I closed my laptop and shut off my phone, stretched back my arms over my head and yawned. When I traveled to Europe, I liked being disconnected, as much as I could anyway. Worthington made sure I wasn’t constantly in the dark, and would feed me headlines as needed, but I mostly enjoyed the quiet.
I’d taken longer than I expected in my last meeting, but the deal was closed. Our clothing line would now be available to some of the most popular retailers in all of Europe. The expansion from American to European vendors was a huge one, and I was eager to celebrate, this time not alone with my cigars on the balcony, but with my girl.
A twinge of excitement tucked at my gut, a feeling I hadn’t had in years, decades even. I had something to look forward to. Sighing, I glanced at the calendar on my desk. Only one more week until our agreement was up, and I’d fulfill my end of the bargain. But I’d taken such good care of her…maybe she wouldn’t want to go home?
Was I fooling myself for thinking that she had any feelings for me? How could she? I was a beast of a man, an angry bastard who didn’t take no for an answer. She hardly knew me.
There was a connection, though…
Or was that in my mind as well?
I pushed myself to standing,
I wanted her, here in my arms. I wanted to kiss her and hold her, and take her out to dinner under the twinkling lights of Paris. I would take her to my favorite restaurant, the little café owned by a married couple that did wonders with cheese and steak, we’d get a little table outside, and she’d order anything she wanted off the menu. I opened the door to my office, and I nearly yelled out loud as she crashed right into me, her pretty brown hair flying behind her, eyes wide and fearful.
What the hell had happened? Anyone who’d frightened her, scared her, hurt her, they’d answer to me.
“Sawyer! Oh my God. I need to go home.” She slammed her hands on my chest, startling me. Was she in her right mind? “Now! Get your jet. I need to go!” She turned as if to run away, but I caught her.
She was such a fright I grabbed her arms and gave her a brisk shake.
“Annabelle,” I said. “Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
She shook her head from side to side. “I don’t know. I don’t really even know what’s going on. I need to—you need to — It’s my mom and Gavin and — I don’t — help!”
Fear churned in my stomach but I had to master my emotions if I was going to help her.
“Honey, listen,” I began. “I can’t help you if you don’t calm down and tell me what happened.”
“Stop talking! Get the fucking jet!” she cried, pushing away from me. She was crazed, out of her mind. With one swift move I spun her around and cracked my hand across her ass. She gasped and jolted, but before she could respond, I swept her into my arms and held her in an iron grip.
“There’s more where that came from if you don’t calm the hell down. I’ll spank some sense into you if you can’t do it yourself. Understood?”
Her hands circled my neck and she rested her head on my chest. To my surprise, she closed her eyes as if she were ready to take a nap. “Yes,” she said softly. “Yes, Daddy.”
My heart warmed and my cock twitched. God, what this girl did to me.
“Tell me what’s frightened you, sweetheart. We can’t move any faster or more effectively by being frenzied. Explain what’s happened, and I will do whatever it takes to take care of you.”
She nodded against my chest, her soft hair grazing my chin, eyes still closed as I walked the length of the office, shifted her up a bit so I could open the door, then stopped into the hallway and marched purposefully back to the library. As I made my way to the entrance, she explained.
“My sister texted me, but I didn’t get the messages until just a few minutes ago. I called her right away,” she said. “It isn’t true what they’re telling people, Sawyer. I want to be here! I am not a prisoner!”
I nodded to placate her, the desperation in her voice making a lump rise in my throat. God, the poor girl.
“I know, baby,” I said soothingly. “Now tell Daddy what happened.”
Her shoulders relaxed as she leaned against me, her hands still around my neck. “My mother started telling people lies. They took her, Sawyer. They went right into my home and took her from us. She’s being held at an institution, but they think she’s crazy.”
I shook my head. “You said she’s unwell, but the visiting nurses I’ve sent have said her illness is far more manageable than they expected. She isn’t crazy, honey. We know that.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “She isn’t well.”
“We’ll take care of her. But now you have a big problem on your hands. You need to get her out of the institution and home again. You need to clarify to the media as best you can that you haven’t been forced, and that you’re here of your own accord.”
“I need to go home, she whispered, her hand on my chest flat-palmed as if to show me how she was ready to submit to my answer.
“Yes,” I said. “We’ll go.”
Even as I said the words I wanted to take them back, hold her close, tuck her into my arms and never let her go. If I let her go, would she come back to me? I closed my eyes briefly to help stem the swell of emotions that threatened to overtake me.
“But our agreement. It isn’t over. I have another three weeks, and I haven’t even had my big media debut yet. It’s all in vain if I go now.”
“That isn’t important. Go.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
I leaned in and kissed her soft cheek. “‘Thank you, Daddy,’ would do.”
She clasped her hands about me once again, her gaze bright and hopeful once again as she smiled up at me. “Thank you, Daddy. I will come back. Sawyer, you have my word. I will come back.”
But something inside me told me no, she wouldn’t. She had no reason to.
I took my phone out of my pocket and powered it up. I’d send her home.
And then I’d find a way to live without her.
