Page 104 of Heartless
After disconnecting the call, I opened the fridge and pulled the ingredients to make our sandwiches.I sliced the olive bread Sienna loved, poured a glass of white wine for her, and grabbed a beer.
She’d been gone for nearly twenty minutes.I took our dinner to my living room.Another five minutes passed before I moved to my office to check on her from the bigger screen of the monitor.
She was lying on the floor of her living room.Unmoving.My blood ran cold.Fear kicked my throat.
“Sienna!”I raced to her quarters and slammed the door open.She was on her back with her face turned toward the window.
“Fuck, no.Fuck, no.”
Falling on my knees beside her, I touched the pulse in her neck.Her chest jolted up.I froze.She blinked and removed her earbuds.
“What—?”
“Is it your heart, baby?”After a quick scan of her body, I leaned in.“Sienna, what’s wrong?”
Still blinking fast, she shook her head.“N-nothing.I’m fine.Jake I’m—”
I got us up.I pushed her face into my neck and breathed her in.She was okay.She was fucking breathing.She was...
Her nails pinched onto my sides.“Jake...I can’t breathe.”
Cupping her face, I kissed her hard.When she pulled out of the kiss, her mouth was swollen, and she was panting.
“Jake, I’m okay.I—"
“You were on the fucking floor, not moving.”I clamped my hand around her nape.“What the fuck were you doing on the floor?”
Her eyes widened, and she gasped.I needed to fucking calm down.I loosened my hold.“Baby, what were you doing on the floor?”
“Upside down perspective,” she murmured.She looked at the door then back at me, and her pretty brows dipped.“You knew I was on the floorbeforeyou came in?”
“And you fucking scared me.”
She broke out of my arms and shifted back.“Jake, how did you know I was lying on the floor?”
Ah fuck.I swept my hand over my face.“I had cameras installed.Two in here, one on your balcony and two in your office.”
She paled.“In the bedroom and the bathroom, too?”
“No.”When her eyes narrowed, I edged closer.“No, Sienna.I also had them installed on all the house’s exits.I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t try to run.”
At the next step back she took, tension spiked up the back of my neck.
“Who else has been watching me circle around like a rat in a cage?Did you record me and send the footage to Nigel?”
That socked me in the gut.
“No, baby, it’s a closed loop.I’m the only one who has access to it, and it’s not uploaded anywhere.”
She wrapped her arms around herself.She’d changed into a silky low-cut top with thin straps and matching pants.
“Sienna, I never lied to you in this house.I watched you read for hours or get lost in your thoughts when you sit in the corner of the couch.I watched you smile when it rains.I don’t know why you do it, but you always do.I also expected you to trash the place or set it on fire.”
The cute little roll of her eyes replaced her hurt expression.“The house is too beautiful.”
“There’re also cameras in my office.The day you went in, I watched you spin in my chair and taste my bourbon.”
Her face flushed.“I was just...I assumed it was your prize for the bet, and I wanted...”She bit on her bottom lip, and her chin dipped.
