Closer (A Dark Romance, Book 1): The Closer Trilogy

by M. C. Vann

  How insulting! I leered at him with a tenacious glare. He only saw me as a debtor.

  Abruptly, Nana knocked on the door and saved me from any further harassment. “Henry, are you in there?”

  “What is it, Nana?” he replied back with his normal voice.

  “Did you happen to see Ally? I was going to show her how to make your favorite coffee rolls this morning. I can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Yes, Nana, she’s with me,” he replied, his gaze still locked on mine. “We’re a little busy in here, but she will be down in a bit.”

  Oh, God! Nana probably thought I came in here seeking something from Henry.

  “Oh, you two.” She giggled playfully before her footsteps receded down the hallway.

  Henry removed his hands from the desk and raised them to let me know I was free to go — at least that was what I thought. As soon as I stepped away, his arms snaked around my waist again, pulling me back toward him.

  “Let me go!” I yelled, squirming around in his relentless grip.

  His hands tightened. “Why should I let you go? Didn’t you miss me during these two weeks?”

  “Get. Off. I thought you were repulsed by me.”

  “I was — I mean, I still am. But I know how much you hate it when I touch you.”

  “You’re sick.”

  Henry smugly smirked. “So, I’ve been told.”

  With all of my energy, I shook him off and turned around to find him still wearing that egotistical smirk on his face. I spun around on my heels and hurriedly stormed out of the room, glad Henry didn’t follow me out.

  In the kitchen, Nana demonstrated how to make her sweet coffee rolls. Her callous hands were skilled and calculated as she mixed, stirred and rolled. She was definitely one of the best cooks I knew.

  “Nana, do you make this desert for Henry a lot?” I asked, trying to act interested in Henry’s life. I meant … I was. I just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

  “All the time when he was a little boy,” she replied, putting the rolls into the oven. “He would beg me to make them every day when he came home from school. And even though I was tired, I could never deny that boy though. He always knows how to persuade me.” He still had that in him, I thought. “And now, I’m teaching you so that one day when I’m no longer here, you can make it for little Henry or little Ally.”

  For the second time, Nana spoke about a future that didn’t exist. But I went along, smiling and nodding because I couldn’t bear to see her sad.

  As I placed the last sheet of rolls into the oven, Henry came down into the kitchen.

  “When are those coffee rolls going to be ready?” he asked as I caught his gaze on me.

  “Very soon, dear,” Nana answered. “What are you and Ally doing for New Year’s tonight?”

  “We don’t have any plans,” Henry said. He sat down on the bar stool and studied the fruit platter on the counter curiously before deciding on a green apple.

  “Don’t have any plans? But it’s your first New Year’s together as husband and wife. I know! Henry, why don’t you take Ally downtown for the countdown tonight?”

  I walked over to Nana and took her hands into mine. “Nana, it’s okay. I’d rather stay here and celebrate with you.”

  “No, Henry has been away long enough and he needs to spend some quality time with you. You’re both still young and need to make every memory worthwhile while you still can,” she insisted. She ushered us out of her kitchen. “You only have a few hours before the countdown. Go before it gets too busy.”

  The only reason I didn’t resist was because it was Nana who asked. If anyone else suggested the idea, I’d have laughed in their face. Going anywhere with Henry under my own will was self-torturing.

  After I had gone back up to my room to change, a knock appeared at my door. I opened the door, relieved to find only Nana standing there.

  “Are you almost ready, dear? Henry’s waiting downstairs,” she told me. I nodded. I purposely took my sweet time changing with the intention of decreasing every potential second I’d have to spend with Henry tonight.

  “Dear, you cannot go out looking like that,” Nana said. She shook her head disapprovingly while she observed my casual outfit — skinny jeans and a nice blouse. On her own, she went into my closet and returned in a couple minutes with a knee-high black dress. “Here, wear this one. It’s much suitable for the occasion.”

  “Nana, but—”

  “No buts, dear.”

  I accepted the dress from her with a defeated smile and trudged into the closet a second time to change. After straightening my long hair and twisting the sides in, I walked out to Nana waiting on my bed. Once she noticed me, her bright smile widened as she stood up.

  She nodded proudly as she walked up to me. “There, that’s better now. Come on now, let’s go show Henry how beautiful his wife is.”

  At the bottom of the stairs stood Henry dressed in tailored, black trousers and a light gray button-up shirt. His eyes never left me as I came down the stairs and I tried my best to appear unwavering. To my surprise, Henry held out his hand to me as I approached the last step. Pressing my lips together to suppress the urge to swat it away, I rested my hand on his only because Nana was present.

  “You kids have fun,” Nana called out from the front door as we climbed into the car.

  As soon as Larry pulled out of the driveway, I quickly retracted my hand from his. He chuckled quietly to himself.

  “I have plans tonight,” Henry spoke apathetically. Plans? What kind of plans? I knew better than to ask him. He wouldn’t give me a direct answer anyway. “I’ll leave you with Larry. He can take you wherever you want to go. Just don’t go back until after midnight or else my grandmother will suspect something.”

  “Do you have any other inquiries?” I asked in a sarcastically, kind voice.

  “Just keep this in mind,” he said, leaning in close to me. “You are mine, understood?”

  Larry stopped the car at some building downtown. From the corner of my eye, I watched as Henry climbed out of the car and disappeared into the revolving glass doors with a bittersweet feeling.

  I couldn’t go home without Henry. Nana would definitely get suspicious of us like what Henry mentioned.

  Since the evening didn’t pan out exactly as planned by Nana, I decided to call Lily and Adam who were at a club called Somo. They arrived back in town last night.

  Once we arrived at the club, I told Larry he didn’t need to wait for me because I’d have my friends drop me off later. Larry opposed the idea at first since he was under strict instructions from Henry, but after much persistence, he eventually gave in.

  Two can play at this game.

  It was going to be the first time seeing my friends since the wedding and I was a little apprehensive about it. As I approached the club entrance, I grew afraid they would see through the real me. That they would see right through my act. Hiding the fact that I had been abused — physically, verbally, and emotionally. Not just be Henry, but others as well.

  You can do this, Ally! You need to keep this a secret. If you don’t, who knew what Henry was capable of doing to you and your loved ones.

  I entered the club which was already filled with crazy drunks and party goers. I searched around the crowd and saw my friends sitting down in a cramped corner of the bar counter with a seat open for me. As soon as they noticed me, somehow all of my worries seemed to have subsided. It was good to see them. So good.

  “There she is!” Lily shouted over the music as I approached them.

  Lily ran over first and pulled me into a hug, her long arms wrapping tightly around me.

  “I missed you guys so much,” I told them.

  “We missed you too, mi amor. Well, me more than Adam,” Lily replied with a laugh.

  I saw Adam throw Lily a sarcastic scowl. Then he stood from his chair and opened his arms for a hug. When he pulled away, he held onto me at arm�
�s length and examined me up and down. My insides suddenly froze, thinking he read my thoughts from earlier.

  “Ally, you slimmed down. Have you been eating?” he questioned.

  I laughed it off. “Adam, stop it. Of course, I have. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Where’s Henry?” he asked me suddenly as I hopped onto the bar stool.

  “He had some important plans tonight.”

  “What kind of plans?” Lily questioned.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s classified. You know Henry. Businessman. He’s just very busy.”

  My friends stared at me with skeptical eyes.

  “Anyways, tell me what you two have been up to?” I said, hoping to change the subject.

  “Not much. Since you moved out, it’s been pretty quiet around the apartment,” Lily answered. “It’s just not the same without you there. I wish you were still living with us.”

  “Me too,” I responded, truly meaning it. If I could go back in time, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Even if that meant losing Henry.

  “We really missed you,” Adam said. “Promise us, Ally.”

  “Promise what?” I teased, unsure what he meant.

  “Promise us that you’ll let us know if something is wrong,” Adam said.

  “Yes, Ally. Adam’s right,” Lily added. “Since Eve moved away and Chris is still you know — there, we want you to know that we’re both here for you if you ever need anything.”

  I wish I could tell them what had been eating me from the inside — but I couldn’t. I’d be ashamed and afraid of hurting Eve’s family. They had already been through enough and I didn’t want to make things worse.

  “I promise,” I lied, giving them an encouraging smile. The air was heavy, so I tried to lighten the mood. For goodness’ sake, Ally! It’s New Year’s Eve. “Let’s get this party started, yeah?”

  “Sprite?” Adam asked. He held up a hand to signal for the bartender.

  “No,” I replied flatly. Shocked by my answer, both of their gazes darted toward me. “Buy me a shot.”

  “I’ll buy you a shot,” a stranger spoke from behind me. Except he wasn’t a stranger.

  As I spun around in my seat, the dirty blonde-haired gentleman greeted me with a cordial smile on his lips. He was here, too?

  “Nick.”

  “Happy New Year’s Eve, Ally.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Happy New Year’s to you, Nick,” I said, returning a smile. “What are you doing here?”

  “Celebrating the New Year, what else?”

  “Right,” I replied quietly, shrinking in my seat. That enough should have been obvious. When my gaze flicked up to his face, amusement was etched on his features.

  “I saw you, so I wanted to come over and say hi,” he said.

  “I’m glad you did.”

  Lily nudged me in the rib. Her eyes were captivated by the mere presence of the tall, lean blue-eyed creature. Adam, who sat next to her, also couldn’t keep his eyes off of him either.

  I cleared my throat as I began to introduce them to Nick. “Nick, meet Lily and Adam, my friends,” I said. I glanced over at my two entranced friends who had completely forgotten about me or anyone else in the universe.

  Nick grinned at them, raising his hand to shake Adam’s. “Nice to meet you both.”

  His hand glided over to shake Lily’s, but he moved so swiftly past her, it was hard to tell if it was intentional or not. Lily’s expression fell slightly, but she remained composed.

  “So, what would you like?” Nick asked me, referring to the shot.

  I smiled nervously as my plight of courage to take alcohol had disappeared. “I was just kidding, Nick. I don’t like the taste of alcohol.”

  “Don’t ever believe her when she says she wants a drink, Nick. Ally’s not a drinker,” Adam explained. “She won’t even have a sip of sparkling wine.”

  “I guess if Ally’s not going to drink tonight, I’ll buy a round for her friends then. If it’s okay, I can join you?” Nick asked, peering at Lily as if he needed her permission. His eyes quickly darted to me.

  I nodded with a grin. “The more, the merrier.”

  “Great,” Nick said. He scooted himself in between Lily and me to call the bartender. He ordered a round of Jäger Bombs for them and I watched in slight horror as they all easily slammed the shots.

  After everyone settled down and got to know each other a little more, Nick insisted on buying me a non-alcoholic drink. Even though I resisted, I knew I wouldn’t win. Nick was very persistent.

  “So, where’s your husband?” Nick questioned and I stilled.

  “It’s classified,” Lily answered with my earlier words, and I smiled with relief.

  “Classified? Sounds mysterious,” Nick replied.

  I shifted in my seat nervously. “It’s really not.”

  “You know, the last time I saw you, he wasn’t with you either,” he noted, playfully squinting his eyes at me. “It makes me … uneasy.”

  “You’re weird,” I said, trying to brush him off.

  Nick grinned confidently. “I’ll take weird. Anyways, how’s the job hunting going?”

  “Honestly, not very good.”

  “My offer is still good if you want it.”

  I thought about for a while before giving him an immediate response. Maybe it would be good to accept Nick’s offer, but I didn’t need it that badly. Besides, the offer could go to someone who wanted it more. “Thank you, but—”

  “You don’t want someone else’s help,” he finished my sentence for me.

  “Yeah, I’m very grateful though.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  I gazed at him, astounded by the common question. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what do you want to do in life?” he clarified the question.

  “No one’s ever asked me that before in a long time.”

  “Then I’ll be the first. So?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you like to do then?” Nick changed the question.

  “Well, there is one thing,” I said, thinking back to my hobby. It was one of the few things that could keep me calm. “I love taking photos.”

  “Maybe you can do something with photography.”

  “I wish.”

  “I’m sure you can do it,” he assured me with a bright smile in which I reciprocated. Nick was a really simple-minded guy.

  I couldn’t just do what I wanted. It never worked out for anybody except for them, the rich kids.

  As midnight neared, the crowd grew crazier and the music blasted, if possible even louder. Eventually, Nick invited his friends over to join us and soon everyone was heading to the dance floor. Lily asked me to join her since the majority of Nick’s friends were guys, but I declined. I tried not to stare too much at Nick while he danced with some random girls, but I couldn’t help myself. He was outgoing and confident in his flirting, I sort of envy that part of him.

  My gaze flew over to Lily who was dancing with one of Nick’s friends, but I somehow grew aware that she kept looking in a certain direction. When I followed her gaze, it wasn’t hard to tell who she was staring at — Nick. Did she have a thing for him? I mean, I’d understand if she did. Nick was a fit man. His smooth dirty blonde hair. His dreamy blue eyes. And the way he walked. He just had this aura about him that spoke volumes, and he definitely didn’t lack anything.

  But I sensed trouble because when Lily falls in love, she falls hard just like me.

  When the New Year arrived, the atmosphere in Somo was through the roof. Bright streamers and confetti dropped from the sky as people kissed, hugged each other, and toasted their drinks to the New Year. I gave both Lily and Adam a kiss on the cheek and a hug, thankful to have them here with me.

  Even though Henry instructed me to leave by midnight, I didn’t want to leave my friends yet and return to that house.


  What was he doing? Who did he have plans with?

  The image of him with another woman drifted in my mind and I hated to admit, but the thought bothered me.

  Nick ordered another round of shots for everyone and this time, they wanted me to join in. By this time, they were all drunk and irrationally persistent, so I was cornered.

  “Come on, Ally, just take it. It’s New Years!” Lily chirped with flushed cheeks.

  “Yeah, you can do it, Ally,” Adam chimed in.

  “Come on!” Nick shouted. “Ally! Ally! Ally!”

  Soon enough, everyone began chanting my name. I grunted in my head, dreading my inevitable decision. Since everyone was having such a good time, I didn’t want to be the party pooper.

  “Okay.” I finally accepted and everyone in our group cheered. “Only one though.”

  An intoxicated Nick poured me a shot. His ability to hold the bottle was steadily nonexistent, causing some of the brown liquid to spill onto the counter. Everyone raised their glasses up in the air as Nick began a speech.

  “To a new year filled with nothing but great things to come,” he toasted. His narrowed eyes scanned the group until they stopped at me. “And to your happinessssss.”

  I giggled at the way he slurred his S’s.

  As everyone threw their heads back to take the shot, the scene caused my heart to race. Why was I suddenly nervous about drinking? I’d never done it before, so I guessed this was normal. With a deep breath, I lifted the shot glass to my lips, but my arm stopped halfway as someone snatched it from my fingers. I turned around to see who it was and my eyes widened in shock as I registered the person through the dim lighting.

  What was he doing here? Did he know I was here?

  I stared blankly as he swallowed the shot like it was water. When he finished, there was no reaction on his face while he handed the empty glass out to me.

  “There you are, Henry,” Nick spoke, taking the glass from him. I glanced over at Nick, slowly realizing that he was now actually sober. “I was wondering where you were tonight.”