Chapter Twenty-Two

Chase

I tug at my restraints, blinking away the blood from my ruptured eyelid as I watch the man my uncle calls Steve place his arm around Lauren, pinning her to his chest and pointing a gun to her head.

Her eyes grow wide with fear, her lips pale and parted, trembling. Her hands shake at her sides.

Mine curl into fists on the arm of the chair I’m tied to, my jaw clenching as I grit my teeth. My raging heart pumps adrenaline through my veins and I pull harder but the ropes are too thick and I just manage to topple over, my swollen face shoved into the burgundy carpet.

“Chase!” Lauren screams.

I lift my head to see Steve holding her tighter, pinning her breasts and pressing the barrel of his gun to the side of her head.

“Quiet!” he growls.

Terrence laughs, the rumble of his deep laughter filling the room.

“What’s this? My nephew smitten by a maid.”

He clicks his tongue as he cuts into his pork chop with a steak knife.

I snarl, wishing I could cut off that tongue with that knife.

“Ooh. So, you’re Chester’s girlfriend, are you?” Steve strokes Lauren’s cheek and she cringes.

My stomach turns inside out.

“Get your fucking hands off her!”

Steve laughs then gives me a sickening grin as he sniffs Lauren’s hair.

“You’re going to be sorry you took my silver Nikes,” he threatens.

My stomach twists, cold sweat breaking out the side of my face.

I struggle again to free myself but I just end up crashing down on the carpet once more.

“Easy, boy.” Terrence puts the slice of pork chop in his mouth. “George, help him out, will you?”

The man in the leather jacket who’s standing behind me steps forward.

“Just kidding,” my uncle says. “Leave him there.”

I glare at him.

“Hmm.” He chews on the piece of meat in his mouth slowly, closing his eyes. “This pork chop is quite good. Who prepared it?”

“D-Diana,” Lauren answers.

“Diana, huh? I don’t think I’ve met her but I think I’ll have a chat with her soon.”

He slices into the chop again then looks at the thugs standing near the couch – the guy with the sunglasses and the other with the long hair.

“What are you doing standing there, Jeff, Bert? I thought you were hungry. Let’s eat.”

The men sit down, the man with the sunglasses on the couch beside my uncle and the one with the long hair in an armchair both getting their plates.

“I’ll eat later,” the man behind me – George, was it? – says. “I’m still full.”

“I’ve got a tastier treat,” Steve says, licking his lips and giving me a wink.

Another wave of disgust rolls over me, turning into fresh determination to free myself just so I can get Lauren out of his clutches but again, I fail.

Badly.

When I lift my head, my eyes meet Lauren’s, hers flickering in fear, tears beading at the corners, pleading with mine to stop.

I stop, letting out a grunt of anguish as I let my head fall on the carpet, my cheek pressed against it.

There’s nothing I can do. I’m helpless, powerless.

I’m tied to this fucking chair and even if I can get free, I’m up against four well-trained criminals with no hesitation to kill, five if I count my uncle, which I think I will.

If I fight them, I’ll just die. There’s no way I’ll win. And then Lauren will die, too.

Lauren.

I lift my gaze up but quickly look away from those weeping hazel eyes, unable to meet her gaze. The pain from knowing I’m going to lose her explodes in my chest, the guilt from knowing I’m the one who got her into this mess unbearable.

If only I could give my life so that she could keep hers, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d give anything to have her back on that ranch, safe with her father and never knowing men such as the one holding her now exist. Even if it meant she’d never know me, I’d gladly turn back the time just so she’d never have to get caught up in this mess and be in the danger she is in now.

I don’t care anymore about the company or stopping my uncle or getting my life back. I’d just give anything to save Lauren.

Anything.

“By the way, Chester,” my uncle speaks as he continues eating. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

I simply glare at him, though he’s not even looking in my direction.

“I killed your father.”

Lauren lets out a gasp. I grit my teeth.

I already know this. Even so, hearing it straight from his mouth and without an ounce of remorse makes my chest pound with rage.

“I didn’t mean to, though.” He sits back, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a table napkin. “I never wanted to kill him. I only wanted him to be sensible, to understand that we corporate giants have the opportunity to mold the world, to change history, to dictate the future. It is a duty even and so we must rise up to it, even if it means sacrificing some things.”

“Like your convictions?” I ask. “Your honor?”

Terrence snorts. “Honor? What value does that have?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know. You have none.”

His icy blue eyes narrow.

“You are just like your father. Pity.” He shakes his head. “And I thought you were more like me.”

I scoff.

He reaches for a glass of wine and takes a sip. “Your father scoffed at me, too. He wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t understand.”

“Of course, not. He was always smart enough to know that the line had to be drawn between business and politics. He was strong enough to do the right thing even when everyone around him did the wrong thing. That’s why his company succeeded.”

“His company succeeded because of me!”

Terrence throws the wine glass on the floor, shattering on the carpet and creating a dark puddle, one of the fragments landing not far from me.

“I was the one who worked hard! I was always the one protecting him, supporting him. But did he ever listen to me? Did he ever appreciate my efforts? No. Just like my parents, all he saw were my mistakes.” He sits down on the couch. “All I ever wanted was for him to see me as an equal, not as the younger, lesser brother.”

“Dad was right.” I nod. “You are miserable.”

“He made my life miserable!”

“So, you killed him. You pushed him off the balcony upstairs.”

Terrence laughs. “It was so easy, you know. One moment he was there in front of me and the next, he was on the ground, lying in his own blood.”

I nearly gag.

“Of course, I couldn’t let anyone know I did it so I said it was suicide.” He rubs his forehead. “I would have even left a note but Walter always did have such terrible handwriting. No one could imitate that chicken scratch.”

I frown.

I open my mouth to say something but suddenly, I hear a whimper. I turn my head, realizing that Steve is licking the lobe of Lauren’s ear, his hand that’s not holding the gun rubbing against the curve of one of her breasts.

She squeezes her eyes shut, trembling, biting her lower lip so hard she draws blood.

Fresh rage boils within me and I stare at the thug with daggers. He just grins, making my stomach turn to mush. I taste the bile in my mouth.

“I thought after your father’s death, I could finally be able to do whatever I wanted with the company,” my uncle goes on as he continues eating, the two other men nearly done with their chops. “And for a time, I could but then I learned about his will. Even after his death, he was still against me.”

“Because he knew what a sleazebag you were,” I growl.

He laughs. “At least I’m not a fuck-up like you. What have you ever accomplished in your life, Chester? Hmm? You were just going to fuck up the company like you have every girl you’ve met, and your father was going to let you do it. He was practically begging you to. But I wasn’t going to let it happen.”

“So, you sent your thugs after me?” I glance at them.

“They’re friends,” Terrence corrects, chewing. “A gift from one of my new friends. I couldn’t very well resist.”

Yeah, right.

“What? You didn’t have the balls to kill me yourself?”

He pauses with his steak knife in the air, eyes narrowing dangerously once more in warning.

For a moment, I expect him to tell one of his goons to kick me but he just goes on eating.

“You should have stayed dead, Chester. This time, it’s going to be even more… painful.”

The thug with the sunglasses grins, a tiny leaf stuck between his teeth.

“Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, I had you killed. One murder had already been committed. What was one more? I even thought of killing your mother, you know. She always hated me. Ah, but I couldn’t. I love her too much.”

“Love her?” My eyebrows furrow.

“And she knew it. That’s why she hated me. She knew I wanted her even though she was my brother’s wife.”

“You sick piece of shit,” I hiss under my breath.

Terrence chuckles. “She said that to me, too. I wanted to place my hands around her pretty little neck and snap it in two. You should thank me, you know, that I decided to painlessly neutralize her instead.”

“Painlessly?”

From what Lauren told me, it isn’t painless at all.

Terrence gives another sadistic laugh, a piece of pork falling from his mouth.

“You know, everything was set for her transfer to that asylum. She was so heavily dosed she didn’t put up a fight.”

My fists clench.

“It was supposed to be easy but then your friend, James, stopped by. Why did he have to stop by on that day of all days?”

My heart stops as I watch my uncle’s expression, waiting on his next words.

Terrence grins, holding my gaze. “After two murders, I didn’t feel the third.”