Bound by Lies: Bound #1 (Adult Romantic Suspence) (15 page)

Private booth. French champagne. Shiny designer shoes. Hah.
This guy is way out of my league. I guess the quicker he realizes I’m a
barely-making-ends-meet nursing student he’ll send me on my way.

He whistles again to get the attention of the bartender.
“Have this sent to my booth.” He steals a glance at me then turns back to the
bartender. “Um, please.”

I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips before I walk
through the crowd to the booth that I had seen him sitting in earlier.

Standing on one side of the booth is Garfield. He nods to me
in acknowledgment and I nod back. On the other side is another man, thinner and
shorter than Garfield. He has shallow cheeks and pale skin and is good looking
in a scary kind of way. He is standing with his weight on one leg, hands fisted
across his chest. This is Snake, I presume. When I catch his eyes I understand
what Jacob meant when he said that Snake was “not a people person”. Snake’s
eyes are black and soulless and I can’t help but shiver.

Jacob stands next to me and places his hand between my
shoulder blades. I look at the women in the booth – three of them – who are
staring at us. Correction, glaring at me and fluttering their ridiculous false
eyelashes at Jacob. I get a sense that any one of these “ladies” would think
nothing of stabbing me in the face when Jacob’s back was turned. Oh God. What
am I getting myself into?

“Alright, ladies,” Jacob says, and I think he is about to
introduce us. “Goodnight and get out of my booth.”

One of them gasps then pouts her overly-botoxed and
gaudily-painted lips at Jacob.

“What the fuck?” the second one snarls.

The third one laughs and flips out her hands to pat
playfully at Jacob’s arm. “Oh, you’re such a joker, Jakey. He’s joking, guys.
Calm down.”

“Not joking, Mandy. Get the fuck out my booth.”

I feel the eyes of the second one roaming over my dress.
Yes, it’s tighter and skimpier than anything I would ever usually wear, but it
is practically a nun’s garb compared to the shreds of material that these girls
are wearing. I’m wearing a strapless back pencil dress that drops to an inch
above my knee with a black lace overlay up to my neck like a choker and sleeves
down to my wrists.

“Are you fucking serious?” she says. “You’re giving the
three of
us
up for… this?”

I jump when Jacob slams a hand down on the table. So do the
other three girls. “You say one more thing about her and I will personally make
sure you are never allowed to set foot in any club in this whole goddamn city.
Now. Get. The fuck. Out.”

The three girls pause for a moment before gathering their
purses and yanking themselves out of the booth. Jacob grabs me and tucks me
against his side when the loudmouth one shoulder charges me as she moves past
us.

The one named Mandy hoists her chin up as she pulls herself
out of the booth. “And it’s not Mandy, it’s Mindy, asshole.”

Jacob rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

I slap Jacob on his arm. “Hey. Don’t be so mean to her.”

Jacob turns his dark brooding eyes on me. “She was only
after me for my money. What does that say about her?”

“You were spending your time with her. What does that say
about you?”

He pauses then makes an exasperated noise. “Sorry, Mindy,”
he calls after the girl. “Have a nice night.”

“Fuck you, asshole.” She yells back over her shoulder before
she disappears through the crowd.

I slide into the booth. I notice that same crest is painted
in gold, large across the wall of the booth. It’s an eagle behind a shield with
a halo made of leaves above its head. It must be the club’s crest. I also
notice it engraved on the napkins scattered among the mess on the table. There
are two bottles of half-full Grey Goose vodka sitting in ice buckets and way
too many glasses.

I expect that Jacob will take the other side. But he
doesn’t. He slides in next to me just as the bartender arrives with our
champagne. The bartender cleans up the used glasses and sneaks curious glances
at me, while I try not to feel trapped and unnerved at the fact that I am
pressed against the wall of this booth with Jacob squeezed against my side and
his eyes roaming across my face.

“So, princess. Tell me what you do with yourself.”

I lick my lips, which have gone dry. I notice Jacob’s gaze
is fixated on my mouth. “I thought you said you’d promise not to try to kiss
me.”

He smiles, but his eyes don’t leave my lips. “I haven’t
tried to kiss you.”

“Yes, but you look like you want to.”

“Oh, princess,” he leans in, “I promised you I wouldn’t try
to kiss you, not that I wouldn’t be thinking about it every time you move that
perfect little mouth of yours.”

I push him back with one hand and I can’t help but notice
how hard his chest is under his dark shirt. “Look, buddy. If you want to keep
making me uncomfortable I’m just going to go.”

He shifts back a bit on the booth seat with his hands up in
the air. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave. I’m sorry.” He flashes me a grin. Yes, I can
see already that Jacob is a man used to getting what he wants. “Forgive me,
princess?”

I find myself nodding. Dammit.

I am thankful for the small amount of space he has put
between us and I feel like I can breathe a bit better now. I consider leaving
anyway, but I do need a way to get home. And, I argue with myself, Jacob is
being a gentleman. To me, anyway. Sort of. So far.

“Please, I want to hear about you,” he says as he leans an
elbow on the table and rests his cheek on his hand. His whole upper body is
turned towards me. I feel on show, like a spotlight is on me.

“Well,” I begin, “there’s not much to tell. I’m a full-time
student in my second year of nursing.”

“Nursing? Why nursing?”

“I actually wanted to be a doctor, but my grades slipped in
my last year of school.”

“Why was that?”

“I…” I shift in my seat. “My grandmother fell ill. She was
more important than school. And I started working part-time to help out, you
know, with bills.”

He purses his lips. “Is she okay now?”

I smile and nod. “Yeah, she’s okay now.”

“It’s a shame that you didn’t get a chance at med school.”

“It doesn’t matter. I decided I could help just as much if I
went into nursing. Plus I think with nursing you get more person-to-person
contact anyway. And I want to work with patients.” I blush under his stare.

“You want to save the world.”

“I want to try.”

“Tell me, princess, do you think the world is worth saving?”

“Of course it is.”

He leans in. “And everyone in it?”

I nod.

He smiles and shakes his head. “You actually believe that.
Cute.”

I reach out for my champagne flute and take a sip.

“What else, princess? Tell me more.”

“When I’m not studying, I work part-time at a local bar to
pay the bills. I also volunteer at the local old folks’ home.” I shrug. “That’s
about it. I’m not very interesting.”

“You’re the most interesting woman I’ve met in a long time.”

I shrug, caught between pleasure and embarrassment at his
compliments. “I’m not so unique. You’ve just been hanging out with the wrong
people.”

He snorts. “Obviously.”

“So what do you do?”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Seriously? You haven’t figured
it out?”

I frown. I guess I am missing something but… “What? I don’t
get it.”

He laughs again. “You are funny, princess. So innocent. So
fresh and uncomplicated. See all this,” he holds out his hands and waves to the
club, “this belongs to me and my family.”

Then it hits me. Tyrell. Jacob Tyrell. Of the Tyrell family.
The Tyrells own over half the night clubs in this city. That’s why the bar
staff snapped to attention. That’s why he has goon and gooner flanking him.
That’s why those plastic girls were so upset when I came and stole their meal
ticket. That’s why he didn’t have to pay for the champagne. He owns it all
anyway.

I shake my head, trying to clear it. “I don’t want anything
from you, Jacob.”

He smiles. “I know. Which makes me want to give everything
to you. You haven’t had much luck in your life, but I plan on changing that.”

Jacob is true to his word. He doesn’t try to kiss me. Once
or twice I catch him touching my hair. Once I catch him as he brings the ends
of the strands up to his nose to smell.

When I start to yawn, Jacob takes me by the hand and leads
me through the club to a side exit, where a long black limousine is waiting.

“Are you for real?” I say when the driver gets out, opens
the door and I realize this limo is for us.

Jacob chuckles and helps me get into the car. He holds my
hand until we get to the base of my dorm; he insists on driving all the way to the
door. He hands me his phone and tells me to program my number into it. Then he
kisses me on the knuckles goodbye. “Good night, princess. I’ll see you soon.”

I watch the limo drive out of the gates from the front
window of the dorm lobby.

As I unlock the door to my dorm room my phone buzzes with a
text.
I’ll pick you up at 8 tomorrow night, princess.

The present

On our first date Jacob took me to one of the restaurants
that his family owned. When I walked into the empty place, I frowned until I
realized he had closed the whole place down just for me. Later that night we
had our first kiss.

“We’re made for each other. You know how I know?”

I shake my head.

“You’re unpredictable, princess. Different. Like me.” He
leans in so close I can smell the cognac on his lips. It thrills and scares me
to have him this close to me.

I can still remember the taste of liquor on him, the insistent
way his tongue probed my mouth as if he owned it.

Oh God.

I am sitting here drinking coffee in a restaurant owned by
the Tyrells. I knew that they owned lots of properties and businesses across
the country, but I never got the full list. I knew it would be a possibility
that the cities I ran to would have a tie to them. But I never imagined that I
would walk straight into one of their properties. And I never imagined that
Cade would lead me to them.

My mind seems stuck like a skipped record. Oh God. Oh shit.
Oh God. What if they’re here? What if Jacob’s here? He can’t still be looking
for me, can he?

“Your body, your blood, your life belong to me.”

I recognize this familiar feeling of numbness and cold pins
and needles across my skin. I’m in shock. I try to snap myself out of it. I
need to get the hell out of here. But I can’t move. My muscles seem to have
seized up. Everything feels like it’s going very slowly. Everything sounds
muffled as if I have shoved cotton wool in my ears.

I realize too late that the latte glass is slipping from my
fingers. It hits the saucer with a crash that echoes menacingly through my
haze. Coffee splashes over the table and starts to dribble off the sides. The
spray of hot liquid into my lap seems to snap me out of my shock. I look up in
fear as I hear someone rushing for me.

But it’s only the waiter running over to me with a cloth. Oh
God. The restaurant has gone quiet. Everyone is looking at me. Oh God. Everyone
is looking at me. In a restaurant owned by the Tyrells.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I mutter as I dab helplessly at
the pool of pale brown liquid with a sopping napkin, keeping my head down so
that my face is hidden. “I’m such a klutz.”

“It isn’t a problem, madam. Let me do that for you. Here,
for your clothes.” He hands me a stack of napkins. I sit with my chin buried in
my chest, pretending to focus on cleaning myself up as the waiter wipes down
the table with his cloth. I want to run out of here. All my instincts are
screaming for me to run, panic clawing at the insides of my throat. But the
waiter is blocking my path. He won’t let me out. He’s doing it on purpose. I’m
trapped. Trapped in the corner of this booth.

“I shall get you another latte, madam.”

“No!” And I swallow when I realize that I have just shouted,
causing the other patrons to look over again. Too much attention. Way too much
attention. I clear my throat and try to smile. “I’m sorry. I’ve just realized I
have an appointment that I forgot about. How much do I owe you for the latte?”
I scramble around in my bag looking for my wallet.

“That’s fine, madam. It’s on the house.”

I look up in surprise. I catch his eye and quickly look
down. Does he know who I am?

I look around the waiter slowly, barely daring to breathe,
convinced that Jacob will materialize out of the photo to stand before me, my
nightmares made flesh. My heart lurches and my eyelids flutter shut in some
desperate notion that if I just wish hard enough, everyone will go away.

“Are you okay, madam?”

My eyes open. But Jacob isn’t here. Just the waiter peering
at me with concern. Not recognition, just concern.

Breathe, woman. Jacob isn’t here.

“Fine. Thank you. Sorry again.” I grab my bag and my
knuckles turn white from the grip of my fists. I walk out without another look
at the waiter. Or perhaps I run.

Why was Caden here? Was that really Jacob in the photo or
someone who looked just like him? What does this mean? What the hell does this
mean? Am I overreacting? Was this just a coincidence?

Do I even believe in coincidences?

I should have seen the signs, but back then I didn’t know
what to look for. Jacob insisted on seeing me every day that he could after
that. He told me that he was falling in love with me on our third date. Part of
me told myself that this was all moving too fast, too intense. But the other
part of me felt so good to be wanted, so good to be loved.

Three weeks later I said I loved him back. And only then did
I agree to sleep with him…