Rule of Law: A Chimera Novel, page 9
Going to the bedroom door, Lana pulled it open and strode into the living room.
Law was nowhere to be found. She heard the elevator in the foyer ding and waited for the inner doors to open. Seconds later, Monty arrived with a serving cart. Same deal as before. Domed platters and deluxe tableware.
“Law told me you’d be hungry,” he said amiably. “There’s food in the fridge too. I already restocked it.”
“Thanks.” Lana’s tone was curt. “That wasn’t necessary. But maybe you can help me with something else.”
“Uh, I guess so. I mean, sure.”
“Don’t look so damn scared,” Lana snapped. “I just want to know something. Who is Aria?”
Chapter Thirteen
Monty blinked then quickly looked away. “I don’t know.”
Lana circled him like a cat zeroing in on a mouse. “And who’s Jhett?”
Monty smiled with obvious adoration for the aforementioned. “She’s—Law’s—main girl.”
Air whooshed from her chest. Damn it, why did that bother her? Rationalizing that it was actually good news, Lana swept the reasons why it wasn’t from her mind. At least now she knew where she stood with Law. The “main girl” information saved her from making a fool of herself. Lana wasn’t a poacher but more than that, she refused to play the one-up game for a man. Any man. The degradation the girls at the club subjected themselves to for high rollers disgusted her. But she wasn’t any better than they were. The things she’d done for a fix were as degrading.
She wasn’t going there. Never again. There were other ways out of here.
The gatekeeper stood before her. And if that puppy dog look on his face was any indicator of his willingness to please, this was going to be as easy.
“I asked Henri to make you something special,” Monty said proudly. “I hope you like eggs.”
The aroma wafting from the tray suddenly had her salivating. “I do. Thank you.”
With a flourish, Monty removed the domed lids from the dishes. The eggs benedict looked divine. “There’s fruit, toast and yogurt too.”
There was enough food to feed five of her.
“I brought coffee and tea and hot chocolate. I wasn’t sure…” he looked at her, wanting desperately to please.
“I like them all, but I prefer coffee in the morning.”
He grinned. “And regular cream and vanilla cream.”
Lana sat down at the sleek glass dining table. One by one, and ever so carefully, Monty set the plates in a half circle before her. “If you need anything, Miss Lana, I’ll be right in the kitchen.”
Lana nodded, digging into the scrumptious meal. Her taste buds happily danced, her belly greedily accepted each delicious bite, panting for more. She’d lost a lot of weight over the last year. Time to reverse that.
Unable to take another bite, Lana sat back in the chair, satiated.
“That was really good, Monty. Thank you.”
He smiled sheepishly. “I’ll tell Henri.”
“Who is Henri?”
“Law’s chef. Law takes care of us.”
“He kidnapped me, Monty. I don’t think that’s taking very good care of me.” She didn’t feel the slightest twinge of guilt for disobeying Law’s order to not talk to Monty at all besides hello and goodbye.
“He must have a good reason. Law doesn’t do anything without a good reason.”
Lana sat back in the chair, doubtful she could stand she was so full. “Law isn’t his real name, is it?”
Monty suddenly found the floor quite interesting.
“You can tell me the truth, Monty. I can keep a secret,” she said in a low conspiring tone.
Lana ignored the twinge of guilt that sparked with her question. She instinctively knew that the damage to Monty’s head had something to do with how he processed things. While she was respectful of his condition, she was also trying to survive in a hostile environment. Patiently, Lana just let her comment sit there for him to contemplate.
“No one here has a real name.”
“Why?”
“We’re ghosts.”
“Can you tell me what you mean by that?”
Monty shrugged, offering no further explanation. The hidden story of this mysterious organization and the man at the top was way too intriguing to let go. She wanted to know every nitty-gritty detail about all of them. Especially Law.
“Is Law called Law because he’s the boss? Is that the reason?”
Monty’s cheeks paled a few shades. “No.”
Cocking her head, she studied him for a long moment. “Then why?”
Monty’s face tightened as he grabbed empty plates and stacked them. “Because he killed a cop.”
Chapter Fourteen
The blood drained from Lana’s face. Law killed a cop? Stunned, she didn’t move. Didn’t know what to say. How? Why? If he was capable of cold-blooded murder, would he kill her too?
“Wh-why isn’t he in prison?”
Ignoring her, Monty continued to vigorously remove the dishes from the table.
“Please, Monty. I need to know.” Would the reason even matter?
“It was a long time ago. Back in the Legion days.”
“Legion?”
“I’m not supposed to talk about what went on then.”
“Are you talking about Lucifer’s Legion?” she nearly shrieked. The Legion was not unknown to her. They were a vicious motorcycle gang that hung out at the strip club. They were a rough bunch. For reasons unknown to her, Anton allowed them into the Ultimate. She’d heard that the girls who’d left with them never came back.
“Look, I have to know. Why did he kill a cop?”
Monty finally stopped his agitated cleaning up and stood straight. Looking her in the eye, he said, “You’re not going to get Law in trouble, are you?”
“No—I—how could I? He’s holding me prisoner here!”
Monty covered the stacked tray with a cloth. “I have to go.”
“Please stay,” she softly pleaded. “I promise I won’t ask more questions.”
“What did I tell you about leaving Monty alone?” Law’s deep voice asked from the opposite side of the penthouse. She hadn’t heard the elevator. Where had he come from?
Nervously, she stood as he moved toward her, his piercing green eyes riveted on her. He epitomized the devil in both character and dress. Shining black hair. Custom black suit. Black shoes, black shirt, and onyx cufflinks.
The Law who’d stayed by her side night and day, watchful and caring, was gone. In his place, the dark predator she had met two weeks ago.
“I’m not bothering him, we’re just having casual conversation.” Had he heard Monty’s stunning revelation?
“Monty, you can come back in about an hour,” Law stated. The tenor of his voice was calm when he spoke to his man.
Leaving the cart behind, Monty hurried out of the penthouse. When the elevator door closed behind him, Law turned his full attention on Lana. Every instinct told her to run and hide. But where? And when had she ever bothered to pay attention to instinct? Wordlessly, he came closer. Balling her hands into fists to keep them from shaking, Lana stood defiant.
Her heightened awareness of his capacity to kill renewed her desire to escape. Despite it, she was angry he had committed an unforgivable crime.
When he reached toward her, she flinched. But all he did was sweep the hair from her shoulder. Then feather light, he touched—just barely—the bruises on her neck.
Her skin warmed, her nipples tightened. Jesus. What was wrong with her?
“Did I hurt you?” he asked huskily.
Oh, let her count the ways. “Bruises don’t usually pop up without contact.” His nightmare had somehow triggered his violent outburst. It was highly likely that she’d have to defend herself against more—and worse.
“I’m sorry,” he said, tracing her collarbone.
Biting her bottom lip, Lana tilted her head back and looked up at him. Without blinking she asked, “Who’s Aria?”
Lightning flashed in his eyes. Fingers tightened against her flesh. Lana stood rigid, forcing herself not to shrink away in fear. Thunder rumbled deep in his chest.
“Where did you hear that name?” he bit through clenched teeth.
“You—last night—before you hurt me.”
He stepped back from her. For a long few seconds he wrestled with an explanation. Instead of giving her one, he strode to the tall bank of windows that overlooked the Oakland estuary. The dark swirling clouds gathering in the sky rivaled the storm brewing in the penthouse.
Hands clasped behind his back, legs spread, chin high, Law stood motionless.
“She’s someone I used to know.”
“Did you love her?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still love her?”
“Yes.”
Lana’s body shivered. The profound sadness in his voice moved her. What kind of woman was Aria to be loved so deeply by a man like Law? He didn’t give any of himself to anyone. He was a complicated puzzle with damaged pieces. Lana’s feminine urge to soothe his hurt away and make him whole again was strong.
Lunacy, she told herself. He was a cop killer.
“What happened?”
“I don’t discuss Aria.” He turned those lethal green eyes on her. “With anyone. Don’t ask me about her again.”
“Well, I’m glad she’s gone. You would have hurt her just like you hurt me!”
Color drained from his face as unleashed emotions contorted his features. Pain. Terror, if that was possible, and lastly, anger. At her.
“You’re a vicious little bitch. Now I know why your father sold you off.”
Law shoved past her to the bedroom, leaving her speechless in the middle of the living room. His sharp words hurt. The urge to hurt back harder swept through her. Rage whipped into a furious frenzy.
She hadn’t asked for any of this. Yes, he had helped her, undoubtedly only because it suited some nefarious purpose he had yet to reveal. And he had no right to hold her here against her will. Fuck him. Spurred by hurt, frustration and biting jealousy she couldn’t rationalize, Lana nearly ran to the bedroom.
Law looked up from his phone just as she lunged at him.
Flinging out a long arm, Law caught Lana around the waist and tossed her onto the bed. When he turned his back to her, Lana screeched and jumped on his back. Law shrugged her off. Lana jumped at him again. He turned as she hit him square in the chest.
Law’s arm locked around her waist, forcing the breath from her. “Stop it! Right now!”
She answered his snarl with a shriek. “No!”
Chapter Fifteen
Law let her go and stepped back. Long seconds ticked by. With each one, Lana’s heart beat higher in her throat.
“What’s your fucking problem?” he asked.
“My fucking problem is you.”
“I’m not your problem, I’m just a manifestation of it.” He shook his head.
“That’s cold. You’re cold.”
“As ice.”
“Is that an excuse? Seriously lame, Law.”
“It is what it is. And I’m not accountable to you.”
“Bullshit. You kidnapped me. You’re holding me hostage. There are consequences.”
He snorted. “I’m not sure you know the meaning of that word.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You owed Anton almost twenty large for that nasty little habit of yours. As payment, you signed a contract agreeing to give the person in possession of it control of you. I hold the contract. I want you here. That’s what I call consequences.”
Smug fucker. She wanted to hit him. “I signed under—duress. I was strung out. Desperate. Hopeless.”
He seemed unimpressed. “Are you still desperate and hopeless?”
“Yes—I—hate being forced to do anything against my will.”
“No one likes it, princess. But this is the real world. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you’ll feel better about it.”
“Wonderful. I totally want to feel better,” she snapped. “I just have to learn to wait, right?”
Law shrugged. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for the poor little rich girl?”
Tears stung her eyes. He had no idea what she had endured. Witnessed. Lived in constant fear of. “You haven’t walked in my shoes. You don’t get to judge me.”
“Touché.”
With that one word, he sucked the life out of her fight. He was right. And just as he had not one clue as to her demons, she was clueless about his.
Gently, Law reached out to her cheek and caught a teardrop on his fingertip. “I’m not that difficult to get along with.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“Impossibly amazing.” He grinned. Her heart thudded. She didn’t know what to do with this Law. Tenderness was foreign to her. It knocked her off balance. Made her suspicious.
It was crystal clear to her that she was a means to an end for him, and it had to do with Dragovich. An old score to settle? A super secret deal? It didn’t matter. What did matter, if she admitted to it, was that she was caught off guard by Law’s kindness and in fact actually craved it. That wasn’t something she accepted easily.
A sob escaped her tight lips. Lana couldn’t help it.
“Tears don’t work on me,” Law drawled.
Anger flashed again. “You’re such an asshole!”
Pushing away from him, not wanting to look at him another second, she went to the bedroom window. Crossing her arms, she gazed at the tempestuous bay. The dark water rolled and dipped, whitecaps curling on the troubled surface beneath the slanted rain.
“I don’t like to be used as someone’s tool of vengeance.”
Law’s big body shadowed her much smaller one. Heat emanated from him, a stark contrast to the chill she could almost feel rising from the water below.
“I don’t blame you.”
Lana exhaled and turned slowly. Looking at his shadowed face, she found his dark gaze staring past her to the bay behind her. “No apology? Just business as usual?”
Finally he lowered his gaze to hers. “Do you want me to lie to you? Invent some gallant bullshit?”
“It would be nice to know that you’re not a complete monster.”
“I think I’ve proven to you that I’m not.”
“You’re fattening me up. I’m your sacrificial lamb. What’s not monstrous about that?” Lana shook her head frustrated with so many things none of which she had control. “You’re no better than Dragovich.”
Law’s jaw tightened. “Don’t forget it.” He headed for his cave, brushing by her, shutting the door soundly behind him.
When he emerged from the secret room sometime later, Lana still stood at the window. The rain had stopped and the distant city glittered like a Christmas tree, casting speckled streams of light on the water far away.
“What day is it?”
“December twenty-first.” When Lana turned around she caught her breath. Law was barefoot and dressed down in worn jeans and a black T-shirt that made her heart go pitter-patter. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she’d end up in bed with him. Consciously.
“I want to leave.”
He shrugged. “I’m not having this conversation with you again.”
Hands on hips, Lana calmly began, “As your kidnapped victim, just how much of my life am I obliged to give you?”
He shrugged again. “Your contract doesn’t include an expiration date.”
“My contract with Anton was simply that I’d give a private dance at his residence in exchange for drugs. I never agreed to be sold off.”
Law moved past her into the living room. She hurried behind him, hot on his heels, ready to press her point when he stopped at his desk. Pressing his hand to the top right corner, a drawer popped open on the other side. Taking a sheet of paper from the open drawer he handed it to her. “Your contract is very specific.”
Lana snatched it from his hand and quickly read the words. Her hand began to shake when she got to the end where she’d signed and dated the document below Anton’s signature, noting that the bill of sale gave the bearer of the contract full access to her body for eternity.
“This isn’t legal. Therefore it’s not binding or enforceable.”
Before Law could stop her, she balled it up and threw it into the fireplace.
“There. No contract. Let me go.”
Law laughed, shutting the drawer. “That was a copy. The original is safe from you and the rest of the world.”
Lana stared at the balled paper burning in the fireplace, quickly devoured by red flame before it crumbled into ashes.
So much for that dramatic gesture.
Of course he wouldn’t give her the original. Of course they both knew it wasn’t legal. Why did he insist on enforcing it? And why for the love of God was she always so damned irrational around him? Panicked even. He knocked her off balance. Made her face things about herself she had pushed away, refusing to acknowledge. She had been safe in her drug-induced cocoon. Here, she was raw, exposed.
And afraid.
The problem with Law, she suddenly realized, was that he made her feel. She didn’t want to feel! She wanted to remain comfortably numb. No pain. No stress. Just sheltered inside that warm place that asked nothing of her.
But he didn’t give up. She looked over at him.
At least he wasn’t laughing. With a panther’s grace, he strode into the kitchen, yanked the fridge door open and grabbed a beer. Using the bottle opener on the wall, he removed the cap and raised the bottle to his lips, taking a long swallow.
Lana watched, mesmerized as the muscles in the long column of his throat moved up and down. He had more in common with a panther than his powerfully sensual physicality. For starters, he had never been tamed and by her guess, he couldn’t be tamed. His considerable intelligence was dangerous.
Her female intuition kicked in. There had to be other, even more dangerous hidden layers to this dominant male. She had to try harder to escape again. In the meantime, she’d act casual.
