Page 43 of Reckless Pawn

His eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he gave me a disapproving look. "You still want to know exactly what they demanded I give in order to rescue you?"

I bit my lip and nodded, not at all sure I wanted to hear anymore after all.

"They didn't just want me back in the fold. They needed an undercover man in your father's organization."

I felt the blood draining from my face.

"That's where I've been all this time. Fighting in your father's fights, dealing with your father's whores and working on your father's fucking security team. All so I could get close enough to learn more about the sex ring you were kidnapped into. The one we know they are filling with girls who go missing from area colleges. Now I'm here because thanks to you, no one believes Frank would let his guard down with me."

"They're right about that. He literally trusts no one. I doubt there's a single person in the world who knows all the details of his operation."

He nodded solemnly. "Well, if we don't find the girl we were hired to find soon it will be too late. And you teased Axel with information the club needs and no matter what deal you think you made with the club, it's now my job to get it out." He stopped, pausing to sharpen his focus on my face. "Is that clear enough for you?"

With that he disappeared through the doorway and the door slammed behind him, rattling the walls and windows of my tiny home.

At the same time the memories I tried to keep locked away came flooding back and I dropped to the floor with an anguished cry.

Chapter Fifteen

Isabella

Four months ago

Sitting around the formal dining room with a roomful of pre-wedding guests, the headache I'd been fighting all day flared to renewed life. I barely knew most of the people in the room—none of whom were here because they cared one bit about me and my impending nuptials. For all I knew they didn't know Marco, my fiancé either, who'd disappeared more than thirty minutes before with the excuse of an important business matter with my father.

Left alone to entertain my father's business acquaintances and their stuck up bitch wives had only made the pain in my temples increase. With the pointed stares and the whispered comments they thought I couldn't hear, I felt a lot like the dying prey vultures circled around before they swooped in to tear the carcass to pieces.

Lovely. What a romantic image to celebrate the successful rehearsal of tomorrow's wedding ceremony. Except I wanted nothing more than to walk out of the house and never return. Only one problem with that bright idea—I had nowhere to go and nowhere I could hide that my father couldn't find me.

"Isabella, why don't you be a dear and tell us the story of how you and Marco met. That would give us something to do while we all wait for your father's return and I think some of us would enjoy the tale."

Heads all around the table nodded while a few murmured yes. Forced to acknowledge the woman speaking, I turned to my right and plastered on a gracious smile. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember her name for the life of me.

"I'd be happy to. However, I need to make a quick trip to the ladies room beforehand. Please excuse me." I pushed out my chair and stood before anyone said a word one way or the other. At the risk of appearing rude, I couldn't wait another second to get out of there.

I kept my steps slow and controlled as I exited the room, only to break out into a run the minute I was out of sight. I hadn't lied about needing a bathroom break, but I did lie about telling the story.

What story?

The one where my father called me into his office and told me that he'd arranged this sham of a marriage? Or the one where my skin crawled the first time Marco tried to touch me? I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, forcing the memories away. I just needed to get to the bathroom and find some aspirin.

Then I'd figure out what to do next that had nothing to do with telling the people in that room anything about my life.

I grabbed onto the guest bathroom door like a lifeline and rushed in, grateful to find myself completely alone. The sterile white room reminded me of my mother. Not because she was the one who decorated it years before, but because I never understood why she avoided all color in her life. From the home she loved to the clothes she wore, she lived a life awash in nothing but neutrals.

I crossed the marble floor and crouched to the bottom right cabinet and began punching in the security code for my father's private stash. The guest cabinet above held nothing helpful, but I knew this one would. The door popped open and I was greeted by a wide variety of pharmaceuticals and boxes and boxes of condoms. My stomach churned a bit more as I pushed those out of the way and refused to think of the parade of women always at my father's disposal.

He and his organization didn't hold women in high regard. How many times had I heard him lecture his employees on how they were only good for two things? Stress relief and heirs. Anything more than that was trouble.

I rolled my eyes. He'd have to rethink that position after using me as a pawn in his business. I grabbed the bottle of aspirin with codeine in it and slammed the door closed. I didn't want to think about the wide array of prescription narcotics he kept any more than the large supply of condoms.

Over the years my curiosity managed to get the best of me and I discovered a lot of things about my father and his business that I wish I could forget. And still that never stopped me. I hated the constant secrets that were an everyday part of our life and I became determined to discover them all. How else would I learn about my family unless I fished for information on my own?

Now, I knew it all. Every sordid detail. Right down to the fact that my father was marrying me off as a financial tradeoff for an important business deal. He and Marco were somehow involved in the international goods market and a lot of what they did was done outside the law. My father often preached about the restraints of government and their inability to get anything done due to excessive regulations.

Seriously, he could justify every illegal move he'd ever made if given the time.

I listened and read a lot, finding most of it rather fascinating. I didn't care one bit for my family's more salacious ventures like prostitution and drug operations, so I ignored those aspects. Leaving all those details alone.

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