He doesn’t utter a word as he drags me along the corridor, through the house, over to the other wing, and down the corridor where the security camera room is. Waves of hostility and anger roll off him, raising all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. He lets me go to pick the lock, swinging the door open and pulling me inside. “Wipe the feed,” he demands.
I’m tempted to tell him to screw off, but the intensity of his emotions are scaring me a little, and the last thing I need is the bastard discovering I know his twisted secret, so I log into the system, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I wipe the footage and doctor the evidence so it’s not obvious.
“It’s done,” I confirm, standing.
He grabs my elbow, pulling me out of the room, checking it’s properly locked before hauling me toward the stairs. “Let go of me.” I attempt to wriggle out of his grasp, but he tightens his hold. He has never been this rough with me, and this version of Charlie is freaking me out. “Stop manhandling me! You’re hurting me.”
“Don’t. Push. Me.” A muscle clenches in his taut jaw as he forces me up the stairs.
I obey for once, waiting until we’re in the safe confines of my bedroom to shove him off me. My victory is fleeting though, because I’ve only just wrenched my arm away when he pushes me back against the wall, caging me in with his muscular arms and his powerful, angry body. My chest heaves as I watch him struggle to control himself. “Do you have any idea of the danger you were just in?” he growls, and I can tell it’s an effort not to shout.
“I wanted to know.”
“And do you feel better for knowing? Safer? Less afraid?” His eyes burn with a host of different emotions.
I bite down on my lip, squeezing my eyes shut before shaking my head.
“What would you have done if I didn’t show up?” His green eyes penetrate mine in a challenging stare.
“I was leaving.”
He slams his fist into the wall over my head unexpectedly, and I jump. “Unless you had the code, there’s no way you could’ve gotten out of there.”
He’s right. But I didn’t know that when I followed Drew. I presumed the door opened from the inside like a normal door, but I should’ve known better. I’m smarter than this, and my reckless decision could’ve landed me in a lot of trouble.
Of course, I’m not admitting that to him.
“Drew had to return at some point. He would’ve let me out.”
“And what if it’d been your father returning first?” He grips my chin, tipping my face up. “What then, Abby? How would you have explained it?”
“From my vantage point, it didn’t look like Father would leave anytime soon.”
“Your father is anything but predictable. You, of all people, know that.” He rubs his thumb along my lower lip, and his gaze darkens in a way I’m familiar with. A visible shudder passes over him. “If they’d gotten their hands on you.” He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment.
“I must remain a virgin,” I say. “He wouldn’t have let them fuck me.”
He snorts. “There are a lot of other creative ways they can hurt you, Abby. Fuck it.” He thumps the wall again. “You’re too smart to pull careless shit like this.” He rests his forehead against mine. My instinct is to push him away, but I remember I’ve a role to play.
“I wasn’t thinking, but I’m okay. No one saw me, and we covered our tracks.”
“I need you to promise me you won’t go near there again.”
A sour taste floods my mouth. “Trust me, I’ve no desire to revisit.” I cup his face, forcing his head up. “Why were you there?”
His mask comes down. “It was elite business.”
I snort, pushing him away this time, only noticing the custom-fit suit he’s wearing now. “This is comical.” I shake my head. “All that bullshit you spouted about loving me, and protecting me, and you were going there to have sex with underage girls?”
He closes the gap between us, pressing his body against the length of mine, flattening my spine to the wall again. “I was not going there to have sex.” He slams his mouth down on mine before I’ve had time to guess his move. I keep my lips sealed, refusing to kiss him back. Not because I don’t want to betray Kai, although Idon’twant to, but because it’s natural in this scenario.
I shove at his shoulders, and his nostrils flare as he’s forced to break the one-sided kiss.
“How dumb do you think I am?” I hiss. “I saw what they were doing down there. And you expect me to believe you were just going to drink and talk shit with those assholes?” I plant my hands on my hips. “This is just like my engagement to Trent all over again.” I narrow my eyes. “You have no intention of being faithful to me, do you? And if you can’t keep it in your pants while we’re engaged, then you certainly have no intention of staying loyal after we’re married.”
“Don’t fucking compare me to him. I am nothing like Trent!” he roars, and I’m kind of proud that I’ve gotten the elusive Charlie to crack a little.
“A likely story.” I step away from him. “You disgust me.” Images of those poor girls materialize behind my retinas, and my stomach drops to my toes as nausea travels up my throat. “I can’t believe you’d do something like that. How could you have sex with someone so young? Especially when they’ve clearly been drugged into cooperating?”
