Page 74 of Power and Possession

I caught Steele’s phone out of the corner of my eye. He’d dropped it on the couch in his hurry to get to Cooper.

I scooped it up, my fingers shaking as I redialed the last number.

“Steele?” My father’s voice came out as a hiss, and it was so sickeningly evil that I almost dropped the phone.

“No, it’s Ashlynn.”

He laughed, a cruel laughter I’d never heard from him before. The sound echoed through the phone, chilling and unsettling.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it. All your questions about what was going to happen to him, your desire to know where he was being held—all this time, you’ve been playing his little whore.”

My breath caught in my throat, tears in my eyes as my father insulted me. I’d always known that he wasn’t a good man, and that he wasn’t a nurturing or caring father, but deep down I’d assumed that he loved me. I couldn’t believe that I’d escaped Steele just to get back to this man. It was clear that the enemy wasn’t the man in my bed—it was the man whose blood I shared.

I steadied my voice, willing myself to be strong for Steele. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I cried, the tears real but the sentiment behind them false. “It must have been Stockholm syndrome. He has me locked in a room at his townhouse in London—please, send men to rescue me!”

He grumbled on the phone, then barked some orders to others in the room. “After this, you’re staying in New York. I’m going to be running for a senate seat soon, and I need a dutiful daughter at my side. If I send men to free you, you’ll do this for me.”

I didn’t even bat an eye at the lie. “Of course. I just want this all to be over. I want to come home to New York—reestablish my life.”

“Be ready,” was his only response.

I wondered where Steele’s security team was. My father’s henchmen had no problem breaking into the townhouse. It seemed incredibly odd that he would leave his security so lax, especially given what happened with my father.

My father had sent three men, and they broke down the door to Steele’s bedroom easily. I followed them out the front door to the street, slipping inside the large SUV.

“Where are we going?” I asked, fastening my seatbelt.

“We’ve been instructed to take you directly to your father.”

I almost smiled, so grateful that my plan was working. If they were taking me somewhere else, I’d have to ditch them, and that was going to be hard. Then I’d also have to figure out some way to track down my father and Steele. This made it a lot easier.

The ride to the warehouse was silent.

We got to the industrial area of the city, and I recognized my father’s company logo on one of the buildings. I was surprised that he would set up a base at one of his own warehouses. It meant that he didn’t think Steele had any reinforcements coming. But he did.

He had me.

Two men ushered me inside, and it was easy to locate my father.

He had Cooper and Steele tied to chairs. Steele was looking down at his feet, and Cooper appeared to be unconscious.

The second Steele heard footsteps, he lifted his head up. He had a bloody lip and a large gash on his forehead, but other than that he looked unharmed. But when his eyes met mine, his facial expression became livid.

I knew I’d hear about this later, but right now I just wanted to get Steele out of here so we couldhavea later.

My father proudly stood between the two men. I wasdisgusted by the way he gloated over his prisoners.

“Ashlynn, come,” he snapped, pointing at the side next to him.

I started to walk towards my father, too scared to hesitate at his orders with two lives in the balance, but Steele spoke up. “Let her go. She wants to be free of you and your lies, corruption, and hate. Free her, leave her be, and I’ll give you my entire empire.”

My father’s grin was almost grotesque. “I don’t think so. She’s my daughter. My property. After I kill you, I’ll take your business anyway. This way is much cleaner. Once you’re gone, your little friend here will give me your financial information and I’ll take your fortune, too.”

My anger was palpable. It raged within me, boiling my blood as it moved through my body. While my father’s blood ran through my veins, Steele had my heart. It was evident in the way his eyes pleaded with me, begging me to let him go.

But I couldn’t. I knew I could live without my father. But I couldn’t live without Steele. I’d tried to let him go, tried to walk away. I managed to be free of him twice, but I was never really free.

Because he held part of my heart in his hands.

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