Throne of Truth
He stiffened. “You’ll take that back. You’ll see.”
“Wrong. It will only become more and more real the longer you keep me. I liked you before, Greg. I thought you were a nice friend. But now...now, I hate you.”
Clenching his jaw, he swiped the comforter from beneath my legs, making me roll a little. “Your lies are almost as bad as his were.”
The painful barb wriggled inside me as he gently placed the linen over me. His footsteps fell heavy on the floorboards as he turned out the light and climbed into bed.
I remained stiff and unyielding, but he spooned me, gathering me tight in his arms.
His erection prodded my ass, making me sick.
The memories of sleeping with Penn and the chemistry between us tried to replace my current situation. But even that wasn’t comforting. Penn had destroyed what I’d felt for him by being so terribly linked to my past.
He’d proven I couldn’t trust anyone.
Only my cat.
Thank goodness, Dad had taken Sage home tonight; otherwise, she’d be unfed and unloved.
God, Dad will panic when I don’t show for work tomorrow.
Fear about his heart pushed through me, ignoring my situation, tearing me into pieces about what this would do to him.
I swallowed my loathing, whispering in the dark. “Greg?”
He snuggled closer, his hips jamming forward. “Yes, baby?”
I shivered. “I’m not your baby.”
“You are now.”
I wouldn’t let him distract me with an argument I couldn’t win. “I need to call my father. You know he has heart issues. He needs to know I’m okay.”
His nose tickled the back of my neck. “He’ll survive.”
I tried to wriggle away, but his arms looped tighter. The damn rope around my wrist kept me pinned. “He’ll panic.”
“Not my problem.”
I shoved backward, rocking the bed. “It is your problem. And I’ll tell you why. If he dies because of the stress of what you’ve done, I’ll never stop trying to kill you. You have my undying promise that I will—”
He slapped a hand over my mouth, dragging my head backward until my skull wedged against his chin. “Hush. I’m trying to sleep.” His cock thrust against my ass. “If you’re a good girl, I might let you call him tomorrow. If you agree to our agreement.”
I tensed.
No way in hell would I willingly sleep with him, but if he held my father’s health as bribery, I would do what he wanted. I’d obey because I could never live with myself if Dad had another heart attack.
I hate you, Greg.
He kissed my cheek. “Now, no more talking.” Wrapping the string from my wrist around his fingers, he stroked my hair with a threat disguised as tenderness. “Goodnight, Elle. Tomorrow is going to be so much fun.”
Chapter Four
Penn
“SHE’S GONE, LARRY.”
I fought every instinct to crush my phone with furious fingers.
My heart, my blood, my motherfucking breath raced with adrenaline from bolting from my place to Elle’s and grabbing the security guard with the threat of a lawsuit if he didn’t let me into her apartment to make sure she was safe in bed and not taken as I feared.
He’d done what I asked.
Her bed was empty.
And now, I stood in her kitchen where red wine stained the floor, her phone and silver bag from the party—the same bag I’d shoved off the limo seat to pull her into my lap—sat sadly on the counter.
A drawer hung open, the pantry unclosed.
Signs of an evident struggle made me fucking wild with rage and worry.
I’ll fucking kill him.
He’d taken her.
He’d hurt her.
And I hadn’t been there for her.
She’d run home because of me. She’d had to put up with that bastard for years because of me.
I have to fix this.
Larry cleared sleep from his throat, slipping into the authority figure I knew and respected. “Gone? Who’s gone?”
“Elle,” I snapped. “That idiot she works with has taken her.”
Larry didn’t ask how I knew or if I was sure. He’d never been suspicious of me because I only ever told him the truth.
He was the exception to my rule.
Mainly because he’d trusted me before I gave him reason to. After hearing my tale when we first met, I’d expected him to scoff and roll his eyes like all the others. But for the first time, someone believed me. He’d stayed by my side and done what he’d promised. He gave me a second chance when no one else would.
His voice lost its haze. “What are the details?”
“Greg came in and abducted her then sent his fucking goonies after me to scare me off.”
“Time-frame?”
“Who the fuck knows.” I paced the kitchen, ignoring the security guard who’d let me in and who was on his phone to the police. “Could’ve been the same time the assholes came to ensure I had bad dreams or could’ve been the moment she left the gala.”
“Have you called her father yet?”
“No.”
Rustling happened in the background as Larry no doubt clambered from bed. Waking him when he needed his rest was not a good thing, but I couldn’t do this on my own. I’d tried to navigate life without leaning on anyone and look where that got me. The day Larry found me was the day I learned how to share and let good things happen to me and not just the bad.
“Hang up and call her father. Tell the police, get all the information you can, then come here. We’ll go after him together.”