by J. A. Owenby
“This won’t take long. Just have a seat close to the office and wait for us.” Pierce squeezed my hand, then released me.
Sutton laid her hand on my arm. “Try to relax and have a drink.”
I hung back as Pierce slipped his arm around his wife’s slender waist, and they continued to walk with Anthony. Zayne and Vaughn followed them. Shit. I’d not considered they would be stuck to Pierce the entire night, which for now, left me on my own in a sea of strangers. Why hadn’t Sutton mentioned this to me? For some reason, I thought she understood the level of anxiety I had, but apparently she had not. At the same time, I realized deep in my gut that Sutton would never leave me alone if she thought there was any danger. For now, I took solace in that thought.
Leaning up against the wall, I sipped my drink while my eyes roamed the crowd. At least people watching would give me something to do while they chatted business. Plus, there was no doubt in my mind Pierce would close this deal. From what Sutton had shared with me, he could persuade the most challenging client to relax and form an agreement that benefited everyone involved. Sutton had said it was one of Pierce’s superpowers. He had an uncanny ability to see all perspectives and offer security solutions to the wealthiest clients in the world.
Fuck it. I brought the glass up to my glossed lips and tilted it back, draining every last drop. I needed another one. As long as I kept to myself, a good buzz wouldn’t hurt me. I stepped into the crowd, locating another tray of champagne. This time, I grabbed two, then made my way back to my post. In order not to appear like an alcoholic, I set one of the drinks down on the tall square table next to me. They were spaced out around the room, and all were full of glasses.
“Psst.”
My attention landed on a beautiful woman with piercing dark eyes offset by her blue-and-green dress. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, and a look of panic flickered across her face. She cocked her head and motioned for me to come over.
“Me?” I asked, pointing toward my chest.
“Please.”
With a few quick strides, I joined her. “Are you okay?” My brows knitted together in confusion. I didn’t know this woman. It was then, I realized her hands were behind her back.
“Thank you for coming over. I’m Edith, and my damned zipper broke!” A nervous giggle slipped from her thin lips.
“Oh no. How can I help?” I set my champagne down on another table, my focus returning to her again while I tucked my clutch beneath my arm.
“My husband spent thousands of dollars on this dress, and he will be furious if he finds out. I need to fix it. Is there any chance you can help me?”
“Of course.” Every fiber in my being was grateful I wasn’t in her situation. I would have been completely mortified.
“Can you walk behind me so no one can see my dilemma? I need to get upstairs.” Her eyes darted across the room nervously.
“Let’s go.” As I followed her up the stairs and down a white-carpeted hallway, my attention was trained on the back of her dress, noting the torn fabric where the zipper had once been attached. Even though I wanted to see the rest of the house, her not exposing herself was more important than my curiosity.
“Here.” She immediately took a right.
I noted the bathroom next to us before I followed her into a sparsely furnished room at the end of the hall. The moonlight streamed through the thin white curtains, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
“Sorry,” she said as she stepped back into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind her.
I whirled around, the click of the lock filling the quiet space. “What the hell?” I hurried to the only way out and attempted to turn the handle. It was locked from the outside. Sounds of party chatter and piano music floated upstairs. I balled up my fist and pounded on the door. “Help!”
“It’s no use. No one will hear you over the noise downstairs.” A deep voice reverberated around the room, sending chills down my spine.
Panic crept up my throat and my heart pumped wildly while I turned around slowly. I’d been so focused on Edith’s broken zipper that I’d not seen him in the darkness.
A tall, broad-shouldered man in his early forties rose from the brown leather wing-backed chair. A hint of whiskey and sweet cigar tickled my nose when he stepped out of the shadows.
I fumbled for the light switch and winced as the brightness blinded me momentarily, but I was determined to take note of whoever this obnoxious son of a bitch was. He had balls to pull this with hundreds of people right below us.
“That’s even better, Claire Forrester.” He leered at me with ice-blue eyes, and I inwardly cringed beneath his gaze. His salt-and-pepper hair was immaculate, and like all the other men at the party, he wore an expensive black tux. A muscle in his square jaw tensed while his attention raked greedily over my body.
I wasn’t sure who he was, but I didn’t need to be. Between the bulge in his tux pants and the murderous glint in his eye, I knew I was in deep shit. My hands grew clammy, and I clenched them into fists.
“Who are you?” I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. I refused to give him the upper hand. I’d met men like him before. Blood pumped through their veins with only one purpose—feeding the evil inside them. He was the devil, and I was the prey.
With a few steps, he closed the gap between us, his hot breath fanning across my cheek. In one smooth motion, he slammed my body against the opposite wall and wrapped his meaty hand around my throat, lifting me off the floor. My fingers grasped his wrists while my feet kicked frantically, and I struggled to pull air into my lungs.
The sound of his zipper reached my ears, and I scraped my nails across the back of his hand. If I was about to die, I was taking the fucker’s DNA with me.
“Stupid bitch. Did you really think a few scratches would stop me?” He lowered me until my shoes touched the ground, and his grip loosened enough for me to breathe. With a solid tap of his foot, he nudged my legs apart while he tugged my dress up, exposing my thighs. Grabbing his hard cock, he rubbed it against the satin material of my thong. His hold tightened around my neck once again as I raked my fingernails down his face.
His expression twisted with a spine-chilling hatred. “I hope you said goodbye to your sister tonight, because that’s the last time you’ll ever see her.”
6
Black dots floated across my vision while I clawed at this monster’s cheek. Faces of my family flashed in my mind, but I didn’t have enough oxygen in my body to feel anything other than horror.
Teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, I suddenly dropped to the wooden floor. I sucked in a deep breath, followed by a sputtering cough. The gruesome sound of bone breaking rang in my ears, and the bastard that had just attempted to kill me fell with a loud thud.
“Claire!” Strong, warm fingers wrapped around my arm. “Can you walk? We have to move.”
“Vaughn?” I asked, coughing again. “How did you find me?”
“I’ll explain later, but we have to go. As in now. Just listen to my voice. I’m going to help you up. Try to stand for me.” He smoothed my hair as he spoke. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw something in his eyes, but Vaughn was a master of his emotions, and I’d barely escaped death. Whatever it was, the feeling had passed.
I nodded and he wrapped his arm around me. “One. Two. And up.” Vaughn stood me on my unsteady feet, and I prayed they wouldn’t betray me.
He gently tilted my chin up with his finger. “Claire?”
A thick fog clouded my brain while I tried to focus on him. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Let’s take a few steps together.” He pulled me against his side, his arm remaining around my back for support. The first several were wobbly as I walked near the unconscious piece of shit on the floor.
“Look at me.” Vaughn’s deep tone soothed me, and all I wanted was to lose myself in the safety of his touch.
I glanced up at him, my heart pulsating in my ears.
“We’re
going to walk downstairs and out the front door. Keep your head down and stare at the ground. If anyone stops us, I’ll explain that you had too much to drink, and I’m taking you home.”
“Got it.” I touched my neck, desperately wishing my hair were down so I could hide any red welts on my pale skin that would most likely turn into bruises. We didn’t have time for me to sit down and remove all the hairpins from my bun. Our clock was ticking.
Vaughn guided me down the stairs and toward the front door. I leaned heavily on him and kept my attention on the ground in front of me. A whisper of the summer breeze brushed over my heated skin as we exited the house. I held on to Vaughn while my head began to clear. Someone had just tried to fucking kill me.
My heels scuffed the asphalt driveway, and I realized we were almost to safety.
“This way.” Vaughn opened the side door of the car and helped me into the passenger seat. Seconds later, he had belted me in. He rushed to the driver’s side, hopped in, and locked the doors. “In case you’re wondering, all of the company Mercedes are bulletproof. As long as we’re not run off the road, we’ll make it home safe.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” I blanched, my chin trembling. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Vaughn shifted into drive, then he pulled out of the driveway as though he didn’t have a care in the world. In my head, I was screaming at him to hurry, but a part of me realized he didn’t want to attract attention.
He pushed a button on the steering wheel, and the screen in the dashboard came to life.
“Where are you, Vaughn?” Zayne asked, not even attempting to disguise the irritation in his tone. “Dude, you did not just bang a chick in the bathroom, did you?”
Vaughn’s cheeks flushed red. “You’re on speaker, man, so shut the fuck up.”
“Then you better explain before Pierce realizes you’re gone.”
“Claire is with me. I’m taking her home now. She was attacked, and I beat the shit out of the guy. You’ll need to help with some damage control, because I have no idea who this fucking prick is. Go up the stairs and down the hall. Check the last room on your right. He was unconscious when we left.”
“Shit. I’m on my way up. Hopefully Sutton and Pierce will be in their meeting a little longer and not be left unguarded for long.”
“Thanks. I’ll take care of Claire, and you all can meet us at the house.” Vaughn cast a sideways glance toward me, his shoulders rigid.
“Yup. I’ll tell the boss.” Zayne disconnected the call, and I stared wide-eyed out the passenger window until Vaughn broke the silence.
“What the hell happened?” he asked, his attention remaining on the road.
“I … I don’t know.” My body betrayed me and began to shake violently. A small whimper escaped me, and I turned toward the door, curling into myself.
“Hey.” Vaughn’s large, steady hand found mine, his thumb stroking the back of my hand. “I’m here, and I swear with my own life that I won’t allow anything else to happen to you.”
Still in shock, I nodded, unable to speak to him yet. How had this happened? My mind focused on his strong but gentle touch, and just like I had while I’d been sandwiched in the back of an industrial container, I flipped a switch and allowed myself to check out mentally. I was convinced it had preserved what sanity I had left.
Half an hour later, Vaughn scooped me out of the car into his muscular arms and carried me into the house, then into the kitchen. He carefully placed me on the counter and planted one hand on each side of me, boxing me in. His eyes were dark and stormy, and his lips were smashed together in a thin line. He tilted my chin up, and his gaze narrowed with a wave of fierce anger as he assessed me for any wounds.
“What happened? Before you answer me, you have my word I’ll find out who the son of a bitch is and take care of him.” His voice hovered above a whisper, but there was no mistaking the lethal promise that lingered on his tongue. “When I saw his hands on you … I lost my shit. The idea of him hurting you fucked me up in a way … I would never have forgiven myself if he’d killed you.” His fingertips traced my cheek and down my neck, sending a delicious shiver down my spine.
I was fucked up. I’d nearly lost my life, but Vaughn’s touch sent me into a full hormonal flurry.
“You’re not angry with me?” I sounded like a terrified eight-year-old girl. I closed my eyes, wishing I could shut out the entire world except for the beautiful man in front of me.
“No, why in God’s name would you think I’m angry with you?” Vaughn’s expression softened.
I gave him a half shrug. It wasn’t the time to dive into my past and insecurities. I had bigger issues at hand.
“Edith. There was a lady at the party. Her zipper broke in the back of her dress and she asked me for help. Before I knew it, she’d led me to the room, then locked me inside with that …” I buried my face in my hands, unwilling to allow Vaughn to see my tears as they fell.
Vaughn pulled me against him and rubbed my back while I came undone. I gripped the arms of his tux jacket and clung to him as though he were my lifeline. In a sense, he was. If he’d not burst through the door, I would be dead on a stranger’s floor.
“Thank God I saw you go up the stairs. Something was off, and when you didn’t reappear, I told ZW I needed to check something out.”
I wiped my cheek and peered up at him through my eyelashes. He was so close. It would be so easy to lean in a little and kiss him. His scent, a heady mixture of leather and cinnamon, tickled my senses.
Vaughn grabbed an ice pack out of the fridge and a soft dishtowel from the drawer. “You’ll want to alternate sides.” He wrapped it up and handed it to me.
I placed the cold pack on my neck, wincing as it stung my raw and sensitive skin.
He opened a drawer near the coffee pot and produced the first aid kit. “There’s an antibiotic cream in here in case you need it, but I didn’t see any broken skin.” A pained expression clouded his handsome features while he opened the white box with red letters and located the tube of ointment. His focus returned to my neck.
“You’re going to have bruises.” He shook his head, swearing quietly. “This shouldn’t have happened to you.”
A shudder shot through me, and I unwillingly trembled while the event tumbled over and over in my mind like a dryer set on low.
“You’re safe.” He gently dried the tears from my damp skin with the pad of his thumb as a conflicted look painted his face. “We got you out in time.”
Soothed by his words, I leaned into his touch.
“You have no idea how many times I thought about you over these last months …You have no clue what you do to me ...” His mouth hovered above mine, the pulse in his neck becoming more prominent. Electricity swirled around us, igniting the air.
“What do you mean?” I remained still, silently urging him to close the gap.
“After the wedding, I wanted to reach out, but …” Desire filled his gaze as he focused on my parted lips.
“Claire!” Sutton’s voice sliced through the heated moment.
Vaughn jumped back and cleared his throat while guilt consumed his features. He shoved his hands in his pockets and watched multiple stages of emotions dance across my face—the anger, the desperate need for him, and the way I was barely holding my shit together.
“I’m in the kitchen,” I called out to her without tearing my gaze away from Vaughn’s. Several pairs of footsteps echoed through the house, drawing closer with each second that ticked by.
Vaughn ran a hand over his short blonde hair. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have …” His tone was low. Haunted. Guilt clung to every word as he apologized with his eyes. “We both know nothing can ever happen between us.”
I swallowed hard, not wanting to accept his words, but he’d made the decision for both of us. “I know.” Logically, I understood nothing could happen between us, and I’d only kept my distance from Vaughn out of respect and love for Sutton and Pierce. Plus, Vaughn had
pushed me away at the wedding. From the minute I’d stepped foot into this house, and until tonight, he’d given me a glimpse into what was really going on inside him.
I attempted the best smile I could conjure up, but I didn’t have the strength inside me to soothe his guilt over a kiss that hadn’t happened. I mentally thanked Sutton for fucking up my chance, but I knew my emotions were misdirected.
“What happened?” Sutton asked, running into the kitchen and pulling me into her warm embrace.
I laid the compress on the granite counter and leaned into the safety of my sister’s hug. More tears broke free while she held me. Pierce’s low whispers caught my ears, and I pulled away, wiping my tear-streaked face.
“Here.” Sutton grabbed a tissue from her handbag and passed it to me.
“Shit.” My eyes widened with fear. “My clutch. I must have dropped it in the room where I was attacked. I had it when I went upstairs at the party.” My breath hitched, and dryness seized my throat while I attempted to retrace my steps to when I’d seen it last.
“I’ve got it.” Zayne stepped forward and handed it to me.
“Oh my God. Thank you.” I flipped it open and located my phone, my breathing slowing to a more reasonable pace. I hadn’t deleted the image of Coen last night, and if anyone had found it … I couldn’t even fathom what it would look like, but I suspected all fingers would point at me for his murder. Inhaling a shaky breath, along with a little courage, I knew it was time to have a gut-wrenching and honest conversation.
“Why don’t we all go into the living room. I need to … I need to talk to you about some things.” My shoulders slumped forward. They were going to be pissed, and I didn’t blame them. My heart was so fragile right now, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I wasn’t even sure how I would deal with their disapproval. One moment, I felt strong and like I could survive anything life threw at me. The next, I was free-falling into a pit of darkness with no way out.