No one will ever come for me, I tell myself.
Tears fill my eyes, and I can't stop them from falling down my cheeks. My escape from the mansion was easy…far too easy. I should have figured that they wouldn't just let me go.
That man, the one who helped kidnap me, knew I wouldn't be able to go anywhere. I'm a strong swimmer, but I would never be able to make it to the mainland alive. Who knows how many miles I would have to swim in order to achieve that goal…and that's if I don't get eaten in the process.
No. The only way off of this island is either by boat or plane, and I don't have the means to get to either one of those, let alone know how to operate them.
I'm stuck here.
Feeling defeated, I walk over to the bed and collapse, sinking into the soft mattress and crying myself to sleep.
CHAPTER 12
LUCIEN
"I HATE YOU! I hate you!"
I cringe as Adeline's words on the beach repeat over and over again in my head like a torturous, broken record.
It's not like I haven't heard those words before. My mother used to tell me that at least once a day when I was a child. I thought I was numb to that kind of thing, but Adeline makes me…feel. There's something about her that brings out this myriad of emotions and feelings that I can't make heads or tails of.
She hates me. She has every reason to hate me...but I realize I don't want her to. And when she screamed those words, it was as if she really had taken that knife and gutted me right there on the ground.
Chasing her onto the beach…my bare feet in the sand and rocks…I still can't believe I did that. I rarely step foot outside of this house, let alone go to the beach barefooted where anything can wash ashore and little creatures could crawl on me at any moment.
Running after her didn't even make me hesitate, because she was the only thing I could think about and focus on. She made me forget everything else, all of my obsessive fears and intrusive thoughts.
And that is something that has never happened before.
After I made sure Adeline was safe and secured in her room, I took a long shower, scrubbing my body under scalding water for hours until my skin was raw and bleeding. Even after I was done, I still didn't feel clean.
Now, I sit at my monitor, staring at her on the camera feed. She's finally calmed down after a fit of rage when my men first threw her in there.
A nagging feeling in the back of my mind is telling me this is more than just her second-guessing her decision to come here. It's as if she has no recollection at all…or maybe she never knew.
And if she doesn't know…then that means I'm possibly keeping an innocent girl here against her will and that she will never give me what I paid for.
There's a soft knock at my office door before Jackson inputs the code to my office. A scowl is on my face when he walks in.
I don't need a fucking lecture right now.
"What in the hell happened tonight?" he hisses the question after closing the door.
"I don't know," I tell him honestly.
"You've had girls who have changed their minds before, but they've never gone to the extremes of wanting to leave…or gut the staff…including you."
I rest my elbows on my desk, put my head in my hands and sigh. "I have no fucking idea what's wrong with her. At first I thought maybe she hit her head too hard ---."
"She did have one nasty blow to the temple. And the bruises…" His voice trails off. "You don't think she…"
Jax doesn't finish his thought. I know what he's thinking. It's the exact same thing that I've been thinking.
"I paid her handler," I tell my cousin through gritted teeth. "Everything is the same as before. If she wants to back out now ---." I shake my head. "I need more time. I need more information," I tell him, turning to him.
He has an uneasy look on his face, but he nods in understanding. "If she came here against her will, Luc, then you'd be breaking all the rules you set up in the first place."
I nod solemnly.
