Damien: Billionaire Bad Boy Romance (19 page)

“I think there may have been some kind of misunderstanding,” I said, wrapping the blanket more tightly around me and cocooning myself inside.  Even though it was only wool and felt trim, I still imagined that it was somehow keeping me safer. At least this way I didn’t feel so damn exposed. “I don’t think there’s anything I can help you with,” I added. “I don’t know anything.”

The man stepped forward. His grin grew and I watched his pink, shiny face twitch with the effort of it all. His eyes, an odd shade of grey, almost like Damien’s, were glowing with a gleam that made me shudder. He suddenly reminded me of all the caricatures I’d seen of the devil when I was going to church food banks with my parents.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the man said. His voice was like wet velvet or silk, suited to reading books on tape. “You can help me get
exactly
what I want.”

I shook my head. “I think you’re overestimating how important I really am at work,” I insisted. “You know I don’t do anything except grab coffee and make appointments. Sometimes I clean my boss’s office, that’s all.”

The man leered at me and my gut twisted with fright. “You clean for Damien? How sweet,” the man cooed. “And what does he make you wear when you do that?” He gestured towards my baggy leggings and loafers. “Surely not those horrid clothes.”

I stared at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” I said slowly. “What do you want with Damien?”

“Oh, I don’t want anything with
Damien
,” the man said silkily. He reached up and rubbed his chin with one of his soft-looking leather gloves. “I want his company. Not Damien. I don’t give a fuck what happens to Damien. You know, I actually wish Damien were dead.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut, but I was still confused as to what the hell I was doing there. “And how can I help you get that?” I demanded. “It’s not like I know anything about the company. I don’t even have
stock
in the company,” I added. “Why wouldn’t you talk to someone who was more powerful?”

The man stepped closer. I could smell his cologne—it smelled sickly sweet, like something you’d find in a funeral home. “Because you’re exactly who I need,” he said softly. “You, Audrey. You, the object of Damien’s obsession. You’re the exact pawn I need to push him into place.”

I swallowed hard. There was a sick feeling rising in my throat and I tried to ignore it. “You’re blackmailing Damien because of me? You kidnapped me?” The pitch of my voice rose to a squeaky high and I winced, feeling oddly unable to control my own body.

The man reached out and stroked my chin. I shuddered; the touch of his glove was soft and cold, but I didn’t want him anywhere near me. “You’re a little smarter than I gave you credit for,” he replied. “You figured it out pretty quickly.” He smiled, showing a mouth full of teeth so perfect they looked like dentures. “Damien doesn’t normally care about women, but I know he’s obsessed with you. So I have to use you. It’s nothing personal, I assure you,” the man added. “But I’m Richard Hodges, and I get what I want.”

I stared at him. “You’re Richard Hodges?”

The man nodded. For a moment, he looked almost prideful. “I am,” he replied. “In the flesh.”

“Please let me go,” I begged. “I won’t tell anyone what happened, I promise!” Desperation and fear were starting well up in me and for another moment, I was afraid I was going to be sick. I gurgled and coughed as hot, sour bile rose in my throat.

Richard shook his head. “And I don’t really like you having all this room to move around either,” he said idly. “Maika, Sergei! Tie her up!”

At once, the Russians advanced towards me. I took a tentative step backwards and the rotting wooden floorboards creaked beneath my weight. “No!” I screamed as Maika reached for me “No! Help! Someone! Help! Help me!” My voice went shrill and high. Sergei, the taller of the two, grabbed me. Another strong wave of nausea tore through my body as I pushed away from him, bending over and retching all over the floor. Tears came to my eyes as the vomit poured out of my mouth. I felt helpless to stop it. Before I was even finished through up, Sergei grabbed my arms and twisted them painfully behind my back. I tried to pull away from him but he was stronger than me, much too strong to fight. I yelped in pain as I felt coarse rope cinch around my wrists, holding my hands fast.

“Help!” I screamed. “Pepper! Anyone! Help me!”

The German shepherds had risen from their lazy stances and were eyeing me cautiously. Hot tears leaked from my eyes as Sergei dragged me backwards, holding onto the rope between my wrists. He pulled me out of the sunlight and into a dark corner of the warehouse, where a pile of old boards and rope lay.

“You stay here,” Sergei said, his yellow teeth flashing in the low light. “Boss want you to stay here.”

“Fuck you,” I spat.

Richard walked over. His expression was cross and his arms were folded in front of his meaty, bulky chest. “Audrey, I don’t want to hear that kind of language,” he said in a warning tone. “I liked you better when you were begging me to let you go.” Richard smirked at me and a bubble of hatred rose within me. “Why not try begging me again?”

I clamped my lips together.

“Just a little beg?” Richard raised his eyebrows and leaned down, staring into my eyes. I looked away. My mouth still tasted of the sour vomit and my stomach was aching again.

“Where’s Pepper?” I asked in a sullen voice. “I want my dog. What did you do to my dog?”

Richard cocked his head. “I don’t remember any
dog
in the car,” he said. “Are you sure?” Making a fist with his hand, he crouched down and gently rapped me on the head. Even though it didn’t hurt, I cringed at his touch. “You sure you didn’t knock your little head on something hard, Audrey?”

I glared at him. “Pepper is my lab,” I spat back. “I know she was with me. What did you do with her?”

Richard shrugged. “I have no use for mutts,” he said. “Don’t accuse me of anything
too
sinister.” He smiled at me as he drew himself back up to his full height. “It’s not as though I’d do anything malicious to your pooch, Audrey. Or you, so behave.” He grinned at me again and I felt my stomach turn over.

“Boss,” Sergei said suddenly. He tapped his wrist.

“Darn,” Richard said. “I was almost enjoying this little talk of ours. You stay well, Audrey,” he said casually. “Depending on Damien’s response, hopefully you’ll see me sooner than later.” He winked at me. “Wouldn’t want you getting too cold now.” He turned to Sergei. “Gag her,” he said in a sharp voice. Then I watched Richard Hodges walk away.

Sergei came at me with a roll of duct tape and something clutched in his fist. When he bent down in front of me, I realized in horror that he was about to gag me with a sock. I screamed as he put his hands close to my mouth. Clamping my lips shut, I glared at him. Sergei shook his head.

“Open mouth.” He glared back at me.

I shook my head. Finally, Sergei reached forward and clamped his strong fingers around my nose. My lungs ached immediately but I twisted and writhed against him, hoping to free myself. Sergei’s light eyes bored into mine and I shivered with the intensity of his gaze. Finally, I couldn’t keep my lips shut any longer and I opened my mouth.

Sergei stuffed a foul-tasting sock inside, sealing my mouth with duct tape. When he was done, all I could do was make weak, gurgling noises.

Sergei grinned down at me as he got to his feet and brushed his hands off on his jeans. “Stay,” he commanded, pointing down at me. My cheeks reddened and I scowled beneath my duct-tape gag. He was treating me exactly the way I treated Pepper when she misbehaved.

Finally, Sergei strolled out of the warehouse with his hands in his pockets. Maika and the German shepherds stayed behind, watching me balefully. I sighed through my nose and flopped back against the wood. My stomach was still upset and for a horrible moment, I was afraid of gagging and puking again. But then I realized it was probably empty by now, that I had nothing left to throw up.

Closing my eyes, I begged myself not to cry. The tears were there but I didn’t want to cry in front of Maika and the dogs. It would have been almost as bad as crying in front of Richard.
Please, Damien
, I begged silently.
Please come and save me soon. I don’t know what he’s going to do to me, but I’m so scared!

Damien

As soon as I printed out all of the statements from Seb’s careful work, I called Detective O’Brian. O’Brian had worked on Hodges’ case all those years ago, and while I knew that he wouldn’t exactly be pleased to see me, I felt that there was at least
something
valuable that I could offer him.

At the same time, I wasn’t exactly dying to speak to him. Anything I gave O’Brian reflected on my character as well, and I wasn’t about to be the guy who went to jail for bringing down the bigger criminal. And the kind of thing I was doing could very well put me in jail. After all, I wasn’t exactly blameless. I’d willingly worked with Richard all those years before. I didn’t know that he was doing anything illegal, like laundering money, but deep down, I’d always had the suspicion that he wasn’t as good of a guy as he pretended to be.

“Chicago Police Department, how may I help you?” The receptionist sounded bored.

“I need to speak with Detective O’Brian,” I said. “Quickly, please.”

She sighed. “There’s no use rushing me, sir, we’re all in a hurry today.” The response was mechanical, as if she had to use it multiple times per day. “Hold, please.”

Before I could agree, I was put on hold. Sappy, instrumental music played in my ear and I rolled my eyes and put my office phone on speaker. I was too tense to look away from the phone, though. My foot kept tapping up and down and my muscles were clenching so hard that my body was starting to ache. I didn’t like this. Not at all. I hated not having any idea what had happened to Audrey, and the longer I took to find out, the more bad shit could happen in the meantime.

“Sir, he’s in a meeting right now,” the receptionist said drolly. “Can I take a message?”

“No,” I snapped. “I’ll wait. I need to talk to him now. It’s very important, it’s about a case from a few years back.”

“Fine,” she said. “Hold, please.”

Again, the music returned before I could even agree. By the time O’Brian picked up the phone, I was halfway to deciding that I was just going to
walk
down there and show him the files myself.

“This is O’Brian speaking.”

“This is Damien Lennox calling,” I replied. “I need to speak with you about a Richard Hodges. You worked on his arrest a few years ago—white-collar crime. I don’t think he did time in prison, but he was close.”

“Oh yeah.” There was a chewing sound. “I remember. Real asshole of a guy. Real smug fuck.”

“Yeah,” I said, feeling lost. “He’s threatening me, and I have financial statements that prove he laundered more money than was proven years ago.”

There was a pause.

“And how did you get that information?”

“I’d prefer not to say at this time,” I replied. Sweat broke out on my forehead and I sighed. “Can we meet? I need you to go after him, I can’t wait any longer.”

“Why not? Kid, if there’s something goin’ on and you don’t tell the truth—”

“I can’t say right now, but trust me, please,” I begged. “This is really important.”

“I’ll meet you somewhere and take the information,” O’Brian said sharply. “And I won’t ask again. If this is what you say it is, then, well, I’ve been looking for this guy for a long time. And I—”

“Can we meet this afternoon?” I jumped out of my chair. “I can meet you outside of the station, or anywhere that works for you. This is important, and we have to get it taken care of now.”

There was another long pause. “I’m clear,” O’Brian said gruffly. “There’s a Starbucks in the Loop, across from the Randolph station. Meet me there in half an hour. And bring every single document you have, don’t leave anything behind. If I wanna get this guy, I need to have all the evidence you have.”

He hung up without giving me a chance to reply. Panic surged through me as I printed out extra copies of all the documents. I wasn’t giving Hodges a chance to get away, not this time. If O’Brian wouldn’t help me…well, I didn’t want to think about that. Not just yet. Not now.

With a quick exhale, I gathered together the papers and stuck the flash drive in my pocket. Seb had done a great job helping me out, and I wanted to make sure there was no way to implicate him. I knew that if I wound up sending him to jail, I could never count on him for another favor again.

My heart seemed to harden in my chest as I glanced around my office. Would O’Brian arrest me, too? Would this be the last time I was in LennoxCo as the CEO? What was going to happen to my company, especially if I couldn’t get to Richard in time?

And above all, Audrey’s name was pulsing in my head like the beat of a drum. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her pale skin, her brown hair, her blue eyes. I shuddered as I imagined Hodges hurting her, or making her cry, or doing anything to make her uncomfortable.

I swallowed. I’d never had these kinds of thoughts before.
So stop it
, I thought in irritation.
Don’t waste time worrying about this girl when you have business to take care of
.

The big clock outside my office chimed the half-hour mark. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I knew that it was time for me to go and meet O’Brian.