Chapter Thirty-Five

 

Faith

 

We’d gotten into Cadoc’s car and his driver drove us away from the hotel. Cadoc didn’t seem upset at all that he’d just lost everything. He sat facing me while William took the seat beside me, his arm outstretched behind my headrest. I thought we’d be heading to a restaurant like he’d said before, but when the driver took us to the interstate, a bad feeling settled in my stomach.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Cadoc smirked. “Somewhere far from New York.”

I could see the truth in his eyes. William moved closer to me, and I couldn’t get away from him. “You’ll love it,” he said, tracing a finger down my arm, “it’ll be a new beginning for us.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You said it was just dinner,” I hissed, glaring at Cadoc.

He shrugged. “Plans change, my dear.”

Just then my phone rang, but William had grabbed my bag first and pulled it out. “Right on time,” he said, chuckling.

He handed my phone to Cadoc and he put it on speakerphone. “Dominic. I figured you’d be calling soon.”

Dominic’s voice was so guttural and raw I could barely recognize him. “Where’s Faith?”

Cadoc held my phone out and nodded for me to reply. “I’m here,” I said. “And I’m okay.” I looked over at William who had an evil glint in his eyes. “At least for now,” I added.

Cadoc snorted. “She’s fine, Corsino. I don’t plan on hurting her if she follows the rules. You see, my plan all along was to leave town. I had a feeling you’d win the fight. That’s why I made sure to have everything in place.”

“Where are you taking her Cadoc?” Dominic demanded.

Cadoc stared right into my eyes and smiled. “She’ll be safe. But most importantly, she’ll be far away from you. You’ll live every day wondering what we’re doing to her. I’d thought about killing her and sending you the pieces, but that’d be a waste of such a beautiful creature. I figured keeping her away from you would be torture enough. You might have won the power, but I have the woman you love. That right there is a win to me.”

Dominic’s growl made me shiver. “So help me God, Cadoc, I’m going to rip you the fuck apart.”

Cadoc burst out laughing. “You have to find me first. Now say goodbye to your woman. It’s the last time you’ll ever hear her voice.”

“I’m going to find you, Faith,” Dominic promised.

Before I could respond, Cadoc lowered the window and threw my phone out onto the highway. “All right, enough of that.”

“The police will be able to track you,” I said, hoping to get rid of that smug smile on his face. “It’s called kidnapping. They’ll add that to your murder charge.”

Cadoc shook his head as if that meant nothing. “I’ve been planning this escape for a long time, my dear. The police can’t track me. I have a jamming device on this car, my phones, and the house we’re going to. It’ll be like we don’t exist.”

My stomach dropped. It didn’t matter that I was wearing a tracker; they wouldn’t be able to find me. I couldn’t even think of anything to say. Dominic had Reed and Micah on his side. With them working together, they’d find me. I had no doubt. I just had to be patient.

“Having you with us is a bonus,” Cadoc continued. “We get your stimulating company while knowing it’s fucking with Corsino’s mind. I’m sure you know what your punishment will be if you try to escape. Your parents can’t stay hidden forever.”

Bile rose up the back of my throat, but the mention of my parents infuriated me. He was right though. They wouldn’t be able to stay hidden forever. Eventually, they’d come back from Australia and he could find them. “Leave my parents out of this. You got me, that’s what you wanted. I already know what you’re capable of. I’m not going to risk my parents’ lives.”

Cadoc beamed. “Good. Then we should have no problems.”

Huffing, I leaned my head against the window, watching the road fly by in a blur. “How long till we get where we’re supposed to be?” I asked.

“About twelve hours,” he answered.

I jerked my head up and stared at him. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Might want to take a nap, my dear. It’s going to be a long ride.”

Laying my head back down against the window, I tried my best to block everything out of mind. I didn’t want to think about what the next twelve hours were going to be like. All I knew was that I was in hell.

 

***

 

Usually car rides made me sleepy, but there was no sleep for me. Cadoc’s car was stocked with drinks and I made sure to guzzle as many as I could so I’d have an excuse to use the bathroom. If there was a GPS jammer installed on his car, the second I got out, my tracker would work. I just had to hope it was enough bread crumbs for Reed and Dominic to get an idea on where we were headed.

The sun had come up and we’d crossed over the Canadian border into New Brunswick where we stopped at a large, white house by the ocean with an amazing view of the Bay of Fundy Islands. I was amazed that someone like Cadoc Cartwright could own such a place.

“Welcome home,” he said, grinning wide. He stepped out of the car and William followed him. William offered me his hand, but I glared at him and got out on my own.

Cadoc spread his arms out wide. “What do you think?”

There was no denying the beauty of the place. “Not bad,” I commented, “for a prison.”

Cadoc chuckled. “Your view will change. Why don’t you go inside and rest? It was a long drive.”

What I really wanted was to get the tracker out of my bra and toss it on the ground outside. Then, all I’d have to do was wait. “Actually, I’d love to take a shower,” I replied, “but I have no clothes.”

William opened the trunk and pulled out three large suitcases. “You do now. Your room’s upstairs, second door on the left.” He carried my suitcase inside and I followed him up the stairs to what was supposed to be my room. The walls were light blue and the large four poster bed was covered in a lacy white bedspread.

William set my suitcase down. “You’ll learn to love it here. I can offer you a whole hell of a lot more than Corsino. Who knows, you might end up liking it.”

“Doubtful,” I said, glaring at him.

He smirked. “Suit yourself.”

Once he shut the door, I locked it and opened the suitcase, grabbing the first T-shirt and pants I could find. I hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower, but then decided against it. Knowing how sick and twisted Cadoc was there were probably hidden cameras everywhere. I slipped off my old clothes and put on the clean ones, discreetly sliding the tracker of the padding of my bra and stuffing it in my pocket. The sooner I could get outside, the quicker I could be found.

Cadoc and William were in the kitchen when I made it downstairs, their voices hushed. Cadoc heard me before I could even make it down all the stairs.

“Where are you going, my dear?” he called out. He appeared around the corner with his arms crossed over his chest.

I nodded toward the large bay window that overlooked the ocean. “I want to take a walk.”

William appeared by his side. “I’ll go with her.”

“Fine,” I said with a shrug. “Let’s go.”

I started toward the door with William behind me. Just knowing he was there chilled me to the bone. I didn’t like him being so close to me. Once outside, I discreetly stuck my hand in my pocket and dropped the tracker onto the ground. It felt good to have it outside.

“I’m shocked to see a smile on your face,” William called out.

The wind whipped by me and I breathed it in. I’d be free soon. Closing my eyes, I stood there and listened to the water. “Trust me, it’s not because of you,” I countered.

“Might want to watch that mouth of yours,” he warned. “My patience only goes so far.”

Clenching my teeth, I held back my next words. “It’s been a long day. Guess I’m just tired.” I didn’t want to be on the receiving end for when his patience ran out. William had never really scared me before until now.