Page 2 of Their Property
I looked flashy and rich, like a future member of the Blakeworth elite class. Inside, I felt numb. Dead. Hopelessly alone.
The staff walked me out to a foyer when they finished, and not even seeing Malcolm’s face stirred anything in me. When he imprisoned me in that room, I sobbed like a heartbroken wreck for days. I pounded on the walls and door, begging and pleading for him not to treat me like this. He’d said he loved me.
Now, I gave a demure smile as I was presented to him, because it was expected of me. Be silent, agreeable, and pleasing to look at,or else. That was all the Blakeworth men wanted, a decorated prop at their sides.
Malcolm’s cold appraisal of me from head to toe would have hurt my feelings, at one point. I would have wondered what I could do better to earn his approval. But now, I was only glad he looked bored, rather than in a mood to leave bruises on my arms and scream cruel obscenities in my face.
He spoke at me on the ride to the botanical gardens, and I answered when it was appropriate, but I wasn’t really there. I used to marvel at all the rare, exotic plants in the gardens when I accompanied my father on diplomatic trips. Now I had tunnel vision and my other senses were numbed. No extinct flower or sweet scent could pull me out of the box I’d shut myself in.
At some point, Malcolm sat me down in a covered gazebo with his father, the governor of Blakeworth. His mother was there too, drinking herself into oblivion as usual. I used to wonder why she always appeared inebriated, and now I understood. I might as well have been looking into a mirror twenty years into the future.
Some woman joined us in the gazebo, likely some other man’s wife that Malcolm and his father would take turns fucking just because they could. He certainly bragged about it often enough.
The woman sat next to me and oohed and ahhed over my engagement ring, some flashy rock that a maid had slipped onto my finger while dressing me. Malcolm wasn’t even man enough to propose to me himself.
I sat there like the pretty, empty-headed doll I was supposed to be, fantasizing about when I’d be locked in my room again and away from these awful people. The woman then shoved a wadded-up tissue into my palm, and that curious thing was what brought me back to myself.
Carefully unfolding the tissue in my hand, I glanced at Malcolm and his father through my ridiculous lashes. Neither of them paid attention to me, so I returned to looking down in my lap while hiding the tissue as best I could. It took all my resolve not to change a single muscle in my posture or expression.
The woman had written in lipstick,4C. Here 2 help.
My heart kicked like a drum in my chest, but it wasn’t entirely out of fear anymore. My fatherdidsend for my rescue. Of course they had to blend in with the Blakeworth elite to get near me. I took a careful glance at the woman, who smiled blankly at the governor. Even with her makeup, colored contacts, and crazy lashes like mine, I was certain I’d never seen her before. Who was she?
Out of nowhere, a sound like thunder clapped so hard that it made my ears ring. On instinct, I covered my head and doubled over. All around me were shouts, screams, and popping noises that could only be gunshots. Commotion flew around me, and I could hear the woman yelling something at the governor.
And then someone grabbed my wrist in a hold that was firm, but not painful like how Malcolm grabbed me. I looked up at the woman’s face, her expression concerned and intense.
“You have to come with me.” She pulled me to my feet, and I was too stunned to do anything but follow.
“Is it true?” I asked dumbly. “You’re with my father?”
“Sort of.” The woman’s pace picked up, her head whipping around like she was looking for someone. “We’re taking you home. You’ll be safe.”
We ran from the gazebo through a botanical garden that was now a war zone. The smoke in the air choked my throat and made my lungs feel frozen. A small part of me screamed to go back, to take cover with Malcolm and his family. It’d be better than the punishment I’d face after trying to escape and getting caught.
But the woman never released me as we ran across the lawn together. She was heading for the intersection at the edge of the block. Was she planning on running into traffic? Did she have a plan at all?
Therat-tat-tatof rapid gunfire sounded even louder. I didn’t wonder if Blakeworth police would shoot me or not, I just ran faster. But my extra burst of speed was short-lived. Either I tripped or the woman did, but we flew through the air in the next moment and hit the ground hard.
No! No, I can’t go back to him! I’d rather die…
Someone took hold of my arms and dragged me up to my feet. I would have cried out in despair if I could breathe easier. I didn’t give a fuck about being a future governor’s wife. I was not going to be trapped, used, and unloved…
A large palm pressed to the side of my face and then briefly on my neck and shoulders, as if to check for injuries. My eyes took a moment to focus on the face in front of me. It belonged to a man who looked vaguely familiar. Older than Malcolm by at least a decade, with crow’s feet at the edges of his warm, brown eyes. Long, black hair framed his face and fell past his shoulders. His brows furrowed with concern as he checked me over. Even under his thick beard, I could see his full lips pressed together tightly.
More details filtered in, sending messages to my brain that I would later hold on to like precious mementos. I just didn’t know it at the time.
A leather vest. A broad body covered in dense muscle. Leather boots and scuffed jeans. Large hands that were gentle when they touched me, but also carried a gun. One hand brought my gaze to his with light contact on my jaw. This man wasn’t beautiful or classically handsome like Malcolm. He was all hard edges, a jagged exterior that was beautiful in the same way that mountains were.
My savior opened his mouth but didn’t speak. He slowly mouthed the words,You’re safe.
And I believed him.
ONE
KYRIE
PRESENT DAY
