“It’s because you’re smarter than them, than the whole lot of them.” It was like his encouragement that I’d imagined, only better. “Charli Collins, you can do this, you can save your mother and yourself. Deloris is working on getting your grandfather’s will. The problem is that it’s only on paper. If it were electronic, she’d already have it.”
“Nox, I love you. Please remember that. I wish we were together. I wish I were in your arms.”
His tone lowered. “Princess, if we were together, by now you’d be over my knee.”
My cheeks rose. “As long as I ended up in your arms.”
“You’d start there and finish there, but in the middle, I’d redden your beautiful ass for putting us both through this hell. Tell me why you got in that car.”
“I told you. My momma is sick, so much more than I ever imagined. If I didn’t go with Alton, he wouldn’t let me see her. If I don’t do as he says, he’ll let her suffer. He’ll take away all her money.”
“Isn’t it hers? That’s what Deloris has said.”
“It is,” I confirmed. “According to the part of the will I saw, if I don’t marry Bryce and stay married to him…” The words hurt, not just saying them, but also knowing what they must be doing to Nox. “…all of Montague will be liquidated and the assets diverted to Fitzgerald Investments. That includes the corporation, the manor, the investments—all of the assets. Everything. My momma and I’ll be left penniless.”
“You know I wouldn’t let that happen.”
“I can’t… I can’t accept that from you. My mother isn’t your responsibility. Neither am I. And you know that if this just concerned me, I’d walk. I did when they took my trust fund. If she were well, I’d seriously consider it. But she isn’t.”
“You are my responsibility.” His tone was final and decisive. “And with you comes whomever you want. Your mother will never be indigent.”
“That’s the word he used.”
“He’s a bastard and he’s playing on your emotions. Charli, let Patrick help you get to the old road, the one where he used to pick you up after family gatherings.”
My chest swelled, not only with the memories, but also the idea of Nox and Patrick talking, planning, and working together to support me. I considered his offer. It would be easy to be saved, to be rescued. But Nox had told me he wasn’t Prince Charming, and I refused to be the damsel in distress. This was my fight. I needed to see it through, not just for me, but also for my momma.
“I-I can’t. It won’t work. It’s a long walk from the manor to the road. By the time I get back, they’ll notice. I can’t possibly be gone that long during the party.”
“Fuck, you aren’t going back. While I’m getting you, Isaac will get your mom. It’ll happen before anyone knows what hit them. Then you’ll both be safe. We’ll get her all the medical care she needs in New York.”
I took a deep breath. “I want that. With all my heart, I want that, but if we leave, he wins. I don’t give a damn about Montague, but it’s what my momma has worked for her whole life. He can’t win.”
“He won’t. You do what you need to do to get to me on Saturday. Just don’t fucking kiss him again.”
My skin prickled with shame. “I had to think of something. He was about to find the phone. I tried to distract him. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I hate it. I hate the idea of him in the same fucking room as you. Touching you. Kissing you.” Each phrase was deeper, like a growl. “I hate it, Charli, but it’s him. I don’t hate you. I don’t blame you. I want you safe. And while I know firsthand how distracting you can be, come up with another distraction.
“You should probably know that once you’re safe, he’s going down and so is your stepfather. They aren’t winning, unless body bags are prizes.”
Why didn’t that upset me? It should, but it didn’t.
“Nox, this isn’t your battle; it’s mine. I have to fight it.”
“Princess, you can, with me by your side.”
“I’ll call you whenever I can. I can’t make any promises. Just know that I’m safe.”
“One more thing,” Nox said. “Take care of Chelsea.”
My neck stiffened. “Why would you say that? You have no idea. I can’t even process. She helped them, luring me back here. She barely looks at me, and she’s with—”
“I know more than I can say, especially now. We need time to talk, but she’s trying to help you.”
“No, Nox, she isn’t. She’s living my life. She used me for four years and I never saw it. I thought she was my friend. She’s no better than them.”
“Princess, you have every reason to lash out, but she’s not the right target.”
I sat up as my volume rose. “Fuck that. You haven’t seen her. Ask me to stay safe. Fuck, ask me to stab Alton in his sleep, but don’t put Chelsea on my watch list. I’m sure as hell not on hers.”
“You’ve said it yourself: things aren’t always what they seem. Would I lie to you?”
“I don’t know, Nox, would you? Because this seems out of left field.”
“No, I wouldn’t and I haven’t.”
“Then tell me why I should take care of her? As far as I’m concerned, she and Millie can start their own harem. Let them be Bryce’s distraction. I don’t care.”
“Do you trust me?”
Nox’s question set my mind spinning to every time he’d asked me that, to satin bindings, hot wax, and crops. My skin tingled and core clenched. “Yes, I trust you.”
“Then do it—help her. Saturday night we’ll start with you in my arms.”
“I-I can’t promise…”
“I can. I love you, Charli. Hold on until Saturday.”
“Nox, I love you, too. I probably should go. Please don’t give up on me.”
“Never.”
Begrudgingly, I disconnected the call, wiped my tear-stained face, and attempted to pull myself together. The severed connection ripped a hole in my chest, creating a void that longed to be filled. For only a few minutes it had. I could have talked to him forever, but my mind was a ticking clock, and for today, my time was about to run out. I needed to get back to the manor.
Sadness and fear bubbled through me, paralyzing me to my near future. The road Nox mentioned was closer than the manor. Could I go there and call him, have Isaac come today?
My body tingled with excitement… I could.
No. I couldn’t.
Like a clear sky after a storm, the excitement disappeared. All energy was gone. For only a moment my weary body collapsed back onto the grass. Overhead, the white clouds were filling with colors: multiple shades of pinks and purples.
Dusk was looming on the horizon.
Saturday.
Hold on until Saturday.
I could do that. I could make it for four more days. I’d survived five, but at what cost?
The impending twilight propelled me up and forward. I couldn’t be late for dinner. Heaven forbid. It was always at seven.
As I began walking back toward the manor, my thoughts returned to the scene in Alton’s office. I detested what I’d done, but saving the phone and speaking to Nox made it worth it.
The end justified the means.
It wasn’t a legal defense, but sometimes it was true.
Seeing the phone’s charger sail across the shiny table had made my heart skip a beat. In that second I knew one thing: I hadn’t zipped the inside compartment and the phone could easily be next.
When I’d moved my lipstick, I should have secured the phone. But then again, I’d never expected the search and interrogation. I’d never imagined that I was being so closely watched.
The crimson shades of the Savannah sunset intensified as I continued walking, not seeing the world around me, but reliving this afternoon’s scene.
I searched Bryce’s gray eyes, looking for a sign of the person I used to know, a clue that the boy I’d considered a friend still existed somewhere beneath this Alton clone.
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The shutting of the door echoed through the silence, alerting us that we were alone.
Bryce looked from me to my backpack and to me again. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why don’t you want me mad?”
My mouth went dry as I looked up to him. “Because you were right.” His eyes opened wider. “About what you said the first day you took me to see my mom. You said that you were either my only friend or my worst enemy. I seem to have enough of the latter; I could use a friend.”
“A friend?” he asked, lifting my left hand and looking down at the diamond.
My eyes closed, lingering in the darkness, encouraging me to continue. “I never asked for more.”
“Sometimes life gives us surprises, gifts we never knew we wanted or in my case, never knew were possible. You see, Alexandria, you’re my gift. I’ve wanted you and you’ve shut me down, time after time. Yes, I dated the great Alexandria Montague Collins. I had a reputation, but never did I get from you what I wanted most.”
I tried to move away, but my body was captive between him and the table. “Can’t we go slowly?”
He caressed my cheek. “How fucking slow do you want to go? Any slower and we’d be in reverse. You’re not a scared kid and I’m not a fumbling teenager. I know what I like. It’ll happen. And you’ll like it too. Let’s get past that and move on.”
“I don’t want our first time to be something we’re getting past.”
His thin lips twisted into a smirk. “Darling, things have changed. It’s time you learned to accept it. You aren’t in charge of this. The only reason I’m not fucking you on this table right now is out of respect for what we once had. Each time you screw with us, each time you think you’ve worked a way out of this, another bit of that respect is chucked out the proverbial window.” He took a step toward me, but there was nowhere for me to retreat. The table’s edge bit into the back of my upper thighs as his hips pressed closer. “It’s up to you, because I’m ready to take you and make you mine. I’m ready to wash all memories of Demetri from your mind. Because once my dick is buried inside of you…” His smirk grew at my uncontrolled grimace. “What’s the matter, darling, you can dish out the language to my mother, but you can’t take it?”
I swallowed the bile. “Go on, Bryce, if it makes you feel like a real man to threaten to rape me, go on.”
“I’m not threatening and I’m not going to rape you. I’m going to make my fiancée mine. I’m going to fuck you so good, you won’t remember ever being with anyone else.”
I was certain that wasn’t possible.
“This wasn’t the discussion I had in mind,” I said, “when I said I didn’t want you to leave angry.”
“Then what do you propose, Miss Collins?”
I willed the repulsion to diminish. It was just a kiss, a means to save the phone, a means to get to Nox. I could do it.
“A kiss, a real kiss.”
Bryce stood taller. “I want to make love and you’re offering me a kiss? That’s kind of like offering a starving man a cracker. It may sustain me, but it won’t ease the hunger.”
“With Chelsea around, I doubt you’re starving.”
He shrugged. “McDonald’s is hardly satisfying when I have caviar in the palm of my hand.”
I took a deep breath, hoping to get away from the food analogies. I didn’t want to think about him and Chelsea. Not that I gave a shit who he screwed as long as it wasn’t me. Then again, maybe I did care, enough to also wish it wasn’t her.
“I get it. I’m not in charge. I understand that the decision is now yours.” With each phrase his expression softened. “But I also believe that we’re more than fiancés. We were friends. It’s something Alton and Momma didn’t have. I’m asking you to please not ruin that, not to take that advantage away. I meant what I said: I want you as my friend, even after we’re married.”
The words came easier than I expected.
“You scared me when I got home.” I went on. “I don’t like seeing you that way. I want my friend.”
His hand slipped behind my head, down to my neck. As it did, all hopes of a chaste, friendly kiss evaporated.
“Show me, Alex.”
I exhaled. Alex. For the first time since I’d returned, he called me the name I wanted to be called. Lifting my chin, my lips met his. With everything in me, I wanted to back away, but I was trapped. Instead, I closed my eyes and imagined full, possessive lips, ones below light blue eyes.
Bryce’s tongue pushed against the seam of my lips.
With a warm tear descending my cheek, I granted him access. It was a small concession, I reminded myself. I’d kissed him before when we were young. I’d given in this much. This was no different. This was for Nox. This was for the phone.
With increased fervor, Bryce’s fingers entwined in my hair and he pulled me closer, bruising my mouth and flattening my breasts against his chest. I struggled to breathe as his tongue probed. My body fought the urge to fight, to take in air and rid myself of his invasion.
When Bryce finally loosened his grasp, his gray eyes searched me, looking for my true emotion. I was slowly blinking mine open, only showing small openings to my thoughts. I couldn’t let him see my feelings and I was too upset to hide them; instead, I lowered my chin, rested my forehead against his chest, and concentrated on breathing, each inhale deeper than the last. While I worked to keep my revulsion at bay, Bryce stroked my hair with a newfound gentleness, one he hadn’t shown during the kiss.
I’d calmed him, if only for a moment.
“I want this too,” he said.
An answer wouldn’t come, not without crying. I simply nodded.
Bryce lifted my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. “I’m not mad anymore.”
“Friend?” I managed to ask.
“Fiancé.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know why I was thanking him, but it seemed right for the mood we’d created. “For being patient.”
“My mother is waiting for you.”
I nodded again, lifted my backpack, and walked toward the door.
“‘I’ll run this up to my room, and then I’ll be out.” After I brush my teeth and gargle for ten minutes. I didn’t add the last part.
Bryce reached for the bag. “I’ll take it. Mom said you have an appointment.”
I forced a smile. “Yes, for wedding dresses. I appreciate your offer, fiancé.” I lifted myself to my toes and brushed my lips over his. “Alton is waiting for you. Of the two, I think your mom will be the easiest to pacify.”
With his eyes wide and a growing grin, Bryce shrugged. “You’re probably right. I’ll see you tonight. We’ll be back.”
Damn, couldn’t he eat at his own house? “We’ll?”
“All of us. I’m hoping this new—or renewed—friendship is still present.”
Did all of us include Chelsea? I didn’t ask. Instead, I took a step toward the stairs. “I’ll see you tonight.” Before he could answer, I hurried upward with my backpack in hand and visions of cool mint toothpaste.
AS I MADE my way toward the manor, images of the afternoon scene with Bryce were easily overshadowed by thoughts of Nox and our call. I’d stowed the phone and charger in an old storage shed beyond the tennis courts. It was seldom used since no one played tennis. The small building held rackets and balls as well as maintenance equipment. It was also supplied with electricity, so I could keep the phone charged.
I didn’t want to leave it, but I feared taking it back into the house. Closing and latching the old shed, I turned toward the manor. From a distance, the windows’ golden glow likened it to a Thomas Kincaid picture, an inviting image with the warm illumination contrasting the cooling Georgia evening.
It was an illusion.
As I entered through a back patio door, there was no welcoming warmth filling the cool air. Only the clatter of dishes and staff from the kitchen and dining area gave the mansion life. I avoided the office and sitting rooms as I slipped inside a
nd glanced at my watch.
I’d made it in time with minutes to spare. Circumventing the main hallways, I scurried up the back stairs near the kitchen toward my room. As I rounded the last bend, I nearly ran into Jane. Her large hands cupped my shoulders while a relieved smile overtook her face.
“Child, thank the good Lord. You had me worried. Mr. Fitzgerald’s been asking for you.”
The memories of Nox faded like my expression as my nerves jumped to life. “I went for a walk. After the afternoon with Suzanna, I needed air.”
She tugged me up the last few stairs. “Hurry. I’ll tell him you’re getting ready. Dinner’s soon.”
“I will.” I lowered my volume. “Do you know what he wants?”
“Something about your momma. That place called here for you too, when you’re out with Miss Carmichael.”
“But I came back and no one said anything.”
“Child, you was here and then gone. I went to your room and you were out of here.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “This is why I need a phone. You need to be able to reach me.”
Jane turned down a hallway toward my room, leaving me half of a step behind. “Keep doing like you doing. It’ll come.” She stopped at the door and inserted the key. Pushing the door wide, she continued. “I don’t know what they want. But you’re helping her. I know you are.”
“Thanks, Jane.”
“Now hurry.”
I smiled. “I thought I was now your boss.”
“You always have been.” Her shoulders straightened and eyes brightened. “But now I’m the house manager.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Love you, child… Miss Alex.”
“I love you, too.”
She lowered her voice again. “That fresh air did you good. The smile on your face was mighty pretty as you were coming up those stairs.”
It wasn’t the air that had given me the smile, but Nox. I shrugged, not willing to share him, even with Jane. “The land has always been one of the things I liked around here. It’s beautiful. I could walk around all day.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” She winked. “Cause if I was to guess, you was thinking about someplace besides here.” She gently pushed me through my doorway. “Now hurry. You need to be downstairs in seven minutes.”