“I’m sorry,” Elena muttered, dropping her gaze to the dull shine of her shoes against the pristine floor. “I don’t normally sleep this late.”
“Just means I can get this over with.” Leon grabbed her hand, folding her fingers over a piece of paper and several stiff rectangles of plastic.
Credit cards, she realized. Unfolding the paper, she glanced up at him after reading the numbers scrawled across the scrap of paper in tight, slanting lines. Elena raised a single brow in question.
“Your pin for the front door. Memorize it and don’t just throw the paper away. Give it to Mrs. Jacobs to get rid of.”
“Am I going somewhere that I need a pin,” Elena asked, her thumb gliding over the smooth plastic of one card.
“You have guards assigned to you,” Leon said, stepping closer until he invaded her space. Forcing Elena to either hold her ground or retreat. “They’ll take you shopping today for more clothes. You’ll need the pin when you return. Mrs. Jacobs will arrange it after you’ve eaten.”
Opting to disengage, Elena took one step back and then another. Putting a gulf of space between them as she gripped the cards hard enough their edges dug deep into her palm. She hated that she was reliant on him now, that all of her needs had to pass his inspection.
But they didn’t. Not just yet. If she could see her father’s lawyer, Lamberti could give her what money was left in her father’s estate. She could purchase her own clothes then. It would hold her over for a time, keeping her from being wholly dependent on this monstrous man.
“Yes, of course,” Elena murmured, refusing to look up at him as he drew nearer. Ducking her head, she offered him her submission as he loomed over her.
His hand cupped her jaw, and it was as if fireworks exploded along her skin, coursing down her neck to plunge into her chest. A rapid fire explosion that tripled in size as he bent close to brush his lips against the corner of her mouth in a chaste kiss.
“Behave yourself,” he husked, the tip of his tongue teasing against her skin before he withdrew, leaving her swaying as he left.
Elena brought her fingers up to her lips, pressing them against the spot he’d touched. Holding the tingling sensation close as she stared out of the sidelight at the red lights of the car quickly disappearing.
“Miss, would you like some breakfast,” Mrs. Jacobs asked a handful of moments later where Elena had yet to move.
“What?” Elena blinked hard, snapping out of her reverie as her cheeks warmed and she turned to face the housekeeper.
“I asked if you would like some breakfast.”
“Oh, yes. Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you.”
Part of her almost wished he was still there to see she was capable of eating with proper manners, but the majority was definitely glad he was gone for however long he’d decided to vacate the premises. She needed time to plan, and then to act on them, and all without his interference.
“Mrs. Jacobs, how would I go about getting a driver into the city,” Elena asked as she rose from the table, the cards clutched tightly in her hand once more.
“Oh, I’ll arrange that for you, miss,” the kind woman said, shooing Elena upstairs to get ready.
In the bathroom, Elena twisted her hair up and out of her way. Working the pins into the thick waves, she avoided looking at herself as much as she could. There was nothing for it as she applied her makeup, layering it on to hide the deep bruises still ringing her neck, the bites littering her chest. It was too warmfor any item of clothing that would hide it all, and so she was reduced to this.
Heaving a sigh as she completed her task, Elena’s lips pulled into a thin line that twisted down to one side. Her reflection stared back at her, daring her to do this, to risk his anger so soon.
Snatching up the credit cards, she shoved them deep into her dress pocket. She’d need to buy a purse, hers long lost at some point in yesterday’s nightmare. There’d been nothing of importance in it save her I.D. card, yet another thing she would be forced to speak to Leon about.
That was a problem for later.
Coming back downstairs, she peeked through the sidelight to see a car idling at the top of the drive. Swallowing down a knot of fear that she was mistaken, she headed for the door and turned the knob with care to poke her head out.
The three armed men swung around to look at her, the one at the front failing to hide his surprise as Elena continued her journey out of the door. Her mincing steps carried her towards the large SUV, clutching her hands tight in front of her so as to stop their wringing.
“I’d like to go into the city,” she said quietly, not quite daring to meet anyone’s eye as she came to a stop beside the hulking vehicle.
“We need to tell Mr. Marchetti a specific route, miss,” the first one said in gruff tones, snapping the back door open with more strength than the move warranted.
Perhaps they didn’t like their new duties, babysitting their employer’s Omega. Not that she blamed them. What could be more boring than driving a woman around town to shop? It was a job she’d never envied Jamie and had often rushed through just for his sake.
“Very well.” Elena clambered up into the high seat, arranging the folds of her dress as she latched her belt. Rattling off thenames of several shops she knew of, she waited for them to get in.
Except the only one to speak so far pulled out a cell phone, pressing the piece of plastic and glass to his ear as he waited for an answer.
