Willing Captive (8 page)

Suddenly queasy, my hold loosens on his shoulders. I blink
rapidly, trying in vain to see through the bright white spots that
blind me. My ears block with pressure, my breathing shallows, and I
shiver. I quickly respond, “I don’t think you could get it here in
time.” My body weakens and tilts sideways as I slur, “Catch me.
‘Kay?”

***

Nox

Holding Lily in my
arms and feeling the weight of her, or lack of weight, I’m suddenly
ashamed of myself.

Damn it to hell. I
let this go on too long. Should’ve stopped it sooner.

I
saw the exact moment the light switched off. The moment she lost
consciousness. And she knew it was coming too.
“Catch me. ‘Kay?”

Looking down at her
pale, drawn, and ashy face, I shake my head in frustration and
fight the urge to growl. Her long, dark lashes rest on her cheeks,
and it takes just about all I have to stop myself from running my
thumb over her pink, pouty lips.

Trouble. I knew
you’d be trouble, missy.

Clearly, this is all
her fault. If she would just learn to do what she’s told and tried
for a goddamned second to think rationally, none of this would’ve
happened. When she wakes up, we’re having a serious talk.

Oh
yeah, it’s all
her
fault.
She’s a petrified young woman with a simple request of speaking to
someone she trusts and
she’s
the
issue. You’re losing your touch, man, acting like a mall cop on a
power trip.

Me? I’m doing everything I can to keep her safe and this
is
my
fault?

Keeping her safe
isn’t enough. She’s not like you. She’s fragile. A girl needs more
than just being told to trust. You gotta show her you’re willing to
compromise. Meet her in the middle.

Meet her in the
middle. Compromise. I’m not sure I can do that.

What would you do if
you were her?

Run. Run like hell.
And I’d hurt whoever got in my way.

The dull throb in my
temples being a sure sign of an oncoming migraine, I carry Lily
bridal style out of her room, down the hall into the west wing, and
stop in front of the very last door.

My door. My
room.

Hesitation stalls
me. This might not be the best idea but she’s my responsibility. I
need to keep her somewhere I can keep an eye on her. Somewhere I
can babysit and work at the same time. Holding her tight with one
arm, I open the door to my bedroom and walk Lily’s limp body
inside. Gently as I can, I lay her down on my bed and she moans
softly.

A good sign. She’ll
be awake again soon.

Picking up the
two-way radio by my bed, I press the button and call into it,
“Vito, I got a situation here. Where’s Boo?”

As I release the
speak button, a trilling noise sounds and I wait. A beep followed
by, “Yo, what kinda situation we talkin’ about here? Boo’s around.
I’ll find her.”

Running a hand down
my face, I tell him quietly, “Lily. She fainted.”

Immediately, the
two-way sounds and an amused Vito probes, “What the hell d’you do
to her, Nox? She’s just a girl, man. You probably scared her to
death.”

Vito’s young. He
still doesn’t quite grasp the authority thing yet. Picking up the
two-way, being extra careful to not crush it in my hand, I growl,
“Find Boo. Now.”

Still clearly
amused, Vito signs off with, “Sir, yes, sir.”

A minute passes and
I realize I haven’t moved an inch. Placing my hands on my hips, I
turn to view the little woman in my bed and mutter to myself, “Knew
you’d be trouble.”

***

Lily

Groaning, I roll
myself into a tighter ball, trying in vain to find some relief from
the aching.

Aching. All
over.

Every muscle in my
body feels too tight, and moving even the slightest bit, painfully
stretches me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I breathe rapidly. I feel
like I’m going to be sick, but that can’t be right. I haven’t eaten
more than an orange in two days. What could I possibly throw
up?

My eyelids flutter
but refuse to open without a fight. As soon as I manage to pry an
eye open, I groan louder. The light in the room hits me with such
force, the ill feeling returns with a vengeance.

Shuffling alerts me
to the fact I’m not alone, and when the light switch is turned off,
I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally able to open my eyes, I sit up
against the headboard. I’m completely disoriented. It takes a full
minute before I can see what I can’t believe I’m seeing.

Nox sits at a desk
at the back of the large room typing away on a laptop. The laptop
the only source of illumination in the room, I look around some
more.

This is not my
room.

Navy blue cotton
sheets surround me. This bed is bigger than mine. This is clearly a
man’s room. No furniture. No closet. A chair in the corner of the
room holds a stack of folded black clothes. Underneath is a pair of
army-style boots.

Shit.

This is Nox’s
room.

Opening my mouth to speak, all that comes out is, “Errr my
gerrrd.”
My attempt at begging the Lord for
mercy makes me sound like a drunken sophomore.

My head snaps up
when I hear Nox laugh through his nose. Still typing and not
bothering to look up at me, he says, “Serves you right. You’re so
dehydrated, you’re lucky you didn’t have a muscle meltdown. Boo was
this close to putting you on a drip. I talked her out of it.”
Finally looking up at me, he smirks and says way too loudly,
“Welcome back to the land of the living.”

Each word he says
pierces my eardrums and my stomach recoils. Cringing, I cover my
eyes with a hand and mumble, “What happened?”

A chair scraping is
followed by thudding footsteps over to the bed. Peeking through my
fingers, I suddenly wish I’d never looked.

Nox is pissed.

With his jaw set, a
vein in his temple pulses. And I know what’s coming. He almost
yells, “What the hell did you think would happen, Lily? You haven’t
eaten a damn thing in days! You’re underweight and dehydrated.”
Looking down at the floor, he sighs and shakes his head before
looking back at me. His eyes soften and he admits, “I fucked up. I
know it. You know it. My team knows it.” Leaning closer to me, he
goes on, “Don’t hold onto it. Let it go. You got pissed at me. We
exchanged words. It’s over. Starting fresh. Right now.”

It all comes
back.

The escape incident.
The depression. The fight. The embarrassing fainting episode.

We don’t speak. I
take a moment to search my captor. He looks haggard. Exhausted.
Worn. Just plain tired.

Who can blame him?
He’s been watching your sorry ass for three nights. When’s the last
time he got some sleep?

When
is
the last
time he got some sleep? I hadn’t thought about how my actions had
affected him.

If only I could
trust him.

“
What if I can prove you can trust me? Would you do what
you’re told?”

I hadn’t realized
I’d spoken aloud. My cheeks flush, but hope blooms in the very
center of me. Nodding quickly, my lips part and I mouth ‘yes’.

Nox nods, turns, and
exits the room, leaving me to wonder if I’d just unknowingly made a
deal with the devil.

Chapter Six
Trust is like a mirror

Lily

Left on my own, I
look down at myself and squeak.

Oh, dear God! Where
are my clothes?

All I’m dressed in
is a pair of white cotton panties and a white, spaghetti strapped
tank. I gasp when I spy my clothes at the side of the bed,
including my bra.

I’m going to kill
him!

Standing on unsteady
legs, I stumble over to the bathroom and flick on the light.

Holy shit. Nox
was right. My collarbone protrudes slightly. My is face drawn.
Lifting my tank a little, my ribs stick out sickly and my throat
tightens.

I’m naturally thin,
tall and lanky. Now I just look ill.

A cough at the
bathroom door jerks me out of my head and into the present. Nox
stands there, eyes fixed on my ribs. My neck flames and I shove my
tank down over my belly. Then I remember I’m fuming. How dare he
remove my clothes! Opening my mouth, I start, “You better have a
good reason-”

My argument dies on
my lips as he holds out a hand. A shiny black object sits in his
palm.

Suddenly frozen, all I can do is openly stare at the cell
phone. My head spins. Placing my shaking hands over my eyes, my
chest heaves with heavy breaths. Bending at the waist over the
bathroom sink, a large hand rubs my back gently.

Nox asks, “You
okay?”

Unable to speak, I
nod yes while my head screams no. He walks back out the door and I
hear him say, “Sorry, Ciaran, she’s not feeling too well. She had a
bad day. Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Ciaran? As in my
dad, Ciaran?

Energy magically
restored, I run out of the bathroom, almost sliding on the tiles.
Coming up behind Nox, I snatch the phone out of his hand and place
the cell to my ear. Voice shaking, I ask quietly, “Dad?”

“
Delilah! Oh, my sweet girl. You’re okay?” His unsteady voice
matches mine shake for shake.

That’s all it takes.
My heart soars. Relief settles me. And the floodgates open. Tears
stream down my face as I turn to Nox. Our eyes meet. Sobbing
silently, I mouth ‘thank you.” And I mean it. I’d do anything he
asked right now.

“
I’m fine, really. Just a little woozy today.” I
lie.

Dad sniffs, coughs,
and steadies his voice. “Good. That’s good. Nox is the best at what
he does and he’ll keep ye safe, darlin’. I-” He clears his throat.
“I’m sorry, Delilah. So sorry. I never meant for ye to find out
this way. I know I should’ve told ye. But it was hard for me. I’m
your Da, meant to protect ye meself.”

Stomach coiling with
tension, I push past it and tell my father, “Don’t do that. You did
what you could and when you knew you couldn’t, you got help. That’s
what a good father does. You’re a good father. The best.”

“
You’ve been good then? No tricks?” I hear his smile through
the phone.

“
Ahh…” Is all I can muster and my dad bursts into laughter.
Hearing him laugh makes me chuckle too.

Dad tuts, “Never
could lie well, Lily girl.” He never calls me Lily.

An awkward moment of
silence passes. I ask, “How’s mom? And Terah? Where are you
guys?”

A voice behind me
makes me jump. “Time’s up.” Spinning around, I feel myself begin to
hyperventilate again. I beg, “Nox, please, just a few more minutes.
Please.” I’m about to throw myself to my knees to show him just how
much I need this.

Searching my face,
he quickly checks his watch. “Two minutes. That’s all.”

Placing the phone
back to my ear, my father says dejectedly, “Time’s up?
Already?”

Talking quick as I
can, I almost bark, “We have two minutes. Go, go, go!”

Dad chuckles but
speaks quickly, “Mom is okay; ye know how she is. Always a glass
half full with her. She misses ye terribly. And Terah…well, love, I
don’t know where she is. She was taken when ye were. I know she’s
safe, but that’s all. I don’t know where either of ye are, but I
get daily updates from Nox and Mitch. And as long as ye’re both
protected, I’ll deal with the lack of communication.”

My dad has a way of
making you feel like there’s hope in the darkest of situations. I
love him so much. I blurt out unexpectedly, “I love you so much,
Dad. Tell Mom I love her, too.”

His voice catches,
“Love ye more, girlie. I’d do anything to keep you safe.”

A presence
approaches from behind and the hairs on the back of my neck stand
on end. Knowing my time is up, I choke on a sob, “So, this Nox dude
is the real deal. You hired him and he’s meant to protect me?”

Dad replies firmly,
“Whatever ye do, listen to Nox. He’s only got yer best interests at
heart. I swear it.”

My head hangs, tears
fall to the floor and I whisper, “I wanna come home, Daddy.”

Before he can
answer, the phone is tugged out of my palm and I’m officially
disconnected again. From my family. My life. From everything I
love.

My brain tells me to
appreciate the few minutes I spent talking with my father, but my
heart is bitter and wins out. Anger seeps through me and I spin
back to Nox. He meets me glare for glare. “Don’t even think about
it, Lily.”

What?

“
Not blind, babe. You’re about a second away from losing it,
at me.”

“
Damn right. You couldn’t even give us a few more
minutes?”

Nox opens his mouth,
but shuts it just as quick. His icy-blue eyes flash and his jaw
steels as he bites his tongue. Without a word, he walks away from
me, leaving me feeling twice as bitter and lonely as hell. He
mutters under his breath, “Can’t fuckin’ win.”

I’m an immature
selfish brat.

The anger dissipates
and remorse fills me. As he reaches the door frame, I call out,
“I’m sorry.”

His body jerks as he
stops suddenly. He doesn’t turn to me. Just stays in the door frame
allowing me to go on.

I confess quietly,
“This is hard for me, Nox. You can’t possibly know how hard this is
for me. Finding out someone wants to kill me for no reason at all.
I-” Sitting on the bed, I breathe deeply and try again. “My life
consists of two things right now. Being depressed and being
paranoid. That’s it.” I bark a laugh, “What kind of life is
that?”

With his back to me,
he raises his strong arms and holds the top of the doorframe. And I
almost gasp. The move has made him look like a fallen angel. The
dark room graced with the bright silhouette of a solid male body.
Beautifully dark and mysterious.