Unjustly Destroyed (Incapable Part Two) (11 page)

I steadied myself as the room started to come into focus. I was vaguely aware that my phone started to ring again. "Is that him?" Pain radiated through my body like pure fire. "Is that him?" Tyler's voice came back through again.

I clutched my head and looked at him. "What?"

I could see the rage pouring from Tyler. He reached for me, undoing my coat, and I winced from the sudden movement. He lifted my shirt and froze. I pushed him off of me. "Stop it, Tyler. It's nothing." My phone rang again, and Tyler grabbed it before I did.

"You've got some fucking nerve! I will fucking kill you." He hung up the phone. "You aren't going back there, Emmalin!" I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. Before I reached it, Tyler gripped my arm, swinging me around. The sudden movement had my body exploding. My vision started to cloud, and I no longer heard what he was saying. He was shouting, but none of it mattered. I didn't hear a word. I watched as his expression changed from pure anger to concern in a matter of seconds. I wanted to laugh because it was almost comical, but then I realized I couldn't feel my face. I couldn't feel anything. Then everything turned black.

Chapter Ten

Grayson

"The fuck do you mean she had a busted lip?" People stopped eating and looked my way. I excused myself and walked out of the restaurant, signaling the valet for my car. I could already feel my blood pressure rising.

"Sir, I arrived back to her office, and it looked like her lip was busted, as well as some bruising around her eye. There was also some broken glass on the floor she claimed she knocked over. There was evidence of pain as she walked, but she said she was fine. She's clearly not, Mr. Mandrake."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm heading back, where is she now?"

"We stopped at Mr. Langer’s, sir."

"I'll be home in a few hours. Keep her in your sight at all times." I hung up and kept calling Emmalin. Finally, after the fifth time, she picked up. Only it wasn't Emmalin.

"You've got some fucking nerve! I will fucking kill you." Click.
The fuck?
What the fuck was Tyler doing answering her phone, and what the hell was he talking about? I called Hawkins back. "Go in there now, and keep me on the line."

"Yes, sir."

I waited on the line. I hated that I was still over an hour away. I let Emmalin play her little game far too long, but all this shit ended now. She was no longer playing with fire.

"The ambulance is on their way."

I honed back in on the phone conversation.

"Listen to me, Langer. Tell me exactly what happened?" My heart started to pound. They were talking about Emmalin. I gripped the steering wheel tighter as I accelerated faster on the highway, straining to hear what Tyler was saying.

"I freaked out over the bruises, and told her she wasn't going back home to that fucker. When I stopped her, she passed out. Molly called 911."

"Talk to me, Hawkins."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Possible head injury. Bruising on her ribs. I would even say they're broken, sir." I almost smashed into the car in front of me, slamming on the brakes at the last minute. I didn't need another accident, which would delay me reaching her.             

"That fucker did this; I know he did." Tyler's words had me itching to do what I've been wanting to do to him since that very first night I ever saw him. Commit murder. I kept quiet, trying to simmer my rage. But I couldn't, knowing someone out there had their hands on what was mine, and yet again, I failed to protect her.

"The medics are here, sir. I'll follow them to the hospital. What's your ETA?"

I shook my head, knowing I was approaching traffic. "Two hours at best. Go with her. As much as I hate Langer right now, ensure he's there. She trusts him."

"Yes, sir."

I hung up feeling like a fucking failure. She was hurt; I didn't know how serious, and I wasn't there. I dialed Benny's number. He answered on the first ring.

"I'm already in the process of assigning extra detail to the hospital, and pulling up the after-hours feed now." I let out a breath.

"Thank you."

"Just get back here so we can get this shit over with." I nodded and hung up.

Chapter Eleven

Emmalin

Saltwater lagoon. Our own personal oasis. Pure heaven. I floated deeper down, feeling my hair spread out around me. The water felt great. I could stay here all day. There weren't problems here. You were free here. Everything felt right.

"Enjoying yourself, love?" I smiled, turning toward Grayson, and froze. His body that floated next to me was gray in color. His skin had started to decay.

"I told you I would kill him." I jumped as I turned around to see Carson on the other side of me, smiling.

I sat up, gasping for air. A gentle hand grasped my shoulder.

"Ms. Ross? Ms. Ross, you're okay. You're in a safe place."

I looked at the unfamiliar place, then looked around the room. "Where am I?"

She smiled. "You were brought in by ambulance after you passed out. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

I tried to piece together the last thing few hours of my foggy memory. "I was visiting a friend."

She nodded but gave me a stern look and sighed. "Ms. Ross, you came in with a mild concussion and a broken rib, as well as some bruises around your neck that resembled finger prints." I reached for my neck. "Ms. Ross, do you feel like you're in any danger in your home?" My head shot up. I knew what this looked like, and it killed me that Tyler, and now this doctor, was labeling Grayson as being the domestic abuser.

I hardened my eyes. "No, Doctor. My boyfriend is not abusing me." She didn't look convinced.

"Can you tell me the date of your last period?"

I paused, trying to think. "My periods have always been abnormal due to birth control, so I don't have an exact date."

She nodded. "Here's a prescription for the pain you'll have from the broken rib. Just take it easy; you'll have some discomfort. Just follow up with your primary care physician. Is there someone that can watch over you the next few days?" I nodded, thinking she had no idea how Grayson was. He would stop the world if he could. Grayson. I needed to call him. I also knew I wasn't prepared for it.

"Ms. Ross, your lab results should be in within a half hour." I nodded as she left the room. I moved to get off the bed, and winced as I shrugged off the hospital gown. I hated hospitals. I could rest at home. I got dressed as best I could, pushing through the pain, and walked out into the hallway. I gripped the wall as nausea overcame me, and leaned against it for support.

"Emmalin?" I looked up into the eyes of Molly, with Tyler closely behind her, and Hawkins close on his heels.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Tyler gently tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. Even when pissed, he showed he cared. I sighed.

"I wanted to leave." He shook his head. "No. Not until you're given the all clear, Emmalin." Hospitals gave me anxiety. I needed to leave. I peered over his shoulder looking at the exit door. I felt myself starting to panic as he guided me back toward my room. "We'll be right out here, okay?" I nodded as I walked further into the room. The nurse walked in a few minutes later. "Ms. Ross, you should lie down."

I shook my head. I could feel my anxiety going through the roof. "I need to leave."

She smiled and grabbed the remote. "Perhaps some TV would make you feel better?"

Is this bitch blind? I was two seconds from ripping her head off. I took the remote from her and threw it across the room and it shattered against the wall. I had her attention now. "You don't understand. I'm leaving." I grabbed my bag.

"Ms. Ross, I strongly advise you stay. It's not safe for someone that's suffered a concussion. The doctor also wanted to go over your test results. I can see you’re upset; perhaps the doctor can give you something to calm down."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm leaving AMA, with or without the doctors permission, and I certainly don't need yours." I shrugged out of her grip, heading back to the hallway, and made sure to go the opposite direction of the waiting room. Tyler would make me stay. If I stayed, I would lose it, and I was already well on the way. I headed for the stairwell and kept going until I was outside. The cold burned my lungs, but I didn't care. As long as I wasn't in there, I felt free. I could breathe again. I slumped against the brick wall, trying to catch my breath. I was tired. So fucking tired. I dug through my purse, looking for my phone. I needed Grayson. I needed to at least hear his voice. I had to tell him I was sorry, and that I tried. I looked at my phone. Dead. I laughed. Of course it was. I walked gingerly to the streets and hailed a cab home. At least I could wrap myself in bed that smelled like him.

Grayson

"I'm here for Emmalin Ross; she was brought in by ambulance a few hours ago." I watched the lady at the receptionist desk type slow as fuck on her keyboard.

"Grayson." I turned as Hawkins was motioning me over. Thank fuck. "Where is she? What have they said?"

"She left." I stopped and slowly turned to Hawkins. "What the hell do you mean she left?" Before he could answer, Tyler started yelling.

"You!" Before I could react, he had me on the ground. Hawkins pulled him off of me.

"Do you have a death wish, Tyler?!" He shrugged Hawkins off of him.

"You put your fucking hands on her, Grayson."

I grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. "I would kill myself before I ever hurt her, do you understand me?"

He pushed me back. "She has a broken rib and bruises on her body. I know what I saw, Grayson."

I shook my head. "I didn't do that, Tyler. I would never do that."

He stepped closer to me. "Then you find the son of a bitch who did."

"Excuse me, do we need to have security in here?" We both turned to see a doctor standing in the hallway.

I rolled my eyes. "No. I'm looking for the doctor that treated Emmalin Ross."

She sized me up. "That would be me." I stalked toward her.

"Why was she able to leave? I doubt she was in any condition to do so."

"That may be true, but Ms. Ross decided to leave Against Medical Advice. I preferred for her to wait at least until we discussed her test results."

"Why? What were they? We’re together, you can tell me."

The doctor looked at me. "I'm sorry, but that's not information I can share with you. The patient didn't sign a release. I really need her to come back in for further care." I ran my hand through my hair. I practically owned the fucking hospital with as much money I donated and they couldn't tell me something as simple as blood test results. "With a head injury, she does need to be watched for a few days. If you notice a change in her behavior, have her see her physician, but she should be seeing one anyway." She raised her eyebrows before walking away. What the hell was that?

"I just got word that she arrived at the condo a few minutes ago, sir."

I glared at Hawkins. "Please tell me how the fuck she managed to evade you, Hawkins?"

"Mr. Mandrake, as you know, there're multiple entrances and exits to the hospital. The entire team hadn't arrived yet, to secure all points of entries."

I cut him off. "I don't give a fuck. Everyone is playing chess, and she's the goddamn ninja. Get out of my sight, before I take your gun and kill you with it."

I raced home, with my only thought to get to Emmalin. I needed to see if she was okay, and never let her out of my sight again.

I walked into the apartment. It was quiet. Almost too quiet, and that scared me. Somehow I was bracing myself for the fear that either she wasn't here, or something worse. I walked toward the bedroom and slowly opened the door. All the air left my body. She lay on the bed, wrapped around my pillow with her phone connected to the charger, in her hand. I walked over and lightly stroked her face, and she stirred. Her eyes fluttered, softly, but remained closed.

I took a deep breath as I lowered myself into the chair across the room. I didn't realize I was shaking, until I saw how tightly I gripped the arm of the chair. I was physically preventing myself from going to her and wrapping myself around her. I knew the moment I looked closely, I would've stripped her, to see what harm was done to her. I would've demanded, and punished, and bled her soul dry until she hated me. I would've watched her cry and relished in it. All because I loved her. Instead, I sat across the room, watching her sleep.

Almost an hour went by before she started to wake up. She reached for her phone and started dialing. My phone in my hand lit up with her name. Her head shot up at hearing my ringtone for her and she gasped.

"Grayson?" Her voice came out in a whisper. I stood slowly and walked over to the bed, turning on the bedside lamp. She lowered her head, and I moved onto the bed next to her, gently grabbing her chin so she had to look at me. She shut her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. I noted the busted lip. The remnants of bruising around her left eye. The indentation of finger marks around her neck. My heart squeezed.

"Look at me."

Another tear fell.

"Look. At. Me."

She took a deep breath and finally opened her eyes. The same eyes that I swear, if anyone asked me, I fell in love with the first night I saw her. She gazed up at me with exhaustion and pain, but they still held love. She nodded yes to the unspoken question I didn't even need to ask her. Which was good. Because I was ready to kill someone.

“Carson Bradley Ross, who also went under the name of Carson Jenkins.”

I looked down at the thick file Jack just threw down on my desk.

“Arrested for child pornography in 2009, sentenced to three years but only served thirty days; owned a failed comic book store, and the most recent offense, arrested for prostitution.”

I looked through the file. “Child pornography? Sick fuck. Is that all?”

“Just getting started. We’ve also noticed there’s a few cases of identity theft that can be linked back to him. Misdemeanors, DUI’s; the list goes on and fucking on. He’s a fucking train wreck. When he was confronted with the child pornography, they didn’t have much on him. The evidence they did have vanished. Everything was gone. How’s that for a fucking mystery?”

“Like a professional hacker?”

“I don’t know, maybe. But if that’s the case, he could hack into anyone’s account and wire money, right? He told Emmalin he wanted money. So, I’m ruling out hacker. He’s just a desperate man that’s blackmailing her for money. But there’s got to be something else there.”

"You'll never believe this shit. He walked right in the fucking building."

We both looked up at Benny walking into the room. He was smiling, pointing to his laptop as he cleared off space on my already crowded desk. We peered over his screen. "The fucker walked right in the building. He had a fucking key, and walked right in her office after Hawkins left." I watched the security feed as Carson came right off the elevator, onto the 33rd floor, and inserted a key into Emmalin's office.

Not only did he have her key, but he had a key card to the 33rd floor. Only certain people had access to that floor. Fuck. He was definitely working with someone. Either that, or I now couldn't trust a single member of my staff.

"Whose card was ran that night?"

Benny grimaced. "That was the night communications to the servers were being swapped. We're lucky we were able to get this. This was just the backup."

"Fuck! Help me out here, Benny. I want everyone with access vetted immediately, and all cards confiscated." I checked my phone. I wasn't within distance for my phone to pick up whose card it was that checked in on the floor. Shit.

"I feel like we're going round and round in a loop, and no matter what, this fucker seems to be two steps ahead of us. Why the fuck is that? Give me answers, Benny; give me something I can work with, or find me someone who can."

After they both left, I sat staring at the folder. I know all I had to do was give the word and the piece of shit would be dead. But I couldn’t yet. Especially if he had accomplices we weren’t aware of yet. I needed to focus, but I was also ready to end this mess. I wanted to take Emmalin far away from here and start a new life with her. The sound of water running made me jump up, and I headed to the bedroom.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I reached past her and turned off the water to the shower. “You should be in bed. You’re supposed to be careful, especially since you had a concussion, Emmalin.” I started to guide her out of the bathroom, and she stopped me.

“I need a shower, Grayson. I can take a shower,” she pleaded.

I looked at her, eyes glistening with tears. Then my eyes trailed down to the marks on her neck, and I noticed how she kept the robe tightly around her, as if she was shielding her body from me.

I nodded. “Together. Okay?”

She reluctantly nodded as I reached in and turned the water back on, warming the temperature, then stripped all of my clothes off. I stood in front of her, completely bare, then took a step forward, grabbed the belt of her robe, and pulled the string.

Her arms clutched around her, as her eyes watered. “I don’t want you to see me like this,” she whispered.

My heart sagged as I kissed her temple. “You’re beautiful no matter what.” I wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek. She was hesitant at first, and still tried to shield herself before finally giving in. I gently pushed the robe off her shoulders, and forced myself not to get angry upon seeing the bruise that was covering her rib cage. I grabbed her hand and led her into the shower; she shut her eyes at the warmth of the water cascading over her skin.

I let the steam engulf her and lightly traced my fingertips over her body. Even in the hot water, she shivered under my touch. I lightly traced over the bruise that was faint but still noticeable under her eye, and back down to her rib. It was too much. Too fucking much. Seeing her damaged and bruised but still standing before me, like a goddess, only proved that I wasn’t worthy of her.

I slid down to my knees and wrapped my arms around her waist and I started to shudder. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I failed you. Please forgive me.” I felt her fingers threading through my hair.

“Grayson, you didn’t fail me. All you’ve done is protect me. All of this is my fault. It’s my doing.”

“It’s my job to protect you in every way. As your Dominant, as your Sir, as your Master. That’s where I’ve failed you. I don’t deserve you,” I whispered against her.

“You’re all I have. You’re the best thing in my life, Grayson Ethan Mandrake.

I smiled at her using my full name. I squeezed my eyes tighter before opening them again. My head was right near her pussy and I inhaled. My favorite scent. The tip of her clit was peeking out. Taunting me. Teasing me. I wanted a taste. I needed a taste.
Just a taste
, I told myself. She needed to rest, I told myself. But I needed to satisfy my hunger.

I glided my tongue out onto her hidden bud, coaxing it, and she let out a sharp gasp, since I took her by surprise.

Just a taste.

I swiped over her clit again. She moaned. Fuck. Me. That moan drove me crazy. Fuck tasting. I wanted to devour her. I buried my face in her pussy, shoving my tongue in her opening, and fucking her unmercifully. Her knees began to quiver, and I slowly guided her to the shower bench, not taking my mouth off of her. She shouldn’t be on her feet anyway. I hooked one leg over my shoulder. I was so fucking hard, but this was about her.

“How many can you give me?” I bit the inside of her thigh, and she yelped. Her breathing was heavy as she looked down at me, wet hair framing her face.

She bit her bottom lip. “One?”

I arched an eyebrow before lightly tugging her clit between my teeth before sucking. “Try again.” I inserted two fingers and tugged, and she started to pulse around my fingers. I was a greedy, greedy man. I latched onto her clit. “I want three.”

She tried gripping the wall to get away, but I held her down. I started stroking my cock to relieve the pressure. I wanted to come bad, but not as bad as I wanted her to come in my mouth. I felt her getting close as I sucked harder. Her body tensed, and she screamed out. I didn’t want to bring her down. She still had one more to count for.

She tried pushing me away. “I can’t. No more.”

“I said three, baby. You can give me three. Just one more. We’ll go together.” By now, I was so fucking close it hurt, but I was still getting my three from her.

I bit down, and she screamed as her pussy clamped around my fingers. My balls tightened and I started coming, my ejaculation mixing in with the water.
Fuck.

She collapsed forward, and I caught her easily as she lay on top of me. The water cascaded around us, my dick still semi-hard. After a few minutes, she raised her head up and looked at me, eyes gleaming. She placed a soft kiss against my lips. “I love you, Mr. Mandrake.”

              I relished in washing over every inch of her, making sure to be gentle over her bruised ribs. I dried her thoroughly, not bothering with myself. I decided, from here on out, she was my number one priority.

              “Are you in any pain?” I fluffed her pillows behind her as she tried to get comfortable, and she winced when she tried to turn on her side.

              “Not really.”

              I smirked. “Liar. I’ll grab a few pain meds and some food. I don’t like the fact that you’ve lost weight.”

              After she ate, I tucked her into my side. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep from the medication.