by Nia Arthurs
“It’s just so clear in my mind.” She gestured to her temple. “All the other times blurred together, but I remember him and Anastasia as if it were yesterday.” Her heart twisted painfully. “The way he instructed her to undress. The way he told me to watch. I was so scared, I didn’t even blink.”
“That must have been hard,” he said huskily.
“No, it wasn’t hard. It was just… terrifying. And embarrassing. Even if everyone acts like sex is some easy commodity, it’s still something private.”
“Did he lock you girls up in the room and threaten you?”
“No, he didn’t threaten me. Not at first.”
“What about the other girl? Did she want to be there?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Finn brought his thumb and pointer fingers together, rubbing them bristly. “You could have been wrong.”
“He didn’t force himself on her,” she said firmly. “As far as I knew, every girl volunteered to sleep with him.”
“Why?”
She blinked, noticing the slight crack in his voice. “Kross was taking advantage of insecurities, preying on fears. But most of the time, girls threw themselves at him. He didn’t have to try hard to get someone. I think… I think that’s why he got bored with it.”
“You’re saying women wanted that scumbag?”
She nodded.
“Are you guys that easily fooled?” Finn mumbled.
“Kross was a sick man who hurt people. If they’d known that—if I’d known that…”
Finn breathed roughly and ran a trembling hand through his hair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything.”
“I hate him more than you could possibly imagine. I would never have walked into that room if I knew how sick he was. Not after everything I’d been through.”
Finn stared at the floor and asked in a resigned voice, “Can you tell me the rest?”
She huddled into her chair. Her head was throbbing and her heart was being twisted like putty. “Another time.”
“Jewel…”
“It’s too much. You shouldn’t even be hearing any of this.”
“Hey.” He stepped away from the bed and knelt in front of her. His hands on either side of the chair, Finn pleaded. “I know it’s hard, but I want to understand you. Trust me, Jewel. I won’t let anything happen to you while I’m here. I promise.”
She searched his eyes, saw the earnestness there and then nodded.
Finn eased himself back on his feet, but he didn’t sit on the bed again. He stood in front of her, his hulking shadow making it hard for her to think.
Jewel closed her eyes. Immediately, she was sixteen again and back in the room where Kross was inducting her into his dangerous game.
“After he’d had sex with Anastasia, he put his hands around her neck.” She raised her own fingers and settled them around her tightening throat. “He choked her until she fell unconscious. I was afraid, but I didn’t know what to do.” She shook her head. “I ran out of there as soon as possible.”
“Was Anastasia dead?”
“I saw her the next day at school. She was wearing makeup to hide the bruises. It was like it never happened.” Jewel shuddered. “Since Anastasia didn’t seem bothered, I didn’t make a big deal about it, but I couldn’t handle going through that a second time.”
“I can’t imagine someone like him would let you walk away.”
She opened her eyes. Her gaze collided with Finn’s. Guilt blazed through her body when she said, “He sent someone to my school with two thousand dollars. They told me it was payment for the last time. That he wanted to see me again.”
“You took the money,” Finn said knowingly.
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I had to. My little brother was counting on me. We were staying with my mother’s friend, but she had a full house of eight children and it was horrible. Juney couldn’t study and they were bullying him…”
“So what happened the second time?” Finn asked
Silence fell as the events of that night played in her mind.
Her eyes fell over the lavish bedroom. It was decorated with heavy purple curtains, a massive bed and a white rug—similar to the one that had covered the floor in the club basement.
“Thank you for coming, Jewel,” Kross said. He wore a white satin robe that hugged his broad shoulders and tapered down to his lean waist. His long, golden legs were exposed beneath the hem.
She shrugged in discomfort. “This is what you paid for so…”
“Yes, I suppose so.” He gestured to a decanter on the mahogany nightstand. “Can I interest you in a drink?”
“No.”
He nodded and moved smoothly to the nightstand. “I apologize for the last time. You must have been frightened.”
She said nothing.
“To tell you the truth, I was a little embarrassed when I saw you.” Kross swirled the amber liquid in the decanter and poured it into a short, glass cup. “Someone so delicate and beautiful deserves better than a front row seat in a basement.”
“Look,” Jewel folded her arms over her chest and forced confidence into her tone, “I’m not going to sleep with you. So if you’ve brought me here with that in mind, I’ll just give you back the money now.”
That was a huge bluff. She’d already spent half the money on rent and new school supplies for Juney.
The man threw his head back and laughed. “That’s funny.” Suddenly, his expression changed and he stared at her with cold severity. “You think you can tell me what I can and can’t do with you?”
Her mind buzzed.
She was in trouble.
Kross glided to her. His hands slid over her breasts and down to her navel. “What did I tell you the first time we met.”
Her stomach tightened.
She said nothing.
Kross grabbed her by the throat. “Tell me.”
“You are my owner.”
“That’s right, baby. I’m your owner.”
“I belong to you.” Her voice trembled.
Kross’s fingers tightened on her throat and then they released. He drained the liquor and then crashed the glass against the wall. Jewel yelped as the fragments shot into the air and scattered everywhere.
“That brother you love so much? What’s his name? The birth certificate says Lucien, but you have another title… ah Juney?”
Jewel stiffened.
Kross rubbed his chin. “Should I make him mine too? That should make things interesting…”
“No!” Jewel shrieked. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t touch him.”
Kross smiled, a primal, victorious smirk. “Then… let’s begin.”
15
Finn watched Jewel wrestle with her words. A part of him warned that he should leave her alone. She looked more distressed than he’d ever seen her. Rehashing the past was causing her a new level of damage.
He wanted to care.
But he didn’t.
He needed to hear this story. If only for his own sanity. He needed to know why anyone would willingly work with a sadistic killer.
Jewel’s words earlier had only confirmed his worst fears. Kross hadn’t kidnapped his sister. She’d gone willingly.
When the police had told him their suspicions, Finn had fought against it. Just because they hadn’t found signs of a struggle or brute force didn’t mean Courtney had followed her killer willingly.
A handsome face.
His sister would never fall for a con as simple as that.
Courtney couldn’t come back from the dead and explain what had happened and, until he got his hands on the scum, Kross wasn’t a viable option.
Jewel was all he had.
Finn had snapped her out of the haze once. He could do it again.
He was just about to kneel in front of her and coax her back to life when Jewel glanced up. Tears glistened in her eyes and streamed down her dark face. The o
range bulb overhead cast a warm sheen on her skin.
She looked like an angel.
A tortured one.
But one just the same.
“That night, he threatened that he’d hurt Juney if I didn’t cooperate. I thought he wanted me to sleep with him. But he didn’t.”
Finn sucked in a breath. “He wanted you to watch.”
“It was like he was trying to educate me, but he was only tormenting me instead. I felt disgusting and dirty when he was done with his women. Afterwards, he would come and ask me what I thought. He wanted me to tell him I enjoyed it.”
“Did you?”
She hung her head. “I had no choice.”
“I’m not asking that.” He studied her. “Did you enjoy it?” Finn had no idea why he was asking such a personal question. Jewel seemed traumatized by everything Kross had done to her.
And yet… he couldn’t get over this niggling thought.
Why hadn’t she tried to escape?
“Do you think I wanted to be hauled around at all hours of the night to watch some man have sex?” Jewel spit.
“You’re right.” He backed off, sensing that he’d hit a nerve. “I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.”
“What about tonight? Did you see him?”
“No. He called.”
Finn hardened his jaw. His pulse was thrumming. He needed to catch Kross, wring his little neck. And he needed to do it right now. “What did he say? Did Kross want to meet you again?”
“He said he missed me,” Jewel stammered. “That I belong to him. I think he’s coming for me.”
Finn felt an inexplicable emotion. This was the moment he’d been waiting for since Courtney was killed seven years ago.
He’d send that prick straight to hell.
“Where? When?”
“I don’t know.” Jewel sighed in exhaustion. “Look, I’ve given you everything I can, but it feels like my head is about to explode.”
Finn reined himself back in.
Jewel had given him enough to go on for now. Unless Kross snuck into the guesthouse tonight, he’d have to pursue all the leads she’d provided and hunt him down tomorrow.
“You should lie down. Take the bed.” Finn strode to the blanket and turned down the covers. “I’ll book another room—”
“No!” Jewel blurted.
He eyed her.
“It’s just… I feel safer. With you here. You don’t have to leave.”
Finn blinked.
Jewel glanced away. “If you don’t want to…”
“No. I’ll stay.”
He tugged the comforter off the bed and folded it in half on the floor. Jewel handed him a pillow and he dropped it at the edge of the blanket.
She wrung her hands, gaze on her shoes. “You wouldn’t… have an extra toothbrush, would you?”
Luckily, Finn had purchased a pack of toothbrushes. He handed a new one to Jewel and pointed to the bathroom. “You can wash up first.”
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“And here.” He handed over one of his T-shirts and a pair of jogging pants. “I know the pants probably won’t fit, but it should be more comfortable than sleeping in that dress.”
She nodded and slinked toward the bathroom.
He watched her until she disappeared behind the door and then texted Nolan.
FINN: Change of plans. I’m staying in Belize.
His phone remained silent.
He wasn’t expecting a response. The time difference meant that Nolan was probably asleep.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Jewel lumbered out. His T-shirt fell to mid-thigh. She’d put her hair up in a bun and held the bundle of her dress in the crook of her arm.
In quick, almost desperate steps, she leaped into the bed and dove under the covers. Finn almost chuckled, sensing that she was uncomfortable showing that much skin around him, even if she trusted him more than other men.
He pushed himself up and strode to the bathroom to get ready for sleep.
Not that he expected to do much sleeping tonight.
Finn was too keyed up. In fact, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow. If not for the fact that Jewel needed him to protect her—and that the smarter thing would be to wait for Kross to show up rather than waste energy seeking him out—he’d scour the city, searching the places someone like Kross would dock up.
It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but at least it would be better than driving himself crazy staring at the walls.
When he was finished in the bathroom, Finn moved to the bedding on the floor and crawled on top of it. The moment his back touched the ‘bed’, his body protested. Even with the quilt between him and the ground, the floor was unbearable.
Finn turned to his side.
Then the other side.
No position felt comfortable.
“Finn?” Jewel’s soft voice broke through his frustration.
“Yeah?”
“Can you tell me about your sister?”
He froze, his mind buzzing with a million thoughts.
“It’s just… I’m worried about Juney and I need to think about something else to get my mind off it.”
He cleared his throat. “What do you want to know?”
“Whatever you want to tell me.”
He settled his head in his palm and spoke softly. “Courtney was… sunshine. She was always beaming from ear-to-ear. It didn’t take much to make her happy.”
“What did she want to be when she grew up?”
“A dancer.” He cleared his throat as the memory of that day washed over him. “She’d watch music videos for hours. Once, I made a crack about her getting up and doing something about her obsession with dance. And… she did.” His throat clogged. Finn choked out, “She went to an audition.”
“Did she get in?”
“No,” he whispered.
“Tell me something else. Something happier.”
Finn’s mind drew a blank.
Jewel’s face poked over the side of the bed. He saw the hump of curls that made up her bun, the delicate eyebrows arched high and the doe-like eyes. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember anything.”
“Of course I do.”
She pursed her lips. “Really?”
“Give me a minute. I’ll think of one.”
Jewel huffed out a breath and stared intently at him, thick eyelashes fanning up and down.
Finn glanced away and searched his mind for a happy memory, a good one.
He closed his eyes. Immediately, an image of Courtney’s cold body sprung to mind. Blonde hair tangled in dirt. Blue eyes open, unseeing. Nothing covering her lower half from view.
He grunted, searching desperately for another memory.
In the void of darkness, he saw his father bowled over her casket, his pathetic wails swallowed up by the stormy sky and the rain drops that fell and turned the ground to mush.
He almost busted a vein struggling to remember the curve of Courtney’s smile, the sound of her laughter, or the sparkle in her eyes.
Eventually, Finn gave up.
His life was so consumed with revenge that it was difficult to remember a time before everything went to crap.
“Forget it.” Jewel sighed and crawled away from view. He heard the bed creaking as it adjusted to accept her weight.
His chest tightened and Finn sat up, unable to breathe. His sister had become his entire world. After her death, he swore that he would track down the man who’d hurt her and end his life.
But there was more to Courtney’s story than the shadow of her death.
Why couldn’t he remember anything else?
“You know,” Jewel said softly, “I have no idea how your sister died and I’m getting the feeling that I shouldn’t ask, but I do have a little experience with feeling responsible for your sibling.”
Silence filled the room while they both wrestled with their own demons.
“I guess what I’m trying
to say,” Jewel finally whispered, “is that it’s okay, Finn. You’re okay.”
The clamp around his heart tightened and her words bounced right off him.
No, it wasn’t okay. Courtney was six-feet-under while the man who’d strangled her to death was gallivanting around the world ruining other girls, ruining other families.
But instead of speaking up and revealing how much this subject was getting to him, Finn forced himself to lie back down and stare at the ceiling.
His obsession with justice was a sacrifice. So what if he couldn’t remember anything else about his sister? Those memories would come after he’d fulfilled his mission.
Kross would die.
And then Finn would find a way to rebuild his life.
16
Muffled screams shattered the air. Jewel trembled and forced her gaze to the bed where a naked woman lay beneath Kross’s fit body. He was choking her, slender hands tightening over her pale throat.
The woman—whose name she didn’t know and didn’t want to know—had slithered to the edge of the bed in a desperate attempt to escape.
But Kross had only laughed at her efforts and pinned her down easily.
Now, the woman’s blonde hair cascaded down the sides of the bed like a golden waterfall. Her slim forehead, once pale, was turning a bright red as she fought for air.
Blue eyes, suspended upside down, found hers.
Jewel’s breath hitched.
But she couldn’t look away. Kross would… he’d do terrible things if she didn’t look.
“Help… me,” the woman croaked. Jewel’s heart thumped crazily. How was she speaking through the torture? “Please.”
As the life drained from the woman’s blue eyes, Jewel stepped forward.
Kross’s head whipped up.
His gaze smacked hers.
Thick brown hair fell over his sweat-stained forehead. His naked chest, a testament to good genes and exercise billowed out and then caved in with every breath. He was both majestic and terrifying as he grinned while choking the woman.
“You like it?” he asked eagerly, like a sick child showing his mother a drawing that not even a dog would piss on.
“Help…” the woman mumbled with her last breath.
Jewel’s conscience screamed, warring with her survival instincts.