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I swallow around the lump in my throat, the fear that it’s too late, that he’s lying to me and has already killed Jordan. “Yes. As long as you can prove to me that Jordan is alive, and you promise not to hurt him.”
“The boy was shocked I tell you, shocked when I told him you lied about the wedding in Vegas when he was what I can only assume was blacked out drunk.”
Of course, Eli found out about my lie and told Jordan the truth. It’s just one more way to torment him.
“Jordan is innocent in this. It’s not like he kidnapped me and brought me here from Vegas. I left with him. It wasmydecision.”
“You’ve made some stupid decisions. I honestly don’t know how you stayed hidden for this long.”
“Is he alive?” I ask.
“For now.”
Oh, thank god.
Eli wouldn’t kill him right away. No, he would take a sick pleasure in drawing out Jordan’s pain for days before taking his life. I just have to figure out how to stop him.
“How did you find me?” I ask.
“I’ve been looking into all the private flights out of Vegas within twenty-four hours of when you went missing. I knew you would want to get as far away from Daddy as possible, so I narrowed it down to cities on the East Coast. I crossed out the most populated ones. You’re not that stupid. You wouldn’t want to be in a city with cameras on every street, but the small-town angle seemed illogical too at first. Everyone would know you.” He takes a step closer to me, still eyeing me as if he’s trying to see through my thin tee. “But then I followed up with some local private investigators. One was a little too quick to assure me you hadn’t been seen or heard from around here. Turns out, thanks to your fake husband tipping him off, he was going to send evidence that you were alive to your father for his reward, then sell you for millions more to a stranger up north—one who was excited about getting his filthy hands on the beautiful daughter of a notorious mob boss. Shultz had photos of you all around Rockland—sunning on the beach, drinking at the bar, and he even knew where you lived.”
Shit. “That’s who has been watching me?”
“Felt that did you?”
I nod, unable to wrap my head around the fact that I was so close to being kidnapped by what sounds like even worse monsters than Eli.
“Did you feel my eyes on you too?” he asks.
“I did, as soon as I found the dead man’s body in Greer’s, I knew it was you,” I tell him, just as he had hoped. “What do you want, Eli?”
“What do I want?”
Steeling myself, trying to sound more courageous than I feel, I tell him, “I know you could drag me back to Vegas whether I want to go or not, but you’ve apparently been here for days and haven’t snatched me up and ran yet. So, what are you waiting for? What do you want?”
His shoulders shrug under his crisp black suit jacket. “Maybe I’m tired of being Dante’s bitch. Maybe I don’t want to follow his orders any longer.”
“Then don’t follow his orders. Leave! Go anywhere you want, just don’t ruin this for me. Don’t hurt Jordan.”
Eli strolls toward me, hands casually buried in his pants pockets, but his gaze is smoldering so hot I know I’m about to get burned.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Maddie,” he says quietly. “This is my game now. You have to play by my rules.”
“W-what are your rules?” I stammer, blowing my brave act.
Striding up to me until he’s standing so close I have to tip my head back to look at his face, he pinches my chin between his finger and thumb, and presses down hard enough to bruise. “My first rule is that you do whatever I want, whenever I want it. And if you refuse me, I’ll kill your fake husband slowly, painfully.”
“Let me guess—what you want is to have sex with me again?”
“We didn’t have sex. I ripped through your virginity. Twice.” I can’t help but wince at the reminder of the stinging pain both times. “This time I’m going to fuck you multiple times, in various, creative positions.”
“And if I refuse, you’ll kill Jordan?” I ask jerking my chin from his grasp.
“Yes.”
“Where is Jordan?”
“He’s tucked away, hanging out with a mutual friend, waiting for me to return to him.”
