The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection (51 page)

She had her own bathroom, her own big bed, and enough clothes to change into every day. In fact, the clothes were so her style and size that it was almost as if they were placed there in expectation of her arrival. But thinking that just gave her even more shivers than usual.

I wonder if people know I’m missing.
Surely her friends had tried to call her. Jackson had her phone taken away, so she had no idea. All she was given to amuse herself with were some books and movies. Otherwise she didn’t even have a satellite connection. Definitely no Internet or any computer to use it on. The windows were latched shut and the glass unbreakable — Jasmine tried that first night. Besides, when she looked out the window, she saw that she was three stories in the air and the grounds were regularly patrolled by both security and dogs.

Jackson did not touch her, but he visited her more than once a day to serve her platitudes and reassurances. Whenever Jasmine asked if she could leave or how long she would be staying there, he dodged the questions and told her to make herself at home. “What about my cat?” She asked more than once. “You gonna let him starve to death?”

“We can make arrangements to bring your cat here,” Jackson told her. “My new pet should have her pets as well.”

The man was seriously delusional. He was under the guise that he now somehow owned Jasmine. As if she had ever consented to such a thing just because of her deal with Ethan. As for that matter, she had no idea whether to believe Jackson’s story or not. She didn’t want to, and didn’t believe that Ethan was that kind of man, but she had to admit that it niggled at her. But what niggled at her the most was the idea that Jackson was trying to break her down until he did something even more heinous than simply kidnapping her and keeping her prisoner in a guest bedroom. It was only a matter of time before he put his hands on her.

One day. Two days. Three days passed and Jasmine still couldn’t find a way out of her prison. She also didn’t believe for one minute that someone would actually bring her cat to be with her, although she didn’t doubt that Jackson had the means necessary to break into her apartment and grab some things, like an angry cat who only liked her.

In the midst of all this, Jasmine had something else constantly haunting her brain. Namely Monica, whom she had yet to see.

She knew this was where Monica lived with Jackson. This had to be Jackson’s main home, considering how isolated and large it was. Like a compound. Yet Jasmine had no idea how Monica lived. She had always assumed that Jackson’s lover could come and go as she pleased, even if she didn’t because it was part of her lifestyle to listen to him. By now Jasmine had images of Monica trapped in a room whenever she was in this compound. A room much like this one, only perhaps bigger and gaudier because Monica was the queen sub of this court. She probably had Internet, a computer, and a TV at least. Jackson didn’t worry about his chief pet running out on him. Not like he probably worried about Jasmine.

What am I going to do?
She couldn’t run out the door whenever someone visited her. She didn’t trust that someone would notice her missing and automatically think to look here. They would have assumed that after what she did in Ethan’s office she had ran away. Sometimes Jasmine sat by the window and tried to send out some psychic waves to anyone who might be listening. Juan, Selena, Nadia… if only there was some way to reach one of them.

It was on the evening of the third day, long after she finished picking her dinner, that someone new finally came to visit Jasmine. She heard them coming first. Heavy footsteps in the hallway that did not belong to Jackson or any of his cronies. They were swift, insistent. Heading straight for Jasmine’s room.

In her eternal stupidity, Jasmine could only think of one person.
Ethan.
The only man who could have possibly thought to look in his business partner’s mansion for a missing woman. Even after what she had done to him, there was still a chance that he had come to save her. It made her heart race, her blood quicken for the first time in days, and her hopes lighten unlike ever before. This was it. Finally, Jasmine would be…

The door opened. “Ethan!” She stood up from where she sat on the bed, her face flushed in eternal hope.

But it wasn’t Ethan. It wasn’t even a man. A feminine shadow stood in the doorway, illuminated by the golden lights behind her.

It was Monica. And in her hand was a ring of keys.

36

She held a finger to her lips, silencing Jasmine before the prisoner had the chance to speak. Even though she knew she should stay silent, Jasmine about burst with questions and accusations. But instead of speaking she took two steps forward, her fists balled at her sides as she used every drop of willpower she had to not barrel over Monica and make her great escape into the darkness.

Monica hooked a finger in Jasmine’s direction, inciting her to follow.

What other choice did Jasmine have but to obey? Very thing Jackson wanted her to do, just toward a different person.
I will obey, just this once.
Jasmine collected her bearings and silently scuttled to the door. She waited for Monica to tell her what to do next.

She should have known better. Monica was not much of a talker to begin with, and she made a concerted effort not to speak now. But she did take Jasmine’s hand and gently lead her out of the room, latching the door shut and locking it with the ring of keys. Jasmine couldn’t help but notice that none of the door guards were in the hallway at the moment.

“Don’t have much time,” Monica whispered, guiding Jasmine to the dark end of the hallway where a painting of a woman hanged above the Victorian end table boasting a radiant bouquet of pink flowers. Before Jasmine could wonder if anyone would see them, Monica slid the bouquet to the end of the table and pushed on one of the wood panels behind it.
This is something out of a movie all right.
The panel gave way to a secret passage. Monica motioned for Jasmine to follow again, urged her to go ahead, and said, “I’m right behind you.”

A part of Jasmine wondered if this was some kind of trap or test. She wanted to trust Monica, but that woman was in so deep into her lifestyle that it was entirely possible that this was a whim of Jackson’s. If Jasmine went along with it, Jackson may pop out and declare her a troublemaker. Yes, only after two days in captivity, Jasmine was already worried that something like that could happen.

Her gut told her to go for it. It was better than waiting back in that room for Jackson to do what he intended to do.

The passageway was cramped and dark. Jasmine also thought that she smelled some mold growing in the walls.
This hasn’t been used much.
She would hazard a guess that the previous occupant and builder of this house - assuming they were the same person - was paranoid enough to want such passageways. Jackson, however, seemed brazen enough to believe that such things were not necessary. So when Jasmine’s forehead knocked into a spider’s web, she took it as a sign that they were safe for now.

Monica pulled the bouquet back into place before closing the panel behind her. She pulled out a flashlight so they could see the way in front of them. “Are you all right?” the demure woman finally asked, putting a hand on Jasmine’s arm. “Did he touch you?”

“No.” Jasmine held herself to the wall, letting Monica’s little body pass her and lead the way down the passage. “Why are you doing this?”

Monica stopped, glanced over her shoulder, and smiled a smile that was barely visible in the flashlight’s dim glow. “Because I have to.”

“Are you helping me get out of here?” A piece of Jasmine still couldn’t believe that it was happening. Her savior… Monica, of all people.

“Well, it wouldn’t do much good to keep you here. When he told me that you were staying in one of the guest rooms… I didn’t believe that you were here on your own accord for a second. Things have changed so much.”

“Even though he’s your boyfriend? Your master, or whatever?”

Now the smile was quite sad, making Monica look like a lost little girl in the darkness. But the way she defiantly turned, flashlight in hand, said she was anything but. “Those happier days were a long time ago. Or perhaps they weren’t happy at all. Maybe I grew too complacent and lost my ability to see the evil in people. Until it was too late, anyway. I’ve been watching Jackson descend into something darker for a long time now. When he came into our room the other night and said he had acquired a new pet, I knew something was wrong. When he said it was you, I knew everything had to end.”

“And?”

“I told him he had to let you go. He took it about as well as you can imagine.” There were tears in her eyes.
If this is a trap, she’s the best actress in the world.

“What about you? What’s going to happen to you after he finds out you’ve done this?”

“Please, don’t worry about me. I have my ways of getting by.”

Jasmine placed her hand on Monica’s good shoulder. “You shouldn’t be getting by,” she said, taking care to not raise her voice too loudly. “Your life is too short to live like this.”

With a look as hard as she was small, Monica placed her hand on top of Jasmine’s and slowly shook it off of her. “Let’s get out of here.”

As they proceeded down the dark hallway, Monica informed Jasmine that they didn’t have much time. The only reason she was able to sneak in there was because she had distracted the door guards with a fake summons to the other side of the mansion. As soon as Jackson realized that Jasmine was missing, the whole house would be turned upside down and inside out. He certainly knew about the secret passageways, and they would probably be one of the first things searched. If they didn’t get out quickly, they would both be in deep, deep trouble.

“It will dump us out by the front door,” Monica warned. “We will have to be very careful. Once we are outside, I can point you the way and give you a cell phone.”

“Why not give me the cell phone now? Why not just call the police to begin with?”

Monica sighed, the weary kind of sigh that said Jasmine was so naïve. “Do you really think they will believe you?”

Jasmine shook her head. As much as she wished the local authorities would come to her rescue at the sound of the kidnapping, she had to admit that Jackson’s influence and money would deter them in a heartbeat.

They reached the end of the passageway. Monica pressed her ear against the door and listened for anyone on the other side. “I don’t think anyone is out there right now.” She cracked open the door, a long string of light pushing through. “No, definitely not. Now’s your chance.”

The door opened just far enough for Jasmine to squeeze through. She pushed past Monica, the flashlight jamming into her chest and probably leaving a token of a bruise there.

Indeed, the front hallway that Jasmine entered only two nights ago was devoid of any life. Whatever summons Monica caused distracted the entire staff of the mansion. She felt something press into her hand, and looked down to see a prepaid cell phone.

“Call someone you trust. Don’t go to the police. Move away as far as you can.” Monica gently shoved Jasmine into that bright hallway. “Keep your head down for a few months. He’ll be pissed to begin with, but he’ll quickly lose interest. But stay away from here just in case.”

“And you?” Jasmine couldn’t help but ask again. “You’re coming with me, right?”

The door closed behind Monica, revealing that the entrance to the secret passage had been a nondescript panel once again. Before she could answer Jasmine’s heartfelt question, the voice they both feared the most came booming through the large entryway.

“What’s going on here?” Jackson stood at the bottom of the grand staircase, his polished shoes tapping against the marble flooring. Although his voice was lighthearted and his mood seemingly optimistic, Jasmine could not help but detect the sinister undertone to his words. “Now I know my pet isn’t doing something that she will regret later.”

Without realizing it at first, Jasmine clutched Monica’s wrist and held herself to the smaller woman. Even though she was full of fear to the point that insects were running down her skin, Jasmine felt stronger next to a woman who was used to taking this man’s abuses. “You can’t keep me here against my will,” Jasmine said, attempting to sound defiant. However, it was hard to do when this man could seriously harm her at any moment. If not him personally, he could easily get someone else to do it, just like he easily got someone to kidnap her on his behalf.

“It’s not a matter of your will, darling.” Jackson approached them, slowly enough to not appear threatening at first. “As I told you, a business deal has been made.”

“Piss off.” Jasmine turned and made for the doorway.