“Is it about the company?” he asked, standing.
I ran my hand through my hair. “In a way, but not like you think.”
“Fuck, Dad, I’m not thinking anything. Say something. I have a shitload of things going on right now. If you can’t tell me, then go back to London and we’ll talk another time.”
“I wanted you to meet Alexandria.”
Lennox took a step back. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“She needed you. You needed her. I don’t know why you let her go back to Savannah, but you need to go get her.”
His eyes widened. “I don’t know what the fuck you know about Alex or Savannah, or any of the cryptic shit you said at the house a few months ago, but I tried. I went to her house. It isn’t a house—”
“It’s a castle,” I said, completing his sentence. “Is she there because she wants to leave you?”
“No!”
“Then why?”
Lennox turned a small circle. “Why the fuck do you care?”
“I’ve cared for a long time.” I took a deep breath. “Alcohol?”
Lennox nodded and walked toward a sideboard. Pushing a button, a panel in the wall moved, revealing a well-stocked selection.
I lifted my brow. “Nice. I approve.”
“Hmm.”
His back was toward me.
“I guess I don’t say that enough.”
Lennox turned toward me with two tumblers of amber liquid in his hands. “Never, actually. I went for straight up.”
“Lennox, I was never a good father.”
“Or a husband… do you want me to go on?”
I took one of the tumblers. Swirling the liquid, I contemplated my reason for flying to New York. Two swallows or was it one? The smooth oak-flavored whiskey only burnt for a second before it was gone. I handed him back the glass. “I’ll take another.”
Lennox didn’t answer as he turned and refilled my drink.
“There have been two women I’ve loved.”
His shoulders moved. “Too bad Mom wasn’t one of them.”
When he turned back my way, I said, “If you were anyone else, you’d be lying on the floor right now.”
He extended the drink. “Go for it, Dad. I’ve had a shitty few days.”
“Your mother was my first love. You don’t understand what happens to people when life interferes, but it never took away our love. I loved your mother until the day she died. When she died she took a part of my heart with her, a part that will always be hers.”
Lennox took a deep breath, swirled his drink, and tipped the crystal to his lips. Equally as quickly, his tumbler was empty. “I do know.”
My chest ached at his tone. “I’m sorry. You do. And you’re too young to live with that. That’s why Alexandria was—no, is—good for you.”
Lennox refilled his glass and asked, “The second? During, before, or after Mom.”
I shrugged. “During but after.”
Gulping the fiery liquid, he slammed his empty tumbler on the counter and walked back toward the chairs where we had been sitting. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t give a fuck who you cheated on Mom with.”
“During, because I never stopped loving Angelina. I met the second one after your mother and I divorced.” My cheeks rose in a sad smile. “Angelina even knew. She asked me. She said she could tell I was happy in a way I hadn’t been for a while. You may not understand this, but she approved. We loved one another enough to want the other to be happy.”
“So you didn’t cheat?”
“Not with anyone who mattered. That’s all I’ll say on that.”
Lennox shook his head. “What did you mean that you wanted me to meet Alex? We just randomly met. It wasn’t arranged. I didn’t even know who she was. She didn’t know who I was. Did she?”
My head moved from side to side. “I don’t think so.”
“Then what?”
“I knew she needed someone. You needed someone. It seemed like a good idea.”
“How could you possibly know what she needed or needs?”
“She needs you. Tell me what’s happening and let’s help her together. I don’t know her stepfather, but what I do know is that I don’t trust him. From what I’ve seen and heard, Alexandria is a smart young woman. Because of that, she’s a threat to him. She’ll need more than smarts to get out of the trap that was set for her when she was young.
“I know you have no reason to trust me or turn to me, Lennox, but I can help. I want to help.”
“I’m going to ask this one more time. Why?”
“Adelaide Montague.”
TAKING A DEEP breath I turned from Alton to Bryce and back. “No.”
For the first time since my return to Montague Manor, I’d stood up for myself. If that wasn’t satisfying enough, watching the signature crimson rise from Alton’s collar made it the entire package. Perhaps if I continued to push, Mr. Alton Fitzgerald would have his own cardiac event? If he did, an alternate provision to my grandfather’s will would go into effect. The thought was my mini-Christmas and for only a moment I reveled in it.
A loud thump filled the room as Alton’s palms came down hard on the desk.
“Alexandria?” Bryce was now standing.
“Two questions,” Alton growled.
“Yes and yes,” I replied.
“It doesn’t appear as though.”
“Appearances?” I lifted my brow. “Is that your goal?”
“No,” Alton answered. “What’s yours?”
“Seeing Momma and her getting better.”
“Then put on the damn ring.”
When I looked at Bryce, he had the ring out of the box, the band pinched between his thumb and finger as he stared down at the stone. Many would consider it beautiful. I should, but I didn’t. I should relish the idea that it was my grandmother’s. However, something about my recently acquired knowledge regarding her husband and how he’d damned not only me and my future children, but also my mother in a questionably binding document soured my appreciation.
I extended my hand toward Bryce, palm up. It wasn’t the romantic proposal one dreams about. It wasn’t the man I loved, down on one knee, slipping the band over my finger.
Slowly, he released the ring to my grasp. I lifted my hand up and down. The damn ring was actually heavy.
If I wear it, will I need to start lifting weights with my right arm to keep my definition even?
It was a silly thought, but strange things passed through my mind while the real world continued on a crash course toward disaster.
Anticipation filled the air as all eyes were on me.
“Put it on,” Alton repeated as Bryce and Suzanna waited.
“Let’s negotiate,” I offered, setting the ring on Alton’s desk and sitting back down.
“Alexandria, I don’t have time for your childish—”
This time I lifted my hand. “Hardly childish. I’m negotiating for my future as well as my mother’s.” Before he could speak, I sat erect and continued, “I will be able to go see her—now. I have clearance to visit her regularly.” His mouth opened, but I didn’t stop. “My door is no longer locked from the outside. I agree to stay here in Savannah, but I won’t be a prisoner.”
I turned toward Suzanna. “I’ll take over the household staff and that includes reinstating Jane. And I will personally contact Dr. Renaud. I will complete this semester online. If that isn’t possible, then I’ll do what needs to be done, including traveling back to New York.”
“No New York,” Alton countered.
“I need to speak to her.”
He nodded.
“And I’ll have access to a car. Let me clarify: a car, not a driver. If I’m playing this damn game, you’ll need to trust me.”
“I don’t. I never have.”
It was my turn to shake my head. “I’ve found only untrustworthy people have a problem trusting.”
“You’ll go back to him.”
My chest rose and fell. “I want to. I won’t deny that. I need to explain things to him so he doesn’t think I just left arbitrarily. But no, I won’t go back. I’ll make sure Momma is all right first.”
“First? What about the wedding?” Suzanna asked.
“We can plan it.”
“Alexandria?” Bryce asked again. “What does that mean?”
“Right now my answer is no. I’ll wear the ring. I’ll play the part, but I can’t agree to marry you.”
“Then your mother will lose everything.” Alton spoke without a hint of concern. “I hear there’s some top-notch indigent care being offered at a local homeless shelter.”
The temperature of the room elevated. “Do you agree?” My question wasn’t for Bryce. I wasn’t even bringing him in on the conversation.
“Don’t you think you should be talking to your fiancé?” Suzanna asked.
My head tilted to the side as I stared at Alton. “Did you negotiate your marriage with my mother or with my grandfather?”
He nodded. “Very well. Put on the damn ring.”
It seemed heavier than the first time as I lifted it from the shiny surface of the desk. Prisms of color danced across the reflection as the stone caught the artificial light. Closing my eyes, I spoke to Nox. No one else could hear, but I prayed that he could.
“This isn’t real. Let me explain. Please know that I’m doing what I have to. I love you—only you.”
I slipped the band over my knuckle, hoping that maybe it wouldn’t fit, that it would need to be sized, but no. It was perfect.
I turned toward Bryce. “Take me to my mother or I’m going alone.”
His gaze moved from me to Alton and back. “I’ll take you.”
THE EARLY AFTERNOON sun warmed my skin as Bryce and I stood awkwardly silent just beyond the front doors. Though I’d been outside yesterday, as I filled my lungs with the fresh air, I had a sense of relief. With each breath I longed for more freedom, more than just from my room or the manor, but for the freedom that came with California and New York.
The diamond ring on my hand was my reminder that freedom was currently beyond my reach. No longer would I know the exhilaration of independence, not until I figured a way out of this obligation—this life sentence.
First I had to see my momma.
The dark bark of the oak trees caught my attention. In New York, the leaves were changing colors or even gone this late in October. Here, the black bark and wide-reaching limbs held tightly to the deep green leaves. As a child I rarely gave it thought, but now the fact that not until the new leaves came in the spring would the old ones fall seemed ironic.
In New York, each season was different—a fresh start. Here, the old ways held tight until the new pushed them to their death. I was the new. The season of old leaves was about to end.
“Do you really want to manage the staff?”
I turned my sunglass-covered eyes toward Bryce. “What?”
He shrugged. “It’s a good thing, I think.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You told Alton you want to be in charge of the household staff. Is it just for Jane, or do you want to do it?”
It was hard to hide my thoughts—my nose itched to scrunch and my lips to purse—but if I was going to do this, I needed to try. Keeping my expression as sincere as possible, I replied, “It’s both. Don’t you remember how wonderful Jane always was?”
Bryce nodded. “Yeah, I liked her.”
“I more than like her. I love her. She’s devoted her life to this house. There’s no reason to dismiss her now.”
We both turned to the sound of tires as they turned upon the cobblestone. From the garages, a black sedan approached. Bryce’s hand moved to the small of my back. He leaned toward my ear and added, “Since she was your nanny, I suppose she’d be good with our babies.”
It was impossible to hide the disgust from my expression. Thankfully, I was facing the car. I took a step away from his touch. “Bryce, I’m not ready—”
Reaching for my shoulder, he turned me toward him. In an instant, my childhood friend was gone. “I’d be worried about no sex, since you were always so determined. I got it. You had issues. I respected that. But now, Alexandria, things have changed.”
“Nothing’s changed. I don’t—”
The tendons in his neck stretched, coming to life under the skin. “Everything has changed. You’ve spread your legs for him: you will for me.”
“And how would you know that?”
“Lennox Demetri…” Bryce said the name I was forbidden to utter. “…doesn’t seem like the type to have a live-in roommate without benefits.”
I lifted my chin toward the front of Montague Manor. “The difference with this situation is that I’m not living with you. I’m in my own home.” I shrugged. “Don’t worry. There are plenty of bedrooms. Maybe you can bring Chelsea. I’m sure she’ll keep you busy.”
His grip on my arm tightened with each phrase. I should have stopped talking. This could be one of the times he’d spoken about. Yet like the bile rising from my stomach, once the words began, I couldn’t stop. “Or how about you fill the manor with your whores? For example, Millie. She’ll be devastated that her wedding will be overshadowed by ours, but maybe you can make it up to her.”
“Are you done?” Bryce’s words came through clenched teeth as a driver I didn’t recognize stood patiently with the back door to the car open.
“For now.”
“Get in the car before I change my mind about taking you to Magnolia Woods.”
I shrugged away from his grasp and turned toward the car. I’d wanted Bryce to drive, but since we were getting in the backseat, it appeared that we would have company.
As soon as the door shut, Bryce angled himself toward me, his face millimeters from mine. “You’ll be ready, trust me. I’m not marrying a virgin or an ice princess. I’ll give you time.” I fought the need to flinch as his breath filled my lungs and his knuckles caressed my cheek. “You’ll soon figure out, I’m either your only friend or your worst enemy. Think about it, fiancée.” His hand dropped from my cheek to my thigh. “I think you’ll decide that spreading these legs willingly for me will be in everyone’s best interest.”
I covered his hand with mine and pushed. “Don’t make me head-butt you again.”
My neck straightened as his lips covered mine. Soft and warm. Mushy. I didn’t move, not an inch. Bryce pulled back and shook his head. “You’ll learn.”
I quickly turned toward the window, refusing to look his way. The car slowed as we neared the gate. When it did, my heart leapt as I noticed the SUV waiting on the other side. Had Nox and Deloris found a way? My fingertips ached to touch my necklace.
And just as quickly, disappointment washed away my hopes.
Now seat-belted next to me, Bryce placed his hand again on my thigh, this time near my knee. He tipped his head toward the large black vehicle. “That’s more Montague security. Alton’s not taking a chance on anything happening to you.”
“How very kind of him.”
“Yes, Alexandria, if anything happened, we couldn’t wed and then where would that leave Adelaide?”
Thankful I was still wearing the sunglasses, I made myself turn his direction. “I still don’t get it. What do you get out of this?”
“What do I get?”
The sedan was open, yet the driver wasn’t even a thought in my mind. Maybe it was the way I was raised? Montague employees heard without hearing. Perhaps it was Nox’s openness in front of Isaac and Clayton? No matter the reason, I spoke without concern for the man’s thoughts or ability to hear.
Glancing backward as we drove along the main road, I got a quick look at the driver and passenger of the SUV. They were two men I didn’t recognize.
Sighing, I turned toward Bryce. “Yes, what do you get? A loveless marriage. Why? Obviously, other women are interested.”
“One day you’ll realize that I don’t want the other wome
n. They’ve just… I don’t know… kept me occupied. I’ve wanted you since I can remember. And with this gift from your grandfather, I get you.” He gestured forward to the driver. “I get all of this—the manor, the corporation, and Alton’s approval. I get it all.”
“Why would his approval matter to you?”
Bryce shrugged. “I guess because I’ll never have my real father’s. Doesn’t it mean something to you? You know what it’s like not to know your own father.”
I hated that Bryce knew me so well.
“I do, but no,” I answered honestly, thankful that he’d taken his hand off of me. “I’ve never had Alton’s approval and I don’t give a damn about it.” I remembered Oren mentioning my father. “I’d rather have my real father’s. And though I never can, I’d like to think he’d approve of the decisions I’ve made.”
As soon as I spoke, I knew that I’d said it right.
Made.
Past tense.
Because the decisions I was making and might continue to make weren’t ones that I believed my father or anyone else would find acceptable. Not if what Oren and my mother had said were accurate. Not if I was truly like Russell Collins.
With each mile toward Magnolia Woods, I allowed my mind to drift. Russell Collins. He didn’t often cross my mind. Had his marriage to my mother been brokered like her and Alton’s? What decisions had my momma ever been allowed to make in her own life?
“MOMMA?”
The murmur of voices filled my ears. I couldn’t make out their words or even if they were talking to me. I didn’t want to care. I wanted to go back to my memories, thoughts of him, thoughts I hadn’t allowed myself to entertain for years. Oren was calling to me, but so was she.
My baby.
My daughter.
My Alexandria.
Was she a dream? A memory?
They were all mixing together. It was difficult to keep them straight.
“Adelaide.”
“She doesn’t know… We’ve tried… She was fighting…”
The murmurs continued as I tried to reason. The bed where I lay was different. I wasn’t in my room—our room. And then I remembered.
Entrapment Page 11