Dark Passions: Dark Romance Boxed Set, page 25
“Zane, please remember--”
“Sorry. Nathan.”
“Thank you.”
Jacqueline laughed before she knew the sound was going to come out of her mouth. “What the fuck? I don’t care what your names are, or how tough that little old lady is, or anything about you people. Why are we here and what the hell are you planning on doing to us? We’re three missing women. The police will be looking for us, and they’re going to find this place. What’s wrong with you people that you think you can just pull three women off the street, tie them up and drag them here? I demand you let us go, right now!”
Jacqueline trembled after her outburst with anger, fear and shock. She stared at Nathan, who looked back at her with an expression on his face she wanted to stomp in with one of her boots. He’d raised one eyebrow slightly and looked like he was trying not to smile.
“Oh, Nathan,” Esther said, putting her hand over her mouth. “She’s . . . .” Esther shook her head, gave Jacqueline a smile--a damn smile--and looked almost proud. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
“Wait! Wait, damn it. How can you go along with what he’s doing?” Jacqueline called after her. Sadie was back to weeping loud enough to be irritating, and the new woman just kept mumbling things like yeah, she’s . . . listen to her and things that didn’t really fit the expensive business suit she wore.
“Esther has been with me for years, sweetheart. She’s loyal to me. So is Zane. Anyone else you happen to encounter while you’re here? They’re mine, so don’t waste your breath.”
Another shiver went through her when he said they’re mine, but the ominous sound of it only strengthened her resolve. “I will waste my breath. I’m going to shame these people until they do something to help.” She looked at Zane. “If you get us out of here, I’ll let the police know and they’ll go easy on you. My husband will reward--”
“Enough!” Nathan shot to his feet.
“Garrett will see to it that you never see the light of day again if you don’t let me out of here.” She looked between Zane and Nathan as she spoke. Then she set her eyes on Nathan. “My husband is a lawyer who has friends in the prosecutor’s--”
“Your husband,” Nathan bellowed, “is--”
“Nathan.” Zane spoke in his disarmingly soft way. It sounded like a warning.
“Is . . . not here,” he finished, still as furious as before. “He can’t help you.”
“No,” Jacqueline said, her stomach knotting. “What were you going to say?” She felt hysteria bubbling up. “Did you hurt him? Is he dead? Oh my God, is he--?”
Nathan crossed the few steps to Jacqueline in a flash and lifted her to her feet by her upper arms. His face nearly touching hers, he spat, “He’s alive and unharmed. But if you keep bringing him up, that could easily change.” He pushed her back down and spun on his heel, then stood next to Zane facing the other way. He was enraged. Zane put a hand on his shoulder.
Jacqueline knew how to easily get to him now, but she couldn’t use that knowledge. Not and risk Garrett’s life. Because she believed him. She believed him to be capable of killing a man just because she mentioned him too many times. It had been there, the murderous rage, in the deep green of his eyes.
“If you’re the one who stays, you would do well to forget about your husband if you want him to survive,” Nathan said without turning around. He sighed deeply. “I’m not in the mood for conversation anymore. Let’s get this over with.” Nathan looked to Zane, who nodded and moved behind the couch to hold the woman in the suit by her shoulders.
Nathan removed her blindfold. “Your name?” he asked.
“Beth.”
“Beth.” He began unbuttoning her blouse. Zane pressed down her shoulders while she struggled and shouted for him to knock it off and get away from her.
“You two, just stay put, unless you want me to hurt her,” Nathan said, never looking away from his task. When her shirt was open, he slid his hand under her skirt. She kicked her legs uselessly as his fingers pulled the cup of her bra down and closed on her nipple, squeezing hard enough that Jacqueline thought it must hurt. She closed her thighs tighter and wondered exactly what his hand was doing beneath her skirt. Her groin throbbed lightly with her heartbeat.
Beth screamed and twisted in Zane’s grip, shouting obscenities at Nathan and trying to shift away from his touch.
Nathan let go of her and stood, then shook his head at Zane. Zane scooped Beth up in his arms and carried her out. Nathan stepped in front of Sadie, who whimpered and shook her head.
“Hey, shhh, it’s okay. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
She only blubbered and shook her head, panic keeping her from even giving her name. When Zane came back through the door, she tried to stand and push past Nathan, who caught her easily and gently pushed her back down. When Zane’s hands lowered on her shoulders, Jacqueline thought the girl was going to hyperventilate.
“Jesus, leave her alone. Can’t you see you’re terrifying her?”
Nathan looked at Jacqueline. “I can see that.” He pushed one side of her warm-up jacket out of the way, and rubbed his knuckles over her shirt above her breast. She squealed. He thumbed the nipple that rose up against the fabric, and the more he did it, the more hysterical she became.
He shook his head at Zane. Jacqueline was almost relieved when the crying woman was carried away and on the other side of the closed bedroom door.
“What are you going to do with them?” she said, trying not to let her voice tremble.
“Send them back to their lives.” Nathan sat on the couch next to her. She leaned away, almost arching her back over the arm of the couch to get as much distance between them as possible.
“You’re just going to let them go? Just like that?”
“Of course.”
She laughed. “And you think nothing will happen to you? You’re so arrogant, you think the police won’t come find you after they report what happened?”
His smile showed his teeth. “None of that will happen, because they won’t remember any of this. They’ll be put back where they were before they were brought here. They might experience a brief moment of disorientation before they shake their pretty little heads and go about their business, wondering where the hell the time has gone, but that’s it.”
Jacqueline felt herself gaping at him. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m dead serious.”
“But that’s just a rumor. Some new-technology, conspiracy-theory crap people talk about on the Internet because they’re bored. Nobody can really alter someone’s memories like that.”
“Can’t they?” He reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She flinched. “Some rumors are rumors because they’re true.”
She shook her head, refusing to believe it, but fearing it might actually be real. “What about me?”
“If you don’t pass my test, you’ll go back to your life, too. And you’ll never know you were here.”
Jacqueline suddenly didn’t know which was worse. Being kept there with this insane man, or having her memories, her mind, changed. The thought of that made her stomach knot. For a moment she thought she might be sick. Her fears must have shown on her face, because Nathan shook his head.
“Hey, it’s okay. I would never hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid . . . of any outcome. Especially since I know what it will be. You know how being here has affected you, don’t you? How it felt to see what I was doing to them? How . . . helpless you feel? How owned?”
Zane came back in and moved behind the couch, ready to hold Jacqueline for whatever Nathan wanted to do to her. But Nathan scooted closer and put a hand on her thigh.
“He doesn’t need to hold you down for me, does he?”
Jacqueline drew back her knee and kicked Nathan, catching him in the shoulder with her boot. She rolled off the couch, a bad idea with no hands free, and struggled to her feet. She bolted for the door, but Zane scooped her up into a fireman’s carry before she got near it.
“I guess I do need him to hold you down. My mistake.” Nathan’s voice sounded strangely pleased, and she wished she’d gotten him in the face instead of the shoulder.
Zane lowered her to her feet and held her upper arms. She kicked as Nathan approached, but he moved too close too quickly, preventing her from doing more than driving her knees into his outer thighs and hips. He stood between her legs, keeping them apart, with Zane behind her preventing her from shifting much.
“You’re making this so much more difficult than it needs to be. Just hold still. It’s easy to let go--you know that, deep down.”
She closed her eyes, her breaths coming fast, her heart throbbing in fear. “Please don’t,” she managed.
“Shhhhhh.” Nathan unzipped her jeans, his hand sliding between the open fly and her body. His fingers remained on the outside of her underwear.
Jacqueline struggled, but they had her pinned. As his fingertips slid down, down, she felt his breath against her face as he gasped. “Just as I thought.”
She knew her underwear were wet, and now he’d felt it. He knew. He rubbed two fingers against her, lightly pressing the silky, damp underwear into her folds. Then the finger was gone.
“Open your eyes.”
She did. He held his fingers up for her to see how wet they were, just from touching her through her underwear. Then he sucked them into his mouth and moaned. “I knew you’d be like this. I didn’t even have to touch you first.”
Nathan smiled at her. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going? What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted after him, struggling against Zane’s hold on her. “You--Zane--if you help me get out of here, I’ll make sure the authorities know you helped me, okay? They’ll cut you a deal, or maybe let you off--”
“You’re wasting your time, hon. Nathan’s my brother, and this is important to him. There’s nothing you can offer me to change any of this. If you’ll just cooperate with him, play along, you’ll see what a good thing this is. Nobody wants you to be unhappy.”
Jacqueline felt like bawling as she tried to pull her arms free. “You’re all fucking insane!”
Nathan came back with a bottle of water. Jacqueline hadn’t realized just how thirsty she was until she saw it, condensation running down its side. He opened it and moved to hold it up to her lips. She flinched back.
“Let me do this for you,” he said softly.
She was thirsty enough that she wasn’t going to argue. She let him hold the bottle up to her lips while she gulped down the water. It was so cold it stung, but she enjoyed the crisp bite of it. She drank so greedily that a little water ran down her chin, but he held it up until she pulled back, gasping.
Nathan screwed the lid back on the half-empty bottle and placed it on one of the bedside tables. He opened the door of a huge, walk-in closet opposite the bed and pulled out a small dress on a black, plastic hanger. As he lay it on the bed, he pointed at another door.
“The bathroom is through there. I’m going to release you now so that you may take a shower and do whatever you need to. The windows in this room and the bathroom are barred, so please don’t even try that.”
He moved in front of her again and put his hands on her hips, squeezing gently. “I’ve chosen the dress I want you to put on for dinner. So shower or soak in a nice, hot bath and dress. Soon, I’ll come fetch you. You missed lunch, so you must be getting hungry by now.”
He nodded at Zane, who let go of her and started working at the ropes that held her wrists.
“When he unties you, if you try to fight us, I’ll be forced to tie you again and wash you myself. I would enjoy that, but I’m not sure you want your dignity abused that way. At least, not today.” Nathan flashed her another wide grin.
“Are you going to cooperate? Bathe and dress for dinner so we can eat like civilized people? Or will I have to keep you tied and bathe and feed you like a child? Hmm?” He leaned closer, and she almost thought he was going to kiss her.
Play along. Zane’s words echoed in her head. Was that a hint? Was he helping her without giving the appearance of helping her? Surely it would be easier to escape if she played along and waited for the right opportunity. If he started to trust her, he might make a mistake . . . .
“I won’t fight you.”
Nathan stared at her as if he didn’t believe her, but then nodded. “Good. It’ll be no more than two hours until dinner, but that should be time enough for you to get ready. You could even take a nap, if you wish.”
As soon as her wrists were freed, she rubbed them even though they weren’t really irritated. It felt good to not have the ropes holding her there, and she wanted to give the impression that it had bothered her more than it really had. He reached for her hands, frowning in concern.
Jacqueline flinched back. Nathan’s eyes seemed to grow dark, but he didn’t insist on touching her.
“There’s nothing here that would make a suitable weapon, and nothing you can use to escape. So get that thought out of your head right now.” His voice had gone a little cold. “And don’t think of breaking the mirrors to try to stab someone with the pieces. That’s just a bad movie cliché. Besides, they’re antiques, Jacqueline.”
He left the room, with Zane closing and locking the door behind them.
She picked up the short, black dress he’d laid out for her for dinner and went into the bathroom. She thought about breaking the mirror just because he’d told her not to, almost scolding her for something before she’d done it.
“They’re antiques, Jacqueline,” she said in a mocking tone. She didn’t care if they were priceless damn artifacts, she--
Jacqueline gasped, a shiver running through her. Jacqueline. He called me Jacqueline.
He’d never asked her name.
Chapter 2
Jacqueline couldn’t nap, as he’d suggested. But she didn’t hop right in the bathtub, either. She hung the dress from a hook on the door and went back to the bedroom. She took another drink of the bottled water, then looked carefully around the room for anything that might help her get out of there. The windows were barred just as he’d said. She could see only grass, flowers and trees out the three windows in the bedroom. No neighbor’s home nearby, so she couldn’t try breaking the glass through the bars when neighbors were outside to draw their attention.
She couldn’t find anything that would make a suitable weapon. Drawers and the closet only held clothes with plastic hangers. She tried snapping one, thinking maybe it would be stiff enough to make some sort of a weapon, but it only bent and hurt her hands to try.
Toiletries in the bathroom were the standard fare--toothbrush, toothpaste, soap shampoo. The hairbrush didn’t even have a handle that could be used as a weapon--you held it in the palm of your hand like a horse brush. She threw it against the wall and slumped onto the toilet lid.
“You finally get the bathroom of your dreams, and you’re held prisoner in it,” she mumbled, a bitter laugh shocking her. The whirlpool tub was huge, the sink and vanity five times the size of any she’d ever used. The cabinetry wasn’t the cheap, pre-fab kind most people had, but custom woodwork in a distressed gray that looked elegant against the peach porcelain tile. She’d always wanted a bathroom like this--modern but with an elegant, antique appeal.
Garrett had scoffed at her suggestions and had their bathroom done in a pure white--tile, toilet, tub, vanity. It looked clean and fresh, but so sterile. He insisted she only buy white bars of soap, and that the shampoo and other gels be put in white porcelain bottles. She remembered the first time she tried to inject a little color by buying some pretty pastel peach and blue towels. He’d thrown them out, saying they messed up the white theme of the room. She’d thought it added warmth to the coldness of it.
When she got home--because I AM going to get home--maybe she’d fight a little harder for a bathroom more like this one. She’d deserve it, she thought. She hated that damn white room.
With a sigh, she wondered what Garrett was doing. He had to know something was wrong by now. He was biting his fingernails, she just knew it, and she wasn’t there to remind him to stop. He’d bite them down to sore little nubs the way he did when things worried him. And he’d smoke, which he only did when upset.
Thinking of Garrett chewing his nails and getting more and more nervous without her there made her want to cry again. Her chin quivered against her will, but she shook her head and looked at herself in the beautifully-framed antique mirror Nathan was so worried about her breaking. “No. Keep yourself together, Jacqueline. You have to keep it together.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out. She would be okay.
Jacqueline washed her hair under the rain-style showerhead, then filled the tub. She was in no hurry to leave the hot, pulsating water that did serve to relax her. Play along, Zane had said. She didn’t know how easy that would be to do, but she didn’t think she had much choice. Nathan had only threatened her husband when she’d mentioned him, but what if she made him angry in some other way?
Please don’t worry, Garrett. He’ll mess up. I’ll have an opportunity to get out. I just have to be patient.
Instead of worrying about Garrett, she thought about Nathan. What he’d said to her. What he’d done.
Jacqueline squeezed her legs together and felt that same soft staccato thrum in her center. She slid a finger between her lips and rubbed herself where he had. She was still embarrassingly slick there, made more so by the water. How could that have happened? It hadn’t turned her on, watching him touch those women against their will. It hadn’t. It couldn’t.
Then why was she so wet? And why did she want to keep rubbing now and bring herself off, even though she was scared about what was going to happen to her?
She made a sound of disgust and used a washcloth and soap to scrub away the evidence of her desire. Her body had reacted strangely from panic and fright, that was all.
After she’d washed everywhere thoroughly, she leaned her head back and just tried to breathe and think about keeping her wits about her. When her fingertips started to raisin up, she wrapped herself in a soft, peach towel and blow-dried her hair, finger-combing it as she did so. Once it was dried, she picked up the brush and used it, then threw it back onto the floor. She left the blow dryer on the vanity, and flicked water onto the mirror after she’d brushed her teeth. It felt childish, but it was all she had right then.
