Page 152 of Triple Pucked
“I’ll just yell then.”
Heine’s eyes widen in betrayed shock. “You wouldn’t.”
“Why not? You kidnapped me.”
Heine throws himself forward, slamming his hand over my mouth.
He’s breathing fast.
This close, I realize how thin he is.
In his panic, he has crawled too close. I could grab him by the neck and snap it.
My hands twitch.
Then D’Angelo’s face comes into my mind.
D’Angelo said that Heine was once hisfriendin the same way that Cody ismyfriend. Would he be sad if this little bastard died?
I would be devastated if anything happened to Cody.
My jaw clenches, and with difficulty, I resist breaking Heine’s neck.
“You can hate me.” Heine is trembling. “But this wasn’t my idea. I’ve been desperate to come back to America and D’Angelo but not like this. If you want to hit me or whatever, then I’ll let you. But don’t get me in more trouble with her than I already am. So, I take my hand away and you don’t shout, okay?”
I nod.
When Heine cautiously takes away his hand, our eyes meet.
I remain silent.
Heine’s shoulders slump in relief. “Thank you.”
“You’re a billionaire,” I point out, unable to look away from the collar at his neck. It makes my stomach turn that Shay is so desperate for one like it. Is this what beingownedmeans to him?This fear?I am trying to understand but I have fought for our freedom our entire lives. How can he give it up? “You own companies. Why would you give yourself away to someone who takes away your voice?”
Heine blanches, before turning to sit next to me against the wall.
He thinks for a long moment, pulling his knees up. “I thought that it would make me feel safe. It would if D’Angelo was my Sir. Isn’t your brother the same?”
My stomach twists. “D’Angelo isn’t the same as Blythe.”
Heine plays with his hands. “He isn’t. At the start, however, Blythe didn’t make me sleep in a dog bed in the kitchen or insist that she take over my finances because I was amoron. She didn’t write my daily schedule because I was toolazy. To begin with, she praised howeducated and refinedI was. We went out to Michelin starred restaurants and the theater. We commiserated with each other about being abandoned. I had no one else to talk to about it, and I felt like I’d found a friend. When she offered to take me on as a non-romantic sub and train me, before bringing me back to show D’Angelo what a perfect sub I could be, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t know…”
I want to saybullshit.
Except, this was how Blythe conned my brother, wasn’t it?
“Did you know that the cost would be my brother being sent away? Traded to another team?” I narrow my eyes.
Heine fidgets. “As soon as the training started, Mistress changed. I fucking broke. Does that make your little heart happy? And no, she didn’t share her plans with me, at least at the start. I was only her sub there to obey and be used.”
I wince at the echo of Shay’s words.
“Where are we?” I demand.
“Heaven Cottage. This is one of my old properties, where I could hide even from my dad. It’s a tiny cottage on the coast. It’s also my favorite place in the world because I would escape here whenever I could from Dad, especially when he was in a rage, until he’d calmed down. But now, it’s my Hell.”
I’ve heard enough now. I know what I must do.
