“Of course you are.” Helete looked horrified. “Cameron must be worried.”
“Did you call him?”
She thinned her lips. “For all I knew, Mia, you were having an affair.”
“Of course I wasn’t. I asked you to call him.”
“Still,” she said, sounding terse, “it was lucky I was there. You interrupted my meeting.”
Sorry for interrupting you with my kidnapping, I mused darkly.
It really had been a coincidence she was there, though. I let that thought settle and rested my head back, staring out at the passing scenery. “I’m glad I’m out of that room.”
“What is going on?” she asked.
“I was checked in by a well-meaning person.”
“Against your will?”
As my gaze met Helete’s, my concern for Henry’s reputation grew. I only hoped all this didn’t cause a real problem between him and Cameron. They’d made such great progress mending their rift.
“Terrible state of affairs.” Helete shook her head, frowning.
The woman beside me seemed to be taking all this in with no reaction to the fact her friend had just rescued me and tasered a man. We’d left him laying on the floor out cold and even though I hated Barret, I hoped he was okay. They both seemed unfazed that we’d just fled a kidnapping.
I offered her my hand. “I’m Mia.”
She looked down at it but didn’t shake it. “I know.”
To hide my embarrassment, I went to take another gulp of water—holding the bottle suspended at my mouth as I recalled where I’d heard her voice—she sounded exactly like the woman who’d phoned about that cake.
My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the door. “I need to get out.”
“He might be following us.” Helete swapped a wary glance with her friend.
The hairs on my forearms prickled. “Please, can you let me out?”
Helete turned to her friend. “Everything set?”
The Russian gave a nod and refocused her gaze at the passing traffic.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I reached out for it, insistent.
“Mia, you’re safe now.” I think those words came from Helete…
Resting back, I tried to think how I was going to explain this without implicating Henry, as a wave of vertigo swept over me. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and tiredness was soaking into my bones. My gaze fell onto the bottle as it slipped from my grasp, and I tried to apologize for spilling the water, but I couldn’t form the words…
Dizziness.
Lying down on the seat with my face squished against the cold leather, I brought up my legs with a heavy breath, vaguely recalling the last time I’d seen Helete had been in England at that exclusive men’s club, Oberon Grove.
Richard had taken me there, and we’d been separated because those were the rules. Haunting memories caused a swell of panic to rise inside me as I remembered that Richard had been sedated after someone had drugged his drink.
A stark realization chilled my flesh.
It had been the woman sitting opposite me, who was staring at her phone as though I wasn’t slipping into unconscious.
“Cameron,” his name left my lips.
THE STALE SCENT OF COFFEE caught in my throat and brought a wave of nausea as I read the text on my phone.
Shay peered over my shoulder. “Henry?”
“He’s in my office.” I shoved my cell in my pocket and stormed out of the coffee room, heading for the elevator.
The ride to the top floor was a blur.
Sue was on the phone behind her desk—she met my gaze and I gestured that whatever she wanted could wait.
“Your brother’s in there—” She warned.
I stopped just shy of the door before entering and drew in a steadying breath to calm my growing rage, this rising hurt. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was him.
My own brother.
My fists tightened as I resisted the urge to storm on in and grab Henry and shake the truth out of him. Any violence on my part would prove his point and would escalate this—I needed to find out as quickly as possible where she was.
If indeed it was Henry.
“Cam,” Shay whispered, as he clutched the back of my jacket. “Do you think he’s having some kind of breakdown?”
“No.” I met Shay’s gaze. “Someone misled him about what we do at Chrysalis.”
“Who?”
I hesitated to answer because I still wasn’t sure; though I had a good idea.
To the uninitiated it could even seem barbaric. I knew this but what followed those intense sessions that I lorded over were lives changed irrevocably for the better, the pain of their pasts extinguished and the creation of a fissure in the blackness that allowed light to seep in. Keeping the process a secret had been essential to protect those exclusive clients I’d chosen for such a controversial therapy; as well as protecting myself.
“Talk to me.” Shay’s grip tightened.
I shrugged off his hand. “There’s no time.”
Henry was sitting on the leather couch, leaning back with one leg casually resting on a knee, a glass of liquor in his hand. With a quick glance over at my drinks cabinet I could see the cork was out of the brandy. He’d poured me one and set it on the table…the drink of choice to calm the nerves.
Was it for me or him?
“Can you give us some privacy, please?” Henry stared past me.
Shay had followed me in. I gave a nod to reassure him I could handle Henry. Shay hesitated and then turned and headed out.
I heard the door shut behind me as I approached Henry. “Thank you.” I picked up the glass and sat in the leather chair opposite. Casually, I stretched my legs out on the coffee table and crossed my feet at the ankles.
He arched a brow of disapproval at my casual posture.
The brandy burned my throat as I swallowed the heat. “Good choice.”
“How are you?” he asked softly.
“It’s been an interesting day.”
“In what way?”
“Each is different. You’ll see.”
“So you’re in agreement to me coming on as CEO?”
My stare fell on the book of Rorschach tests and Henry followed my gaze. Setting his drink down, he picked up the book and opened it, looking intrigued.
“Mom bought it for me.”
“Maybe she thought it would help you transition away from psychiatry?” He grinned at the banality of that statement.
I watched the way he stared down at one of the inkblots designed to measure thought disorder. It wasn’t used for therapy now. Mom wouldn’t know that.
Henry turned the book around and showed me an inkblot. “What do you see?”
“You.”
“Really?”
“Yes. What do you see?”
He glanced at it. “Nothing.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“But not for you? What do you really see, then?”
My gaze rose to meet his. “Someone who thinks he is doing the right thing but in reality is causing more harm than good…a misguided man.”
Henry smiled. “Impressive.”
“Why, Henry?”
He studied me carefully, perhaps considering how I’d worked it out so quickly. “You know why,” came his terse reply.
This man had fought the most sinister of enemies. His moral compass was flawless, but striving for perfection had been his downfall. He’d never forgiven himself for being captured, as he’d cared more about his men than himself. Their lives had been risked when they’d gone in on that rescue mission. He rarely talked about what the enemy had done to him during his imprisonment in that godforsaken desert. This was him looking out for Mia now…and as much as I hated what he’d done, I could never hate him.
I pulled my legs off the table and leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. “Talk to me.”
“Mia’s safe.”
“She’ll be scared. Do you want tha
t?”
“She’s in good hands.”
“There are only two kinds of people who’d be willing to assist you with this reckless endeavor. Professionals qualified to issue a 5150 to restrain a patient or trained mercenaries. You went with the latter.”
“They’re old friends. They respect my predicament.”
“And now more people are dragged into our private business.”
“They don’t know the specifics.”
“I’m your brother.”
He threw the book onto the table. “Mia’s young and easily influenced. You took advantage.”
“I protect her.” Though right now that reasoning was skewed.
“You locked her up in a dungeon?” He looked horrified as he tried to grasp the concept.
Such a method would appear barbaric to the uninitiated. Those few selected clients would have ended their lives otherwise because their mental pain was too great to bear. And then there was my dearest friend, who I’d almost lost to suicide; with him gone my life would have been unbearable.
Richard’s car spinning out of control, dust flying around its wheels as he braked hard, causing it to skid toward the cliff’s edge.
Fishtailing…
“Have some.” Henry pointed to my glass.
“I’ve had enough.”
“How can I get through to you?”
“Was it Zie who got to you?” I swallowed hard at the agonizing sensation of time standing still, each second an unbearable eternity. “It was Zie.” I exhaled sharply. “You know how much she hates me.”
He reached for his drink and took a gulp. “Once Mia receives a professional psychological assessment—”
“You’re violating her rights.” I leaned back. “She would have called me by now. Something doesn’t add up.”
“We need to make sure this is what she wants.”
The stab of betrayal went straight to my heart. “You mean me?”
“You sat before the Board of Psychiatry and lied—”
“No, I didn’t, Henry.”
“That’s right…you had Mia lie for you.”
“No, I would never—”
“I was there, Cam.”
It would have appeared that way. Mia had come up with a scheme to reassure the medical board she was in a relationship with me and, therefore, any intimacy would be considered normal. She’d saved me that day. My reputation. My career. My life in so many ways. All the while Richard had watched on as his girlfriend had testified that she was mine, and I wondered if he’d known then he was losing her to me. The mess I’d left behind was burning a hole in my happiness.
“Henry, you know me. I would never hurt her.”
“I thought I did. Chrysalis is worse than I ever imagined.”
“Don’t listen to Zie.”
“She didn’t hold back.”
“You believe her?”
“You were in a position of authority. You abused it.”
“McKenzie wants to ruin things between us, Henry. Surely you see this?” I gave him a frustrated look. “She wants to bring down the company and pull me down with it. Helete probably put her up to it.”
“What goes on in that place?”
“Everyone at that club wants to be there.”
“And Richard?” Henry took another sip. “What did you do to him?”
“Any further discussion would be a breach of privacy.”
“You have double standards.”
“What do you know, Henry? Tell me what you think this is?”
“Mia had a psychological block that was compromising her life.” He waved his hand. “I know her conventional therapy failed so you took it upon yourself—”
“She was in deep psychological pain. She believed she was the cause of her mom’s death.” And who the hell had leaked this detail to Zie? A Dom? A Sub? I was going to find out and have them banned from the damn planet.
“So…a reasonable excuse to fuck her, then?”
I drew in an exasperated breath. “I know you care for Mia.”
“Someone needs to watch out for her.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Once we establish she’s not influenced by—”
“What was her life before me, Henry?” My back tensed. “I’m good to her. I spoil her. You see that. I love her.”
“She had a good life in L.A. Friends who cared about her. A good job before you lured her away.”
“She worked two jobs with only one day off a week. She had dreams that would never be realized—”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know this world. I know my brother has betrayed me.”
“What happened in that dungeon? What did you do to her?”
“The environment was controlled. Yes, it was intense but she failed other forms of therapy. I explored her shadow complex, found the root cause of her pain. I discovered the truth and had her experience a personal revelation so she’d recall what happened and use this knowledge to heal. I gave her the potential to find freedom and live a full and happy life. I set her free.”
“Free?”
“She’s free, Henry.”
Or she was, until you locked her up.
He flinched. “All that from time spent in a dungeon with you.”
“What brought this on?” I glared at him. “I mean, really?”
He held my gaze. “This has nothing to do with Afghanistan.”
“I believe you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Cam. You must see it from my perspective.”
“You have one hour.”
“For what?”
“Bring her home.” I leaned forward again to give him a pleading look. “She’s my fiancée. I love her. I will protect her at any cost.”
“Even bringing down the business?”
“You’re the one who has put us in jeopardy.”
Henry pushed himself to his feet. “This will be over by tonight. Mia will be given the chance to make up her own mind without pressure. What I’m doing is a good thing.”
I rose to meet his height. “One hour.”
“We both want the same thing. The best for her.”
A knock at the door dragged my attention away and I answered gruffly, “What is it?”
Shay stepped in. “I have a car waiting for that other place.” He’d found Mia.
I turned to face Henry again. “This is about you getting what you want—”
I barely dodged a blow to my jaw as he struck out at me.
“This isn’t about that and you know it,” he yelled.
“The Manhattan?” I watched his expression change to one of confusion as he wondered how I could possibly know.
In this traffic, I could be there in twenty minutes or less.
With that one accusation I’d weakened his resolve and gotten the answer. I headed for the door and left Henry standing there, possibly regretting his decision to implement his radical plan.
The cruelest thought tore through my brain that he had a point.
Maybe Mia did deserve a better man.
Before I made it to the door, I spun around—Henry could make a call to have his men move Mia.
“You’re coming with us,” I told him.
AWAKING TO A LOW THRUM that sounded familiar, feeling an unnatural warmth that made my limbs heavy, I opened my eyes and tried to focus.
I was still wearing my Elie Tahari dress, but it was creased. Someone had removed my boots. Kicking off the sheet, I strained to remember how I’d gotten into this small, bare room. I reached out for the glass of water on the side table, and then yanked my hand back. Drinking anything else was a bad idea. There came a jolt of weightlessness—or maybe it was just my head.
I pulled myself up and sat on the edge of the bed, running through what I remembered while caressing my temples to ease the ache.
Helete had rescued me from The Manhattan, and there’d been another woman with her. Her accent had been familiar. I needed these foggy th
oughts to clear. Fighting through waves of dizziness, I reached for my boots and pulled them on.
I staggered over to the window and pulled up the blind, staring out in horror at the puffs of white clouds below.
How long had I been out?
Where the hell was I going?
I looked back at the glass of water. It reminded me of when Cameron had flown me to London on his private jet. He’d left a glass of water beside me then, and also when we’d flown from L.A. to New York, proving his consideration. It was something he did. He knew I’d wake up thirsty.
And I was so, so thirsty.
Comforted that this was his plane, I opened the door and peered out at the row of empty cream leather seats. Stepping out of the cabin, a wave of nausea hit me when I recognized the Russian. She was sitting alone.
My gaze swept toward the cockpit and I wondered if Helete was in there. When I looked back at the Russian her stare was fixed on me.
Needing to pee, I turned and shoved open the door to the small restroom. I hated going to the bathroom on planes—my fear of turbulence was even worse. I balanced as best I could, as my thoughts drifted to the fact I was meant to be at work.
I was meant to be anywhere but here.
After relieving the pain in my bladder, I faced my reflection in the mirror, seeing my eyes filled with fright, my smudged mascara and messy hair.
A fist slammed the door. “You have ten seconds to get out of there.” The Russian slipped into her native tongue.
Gripped by fear, I couldn’t move.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” SNAPPED Henry. “Where is she?”
We’d made it to The Manhattan in record time and despite Henry’s man telling us she wasn’t here, I scoured each room anyway. I was on a knife’s edge as I tried to read the truth from everyone around me. My concern for Mia was eating me alive.
After I rejoined Shay, Henry, and one of his men in the sitting room, Shay threw me a look and a gesture indicating I should remain calm. He knew I had a thin veil of restraint left and needed answers fast.
Henry’s man sat on the couch with an icepack against his forehead and a useless explanation.
“Barret, what the hell is going on?” Henry sat beside him on the couch and his voice cracked with frustration. “Where’s Mia?”
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