Big Bad Wolf by Diana A. Hicks
Are You Lost?
Luce
Beverly, South Chicago
“Tomorrow night?” I bit my lip the second I heard the whiny tone of my voice.
I had made this choice for myself. No one pushed me into doing something I didn’t want. Technically, I didn’t want to marry Liam Walsh, but I hated the alternative even more. Our crew in Chicago needed help. Since the attack from two weeks ago, they had come back several times, killed two more of our men. We were weaker than before. Something needed to be done sooner rather than later.
“Yes. He’s sending his private jet.” Dad met my gaze for a split second before he turned his attention back to his phone, as if all the answers to our problems were written on the small screen. I supposed they were. In the form of my trip details to travel to New York to meet my future husband. “The contract.” He released a breath. “You can read the contract he sent once you get there.”
“Why not now?”
“I think it’s best if you focus your attention on getting your things together.”
“Would you be there for the wedding?”
“Of course.” He reached for my hand. “I need to stay for a few days and make sure Liam makes good on his end of the bargain.”
My breath hitched, and Dad’s cheeks turned red. I was the bargain. “I chose this.”
“Not much of a choice.”
“A choice nonetheless.” I plastered a smile on my face to make him feel better. “I’ll go start packing.”
He squeezed my fingers, fixing his gaze on them. When he opened his mouth, my chest filled with hope. I have no idea why. If he hadn’t come up with a different solution in the last two weeks, I had no reason to think anything would change in the eleventh hour. Still, it would’ve been nice to hear him say, “Thank you,” or “I’m sorry.”
“Go on.” He released me.
I strolled into my room, feeling numb and disconnected from reality. Though I knew with certainty that the entire situation with Liam, the help he was sending and my marriage to him, was one hundred percent real and one hundred percent happening. I leaned my shoulder on the threshold—outside looking in at all the things from my childhood that still lingered in my suite after all these years. The huge teddy bear Dad bought me one Christmas, the pink and lavender bedding with dancing ballerinas that I couldn’t let go of because it was the last thing Mom bought me, and all the pictures hanging on the walls. None of it could come on this trip with me.
Tears blurred my vision as I stomped to my closet and started pulling out tops and dresses and tossing them behind me. When I ran out of clothes to grab, I moved to the chest of drawers and emptied each one out on the floor and the bed. Anger mixed with trepidation gnawed at my insides and I didn’t know how to make it go away. I wanted to scream and cry, but I knew that would change exactly nothing.
By the time Kay walked in, my room was strewn with everything I owned.
“That’s it, Luce. Let it all out.” She wiped my cheek.
“I chose this,” I mumbled. Those three words had become my mantra. Maybe if I kept saying it aloud, they’d become the honest truth.
“I know.”
“What are you doing here?” I furrowed my brows at the two suitcases by the door.
“I’m coming with you.”
“You can’t.”
“I’m twenty-five years old, Luce. I don’t need permission to go places.” She rolled her luggage to the corner and turned to face me, hands on her hips, daring me to send her away. “Your dad and brother are bailing on you. I’m all you’ve got.”
Since we were little, Kay had always had my back. I was happy she hadn’t decided to stop now when I needed her the most. “We can tell him you’re my bodyguard or something.”
“That’s exactly what I thought.” She beamed at me, picking up a bra off the floor. “Tell me you’re not taking this raggedy old thing with you.”
“It’s comfy, okay?” I snatched it from her. A genuine laugh escaped my lips, and suddenly I wasn’t so alone.
“And this?” She picked up a set of pajamas with llamas all over it. “Real sexy stuff you got here.” She chuckled, shaking her head.
“I thought you were here to help.” I picked up a pair of shorts that, now that I thought about it, were not that flattering on me. “I don’t think it will matter what I wear. The ‘butcher’ doesn’t sound like someone who likes to go out.”
“You’ll be alright, Luce.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
“Does it hurt?” No idea where that came from.
“Ah, you’re thinking about that.” She clicked her teeth. “Well, it depends on how much you want it.”
“That makes no sense. Want what?”
“You know. His cock.”
My ears burned and I was sure my cheeks were red. For years, I’d sat in this room and listened to Kay talk about her sex life. Kay knew I was a virgin, and she knew why. So, we mostly stayed away from talking about me. But now that I was on my way to get married, I was curious.
“Forget it. I’m not ready to talk about it.” I waved my hand in dismissal. “Let’s start packing.”
The next day, Dad and Ronan had Red Wolves’ business to attend to, so they weren’t at the house when a limo came to pick us up. Not seeing them made it easier to get in the car. Though, at the last second, I did look back. I caught my trembling lip between my teeth as we pulled away from the driveway and the place that I had called home since I could remember.
We spent the next several hours in a whirlwind of traffic, getting checked in at the small airport and boarding Liam’s private plane. To his credit, he had sent a nice aircraft. I hoped that the limo and all the attention to detail on the trip meant that he wasn’t the ruthless monster I thought he was. Who knew—if Mom and Dad made their marriage work, maybe I could too?
“What’s the hold up now?” Kay leaned over my seat to look out the plane window. “We landed hours ago. It’s creeping me out. We’re just sitting on the tarmac, and it’s dark as fuck.”
Lightning ripped across the sky and illuminated the shiny runway. Seconds later, a thunderclap shook my seat, rumbling in my chest. The rain hit us harder than before with a constant rhythm that soothed my senses a bit.
“It’s only been half an hour. I’m sure we’re next.” I leaned forward to get a better view.
According to the pilot, we had landed in an airport outside of New York City. His tone implied this was where all the very important people in the city hangared out their private jets.
“How much longer?” Kay stopped Megan, our flight attendant.
“They’re expecting a bigwig to fly in, some real estate mogul.” Megan sat on the seat facing us. Kay had spent the last three hours flirting with her. We were all quite chummy by now. “You might get to see him. He’ll pull in right over there.” She pointed at the hanger that was brightly lit.
I sat back, quickly losing interest in the bigwig who had us waiting just so he wouldn’t have to wait when he arrived.
“Well, hello.” Kay switched seats to get closer to the window.
I glanced up just in time to catch a glimpse of him. He stepped down slowly as he buttoned his dark suit jacket. The man had two planes waiting, but he still took his time deplaning, one slow step after another. His tall frame towered over the three guys surrounding him. No doubt they were his bodyguards.
For some reason, I thought about what he would be like in bed. I jerked a little in my seat and turned to face Kay. But she was busy still ogling the stranger. I needed to stop thinking about sex. I didn’t want to be a complete wreck on my wedding night.
“We’re moving.” Megan stood. “We’ll have you out of here in a few minutes.”
Our plane pulled into the hangar shortly after, as Megan promised. My heart beat fast as I went down the steps. It occurred to me that I probably didn’t look as cool and collected as the real estate mogul did. Rain sprayed my face lightly, even though we were under the safety of the hangar. I rushed toward the door out of habit. In truth, I didn’t mind the rain.
A man by the door gestured for me to enter the building. “You may wait inside while we unload your luggage. We won’t be long. Your car is already here.”
“Thank you.” I adjusted my purse on my shoulder, looking for Kay.
She had stayed behind to chat with Megan a little more. Another roll of thunder made me do as the man suggested. I hurried inside, reading the signs as I went. For a small airport, there was a lot going on, with staff rushing back and forth. When I spotted the bathroom, I made a beeline for it. But two steps in, I ran into a wall—a very wide and muscled wall.
“Hello?” The real estate mogul offered me a wolfy grin as his gaze shifted from my face down to where my hand gripped the lapel of his suit. “You seem lost.”
His voice was pure sinful honey, deep with a low baritone. I made to inhale, but the air didn’t reach my lungs. He licked his full lips and his smile fell away. Everything about him screamed power and danger. His pupils widened, extinguishing the hazel in his irises. My body shuddered in response as fear trickled down my spine. Fear of what? It wasn’t like he could hurt me in a crowded airport. But something about this stranger set all my senses on high alert. Suddenly, the lights turned bright, and his woodsy scent engulfed me completely.
Run.
My whole being screamed at me to move, to get out, but I couldn’t. I was in a nightmare where my head could sense the threat, but my limbs couldn’t react. Even now, my nails dug into his suit jacket.
“Well, are you?”
“What?”
“Are you lost?” he asked this time, furrowing his dark brows as if my mere existence was an annoyance, an inconvenience in his otherwise perfect life.
I was the gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
“No. Why would you think that?”
“No reason.” He relaxed his stance, then slowly peeled my fingers from his lapel.
I winced at the sweaty spot my hand left on his crisp white button-down shirt. When he bent down, a shock of energy, raw and feral, ran down my spine and straight to my core. “Ahh.” I blushed because even with the whooshing sound my pulse was making in my ears, I could hear my voice, raspy and needy. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Are you always this jumpy?” With a smirk on his face, he made a big show of collecting my purse off the ground and the wallet and phone that had fallen out of it. “You dropped your purse.” He pressed it to my chest.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, keeping my wide eyes on him. I had this odd sensation that if I looked away, he’d pounce on me.
He glanced up, and his gaze zeroed in on something behind me. With a quick nod, he adjusted his suit coat and sauntered away from me. The second he exited the door that led to the parking lot, the room filled with air, and I could move again—as if some invisible and heavy paw had released me.
“Luce.”
A hand touched my shoulder, and I screamed, turning around so fast I bumped heads with Kay.
“Owww.” Kay rubbed her temple.
“I’m so sorry. That guy just put me on edge.” I stepped closer to her, away from the glass doors even though he was long gone.
“What guy?”
“The billionaire who kept us waiting for almost an hour.”
“Oh, man, I can’t believe I missed it.” She craned her neck toward the exit. “Well, our car is here, and the luggage has been loaded. You ready to go?”
“Yes, I want to be done with this day already.” I motioned for her to lead the way.
As soon as we climbed in the back seat, the driver informed us the ride to Mr. Walsh’s penthouse would take about forty-five minutes. I leaned against the window and settled in for the long drive. Even this close to midnight, traffic was still in full swing near the tunnel and got worse as we entered the city. I was so tired, though, I didn’t stop to consider what awaited me in my new home. Instead, my brain kept going back to the stranger at the airport. His dark, luscious hair that framed his chiseled jaw and straight nose perfectly were seared in my mind’s eye—and his commanding voice. I could still feel its timbre on my skin.
Only a few minutes in, and I already had a pretty consistent movie of him playing in my head. His deep, steely eyes, hazel looking, but mostly gray. But the thing that stuck with me was the recognition I saw there. Did he know me? No, of course he didn’t. I’d never seen him in my life. Either way, he had definitely decided he hated me. Something about me annoyed him. Maybe that was a billionaire thing. All rich and powerful people didn’t like dealing with commoners like me.
Shaking my head, I made myself focus on the buildings sweeping by us. I was in New York City to meet my future husband. That right there should be occupying all my thoughts.
“How much longer?” I met the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“We’re here.” He pointed at the high-rise in front of us.
My heart rate spiked as the SUV went round and round the garage ramps; with every turn, it climbed one more floor, one more floor to where Liam Walsh lived. By the time we stopped in front of the elevator bay, I was nauseous and regretting every one of the decisions that got me here. I chose this. I repeated the mantra a few times, then climbed out as soon as two bodyguards came to meet us. They helped me onto the curb, then pushed Kay back into the vehicle.
“Luce,” Kay called after me.
“She’s with me. She’s my bodyguard.”
“We were not told you were bringing your own security,” the older bodyguard grumbled. “Take it up with the boss. You want the lobby floor.”
“Fine. I will.” I gripped my purse tighter. “Kay, I will talk to Liam.”
She nodded, pursing her lips. For all her efforts, I was going to have to meet Liam alone.
I entered the small elevator car and pushed the L button. The other option was a G, which told me this was Liam’s private entrance. Great. Another rich guy who didn’t like mingling with the rabble. When the doors slid opened, a woman with a stern face and hair redder than mine greeted me with a nod. “Ms. O’Brien, welcome.”
“Thanks.” I rubbed my arms against the cool air blowing the length of the foyer. “I’m Luce. Nice to meet you.” I offered her my hand.
“I’m Mrs. Jones. This way.” She gestured toward the grand staircase.
I stole a glance toward the tall windows, the white walls, and beige sofas that filled the living area. Liam’s home looked like one of those penthouses on real estate magazines—pristine, shiny and very expensive. I looked for family pictures or any personal effects but didn’t see any. Did he even live here?
“Where’s Liam?”
“Mr. Walsh is out of town. He will see you tomorrow morning. For now, he’s asked me to show you to your cage.”
“My what?” I quickened my step to catch up to her, convinced I’d heard wrong.
She opened the first door to the left and ushered me inside. Yeah, Mrs. Jones meant an actual cage.
I’d never had sex before, but I knew a kink room when I saw one. This suite was exactly that—a dungeon—complete with my very own cage. What the actual fuck? I shook my head to try and process what was happening, but I couldn’t make myself react.
What?I wanted to ask, but the words didn’t come out. My brain was fuzzy, numb.
I didn’t object when Mrs. Jones took out a small key from her apron, when she unlocked the door and gently guided me inside. Even as I saw her walk away and leave the room, I just sat there, mouth wide open, and stared at the red door.
Was I supposed to sleep here? I sat up with my legs stretched in front of me. I fit perfectly if I stayed in this exact position. My gaze flitted from my bare feet to the wide circle over my head. The two panels were secured by another padlock. By the size of the opening, I knew my neck would fit there, too. Anger pooled in the pit of my stomach. I gripped both sides of the cage and screamed, rattling it as I finally let out all my fears and rage.
What the hell did I get myself into?
No, that wasn’t the right question. What the fuck did Dad get me into?