1
ACACIA – EARLIER
“Come now, Acacia. Enoughwith the dramatics.”
Moaning, I roll to my side, pain shooting through my shoulder as blood pools in my mouth because I bit my tongue so hard. I’m desperate to cry out, to unleash the agony in my soul, but the only sound that escapes my lips is that of a pitiful attempt at a wheezing breath. My mother’s voice echoes in and out of my consciousness, her voice harsh and lacking any sympathy.
“Get up. You’re making a scene.”
Her tone is steady, a whip slamming against my body with its cold deliverance. I try to do as she asks, rolling and pushing to my knees, but the pain is unbearable. Searing heat cripples me, and I fall flat on my face, screaming as the pressure causes a bolt of pain to travel through my body, nearly knocking me out cold.
“Get up.”
Reaching down, her cold fingers curl around my arm as she hauls me up to my feet. The man standing in front of me stares at me with cold intensity, unbothered by the fact that he just shot me to prove a point. The point being that my mother would willingly sacrifice anything to get what she wants – including her daughter. He didn’t believe her, of course, so he shot me.
She did nothing to stop it.
She would rather me dead than risk the empire she has built.
That’s how little I mean to her.
Gasping, my eyes jerk open, and it takes me a moment for my brain to recognize that I’m now awake and no longer drowning in a nightmare. Blinking, I reach up and rub at my eyes, trying to focus on my surroundings. My body aches, and there is a pain in my head that wasn’t there before. Wait ... what exactly was happening before? I shake my head, trying to figure out my last moves, but everything is empty.Gone.Like my recent memories have been wiped.
“You’re awake.”
The husky voice has me jerking upright. Head whipping to the side, I see a man leaning against a counter, arms crossed over his chest. His face seems familiar, yet no matter how hard I try, I can’t put my finger on it. He’s staring at me with an intensity that tells me hasn’t got me here because we spent a wild night together. No, he’s here for business, and, as my eyes scan over him, I realize I’m in a situation that I was not anticipating or expecting.
“Who the hell are you?” I growl, my body far too weak to match the strong voice I’m attempting to use.
The man pushes off the counter and stares down at me, his head tipping to the side. He’s gorgeous, and I hate to admit that because, clearly, he has bad intentions. If I were to meet this man at a club, I’d probably jump his bones. Come to think of it, I wonder if that’s how he got me here in the first place. It would be hard to say no to those silvery-gray eyes, the big, well-muscled, heavily inked body, and that thick, dark hair that’s falling over his forehead. He’s spectacular, and I’m in deep shit here.
“Don’t matter who I am. What matters is that you have somethin’ I want, and you ain’t leavin’ this room until I get it.”
I glance around the small space. It almost seems we’re in some kind of shipping container that has been converted into a tiny cabin. At a quick glance, I can see that it contains what seems to be a bathroom right at the end, a small seating area, a single bed, and a tiny kitchenette. It’s no bigger than a small caravan.
It’s also incredibly fucking cold.
Where is my phone? My purse?
This, right here, is the exact reason I always go out of the house with a basic burner phone because when people take me, the first thing they want is to go through my phone for information. I’m not stupid enough to allow that. I’m not overly concerned that he has it, but I wouldn’t mind my damned purse back.
“Back up,” I say, pushing to my feet and standing in front of him. “You kidnapped me?”
“I drugged you and took you, correct.”
He drugged me?