Page 37 of Concealed Deception

I push him aside and storm toward the exit.I can’t deal with him when I have mixed emotions toward Ava’s predicament.

Knox is waiting for us as I push the door open with more force than necessary.He walks me to the awaiting vehicle, where I get in and wait for Antonio to join me.

The trip shouldn’t take long as my condo is only ten to fifteen minutes away, but as we pass the turnoff, I’m questioning his motives once again.

“Where are we going?”I whip my head back toward the front seat where both men are seated and ask again, “Where the hell are we going, Antonio?”I’m not in the mood to be messed with, and he gets the memo.

His cold, impassive face stares through the front windscreen.“We’re going to the townhouse.You’ll be told everything when we arrive.”

I stay silent for the rest of the journey, though it’s not that far away.That is until we park in front of a stunning townhouse.“Wow.This guy knows how to live.I’d love to see what his mansion looks like,” I say sarcastically.

“Well, if he decides to keep you alive and we get Savannah back then you might get the grand tour.”

“Wait a minute, he actually owns one?I was joking.And Savannah?Oh my God, Ava’s real name is Savannah.”I’m off on a number of tangents here, morphing two separate subjects into one conversation.

“Lacey, get out of the car.”Antonio’s holding my door open, impatiently tapping his foot on the pavement.I quickly abide, because frankly, I want to know what my friend has gotten herself into.

We’re causing quite a commotion, bickering in each other’s ears as we walk through the house.“Enough,” shouts an authoritative man, somewhere on the same floor.

We enter his office and he motions for us to take a seat.“Lacey, thank you for joining me.”

“It’s not like I had a choice,” I butt in.“Cut to the chase, Alexander.What the hell is going on here and where is Ava?”

I can see my concern overrides his need to put me in my place.Tony’s side eye warning him to let it go doesn’t go unnoticed either.

“Very well.Ava’s real name is Savannah Carlisle.Her father once worked for mine as his accountant.I believe he was money laundering from my father, William, and got caught.I was young when I overheard a part of their conversation.Ava’s father promised his unborn daughter—her—to me when she became fifteen, because he couldn’t pay back the money he took.William accepted.That’s all I heard as I had to rush back to my room.

“William often told me he had my future planned out—I’d one day learn his way and take over the business.It turns out, I never understood to what depth until recently.I thought he meant the business I saw on a day-to-day basis, the drugs, guns, clubs, not his secret life.He was horrible to me, but I kept my eyes and ears open.I found out about a year later that he’d killed her father, and her mother had run away with her.

“He looked for Savannah for years.There was no sign of her or any other family.After years of trying, he gave up.But I didn’t.When we did a background check on you, I saw the picture of you two.She looked so familiar to me, and that’s the only reason I allowed you access; I needed to figure out who she was.While you were in my club, Tony did some digging.He managed to attain a DNA sample that confirmed her original identity.Her mother thought of most things, but she didn’t think of that.The only way she got away with it all was because her aunt had a friend that helped make it all happen.”

Guilt riddles me.I cut in, knowing what happened next and how naïve we both were.“That’s when you made up Rowan, wasn’t it?You catfished her to lure her to you.Fuck,I led her right into your hands.I wrote everything in those messages.I pushed her to meet him—you—and believed every message that came from her phone.You kidnaped her, didn’t you, you fucking sadistic asshole?I fucking hate you.This is all your fault!”I’m screaming in fury by the end, and the way my chest is heaving and nostrils are flaring, I know I’m fighting an internal battle to keep myself from launching at him.

“I don’t give a shit that you hate me, but you need to forgive Ava.She’s been a pawn in her own life from before she was born.”

“I’m not mad at her.I’m mad at myself, at you, and at this fucker sitting next to me.The warning signs were all there, and instead, I let her get me drunk in order to shut me up.I should’ve fought harder for her.I should have stayed away fromyou.”I look at Antonio, making sure he sees my regret.His eyes flash with something dark, then his mask is back on.Facing Alexander, I ask, “What do you need me to do?I know I’m not here to reminisce on my friend’s deceptive past.Tell me how we get her back.”

Tears flow down my face.

When Antonio reaches for me, I shrug him off and storm to the liquor cabinet.I take the most expensive looking bottle, hoping it’ll ease the nausea caused by this whole nightmare.

A large hand wraps around mine that’s holding the bottle.He guides it to his lips and holds eye contact as he too drinks down the amber liquid.

“It’s you and me, pet.It’s the only way.”

Twenty-Two

Ava

I’ve been in and out of consciousness for the duration of my capture.I’m sore, on edge, and craving whatever the guys keep injecting me with.I’m no longer hungry, I’ve mostly acclimatized to the temperature, and the girl in here with me has kept me company in this prison.

“He’s coming.”I curl into a ball and lay on my side with my back against the wall.She told me this was the safest position while chained up, though nothing so far has kept me safe.

I wait silently for my next hit.With it in my system, I’ve been able to ignore the smells and everything bad from being in this cage.

“Time to get up, slut.It’s time to clean yourself up.”The revulsion in his tone is clear.

I stay put.There’s no way my limbs are moving from this spot.Being restrained limits movement, and my body has gone stiff from the restrictions.

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