Salvage Her Heart (8 page)

ALEX

Nobody gets to be successful, in any aspect of their life, without first being intuitive, intelligent and a little bit of a sneaky bastard. I’m all three, as well as being arrogant, rude and possessing a win-at-all-costs attitude.

I will be the last man standing, no matter what opponents try to throw in front of me.

Up until a year ago, I always thou
ght I was at the top of my game… that was until Stavros Drakos crossed my path. I guess in hindsight I should have known that everybody, including me, needs a nemesis.

My meeting with Stavros not only compelled me to beat him at his own game and take his company from him, but he also incited a burning desire to be just like him. Now don’t see me as being weak for admitting this
—but truth be told we all need a mentor, and who better than the devil himself?

There have been many meetings over the years, and yes, I’m still trying to win him over and merge our two companies. He’s got his finger in one of the biggest financial stock trading pies in America. If I want to go global, Stavros is certainly my ticket there. So far, he’s been dangling the carrot
—allowing little nibbles, but nothing close to a mouthful. I’m still holding out that I can convince him to merge our ventures and come to a mutually beneficial result.

Ultimately, I think it will be a proposal of a more personal nature than a business one that motivates him to sign with my company, Stratford Enterprises. I say this, beca
use I’ve come to the conclusion that his personal life will ultimately be his weakness. Me? I could give everything up tomorrow just to save my own hide. Stavros? Well, he likes his little play toys.

I must admit, his ‘tastes’
were a little shocking at first, even to me. I like to get rough with my women and show them who is in control, but Stavros takes his pleasures to a whole new level. He has a plethora of toys that he uses to punish, control and victimise women, all in the name of getting his rocks off. How do I know this? I’ve been there.

About a year ago he invited me to his home in Chicago. I went, hoping to win over a merger and came away without making any headway whatsoever, yet I gained a deeper understanding of the man I wanted to overthrow. His personal life is entirely driven by a deep-seated urge to hurt people in order to gain complete control. Their pain reinforces his dominance and in turn, makes him king of his domain.

I have to admit his behaviour not only borders on illegal, but flies clean over the moral high ground that most of us walk. Another thing you need to know about Stavros? Not all of his ‘subjects’ are willing. Oh, yeah, and his tastes are not just limited to women. There are many men out there willing to sell their soul to the devil in order to prosper financially.

Most of Stavros’s women, however, are sold to him on a barter basis. He places an order for a specific type of woman and the business associate delivers. Stavros then accommodates the associate with inside information, stocks or cash funding in return. Most of the women are illegal immigrants who find their way into the USA and then find themselves hungry for any way out of the vicious cycle of poverty and drug abuse.

Most associates promise them the world. They’re beautiful—a commodity they’re assured will grant them favour with the great Stavros Drakos. They’re promised food and shelter in return for their ‘company’ at his mansion in Chicago. Most go into it thinking they’re about to walk into a glamorous mansion with parties that would rival the Playboy Mansion. The reality is that once they step through those gates, their life is over. Sure, they will be fed and a roof kept over their head, but that is where the niceties end. From that point onwards, they become a toy; one that is subjected to all manner of paddles, whips, chains and bondage toys. Only in their case, remove the word ‘toy’ and replace it with ‘weapons’, for their time with him will be no soft-porn BDSM experience. It will be a pure and living hell.

When Stavros first travelled to Australia to meet with me, I realised that his penchant for the dark would allow me a way in. It was only when he called today to ask me to visit him, that I realised I might finally have him where I want him. He’s ready to discuss terms, and I’m willing to listen.

The reservations I have about travelling to Stavros’s office in Chicago right now are all tied up with Evie. Larissa has booked my flight to leave Brisbane at six o’clock, which means I have no time to go home and speak with her before I go. My only consolation is that Harry is watching her like a hawk and Madeline is keeping tabs on her while in the apartment. I’ve already asked Madeline to bring a suitcase to the office so the company car can drop me off at the airport. She’s also been instructed to convey my expectations to Evie, detailing my wishes and demands for the time I’m away.

I would have preferred to take her with me, but Stavros explicitly told me to come alone. I’m hoping to speak with her in person before I get on the plane, but so far, her phone remains unanswered. There is no reason to panic just yet, although my patience is being sorely tested. Here I am under pressure to prepare for Stavros’s proposal and Evie’s giving me the run around.

Harry also seems to have gone quiet. If he’s doing his job and tracking Evie, it’s understandable that he’s got his phone on silent or is unreachable for periods at a time. Instead, I write him an email with my travel details for the next week and ask him to still deliver the report of Evie’s movements via email each evening. My absence from my wife is a rare thing, which makes me even more vexed as to what she’ll be up to while I’m gone. Pushing boundaries seems to be her thing lately and I’m not about to lose control while I’m away.

The intercom on my desk buzzes softly, daring to intrude on my o
ver-active imagination.

‘What is it?’

‘Your car is ready to take you to the airport, Mr Stratford.’

‘Tell him t
o park in the basement, Larissa. I’ll be about ten minutes. Get Frederick to collect my bags from the cloak room and take them down to James.’ Yes, I really did employ a driver called James, just so I could at least once in my life say, ‘Home, James.’ It’s the little things, people, the little things.

‘Yes, Sir.’

I gather my laptop, briefcase, and most importantly, my cheque book. Despite any additional clauses Stavros wishes to add to the merger contract, no doubt there will be money involved. Before heading out, I pour myself a double scotch and take the drink with me. In the foyer, Larissa is behind the reception desk, tapping away at the keyboard.

‘You have my passport and tickets?’

‘Of course. I took the liberty of pre-checking you in, so you can go straight through security to the gate. The company car is stocked with more of what’s in your glass there and your evening meal will be served in-flight. Anything else, Sir?’

‘I think that just about does it. I knew there was a reason I hired you.’

‘You don’t say.’

‘Okay, I’m off. Don’t put any clients through to me while I’m
overseas, just keep them happy until I get back next Friday.’ 

‘No problem. Have a good flight.’

I down the scotch in the elevator, the first of many for the night. The car’s waiting and I slide in the back, greeted by James in the driver’s seat. A slight nod is all he gets from me as I pour myself another drink and fish out my mobile phone from my jacket pocket.

I’m feeling more than agitated that I haven’t spoken to Evie in over nine hours. I can only imagine how I’m going to feel by the end of the week. Don’t think I’ve gone all fucking mushy on you, because I haven’t. I just hate delegating control over anything
—especially her.

The dial tone keeps playing in my ear as we pass through the concrete jungle of the city. Being early afternoon enables us to miss most of the heavy traffic, but the smooth ride does nothing to ease my annoyed mood.

I’m just about to give up when a very breathless Evie answers the phone.

‘Hello? Alex?’

‘Well it’s about fucking time! Where the hell have you been?’

‘Me?’

‘Yes, you!’ I roar. James diplomatically raises the partition between us. I’m sure it’s not to give me privacy, rather he prefers his ear drums remain intact while my ranting goes on.

‘Um, I was just out visiting with mum and dad. I’ve only just heard the phone ringing as I left it inside while we were in the garden.’

‘And just what were you going to do about dinner since you are out so late in the day?’ Her breathing has returned to normal, but there is still caution in her tone when she responds.

‘I’ve had the slow cooker on since this morning, Alex.’

‘You know how much I despise you being out this late in the day, Evie. Your place is at home, where you belong.’

‘I’m sorry, mum has just been missing me of late,’ she apologises.

‘Whatever. Organise your visits to your parents earlier in the day in future.’

‘Okay, I will. What time shall I expect you home?’

‘I’m not coming home this evening.’

‘You’re not! I mean
… you’re not?’

‘Darling, it’s almost like you sound excited that your dear husband is not coming home.’

‘Oh no, Alex, not at all! It’s just, very unusual that you won’t be home. Is everything alright?’

‘I’m flying out to Chicago this evening.’

‘Chicago!’

‘Yes, yes. What? Is there a fucking echo on this line? I have an urgent business matter to attend to and I need to leave immediately.’

‘Of course, if you have to.’

‘I’m already on the way to the airport. You know what I expect of you while I’m gone and what I expect more than anything else is that you be contactable at
all
times. Do I make myself clear?’

‘Absolutely, yes.’

I cannot shake the fact that Evie sounds completely and utter ecstatic. If this meeting with Stavros wasn’t so important, I’d be half tempted to swing by home, just to see what the fuck is up with that woman. Her attitude makes me all the more eager to get in touch with Harry as soon as possible.

‘I’ll be in touch when I can.’

‘Okay.’

‘And remember, contactable at all times.’

‘Yes, Alex.’

I disconnect the call, even more disturbed by her strange behaviour than I was before I talked to her. Something isn’t right. Something extremely unnerving is going on and I want to know just what that is.

We arrive at the airport without much time to spare. I down a scotch for the road while James takes my bags to the check-in counter. I’m a little buzzed from the alcohol, but not enough to be refused entry onto the plane. I almost wish I was too intoxicated to fly. It means I could head straight home to the woman who is becoming cause of consternation.

Instead, I board the plane and accept the complimentary champagne from the hostess in first class. Most of the passengers on this flight have boarded, so there is little time wasted before we are ready for take-off.

When up in the air, I’m served my meal from the pretty brunette who seems hell bent on picking up a future husband from first class.
Don’t fucking bother, love, you’ve got no fucking chance.

After meal service I take out my iPhone to check my emails. I’m deeply disturbed to see an email from Harry. I lift the cuff of my shirtsleeve to check the time on my watch. It’s only eight pm. His email isn’t due for another three hours. Alarm bells ring as I open the message.

As I scan the text words leap out at me.

If I’m to believe everything I read, and by God I do, then it would appear that my dear wife is being unfaithful. Flying 40
, 000 feet above the ocean means there isn’t a single fucking thing I can do about it.

For the first time in my life, I’m impotent and ineffective. I’m powerless to stop whatever actions she has put in motion. Evie has single-handedly just made me the weakest form of myself. White-hot rage pours through my body, my fists clenching with desire to beat the ever-loving shit out of her
—and the guy she’s screwing around on me with. My anger has just suddenly turned up so many notches that I can feel the blood as it ticks through my veins to my brain. There is no thinking going on, only recourse. Action is what is needed—modification of behaviour. She needs to know who is in control. She needs to know who her real master is.

My only concern is that in the process of teaching her these lessons, I may just kill her in the process. 

GRAYSON

‘Are you okay? You look really pale.’

‘I don’t believe it,’ she says, pocketing her mobile phone.

‘What? What’s wrong?’

‘Alex has just left the country.’

‘For good?’ I try not to sound downright thrilled as disbelief washes over Evie’s features.

‘No, no. He’s just left for Chicago on business.’ I have to admit, her words leave me a little deflated.

‘Oh. Is that unusual?’

‘Alex overseas on business?
No. But leaving me here on my own? Yes, definitely yes. He’s not the kind of man who likes to leave me on my own even for a second. Something big must have happened, but I have no idea as to what that might be.’

‘You don’t think that
… you know, he’s playing games with you, do you?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You don’t think that he’s suspicious of you? Maybe he knows about us,’ I say, looking around the fairground, expecting to see a man in a dark suit and sunglasses, spying on us.

‘No way, he wouldn’t do his own dirty work. He does employ Harry to keep tabs on me from time to time, but I haven’t seen him around more than usual
—certainly not enough to indicate that either of them has any suspicions that I’m not just living my life exactly as I always have with him. Besides, I think Alex has too much faith in how much his dominating ways have worn me down over the years. I’m sure he thinks I’m much too meek to even contemplate going behind his back. Well I’m sick of it! I’m so sick of living in fear, of being miserable every single day of my life. I need more. I need to start feeling something other than numb or I’m going to drown in this dissonance.’

‘Uh, I’m not sure what that word even means, but I’m getting the picture.’ I gently take her hand and pull her body towards me. She comes willingly, allowing me to wrap my arms around her slim waist. Her hair tickles my hands as I move them soothingly up and down her back.

‘I mean that Alex and I disagree on what makes a good husband.’

‘Oh, well I guess I could help you with that.’

‘You could?’

‘Hmm-mmm.
I know how I’d treat you if you were mine.’

‘And how is that?’ she whispers as her lips move closer towards my own.

‘With love, affection, respect and kindness. Do you know what Courtney E. Martin said about women?’

‘No.’

‘She said, “You know what’s really powerfully sexy? A sense of humour. A taste for adventure. A healthy glow. Hips to grab on to. Openness. Confidence. Humility. Appetite. Intuition… Smart-ass comebacks. Presence. A quick wit. Dirty jokes told by an innocent-looking lady… A woman who realises how beautiful she is.” I look into your eyes, Evie, and I see all of that inside of you. I want to be the person in your life who makes you so happy that you be that girl I see caged inside of you. Not who your parents, your husband or even a boyfriend think you are… I just want to be
the
person who makes you feel like you can be the real you instead of the shadow that walks in shackles on the outside.’

I’m waiting for her reaction. Dusk is turning to night, making it harder to read her features. She’s breathing heavily, her chest heaving as she catches her breath. She’s undeniably beautiful, exquisitely captivating. I’m praying against all odds I’m not being too full on with her but, right now, I can’t help but lay it all on the line.

Ever so tenderly, her lips find mine in the dark. The lights of the fairground do nothing to expose our private moment. It’s just me and her, hypnotised by each other. My hands have forgotten their gentle caressing of her back, instead choosing to cup her face, to trace her cheeks and feel the smooth planes of her skin the way a blind man would navigate brail. It’s like my fingertips are cataloguing every detail of her flawless frame. She breaks the kiss only for a second.

‘I want you to be that person, too.’ She’s breathless and enlivened, swept up in the passion of the moment just as much as I am.

We’re so caught up in the moment, we hardly realise all the rides are starting to shut down, the stalls also closing down for the day. Reluctantly we break apart, neither of us wanting to go back to the lives that await us at home. From this moment on, I know every minute I’m without her is going to seem like punishment.

‘It looks like they’re kicking us out,’ I note.

‘Grayson?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Would you like to come back to my place to have dinner with me?’

‘Do you think that’s wise? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d give my left nut to come home with you right now, and I know we have already crossed so many lines it’s not even funny, but I’m worried in case Alex somehow finds out about it. I don’t want this to come back on you. Can’t you just leave him, like now, tonight?’

‘You can’t be serious. There are so many ramifications that I can’t even begin to get my head around the fallout from my leaving this marriage. I want to so badly, but I need a plan. Now is just not the time.’

‘But one day, one day you’ll leave, right?’ I’m hopeful that I might have the privilege of having Evie as my girl, and only my girl. Right now, though, I just want
her the hell away from the clutches of the bastard that keeps using her as his personal punching bag and much, much worse. I hate to think of the two of them being intimate, because it only causes the worst ill-feeling to wash over me. The thought of him with his filthy hands on her literally makes me sick to my stomach.

‘I’ll leave, and when I do, there won’t be a thing he can do about it. I have to be careful, not just for myself, but my family, too. When I walk out the door for good I have to make sure that Alex is so blindsided that he has no chance to stop me from leaving the country. My plan needs to be in place before he even gets a
n inkling of my deception. Because if I fail, even for a second, at convincing him that everything is okay between us then I’ve already tied the noose around my neck. It means I’m already dead before I even put one foot over the threshold to leave. But in the meantime, will you come with me? I don’t think I can say goodbye just yet.’

‘I’m coming with you
, Evie, not just tonight, but wherever you go. I’m here for you, and I’m going to help you get away from him. You don’t have to do this on your own, you have a friend in me and I want you to know that I will do absolutely everything I can to save you from him.’

‘So that’s a yes?’ she
says with a grin.

‘I couldn’t offer you anything less. You’re such an amazing, special person and I want to give you the chance to be free from his clutches, forever.’

I take Evie’s hand and head towards the fairground exit. As much as we don’t want to go home, as much as we can’t stop what’s going on between us, I know for now I have to have patience. The time for us to be together will come, I can feel it. When you’ve never had that instant fall-in-love-at-first-sight feeling it’s hard to grasp how people can just drop every aspect of their own life to make sure that the person who they’re in love with is taken care of. I’m not sure if Evie knows it just yet, but I’ve not only fallen—I’ve fallen hard.

We hail a taxi and she gives the driver her address. I sit in nervous anticipation as the cab makes its way through the outskirts of town until we arrive outside a tall, posh building in the heart of the city. I throw some money at the driver before grabbing the car door for her. She gracefully steps out, although seemingly a little less confident than she was a few moments ago. She straightens her back, drawing herself to her full height and takes a deep breath. This girl has fight. This girl has spirit. She’s going to need both to survive Alex.

The building she lives is in is definitely reserved for rich elitists who like the postcode more than anything else. If you want people to know you have money, you live here. We ride the lift to the penthouse, stepping out into a foyer with only one apartment on the floor—theirs.

Evie fumbles for her keys in her bag, her fingers shaking just a little as she plunges the key into the lock. With one fluid motion she flings back the door that has, until now, been her prison.

While the apartment is cast in the dark shadows of the evening, it is still clear that every single piece of furniture speaks volumes of class. Everything is white—white walls, curtains, sofas—even the white, plush rug on white tiles. It all reflects a clinical life, one that is controlled and structured exactly how the master of this domain wants it.

The only thing that seems out of place is the homely smell of food cooking. I’m trying to place the smell and remember vaguely my mother perhaps cooking something similar when I was younger. Despite the warming thought of a home-cooked meal, it does nothing to detract from the stark reality that is Evie’s life.

For the first time since meeting her, I’m made fully aware of the magnitude of her situation. I’m panicked, because as she closes the door behind me, I only have one thought crossing my mind.

How the fuck am I going to get her out of this?