At His Bidding, page 19
He stifles a groan. “I get it. And I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to court the living shit out of you, until you give in just so I’ll stop stalking you.”
“Isn’t that the plot of every rom-com? Well, be prepared to work for it.” I gesture at my body. “Because all this? It’s currently closed for business, and you’re going to have to earn your way back in.”
“You’re killing me.” He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Thanks for a wonderful evening. I’ll stalk you, I mean call you, tomorrow.”
I spend a restless night wondering if I should have just let him come home with me. I come to the conclusion that having willpower bites. I reach for my phone several times, but my pride stops me from booty-calling Ashton at 3 a.m.
I’m in the kitchen making myself coffee at eight in the morning when the doorbell rings, and my heart does a happy dance in my chest. I hurry to open the door, just knowing that it’s Ashton. That charming, persistent s.o.b.
But when I look out the peephole, , I groan in dismay. It’s my mother. And Gavin. Gavin is holding some papers in his hand.
I open the door a crack.
“Seriously, Gavin,” I snap.
“Can we come in?” Gavin asks.
“Since you’re with her, hell no,” I say.
“I just want to see my children,” my mother says, manufacturing a mournful expression.
“They’re spending the night at a friend’s. And I’ve got a court order telling you to stay the hell away from them, actually. So you can leave now, thank you very much.”
“You’re going to want to see this,” Gavin protests, sticking his foot in the door. “They’re Mark’s employment records. He used to work for a company owned by Henry and Ashton, three years ago.” He hands them to me, and I quickly scan them. I feel a wave of cold rush through me.
Ashton told me that he had nothing to do with my mother’s legal troubles. But it can’t be a coincidence that Mark worked for him, and then very shortly after his employment ended, he met my mother and convinced her to marry him.
And I know from painful experience that Ashton’s capable of playing a very, very long game.
“You see?” My mother says eagerly. “None of this was my fault! I was set up from the beginning! We can be a family again! I can move in here, I can watch the kids while you work….” Her eyes greedily scan the façade of the giant Colonial house that Ashton bought me. Mentally, she’s already moving in and scoping out the nearest singles bars.
I clutch at the door-frame. What has Ashton done? I can’t accept any more lies from him, ever. If he lied about this, we’re done.
“I’m sorry,” Gavin says gently, taking a step back. “But you needed to know. Let us in, Riley. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do next. For starters, you’re not going to want to live in his house anymore. You and the kids can come stay with me and - ”
“Nope,” I say, slamming the door shut in his face and locking it. He starts pounding on the door and my mother shouts “Riley!” over and over again until I yel,l “I’m calling the cops.”
They leave, with my mother crying and stamping angrily down the walkway, and Gavin shooting looks of fury over his shoulder. She gets in her cruddy car, and Gavin climbs in his Range Rover, and they drive off.
When they’re gone, I head out to my car, the papers clutched in my hand. Something just doesn’t feel right here, and I don’t know what it is, but I want to talk to Ashton about this face to face. For all I know, these papers are fake. Or maybe, Henry put Mark up to it, to put the final nail in my mother’s coffin.
But that doesn’t seem right. When my mother and I left Pennsylvania, Henry pretty much forgot about us, as far as I can tell. I don’t think that Henry cared enough to pull a move like that. Ashton was the one who cared, because of his mother.
But I really thought that Ashton had changed. And my feelings for him are too strong for me to give up on him just on Gavin’s say-so.
When I pull out of the driveway, I head towards Emerald Heights. About a mile later, my SUV dies, which is odd. Ashton bought this car for me last week, and it’s brand new.
Not only that but I’m on a very busy roadway with a very narrow breakdown lane, and I’m in serious danger of being taken out by a semi.
When a car honks, I look up and see Gavin waving at me. He’s driving a Range Rover, and he rolls down his window and waves at me. “Get in!” he cries out.
Ugh. I really don’t want to be in a car with him, but I also don’t want to be a hood ornament, and cars are screeching past me, missing me by inches. I pull out my cell phone and quickly dial Ashton as I jog towards Gavin’s car.
“Hello? My car’s broken down - ” I shut the door and Gavin quickly pulls into traffic. And I realize that my phone’s gone dead.
“Pull off at that exit,” I say, but Gavin ignores me and keeps driving. I try the door — locked.
“Are you trying to jump into traffic?” he asks in a voice which suggests that I’m just acting crazy.
“I asked you to pull off, and you didn’t.”
Gavin’s gaze is grim, fixed on the road ahead. “There was too much traffic in my way. You’re welcome for saving you, Riley. Again.”
“When did you save me before?” I say, as I look at my phone and wonder why it says “no signal.” I’ve never had a problem getting a signal before.
“When I spent a million dollars buying you so you wouldn’t have to have sex with some ninety-year-old pervert. A month ago. Did you forget that already? Did you?” He’s shouting now, and beads of sweat have formed on his forehead.
I’m very afraid, and I want to get out of this car.
“Where are we going? You’re passing another exit. Stop it, Gavin, I want you to let me out!” I yell at him.
He steps on the accelerator, speeding up, and my heart pounds in my chest. I quickly put my seatbelt on.
“You did something to my car,” I say, my throat gone dry. “That’s why it died. And you’ve got one of the devices that blocks cell signals. That’s why I can’t make any calls.”
“I wouldn’t have had to do any of that if you’d just listened to me.” He looks furious.
Traffic has slowed down up ahead of us, forcing him to slow down too.
“Move, move, move!” he yells, his face flushing an ugly red. Where is he taking me? Is he going to kill me? Oh, God, Pammy and Petey…what will happen to them? Did Ashton hear me when I said that my car had died? How long will it take for them to notice that I’m missing?
Traffic is starting to speed up again. Before Gavin can speed up too, I grab the steering wheel abruptly and try to force him to go off the side of the road, and the car swerves wildly. The other cars around us honk furiously.
He quickly pulls over onto the side of the road. I claw at his face, and he slaps me. Then he claps something over my mouth and I smell chemicals, and Ashton’s face swims through my mind as everything goes dark.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gavin
Riley just doesn’t get it. She’s making me very, very angry. She keeps asking where we are, and when I tell her that we’re home, apparently that isn’t good enough.
And she’s talking about kidnapping. She’s a smart girl. How can she not understand? I didn’t kidnap her. You can’t steal something that belongs to you.
It’s dark out. I’ve only had her since this morning, and she’s messing with my head so much I can’t think straight.
I’m a Northcott. We always get what we want. Failure isn’t an option…my father’s words ring in my ears.
Of course, my father is wearing an ankle monitor right now, out on bail because of Ashton and a bunch of trumped-up charges. He’ll beat those charges, though, he’ll have to. Northcotts don’t go to prison.
I’m lying in bed next to Riley. Our bed. I’ve stripped her naked and her hands are tied to the bed frame, and she’s quietly crying, which is stupid. She likes Ashton, and I know he’s into tying up chicks, so that must be what she likes.
When I try to kiss her, she twists her head away from me. I grab a handful of her hair to hold her still and I slap her face, hard, which is something that I don’t want to have to do. I’ve had to punch her and pinch her a lot since we got here, and she just glares at me, her eyes wet with tears and burning with hate.
I slip my hand between her legs and try to stroke her pussy, so she’ll get wet for me, but she clamps her thighs shut. I force my hand up and touch her, but her body doesn’t respond the way it used to. She doesn’t melt, and moan. Her nipples don’t harden and she’s not wet. She just goes rigid, as if my touch disgusts her.
She lets Ashton put his hands on her, I know she does. But I’m not good enough for her? The little bitch. I should fucking kill…no. No. I won’t hurt her, I’d never hurt her.
“Fine,” I snarl. “Have it your way. I’ll come back tomorrow with food and water, and we’ll see if you feel like being a little nicer to me. And if you’re not, I’ll make it two days.”
And I leave my Riley behind, in our bed, and get in my car to go for a drive, so I can clear my head. I don’t want to be with her when she’s making me feel like this, because I might have to hit her again, really hard, really, really hard.
She should appreciate how much restraint I’m showing. When I get back to the house, I’ll explain that to her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ashton
I’m going out of my fucking mind.
Riley’s car was found broken down on Wooddale Highway yesterday morning. Police were called because numerous people witnessed Gavin driving erratically, with a woman in his car who fits Riley’s description, apparently struggling to get out. Some people even tried to chase him after his car nearly wiped out, but he sped up and lost them.
It’s on all the local news channels. Pictures of Riley’s beautiful face flash across the screen. Missing, endangered.
Yesterday evening, state police found Gavin and took him in to custody, about two hours from here. He was speeding down the highway, wild-eyed and disheveled, and he fought them like crazy as they struggled to put him in handcuffs. He kept yelling, “You can’t have her! You can’t have her!”
But Riley wasn’t with him, and he’s not saying a word. We haven’t told Pammy and Petey yet - Jennifer told them that Riley had to go on an emergency trip.
I’m going mad with worry.
And now that vile bitch Jo just showed up at my house, claiming she knows where Gavin is keeping her daughter, but if I want her to tell us where, I have to give her ten million dollars, and also pay for lawyers to so she can appeal her fraud conviction.
She’s sitting outside in her cruddy car, waiting for my answer.
Noah and Percival are with me in my office, along with my lawyer, Thomas. “Are you going to give her what she wants?” Noah asks.
My lawyer shakes his head. “I advise against it. I just think it’s really unlikely that Gavin, obsessed as he is, would confide to Jo where he planned to take your daughter.”
“I agree,” I say grimly. “It would take me a few days to raise ten million dollars cash anyway. And Riley might not have that much time.”
Noah’s jaw clenches, and he stands up and starts pacing again.
“I know, it’s all my fault. Once we find her, you’re welcome to beat the shit out of me,” I say miserably. “Right now, I can’t spare the time.”
“It’s not your fault that Gavin’s fucking finally flipped,” Noah replies with annoyance.
“But if I hadn’t messed things up with her so badly, she would have been with me, and I could have protected her,” I say miserably.
“Quit beating up on yourself. Even if you guys were dating, Gavin could have found a window of opportunity to snatch her up. Nobody anticipated how far gone he was.”
Thomas’ phone rings, and he answers it quickly. Then he looks up. “The police brought Geoffrey Northcott in for questioning to see if he knows anything about where Gavin is keeping Riley, and he’ll only talk to you.”
My heart leaps in hope. Geoffrey might know where Gavin would take Riley. Since Gavin screamed “you can’t have her!” at the cops, I have to believe she’s still alive.
God, she has to be. I can’t let myself consider any other option. The world can’t exist with Riley in it.
I drive to the police station much faster than is legal, with Noah and Thomas following behind me.
Geoffrey is sitting in an interview room. He smirks when he comes in; I know that I look absolutely wrecked, panicked and terrible, and he’s delighted.
He doesn’t bother to greet me as I sit down facing him. Just shoves a few sheets of paper at me. “I have an idea where she might be. You need to sign over 100 percent of your portion of Winterbourne Holdings to me, as well as your house and cars. You need to sign this acknowledgement that I did not embezzle money from the trust fund, and that you perjured yourself when you claimed that I did.”
My heart hammers in my chest. If I do that, and if I end up in jail, Henry will become my mother’s caretaker.
And if I don’t do it, Riley might die.
Geoffrey’s eyes spark with an insane joy, and I see now where Gavin got it from. It shouldn’t even have been a surprise; Geoffrey and my father have been waging a petty, pointless battle for almost forty years now, and his son has inherited all the crazy, and then some.
“I have no reason to believe that you know where she is,” I point out stiffly.
“I guess that’s just a chance you’ll have to take.” His gloating smile infuriates me so much that red floats in front of my vision.
I leap to my feet, and he cringes, thinking I’m going to hit him. I start to walk to the door. “Enjoy prison,” I toss over my shoulder. “You’re not that pretty, but I’m sure you’ll be somebody’s cup of tea.”
“Wait!” he calls out after me. “I do. I have a very good idea where she is, I swear to God. So it’s all in your hands, Ashton. Does your girlfriend live or die?”
My phone vibrates. It’s Noah. I told him only to call me if we have news about Riley.
Geoffrey looks alarmed. “If you answer that call, the deal’s off.”
I reach for my phone.
“You’re killing her!” He snarls at me, lips skinning back from his big white teeth.
But I trust Noah, and I don’t trust Geoffrey. So I say a prayer that I haven’t just doomed Riley, and answer the phone.
“This is Louise,” a woman says urgently. “From high school? I hang out with Gavin sometimes? I’m at your house, with Noah. I came over because I heard about Gavin kidnapping Riley. Listen, he used to talk all the time about how he was going to marry Riley and take her to his honeymoon cabin in the Poconos.”
“The Poconos?” I say, my heart leaping with hope. That’s about half an hour from where he was pulled over last night. And only about two hours from here.
Geoffrey stifles a snarl — barely. So he knows about it.
He grabs at the papers on the table in front of him, and starts scribbling. He’s so desperate he’s trying to forge my name.
More than anything in my life, I want to grab him and pound his face into the table. But I have to keep my temper in check, for Riley.
I hurry out to the police chief, who’s been standing by, and fill him in.
Geoffrey tries to bargain, but the police chief impresses on him very quickly that he’s drawing up charges against Geoffrey as a co-conspirator for kidnapping, and if Riley dies, Geoffrey will go away for life.
Sullenly, Geoffrey reveals where the cabin is. It’s in his late mother’s name, which was why it didn’t turn up on the property searches
My lawyer has to physically hold me back from trying to rush out the door, but the police are already on their way.
Riley
One week later…
I’m in the kitchen making pancakes for the kids, back at my house in Fitchburg. Ashton insisted on putting in a state-of-the-art alarm system, and he’s also hired a private security company. I have a bodyguard who accompanies me everywhere, which I’m accepting, for now.
Last night was the first time I slept through the night without having a nightmare since the whole Gavin ordeal. Ashton is sleeping on a couch in my room, and Pammy and Petey both sleep in my bed.
I can’t believe that Gavin is someone that I once cared about, someone who I thought of as my hero, my protector. When I dated him I came to realize that he was jealous and possessive, but I never could have anticipated the level of madness that I saw in him when he took me to that cabin. I truly thought he’d rape me, or kill me, or both.
Since my rescue, I’ve been jumping at every sudden noise and I keep checking the security cameras and the locks on the doors, and I have to know where Pammy and Petey are all the time. Ashton has been incredibly patient with me. Mostly, he just sits with me and holds me in his arms until the clawing panic starts to fade.
Gavin’s lawyer is trying to get him off on a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” but the district attorney is going for kidnapping, assault and battery charges.
Ashton also got Pammy and Petey their own puppy. Jerk. He didn’t even ask me. He got him from the pound, and he’s ridiculous looking, with its head too big for his body. The kids named him Spot, because he has…one. Spot is curled up on a dog bed watching me cook, and hoping I’ll drop more snacks on the floor.
“Honestly,” I say to Ashton in a low voice, “he’s very sweet, but something went terribly wrong at the dog factory the day they made Spot.”
“Quiet! You’ll hurt his feelings,” he smirks at me. Then he reaches over to stroke the fading bruise on the side of my head where Gavin punched me with his closed fist.
“You feeling okay?” he asks, for the millionth time.
“I’ll live. Thanks to you.” I know how hard he fought for me. Noah told me how he was ready to sign away everything he had just for the chance to find me.
