Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty-nine
ARA
Madison's intentions made sense now. She could have easily texted the details of the bargain to me. But she'd wanted this to happen exactly like it had.
I couldn't tell Thayne about what had happened, she knew that. She also knew he would think I'd run away, which would make it difficult to penetrate his heart like she'd asked me to do.
Thayne would never believe or trust me ever again after this. How could I defend going missing on my wedding day?
The starless night sky mocked me as I limped on and on, the sharp flare of pain in my hip slowing me down.
I wanted to collapse on the way and let it all go. I was exhausted of being passed from hand to hand, of the never ending cycle of walking on eggshells, of never fully being in control.
I was breathless by the time I reached GateCity Bank. Any other person would probably wait until daybreak before leaving that old gallery house, but between walking around the city like a zombie in the dark and staying in an abandoned building claimed by criminals, I chose the lesser of the two evils.
Perhaps I could have just waited until daybreak, but I doubted anyone would try to attack me. I didn't need to look in the mirror to know my hair was a bird nest.
I looked like shit, that alone would keep anyone away.
I would find a way to explain myself to Thayne without revealing the dangerous bargain I'd just made with Madison. My sisters’ life were at stake.
Madison thought I was a naive, unsuspecting slumgirl. She was absolutely mistaken. The real game players hardly ever sat at the table, I would teach her that.
The prickling sensation that I was being followed caused me to pause in my tracks. It was hard to see, and I was relying on the sliver of moonlight that kept appearing and disappearing due to clouds drifting over the face of the moon.
Perhaps there was no one following me and my fears were just playing tricks on me. I blinked, forcing my eyes to keep themselves open as I crossed the road.
There were no vehicles in sight, so I could cross the road at my own pace. I was halfway over when bright headlights suddenly pierced through the darkness, blinding me.
I couldn't tell if it was a truck, a car or even a damn motorcycle. The only thing that mattered was that I couldn't see a fucking thing and my heart had leapt up from my chest and was now in my mouth.
I couldn't move, my eyes wouldn't open and my legs remained rooted to the spot, right in the middle of the road.
It was all going to end like this. Everything I'd gone through for nothing. I was just a slumgirl after all. I was never meant to survive the twists and turns of the Slade world.
Tires screeched loudly, and smoke permeated the air. My ears were ringing, and I couldn't feel anything other than the heat coming from the vehicle.
It had gotten really close to me, as if the driver didn't remember he could actually step on the brakes until the last minute.
Was I still alive? I didn't want to trick myself into believing that just yet, so I remained frozen to the spot, my whole body numb from head to toe.
Too exhausted to carry my own weight upright for too long, I peeled my eyes open and finally moved. Then paused, unable to believe the sight in front of me.
Thayne stood in front of me, Munroe and Pedro flanking him. How had he been able to find me? He'd been searching for me?
“You ran." The disappointment in his voice was unmistakable.
I said nothing, knowing fully I had nothing to defend myself with. It was either that or tell him I'd met with Madison.
“I trusted you, and you ran. Is your sense of self-preservation so poor that you couldn't have at least thought to keep yourself safe? Are you trying to kill the both of us by wandering the city like a mindless zombie?!” He sounded enraged, but not by the fact that he thought I had run away.
He was mad because I was wandering the city alone in the middle of the night.
I couldn't speak, I could only stand there like a frozen fish stick. It was only when he stepped forward to close the remaining space between us that I realized my body was trembling from the midnight chill.
My teeth were chattering, and my nose felt like it would fall off if I breathed too hard.
He removed his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, then turned and began walking back to the car.
“Carry her." He said as he walked past Pedro.
Pedro obeyed, but the hard look on his face told me I was back to square one. I would spend forever trying to win back their trust.
I didn't protest as he carried me to the vehicle and into the backseat. It was a black Ford, and it smelled so much like Thayne.
Thayne kept his distance, and when I tried to talk he turned his face away.
At least he didn't know the real story. If he did, he would probably call the arrangement off.
I dozed off a minute later, tears running down my cheeks, too exhausted to bother with wiping them.
When I woke up, I wasn't in the backseat, I was in the penthouse.
With ropes binding my wrists to the bedstead.
What the fuck? I managed to push myself up and winced slightly when my hip protested.
“You're going to remain bound to the bed until you explain why you suddenly disappeared. And don't tell me you wanted to visit the twins. They're missing." His icy tone froze the warmth in my blood, and I was nearly burnt to a crisp by the fiery gaze he was shooting my way.
He knew my sisters were missing, but did he know Madison had them?
“Before you think about lying or telling me it's just a coincidence, explain in details how your sisters went missing on the same day you sneaked out. Who did you go to meet?” There was nothing civil about his voice or his expression. His green eyes were narrowed, his mouth stretched into a thin, firm line.
When I didn't answer, he moved away from the wall and began approaching the bed. My heart plummeted to my stomach, wondering what his next move was.
“Do you know how worried I was when I returned and Claudia told me you were gone? I never even worried this much when Darius took my mother, and that's saying something, because before you came along, my mother was my whole world." His gaze hardened, burning me from the inside out.
“I fired Claudia, for not keeping a stern eye on you. I imagined the worst, thinking my father had played another dirty card. I fired all the security on duty, I checked all the footages from the CCTVs, nothing.
“I'm taking back the phone. Everything I gave you before you decided to run away, I'm taking it back. You're going to remain bound to this bed until you explain yourself.”
Shit. I'd just moved from zero to zero point zero.