Obsession and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Book 7) (12 page)

Chapter 23

“I need to go to the bathroom. You need to uncuff me. Now, damn it.” Lilly knew she should be scared, but instead she was incensed.

“You know, Princess…the thing I like most about your characters is that the women are always so feisty. I wondered if you would be too—if they were just a reflection of you—and now I see that I was right.” Sirius ran a finger down her cheek as his eyes went wide with excitement.

“What? And you think you’re up to the challenge of being one of my heroes?” She threw her head back and laughed. “
Not even close
. Only a coward kidnaps a woman, stalks her, threatens her—
doesn’t let her go to the goddamned fucking bathroom
.”

When she glared at him, holding his gaze and refusing to show any fear, he looked away. “Fine—you can go to the bathroom.”

Sirius stood and pulled the key out of the back pocket of his jeans, and then straddled her as he unlocked one handcuff and then the other, though it left her pinned and struggling under his weight.
“Get off me.”

He grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks hard enough for the soft flesh to dig into her teeth. “Princess…let me make something clear. You are not the one in control here. I am. And I may be in love with you, but I’m not an idiot. Far from it. So it’d be in your best interest not to piss me off or try anything stupid. You won’t like the consequences.”

Furious, she shifted her head and bit down on the fleshy part of his hand between his thumb and forefinger, sinking her teeth in as hard as she could. He screamed out and yanked his hand away, but as he did so, he shifted off her just enough for her to sit up and head-butt him with all her might, aiming for his nose. The pain from the collision nearly had her blacking out, stars and white light shooting across her vision, along with a pain she’d never felt before.

But she had to act now, had to get away while she could. Shoving him as hard as she could, she fisted the loose cuff, the other side still attached to her wrist, and swiped at his face, ripping a gash open across his cheek with the metal.

And then he punched her, his fist catching the side of her head so it snapped to the side, her vision going black and her head swimming. The next punch landed in her gut, doubling her over as she gasped for breath and nearly vomited, her ribs feeling like they were broken into pieces. Her head was still reeling when he cuffed her back to the bed.

“You forget—I met your ex while I was in prison, and managed to make it out of there in one piece. So if you think I don’t know how to take care of myself, you can guess again.” He touched his fingers to the gash on his face and then glared at her, his eyes narrowing with anger. “I was hoping we could go about this the nice way, but now I see that I was mistaken. So we’ll try a different method.”

“You’re fucking insane.” The metal cuffs cut into her wrists as she futilely struggled against them in her frustration. “Keane’s going to rip you to pieces when he gets here.”

“The only way he’ll find us is if I let him. But trust me, Princess—you don’t want him to come sniffing around. Not if you have any feelings for him. It’ll be much safer for him if he just stays away and forgets about you. If not, I’m liable to make you watch while I gut him open like a fish.” The menace in his voice sent a chill down her spine, because she had no doubt Sirius was crazy enough to hurt Keane.

“Please…don’t do this. Just let me go.” She hated having to plead with him, but she had to get free before he did something to Keane or hurt her far worse than he already had. The thought of Keane coming to harm because of her left her feeling shattered.

“Why would I do that when the fun hasn’t even started?” Propping himself up with a hand on either side of her, he lowered his body to hers as he shifted between her legs, forcing her to fight back her panic as she felt his arousal through his jeans, pressing against her core.

She was still naked below the blanket he’d tossed over her, and with her struggles, it had shifted so it barely covered her, her situation even more precarious than before. When he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her face away, repulsed at the thought of sharing something so intimate and loving with someone who was terrorizing her. But she had to pull it together. She couldn’t panic, or let her fears and emotions get the better of her.

Fighting him hadn’t worked, and she knew she needed to try a different tactic before things got a hell of a lot worse. “I don’t even know your real name… How do you expect me to feel comfortable around you when you haven’t told me anything about you?”

He looked at her with a curious smile, his mood shifting to something just a little more amiable. And if she could just keep that up, if she could get him to lower his defenses, then maybe it’d buy her enough time for Keane and Wyatt to find her. “I suppose it can’t hurt to tell you now. My real name is Ash. What else did you want to know, Princess?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about you.” And maybe if she got him to open up to her, he’d be kinder. She had no doubt which direction things were heading in, but if she could get him to slow down, she might be able to keep him at bay. And just maybe, she’d get lucky and find a way out of there, especially if he intended on harming Keane. “Where did you grow up? What do you like to do?”
When not stalking poor women.

He pursed his lips in thought, as if wondering if she really cared. “I grew up in California, but ended up heading east to New York for college. As for what I like to do, I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a loner. Like to fix things and take things apart. Computers, primarily. And of course, I love reading your books.”

She didn’t dare ask how he ended up in prison. And frankly, she wasn’t sure if she could deal with it if he’d been locked up for something violent. It would undermine any courage she might be able to summon. “What about your family? Any brothers or sisters?”

He scowled at her as he sat back, kneeling between her legs, and leaving her grateful for the distance he’d just put between them. “There’s nothing there that you need to know about. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yeah…of course. Believe me—I get it.” It wasn’t as if she’d had an amazing family life, save for her stepmom, but she was also happy to exaggerate her situation if it got him to somehow relate to her. “Being abandoned by one parent, and then the other, wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun childhood. It sucked to know no one cared enough to give a shit.”

He must have seen the truth in her eyes, because his anger with her dissipated and his shoulders relaxed. “I didn’t realize… You feel so alone with that sort of thing, you know?”

“Yeah, I do know. You grow up holding onto your secrets, not wanting your friends, your classmates to know that your life is nothing like the perfect life they’re lucky enough to have.” Lilly let out a sigh, not really wanting to discuss her crappy childhood. Her stepmom had done the best she could—and she’d truly loved her like her own—but there was always the feeling that she hadn’t been good enough, and that’s why her own flesh and blood had left her behind.

“Don’t you see, Lilly? We’re meant to be together—and I’m sorry I hit you. That was inexcusable.” He ran his hand down her cheek as she tried not to cringe at his touch.

But when his hand continued down her neck and over her chest, she had to force herself not to scream. He hooked the blanket with his fingers, pulling it down as his hand trailed between her breasts, until she was fully exposed from the waist up. “Please, don’t, Ash…not after what Dylan put me through…”

“I’m nothing like Dylan, Princess. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make the most of the time we have together.” Ash cupped her breast and pinched her nipple as he trailed kisses down her neck, her tears escaping as she struggled to get away from his touch and shake him loose.

“
I fucking hate you
—and if you touch me against my will, then you’re
exactly like Dylan
.” She had to find a way to stop him, had to find a way to keep him from raping her, because she swore she wouldn’t survive it.
Maybe if
… “Where the hell is the romance? What happened to being wooed? To getting to know each other first?”

He wiped her tears, looking like he was mulling over her words. “I hate to see you crying, Lilly…and you may hate me now, but I promise you, you’ll come around. I’ll make sure of it—and then…maybe then we’ll have time for a bit of romance. Once you no longer have the will to fight.”

Chapter 24

Keane was climbing the walls of the loft, the holes in the wall bearing the evidence of his frustration and helplessness. He couldn’t stand to think of what Lilly might be going through, and the thought of that fucking head-case touching her was doing him in. He was a fucking mess, furious and ready to tear the bastard to pieces with his bare hands.
If only he could find him
.

The cops still didn’t have anything, though they reassured him that they had a few leads they were tracking down, and Hadley was en route while her team coordinated with the Dublin police. He grabbed his laptop and a stiff whiskey, and sat down to see what more he could find out about this guy, his hands all but shaking with the tension of his anger and worry.

By the time Wyatt walked in a half hour later, Keane was on his third whiskey, and had found little to make him feel better about Lilly being with Ash Sullivan. The guy had a troubling history of stalking and assault, and Keane was damned if he knew where to find the bastard.

Wyatt dropped his keys on the counter as Keane stood to get another drink. Wyatt’s eyes shifted to the new holes in his wall, but he was smart enough not to say anything. “Hey—any news on Lilly?”

“
Now
you fucking care?” Keane was pissed off at Wyatt, even if he knew Wyatt probably had a lot going on with the club opening. And that would have been fine if it was just him who’d needed him. But it wasn’t.
It was Lilly
.

“Fuck, Keane… You know Lilly means the world to me and I’m worried to death for her. But I swear, I couldn’t get away—and believe me when I tell you that I would have if I could. But…there have been some…complications with the club.” If Keane hadn’t been so pissed off, he might have noticed for more than a second that Wyatt was looking truly stressed out and worried about what was happening, and that really wasn’t like his calm and collected brother.

“I get it, Wyatt. Something’s up with your business. But for fuck’s sake…this is Lilly’s life. Her well-being. That fucking psychopath stole her out of the goddamned shower, and I don’t know where the hell she is. I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing to her.” He paced the floor, resisting the urge to put his fist through the wall again.

“Fuck…I’m sorry, Keane. I can’t even imagine…” Wyatt hung his head with a shake, looking distraught. “What did the
Gardaí
say—the cops—have they called? What can I do to help?”

“They’re following a few leads, and Hadley’s on the way to help them with their investigation. She’s going straight to their precinct, and will call once she knows more, but at this point…it feels like there’s nothing else to be done. Nothing I can do to save her.” Guilt wracked his soul and tore his heart to shreds. “I was supposed to keep her safe—and I fucking failed her, Wyatt. I never should have left her alone. Not even for a fucking moment.”

Wyatt put a hand on Keane’s shoulder, keeping him from pacing, though it did little to comfort him. “We’re going to find her, Keane. And she’ll be okay. He won’t harm her.”

“
You don’t fucking know that
—and the truth is, there’s a good chance he’ll do just that.” The thought of her having to relive her nightmare of abuse was fucking doing his head and heart in.

The moment Keane’s phone rang, he grabbed it. Burke, the cop leading the investigation. “Tell me you have good news… Well, that’s something anyway. And Hadley’s there with you? I know it might be nothing, but all the same, I’m coming with you. I need to be there when you find her. I swear, I won’t get in your way, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I appreciate it.” He grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and quickly jotted down the address she’d given him, before hanging up and turning to Wyatt. “I need you to drive me. I don’t know where this is and I’ve had more than my share of whiskey.”

“Yeah, of course.” Wyatt looked at the address and frowned. “This is about an hour and a half away—maybe longer, given the winding roads. But I’ll do everything I can to make good time, and at least there won’t be much traffic heading out of the city this late at night.”

“I appreciate it. The cops and Hadley are already on their way, and I believe they’re sending in someone more local to that area to get to Lilly sooner.” Though it still wasn’t fast enough. Not when every moment was a moment too late. At least Wyatt was a fast driver, and already had them speeding out of the city.

Not that Sirius would make it easy on them. Hadley called Keane to let him know that they now had several more addresses rented under Sirius’s name, and he could be keeping Lilly at any one of those locations, although they were already in the process of sending out men to check out each address, and speak to the owners of the properties.

Keane’s mind raced to try to figure out a way to narrow things down. And then he hit on a thought. “Call each of the owners and find out which properties he actually went and picked up the keys for. He may have rented them, on the off chance we figured out his identity. It’d force us to search a wider area and slow us down, but would he bother to pick up the keys to each place if he only intended on using one of them?”

Hadley agreed—it was a good thought, and might be enough to give them an edge. She’d call back as soon as she had more, but in the meantime, she told him to stay put. He agreed, but it was going to kill him to just sit and wait.

Wyatt pulled into an empty parking lot and killed the engine. “We’re one step closer, Keane… She’ll be okay.”

“To go through that sort of violation, that sort of abuse again? No…she won’t be fine. And it’s fucking killing me.” But Keane couldn’t talk about it, his nerves already too raw to deal with it. “What’s going on with the club?”

Wyatt let out a frustrated sigh as his body tensed and he pounded the steering wheel. “You already have enough on your plate, Keane. The last thing you need is for me to heap my shit on it too.”

Just because Keane was worried about Lilly didn’t mean that Wyatt wasn’t also dealing with his fair share of issues. Wyatt was always level-headed and didn’t stress about much, so the fact that he was clearly dealing with something pretty major left Keane feeling like a shit for going off on him. “I’m here if you need to talk. You know that, right?”

“I do—and I appreciate it. But…” Wyatt shook his head with frustration. “The less you get mixed up in this, the better.”

“Fuck, man…what the hell is going on?” Now he was worried—for an entirely different reason than Lilly. Wyatt was only a year younger than him, but they were a close-knit family, and if something was going on, Keane wanted to know.

“Don’t worry about it…I’ve got it under control.” Except that it was clear that Wyatt was lying.

Before Keane could question him any further, his phone rang.