CAPTOR (The Alpha Brotherhood) (Standalone Dark Billionaire New Adult Romance) (14 page)

Zoey

I’m so shocked by what I’ve overheard that I don’t notice the conversation has ended until I hear Shane reach the top of the stairs. I fly back into bed, doing my best to look like I’m sleeping. If he gets in here with me, he’ll be able to tell I’m already up because if I keep breathing slowly like this, I’ll pass out from the lack of oxygen.

When he walks away from my door, my relief is eclipsed by my disappointment. I liked having him in my bed last night. Not just what he did to me, earth shattering experience that it was. But falling asleep in his arms, hearing him breathe, feeling his body against mine… there is no point denying it. I want more. I want him.

And I also want some Tylenol for this headache. A greasy hangover breakfast wouldn’t hurt either, but I don’t have the energy to make it. I creep down the staircase anyway and heat up some leftovers from last night. Shane must have went back to bed. His bed. What would happen if I crawled in with him?

I seriously need a shower first though. It’s such a satisfying shower, my entire body is more relaxed than it’s ever been. And it’s not from getting drunk or a good night’s sleep. The big O. I finally had one. Now I understand why everybody makes such a big deal about it.

I want Shane to be sitting on the edge of my bed when I step out of the bathroom, but he’s not. He didn’t get off last night and now that I know what it feels like, I want to return the favor. Especially after that awful exchange this morning. Maybe it would make him feel better.

Instead of getting dressed, I just blow dry my hair a little and walk over to his room in nothing but a towel. It’s locked.

Then a loud crash echoes up from his workspace and Shane curses loudly. What the hell was I thinking? He’s probably totally distraught from that conversation with his brother. I race back to my room and get dressed quickly, anxious to get down to him before he breaks something he’ll regret.

I’m too late. That robotic arm is lying on its side in two pieces and he’s ripping wires out with his bare hands. I tentatively take a step down the clear staircase, but he whips his head up, his face so filled with hatred that it stops me in my tracks.

“Ready to leave so soon, Z?” he snaps.

“I’m… what?”

“Still anxious to get back to the old homestead?”

I completely forgot about that. “No, I just heard all this noise and came down to check on you.”

“Bullshit. You want to go home so bad? Let’s fucking go.”

“I wasn’t trying to…” My throat tightens as he starts up the stairs and grabs me by the arm. “Ouch, Shane,” I protest as he drags me through the archway into the living room. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”

“You fucking threatened to tattle tell on me last night, like the child that you are, Zoey. Not that anyone at that table would have given a shit.”

“Shane, I didn’t realize… Look, I don’t have anyone spying on you like you do me, okay? How the hell was I supposed to know?”

“That’s irrelevant. I swore I’d take you and I keep my promises. Get some fucking shoes on,” he orders. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

All the shoes he bought me are upstairs too, but I don’t dare follow him, waiting until I hear the door to his room slam shut before sneaking up to mine. It’s supposed to be chilly today. My hands are shaking as I pull on a pair of leather boots and grab a sweater.

He emerges from his bedroom freshly showered and I freeze in the hallway. Does this guy wear a suit and tie every single day? His knuckles are scraped and his jaw is clenched tight. I hate seeing it like that. It immediately makes me want to go over there and touch him.

“Are you alright?” I ask softly.

“Worry about yourself, Z.”

I keep my distance as I follow him downstairs. Right as we reach the bottom, the elevator starts to come up. I assume that Shane did that remotely like he did last night, but then he curses under his breath and steps in front of me.

The elevator doors open and Maddox is standing there. A horrified expression crosses his face when he sees the state his brother is in.

“I don’t remember calling. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Adam told me to—”

“You get your orders from me. Not him.” Shane pulls me by my waist into the elevator and closes the doors. “Get back to work.”

My jaw is trembling so much that I bite my tongue and taste blood. Maddox can’t stop looking at me, shaking his head angrily as he tries to keep his mouth shut. He’s only successful for a few seconds.

“Shane, I’m your protégé, not your personal assistant. I didn’t sign up for—”

My captor lunges across the small space, pinning his brother to the wall as I let out a startled yelp and back into a corner. “This is exactly what you fucking signed up for. It will only get worse. Do you have any idea what my mentor put me through to get where I am today?”

“Yeah, and he fucking ate a bullet last summer, Shane. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you, you’re my—”

“We are not brothers. This isn’t a family, it’s a goddamned farce to please a man that doesn’t even exist anymore.”

“What the hell is happening to you?” Maddox’s face is so genuinely concerned, his eyes bouncing back and forth between me and the man ready to tear his throat out.

Shane just snickers, sending a chill down my spine. The elevator doors open to the sight of a bustling office. The closest employees come to a full stop, sending a wave a silence through the entire place as everyone watches.

“Back to work,” Shane shouts, grunting like an animal as he pushes his brother out of the elevator. “All of you!”

The elevator shuts with a gentle ping and the only sound is his heavy breathing. Then he howls and pounds on the reflective doors with both fists, leaving a dent. I jump, but don’t cry out, just watch as he moves to the wall opposite me and sinks down to the floor. His forearms are resting on his knees and his head hangs down between them as I lower myself next to him.

I understand this. I’m one of the few people that probably can. I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder, startling him.

“What are you doing?”

“Not being afraid of you,” I whisper.

He draws in a choked breath, his head turning slightly so that I can see his pale blue eyes peeking out from beneath his disheveled hair. My stomach flutters as he puts his arm around me and I scoot closer. The elevator reaches the ground floor, but Shane hits a button that closes the doors before they get a chance to open more than a few inches.

He pulls my hand to his lips, kissing the back of my palm before winding his fingers into mine. I just stay there with him in silence for a few minutes, waiting, wondering if he’ll take me back up to his mansion in the sky or if we’re actually leaving.

Two weeks ago, my heart would be racing. I’d be in full on fight or flight mode knowing that I was a few strides away from doors that open to a street that would lead me back to my life. Not anymore. There’s no way in hell I could leave him like this.

With a sigh, he shrugs me off his shoulder and gets up. I linger on the floor for a moment as he pulls a comb from his pocket and runs it through his hair, checking his distorted reflection in the elevator doors. I guess we’re going out.

They slide open and I see a lobby full of men and women in suits going about their day. Just past them is a busy street and the promise of a fresh breath of air.

“Don’t even think about running off on me today.”

“I won’t.”

“You will pay for it if you do,” he says, flashing me that wicked grin.

The flesh between my legs swells. What the hell does that mean? Shane offers his arm and we step into the lobby. There’s a sports car waiting for us in front of the exit with a chauffeur, who opens the front door for me and hands Shane the keys.

It only lasted for a second, but I was actually outside. It wasn’t all that refreshing. The engine roars to life and Shane pulls out into a tiny gap in the traffic. I never drive in the city, I’m a public transportation kind of girl. This is why. Even the gazillionaire next to me driving a Rolls-Royce has to stop at a green light when there’s no room in the lane ahead of him. Sighing in exasperation, he takes out his phone and opens the GPS. I peek over and he tilts it away, concealing the destination. The arrival time was 3 hours from now. Traffic isn’t that bad.

I try to resist, but the silence is just too awkward.  “Where are we going?”

“To your apartment,” he replies.  Of course I don’t have to give him the address. I never did and he found it anyway.

“I meant after that.”

“It’s a surprise,” he says.

“I don’t like surprises.”

“I don’t like them either, but I do like surprising people.” He’s a lot calmer now, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

“Lucky me,” I grumble.

“You won’t be saying that so sarcastically once we get to your place.  I thought you said that you lived in a safe area of Pilsen.”

“I do.”

“That’s debatable, Z,” he laughs.

“You can’t diss my neighborhood,” I shoot back.  “You’re from Humboldt Park.”

“I suppose it’s an upgrade considering where you came from.”

“Exactly. I like it there. It’s not a war zone, just a little rough around the edges. There are even a few art galleries now.”

“Some hipsters too,” he laughs as we pass a group of guys in thick black glasses with well-manicured beards. “But that’s all on Halstead, not by your house.

“It’s all I can afford.”

“You told me the drug dealer was paying the rent.”

“He does, but I’m not stupid. I honestly didn’t think it would last as long as it did and I wanted to be sure that I could pay for it myself.”

We get out of the car and I take a deep breath as I look up at my building.  The last time I was here Ricky dragged me out. A shudder rolls up my spine and it has nothing to do with the chilly air.  Shane glances to the side and wraps his arm around my shoulders.

“Don’t worry,” he says, opening the front door.  Does he seriously have his own key now?  I guess that shouldn’t surprise me at this point.  “There’s no one inside. I had my security team check it five minutes ago.”

“I hope they’re sticking around to watch your car,” I laugh.

We walk up the stairs, my heart pounding faster with each step. Shane slides a key into a new doorknob as I remember that I had to leave it unlocked. My jaw drops open when I step inside.  Somebody tossed this place like they had a warrant. Everything is destroyed. My broken down couch’s pillows have all been sliced open. The cabinets in the kitchen have all been emptied, my pots and pans scattered across the floor. They even ripped apart the bathroom.

My hands are shaking as I push open the door to my bedroom. It’s a total disaster. All of my pottery is gone, the shelves ripped from the walls. My mattress is flipped over and cut open. They even destroyed my text books and smashed my laptop. As if school wasn’t difficult enough already, not that I’m enrolled anymore.

“Where are all my clothes?” I ask.

“I’ll replace your wardrobe. They urinated all over them.”

Gross. “Piss comes out. Just wash them twice.”

“You don’t honestly think I’ll let a single molecule of another man’s urine touch your skin, do you?”

That was oddly hot. “I’m not a damsel in distress, Shane. This really isn’t your problem.”

“I made it my problem.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my fault,” he says quietly, picking up another shard of my pottery and putting it in the box of scraps he’s saving for me.

“No it’s not. Did you suddenly forget where you found me?” I laugh bitterly. “I’d rather deal with this than have gone through the alternative.”

“They weren’t just going to break all your shit and leave you alone.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you had them all put in prison then, isn’t it?”

“You are not coming back here.”

“Of course I am. Just not now.” Out of curiosity I poke my head inside of Daniela’s room.  “Holy shit.”

“I almost didn’t let you in there, but I suppose you have the right to know.”

“Is that…”

“Unfortunately yes,” he replies, his jaw tense. 

Daniela’s room had a lot more personal effects than mine. Pictures, teddy bears, that kind of stuff. “I have to admit, I thought there might be a possibility that you did this. I just didn’t want to say anything in case you didn’t.”

“I suppose it’s safe to take that as a compliment?”

Nodding, I stare down at the disgusting display of all of her panties, bras, and pictures. “I mean obviously this wasn’t you. That’s way too much cum residue for just one person.”

“That cannot be the only reason you trust me at this point, Z.”

“No, it’s not. Sorry. I’m known to make inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times.”

“It’s alright.”

“Was any of my stuff like that?”

“No one appears to have ejaculated on any of your belongings.”