Page 19 of His Captive

“They…he…” She clears her throat nervously. “There was a picture in the paper. You and another man, in this office. The butterfly was on the wall behind you.”

Fuck. She jumps in her seat when I slam my fist hard on my desk with such force I’m surprised it doesn’t splinter. How could I have been so fucking stupid?

A few months ago Sorrento had made a sizeable donation to the towns children’s charity. Sorrento isn’t a charitable man, and he had little to do with this town since I’d pretty much forced him out of it. I’d known he’s done it to try and get beneath my skin, so naturally I’d retaliated. I donated double what he had funded and when the local paper had asked for me to present the cheque to the charity founder. I insisted I present it to him in my office. Sorrento keeps a close eye on the town, waiting patiently for it to fall down around me. I wanted him to see the paper, along with my response to his ‘charitable deed,’ I wanted him to see me in my office.

I’d been so focused on getting one up on him, that I’d brought his attention to something much more important. The last thing he had left to take from me that actually mattered.

I try to calm myself down, counting to ten in my head, as I breathe.

“And these men, the ones that came with you. They all work for Sorrento?” I check. She shrugs her shoulders, her big blue eyes wide with innocence.

“You can't expect me to believe that you don’t know who these people are,”

“What’s so important about them, you know it’s Sorrento who has your, butterfly thingy, they were just pawns. It’s him you need to go after to get it back.” The way she speaks so passionately surprises me, and turns me the fuck on at the same time.

“Because, Lysetta. Whoever those men are, they have wronged me. They could be people I conduct business with. Your operation was carefully thought out, my security system was hacked. For all I know I could have been deceived by someone I trust.” Ok, that part is a lie. Truth is I don’t trust anybody- except for Buddy.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry. I told you last night all I know is that one of the guys was called Rick, he seemed more familiar with Sorrento then the rest of us. We were shown the newspaper picture and some blueprints of the house. There was a kid, he was smart. He will have been the one who hacked your system, but I can’t tell you his name.” I read her face, trying to catch just a glimpse of deceit in her innocent expression and sinless tone.

The door knocking interrupts the stare off between us.

“Just me, boss,” Buddy calls out from the other side.

“Come…” the door opens before I can finish.

“All taken care of,” he winks, folding his arms behind his back and bouncing on his heels.

“Thank you, Buddy. Please, will you escort our guest back down to her room.”

“But…you said... in the dining room, you said you would upgrade my room.”

I move from my seat, rounding the desk so I can lean over her. My hand curls around her throat, dragging her on to her feet, and I press my nose hard against her temple.

“You will find adaptations have been made to your room and considering your failure to comply with the rules before dinner, you should be grateful for them.” I look down at her tight little body, watch goose bumps pop up on her skin, and feel her struggle to swallow against my hand. When I release her, she sucks in a desperate breath that makes my fingers twitch to touch her again.

I back away slowly, nodding for Buddy to take her away. He pulls the chains and cuffs from behind his back, smiling at Lysetta a little sadly as he secures her, before pulling her toward the door.

“Buddy.” I stop him. Both of them turn their heads.

“Make sure those cuffs get chained to the wall too. Our guest has recently acquired a new skill, one that I don’t want her adapting without my guidance.”

I watch Lysa’s perfect complexion turn pink, and her lashes beat a little faster.

“Sure thing, boss-man,” Buddy says clearly oblivious, as he leads her out, and shuts the door behind them.

I pour myself a good helping of scotch and down it in one swallow. My eyes lifting to the empty space on the wall. I’m furious with myself for being so careless.

So much so, that the tumbler launches from my hand, hurtling toward the wall. The crystal shattering on impact, scattering all over the floor. I rest my elbows on my desk, and rub my temples as if they could somehow erase the memory away.

Her tongue sticks out of her mouth with concentration as she edges closer to the lotus leaf, and I prop myself up from lying on the grass to watch her. The smile on my face makes my cheeks ache. Being with Millie always makes me happy, even if it means doing all the things she wants. Which was almost always this.

"Got it!” Her voice squeals with excitement, slamming the jar over the blue-winged butterfly. She exhales the tense breath she’s been too scared to let go of, then carefully slides the lid under the leaf where the bright-winged creature rests. With perfect precision and accurate timing, she manages to scrape it off the leaf, tip the jar upright and secure the lid.

"Isn’t it beautiful?” She skips toward me with the jar in her hand.

“It has to be our best one yet!" Holding it up to eye level, she examines the specimen with the excitement I’ve become addicted to.

Catching the butterflies is her challenge. Finding out its name from the book is always my job. Setting them free again is her favorite part, and watching the joy on her face as she watches them flit to freedom is undoubtedly mine.

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