BLAKE: Captive to the Dark (25 page)

The room swayed as I tried to catch my breath. I felt high. Drunk on ecstasy. Maybe I was. All I knew was my
Master had changed my world and the way I viewed it. I loved him. More so than I could ever imagine possible. Especially since he was trying to make me love myself again. Just the way I was. There was a certain beauty in that.

Chapter 17

Blake

From the moment my slave and I had gone to bed until we woke up later that afternoon, we became inseparable. Two days turned into four. Four turned into six, until finally I stopped counting altogether. We laughed. We learned more about each other. Our pasts. Our parents. What our favorite colors were. She knew mine was black. I guessed hers was pink. Of course, I was right. Life, for the first time, couldn’t have been more perfect. A week and a half of heaven—then, I got the call—the one that burst my bubble of happiness and turned my life into the worst nightmare anyone could imagine.

Smoke poured from the barbeque pit and Kaitlyn was
back in a sundress. The front hadn’t lasted too long. We were due for another in the next day or two, but the temperatures were already reaching the high eighties. It was perfect to grill hamburgers. Then, my phone rang.

The light blue dress my sla
ve wore blew in the wind, molding to her ass. I was half tempted to bend her over to give her a good spanking just so I could feel her round bottom under my palm, but I grabbed for my annoying cell instead. Not once had I thought about the blackmailer this past week. I’d blocked him out, not wanting to waste a minute of my time if it wasn’t concerning my girl. The words
unknown number
sent my world crashing to the ground. I should have prepared. Planned for what I was going to do. The lazy part just wanted to pay him to make him disappear, but he wouldn’t. If I knew anything, it was obsession. He’d be back because he was fixated on my slave.

“Morgan.” I held up my finger to Kaitlyn, telling her to give me a minute. She stopped me from walking off and instead began casually strolling down the d
riveway. A rock went flying into the yard from the loose gravel and I smiled as I waited for the bastard to say something.

“Hello, are you going to talk or are we going to sit here and listen to each other breathe?”

“You were supposed to be in California days ago. Is there a reason you never showed?”

I took a deep
breath, lifting the lid to flip the burgers. “Why don’t you tell me? You seem to know everything. Is there a reason I didn’t show?”

A laugh filled m
y ear. So calm. So smooth. “There is. You’ve fallen in love with a broken bitch.”

My growl was so deep that the vibrations caused my whole body to shake.

“Ah.” Another laugh. “So emotionally attached. Tell me, Mr. Morgan, are you having any luck building my girl back up? Does she cry a lot? Hide herself from you and everyone else due to her scarred up face? I was told she tried her best to do that in public.”

I knew it. That man in the sports store had been watching. Had it been the blackmailer himself? Someone
who worked for him? “I’m going to take such pleasure slicing you to pieces. And I will. Don’t mistake that.”

There was no noise that I could detect in the background. I turned, looking at Kaitlyn. Her arms were crossed over her chest while she continued to walk the length of the driveway. I took in her distance to the road. She was still a ways away. I didn’t want her too close. Something was off and my skin prickled at the sensation. I kept the phone to my ear, but moved it away from my mouth.

“Kaitlyn. Come closer this way.”

“You’re so protective, it’s cute.”

The hair on my arms rose and I wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like I was cold. The heat outside was stifling. “Shut the fuck up. Listen, do me a favor and stop calling my phone. The next time we speak will be in person.” I hung up and stared at Kaitlyn as she walked toward a cluster of wild flowers, deeper in the yard. It was further away from the road, but not much.

Her short hair blew in the wind and I couldn’t help the heaviness in my stomach. It was time I figure
d out who this bastard was. I needed to put an end to his threats and fast. He’d sent someone to spy on her. Were they watching us now?

“Kaitlyn.”
My voice was purposely loud to cover the space that separated us and her head rose to look at me. She was kneeling, picking some of the pink and yellow blossoms. I waved her over and as she stood, I turned, opening the pit.  I placed the hamburgers on the plate letting my thoughts once again go over what I knew about the blackmailer. He was hell bent on hurting her. Why? What was the connection between them? What did she do to become his target? He’d made sure to call her broken. Was there some hidden meaning behind that?

I closed the lid, looking over to the thick brush and mesquite trees off to the side of my property.
The thick foliage in between made it a problem. That wouldn’t do. I didn’t want someone having the option of hiding out to get a better view. Maybe I’d put a privacy fence around our place. She needed more protection.

My eyes narrowed and I stiffened. Where the hell was she? I turned around, scanning the empty yard.

How long had I been lost in my thoughts? 

“Kaitlyn?”
For a few seconds, I couldn’t move. Panic rooted my feet to the ground and all I could do was scan the surroundings. I cursed myself and immediately rushed forward, not knowing where to look. Aside from the car parked a few feet away, my land was open. “Kaitlyn!” The anger was thick in my voice, but I didn’t miss the panic either. Where the fuck had she gone? She couldn’t have gone inside. She would have had to pass me to head up the sidewalk.

Nausea overwhelmed me as I rushed
further into the yard, scanning the distance to the road. It wasn’t that far away, but wouldn’t I have heard someone come up? Wouldn’t she have screamed when they grabbed her? Fuck!

I took off at a dead sprint. She couldn’t be far. Not if he was carrying her
…or dragging her. God. The thought made me run faster. I broke onto the asphalt heading toward the direction of the main highway.

“Kaitlyn!” Still, I
yelled for her. Never had I remembered feeling so scared. My mouth was dry and I couldn’t breathe. The terror had sweat pouring from my skin. “Kaitlyn!”

I came to a stop, trying to control
my heavy breathing. Ringing filled the air and I scrambled to grab my phone.

“Where is she?” I didn’t even look at the
Caller ID. I knew it was him. The bastard who wanted to hurt my slave. Again.

“You’re more attach
ed than I thought. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

I spun around, searching.
Looking for anyone that might be watching. I saw nothing but brush and trees. “Give her back to me, right now.”

He laughed. “No, I don’t think so. You had your chance.”

“You want the money? Fine, it’s yours.” I didn’t care anymore. I’d worry about nailing him after he got the cash. Kaitlyn was my top priority. She had to be terrified. And I did this. I failed her.

My hand came up, running through my hair as I walked
in circles in the middle of the road. “Tell me how much. I’ll put it into your account right now. Just…give her back to me.”

“You see, Mr. Morgan, I’ve had plenty of time to consider it, but I’ve gotten kind of bored playing your game.
You’re not any fun at all. I’ll just sell her again. That’s much more entertaining. She won’t get off so easily this time.”

A sound came out of my mouth
so mixed with desperation and rage that I was pissed I’d let him see how affected I was. “If I have to spend every day for the rest of my life hunting you down, I’m going to make you suffer. I’m going to—

The line went dead and I immediately called it back. Nothing. I didn’t stop until I was walking down my driveway.
What the fuck was I going to do? I hit Jack’s number.

“Morgan, you’re killing me.” His groggy voice groaned and I heard his bed squeak.

“Jack.” I tried to slow myself. “The blackmailer took Kaitlyn. Right from my own yard.” I found myself heading to where I’d last seen her. My heart all but stopped at seeing her day collar hidden among the greenery. Some of the flowers were broken from her collecting them, the others, untouched. I picked it up, clutching to the pearls as if they’d bring her back. As if they’d magically rewind time. “I was right there,” I breathed out. “I never heard a thing. She’s fucking gone.”

Silence was met with more squeaking. “You were outside?”

“Yes, I was taking the food off the pit. I had my back turned maybe…three minutes. I was deep in thought. He’d just called and I was pissed. He tried getting more money out of me. Five million. I didn’t comply with his demands.”

“Shit. I’m getting dressed and then I’m on my way. Did he say anything else?”

The words didn’t want to come out. They made me sick. “He’s going to sell her again.”

“He admitted it was him?”

There was so much I hadn’t told my partner about our conversations. “Yes.”

“You need to call your local authorities. FBI. This is high profile, Morgan. You can’t rush in and save the day like before. You’re at the center of this. They’re going to need you here.”

“I can’t do that, Jack. I have to be out there searching. I’m not going to stop until I find her. Until that motherfucker…” I cut myself off before I said too much. Jack may have been my friend, but he was still the law. “I have to go. I’ll keep you posted.” I hung up and hit my pilot’s number. His voice broke through after the second ring. “Get the jet ready,” I snapped. “I’m going to California.”

****

Kaitlyn’s old apartment now housed a young couple in their thirties. They were nice enough to show me around and answer my questions, but I learned absolutely nothing. If my slave had a life here before I met her, it was non-existent now.

I roamed the streets of L.A. in a fog, driven by only one purpose: searching for anything to help me find my girl. The security footage I had watched after storming back inside the house made me sick. Not one man. Two. So fucking skilled that I knew I wasn’t messing with an amateur. They snuck up and had placed something over her face rendering her unconscious. They could have killed us both and I wouldn’t have known a God damn thing. But they didn’t. I was alive, which meant only one thing. The blackmailer wanted it that way. He was waiting. Gloating. Hoping I’d come after him.

Two days had gone by. Forty-eight precious hours that I knew
counted, all too well. My previous profession had taught me that. Every minute that slipped away could be taking the love of my life further away, causing her more injury to her body and mind. How could I have let this happen? Kaitlyn had trusted me. I’d never forgive myself for putting her back in the very situation I’d saved her from.

The sun beat down from the blue sky, but the heat wasn’t comparable
to Texas. The black, long sleeve shirt I wore stuck out like a sore thumb. People walked around in shorts and T-shirts. I watched them all go about their happy little lives while I walked faster. There was only one person connected to Kaitlyn that I knew and I hated facing him. It had to be done, though.

I turned the corner and found the shop I was search
ing for right there in front. Dark hair hung freely as Preston stared down at his phone, typing away. He sat at a little, round, white table that held an umbrella. The place looked nice. Fancier than most I had passed on my way from the hotel.

“
Preston.” I approached and reached out my hand. The suspicious glare that met mine was accompanied by a firm handshake. He didn’t stand, but I hadn’t expected him to. I took a seat.

“She leave you or something?
I don’t see why else you’d come crawling to me.”

My lip lifted a little, wanting to snarl. “
We need to talk.”

“Listen, I’m already late for a shoot.
Hurry up and get on with it.” He sipped his coffee and lounged lazily in the intricately twined metal chair. My jaw clenched and I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. I let my beast explode out, letting him know that I wasn’t here to bullshit. This was serious and I meant business. “Kaitlyn’s been taken. I need your help.”

The smug expression melted from
his face and the coffee he held sloshed along the side as he sat up. Something along the lines of fear flashed on his face. Was it for her? For him?

“What do you mean, taken? Like…before?”

“Private conversation,” I gritted out. “We need to speak somewhere less public.”

Slowly, he nodded. “Let me call Mickey and tell him I won’t be there.”

Mickey. Right.
Why had I let him escape my attention? “Actually, I think I’d like to talk to him, too. Why don’t we ride together on our way to see him?

Preston
nodded and stood. I followed as he brought the phone to his ear and headed toward a Maserati resting around the corner I just came from. My eyes narrowed and I climbed into the passenger side.

“Mickey, hey
, it’s me. I can’t do the shoot today, but we need to talk. I’ll be there in ten.” He hung up. “Voicemail.”

The engine purred loudly
and I tried to remember the exact sound I’d heard over the phone. As he began to take off and the car accelerated, I compared the two motor sounds. Damn. It was close, but I wasn’t sure. It was quite possible the blackmailer’s had been deeper.