Traded

by Rebecca Brooke

  In a flash I was out of my seat, my fist connecting with Reynolds’ face. He went down. I grabbed his wrist, rolling him over, wrenching his arm up around his back.

  “Make no mistake, you piece of shit, I don’t need anyone to deal with my problems. I can handle them all on my own. Brock is for when I don’t want to handle them. But tonight, for you, I’ll make a special exception.”

  His free hand sat flat on the floor, where he attempted to get enough purchase to throw me off. Taking advantage, I picked my foot up and slammed the heel of my shoe into the back of his hand. Bones crunched and the fucker shouted, only to have Brock shove a handkerchief in his mouth.

  A gasp sounded behind me, but I ignored it.

  I bent down to where he was lying. “Listen very closely. You are going to get out of my sight and work on getting me my money. You be back here in a week with one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, or a broken hand will be the least of your worries. Do I make myself clear?”

  He nodded.

  “Now Brock will escort you out and explain a few more things.”

  Standing, I turned to see Elena, eyes wide, her shaking hand covering her mouth. I thought about comforting her, but the reality was this was her life for the next three months. Not that I’d bring her with me again.

  Silence descended once again when she turned back to the game. Leaning back in the chair, I continued to watch her and as the end of the game grew closer, I saw signs of nervousness. At first, her knee bounced slightly, swiftly followed by her clenching the stem of her wine glass, her knuckles turning white with the force. I leaned across, gently taking the glass away so she wouldn’t accidentally cut herself.

  When the final out was made, Elena’s eyes darted around the room like she was looking for an escape. When Brock spoke, she jumped in her chair.

  “Mr. Hawes, I’ve already had the car brought around for you.”

  “Thank you, Brock. We’re ready to go.”

  Elena reached for her bag, which obviously didn’t have enough clothes for a week, much less three months, but Brock beat her to it.

  “Let me, Mrs. Tolley.”

  She looked surprised that he knew her name.

  I interjected. “I’ve dealt with your husband for many years. This just happens to be the first time he couldn’t pay me back.”

  She sighed and it was a somber, resigned sound. “I guess that’s why he always wanted my tip money.”

  I escorted her from the room and down the hall, toward the elevators. “Tip money?”

  “Yeah, I’m a waitress in a diner downtown.” She stopped dead in her tracks. “How am I going to get to work tomorrow?”

  “You let me worry about that.”

  If anyone needed a break from working, it was Elena and for as long as she was in my care, I’d make sure she got it.

  “But how can I help Dominic pay off the debt if I don’t work?”

  I turned her to face me. “Remember one thing, Elena. While it would give me great pleasure to send Brock over to your house right now to have a little chat with Dominic, I won’t, for your sake. This is Dominic’s debt, and it is his to pay off. You are already doing your part by staying with me.”

  “Um . . . o—okay.” Defeat colored her tone and it was clear she thought that she should do more.

  Dumb fuck.

  Forget letting Brock beat his ass; I wanted him for myself. Then again, any man who treated a woman as badly as Tolley obviously treated Elena, deserved worse than that. I’d have to call Dad tomorrow and explain the whole mess, but I had no doubt he’d understand my decision. Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guided her toward the door where my car, a 2014 Bentley Flying Spur, was waiting for us at the curb.

  Brock opened the rear door, gesturing for Elena to enter the car first. I followed, taking the seat next her. Brock placed her bag into the trunk and took the front passenger seat. The car pulled away, but Elena refused to look at me the entire ride to my house. The reason became all too evident after Lewis dropped us off.

  Standing in the foyer with her bag in my hand, I offered to show her to her room and her body locked tight, her eyes like saucers.

  “How long do I have before you want me naked?”

  I spun around to face her. “Excuse me.”

  Her cheeks were flushed bright pink, her eyes to the floor. “Naked. Dominic said to have sex with you.”

  Slipping my fingers under her chin, I lifted her eyes to mine. “Elena, you are not going to pay off the debt by fucking me because Dominic told you to. Any woman in my bed is there willingly. Do you understand?”

  She nodded, but the second I moved my hand her eyes were on the floor again. There were a lot of things I’d been forced to do since taking over this side of the business for my dad—things I’d wanted no part of. I’d hoped to never be part of it, but that didn’t matter anymore. I was in too deep.

  But fucking a woman to cancel out a debt? That was a line I would never cross, no matter the circumstances.

  With a sigh, I made my way up the stairs to the guest bedroom. Swinging the door open, I flipped on the light and gestured inside.

  “This will be your room. Make yourself at home.” I set the bag on the chair next to the door. “I’ll leave you alone to get settled and I’ll see you in the morning. We have a lot we need to talk about.”

  I stepped to the side, allowing her to walk by me. Just as our bodies drew level, I heard her say quietly, “Thank you for dinner,” and then she walked into the room without another word, closing the door behind her.

  I needed a drink. And a plan.

  The first thing I needed to do was get in touch with my assistant and get everything set for tomorrow. I might have been in charge of the loans for my dad, but I still had businesses of my own to attend to. Heading back down to the den, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Joanne, who promised to have everything set up and sent to me in the morning. She didn’t press for more information. I paid her enough to not ask any questions.

  Once most of the phone calls were out of the way—I still had to call Dad, but that could wait until the morning—I kicked my shoes off and sat on the couch with another glass of scotch. A clear head while I processed the whole mess would probably be preferable, but I needed liquor to help me understand the last three hours.

  And what the fuck I was going to do about all of it.

  CHAPTER 4

  Elena

  The second the door closed behind me I fell into the chair, on top of my bag. How the hell had I ended up in this situation? Dominic is supposed to take care of me, I thought, but how can that be when his idea of doing that is to send me to live with another man, telling him he can have sex with me anytime he wants?

  Tears burned the back of my eyes and I went straight for the bed, burying my head in the soft pillow. I had no idea where Ashton, that was what Dominic called him, had gone, much less where his bedroom was. I didn’t want him to hear me cry. Especially not after I’d offered myself to him like Dominic told me to, and he’d turned me down. Without that, I didn’t have a clue how to help Dominic pay off the debt. I knew I wasn’t pretty, but Dominic usually took me anyway. He said it was the least I could do.

  Then to see Ashton break that other man’s hand, I was terrified. Yet, Ashton had made no move to do any harm to me.

  Once I let the tears go there was no stopping them. It had been years since I cried that hard. Each day, I’d learned more and more about what made Dominic happy, meaning less mistakes, fewer reasons for him to correct me. My body convulsed with the force of the sobs. My throat burned. Eventually the weight of it all was too much, and the tears pulled me into sleep.

  

  For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was woken by a bright light. My eyes burned as I cracked them open, finding sunlight streaming through my window. I sat up, trying to get my bearings. I knew where I was, but it was shocking to not have an alarm wake me.

  Rubbing at my
swollen eyes, I remembered the fit I’d thrown the night before and resolved to shake off my feelings. My husband had asked me to do something, and I was going to do it. Forcing myself from the bed, I found my bag where I’d left it the night before. The room was filled with heavy oak furniture, the kind that dominated a room. The carpet was thick and plush, my feet sinking into it the moment my feet hit the ground. Walking in farther, I notice the en-suite bathroom. The luxury continued there, with extra robes and towels hung in the room, and a variety of toiletries on the counter.

  Pulling out the things I needed, I decided that a shower would help me to start afresh. The double showerhead made for the most relaxing twenty minutes of my life and lifted my spirits somewhat; at least, until I realized I couldn’t hide in my room all day.

  Opening the door, I followed the path Ashton had taken last night, bringing me out at the main foyer. The house left me with a feeling similar to how Jack must have felt in the Giant’s house after climbing the beanstalk. Everything was so much bigger than I was used to. So much . . . more. Vaulted ceilings sat high above where anyone could touch without a ladder. Winding staircases led to the second floor. The heavy drapes that adorned the double-height windows probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. The whole environment was incredibly daunting.

  The smell of freshly ground coffee filtered in from a hall to the right. Following its comforting scent, I found the door to the kitchen and pushed it open to find Ashton sitting at a table, reading the paper. I stopped in the doorway, unsure what to say or do.

  “Good morning, Elena.” Ashton lowered the paper.

  “Good morning,” I said, my voice squeaking at the end.

  He stared at me for a moment and when I didn’t move, he said, “You can sit down and have breakfast. Unlike your husband, I don’t expect you to wait on me while you’re here.”

  “Umm . . . okay.”

  How did I explain to him that Dominic didn’t expect me to wait on him; that it was my job as his wife to take care of his needs?

  I pulled out the chair in front of me and took a seat, folding my hands in my lap. I sat there, staring at the table.

  “Elena, are you hungry?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I could eat.”

  “Elena, look at me.”

  Lifting my head, I saw that Ashton’s gaze hadn’t moved from me. His proximity allowed me, in a moment of boldness, to take him in. His blond hair and green eyes were only the beginning, all of his features melding together to create the type of man who haunted women’s dreams. Unfortunately for women like me, men like Ashton were a pipe dream. I needed to follow the rules. Dominic was the only man willing to take care of me, and he wouldn’t do that if I let him down. I needed to make myself useful.

  “What would you like for breakfast?”

  I stood from my chair and walked to the middle of the room. “I can make you something, if you point me in the right—”

  “Stop.”

  Oh God, what did I do wrong already?

  Ashton came over and led me back to my chair. “You are my guest. I’ll make you something.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. I understand Dominic expected certain things of you, and we’ll talk about that later. For now, you need to understand that I am nothing like your husband. Now tell me what you like to eat for breakfast so I can make it for you.”

  “I . . . umm . . . I usually eat pancakes at the diner.”

  “Pancakes it is then.”

  Ashton began collecting ingredients from different cupboards, pulling out everything needed to make pancakes. Unlike the “just add water” kind I usually bought from the store, he was making them from scratch. While the pan heated, he brought over a cup of coffee.

  “I wasn’t sure how you liked it. Pancakes will be done in a few minutes.”

  The coffee smelled delicious. Taking hold of the cup, I took my first sip. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before, the flavor rich and sweet. Ashton had made it just right.

  “Thank you. This is delicious.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  My knee started to shake under the table. Not many people went out of their way to be nice to me, except Gretchen. Many times, she’d tried to talk me into leaving Dominic, and while I understood that she was just trying to help, she didn’t get it. She didn’t see what Dominic did for me. He helped me. He wasn’t the easiest of people to get along with, but that was just his way. It had crossed my mind to get her to spend some time with him, show her the other side of him, but when I mentioned it he’d said, “If you have time to have friends over then you’re obviously slacking,” so I’d let it drop. In truth, Gretchen hadn’t seemed all that enthusiastic either, so it had likely been for the best.

  Ashton came back to the table with two plates stacked high with pancakes and sausage. Definitely more food than I could, or should, eat at one time.

  “Oh my God, that’s so much food.”

  “Sorry. I’m used to making big portions. Eat as much you want, leave what you don’t.”

  He dug into his pancakes while I picked up my fork slowly, my mind focused on his apology and the ease with which he delivered it. Sorry wasn’t a word I heard very often, especially from a man’s mouth. I didn’t know what to do with it.

  “Is everything okay?”

  I looked up to find him watching me. “I’m not used to people apologizing to me.”

  Ashton dropped his fork to his plate and leaned back in his chair. “I guess we need to have our talk now, before we eat.”

  I swallowed hard. “Our talk?”

  He rested his elbows on the chair and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. He sighed. “About the next three months.”

  My stomach became queasy, and I set down my thus far unused fork.

  “Elena, I’m not sure how to say this so I’m just going to put it out there. Your husband is a world class asshole.” My mouth dropped open in shock, but that didn’t stop Ashton from continuing. “I’ve seen men like him before. Ones who aren’t good enough to keep a woman like you, yet they manipulate you into believing that they are the only one who will ever want you. Let me tell you, it’s all bullshit. Every word he says to you is complete shit. No decent man would ever consider giving their wife up to save their own ass; much less, tell her to be another man’s fucktoy. That’s not okay and I will not treat you that way. I agreed to the deal in hopes of getting you out of his clutches long enough for you to see that you deserve better than a fucker who makes you feel lower than the dog shit he scraped off the bottom of his shoe.”

  That was a lot of information to take in. My eyes burned with the effort of holding back the tears, but Ashton words rang loud in my head, every word cutting deeper than the one before. Could he be right? It did hurt to know that Dominic was willing to leave me with a stranger, to not care if I slept with another man. The tears fell in earnest as my shoulders shook.

  “Please don’t cry. I don’t want to see you upset, but you deserve to see how a real man treats a woman.” He reached over and covered my hand with his. “Let me help you.”

  He handed me a tissue to wipe my eyes and I swiped at my tears, desperately trying to find my self-control. There couldn’t be any truth to his words.

  “My husband loves me.”

  He shook his head. “If your husband loved you, you wouldn’t be here right now. You’d be home having breakfast with him. Let me ask you a question—when was the last time Dominic did anything for you?”

  “He takes care of me, works to pay our rent.”

  “Prick hasn’t taken care of you a day in his life. But that’s not what I asked.” The look he gave me was unnerving, like he could see down to my soul.

  “He married me and stays with me when no one else would ever want me.” I gestured down at myself, pointing out the obvious.

  “That man has you completely brainwashed.” He sat back and pointed at my plate. “Finish your breakfast and I’ll show you what I m
ean about doing something for you.”

  My stomach rolled at the thought of putting anything in it, but I wouldn’t disobey Ashton and risk something happening to Dominic because of my behavior. Taking ahold of my fork, I picked at my pancakes until I couldn’t fit any more in my stomach. Ashton finished his own breakfast and stood from the table, holding a hand out to me.

  “Come on. I want to show you how women should be treated by their husbands.”

  “You don’t have to take me anywhere. I’m sure you have to work—wait . . . do you go to work?” My face heated. I just asked a loan shark if he had a job.

  He laughed. “Yes, I work, and, no, it’s not all collecting debts for my dad. I own three different restaurants downtown, but I took today off to get you settled. I can deal with the books tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I can hang out in my room. I won’t get in your way. I just need to make one quick phone call and then I’ll disappear. I left my phone at the apartment, if you wouldn’t mind letting me use one of yours?”

  “You can use my phone, but these are the things I’m talking about. This is your home for the next three months. You don’t need to stay in your room, or hide from me.”

  “I don’t? I thought you’d want me out of your way as much as possible?”

  “No. I want you to enjoy your time here and realize there is another way to live. Now let’s get you a phone.”

  He waved his hand, which was still outstretched, and I took it, silently following him down the hall to his study.

  “I figured you might want some privacy. I’ll be in the living room when you’re done.”

  “Thank you.”

  The second the door closed behind him, I picked up the phone and dialed Gretchen’s cell.”

  “Hello?” she answered, her voice unsure.

  “Gretchen? It’s me.”

  “Oh my God.” Her scream was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Elena, are you all right? They said you quit. No one could tell me anything. I didn’t know how to find you.”