“There was a message on the mirror in the bathroom, and when I went to get the beers, I felt someone watching me again. When I looked out the door, I saw wet footprints by the door. I swear there was a message. Someone is here, Sebastian.”
Sebastian takes ahold of my shoulders and slightly shakes me. “You’re sure?”
“Yes!” I cry.
“What did the message say?”
I stare from Sebastian to the ceiling and recall the words I’ve heard thousands of times over the last few years. “I own you, pet,” I say, numb to the core.
“Fuck! Fuck, okay. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you here. He is too stupid for that. He just wants to scare you.”
“It’s working,” I admit. Every day from here on out until Kendrick is caught will be like this. I’ll constantly be looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to make his next move, wondering if he is going to grab me.
This is my taste of freedom. If Kendrick ever gets his hands on me again, he’ll make sure I live and die in darkness.
“Owen!” Sebastian roars from the bedroom door. “Bring you medical kit! Grayson, call the cop! Tell him to get here as soon as possible.”
Grayson is the only one in the group who is from Trinidad. It is why the cop is so nearby.
Sebastian dashes into the bathroom to check for the message. “It’s not here! Fuck, it isn’t here.”
I fall to the floor and roll to my side as fear grips me. The scars on my back start to burn from the whipping.
You’ll learn, my sweet.
You’ll see what you’re worth, my sweet.
You’re going to bring me such fortune and power, my sweet.
Next time do not disobey me! You will behave! You must be ready. I didn’t spend all this time grooming you for nothing!
Every statement ended with the snap of the whip. I could almost feel it. The pain. The first sting of broken skin, the blood dripping down my back. I could feel every memory.
I own you, pet. Don’t you forget it.
You’re going to service us soon.
All this waiting, it’s going to be a beautiful night, my sweet. You’ll see. You’ll ascend.
I don’t care if you meant well! Fucking learn, you stupid bitch!
“Baby? Hey, come back to me.” Sebastian’s palm against my cheek has me flinching, and it reminds me that I am here, safe with him, and not locked in a room with Kendrick. “Where did you go?”
“Nowhere good,” I admit. When a piece of glass is pulled out of my foot, I kick, slamming the heel of my ankle against Owen’s chin. “I’m so sorry!” I still feel the need to protect myself after going down memory lane.
He grunts and wiggles his jaw back and forth. “It’s fine. Jesus, I think you made me see stars for me a minute.” The tweezers in his hand get closer to my bleeding feet, and he stared at me through his lashes. “This is going to hurt. You’ve really fucked up your feet.”
The shower suddenly turns on and the steam rolls out of the doorway after a few minutes. “Hey, you’re going to want to come sees this, Sebastian,” Heaven says.
Everyone disappears to see what Heaven is talking about which leaves me with Owen.
“You’re going to be okay,” Owen says as a piece of glass falls into the tin. “Sebastian won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Sometimes you can’t always protect the people you love.”
“That’s a load of shit,” Owen says. He concentrates on my feet, making sure to pluck out every piece of glass there is. “You can always protect the people you love, or you can die trying.”
“I don’t want him to die because of me.”
Owen gently places my foot against the floor, giving me a break, before checking the other foot. “You don’t get it, do you? He was dying every day without you. He finally got his reason to live again. If anyone should be afraid, it’s Kendrick. Sebastian will go to the depths of Hell and the top of Heaven if it means saving you.”
“You believe in that?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Gotta have faith in something, though.”
“Think it’s worth it? Faith?”
Owen pulls another long piece of glass out of my foot and plops it in the tin. “You’re asking the wrong guy.”
“But you just said to have faith in something.”
“I didn’t say I did, though,” he corrects me and goes back to fixing up my feet since I am a complete train wreck.
If I think about it, I know exactly where my faith lies.
Sebastian is my faith. If there is one thing I believe in, it is him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SEBASTIAN
I own you, pet.
Those four words have haunted me since I saw them three days ago in the bathroom after Heaven turned the shower on. I was ashamed of myself. I thought it was all in her head for a minute when I didn’t see the message on the mirror. How fucked up is that? I thought her trauma had finally caught up with the best of her.
And I feel so goddamn guilty for that split second of not believing her.
She isn’t safe anywhere. Officer Howard said the restraining order did go through, so we have that on our sides.
That damn arrest warrant I have is still there. I figure it is only matter of time before I get arrested. I already contacted our lawyer, Ezekiel Hoffman, and let him know what is going on. He is on his way to Trinidad. He isn’t the kind of lawyer who walks the straight and narrow. Jaxon found him making a gambling deal outside of the racetrack in San Diego.
Zeke won three million on that race.
None of it was legal money.
He is the kind of lawyer guys like us need. He doesn’t judge. He doesn’t care. He just wants to get fucking paid.
The end dollar is all that matters. Isn’t that how it is for everyone?
“How are your feet?” I ask Gabriella as she slides into her flip flop.
“I’m fine, Sebastian. Stop fussing over me. I’m okay. Owen said they didn’t even need stitches. They were all pretty shallow. I was more hysterical knowing—”
“He was here. I know. I just don’t know how he got by the security.” There is no way he is as good at hacking as I am. Kendrick is smart, but I am smarter. I checked all the security cameras, but they didn’t catch anything. I couldn’t even find a section of the tape that had been paused or erased somehow, but I will. He did something, and I plan on figuring out what.
He is too fucking close. He was in my fucking house. My room. He watched my girl.
Mine.
Not his.
He thinks he owns her?
Fuck him. She isn’t the type of woman to be owned. She is like everyone else when it comes to being abused so long—she got worn down, the fight got tiring, and eventually she felt like she had no choice but to give up.
But now?
Gabriella is the kind of woman that fucking owns. She is the player in the wicked game. She has no idea the power she consumes, the ability she has to send me to my goddamn knees; if anyone has the control here, it is her.
Kendrick is underestimating her, and I can’t wait until Gabriella gets her revenge. It is going to be sweet.
Not bitter.
I won’t miss the fucking asshole.
“I don’t know, baby. Maybe we should stay here. I’m not … I’m not comfortable going out. You could get hurt.”
She slaps her knees with her hands and stands. “You are not going to take this away from me. You said you’d take me kayaking in the ocean to whale watch. I’ve never seen a whale. I’ve been locked in a damn house with a maniac for far too long.” She grips me by the shirt, and for a second I think my health is in jeopardy. “You’re going to take me on that damn kayak, and I’m going to see a damn whale! And it’s going to be fucking awesome. And you’re going to love me for it, and later you’re going to fuck me, and it’s going to be a great goddamn day! Damn it!” she screams at me before pushing me back to the couch, and she stomps to the room, slamming the door
with emphasis.
I’m not one-hundred percent, but I think I've pissed her off.
“You’re so stupid.” Heaven chuckles over his bowl of cereal. Julia is next to him, but she has headphones in her ears as she reads a Vogue magazine. On the front in pink letters it says, ‘How to be unforgettable in bed in 100 ways.’
I have a feeling she is reading that section right now.
“What did I do? I’m trying to be supportive and protect her.”
“She doesn’t want protection right now.” Heaven scoops Cinnamon Toast Crunch into his mouth and slurps the milk just before it drips from his lips. “She wants to live her life. Something she hasn’t been able to do for a long time. She understands the risks. She wants to see whales with you, dude. Fucking whales. How cool is that? If she stays in another prison, like she is right now, she’s going to resent you, no matter how much she loves you. You have to show her the world because she’s been missing it, man.” He nudges Julia with his arm to get her attention. “Right?”
“What?” She takes the earbuds out of her ears and lays them on the table.
“Just tell him he is being an idiot.”
“I cannot say that!” she sputters and fluffs out her magazine again to begin reading. “But I will say, if it has anything to do with the lovely Gabriella, Heaven is right.”
“What if she gets hurt?”
“What if she gets hurt here?” Julia tosses in my face. “Life isn’t safe; it isn’t supposed to be. It’s meant to be lived. Risks are supposed to be taken. Reward will come after.”
“You’re a smart woman, Julia.”
She lifts a shoulder and huffs. “Ah, I’ve been around the block a time or two. I know some things.”
“How many things?” Heaven lowers his voice and wiggles his eyebrows. “You married? Single? Looking for a good time?”
“Heaven!” I warn him not to say anything else. We lost Ingrid already, who wasn’t even hired as a maid but took on the role anyway. Julia was a last minute hire Jaxon decided on because he figured we needed the extra help, and we did. Men are idiots when it comes to housework and groceries. Pizza and beer. We are good. Julia has been making meals. Like real home-cooked meals. Steak and potatoes, lasagna, meatballs. Fuck me, those meatballs are good.
“What? Women her age need good loving too. I’m an equal opportunity man whore.”
“Oh my dear,” Julia blushes and sips on her iced latte.
“That isn’t a no,” Heaven says.
“It isn’t a yes! No fucking Julia! She’s family.” Kind of. “You didn’t fuck Ingrid—”
“Yes, I did,” Heaven says without embarrassment and shoves another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. “Me, Ingrid, and Louis had lots of fun. Rest in peace, the both of them.” Heaven kisses his spoon and points it toward the ceiling.
I have another headache coming on. I know way too much about Heaven’s sex life. “I’m going to take my girl kayaking and hope she still loves me. I don’t want to hear about what you do, Heaven. Please, no more.”
He lifts his shoulders, and I see his hand slide from under the table and onto Julia’s knee. Her face turns a bright shade of red, but she doesn’t say anything. She is playing hard to get. I snort internally. Yeah, wonder how long that will last. Heaven is too fucking good looking for any woman to turn him down.
I walk down the hall, thinking about what I am going to say to Gabriella. I can’t keep her here, and the last thing I want is for her to feel like she is bound and chained and imprisoned in a whole new way. My bedroom door is open and she is laying on the bed, back turned to me.
“Come on, baby,” I say from the doorway. “I’m going to show you some whales.”
She flips over so fast and gets to her feet quicker than the Road Runner. “Really?”
“Swear it. You stay close to me. That’s the rule.”
“I’ll be like a parasite!” she squeals as she runs and jumps on me. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! You won’t regret it, Sebastian. I’m so excited!” She sprinkles kisses all over my face and jumps down. “I might see a whale!” she screams and runs down the hall toward the front door, then she stops, flaying her arms and runs back to me. “Are you coming? Come on!” She grabs my arm and starts to hop. I’ve never seen her look so excited, and it makes the decision to say yes worth it. The smile that takes over her face makes me the luckiest man in the world. Her teeth are white, straight, but the only flaw is the front tooth. There is just the tiniest little chip, and I remember her saying it was when she fell off a scooter when she was eight and smashed her chin on the sidewalk.
I adore it.
I never want anything about her to change.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I say as she pulls me behind her to the garage.
“Oh.” She comes to a sudden halt, and I slam into her back.
“What’s wro—ng?” I follow her gaze to see Julia feeding Heaven the cereal. Piece by piece.
With her mouth.
They are laughing, and he is rubbing his fingers up and down her arm. Even with a broken leg, the man pulls women left and right no matter what.
“We are going to act like nothing is happening. Look down. Go to the garage.”
“I’m looking. I’m looking,” she says, casting her eyes to the floor as we make our way to the door.
When we open the door, she turns around with her mouth wide open. Right as I shut the door she speaks. “No!”
“Yes,” I say with a nod of my head.
“No!”
“Yep.”
I open the passenger side door for her, and she climbs in, then I run around to the driver’s side and get in.
“That was disturbing,” she murmurs and clicks her seatbelt into place. “I didn’t know he was interested in older women.”
“He’s interest in all the women.” I click the button to the garage door and wait for it to open before backing out. The day is beautiful, bright and sunny, a little cooler, which is perfect for whale watching. I hope she gets to see a them because it is a once in a lifetime experience.
I hold her hand on the way to the whale watch tour. It's only a few miles down the road, and I rented us kayaks for the day. I want to make sure she gets to see a damn whale. Ten hours on a kayak, she better.
“Thank you for getting me out of the house. I don’t think I could have taken another minute.” She sighs in content as we pull into the driveway of the small business.
Well, it is more like a shack on the edge of the ocean. It would look abandoned if it wasn’t for the different colored kayaks laying on the ground. They range from reds to greens to yellows and blues. The truck dips as I turn into the makeshift parking lot. It seems like a lot with no parking spaces and the grass is worn out.
We hop out, and she runs to the kayaks where the instructor is waiting for us. I made sure to get a private tour. She is so damn excited, she leaves me in the damn dust. I don’t blame her. Whales are so much cooler than me.
“First thing is first, I’m Matty. I’ll be your instructor on this beautiful day!” He claps and zips up his wetsuit. “Please put on your life vests. I see you got a tandem kayak which holds two. That’s romantic.” The guy looks at me and winks. “Our goal today is to see some whales, but sometimes they don’t come up for air, and we don’t see them at all, but don’t get discouraged. We always see something out there. Even sharks.”
Her excitement vanishes.
Poof.
Gone.
“Sharks? The kind that … swim?”
Matty tosses his head back and chuckles, holding his pink painted nails to his chest. “Girl, you’re funny. The kind that swim. Ha! You’re so cute.”
He isn’t taking her serious.
Gabriella hates sharks.
“Well, come on. Let’s go. Whales aren’t going to watch themselves.” Matty grabs a blue kayak and drags it into the water. He climbs inside and positions himself on the seat. He holds the paddle across his lap as he waits fo
r us.
We climb inside our kayak with ease, but Gabriella keeps giving me nervous glances about the sharks. I doubt we will see sharks.
“Okay, so since you two are in a tandem kayak, make sure each of you have your paddle rowing in the different direction as the other. So, Gabriella, you’re left and, Sebastian, you’re right. Stay that way, or Lord, you’re going to be going in circles.”
“Sebastian.” Gabriella tugs at my sleeve from behind me and whispers, “Sharks.”
“We are going to be fine, baby.”
“Oh, yeah. The sharks are nice here. They will leave us alone,” Matty says with flamboyance and exuberance.
“Hear that, Sebastian? The sharks are nice here.”
I chuckle from her mumbled whisper and we follow Matty. The water is smooth and the sun is warm. The slight ripples the paddles cause as they glide through the water is relaxing. I'm not sure how long we paddle for. I don’t really care. It is relaxing, and having Gabriella behind me makes this experience that much sweeter.
We are living life just how she wants.
We kayak around the edge of a cliff where the water is a bit rougher, but then we get to a cove where the water is shallow and there is a small beach that is undisturbed. There are a few deer near the tree line, and Gabriella gasps.
“Sebastian, look!” She points to the big buck surrounded by his does. “Wow. So beautiful.”
“Well, that was unexpected. I brought you guys here because it’s the perfect spot to catch a whale as they migrate. Oh, look! It’s a sea turtle!” He points a few yards out at the shell swimming closer to us.
“How beautiful is this?” Gabriella reaches her hand out and rubs her fingers along the wet shell. The fins are huge, bigger than I thought a turtle could ever be. I reach out too and our fingers collide, sending a jolt through my entire body.
“Say sea turtle!” Matty yells and snaps a picture.
“Sea turtle!” Gabriella shouts through the biggest smile I have ever seen as I turn around to look at her.
“Aw, you too are so damn cute. I can’t stop taking photos,” Matty says.
I can’t stop looking at her. She is beautiful with the sun behind her, glowing around her like a halo. Her brown hair shines, reminding me of melted chocolate. I lean in for a kiss when a burst of air and water drench us.
Cruel Seduction: A Dark Romance (Underground Kings Book 2) Page 18