim. If nobody—Daddy, Ryder, Harrison—came to rescue me, I had to figure out a way to free myself. The more the haze lifted from my brain, the more determined I was to get my life back. No man was going to control me or keep me against my will. Not in this fucking lifetime. Not ever.
“Eva, you’re awake.”
Shattering the stillness, Nolan’s voice scared the shit out of me. Where the hell was he?
And even more to the point—where in fuck’s name was I?
The only thing I knew was that we weren’t on the plane any longer.
So where then? How long was the flight?
From the far side of the room, I heard a chair scrape and footsteps fall on a hard floor.
I closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep, or comatose, or whatever the hell I’d been.
“You can’t fool me. I know you’re awake. Your breathing has changed.”
A hand cupped my face. I tried to ignore it, pretend it wasn’t there, but everything inside me screamed. It felt like it was burning through my skin and into my flesh. As hard as I tried to control my breathing, I failed.
“Just don’t scream. Jones is outside the door. I’m sure you don’t want him in here.” He chuckled softly, as if it was really amusing him.
Jones. The bastard had a name. I was going to kick his fucking balls to a pulp for hitting me.
Oh God, did he undress me? See me naked? What else happened while I was out cold? I’d heard horror stories of strange things happening to women when they were unconscious. And I was tied up. Fuck.
I moved my fingers against my leg until I pinched some kind of smooth fabric against my skin. Who dressed me?
I’d kill every one of these assholes if their dicks came anywhere near me, so help me God.
“Open your eyes, darling. Let me look at you.”
How many fucking times have I told you I’m not your darling? Not anymore. Not ever again.
Fingers squeezed my cheeks. And then lips were on mine. Nolan’s lips. Kissing me.
If only I could slap him. Push him off me.
My eyes flew open and I snorted hard. It didn’t stop him. He held my head tighter, making it impossible to move. His tongue slid between my lips. I pressed them together, blocking him.
“Why are you fighting this? We could be outside on the beach. Or swimming in the pool. Or making love wherever we fancy.” His voice went soft. It was cold as ice when he spoke again. “Instead, I have to tie you up. Don’t make me hurt you, my darling.”
“Nolan, untie me.”
“All in good time. First I have to be sure you’re calm. Jones has an angry scratch on his face; I’m not taking any chances.”
Nolan turned on a bedside lamp. I blinked a few times as I adjusted to the light. It wasn’t overly bright, but I felt a headache returning. His back was still turned to me, so I took a moment to survey my surroundings. The room was enormous, decorated in light wood and tropical floral prints. My gaze rested on a pair of praying statues. I’d seen something similar in an Asian travel brochure.
“Where are we? How long have we been here? And most importantly . . . wh
at the hell do you think you’re achieving? Have you gone stark raving fucking crazy?”
Nolan turned to me with a smirk on his face. “So many questions, Eva. And I’m not used to you using foul language like that. You’ve always been such a lady.”
“Fuck that. I need answers. You owe me an explanation.” I sucked in air between my teeth, struggling to control myself and not start ranting like a banshee. I failed miserably. I couldn’t keep the anger from my tone. “You can’t just abduct me and think you’ll get away with it. People will come looking for me.”
The look he gave me was the same one most people reserved for someone asking dumb questions or making ridiculous statements. “I don’t think so sweetheart. I’m not stupid. I took care of those details before we left.”
My blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”
He laughed, genuinely pleased with himself. “For starters, Bill gave me his blessing. I told him I was whisking you away on a surprise romantic holiday since we were rekindling our relationship. Seems the old man was always partial to me. I think he imagines his daughter marrying a senator will be good for business.”
Oh, Daddy. Didn’t you listen to a word I said?
“Ryder—”
“Your darling brother and his woman are in New York. Apparently, they’re signing contracts for the new restaurant with Maxwell. Your stepbrothers send their love.”
I felt all the blood drain from my face. Nolan had orchestrated this whole damn thing. What else was he capable of? How had I never seen this side of him before? I’d been so blinded by what I believed was love that I’d never imagined he could be so controlling and calculated.
“Why, Nolan? I don’t understand.”
“Because you are mine. Nobody says no to Senator Nolan Parker.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would you want a woman who isn’t in love with you?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
“No. You’re not. If you really loved me you wouldn’t have screwed around. Or tied me to a fucking bed.”
“I was stupid. Tempted, because it was just so damn easy. And you were always working or tired. I have needs, babe. If you don’t keep my balls empty, I need to find another way.”