Controlling Darkness (The Control Series Book 4)

by Anna Edwards

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Matthew

  The flight to India reached cruising altitude, and the seatbelts sign flashed off. Matthew undid his belt and got up. He leant over to Sonia who already had her headphones on, lying back on the seat with her eyes shut, her half-drunk glass of champagne was in her hand. He touched her gently, and her eyes sprang open. She lifted the ear of one of her headphones off. “Is everything ok?"

  "I just need to go and speak to the stewardess. Do you want anything?"

  "No, I am going to stick to a movie until dinner. Or do I need to check on Miss Jones?"

  "You’re fine. Rest. We will have a full day when we arrive in India. Mr North booked out the whole of first class so they could be alone."

  "Oh. I better leave them to it then." Sonia blushed.

  Matthew nodded to Sonia and headed off to the find the stewardess who was looking after the first class. After finding her, and parting with a considerable sum of money, Matthew was safe in his knowledge that his boss could get up to whatever he wanted to and wouldn’t be disturbed. And it wouldn’t be reported in the newspapers tomorrow. He returned to his seat and Sonia pulled her headphones off.

  "Did you find the stewardess?"

  "Yes, everything is sorted. We should have a peaceful flight. What are you watching?"

  "The latest Renegade film. I saw it at the cinema when it came out."

  "Good choice. What do you think of the lead actor?"

  "Grayson Moore? He is good. Needs a bit more realism in some of his stunts. They sometimes feel too staged. A side effect of the job, I guess."

  Matthew let out a barking laugh. “I thought you might have known. I was testing you. James' sister, Sophie, is engaged to Mr Moore. They are marrying at Christmas."

  Sonia's mouth fell. Matthew couldn’t help but laugh again. “Seriously? Please, you mustn’t tell him I think his stunts aren’t that good."

  "Oh no, that’s too priceless not to tell him. He’ll tease you rotten!"

  Sonia went bright red. She looked cute when she was embarrassed. He guessed that was why he had taken to teasing her whenever he had the opportunity.

  "It is okay; I have told him the same thing before anyway. He blamed the stunt coordinator. Apparently, he needs everything to look a specific way for the film. If Grayson had his way, he would just go for it and figure out the fight with the other guy on his own."

  "Now that would make the films a lot better. Maybe you and I should take over as his stunt coordinator!"

  "What, and miss listening to Amy and James having sex in an aeroplane bathroom." Matthew laughed but right on cue came a carnal giggle from Amy and a slam against the wall from within the toilet.

  "Has he done this before?"

  "What?"

  "The mile-high club?"

  "No, that’s a first for him actually. I like to be one step ahead of him, second-guess what he’ll want."

  "You’re good. How did you learn everything?"

  "I see what you’re doing."

  "What?"

  "Turning the conversation around to me."

  "I wasn't."

  "Don't lie. Your nose crinkles when you do." Matthew pulled his foot stool down and saw Sonia watching him as the stewardess brought him another glass of wine. "So are you going to tell me?"

  "Tell you what?"

  "Did you see your father kill your mother?" Matthew kept his voice calm.

  "Matthew, please, I don't want to talk about this. Not here at least."

  "Now is a good as time as any. We have ten hours stuck on this plane together. I don't watch films, so you’re going to talk to me."

  "Has anyone ever told you that you’re really bossy?"

  "I get told most days, but I know you like it, really, just from the way you obey me." Sonia blushed again, and Matthew felt a strange stirring. "Come on, answer me."

  Sonia looked away and out of the window for a few moments, and Matthew didn't speak. When she turned back, she had tears in her eyes.

  "Yes. Yes, I did." Her words were quiet, and she faltered but continued. "It was his birthday. My dad had been down at the pub most of the day. Mum made a special meal for us so we could celebrate it together, however it was late when he got home. He asked why I was still up, and mum explained. I just stood there cowering. My dad actually smiled and told mum that was very thoughtful. He took a seat at the table, and I tentatively brought him a book over to read. He read it to me, one of the things he always did, drunk or not. His voice was slurred, and he stank of beer, but I loved the closeness with him. Mum brought the food over to the table. Pie and chips. His favourite." She turned away again. After a few minutes, she turned back again, took a sip of her champagne, before pushing it away as if it were poison. "Everything was perfect. Until my dad cut into his pie. It was chicken instead of beef. He began to shout at my mum, calling her names which, as a seven-year-old I shouldn’t have known, but were already second nature to me. Mum started to cry. I got down from my chair and went to her. I looked up at my dad and said he wasn't very nice, mummy was only trying to make his birthday special for him, and she had spent all afternoon making the pie. I will always remember the look on his face."

  "Sonia, you’re doing so well. I know this is hard, but I am here to listen."

  She nodded, "He flew at me and smacked me in the face. He was about to kick me, but my mum jumped at him and began to hit him on the back. He turned and punched her in the stomach. He was shouting at the top his voice, calling us both names, I scrambled into a corner of the kitchen. My mother, she should have just laid there and taken the beating, but she didn't. She fought back and told him she was leaving him. She would never let him hit her daughter." Tears were tumbling down Sonia's face now. Matthew sat at her feet, holding her hand. "Dad picked one of the sharp knives up off the table. When he finished, blood covered his shirt. He looked at me, turned, and ran. I haven’t seen him since. He was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. I know he’ll be eligible for parole soon, but I don't think I can ever face that." Sonia slid off her chair and into Matthew's arms. He enveloped her while she cried.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sonia

  Sonia shifted on the sun lounger so that she was more in the shade. Amy was swimming lengths of the infinity pool at the top of the hotel while James was with the hotel's manager, completing business before they flew to the Maldives tomorrow. Sonia wore a lightweight trouser suit. It wasn't designer, but it was tasteful. Amy had told her she didn't need to wear suits at all, but it was all she had ever known as a bodyguard. Maybe they could go shopping when they got back to London and find something Amy felt was more suitable.

  Sonia was planning for this job to be long term. She never did that. All her previous posts were short and sweet.

  The door opened to the roof top pool, and Sonia's hand instinctively went for her Glock. She relaxed when she saw it was Matthew. She smiled across at him, and he winked back and took a protective stance which meant he had been dismissed by Mr North and would take on responsibility for Miss Jones.

  Amy noticed him as well and pulled up to the side. She placed her arms on the edge of the infinity pool and started to tread water.

  "Do you think I can get James to build one of these on the roof of the house in Knightsbridge?"

  Sonia took off her sensible shoes and jacket; rolled up the end of her trousers and dipped her toes in the water.

  "Would he be getting some of the lovely weather back to England as well?"

  "Unfortunately, he keeps telling me he isn't God, even though he acts like it, and he can't control that sort of thing. Yet."

  "I don't know what you see in him, Amy. He can't control the weather. He is useless."

  "He is just so incredible in bed. I guess I will have to settle with that for now."

  "I am not sure I need to know that about my employer!"

  "Oh come on. I think you’ve heard us the last few nights!"

  "Ear plugs. It is the first thing you get
given at Bodyguard school!"

  "Bodyguard school? You mean there is such a place?" Amy looked at her with mocking shock.

  "No, but James employs Matthew for a reason. I was thoroughly put through my paces to get this job. I think his requirements are stricter than those for the Queen herself!"

  Amy looked over to where Matthew stood, and he did a little theatrical bow. She then quietened her voice as she spoke to Sonia.

  "So, Matthew?"

  "Yes, Miss Jones? Mr Carter, he is your and James’ bodyguard and my boss."

  "I have noticed the way he looks at you…"

  Sonia prayed that Matthew couldn’t hear what they were saying. He was sexy, but she wasn't going to admit that about her boss. All he was doing was looking after her and making sure she was able to do her job properly. He had already made it clear to her that he kept himself to himself. “Matthew is probably looking at me because I don't do everything the way he likes."

  'No, I think he wants you to do lots of things the way he likes them and not just as a bodyguard!"

  "Amy!"

  "Hey, I am in love, and I know the signs."

  "It is just a working relationship. He helped me overcome something that was holding me back. That is all. Besides, we wouldn’t have time to protect you and James from mishaps if we were making lovey-dovey eyes at each other all the time."

  "True. And James can really get himself into trouble. Okay. I will leave it for now!" Amy pushed off the side and swam to the steps to get out of the pool. Sonia picked up her dressing gown, ready to hand to her but before she could, the door to the pool area opened again, and James' voice bellowed out.

  "Amy. What the fuck are you wearing?"

  Sonia looked towards Matthew and could see him sigh.

  "It is called a bikini James." Amy reached out to take her dressing gown. With her back to James, Amy rolled her eyes. Sonia tried not to laugh.

  "It is a strip of fabric that shows off your body. Your body is for my eyes only!"

  "And that’s why the pool was only available to me while I was swimming. Sonia and Matthew ensured it."

  James looked towards Matthew.

  "Why didn't you tell me that she was swimming half naked?"

  "Sorry boss, I did as she asked--cleared the pool and had Sonia stand guard so nobody could see her."

  "What you should have done was buy her a swimming costume that covered her from head to foot. They have them here."

  "Yes, boss."

  "James, I am not wearing a burkini!"

  James turned back to Amy. "Get in the bedroom now!"

  "James!"

  "NOW!" His angry voice echoed against the wind protected area.

  "Fine. Matthew, Sonia. Thank you for carrying out my request even if Mr ‘I have a stick up my arse’ doesn't agree with them."

  "Amy!" James glared at his girlfriend, but Sonia couldn’t help but notice the tenting in his trousers that indicated how Amy was to be punished for flashing her flesh.

  "You’re such an annoying old man sometimes!" Amy walked through the door allowing it to bang behind her.

  "Matthew, I have finished all the work I need to do here. I am going to spend the next twenty-four hours with my girlfriend reminding her of my rules and how she is punished if she disobeys them. We will not leave the bedroom. Arrange for guards to be placed outside. You and Sonia can have time off for your own leisure.

  "I will arrange things at once, James."

  "Have fun." James looked over to Sonia and smiled. Sonia controlled her urge to roll her eyes.

  James disappeared through the door, and Matthew took a few steps closer to her.

  "Is it me or are they trying to match make?"

  "I thought you might be worried about them arguing and what James would do to Amy."

  "Arguing is foreplay for them. I am not stupid. It is nothing like what my parents used to do. Anyway. Back to my question."

  "Yes, they are matchmaking. But this doesn't have to be anything more than you want it to be. Look, I will be honest. I am not a relationship type of guy. I am married to my job, and I always will be. If you want to have fun while we have some free time together, then I am more than happy to do so. But love and all that stuff? It isn't going to happen."

  "Ok" Sonia wasn't ready for a relationship either. She still had things hidden from him. "So, this friendship, fun thing. What are you thinking about?"

  "You ever been on a motorbike?"

  "A few times, why?"

  "It is one of the fastest ways to travel in India. Do you fancy going cross-country for the day? There are a couple of things you need to experience before we leave."

  "Sounds fun. What do I need to do?"

  "Go back to your room. I will organise some leathers and get them sent up."

  They walked into the air-conditioned hallway, a welcome relief from the already hot day outside, and Matthew pressed the call button on the lift. The elevator arrived, and they stepped in. Sonia only had one floor to go, but the rooftop could only be accessed by special cards inserted into the lift control pad. Apparently, this was a security precaution and meant that room keys only allowed access to a particular floor. It was normal and put in place in hotels of this quality after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

  "It is a place called Pondicherry. It is where the French settled when they came here."

  The lift dinged for Sonia's floor, and she spoke as she got out.

  "How long does it take?"

  "Five hours the way I drive."

  "Five hours!" She spat out her answer!

  The lift doors started to shut.

  "Pack an overnight bag."

  "Wait. What!"

  The doors closed.

  Sonia drifted back to the suite she occupied with everyone else. She could already hear Amy being punished by James. Sonia opened the door to her room and sat down on her bed. She was in a bit of a daze. All she could hear was Matthew saying pack an overnight bag, his gravelly voice promising something. They were going somewhere alone together. He had said he didn't want a relationship, just fun. Did he mean sexual fun? Maybe with all the teasing he thought that’s what she wanted.

  Oh God. Could she change her mind and say she didn't feel like going now?

  Sonia laid her gun on the dressing table, undid the buttons of her shirt and let it fall to the floor. She then kicked off her shoes and lowered her trousers and folded them back into the suitcase. Her room had an ornately carved full-length mirror in it. She hated mirrors, she had a small solitary one in her flat back in England that she used to put makeup on and do her hair but other than that she avoided them wherever she could. She forced herself to open her eyes as she stood in front of this, though. She was being foolhardy. Matthew would never want her. Nobody would ever want her in that way. She was damaged. The ugly red scars that marked the top of her thighs and her buttocks were all that she could see when she looked at the full reflection of her naked body. This is why she avoided physical intimacy. Nobody wanted someone as grotesque as she was. It was the lasting legacy of her father and the way he killed her mother.

  A gentle knock came to the door, and she pulled a gown on. As she opened the door, Matthew stood there with biker's leathers.

  "That was quick." She forced the happy tone into her voice. She could tell that Matthew was not fooled, though. He instantly frowned.

  "Is this too much?"

  "Pardon?"

  "Going away for the night? You must still be tired after the plane journey. Maybe we could just go for a little ride and then have dinner in the city. The Bangalore Palace can be beautiful." That would be the safer option and definitely the most sensible the way she was feeling, but something snapped within her at that moment

  "No, this might be the only chance I get to see India so I want to see as much of it as I can. I will be ready in half an hour."

  "Okay." He put the leathers down just inside her door and then rested his hands on her shoulders. A sudden heat surged through h
er body. "I promise you, nothing will happen that we both don't agree on together. I won't hurt a woman again."

  Sonia tilted her head. "Again?"

  "Again?"

  "You said you won't hurt a woman again."

  "Sorry." He pointed toward Amy and James' room where the bed was now ramming against the wall and Amy was screaming. "I can't think straight with that going on. Half an hour, and we will get out of here and can explore. You happy with that?"

  "Yes."

  "Good." Matthew let go of her and walked off to his room.

  Again? Why had he said again?

  CHAPTER SIX

  Matthew

  Matthew felt Sonia's slight arms tighten around his waist as he pulled the brand new Triumph Street Twin to a halt. One good thing about working for Mr James North: if you wanted something, then it was given to you. In a matter of minutes. Matthew stopped at a Hindu temple.

  They both removed their helmets and placed them on the bike.

  "We won't stop here long, but I wanted to show you something."

  "We can stay as long as you want. It is a fantastic place. Nothing like the English churches. It is all so colourful."

  Matthew looked up at the unusual statue of the deity Ganesha that dominated the entrance of the temple. It was indeed very different to the bland churches in the UK. The four-armed and elephant-headed god was painted in vibrant pink with gold accents. On either side were two worshipers who had gold all over them. The temple itself was decorated in blues, purples, greens and yellow. It was a spectacular sight.

  "Come," Matthew reached out and took Sonia's hand, "I want to show you inside, but we need to take our boots off and leave them outside. It is polite." Matthew pointed towards a pile of sandals that were scattered on the floor.

  "How do they actually remember where they put their shoes?"

  "I have no idea, but they do. Chaos works in India!"