Chapter Eight
Sean looked into the fireplace, a brooding expression on his face.
Things were not going the way he had planned.
Sure, he had altered the plan a little bit.
But he had never intended to start developing feelings for a mark.
Danielle had first presented herself as a challenge, and he had enjoyed her resistance. But contrary to the other women in their social circle, she had class, believed in hard work, and didn’t take shit from anybody.
A tough exterior with a damaged interior, which she did her best to hide under her cold looks and sassy remarks. Her willingness to submit to him in the bedroom was something that he had thought would make him enjoy this challenge even more.
But then she had somehow wormed her way into his heart.
He sipped at his wine, annoyed.
He shouldn’t be feeling protective of her.
He didn’t want to be enamoured by her.
And yet he was.
The way she looked at him in the throes of passion, the trust in those eyes, it humbled him. He had had other submissives before her, but there was always something missing, some element that detached him from them on an emotional level.
But with Danielle, he had clicked almost immediately. That day at the auction, she had grabbed his attention well before he had recognized her.
And his attraction to her had grown wildly out of control with each meeting till the point that he had decided on having her in his bed.
And now that he had her, he never wanted to let her go.
But he found himself studying her small reactions, the way she scowled, the way she sulked at certain things, and then the calm patience with which she carried herself through her hurdles, never once breaking.
Her strength drove him wild.
He wanted it. He wanted her.
He wanted to possess this fierce hearted little warrior; add her to his collection, permanently. But she was a person, not a thing.
He wanted all of her smiles, all of her attention. Her anger, her tears, they should be his.
His to protect.
He pursed his lips, decision made.
The treasure he was now after, had much more value than the statue.
He started walking towards his hidden treasure room.
***
Meanwhile, back at her apartment, Danielle closed her laptop and put it aside. Walking to the window, she leaned against it, and frowned.
Were things moving too fast between her and Sean?
He had been on her mind for the past few days. Ever since he had comforted her in her apartment, had cared for her, looked after her, the very thought of him, made her heart beat just a little faster.
She studied her reflection in the window.
She didn’t want this to be another mistake. She didn’t want to be hurt again.
Once was enough.
Her eyes moved to the balcony and her brow knitted together.
Had that scrape always been there?
She pushed the window open and studied the scrape on the edge of the rail.
Her blood ran cold when she realized it wasn’t a scrape but a partial shoe print.
Somebody had stepped on the edge of her rail.
Looking uneasy, she studied the height to the ground.
If someone had done something so reckless, they would have slipped and fallen to their death. Her building was very tall and the gusts of winds these days were especially strong.
How could anyone manage to do that?
Her window was always barred so she didn’t think anybody could have come in.
But now that she knew what she was looking for, her eyes saw the brown smudge on the white curtain, inside the room.
Instead of fear, rage filled her.
Wasn’t it enough that her life was a goddamn mess? Now somebody was trying to break into her apartment.
She scanned the room.
Was she missing anything?
Nothing was out of place.
Moving slowly, she studied each and every item, till her eyes fell on the small statue.
Doubt flickered in her mind, but she picked it up.
Her eyes went blank, as cold permeated through her entire body. Her chuckle was bitter.
Of all the things –
Of course. It made perfect sense now.
She was such a fool!
She ran her hands over her grandmother’s last gift to her, and the emptiness of her smile was a devastating sight. It was the look of one who had been shattered but didn’t know how to react, how to pick herself up.
The phone rang.
She ignored it for a few seconds before lifting her head up.
Placing the statue back in its place, she picked up her cell phone, “Yes, Mom?”
“Hello, darling. Your father and I wanted to know whether next Friday would be a good time for both you and Sean to come over for dinner?”
Danielle picked up a pencil that lay on the coffee table and twirled it between her fingers, “Why?”
“Why?” Her mother echoes, sounding confused. “Because we want to get to know your young man.”
“Like you wanted to get to know Julian?” She asked, her tone still apathetic.
The disapproval in her mother’s tone was heavy, “How long are you going to hold onto that, Danielle? It was a business thing. Your father would have lost a few million dollars.”
Danielle’s eyes followed the pencil in her fingers, “A few million dollars? That sounds rather nasty. He would have been devastated. People would have talked about him behind his back for months, pointed fingers at him. Like they did with me. I’m so glad I could spare him all that trauma.”
Her mother was silent, “You can throw a tantrum all you want-“
“Did you know somebody broke into my apartment?” Danielle commented, casually. “No, wait. You don’t. Well, surprise.”
Her mother gasped, and then demanded, “Are you all right? When did this happen –“
“I don’t know,” Danielle told her, “Maybe a few days ago. Maybe this morning. Who knows?”
She smiled, a vicious one, “But who cares, right?”
“Danielle, baby,” Her mother began, but she cut her off.
“Don’t tell me again, mom. I need some time to myself. Away from all of you. All of this.”
She closed the phone, and stared at it for a few moments, before her face twisted and she threw it against the table, not at all caring that it broke.
Oh, God! She wanted to break something! Everything.
She wanted to scream, and hurt someone, let them feel the pain that was coursing through her body right now.
She wasn’t a fucking toy!
She wasn’t there to be used and then discarded!
She wasn’t some thing to be abandoned each and every time.
Maybe this was her own fault. She sank to her knees and stared at her reflection in the glass window.
Maybe this was just the person she was.
Was it that wrong to just want to be wanted? For herself and not what she could offer someone?
The tears never came.
She curled up where she had collapsed and just stared at the window, feeling disgust build up. She hated this.
It was hours later, when she found the strength to sit up, and then stand up.
She walked over to her safe and took out the gun she had bought.
***
It was past midnight.
Sean used the grapple hook for leverage and slid onto the balcony.
Hopefully, Danielle was fast asleep.
His hand went to the window, his lock kit ready, but he stilled when he saw that the window was unlocked.
Had she forgotten to unlock it?
Did the woman not realize that anybody could waltz in?
Fine, she was on the top floor, but he got in, didn’t he?
Hearing a crunch underneath his foot, he looked down and flashed his flashlight onto the broken pieces of a cell phone.
The blue color gave its owner’s identity away.
Why was Danielle’s phone lying smashed on the ground?
His blood ran cold.
Where was she?
There was no soft bedroom light on.
In fact, there was no light on, anywhere.
The silence was almost unnatural.
It made him uneasy.
Quickly, making his way to Danielle’s room, he peeked inside.
Her bed was made, and her safe lay open.
Where the hell was she?
Why wasn’t she here?
A thousand possibilities were running through his head, fear making his heart beat faster.
The light clicked on, and he whirled around to see Danielle sitting in a corner of the room, “Rather late for a visit.”
“Danielle.”
She was okay!
Then he noted the gun in her lap and he eyed her warily.
Her face was blank, stripped of all emotion.
“Imagine my surprise,” she said. “When I found out that somebody had broken into my apartment.”
Her tone was dry, “By the way, stellar job of covering your tracks. Your shoe print was on my balcony edge and my curtain. Somebody who’s been in the business this long should at least wipe after themselves.”
He just watched her, a little unnerved by her relaxed demeanour.
“At first I thought, ‘who would be stupid enough to break into the top floor’? I mean, there are guards stationed on each floor. Then, of course, I was a little scared.” She ran a hand through her hair, removing the strands from her face.
“I mean, somebody broke into my apartment, after all. I live alone. Two plus two and all. And then, I got angry. Because apparently I am some toy that people like to mess around with.”
Sean winced at that.
His eyes moved to the gun that lay in her lap, and he grew wary.
But if she noticed his reaction, she didn’t let on.
“So, I checked everywhere. Nothing was missing. And, I don’t know why.” She shrugged, the movement, seemingly painful. “I just remembered the way you kept staring at the statue on my mantel. I didn’t want to believe it. Didn’t even want to think about it, you know?”
She stood up, and moved slowly towards the statue. Her movement was sluggish and he noted the bruise on her arm. He made to grab her arm, but she moved out of reach.
Her eyes flew to where he was looking and she shrugged, “I fell down. The stairs. I was looking for something.”
They looked painful, Sean thought. And with the way she was limping, she probably also hurt her leg.
“The pain is almost like a relief. It’s helping me think more clearly.” She murmured.
Her tone was wrong.
He couldn’t pinpoint but there was a deep wrongness in her expression and voice that was twisting him up inside.
He took a step forward, “Danielle-“
She put her hand behind the statue on the mantel, and then tipped it over the edge.
It shattered, the sound grating his ears.
He flinched.
She watched him, “Did you think I wouldn’t know the difference between the actual one and a fake?”
She sounded curious, “I mean, I practically grew up hearing the stories about this statue. My grandmother was obsessed with it. All I had to do was touch it and I knew it was a fake.”
She watched him, “What did you say the other day? ‘Trust me, Danielle.’”
Sean’s jaw tensed, as she tapped her chin, mockingly, “You said that all I had to do was trust you.
Was it fun, Sean?” Her voice was low now, a stark vulnerability in her eyes, “Was it fun, toying with me, using me?”
A harsh sound that he realized emitted from her throat, “All you had to do was take the goddamn statue. Was this entire dance with me, necessary? Or did you just get a kick out of it?”
The words were like serrated knives on his heart, “Did you enjoy watching me fall for you, lust for you? Did you get some satisfaction out of checking out whether I was actually a frigid bitch or not?”
He found his voice, “That’s not-“
She fell for him?
His heart swelled with warmth, but she was nowhere done.
She threw her arms open, “Well, surprise. The frigid bitch seems to have a kink as well. At least I know what the next topic of discussion will be now in the next coming events.”
She stared down at her hands, and when she felt the tremble in her chest, she squelched it with a desperate fury. He could have her body, her ego, but he would not have her fucking tears.
“’Trust you’? I should have listened to my instinct and beaten you off with a ten foot pole. But I made a mistake.” She said with an air of finality. “You’ve been doing this for a while now, haven’t you?”
When Sean started, she gave him a humourless smile, “Yeah, I’m not that stupid, you moron. I recognized the picture in your room. At first, I couldn’t place it. But then, tonight, after I realized what you had done, I went online, did some digging.”
She leaned against the couch, “Isn’t it funny that a lot of places that have experienced missing art you’re nearby? At first, I thought that’s probably a coincidence. I mean, you’re rolling in money. Why would you want to go around stealing?”
A dry chuckle, “But there were events, and you attended all of them.”
She clutched the back of the sofa with her hands, and watched him, “Of course, I can’t prove any of it. Not that I intended to, anyway.”
Sean took a step forward, and reached into the dark satchel that was the same colour as the clothes he wore. He took out the statue, “I came to return this.”
Danielle widened her eyes, mockingly, “Oh? Was it worthless? Or did it not go well with your collection?”
“I would rather have you,” he told her bluntly. “I came to you for the statue. I stayed because I started developing feelings for you. And then I decided I would rather have you than the statue.”
Danielle smiled at him, “What a great speech. Let me come swoon in your arms.”
For the first time in his life, Sean drew a blank.
This was the singular, most important person in his life right now. And he had just screwed this up.
“Danielle, if you would calm down and listen-“ He took a step forward.
“Calm down?” She asked, sounding surprised. “I am calm. But no, I don’t want to listen. I don’t want to hear an explanation. I don’t want you to sweet talk me. You know why?”
She bared her teeth, “Because I deserve better than that. I’m done. I’m done with you, my parents, this place.”
“What do you mean ‘done’?” Sean asked, his heartbeat echoing in his ears.
“Just what I said,” she said, slowly, pushing herself off the couch and making her way towards him. “I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?” He repeated, stupidly.
“I have an inheritance. Time to use it. I’ll travel the world. Get my life back together. Have a few affairs along the way. You know the whole shebang.”
A few affairs?
His blood heated up at that, and he knew reason would not get through to her.
“Fine,” he purred. “Go. Go wherever you please.”
She blinked at that, and he continued, “But wherever you go, I will follow.”
“Excuse me?”
Sean stepped forward, crowding her space, “I collect treasures, Danielle. And I found the most valuable one here. I found you. So, I’ll be damned if I let you leave me.”
Danielle scoffed at him, but he detected the hint of uncertainty in the sound, “Get off your high horse, Sean. You got your statue. I’m not some booty prize that you can claim along the way.”
“You are not a prize. But, if you want to try leaving me, go ahead. I will track you down, wherever you go. And I’ll drag you back.”
He walked towards her, till the distance between them was a matter of mere centimeters, “Whoever lays their hands on you, I’ll break them. Don’t forget my Irish blood, darling. I may look civilized to boot, but I’m Irish. We’re very possessive over our women and you’re my woman. Don’t forget that.”
Danielle’s lips trembled, but her heart was now cocooned deep inside of her. She wasn’t going to let anybody hurt her.
“Keep your fancy words, Sean. In fact, no, why don’t you take them and stick them up your ass, next to the stick that’s lodged there.”
Her insult was so creative that had the situation not been so dire, he would have kissed the sass right out of her.
“Those are not fancy words. That is the truth. You can try it and see.” He shrugged. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth if I have to. A man doesn’t find something so rare everyday, after all.”
She watched him, her eyes dark and heavy, a bone deep sorrow in them he wished he could erase, “Take the statue and leave, Sean. I don’t want to see your face. I don’t want to hear your voice. You make me sick. I’m done with these lies. Go.”
He took a step forward, and she picked up the glass vase in her hand and threw it, fury lit in her eyes, “Get lost, damnit!”
His jaw hardened.
She didn’t let him say anything, and now he was forced to watch her break, “You told me to trust you! I trusted you! But you don’t deserve it! None of you do! You’re like fucking vultures, just waiting for a sign of weakness to swoop down and take advantage of it! Go to hell, Sean! I’m done with this.”
The next projectile missile, nearly missed his cheek.
Her eyes shone with a broken look, a devastation in them, that sliced his heart.
He had done this.
He had put this look in her eyes.
He wanted to hold her and tell her loved her over and over again till it broke through the barriers she had put up around her heart.
But whatever he said to her right now would be thrown in his face.
His heart ached at what he had put her through, and he took a step back, “I’ll leave. For now, I’ll leave. But I’m not letting you slip through my fingers, Danielle, just because I fucked up.”
A ceramic bowl crashed near his head, making him wince.
He left, but before he did, he picked up the gun and slipped it in his pocket. As the door closed behind him, he heard her whimper, and he slid down to his knees, back against the door, holding his face in his hands.
How could he fix this?
Her broken cries tore at his heart, and he wanted to go back and hold her in his arms, kiss away her pain.
But he couldn’t do that.
But she would repudiate his touch right now.
He took out his phone, and stared at it, before taking out the number of the one person that would get through to Danielle at this moment.
And then with one heavy look at the door, he left.