Chapter Thirty-Six

Elle

I’D CARRIED THAT day in the alley with me for three years.

It was my dirty secret.

My one major screw-up.

And most of the time, I was able to ignore how it had made me feel.

How scared I’d been. How god-awful it’d been to be trapped. How petrified I’d been while being molested. How I hated being a prisoner even for a few terrible minutes.

But sometimes, when I was tired or stressed or sleep deprived, I couldn’t fight off the shadows of that night.

Baseball Cap and Adidas were there, ready to touch me, hurt me—make me forget I was safe and they could never touch me.

~I like the thought of you giving me a blowjob. Get her on her knees~

Those times, I was able to shove aside awful memories by remembering Nameless. Believing the world was good and bad but most of the time right won over wrong.

He was there, fighting off nightmares, giving me candy and kisses.

He was my safe place.

He made me believe things were fine.

Tonight had proven me wrong.

Twice.

~If you scream, we’ll beat you fucking bloody, and you’ll wake up with nothing.~

My mind was full of useless snippets and three-year-old voices from that night. They became louder and stronger as Greg switched his stalking for attack.

A silent cry fell from my lips as he charged.

“No!” I twisted on the spot, my bare feet sticking to the tiles as I forgot about standing up to him and chose running instead.

Only, I didn’t get far.

~First, we get what we want, and then you get what~ you ~want.~

“Gotcha.” Greg’s arms lashed around my waist, pulling me to him.

My fingers gripped the wine bottle as I hoisted it over my head, wildly aiming, blinding hoping. Blood-red shiraz chugged from the tip, splashing me, Greg, my kitchen.

“Give me that.” He held me trapped with one arm, grabbing my wrist with his free hand.

“Stop!” I squirmed and wiggled. I swung and pummeled. “Let me go!”

I tried to defend myself.

But it was no use.

~You want to see my cock, bitch. Can’t deny that shit.~

He twisted the bottle from my fingers and placed it carefully on the bench. He didn’t smash it or cause any noise.

He kept his abduction as silent as possible.

~To keep it a secret.~

So make it un secret.~

I screamed as loud as I could. The back of my throat shredded, but I screamed and ~screamed~—

He slapped a hand over my lips, silencing me. “Quit it.” Breathing hard as I tried to kick his legs, he hissed, “Do you honestly think anyone will hear you? These apartments are triple-walled.

“You’re on the top floor. Save your breath.”

Turning me in his embrace, he grabbed my wrists, trapped them behind my back, and kissed me quick and deep.

~Let’s see what your tits are like.~

I tried to bite his tongue, but he was too fast. A swift claiming and then a retreat, knowing he’d won and I was his.

I fought harder, ignoring how strong he was and how weak he made me. “Stop this, Greg.” My voice climbed a few octaves, making me beg even when I tried to command. “Let me go.”

He merely laughed. “You’re not the one in charge tonight.” He strode over to the invisible drawer holding random pieces of junk. Unlike Penn, he knew how to press to open.

Grabbing some twine I’d used to hold the turkey stuffing in place, he wrapped it around my wrists, tying it tight.

~Before we show you ours, you have to show us yours.~

Once I was helpless, he marched me forward.

“You and I are going for a little drive.” Scooping up a pair of car keys I hadn’t seen on my kitchen bench, he pushed me toward the door, opened it, and shoved me over the threshold.

Panic billowed faster.

I didn’t want to leave with him.

~Please!~

“Where are we going?” My heart galloped as he punched the down button for the elevator and dragged me onto it.

He pressed the button for the garage below. “Somewhere no one will find us.” He rocked his cock against my back as he kept me locked in front of him.

“Somewhere we can get to know each other and finally agree that marriage between us is the best thing—for everyone.”

I sneered. “I’m already engaged.”

~To a liar—just like you.~

To a criminal—just like you.~

I prodded the hurt inside that Penn had caused.

I asked the question I’d been avoiding.

Was Penn Baseball Cap or Adidas?

Was he the one who’d grabbed my breast or torn off my sapphire star?

Penn’s promises echoed in my head.

~Say yes, and you’re mine. You’ll answer to me. Sometimes, you’ll hate me. Most of the time, you’ll probably want to kill me.~

He was right.

I ~did~ want to kill him.

Multiple times.

My chest ached as another of his truthless pledges rang in my ears.

~I will lie to others about us. I will paint a picture that isn’t true. I will curse and hurt and do whatever I damn well want, but you have my word on one thing. I won’t lie to you.

What you see from me will be the honest fucking truth.~

Liar.

Liar.

~Liar.~

Greg chuckled. “That engagement is a sham.” He kissed my throat, pushing aside my hair with his car keys, scraping me with the sharp-toothed metal. “I’m not a fucking idiot, Elle.”

The elevator dinged, depositing us into the underground garage. He pressed his key fob, and a graphite Porsche beeped with welcome.

I’d seen his car before, hell, I’d been in his car when he drove me to a meeting across town when David suddenly came down with food poisoning.

But I’d never been forced into his car or made to feel as if he would hurt me if I disobeyed.

I shot forward, taking him by surprise.

I managed a few steps before he looped his fingers around the twine on my wrists, slamming me to a stop.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

My feet ached on the rough concrete thanks to mostly healed cuts and bruises from running barefoot a few nights ago.

If Penn was Adidas or Baseball Cap, why had he come to my rescue?

Why had he been my defender in my future when he’d been the offender in my past?

Nameless’ voice was the third to enter my thoughts.

~You don’t need to hide. I won’t let them hurt you. You’re safe with me.~

I fought harder, jumping in Greg’s hold, kicking him as hard as I could.

He merely laughed, stripping me of strength with caustic ridicule.

~Do you trust me?~

Nameless and Penn had asked that.

I’d thought the link was enough to reveal his identity. Turned out, that question was common and far too flimsy to pin my hopes on.

Greg dragged me toward his Porsche, ignoring my attempts at fleeing.

I stopped fighting, choosing another alternative. “Greg... let’s talk about this.” I tried to appeal to the side of him I’d interacted with for years—the business side.

The boy I’d grown up with surrounded by all things Belle Elle.

But that Greg was gone.

Compounded by jealousy and riddled with resentment, the man capturing me had a vendetta to earn what he believed was rightfully his, regardless if it was blasphemously wrong.

Opening the car door, he growled. “Get in.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

He shoved his face in mine. “I know. I ~want~ to do this.” He placed his hand on my skull, pushing me to duck so I could fit inside the Porsche. “Now, get in the fucking car.”

I looked at the guard sitting in the distance by the exit ramp.

I made a stupid choice, one based on self-preservation.

I screamed. ~“Heeeeeeelp!”~

He punched me.

The crack hit my cheekbone. The force threw me against the car. The garage vanished. The ground disappeared. I came to with my knees buckled and my body sprawled like a ragdoll in the passenger seat.

The slam of the door vibrated my teeth.

The guard hadn’t heard me.

My pain was for nothing.

My vision fogged with candyfloss as Greg yanked open the driver’s side, leaped in, and gunned the engine.

I groaned against sickness and agony. “Stop.” My head lolled on my neck, too heavy, totally useless.

Larry’s voice entered the medley in my skull, bringing thoughts of Central Park, airplanes, and kisses on a baseball field. ~Thieves can become saints. Saints can become thieves.~

~Most of us deserve a second chance.~

My heart boycotted his misunderstood wisdom.

He’d known all along that Penn was more than just a homeless man who’d been arrested on my nineteenth birthday. The entire time we’d spoken, he’d known I slept with an immoral crook.

~He knows who Penn is.

And he didn’t tell me.~

He let me develop feelings. He believed whatever connection Penn managed to cultivate would be enough to get past the alley.

To get past the threat, the taunt, the trauma.

My face throbbed as I tried to figure it out.

~I can never forgive him.~

Baseball Cap’s threat filled my ears. The last thing he’d said to me as Nameless shielded me and kept me safe.

~You’ll fucking pay. Both of you.~

They’d made me pay.

They’d kept their oath to rob me of everything I had, including my body.

But what about Nameless?

~What have they done?~

The Porsche shot forward, pinning my head against the seat as Greg drove fast. He slowed as we approached the guard.

I blinked, forcing my eyesight to work past the bruising on my cheek.

We stopped, barricaded by the red and white ramp.

The guard was too high in his little booth. He couldn’t see inside the car. I kicked the floor, hoping to make a noise.

It was pitifully non-existent.

Greg reached over with one hand, planting his sour palm over my lips. He whispered, “No screaming.” With his other hand, he fished out his Belle Elle pass and smiled. “Evening.”

The guard did his job. He checked the credentials. He opened the exit. “Have a good night.”

“Oh, I will. Believe me.” Greg threw his I.D card at me as he stomped on the accelerator.

We sped into the night.

He removed his hand. “That went well.” His face gleamed black with triumph. “The hard parts are over now.” He patted my thigh with unwanted fingers.

“A little road trip then you and I get to have a private ~chat~.” His hand slid up my thigh, probing the silver dress.

The same dress Penn had hooked over my hips as he fucked me in the limousine.

The same dress I’d worn when I’d found my sapphire star and learned the terrible truth.

I yanked my legs away. “Don’t touch me.”

Greg clutched the steering wheel with a chuckle. “I plan on doing more than that, Noelle. Much more.”

As New York blurred with speed, Dad filled my mind.

Would he come for me?

Would he save me?

I had no one else.

Nameless was gone.

Penn was banished.

~I’m alone.~

But it didn’t matter.

Greg wanted what he couldn’t have.

Belle Elle was my empire and my body was mine.

Penn had taught me how to lie.

I would don a crown of them.

I would lie and cheat and steal and beg.

I wouldn’t back down.

~I’ll fight.~