Page 28 of Tied

“You didn’t have to!” I insist. “You didn’t have to do any of this! What were you even doing at my workplace back then? Is that when it started? Did you come there because of me? Did you seek me out to become a fucking Venus flytrap for you? Is that why you pretended to be interested in the product we worked so hard on? Is that why you got me fired?”

He just stares at me as I vehemently spit out accusations at him. There’s nothing on his face that would tell me if my assumptions are true or false. He neither denies nor admits them.

He just looks at me with that stone-cold, expressionless face.

“Answer me!” I shriek at him, and I revel in the way he jolts up now, surprised by my sudden outburst as much as I am.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says eventually, which only adds to my rage.

“It matters to me!” I assert. “Cain, you tricked me. You... you destroyed my life! That job was everything to me! I worked so hard to get there, you have no idea! And then... just because of you, it—”

“If that job was everything to you, then why be so reckless and risk losing it?” he counters. “I didn’t force you to do anything. You played along voluntarily. You fucking enjoyed yourself, you little...”

His voice breaks off then, but the frenzy is still flaring in his eyes when he pins me down without even touching me.

“You’re forcing me now.” I hate that my voice quivers when I say this. And I hate that my eyes are watering when I remember the place I’m in right now.

A place that he put me in.

“Yes, I am forcing you now,” he admits. “Because I need you. You’re perfect for this, Riley. You have everything I need to get this done.”

“I’m so glad you think I’m perfect for this crazy endeavor! I mean, who cares about me, right? Who cares about my choice in this, my career, my... life?”

He shakes his head as he lifts his hand to touch me. And I fucking let him. I let him touch my cheek in a soothing caress. I even lean into his touch and take in his scent, closing my eyes while I feel his warm hand tracing down my cheek. It’s wrong on so many levels, but it still settles me. It gives me the comfort I so desperately seek.

“You may not believe it, Riley, but I care,” Cain reveals in a soft voice. “I care about you. I care about your life. That’s why it’s of utmost importance that you listen to me and that you let me prepare you for this mission. As hard as it may be, you’ll have to trust me on this.”

“What if I don’t? What if I refuse?”

“You can’t.”

“You better believe I can,” I hiss at him. “You can’t chain me down here forever. You can’t force me to seduce that guy, you can’t force me to do anything. The second you let me out of this basement, I’ll run and scream for help. How on Earth do you think you can get me to comply with this bullshit if it includes having to let me move all on my own?”

I pause, releasing a dark laugh. “Or are you planning to tag along the whole time? Are you going to chaperone the date? Why not just—”

“You will do this for me,” he thunders, removing his hand from my cheek. His eyes are narrow when he looks at me now, foreshadowing the horrible threat he utters next.

“Because if you don’t, your sister will die.”

My heart almost stops as panic settles in. My thoughts run amok, bouncing back and forth between questions that I already know the answers to.

How does he know about Alena?

Because you told him, silly. Because unlike him, you were quite chatty about yourself, your past, your family—or what’s left of it. You told him about your hero, your older sister, and how you feel forever indebted to her because she raised you after your parents died. She sacrificed so much for you, more than any young girl should.

She’s the reason I became who I am, and I will never forget that. That’s why I talk about her so much, even to people like him, men who I barely know and who just entered my life for a brief, yet intense period of time.

“You wouldn’t...,” I cry out helplessly. “You’re not a murderer, you would never...”

But his sinister expression assures me that he would.

He said it himself. He’s a liar, a criminal. He invaded my life in a way only an evil man would. The way he treated me today is not how a man who simply enjoys playing the role of an intimidating Dom in the bedroom would treat me.

I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to believe he would actually hurt Alena just so I will play along with his insane request.

Tense silence stretches between us while I try to read Cain. I’m searching for an empty threat, a hint that would suggest his words are unfounded and my sister’s life is not actually in danger if I don’t go along with this.

My search comes to an abrupt end when he finally challenges me.

“Do you really want to take a chance on finding out?”

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