Caging Liberty, page 13
Instead of arguing further, I stare back at him and wait. Part of me starts to question if he won’t pry Lib from my arms to throttle her.
Sawyer’s mouth is set in a hard line while he stares me down, but eventually, he concedes and waves off the men. They put their guns away and start toward the back door.
“Don’t leave,” he says to them. “Stand outside and guard the doors.”
“Yes, sir.” I can’t help but grimace at the one who looks like he’s about to salute. He’s the last to leave, and he stands so tall it’s annoying. This isn’t the marines, kid.
Once they’re gone, I take Lib’s shoulders and slowly push her off me. She raises her head to peer at me, and the look she gives is clear enough it doesn’t need words attached to it.
Help.
“You’re fine, just wait here.”
“We’re not leaving her alone,” Sawyer reiterates. “Whatever excuse you’re about to make for her, you can do it here.”
I lift my gaze to him. “Would you calm down?”
“Calm down?” His eyes widen, and he takes a step toward me.
Lib seems fully aware of his proximity, and she moves behind me, using me as a shield.
“I’ll calm down as soon as this cunt is buried. She contacted someone. That goes way beyond the manor rules, that’s a rule for every slave on the island. She’s dead. Period. Don’t fucking try to convince me otherwise.”
“I made her call Gaumond.”
Sawyer stiffens like he’s turned to stone. “What?”
“I wanted her to see for herself that there’s no escaping. She’s been held back by hope that her husband is going to save her, and I thought it would be beneficial for everyone if she knew he wasn’t.”
“If she had called anyone else…”
I raise a brow. “I watched her dial. How could she have called someone else?”
He closes his mouth as he thinks about that. I didn’t realize how much I’d have to lie to get him to calm down about this.
Sawyer glares behind me, his nostrils flaring. “I’m done with this bitch’s bullshit.” He shakes his head. “Either take her or she’s dead.”
“I can’t have my own slave.”
“I don’t fucking care!” Sawyer clenches his fists then unclenches them to run his palms over his face. He drops his hands and glares at me. “Choose. Death or yours.”
Choose.
Not a suggestion, not a request, a command. A use of power. Against me.
Is he out of his fucking mind?
Something primitive inside me takes over, and all rational thought goes out the window. I try to remember this is Sawyer. My closest friend since college. My brother. The person in my life I care about most.
But I can’t see that right now. All I see is an enemy, a challenger. I raise my chin and step up to him. He doesn’t budge, clearly feeling up to the challenge.
“Did you just give me a command?” I ask, my voice muted yet full of ice.
His jaw works as he stares me in the eyes. “You’re not gonna put this on me any longer, Angel. Be pissed. I don’t care.”
“You’re not killing her.”
“You’re not bringing her back to the manor.”
“Would you rather I take her home?”
His eyes darken. “Excuse me?”
“Well,” I drag out. “We both know me keeping her as a slave isn’t an option. Killing her is also not an option. So if you’re saying you’re not willing to budge on the manor, the only solution I can see is to take her back to New York. Give her a lump sum of money to start a new life, Robert Gaumond free. I’m sure she wouldn’t dare go to the authorities.” My lips tilt at my own sarcasm. I turn my head to the side to address Lib, but I don’t take my eyes off Sawyer. “Would you, sweetheart?”
“No,” Lib breathes, so much hope in her voice I feel bad for saying all of this in front of her. Of course it isn’t an option.
But at the same time, if Sawyer doesn’t loosen the fuck up, I may make it an option.
Setting Lib free could hurt me. If she went to the police—which let’s be honest, she would—it could lead to giant payoffs and favors owed to who knows how many people, not to mention the fact that I wouldn’t be able to have her, which is obviously unacceptable. And I’d lose my brother, which is also unacceptable.
But Sawyer? Sawyer would drown in the anxiety. He’d be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. He’d use every dollar he had to track her down, and even after he found her, he’d question if she told anyone about the island. He’d literally go insane.
As the possibilities play out in my mind, I realize just how right he was during our conversation the other night. If I can’t get what I want, I’ll take a hit to burn my opponent's goddamn world to the ground.
“You know I can’t let you do that,” Sawyer says, sinister meaning dripping from each word.
“How exactly could you stop me?” I tilt my head. “Do you think you have it in you to kill me, Sawyer?”
His jaw tics again, and I can’t help the tiny smirk that lifts my lips.
“You wouldn’t do that.” He shakes his head. “You’re not that stupid.”
“No, but I’m ruthless, remember?” My smirk lifts even higher. “You can’t possibly believe you can come into my home and bark orders at me without retaliation. You know that doesn’t bode well with me.”
Sawyer breaks eye contact and stares at the wall like a defeated teenager who’s just been grounded.
“You’re angry,” I continue, ensuring that my voice displays compassion I don’t feel. “Go home. Sleep on it. Ivy will stay here tonight, and you and I can talk about this more in the morning, when we’ll both be able to think rationally.”
He returns his gaze to me then takes a step back. “Fine.” He glances behind me at Lib then back to me. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
I nod. “Looking forward to it.”
Sawyer glares another few moments before turning around and heading for the exit. He pauses in the doorway and looks at me over his shoulder. “I think it goes without saying, but I’m not going to be the one leaving the island right now. You’re handling Massachusetts.”
Yeah, I figured.
He doesn’t wait for me to so much as acknowledge his words before he storms out.
As soon as he’s gone, I turn to Lib. “I need to say something before you speak.”
She backs up into the sink, no longer using me as a shield. Now I’m the threat.
Two steps forward, one step back.
“You’re not going home,” I inform her, my voice level. “I’m sorry if you truly believed that was an option, but it isn’t.”
She nods. “I know.”
When a tear leaks onto her cheek, she brushes it away. Her whole body continues to shake.
I take a step toward her. “Are you okay?”
She slowly lifts her chin up and down, but then she closes her eyes and shakes her head.
I close the distance between us and take her in my arms. I hug her as she cries, her tears wetting my shirt.
“It’s okay,” I say, injecting as much reassurance into my voice as possible. “You’re okay. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
She lifts her head to meet my eyes. “That’s not true.” She croaks out a sob like her body’s rejecting her words. “Sawyer told me he would. He said as soon as you’re tired of me, he’s going to kill me.”
“He won’t.” I smooth her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. “I’m not going to let him hurt you, I promise.”
“I’m not going to try to run again,” she says, hugging my shirt. “I swear.”
I smile slightly. “I know.”
“I don’t even have anything to run back to anymore.”
“I know that too.”
And I do know. I know her so much better than she thinks. So much more than even Sawyer is aware of.
Her lip quivers like she’s about to start sobbing again, so I take her face in my hands and lower myself so I’m inches away.
“This is going to be okay, Ivy. I promise you. As soon as you quit fighting, it won’t be nearly as bad as you’ve been imagining it.”
She closes her eyes and whispers her next words like she’s afraid of saying them out loud. “I don’t want to die.”
I frown. “I know you don’t. You’re not going to.”
“How can you be so sure? What if Sawyer doesn’t cave tomorrow?”
“Do you think I will?”
She opens her eyes and studies me. I don’t think she’s even taken into consideration what I might do. She’s too terrified of Sawyer, seeing him as this higher power that decides all, just as most of the other inhabitants see him. Which is true, in theory.
“I have an idea,” I say, caressing her cheek. Her skin is so smooth, it makes it easy to forgive the commotion and stress she caused this evening. I’m enjoying this. Her not pulling away. Her seeking safety in my arms.
“If it will make you feel better, why don’t you join our conversation tomorrow? You can tell him everything you’re telling me.”
Her teeth graze her lower lip, and she takes several moments to answer. “Okay.”
“Come on. We can talk more in the living room. If you want.” I take her hand, and she lets me guide her to my living room sofa. She doesn’t seem to register it as she drops down onto the cushions. Her eyes are glossed over, staring into space like she’s deep in thought.
I walk back to the kitchen where I pour each of us two fingers of whiskey. Once back at the couch, I hold a glass out to her which she gingerly takes. I freeze, my own drink inches from my lips when she downs the whiskey in two gulps. Her face twists as it burns her throat, and her lips are still puckered when she sets the empty tumbler on the coffee table.
I sit next to her and go to put my hand on her knee but think better of it, resting it on the back of the couch instead.
“I know you,” she says, not looking at me but peering down to where she fidgets with her hands in her lap.
Finally.
“We met when Robert and I were dating.” She picks at her cuticles. “I didn’t remember until Sawyer said your name.”
I keep my mouth closed because I’m not sure what to say.
“It was at a charity event. It was the first one I ever attended, and I was nervous as hell.”
I stay silent, still unsure how much I want to tell her. I knew it was a possibility that she would recognize me, and in all honesty, I was disappointed when she hadn’t. But I never planned to tell her what I remember. Or how much I know.
“You gave me your last cigarette. And your friend was an asshole.”
I watch as she puts the puzzle pieces together.
Her eyes bulge. “That was Sawyer, wasn’t it?”
“Probably,” I say, deciding not to confirm nor deny her recollection. “He and I travel together often. And he’s an asshole.”
She blows out a halfhearted laugh and leans back against the cushions, studying the ceiling. “How could he do this to me?”
“It isn’t personal.” It never is. “You’re beautiful. And intriguing. A little more so than he bargained for, but that’s what initially made you desirable to him.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t mean Sawyer, I mean Robert. He sold me, didn’t he? How could he do that?”
I hesitate to answer, not sure how to respond.
Lib was a trophy for him. She looked nice on his arm. She cooked his meals, washed his clothes, and sucked his dick. She’s no more a slave here than she was there. There was never any true love, not on his side, at least.
That’s the real reason she’s here. She’s lustworthy and has proven to be loyal to a man who doesn’t love her. This should’ve gone far more smoothly.
I don’t say these things, though. It’s all true, but the truth hurts. Lib is already devastated.
“I don’t know,” I say instead.
“How could you?” she asks, leaning toward me while she waits for my response. She isn’t asking me this out of anger like she has in the past. She isn’t lashing out at me. She genuinely wants to know.
“I’m not a good man.”
She looks down at her hands again. “You lied to Sawyer to save my life.”
“Because I like you. It wasn’t a selfless act, it was for my benefit.”
She’s quiet for a beat. “You’re so strange.”
I don’t fight the chuckle that bubbles from me. “Am I?”
She glances at me then back to her hands. “I was told about how you sometimes take a special interest in new women. I just can’t believe you’d take it this far. It’s honestly weird that you’re not letting Sawyer kill me.”
What?
“Who told you that?” My eyes strain in confusion while I try analyzing my actions to figure out how someone could’ve come to that conclusion.
I don’t like new girls. Not interacting with them, at least. For one thing, they’re always skeptical, of me in particular. For another, I don’t get off on fear or anger, nor do I ever want to force a woman to do something against her will. It’s the reason I haven’t already had sex with Lib, even though I saw a chance before. Hell, I see a chance right now. You can get someone to do anything when they’re fearing for their life. That’s easy. And weak.
She looks up at me. “Does it matter?”
I consider this. No, I guess not. I guess it doesn’t even matter if she thinks that’s what this is.
“How long does it usually take you to move on to the next?” Unable or unwilling to maintain eye contact, her eyes float between her hands and me. She speaks again before I have a chance to respond. “I’m not asking that out of judgment, I’m asking because I want an honest idea of a timeline. I’m going to try my best to get on Sawyer’s good side by the time I’m not so intriguing to you.”
I shake my head. “You have the wrong idea about me.”
I study her face and can tell she isn’t convinced.
“Who have you been talking to?”
She doesn’t respond.
“Ivy…”
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I just want you to be honest with me.”
I take a deep breath and speak evenly. “I don’t have a timeline.”
“How long was the last?”
“The last what?”
“The last conquest.” She peeks at me. “Again, I’m not judging. I just—”
“Six months.”
Her lips part as though she wants to say something, probably argue with me about my own life, but it’s my turn to interrupt her thoughts.
“I was in college, there was this cute girl who worked in a coffee shop. I flirted with her for a month before she agreed to go out with me. We dated for six months after that.”
Lib’s forehead wrinkles like she’s confused.
“The women I’ve fucked on the island didn’t need some grand effort from me. I’ve only been with the ones who are here because they want to be here. They aren’t conquests, they’re just people.”
“What about Desiree?”
Annoyance floods my system just from hearing her name, and my mind reels back to earlier. Desiree said she had a talk with Lib today.
Oh, Jesus.
“She’s the one who’s been talking to you about me, isn’t she?”
Lib folds her arms over her stomach. She doesn’t respond because she doesn’t need to.
I roll my shoulders and blow out a frustrated breath. “Desiree is going to tell you whatever she needs to so that you’ll stay away from me. She’s jealous of you, that’s it.”
Lib shifts her position so that she’s facing me.
I sigh. “She and I had a little fling in the past, and I regret it deeply. I’m pretty sure I’m her conquest. I’m not sure if she truly wants me or if she just can’t stand the idea of someone not wanting her.”
Lib blinks, an emotion I can’t read crossing her face.
“If you want real honesty, I remember you from that charity event too. Also, I’ve heard plenty about you from your husband over the years. You aren’t some random, new whore to me. I know who you are, and I do genuinely want you to be okay. And yes, I find you intoxicatingly desirable, and I very much want to sleep with you. But this isn’t some fetish. I—”
“Is there a crematorium around here?”
I close my mouth and feel my brows pinch.
“Is there one?”
“You mean like at a funeral home? Why?”
“Please just tell me.”
I pause for a moment, wondering where she’s going with this. “No.”
“You swear?”
I don’t bother responding. I just stare at her and wait for her to explain what the hell she’s talking about.
“Oh my god.” She scrubs her hands over her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head.
“Ivy?”
When she doesn’t say anything, I prod her again, and finally she looks at me.
“This was a set up.”
One brow raises. “What?”
She blinks. “I mean, I did this. It’s my fault I’m this naïve. But today, Desiree made it seem like any minute you’d drop me... Or kill me. She told me this was a pattern for you, that you did the same to her. And before I talked to her, Sawyer said he’s just waiting on you to get tired of me so he can kill me.”
Goddamn it, Sawyer.
“Okay,” I drag out the word. “So what? You felt like you were fucked either way, so you had no choice but to sneak into my house and steal my gun?” I can hear the sarcasm in my voice, and I regret it. She either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.
“I mean, yeah, but more than that, Desiree told me this was a crematorium that had a phone in the office and that she’d been waiting for someone like me to show up so we could save everyone. If she hadn’t told me that, I wouldn’t have…” Fresh tears begin to fill her eyes.
I sit as still as I can, sure if I move, I’ll snap. It takes all the willpower I have not to storm to the manor right now and throw Desiree against a wall. And yet I’m not remotely surprised she’d try to do this. But I am surprised she was sly enough to pull this off. Maybe she isn’t as dumb as I thought.
“How could I be so stupid?” Lib mutters to herself.
