“The week after she died, I received a package from her. Anna.” Another long pause. “It contained a letter and a USB stick.” He turned to face me. “She had been raped. Some guy had slipped something into her drink one night, and then he had taken her back to his place. He held her there for three days, where he repeatedly raped her.”

My heart plummeted. I wanted to race over there and hold him. I hated to see him hurting so badly. But I forced myself to remain cold. This does not excuse what he did.

“So, you thought you’d see what the fuss was all about? See what it felt like? That’s sick, Mace. You need help.”

He glared at me. “You think I . . . How could you think I’d do that? Don’t you know me at all?”

“How the hell would I know, Mace?” I yelled, blinking back tears. All I knew was what I’d seen. For years, I’d forced myself to focus only on the facts. That was what my whole career was built around: leaving emotion out of the equation. Now, my heart was asking me to abandon everything I’d ever believed in.

“Fuck!” he growled. He stormed toward me. “Fuck this, Leets. You know me. How can you even think I’d do something like that?”

His face was so close to mine I could feel the heat radiating off him. Without warning, his hands cupped my face as his lips crushed against mine. I melted into his kiss, my body aching for more. No. I couldn’t just forget . . .

“Stop!” I pushed him away. “You don’t get to do that, Mace. It’s not fucking fair.”

“What do you want from me, Leets?” He shook his head in frustration.

“Just leave me alone,” I muttered, burying my face in my hands.

“Fine.” He grabbed hold of my wrist and led me over to the kitchen counter. Pushing me down in a chair, he pulled out a set of handcuffs and locked one cuff around my wrist, and the other around the solid wooden bar that ran along the length of the bench. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ball gag, shoving it in my mouth and tying it up.

I sighed, defeated. I didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore.

Chapter Fourteen

Mace

What the fuck am I going to do now?

I drove up into the parking lot of the motel outside our room. I know what you're thinking: kidnapping someone and taking them to a motel? That was the beauty of being a Jordan—you always know someone who can help out. Besides, I honestly thought that once she'd calmed down, she would listen to me. It was taking a lot longer than I'd expected.

I glanced around the empty parking lot of the motel. In the middle of nowhere and well off the main road, it didn’t look like they got much business—which was great, when you were in the business of kidnapping your girlfriend.

The office was situated at the front of the block, and I’d requested a room as far away from the road as possible, which also meant far away from the office. I mean, just because you know people aren’t going to ask questions doesn’t mean you don’t stay on your guard.

Walking into our room, I shut the door behind me. Leeta jumped and glanced up. Her eyes narrowed as she shot me a look cold enough to freeze the sun. I edged closer to her and gently took the gag out of her mouth, sighing as her pretty little lips fell into a scowl. She shook her dark hair, sending it flying wildly around her face.

 “About fucking time,” she grumbled. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me.

Shit. Waiting for her to cool down wasn't going to work. If it were possible, I’d say she was even angrier than she was before.

I couldn't keep her tied up here much longer, but if I let her go, then it was over for me. I needed to make her understand. She could hate me as much as she wanted, but I had to make her understand why I was doing this.

“Are you ready to listen to me?”

I grabbed an old wooden chair that sat out of place near the couch and dragged it across the floor until it was in front of her. Sitting down, I hung my over the backrest. She glared at me.

I guess not. The pure hatred in her eyes stabbed right into my soul. My heart pounded. I so badly wanted to kiss her, and show her how much she meant to me. She was the only girl I'd ever fucking loved. She had to know that.

If I lost her . . . No, I couldn't even think about that night now.

“Are you ready to untie me?” she asked, ignoring my question. “I'm not a dog, Mace, so I don't deserve to be treated like one. I can't believe you fucking gagged me. I mean, what the hell?" Her voice rose as she struggled in her chair, her cheeks flushed red with anger.

"You're surprised I gagged you?" I couldn't help it—I laughed. "You were fucking screaming your ass off. Of course I was going to gag you.”

I reached forward and loosened the ties on her wrists. She freed them, and violently began loosening the ropes around her. She stood up and stalked around the room. Her fingers roamed her long, dark hair and her expression gave away nothing as to what she was feeling—except for how pissed she was. That she’d made very clear.

“Leet, please. Please listen to me.” I swallowed hard. My mouth was so dry it felt like it was made of sandpaper.

“Then talk. If you want me to listen to you, then fucking talk,” she yelled. “Tell me something worth hearing, or I swear to God, the second you give me the chance, I’m gone.” Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I was this close to losing her forever.

“For fuck’s sake.” I stood up and grabbed her roughly by the arm, dragging her back over to the couch. “You’re going to sit the fuck down and listen to me.” I was done being nice. Time was running out, and I needed to step things up a notch.

“Firstly, I'm sorry I kidnapped you. I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do. If you want to leave after what I tell you, then fine, but you are going to fucking listen to me.” I sat back and waited for her to respond.

She eyed me suspiciously, like she didn't quite believe that I would just let her leave like that. Honestly, I had no idea if I would. I hoped it wouldn't come to that. I hoped that once she heard me out, she would calm the fuck down.

I breathed out heavily. “I told you about Anna, and what happened to her.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Talking about Anna resurfaced all those feelings of guilt I’d managed to push down. “Before she died, she did some digging, and she found out some things. She wasn't just raped, Leets. She was hunted down and sold to the highest bidder."

"What . . . what are you talking about?" Leeta shook her head, confused.

“Just after she started university, she began hanging out with a group of girls that would spend every night out drinking and picking up guys. In high school, she was quiet. This was the complete opposite.” I took a deep breath, trying to force my thoughts to stay on track.

“I shrugged it off as her just having some fun, you know? She was my little sister, and I looked out for her, but she was nineteen and in her first year at university.”

“Mace,” Leeta said softly, “You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“She started to change. She was getting into drugs, different guys rocking up for her every night. I didn’t think . . . It never occurred to me that there might have been a reason for her change in behaviour.”

“How could you have known, Mace? She was a teenage girl. They’re impossible to understand at the best of times. Trust me. I’ve been there.”

“I should’ve done something, Leets,” I said, frustrated. “I should’ve intervened. If she had been focusing on her studies instead of getting wasted every night in the first place, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

“She was a kid being a kid. You can’t blame yourself, but you can’t blame her, either,” Leeta said.