Page 114 of Crush

“Open the safe, Amber,” Zander demanded.

“No,” I croaked back, finding some courage. “Why did you try and kill my horses?”

His reply confirmed he was the one who did it, “Youknowwhy. I saw you with him,” he snarled.

“I don’t know who you mean,” I lied. I didn’t want him to know about Max but he must have seen us together before he’d started the fire.

It’s all your fault. You fuck up anything you touch.

“I saw you sucking his cock, Amber, sodon’ttest me. Open the safe, or I’ll put a bullet in one of your domestics.” Fear jetted into me at the thought of him hurting Marcel or Teresa. And what had he done to Dexter? Tears formed in my eyes as I stared at the large cast iron safe beside my father’s desk. Thank goodness Daddy was away.

My stomach churned and I felt like retching. I didn’t care about the money, it was what he would do once he had it that terrified me. How I wished Max was there.

“I know you know the combination. Open it,” he instructed again, motioning towards my father’s safe with the muzzle of the gun.

I wanted to punch him in the face or knee him in the balls but there was little I could do when he was armed. The man was now full of sharp edges and uncertainty, I doubted charm would work either. I didn’t recognise him anymore as he loomed before me; if death was a person, he is exactly what that would look like.

Pulling my arm free, I dropped onto my knees. Quickly typing in the code which was the year of my mother’s birth, the front popped open and Zander shoved the gun down the back of his jeans. I noticed there were fresh burns on the back of his hand. So, he wasn’t entirely unscathed by his arson attack. I hated him more than ever. When Max suggested Zander torched the barn, part of me hadn’t wanted to believe that. Now I knew the truth.

“Are you happy now?”

“That’s my freckles,” he said, helping me to my feet and kissing my forehead. My skin felt contaminated by his lips. How I had ever believed I was in love with him was beyond me.

I shifted uncomfortably as he bent down and lifted a bag of cash from the back of the safe before standing and turning to face me. The coldness in his eyes caused another shiver of panic to snake down my spine.

“I must say, I’m surprised your father has so much cash at the house.”

I wasn’t. Due to the kidnapping when Daddy had struggled to draw down the money quickly, he now kept some in his safe for emergencies. I knew there would be around ten grand in there.

“You have the money, please just go. Leave me here,” I pleaded, taking a step back. He advanced, following me with a dark look.

“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly.

“I don’t feel the same way about you Zander. You’re not my type anymore.” I knew the words were foolish, childish even. He continued to stalk me.

“Andheis? And anyway, I’meveryone’stype,” he stated. Still the arrogant son of a bitch.

The next few minutes were horrendous as Zander grabbed my arm again and roughly escorted me out of the house and toward the limo.

I could hear the whimpered cries from the kitchen as Teresa saw us.

As we got to the car, I managed to free myself. Dashing a hand through my hair I attempted to reason with him again.

“Look. If you take the money now, I’ll say we were burgled. The staff will follow any story I ask them to. I can come and meet you later. For a drink like you asked that day. We can talk about this like civilised people. Please don’t do it this way.”

He sneered, clearly not liking that option, “I don’t think so. The time to play nice is over. You will learn pretty quickly what happens when you defy me, Amber. I am in charge and you will do as I say.”

“If you do this, I will hate you,” I spat.

“Oh, I do hope so, freckles” Zander replied with a perverse smile. “I remember how youusedto hate me. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve learned while I’ve been away. It looked like you’ve improved your technique at sucking dick.”

“You’re disgusting,” I spat.

“Oh, I’m going to be a hell of a lot more than that.” Zander then opened the door and shoved me in the back of the car.

I shifted to the side furthest from him but he slammed the door. As Zander climbed into the driver's side, I tried the door but he must have engaged the safety locks. I was trapped. Shifting onto the carpeted floor on my knees, I banged on the glass partition but he ignored me and started the car.

“Let me out, Zander!”

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