Morgan

I shivered and rubbed the chill from my arms. The cold of the cellar reminded me of when I was in the well. Only this time, I was pretty sure that Chance wasn’t going to find me. The light from the window let in the first rays of light, but it did nothing to brighten my mood. I hoped and prayed all day that Wes would come down and get me. Even he was better than sitting in a dark cellar in the cold for hours by myself.

My bladder screamed at me for release and I glared at the bucket. I didn’t want to pee in a bucket, but I couldn’t hold it much longer. When I was on the verge of peeing myself, I scrambled over to the bucket and dropped my pants just before I would have an accident. The foul odor of piss filled the cell, so I moved as far to the other wall as possible. It didn’t do any good, but it made me feel better.

Hours drifted by in a constant state of worry. I was scared for Payton and I worried about what was happening with Chance. I didn’t know what happened to him after he was taken. And what about the rest of Reed Security? I brought them into this mess, and while they were my only hope, I wouldn’t blame them if they just walked away.

The day faded to night and the shadows played tricks on my mind. I wondered how many other prisoners had been in here and what had become of them. Had they died in here? Were their spirits hanging around to haunt other prisoners? I took long, deep breaths to try and stay calm, but every noise and every movement of light outside the window had me cowering in the corner.

In all the time that I had been searching for Payton, I had never been afraid like this. There were times that I had risked my life, but it was knowing that it could lead to Payton that pushed me through. It was my choice, but this was not. I had come with Wes, but never would I have imagined that he would lock me up with no food and water. It was the lack of control that frightened me the most.

“How are you enjoying your accommodations?”

I jerked upright at the voice, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I didn’t know when I had drifted off, but the sun was shining outside the window, so I had slept for at least a few hours.

“They’re fantastic. Really, if I could give it a rating online, it would most definitely be one star. And the bucket you’ve provided is the epitome of luxury.”

Wes smirked at me, shaking his head as he walked closer to the cell. “An attitude like that won’t get you any closer to getting your daughter back.”

I tried not to react to his taunting. After he threw me in here, I wasn’t even sure that he actually knew where Payton was.

“When do I get out of here?”

“When I feel like you understand what our new relationship will be. Right now, I can still see the calculation in your eyes. You’re still trying to plan out how to get out of here once you get your daughter back.”

I didn’t say anything, even though I wanted to tell him that he was absolutely right. I would never stop fighting to get away from this monster.

He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “See? I can read you so well. You still think that if you fight me hard enough, you’ll find a way to escape. But one day, you’re going to look at me the way you looked at that idiot security guard.”

“He’s not a security guard. He’s a Navy SEAL.”

“Yes, well, you would think a Navy SEAL would have been smart enough to not get captured.”

“He was outnumbered,” I said indignantly.

“Yes, by me. I don’t think you realize what kind of life you could have with me. I’m a very powerful man. I have businesses all over the United States and no one ever crosses me. Imagine what it would be like to be on my arm wherever I went. To have men bow down before you simply because they know who I am.”

“Power doesn’t interest me. There’s only one thing I’ll ever want and that’s my daughter.”

“Like I said, one day you’ll come to accept your new life, and when you do, you’ll not only have your daughter but anything else you could ever want.”

He turned and walked up the stairs, leaving me alone in my cell again. Hours later, an older woman came down with a tray of food. It wasn’t much, but since I was starving, it looked like Thanksgiving dinner. I hurried to the cell door, pleading with her to help me.

“I need help. I’m being held here against my will.”

She didn’t look at me, didn’t show that she had heard me in any way. I grasped onto her shirt, jerking her back in my direction. “Please, I’m begging you. Don’t leave me down here. He’s evil,” I pleaded, my voice quivering at the thought of staying down here any longer. She was my only chance at escape right now.

The woman glanced at me quickly and then shook her head.

“My daughter, she’s missing and I have to find her. I can’t stay down here. Please, you have to help me. Give me a pin to work on the lock or tell me how to get out of here if you can’t do it yourself. Please, please, don’t leave me here.”

She looked at me again, her eyes begging me to stay quiet, but I didn’t understand. I shook my head in confusion, feeling the last bit of hope drain from me. She wasn’t going to help and I didn’t understand why. What woman would stand by while another woman was being held in a cell like this?

The door to the cellar slammed open and heavy boots pounded down the stairs. The woman shuffled back, yanking her shirt from my grasp, and stood against the wall with her head bowed. Wes walked up to me with a gun in his hand, snarling at me in disgust. I backed up a step, feeling his anger, I was terrified even though I was behind the bars at the moment.

“I have someone bring you dinner and this is how you repay me? Not even twenty-four hours and you’re already trying to betray me.”

My gaze landed on the gun in his hand and slowly drifted back up to meet his gaze. He didn’t look at me with lust like he had at the club. I was his prisoner right now and I had tried to get this woman to help me. I had to find a way out of this before he shot me.

“I wasn’t trying to-”

The gun was raised and leveled at the woman in a flash. The gun report echoed through the cell as the woman fell to the ground, eyes wide open and lifeless. I screamed as I stumbled backward and fell to the floor. Tears dripped from my eyes as I stared at the woman on the floor. She had a small hole in the center of her forehead and a large hole in the back where her brain matter oozed from. I covered my mouth as my stomach revolted, but I couldn’t swallow it down. I bolted for the corner of my cell and spewed the contents of my stomach into the bucket.

My shaky legs collapsed from under me as I slid down the wall and tried not to look at the woman lying on the floor. Blood was flowing like a river into my cell and I tucked my legs in closer to my chest, like that would keep the blood from coming closer. My whole body shook uncontrollably as my gaze was locked on the blood. I couldn’t stop looking at it no matter how hard I tried.

“See what you made me do?”

My head snapped up to meet his gaze. “I didn’t-”

“You did,” he growled. “You are responsible for her death. You tried to get her to turn on me. Nobody betrays me, and every time you try to get someone to turn on me, they’ll die just like her. No questions asked.”

“You’re evil,” I whispered, trying to hold back the fear in my voice.

“You’ll learn to both fear me and respect me, and then one day that respect will turn into something more.”

He looked at the woman one last time and then turned to go.

“Wait!” I shouted, jumping to my feet and racing to the cell door. “Please, don’t leave me down here with her.”

Wes walked back toward me, his gaze predatory and domineering. His eyes searched my face for something, but whatever it was he was expecting to see, he must have been disappointed. “You’re not ready to leave this cell. You’ll stay down here with her until you prove that you can behave the way you’re supposed to.”

“You heartless bastard. You’re sick. What kind of disgusting, perverted maniac shoots a woman and leaves her to-”

My air was cut off as his hand wrapped around my throat, strangling me to the point that I almost blacked out. “You will never speak to me that way again. If you ever want to see your daughter, you’ll give me the respect I deserve. If you don’t, you’ll rot in this cell.”

He shoved me backward and I fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. My throat felt like sandpaper and my entire body felt weak. What had I been thinking? If I didn’t know before what he was capable of, I did now.

“Do we understand each other?” I nodded. “I said, do we understand each other?” His tone was harsh and his face was contorted with rage. I quickly modified my response.

“Yes, I understand you.”

“Good,” he smiled. “Keep up that attitude and you’ll only be down here a few more weeks. I would imagine you’d like to get out of here before she decomposes too much. Dead bodies tend to attract rats.”

I swallowed hard and glanced back at the woman on the ground one more time. It wouldn’t take too long before her body started to decompose, which meant that I had to really change how I spoke to Wes or I’d be spending my days with a rotting corpse.

“Good evening, Shyla. I do hope you have a good night.”

✯✯✯✯✯

After five days in the cellar with a dead body, eating and sleeping had become a thing of the past. The smell alone was enough to make me lose my appetite, but the maggots that had started feeding on the body solidified my food strike. I could barely hold down water at this point. Each day I prayed that Wes would come have pity on me, but he hadn’t been down since the day he shot the woman. He always had someone bring my meals down to me and I refused to ask anything, since I had gotten the last woman killed.

How had I ever thought that this was the solution? I should have trusted Chance. He had done everything he could for me and promised to keep looking. I had been foolish to think that I could persuade Wes to help me get my daughter back. I really didn’t think he would help me now.

I tried not to think about Chance too much. I was afraid that my feelings for him would overwhelm me and make it impossible for me to deal with Wes. I couldn’t afford to lose myself in misery right now. I had to be smart and think about how to get out of here. Wes wanted me to be the willing captive and that’s what I would give him. I had put on a good face in the club and I could do it here.

But gradually becoming okay with him would take forever for me to gain his trust. And if I just suddenly became attached, he wouldn’t buy it either. I needed to give him a reason to believe that I trusted him. I paced my cell as I tried to think of the right way to make it believable. I had to appear that I needed him more than my own life. I needed him to believe that I thought he was my savior. I stopped pacing, a grin coming to my face as I realized what I really needed. He needed to believe that I had developed Stockholm Syndrome. It might mean more time down here for me, but if I did this right, it would put me in a better position with him faster.

Another day passed with me pacing my cell or huddled in the corner, trying my best to ignore the dead woman on the ground. As promised, rats showed up and started eating her flesh. If I had anything left in my stomach right now, I would be throwing up. As it was, I was shaky from the lack of food and water and the churning in my stomach. Every moment I was awake was spent fighting back nausea. But when I heard the lock on the cellar door, I put on my mask of sincerity and tried my best to convince Wes that I needed him.

“I must say, you don’t look like you’re doing too well down here,” Wes said with a handkerchief covering his face.

I rushed to the cell door to meet him, letting tears slip down my face. It wasn’t too difficult to pretend since the stench was so bad. “Please, don’t make me stay down here anymore. I promise to do what you say.”

“Am I really supposed to believe that you’re suddenly wanting to comply with what I want?”

“I know you don’t believe me, but you can’t just leave me down here with this woman. I feel cold all the time and I can’t stop shaking. This is the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen and I don’t know how much more I can take.”

He smiled like he had won and then walked over to the door and unlocked it. He pulled it closed and stepped inside with me. He pulled off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, then wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back. Laying my head against his chest, I followed suit and wrapped my hands around his middle. That seemed to appease him because I felt him rest his head against mine.

He pulled back, holding me by my upper arms. “I don’t think you’re quite ready to come up. Give it another week and we’ll see how you’re feeling.”

“Please,” I whispered with tears in my eyes. “Don’t leave me down here.”

His hand brushed my cheek and he looked at me like he would a lover. “One more week.”

He pushed the cell door open, but I wanted to get in one last plea.

“Will you visit me?” His eyes studied me and I let my bottom lip tremble. “I don’t want to be down here alone. I can’t sleep and…” I dropped my head as the tears started to fall, pretending that I was embarrassed to admit that I needed him.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I nodded and watched him leave. I huddled up in the corner, wrapping myself tightly in the jacket he had wrapped around me. It was the closest thing to a blanket that I had, and even if it was Wes’s, I was grateful for the warmth.

The next day, he visited me around dinner time, smirking at the excited expression on my face. Two men followed behind him, one bringing two trays with food and another with a small table and two chairs. They quickly set up the table and Wes motioned for me to take a seat. I did as he requested and was pleased when he pushed my chair in as I sat.

He took his seat once the two men left and lifted the cover on his tray. I did the same and was shocked to see steak, pasta alfredo, and asparagus. I wasn’t sure that I could eat the meat with a rotting corpse just ten feet from me. Apparently, Wes had no problem with it and dug in right away, smiling widely as he chewed his steak. I took a bite of my pasta and did my best to swallow, even though the smell made eating impossible.

He picked up his glass that had been covered with a lid to prevent spilling and took a drink. “Please, drink your wine.”

I took off the lid, but when I looked at the red wine and then to the blood stains on the floor, I couldn’t do it. “I think I’ll pass.”

“You’ll get used to it. You just have to accept what’s going on around you.”

“Is that all?” I laughed, as if we were talking about something much more casual than a body decaying on the floor.

“So, tell me about yourself.”

I sat back in my chair, not sure what I was supposed to tell him. “I would think you would already know everything about me.”

“Mostly, but there are always stories that can be entertaining.”

I took another small bite as I thought about what I could tell him. I didn’t want to bring my family into it, so I steered clear of that topic. “Well, when I was a little girl, I always wanted to learn to ride a horse. I thought it would be really fun. A friend of mine had horses and I tried one day, but I was terrified. She kept telling me not to show fear and don’t kick the horse with my heels. Relax, but be in control. It scared me so much that I only did one lap before I asked to get off.”

“And you never tried again?”

“No. I figured once was enough. What about you? Do you ride?”

“Every once in a while. I have a ranch that has horses, but I rarely get there.”

I nodded, pretending to be interested and took another bite of pasta. “So, is this your primary house?”

“One of them,” he grinned. “It depends on where I’m traveling to and how long I have to be there.”

“Do you just keep packing and moving all your stuff every time you need to go to a new house?”

He chuckled as if it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. “No, I have wardrobes and everything else I would need at every location.”

“That must be nice,” I said, trying not to sound too irritated.

“You’ll have the same.”

My head shot up and I tilted my head in confusion. “Why would I-”

“Because you are mine. Once you come to realize how good we can be together, you’ll get everything you could ever need.”

“I need my daughter.”

“And you’ll have her. Just as soon as I trust that this will work between us. I would hate to feel that you were using me just to get your daughter back.”

I dropped my eyes, knowing that I was going to have to put on the performance of a lifetime to convince him. And it would have to be all the time. I couldn’t ever risk him seeing me drop my guard.

“Will I be traveling with you?”

“That depends on a few things. One, I need to trust you. Two, I want you to enjoy our trips together. It won’t do any good to have you with me if you’re going to be pouting all the time.”

“What will I do in the meantime?”

“Enjoy your life here. Become accustomed to your new way of life. There are books in the library and a heated pool inside. On nice days, you can sunbathe or swim in the outdoor pool. We also have a tennis court and several trails for running.”

I looked up in excitement. That could be my way out. If I could find a way to get lost in the woods, I might be able to find a weak link and escape. He must have thought the same thing.

“There are guards everywhere and the fence is impenetrable.”

“I wasn’t thinking of that. I love to run. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to, but I used to run every morning. It would be nice to get back in a routine.”

“Well, once I’m satisfied with how you are acclimating, I’ll make sure to inform the staff that you can take the trails.”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

We finished eating in relative silence and I had to admit that even though I didn’t like my situation, I was happy to have someone to talk to, if only for an hour.

“Well, I better be going to my office. I have a few things to finish up for the night.”

“You’re leaving already?” I asked, leaving a note of panic in my voice.

“Don’t worry, Dushenka, I’ll see you again.”

Dushenka. I didn’t know what that meant, but I had to assume it was some kind of endearment. I waited until he left to take a seat again. It was strange to sit in an actual chair after a week of sitting on the floor. By the time I was tired, I ended up on the floor anyway because I couldn’t sleep sitting up. I made some headway with him tonight and that was all that mattered. I would eventually get him to think that he had me under his spell. I just had to find a way to really get him to show me sympathy.

✯✯✯✯✯

When he came downstairs the next day, I paced the cell until he reached the bottom of the stairs. I didn’t rush over to the bars to see him, but smiled hesitantly, like I didn’t want him to know how glad I was that he was there. A glimmer of triumph flashed in his eyes before he unlocked the door and came in. A few minutes later, two men came downstairs with a recliner. They carried it into my cell and placed it in the corner. There was also a blanket on top of the seat. I smiled at him gratefully, but didn’t approach. It would seem fake.

“I thought maybe you would like something more comfortable to sleep on.”

“Yes, thank you. It was very thoughtful of you.”

“Well, should we eat?”

At his question, another man came downstairs with trays, just like the night before. After everything was in place, I took my seat with Wes’s help and placed my napkin on my lap. Tonight’s dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. This time, he brought me water.

“Thank you,” I smiled as I took a sip of water.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to do without me for a night. Tomorrow, I’ll be going out of town.”

“What?” I let panic seep into my voice and stared at him in shock. “I’ll be here…alone?”

“There are other people in the house. You’re never alone.”

“But…” I dropped my head again, like I was embarrassed to admit to him that I wanted his company.

“But what?”

“I just like having dinner with you.”

“You’ll be fine for one night.”

I nodded and took a bite of spaghetti. I had learned to breathe through my mouth at all times now. The stench in the basement was so bad that the smell permeated my mouth when I breathed. After a few bites, I had eaten all I could. If I didn’t get out of here soon, I would waste away.

“Would it make you feel better if I had the body removed?”

“You would do that?”

“If it will make you feel better while I’m gone.”

I looked at him like he had just given me the world and placed my hand over his on the table, squeezing it lightly. I pulled my hand back quickly, pretending that I was conflicted over my feelings.

“You don’t have to hold yourself back from me. I’ve made it no secret that I want you.”

“I know, it’s just…you have me down here and now you’re being so nice to me. You brought me a recliner and a blanket when you didn’t have to. I’ll be warm tonight because of you. And then coming to visit me has been a relief. I was starting to feel like I was losing my mind.”

He smiled, but didn’t say another word. He ate in silence while I watched him. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and stared at me. I started to feel uncomfortable, mostly because I didn’t know how to play this. It was easy enough to react in a conversation, but just staring at me, I wasn’t sure what he was looking for.

I sighed when he finally spoke. “Why don’t you talk to your parents anymore?”

I could be honest with this one. It might even do the trick for the night. “After I found out I was pregnant, they were upset with me because I had slept with my boyfriend without any promise of what kind of future we would have. They wanted me to have an abortion, but I knew I could never do that.”

I stood and walked over to the bars, looking at the window, my only source of light.

“When I told them I wouldn’t do it, my father got angry with me, telling me that I was ruining my future. He said that my boyfriend obviously didn’t love me that much if he left me when I was pregnant. He told me that the best thing that could happen was if I had an accident and lost the baby.”

Arms wrapped around me from behind, holding me in comfort. I rubbed his hand in thanks, grateful that my plan was working. I wanted to gain his sympathy. It was the only way for me to have him respond this way to me and allow me to fall faster for him.

“He was foolish. He should have been happy to have a grandchild on the way.”

“He was very old-fashioned. He didn’t approve of me living with my boyfriend, but he also thought that Matt was this amazing guy. In my father’s eyes, he could do no wrong. So, when I told him Matt left me, he immediately accused me of doing something that made him leave.”

“You aren’t responsible for Matt’s actions. He’s a fucking jackass for walking away from you. You’re lucky to be rid of him. He would have hated being with you every minute of the day, and he would have made your life miserable.”

I turned in his arms and placed my hand on his cheek, letting my eyes fill with tears. “No one’s ever said anything like that before.”

“Not even friends?”

“I’ve been on my own for so long. All of my friends were friends with Matt and they didn’t want to pick sides.”

“But they did.”

I nodded. “Then Payton was born and I had her. It didn’t seem like I needed anyone else.”

He cupped my face and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “You’re not alone anymore. I swear to you, we’ll get Payton back and you won’t ever have to worry about anything again.”

Those words were so similar to what Chance had told me, but coming from him, they felt genuine. Coming from Wes, everything felt tainted and came with stipulations. He would only get my daughter back if I was a good girl. He would only treat me right if I proved myself to him. With Chance, there were no guidelines to follow. It was just a promise of an honorable man that he would help in any way he could. And I had led him right into danger. Tears for an entirely different reason clogged my eyes and I looked away, trying to reel in the anger I felt at myself for betraying him.

“Don’t cry. I told you I would fix this and I will.”

I gave him a watery smile and didn’t pull back when he leaned in to kiss me again. This time, he ran his tongue between my lips and I let him kiss me the way he wanted. I pretended it was Chance. I thought about the last time I had been with him and how I was starting to feel things for him. I just needed to channel that when I was with Wes. If I didn’t, he would pick up on my hatred for him.

He wiped the tears from my cheeks as he pulled back. “I won’t be gone more than a day. I’ll send someone down in the morning to remove the body.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll see you soon, Dushenka.”