Distorted Hope (34 page)

“I thought he
wanted
me to be used.”

The older woman hugged me. “They would hurt you. Probably very badly. They wouldn’t care if you were enjoying yourself, like our men do. They would take the bruises as a sign to do whatever they wanted to you. Have you seen Hanne?”

Hanne had been chosen. I shook my head.

“She’s not feeling very well. Patrón warned them to back off when he saw her this morning. He was very upset.” She kissed my forehead. “He would never forgive himself if that happened to you.”

“He doesn’t care for me anymore,” I sniffed.

“If he didn’t, you would still be in the other room.”

I didn’t want to dare believe her. I just wanted to be over him—for my heart to heal and be okay with the rest of my life as a sex slave.

I stayed hidden away in the women’s house until after the Arabs left. I didn’t even dance the last night. Mark came to check on me a few times and told me the same thing Pasha had about Patrón caring about me, but I tried to brush it off. I didn’t want to deal with the hurt again.

A few days after the Arabs left, Patrón summoned me into his office. I wondered if he’d finally decided to use me. That was the only reason the girls were ever called to his office.

I knocked on the door and Patrón immediately invited me in. “You wanted to see me, Patrón?” I asked, going to stand by his desk. Mark was sitting across from Patrón. I wasn’t sure if he looked happy or not—it was kind of a mixed expression.

“Have you ever traveled, Kyra?” Patrón asked.

I looked at him, confused. “A little. My grandparents took me to San Diego one summer.”

He nodded and glanced at Mark. “How would you like to go to Europe?”

I stared at him in shock. “What?” He frowned. He hated when I did that, but I didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry, Patrón.”

He sighed. “Mark has some business to take care of in Europe and I thought you might like to go along.”

“Is he finding another engineer?” I really didn’t want to see him kidnap anyone.

“No, he’s meeting some potential new clients.”

“Oh.”
Why would he want me to go along with Mark?
I didn’t know anything about weapons.

“When Mark and the others go on business trips, I prefer them to not get entangled with women. It can make things messy and put our whole operation at risk. They can be gone for long periods of time and to go without sex for that amount of time is… asking a bit much, I think.”

He wanted me to go along so I could have sex with the men. I supposed there were worse reasons to travel.

“Also, a couple is less noticeable than a bunch of single men, and with security getting tighter and tighter these days, it gets more difficult to get in and out of places unnoticed.” Patrón shrugged. “A wealthy couple with bodyguards is not unusual in Europe.”

“I will do as you ask, Patrón,” I said in a soft voice. Maybe it would be good to get away from him for a while—maybe it would help heal my heart—and traveling around Europe sounded wonderful.

“Good.” Patrón sounded pleased. “You will leave at the end of the week. Tomorrow, Mark will take you into Panama City to buy you some clothes. You can buy the rest when you get to Paris.”

A week later, I was on the jet with Mark, John, Bryce and Carlos, heading to Paris. I wore a thick gold bracelet which looked very pretty but held a GPS tracker and was locked so I couldn’t take it off. So I couldn’t run away. It hadn’t been tempted to run away before, but I couldn’t deny there was a little part of me that wanted to. The thought of being my own person again was alluring. I guess that’s why I had the bracelet.

I was traveling as Mark’s wife but was expected to take care of all four men when we were in the privacy of our hotel room. Patrón made sure I understood that before I left. He made sure Mark understood that, as well.

I stared out at the blue expanse of ocean below the jet. It was an eleven-hour flight and we’d been in the air for about an hour. Mark was on the computer, checking messages and our itinerary.

“Kyra, how would you like to go to the ballet while we’re in Paris?” Mark asked from the front of the jet. I was stretched out in the bedroom in the back; it was quieter there. And though there was a TV, my Kindle was in my lap.

I stood and walked to the where Mark was sitting. “The ballet?”

He nodded. “It’s one of the places a client said would be a good place to meet. I know you like ballet…” He shrugged. “Two birds with one stone.”

The idea of watching the Paris Ballet dance was heavenly. I know Mark was trying to make the trip as enjoyable as possible for me. Who knew if I’d ever get to go anywhere again? I nodded eagerly. “I would love to.”

“The first thing we need to do when we get there is get you some formal dresses,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s amazing how much business you can get done in formal situations.”

I sat down in the chair across from him. “Is Patrón trying to get rid of me without getting rid of me? Does my presence bother him that much?”

Mark looked at me over the laptop sitting on the table in front of him and then leaned back in his chair. “I think that’s part of it. As much as he tries to deny it, he’s still in love with you. He thinks if you’re gone for a while, when we return, he’ll be over you.” He paused and looked out the window. “Yuri contacted us when the Arabs were there.” He looked back at me. “They’re visiting the hacienda next week.”

I sucked in a breath and was suddenly very glad I was on the jet and not back at the hacienda.

“Nathan didn’t want you at the house when they were there. Honestly, I think that was his primary reason for sending you with me.”

“Why?”

“Because they know you two aren’t together anymore, and Yuri made some comments about you that were rather disturbing.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s just say you would be lucky to be walking when they left. What Pavel did to you cost them a lot of money. Nathan tacked on a surcharge for hurting you. I think they want their money’s worth.”

I swallowed and looked out the window. “He’s protecting me?”

“He won’t admit it, but yes, he is.”

“Why doesn’t he just send me home?” I whispered. “You know I wouldn’t tell anyone about him.”

Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. I offered to take you home, but he said no.”

I leaned my head on the headrest behind me and looked out the window. I wish Nathan would allow himself to go back to how he was. Then we could be happy together again.

Paris was in full bloom when we arrived. Flowers were everywhere. As were people. I’d been at the hacienda for over a year now and was not used to crowds anymore. Going into Panama City was stressful enough a few days ago. The capital was even more crowded.

The five of us were driven through the old city to a hotel just a few blocks from the Champs-Élysées. We had a suite on the top floor and each of the guys had their own room. I put my things in Mark’s room since I was supposed to be his wife. I could stay in any of the guys’ rooms with them, but my main room was with Mark.

We had a couple of days before our first meeting, so we were able to do some sightseeing. We saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. We shopped and picked out several formal dresses for me, as well as a whole host of other really nice clothing.

“I really don’t need this much, Mark,” I protested at the end of the second day shopping. “It’s not like I’m going to wear it anywhere but here.”

“I was told to treat you like a billionaire’s wife, so that’s what I’m doing.” He grinned. “Besides, I love the way your eyes light up when you see something you like.” He gave me a tender look and I turned away. I didn’t want him liking me that much.

I had to resolve myself to keep my heart out of things. I would not only be taking care of the four guys I was with, but there was a chance I would be offered at the meetings, as well. Mark didn’t seem happy when he told me that, but that’s what Patrón had told him.

There was still a tiny nagging in my head about trying to run away.
Run home.
Would Patrón have Mark come find me if I did run away? Or would he be relieved he didn’t have to see me anymore? Maybe I would be doing him a favor.

“Kyra?” Mark put his hand on my shoulder to get my attention. “You okay?”

I looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Fine.” I picked up one of the smaller shopping bags and followed him out of the store. There were several large ones to carry. Bryce got stuck doing that. I would have to thank him when we got back to the hotel room.

Two days later, I attended the first meeting. We were going to the ballet that night and the client would find us there. I had a beautiful purple silk gown to wear and a lady came and did my hair and makeup.

When I was dressed, I went downstairs to the living room. Mark stared as I walked down the steps.

“Wow, Kyra. You look beautiful.”

Bryce and Carlos nodded in agreement and my cheeks warmed at the attention. John was getting the limousine; he drove us everywhere.

When I got to the bottom step, Mark came up and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m glad I get to play your husband,” he said before bending down to kiss me. His tongue danced around mine and stroked it over and over again. I’d stayed with Bryce last night, so he’d slept alone. Mark decided the easiest way to share me was to rotate nights, so every four nights I stayed with Mark. It worked so far.