Twisted Desire (5 page)

I heard his office door shut behind me, and I knew Rico was asking Roman the details. I would never understand why Roman assigned him to be his right- hand man. The man was only out for himself, and he couldn’t be trusted.

I walked back to our floor and stood in front of her door, checking to see if I could hear anything. Silence. Sighing, I took out the key to her room and unlocked it.
 

“It’s just me, Penny,”
I called to her as I came in. She was now standing in front of the window, her tray of food still on the bed. I looked and saw she’d eaten a little more, but not enough. She had different clothes on and her hair was wet, so she’d obviously had a shower. That was a good sign; she still cared about something.

She didn’t move when I came in; it was like I wasn’t even there. Contrary to what I told Roman, it was bothering me how she was acting. Shouldn’t she have a little fight in her…somewhere?

But honestly, it shouldn’t matter. She was a pawn, and I was a player. I was also her damn babysitter.

“Penny,”
I said sharply, causing her to finally turn around.
 

And I felt it everywhere, stunning me into silence.

She was so damn beautiful.
 

She was in a two-sizes-too-big plain white T-shirt and pink shorts with white polka dots, her feet bare. Her hair had been brushed out, and it flowed down her back in casual waves. But it was her eyes, her big hazel eyes, that struck me. They were still hollow, but they also had a blaze in them that wasn’t there before. They had the power to bring me down, if I let them, which I never would.
 

I shook my head, determined to never have those thoughts again. She was a job, nothing more. Nothing.

I walked briskly across the small room to stand right in front of her. I wanted to show her I was in charge, that she followed what I said. She needed to know her life was in my hands now.

“Why didn’t you finish your breakfast?”
I demanded.

She flinched just the tiniest bit, but I saw it. Her eyes took on an angry glow for a moment, then went blank. Good. I affected something in her; she wasn’t totally gone.

“I’m not hungry,”
she mumbled, looking down at the wood floor.

I lifted my hand and put my finger under her chin, lifting her face to look at me. She jerked away, but I wouldn’t let her get her way this time. I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger and made her look at me.

“You need to eat what you are given,
querida
.”

Her eyes squinted at the endearment. “Why did you call me that?”
she asked.

I chuckled, lifting my finger to push a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You told me not to call you sweetheart, so I improvised.”

She shook her head, pushing my hand away, which made me chuckle. “I know it means sweetheart,”
she said under her breath. I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. It hit me that she didn’t tell me not to call her that either. Didn’t matter; I was going to anyway. I wanted to do something to keep some of that fire in her.
 

“You’re right. It does. Now, next time I bring you some food, eat it. At least you showered. That’s something.”

She looked at me with pain in her eyes, like I’d hurt her feelings. Damn. I didn’t mean it like that. I told her as much. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just glad you did something I said, that’s all. Plus, I’m sure it helped you feel a little better, right?”

Her eyes softened as she looked back out the window. “A little, but I still want to know why I’m here. It’s not fair to take me and not tell me why.”

She had a point, and a part of me wanted to say to hell with Roman’s instructions, but I wouldn’t. “I know, but for now, it’s how it has to be.”

She sniffed, which signaled to me that she was crying again. Shit. I would need to figure out a way to deal with her tears if they kept coming.
 

“Querida,”
I said softly, making her wince. “Penny,”
I corrected, suddenly not in the mood to push her buttons. “You need to trust me. You are not in any danger with me. I’m just here to watch over you.”

She sniffed again, rubbing her eyes with her hands. I noticed then how well manicured her fingernails were, painted in a soft pink. “How can I trust anyone right now?”
she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“You just have to trust me,”
I told her softly. She was so fragile. Once again, I felt rage at Roman for pulling this stupid stunt.
 

She turned to look at me, the blaze in her eyes back. “Then tell me why I’m here,”
she said in the strongest tone I’ve heard from her yet.

I sighed and ran my hand over my head. Okay, she had some stubbornness in her. How many times, though, do I need to repeat myself?

“Querida,”
I said, trying to prove a point by irking her again. “I’m not going to tell you again. You can only know it was for retaliation. Do not ask me again.”

“Damn you!”
she cried out unexpectedly, making me take a step back. “Damn you and your asshole boss! How DARE you take me and not tell me why! For retaliation? Against who? No one in my life does anything that needs retaliating, you bastard! I hate you! Get out!”

Holy shit. Where the hell did that come from? A part of me wanted to clap my hands and salute her, but the other wanted to wipe that attitude right off her beautiful face.

“Wow, querida,”
I said to her instead. “I didn’t know you had that in you. Impressive.”

She shoved the tray of food off of her bed to the floor and threw herself on the bed, face down on her pillow. Her body started to shake, and I heard her crying once again. Shit, shit, shit.

I bent over and cleaned up the mess, stacking it back on the tray. I stood up, watching her as she sobbed. Not knowing what to do, I chose to leave and give her some space.
 

“I’ll be back, Penny,”
I told her as I backed up to the door. “Get some rest.”

“Go to hell,”
I heard her muffled voice say. I smiled as I locked her door and headed for the kitchen. There was the spunk.

Chapter 5

I woke up disoriented and with my head feeling like a ten-pound weight was on it. My eyes were swollen, and I couldn’t breathe out of my nose. Once again, it hit me where I was as reality smacked me square in the face. Looking around my small room, the severity of the situation made me start to tremble.

No.

Not another panic attack.

Please.

I made myself stand up and walk around, shaking my hands and taking deep breaths. I caught my image in the small mirror above the chest of drawers and gasped. My hair was a ratted mess, and my eyes were hollow with dark circles underneath.
 

I started for the small attached bathroom to get the hairbrush when I heard voices outside of my room, making me freeze. I hadn’t been around anyone else but Tag on this yacht, so hearing other voices sent chills down my spine. What are they doing? Were they here to take me?
 

I put my hand over my mouth as I quietly tiptoed closer to the door to try and hear better what they were saying. A wave of nausea hit me at knowing there were men outside of my room, and none of them were Tag. Where was he now that I actually needed him?

“Rico,”
I heard a deep voice with an Italian accent say. “What are you doing? You, Tag, and I are the only ones who know the girl is here, and it needs to stay that way. You are not to do anything though, without my permission. I will not have this messed up. Understand me?”

The man seemed angry with this Rico. Who are they, and what was the guy talking about? I started to shake again, not having any understanding of what was going on and why I was here.
Please Lord, help me out of this
.

“Of course not, Roman,”
the man named Rico replied. His squeaky voice gave me instant chills. I knew right away this man was bad and that he was also a suck-up to this Roman. I hated them both with such a deep hatred that it actually scared me, making me put my hand to my chest as I continued to listen.
 

“You know you can trust me now,”
Rico continued. “Haven’t I proved my worthiness with everything I’ve done?”

Bile rose in my throat at the thoughts of what he’d had to prove. I prayed I was not something else he had to show his loyalty with. Roman’s next words helped me calm down with that thought.

“You have, but you will not mess it up over the girl. Stay away from her. She is a crucial part in my vendetta, and I will not hesitate to punish anyone who interferes.”

“You have my word, Roman,”
squeaky Rico answered. I then heard their footsteps and realized they were walking away. I slumped against the door and slid to the floor, my palms sweaty and my heart pounding. The lurch of the boat brought me out of my daze as I raised my head to look out the small window of my room, only seeing the blue sky and puffy white clouds.
 

More footsteps sounded, and I covered my mouth so my cry couldn’t be heard. They got closer and closer and stopped right behind me, right at my door. I held my breath, waiting to see what was in store.

“Penny?”
KNOCK, KNOCK.

Tag!

I stayed where I was, sitting against the door. I was relieved it was him but didn’t want to move, to open the door. He had a key; he could get in on his own. Soon enough, I heard the key insert in the lock and felt the door try to open.

“Penny? What’s going on?”

I still didn’t move; for some reason my body was frozen. I felt more pushing as he tried to get in, my body sliding against the floor at the brunt of his final push before he came inside. When he saw me sitting there, he immediately came in front of me and bent down on his knees, his eyes full of alarm.

“Are you okay?”
he asked. “What the hell happened? Why are you sitting here on the floor?”
His eyes were blazing, and his chest was moving fast with his breathing. When I didn’t respond, he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. “Talk to me, Penny!”

“No, I’m not okay,”
I responded, my attitude coming out. “I won’t be okay until you or someone gets me home. I don’t belong here, and I want to go home.”

He dropped my chin and ran his hand over his head, sighing, then sat next to me on the floor. “Yeah, I know,”
he said quietly. Every now and then, my plight seemed to bother him, which was stupid since he was one of them. “Why are you on the floor, querida?”

That stupid
name
.

I pulled my knees against my chest and rested my chin on them. Now that he had returned, I felt safer, but I’d never admit it to him. Against my better judgment, I really was beginning to trust him, which only annoyed me. But I couldn’t deny how he’d taken care of me, had seemed concerned, and had never given me a reason to think he was lying,
other than being his prisoner
.

“Querida?”

I didn’t look at him as I responded. “I heard voices outside the door, and it scared me.”

I didn’t see it but felt his jolt. “Voices? Do you know whose?”

Still looking down at the floor, I replied, “Roman and Rico. They scare me, Tag. Especially Rico. His voice is the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

I heard his chuckle, which made me finally look up at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,”
he said, composing himself. “Are you okay?”

Why had he laughed? I refused to ask him again; it didn’t matter. “No, I’m not. Why were they in front of my cabin? What do they want with me?”

He suddenly stood up and held a hand out to me. I stared at it but didn’t take it. I heard him mumble a curse, then say, “I’m not going to rip your arm off, Penny. I just want to help you up.”

Feeling stupid, I put my hand in his, and as he helped me stand, the current of electricity that shot through me about made me fall back down. He must have felt it too as he was standing there with a look of surprise in his eyes. We both stayed silent, just looking at each other for what seemed like minutes. He lifted a hand as if to touch me, but then let it fall back down to his side.