Page 90 of Unmasked

Maybe…

This went far beyond the fantasies I’d originally planned.

It was one thing stealing her from some nobody, or even the barrister, Theodore. It was quite another to know the masked captor was my ultimate enemy.

Vaughn Edward Ambrose Masterson VI.

He’d made those scars on her wrists. He’d taken her. Marked her. Hell… he’d broken her into thinking that she loved him.

I wanted to take that love. I could save her from it and introduce her to a better one. After all, what she felt for him wasn’t real. It was trauma bonds. Delusions brought on by dependency. Terror. I could appreciate that. I. Appreciated. That.

That didn’t mean I didn’t want it for myself. And I’d have it.

The man was a savage. The legends spoke of underground darkness and human sacrifices. Penelope wouldn’t enjoy that. She was made for refinement. For status. For days of shopping and social gatherings. For nights of groveling and degradation. I’d blend the two beautifully. I’d have her so trained, she wouldn’t be able to help but choose me.

She would have to.

What was the alternative? Penelope choosing Vaughn… over me?

Not after I broke his spell and made her see what he’d done. All I needed was time to rewire her. And now that I knew who she belonged to, now that I made her a duchess, she couldn’t refuse. She’d fear for the man she thought she loved, and as we geared up towards the ball in a few weeks, I’d give her reason to.

Vaughn Masterson was supposed to be dead. Before this was over with, he’d wish he was. Once I had fun making him pay, I’d finish this once and for all.

“Double the invitations,” I growled out. “I want the guest list expanded. I want the most powerful people at the palace.”

“Rejecting my Halloween ball is not an option.”

There would be influence present. Witnesses to see his fall.

“And Vaughn Masterson…” A smile came as I envisioned everything I planned. “You hunt Vaughn Masterson down and personally give him the invitation.” I paused, narrowing my lids. “He’ll come. He better.”

CHAPTER 28

Vaughn

“Open …the fucking…door!”

My throat burned with every word. Every inch of me screamed as I kicked and pounded into the door.

Hours upon hours had passed.

A day? Two?

I was disoriented.

I wouldn’t stop. Not until they let me out so I could get to Penelope.

“Magister! Able!”

I threw my weight into thick wood, feeling air lock in my chest at the force as I slid down the door. Fire engulfed my eyes. My lids were swollen. From the lack of sleep? From the tears that wouldn’t stop? I didn’t know. I lived in the second. To think on the future left me sick. It left me spiraling in a vortex of emotions that didn’t feel human.

My head ached. All of me cried out. My lids drooped through the exhaustion. That only had me turning to slam my fist into the wood again. With my bang came another. It had my entire body locking up as I listened.

Footsteps.

They were slow. Nearly silent.

And keys.