Page 57 of Wanted
If experience had taught me one thing, it was that Alex had a target on his back now. After Jordan decided to take my plan of engagement, things changed.
I started feeling unsafe. Random noises made me jump. Every shadow terrorized me.
But I knew that it wouldn’t.
“Mandy’s been at the hospital for weeks now,” I blurted out. “I haven’t seen her ever since she left. Why are you keeping me away from her? Why can’t I be with her? She needs me right now. She doesn’t have anybody else! Did you separate us so that I don’t see the state of the hospital? Will I be upset at her care?”
“I’m not as rich as Rawlins, but I got enough money to keep Mandy guarded and safe,” Alex guaranteed. His hold provided me with comfort and security, an irresistible drug, so I removed myself from him.
Fylox didn’t say a thing. These days, he’d taken it upon himself to exist even less than he usually did. He sat next to us, gawking ahead and into thin air. He sat upright and stiff like he was Jordan’s soldier, which he technically was.
“We’re paying for her medical expenses. My doctors are keeping everything under control,” Alex added. “There’s no need to make a big fuss about it. We need to think about the future.”
“Can we find Manuel and kill him? Is that too much to ask? He isolated her from the world!” I blurted out, exasperated. Usually, a fibroid of that size would be visible in a yearly scan. Since Mandy was mostly kept inside, the uterine fibroid inside of her grew without anyone knowing about it. Not that Manuel cared! “I’m sorry for cursing, Fylox.”
“Been there, done that. Manuel’s dead,” Jordan claimed, and I shuddered. Of course, he’d killed him when he brought Mandy to me. “Her father is also to blame.”
I nodded. “Aram’s a dick, but he provides for everyone in Katantia. I don’t know how, but the gynecology departments of our hospitals are top-notch. I’ve been screened ever since I got my first period. I get a Pap smear every year. I can’t believe Spencer had her unprotected like that. This is outrageous. It’s not even that he didn’t have money to get her to the doctor’s.”
The men quieted. I could hear the dishwasher from the other end of the mansion. That was how quiet they were. I swallowed. “She’s like family. I’m worried about her. Spencer Rawlins is allowing us to think we’re in control. It’s what Aram does, too. They’re coming for us. If that means that we go off the grid once she’s healthy again, that’s what we do. I’m down.”
Jordan had something to say. I felt it bubbling from inside of him. It was right there, fighting to come out of his lips. But he kept his mouth shut. Defeated, he gave me a nod. “I’ll be going to visit her now. I’ll update you later tonight. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Why did he sound reserved?
The three of us nodded. We were Jordan’s subjects, playing the parts he prepared for us. It wasn’t a tedious job. At least, we were confident in our leader. His plans always worked out.
“Please, give her a kiss on my behalf. I miss her, and I’m sorry that I can’t be there for her,” I told Jordan as he prepared to step out of Alex’s office.
Jordan gave me that look of declaration. The one that said, hey, it’ll be fine. “We might be able to get her to join us here if the surgeries go well.”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
Quietly, Jordan left the office. We could hear his steps out in the hallway. It was just us three in this house. Alex had fired the staff that worked for him, cleaning and cooking for him. Nobody was supposed to know Fylox was here. Even if we had guards lined up, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Spencer’s well-oiled and supremely funded machinery that was out for our blood.
I sniffled. Alex’s hand caressed my newly refurbished red locks of hair.
“Dinner will be served in an hour. Be there,” Fylox announced, getting to his feet.
“Maybe we’ll need some more time. What do you think, baby?” Alex asked me, his thumb picking up some tears on my cheek.
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”
“It’s getting tiring to ask for her permission all the time. That’s not how this game is played,” Fylox complained.
“If you want to touch her, hurt her and belittle her in my presence, that’s what you need to do,” Alex stated determinedly. There wasn’t a hint of fun in his tone.
“Alex, it’s okay. I asked for it,” I blurted out, sobering up. I untangled myself from his protective hold. My gaze drifted from one man to the other. “I know you don’t understand, but that’s what I need right now. I’m having cravings and what Fylox is providing me with is a much-needed distraction.”
“I can fuck you into oblivion, baby. You don’t need him. I can make you forget everything that’s bothering you,” Alex reminded me, pleading for me to change. I couldn’t change, though. Aram had groomed me into this sick person with twisted tastes.
“I know you can, but there are things that I can never forget.”
“Go work out if you can’t handle it,” Fylox suggested. He didn’t judge his best friend. In fact, they didn’t judge each other at all. I was the issue for Alex. He probably masturbated to a molded-to-perfection version of Kamila. One that didn’t itch for a high. One that could shut up and play the game when required. One that would one day have his kids and keep his bed warm.
“This isn’t about me,” Alex responded. His eyes never left mine. “I don’t like what you allow him to do to you. I can’t ask you to stop. I’m just going to learn to understand your needs and listen to what you say.”
I sighed. “Why the fuck are you so perfect?”
