Page 6 of Sadist

There was something in her expression that caught my attention. A flash of something I hadn’t seen from her before. Concern.

I took the file with a short dip of my chin.

“Good girl,” she murmured. The two words were little more than a breath as she smirked, all traces of concern wiped away, her cool mask firmly back in place.

I glared at her, hating that she could still evoke a visceral reaction from me with the praise she wielded like a weapon, but she had already turned back to the other Chairs and on to the next agenda item, my dismissal delivered with a flick of her elegant fingers. Seething, I glanced at my watch as I turned on my heel to leave. 1100hrs. Great, no time for breakfast then.

Not even the breakneck speed I pushed my motorcycle to eased the irritation that had been slowly building since everything had unraveled. One safe. Onegod-damnedsafe had taken me from having my pick of jobs to being forced to dabble in the one area of this company that made me deeply uncomfortable.

Relieved to see my assigned team hadn’t arrived yet, I passed through the security system, taking the elevator up to the main level as I thumbed through the file Erryn had given me.

Most of it was the bare-bones information I already knew about my house guest, but a familiar green and white logo grabbed my attention. Vanguard Technology, which I assumed was the connection I was looking for.

Octavia’s father was William Vanguard, who had inherited the global tech giant. Under his leadership, the company had grown exponentially over the last couple of decades. And there, in black and white, was the reason his daughter was now sitting in my cell.

“Oh William, you sweet summer child,” I murmured, punching in the code on the illuminated keypad to my living quarters without looking. “You flew too close to the sun on this one.”

Vanguard tech had been incorporated into The Triarchy database two months ago, causing persistent issues. The search engines that I usually had unlimited access to had crashed and needed to be re-coded in the new security systems, which had impacted a number of jobs.

I swore as I read through the next part and took in the true extent of what I had taken on.

Vanguard was attempting extortion. And clearly, he did not do his research on his target. Decades of damning information that The Triarchy would eliminate anyone to keep quiet, was now caught behind a firewall controlled by Vanguard, and Erryn had been the deciding vote to have the systems upgraded. There was a large part on the next page that had been redacted, and from the information around it, I guessed it detailed his demands. Not that I needed to know that anyway. It was my job to get between him and the company and turn the tables on him. Pick him apart and find his weaknesses.

No wonder she wanted this kept discreet. I scanned the next few pages, taking in as much information as I could quickly.

Octavia Vanguard, only known direct relative of William Vanguard.

I skimmed past a page of unnecessary information that I already knew about her.

Trade of hostage for full dissolution of Vanguard tech from Triarchy software and return of master files.

An old termination on sight for William had been amended to capture and detain—but that was no surprise with the delicate nature of how he now held Erryn’s balls in his hand. Either way, it was near impossible. The man and his wife rarely left his fortress of a home, and if he did, his security detail was impenetrable. I guess we now knew why.

My unlucky little rage-filled hostage was in a world of trouble, and none of it was her fault. This is the part that didn’t sit right with me. Not to mention the way that after only a short time sitting with her, I found her fascinating.

I have seen every reaction under the sun to realizing your life is in someone else’s hands. Anger, bargaining, threatening. I was used to every angle that had ever been taken—until I met Octavia Vanguard. She had thrown every assumption I had made about the heiress into the wind.

She had laughed. And in that moment, I had wanted to do unspeakable things to her. Depraved, filthy things…which was less than an ideal situation when, if this turned south, I would be her jury and executioner as well.

3

OCTAVIA

Three days.

Threemotherfuckingdays she left me there. The lights stayed on during what I assumed was the day before I was plunged into pitch black for long intervals that tore at my sanity.

Somehow, she seemed to know when I had fallen into restless sleep, as I woke to a tray of food and a few bottles of water next to me. Don’t ask me how she knew when to slink in. There were no windows anywhere in here, and as far as I could tell, there were no cameras either. I even tried staying awake through the dark hours before I finally succumbed to sleep, my voice hoarse from screaming at the door that I now despised. The same door I had adorned with a pretty mural of yoghurt, mashed potato, and stew that had been hurled in a fit of rage.

The stew was disgusting anyway…much better suited as barely edible art.

I was absolutely fucking ropable and bored out of my mind by the time the door swung open, and Theo strolled in, whistling a low tune through her teeth. I honestly wanted to knock every single one of those teeth out and play knucklebones with them.

“Where the hell have you been?” I snapped.

“Hello to you too,” she chuckled, sidestepping the globs of flung dinner artfully placed at various intervals between me and the door. “I see you have decorated.”

“How long are you going to keep me in here?” I asked as I lurched to my feet, ignoring the ache of unused muscles.

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