Page 56 of Singing For His Kiss

David cocked an eyebrow at her, and she stilled. “Sweetheart. He’s the reason I’m here. You think I came for you? I know the contents of your bank account. You got nuthin’ left to give. But when I saw who you’ve shacked up with, now that’s somethin’ I can work with.”

“Please, they’ve done nothing wrong. We…we’ll go somewhere else. Start off fresh where no one will know us. You just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

His eyes narrowed. “Now why would I go anywhere else when you’ve already done the hard work? As far as I see it, he’s easy game.”

She wanted to scream at him that this was unfair, that she wasn’t his to do his bidding. Not to James. Not him.

“Haven’t I done enough for you, David? I gave you everything I had.”

“You’ll do what I tell you to do until I say it’s enough. That’s just the way it is, sweetheart.”

The term of endearment made her want to vomit. He’d filthied a beautiful word. “There’s no cash in the house.”

“You know how it works. I’m not after cash. I want his bank details. Once I have that, I can get all the cash I want,” David said.

“He doesn’t let me into his office, let alone his computer. He keeps everything under lock and key.” If she lied, made it sound too hard, maybe he’d leave to find an easier target. It was a chance. She had to try.

His eyes flickered from her toes to the top of her head. She’d need to scrub herself to feel clean again. “You’ve got assets. Use them.”

Her lungs constricted. He wanted her to prostitute herself, use the only thing of value she had left. When she spoke, her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper. “I can’t.”

“Why not, sweetheart? You were good at it.”

She sat in stunned silence for a moment, trying to find the words. She was nothing more than a prostitute in his eyes. So different than how James looked at her.

“I won’t tell anyone about what we did. I promise. I’ll leave, and you’ll never see me again.”

His hand snaked out, grabbing her wrist. He did it in a way that no one in the busy café would even notice. His grip crushed her bones, and pain shot through her arm though the faded bruises. She forced herself to take the cracking pain in silence. She knew better than to shout out.

“You know too many things about me and my set-up. Took me a long time to get my contacts, and I don’t want to go losing them just because some little bitch didn’t like our time together. Do you know long and arduous it is to set up overseas bank accounts? The technology involved so there’s no trace? You’re stuck with me until I say otherwise. Got it?” He peeled back his lips, baring his teeth.

She wished it had never happened to be her. She didn’t ask him to introduce her to his contacts or show off how smart he thought he was. She didn’t even know what he was doing until she’d discovered her empty bank account. All her hard earned money. All those years of work. Gone. Anger made her hands tremble, but she didn’t want to say any of that to him. Not here. David was too unpredictable. And she was too scared to push him.

“You will go back to that house, and you will get that man into your bed. Use your God-given talents. You will get into his computer, and you will get his bank details. Do you understand?”

She nodded, too afraid to speak.

“You will wait for me to contact you again. Rhyder has a child. If you run away, I will take the girl. If you don’t get those bank details, I will take the girl. If you fail to sleep with him, I will take the girl. If you go to the cops and tell them anything about me, I will take the girl and no one will see her again. I will be watching you every step of the way. Do I make myself clear?”

Black edged her vision as his words sunk right to her core. He twisted her wrist. Sharp pain jerked her back in the chair. Couldn’t get her mind, or her mouth, or anything to function. Despair swallowed her whole. She spun blindly, caught in a cold, dark vortex.

She knew he would take Madeline. Knew what he was capable of. There was nowhere to turn. No getting away. She couldn’t involve James or Madeline.

“Elizabeth!” His sharp, guttural tone brought her back to the moment. “If you don’t do what I tell you to, not only will I take Madeline, I will come after you next. And no one will care what I do to you. Do I make myself clear?”

She blanched at the darkness on his face. She nodded, needing to breathe, needing to get away from him right now. She would say and do anything he wanted. There was no choice. He threw her wrist away like it was rubbish. She clutched it to her chest.

“Go.”

At his command, she rose on shaky legs and blindly pushed through the crowd. She didn’t remember how she got outside, but she found herself on her backside, knees pulled into her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks under a bush. She didn’t know how long she’d been there before her consciousness returned. When it did, she noticed it was raining and she was drenched right through.

She slowly rose, her entire body numb. She trudged back up the muddy pathway back to the house, each step taking her back to the house where she once sought protection and now started to become a haven.

The same haven that had now become her hell.

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