Shattered Hearts: A Dark Romance (Bad Blood Book 1) Page 3

  Would it be better than whatever was waiting for me at the other end of this journey?

  Some kind of stiff cloth surrounded me from head to toe. It was a bag, and I saw that I wasn’t in complete darkness. As my eyes had grown used to the small amount of light filtering through the black material, I noted the teeth of a zipper right in front of my face. Through the miniscule gaps in the teeth came more light. I took what tiny amount of comfort I could from the illumination. I didn’t like the dark. It seemed like something stupid to be frightened of, considering my current situation, but ever since everything happened with my father, I’d had to sleep with a nightlight on. I was twenty-two years old and still refused to sleep in a completely dark room.

  Over the top of the humming engine, footsteps approached.

  I froze, sucking in a breath through my nose.

  The man who had taken me must have realized I was awake—all the thrashing and moaning would have seen to that. Internally, I kicked myself. I should have stayed quiet, and he wouldn’t have known. At least then I’d have had time to piece together what I was going to do next.

  Hell, who was I kidding? I was taped up in a bag, most likely on an airplane. My choices had been well and truly taken out of my hands.

  What the hell was he going to do with me?

  I was an educated woman. I knew what human trafficking was. I’d never expected it to happen to me, however. I assumed it was something that happened to refugees or lone backpackers, not someone snatched from a busy New York City bar. That was the only reason I could think of as to why this man had taken me. He hadn’t laid a hand on me in a sexual manner yet, but I didn’t think things would stay that way. Had he simply come to the talk I’d given and decided he liked the look of me, or had things been planned before then? Would he keep me for himself, or was he doing all of this at the orders of someone else?

  I tried to swallow down my fear, but it was impossible. I’d never been more terrified in my entire life, and I’d spent a lot of my life being scared. I’d been scared when the police showed up at our house with guns and arrested my father. I’d been scared when yet more police had turned up on the doorstep and told me and my brother that my mother was dead. I’d been scared when, after my father was arrested, people had come to the house and graffitied the walls, and thrown eggs and rocks at the doors and windows.

  My life had been far from easy up to this point, and now, it seemed, it was about to get even harder.

  I tensed in terror as a shadow passed over the top of the bag, and I sensed someone leaning over it. Hands were at the zipper, and there was a high-pitched rasp as the person pulled it down.

  Bright light hit my eyes, and I squeezed them shut, trying to look away. I blinked a couple of times, my eyes already wet from crying, and squinted as I gradually became accustomed to the glare.

  “You’re awake.”

  Immediately, I recognized his deep, gruff voice from when he’d asked me if I felt guilty back in the university’s auditorium. It sent my skin prickling in a rash of goosebumps, and I cowered away.

  Even though I knew it would do no good, I cried out against the tape on my mouth and squirmed to try to put more space between us. There was nowhere I could go, and, as my eyes grew used to the light, and I was able to take in my surroundings, I realized my instincts about being on a plane were correct. Even if I managed to get free, which was unlikely, it wasn’t as though I could throw myself out of the plane or take down the pilot and fly myself to safety.

  The man must have noticed my gaze flicking around him, as he glanced over his shoulder.

  “Yes, that’s right,” he said, turning back to me. “You’re on an airplane—my airplane—so don’t do anything stupid. There’s nowhere you can go, and screaming for help won’t make any difference. The only people on board are men who work for me. They won’t help you. Got it?”

  I nodded, frantic.

  He reached down, and I flinched, certain he was going to smack me around the face, but, instead, his fingers caught the edge of the tape covering my mouth, and he ripped it off. I whimpered, the tape having pulled out all the fine hairs around my mouth, and my eyes watered anew.

  I’d been struggling to breathe with my nose stuffy from crying, so I sucked in a couple of deep gulps of air before I managed to speak.

  “What do you want with me?”

  His thick, dark eyebrows lifted. “What? Tell you and spoil the surprise? Now, where would be the fun in that?”

  I wasn’t going to give up that easily. “Are you a trafficker? Are you selling me into the sex trade?”

  To my annoyance, he laughed. “No, this is nothing like that.”

  I didn’t believe him. He was probably lying so I didn’t freak out.

  “Please, I just want to go home. I won’t tell anyone you took me, I swear.” I was babbling and begging, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. No one went to all this trouble just to let someone go again. Yet I was incapable of stopping the words pouring from my mouth.

  “Not happening, Jolie.”

  Of course, he knew my name.

  I tried a different tactic. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Hayden. That’s all you need to know for now.”

  Hayden? I scrolled my memories, trying to figure out if the name meant anything to me. Was that a first or a last name? I didn’t think he was going to tell me.

  “Now, Jolie. I normally like for things to be a little more... civilized. As you can see, we’re in a perfectly comfortable plane. I’m not going to untie your hands just yet, but I am willing to help you out of the bag if you wish to come and sit in one of the chairs like an adult.”

  I didn’t want to be in this bag a moment longer.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  I wasn’t sure what he wanted, and so hesitated. “Yes, please.”

  “Yes, please, sir.”

  Oh, God. This guy’s a psychopath. But I was going to play his games if it meant I would survive.

  “Yes, please, sir,” I parroted back. I wanted to spit in his face, not call him ‘sir,’ but I was in a precarious position. If I made him angry, what would he do? I didn’t want to find out.

  I didn’t want him to touch me, but I wasn’t able to get up on my own from the position I was in. As though I was a moth emerging from a chrysalis, the man, Hayden, peeled away the remains of the bag from my body. It was a suit bag—the kind businessmen and women protected their expensive clothes in.

  His fingers caught the top of my arm, and it was like electricity jolting through me, my heart racing. He pulled me to sitting, and then caught me around the waist and helped me to stand. The heat of his fingers burned through the thin material of my shirt. My feet were free, but they were also bare. At some point when I was unconscious, he must have taken my boots—a way of both making it harder for me to run, and also to stop me using the heels of my boots as a weapon. I considered trying to kick him with my bare feet or hurt him in some other way, but I wouldn’t be rewarded for my actions. I didn’t want to be drugged again or stuffed back inside the bag. Instead, I tolerated his hands on me, allowing him to guide me down the middle of the plane to where two large seats were on either side of the aisle. He sat me down in the seat on the right and settled his muscular bulk into the chair on the left. His size was intimidating enough, without the added fact that I was bound and helpless.

  A small bar area folded down from the wall beside his chair. “You’ll be thirsty.”

  It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. My throat so dry I could barely swallow, my tongue a thick, furry slug against the roof of my mouth.

  He took out a small, glass bottle of mineral water and cracked open the lid. “Here.”

  With my hands still bound, I was unable to hold the bottle myself, so he placed the rim of the bottle to my lips and poured. Cold water flowed over my parched palate, and I gulped it down, swallow after swallow until the bottle was empty.

 
He took the bottle away, and I inhaled, catching my breath after guzzling the water. The liquid sat uneasily in my stomach for a moment, and I worried I’d throw it all back up again, but then it settled.

  My thoughts went to when I’d been taken.

  “My friend.” My voice trembled. “You hurt her. Is she okay?”

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “I didn’t hurt her. I wouldn’t hurt a woman. I just knocked her out for a few minutes. She’ll have come around with a mild headache, that’s all.”

  I exhaled a sigh. Hannah was all right. That was something. She’d probably be worried sick about me, but at least she was okay.

  “How can you say you wouldn’t hurt a woman after what you’ve done to me?”

  The words were out before I’d thought them through, and he shot me a glare. “I haven’t hurt you, have I?”

  “You knocked me unconscious with... what’s that stuff? Chloroform, I’m guessing, and then you taped my mouth and hands, zipped me up inside a bag, and kidnapped me, and now we’re on a plane going to God only knows where.”

  That flicker in his eyes again. “But you’re not hurt. You’re not bloodied or bruised.”

  “The tape hurt when you pulled it off my mouth,” I muttered.

  Wicked amusement glinted in his green eyes. “I haven’t punched you, or kicked you, or even slapped you. Not yet, anyway. But if you push me, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  I wondered who he thought would be responsible for him beating me up. I guessed he must be one of those men who lashed out at a woman and then decided it was the woman’s fault for making him do it.

  “I... I need to use the bathroom.”

  My bladder was full, but that wasn’t the only reason I’d mentioned it. I figured it would give me a moment with the door closed where I could be by myself. I wasn’t expecting to find anything in the tiny bathroom that might be useful for me to escape, but at least it would give me some space.

  “The bathroom is at the back of the plane. You do realize, however, that your hands are tied, and I have no intention of untying them.”

  “That’s fine. I can manage,” I muttered.

  “I don’t think you will.” A slow smile touched one corner of his generous mouth, making me shiver. “Don’t worry, I can help.”

  My heart kick-started, and my stomach lurched. “No, it’s fine. Really. I don’t need to go that bad, anyway.”

  “I don’t get turned on by taking women to the bathroom, if that’s what you’re worried about, Jolie.”

  My face burned hot. That was exactly what I was worried about. Wasn’t it every woman’s fear when they were trapped with a strange man, alone? And it wasn’t as though this particular man had given me any hint that he might be different. He’d abducted me and was taking me God only knew where.

  “Really,” I said from between gritted teeth, staring down at my lap. “I can hold it.”

  His lips quirked, as though he was entertained by my discomfort. “You’re going to have to go sometime.”

  “Not with you, I don’t.”

  This man, Hayden, had been intimidating when we’d been in a large room full of people, but now I was face to face with him in this confined space, his presence was overwhelming. It was as though he’d sucked all the air from the plane’s interior, and I was left struggling to catch my breath. I felt as though nature had played a cruel trick, blessing this man with a perfect exterior when clearly his insides were rotten. His hair was so dark, the brown hovered on the edge of black. His eyes were framed with a thick fringe of black lashes, and strong eyebrows. His upper lip was defined with a perfect Cupid’s bow, his bottom lip a little fuller. He was clean shaven, but stupidly I wondered how he would look with a day or so of regrowth.

  He appeared to have lost interest in me, as he reached beneath his seat and pulled out a slim, silver laptop. I stared at the item. He flipped it open, and then angled it so I was unable to see the screen. All I could think was that there might be Wi-Fi on board, and if there was, I might be able to contact someone for help.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” he told me, as though he’d plucked the thought from my head. “Try anything, and you’ll regret it.”

  I scowled at him, even though he didn’t even bother to glance over at me. My arms were still behind my back, pulling uncomfortably at my shoulders. My full bladder made me wriggle in my seat as I tried to ignore it.

  “How long is the flight?” I asked him.

  His gaze flicked to mine, and it was like he’d squeezed my heart in his fist.

  “You don’t need to know.”

  I twisted my lips and stared at the floor. His beauty was distracting, and dangerous. Just because he was handsome didn’t mean he had a kind heart. He was clearly far from being kind.

  I had no idea how long we’d already been flying when I’d woken up inside the bag. It could have been thirty minutes or three hours. My thoughts went to those I’d left behind—Hannah and even my aunt. Did they know I’d been kidnapped yet? Had they reported me missing? When Hannah woke, she must have wondered what she was doing in the alley behind the club. I suddenly realized my purse wasn’t with me. I must have dropped it when I’d been attacked. Assuming Hayden hadn’t picked it up again, the moment Hannah had spotted it, she’d have known something had happened to me as well and would have reported it.

  The minutes passed, and with it the pain in my bladder grew worse as the water I’d drank made its way through my system. There was no possibility I was going to end up crammed into an airplane toilet with that guy, however. I would continue to hold it until we reached our destination, wherever that may be. I wondered about the pilot as well. Did he know I’d been kidnapped, or did he think I was just one of Hayden’s guests? Maybe Hayden often brought drugged and bound women onto the plane, and the pilot had learned to turn a blind eye. I made a promise to myself that as soon as we landed, I’d do anything I could to try to escape. I’d beg the pilot for help and run at the first chance that presented itself to me.

  My ears started to pop, and my stomach dropped as the plane lost height.

  Hayden snapped his laptop shut.

  “We’re about to land.”

  Chapter Five

  The private runway the plane bounced across was still in darkness. It wouldn’t be daylight for another few hours yet. Not that I worried about being seen here. This whole place belonged to me, and so did everything and everyone on it. What I did here was my own business.

  “Don’t think for a moment that there is anywhere you can run to,” I told her as I held onto the top of her arm and guided her down the small set of steps onto the airstrip. “You’re on a private island, surrounded by sea. The mainland is miles away, so don’t even think about swimming. If you’re not eaten by sharks, you’ll get caught in a current and drown.”

  “What do you want with me?” she asked.

  I’d tell her eventually, but for the moment, I was enjoying the game. Her father had made his victims suffer. He’d played with them for weeks, sometimes even months before he’d eventually killed them. That man only truly loved one thing in his life, and that was his children, but especially his daughter. He’d worshipped her, and she’d been a proper little daddy’s girl.

  Was that why she’d done what she’d had? Of course it was. She’d been happy to live a lie.

  I had to keep remembering that. She may have been young, but she wasn’t innocent.

  It was warmer here than it had been in New York. The air smelled different, too, free from pollution, laced with salt from the ocean. This place was normally my sanctuary, and I didn’t want to have the daughter of my enemy here, but she was the whole reason I’d become the man I had. The moment I’d learned he’d had a daughter, all my focus had been on making sure I took away the thing he loved most, just as he’d done to so many others.

  The top button of her shirt had come undone. The difference in our height gave me an undisturbed view right down the front to where her sm
all breasts were covered in a cream lace bra. Her breathing was heavy from fear, and each time she inhaled and exhaled, her breasts rose and fell. Her skin looked creamy and unblemished, and the sudden image of me running my tongue down her throat and across the swell of her cleavage flashed into my head. My cock responded instantly, and because of the position I held her in, with her in front of me, the hardness of my erection pressed into the small of her back.

  No, that wasn’t why she was here. I wasn’t like him. I wished she’d grown up ugly, but that was never going to happen. Even as a teen, she’d been all long limbs and soft honey brown hair and a perfect face. I’d hated her and worshipped her on equal levels. I’d never gone near her, of course, not wanting to give myself away, but I’d stalked her on social media, and then later, after she deleted all of her accounts, I’d paid people to keep an eye on her, making sure they took plenty of photographs and video footage for my perusal.

  I angled the position of my arm to put some space between us. I had no intention of letting things take that turn. I needed to remember why I was doing this.

  We made our way down the stairs. Both the pilot, Javier, and my driver, Henry, had already disembarked and were waiting for us at the bottom.

  Jolie caught sight of the two men and struggled in my grip. “Please, help me,” she begged them. “This man has kidnapped me. I’m here against my will.”

  But, just as I’d expected, they both ignored her.

  “This way, sir,” Henry said instead, gesturing toward my waiting car. My property wasn’t far from the landing strip and could easily be walked, but I didn’t want to wrestle a struggling woman the whole way there.

  Jolie must have seen she was being taken to the car. “No, no. Please. Just let me go. I won’t say a thing to anyone, I swear it.”

  I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  “Quit with all the noise, or I’ll have to put the tape over your mouth again.”

  She twisted to look back over her shoulder at me. I tried not to be affected by the mascara streaked tears in the same way I was when she’d been tied up in the trunk. She really did have the most beautiful, big blue eyes, though. Shame they were so much like his.