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I gasp, "NO! He wouldn't have left like that without saying goodbye! What did you say to him to make him do so?"
Bain chuckles. "Nothing much at all. I had a heart-to-heart with my son, and he decided it would be best if he left for a while."
"That's FOUR years of his life, Bain! When will he be home again?" I ask, my voice becoming more frantic.
If he's enlisted, I'm too late. I won't see him for months, at least! I'm not sure how long training takes or when they get leave, but even a week without Beau is going to destroy me.Why?Why is this happening to me?
"I'm unsure when he will be home next, but the longer he's gone, the better it will be for both of you. You need the time to face the facts, Ryan. You and Beau are forbidden to be together as long as you are siblings, even if it's only stepsiblings. I've worked too hard to build my company to where it's at. I will not have you and Beau disgracing the company with your forbidden relationship."
I glare at him with all the rage I have inside me. "I. Hate. You."
Bain wipes his mouth with his napkin and stands up. "Come, bunny. It's time to leave." He comes over to my chair and leans down. His hot breath brushes my neck as he says his next words to me. "You will learn to love me, Ryan. They all learn their place eventually."
I stop breathing until he straightens and holds his hand out for my mother. I watch as they walk from the room, hand in hand. My mother doesn't even say goodbye to me, and that hurts more than anything. We worked so hard to build our relationship back up, and now, it's all crumbling down.
Throwing my napkin on top of my plate, I'm no longer hungry. As soon as I leave the dining room, my wrist is grabbed, and I shriek only to see that it's Bain. "I almost forgot…"
He wraps a silver tennis bracelet around my wrist. "What's this? I don't need any gifts from you, Bain. You can't buy me…"
Bain snickers. "I don't need to buy you, Ryan. You are already mine; I own you. No, this bracelet has a tracker in it. If you leave the property, you will be hunted down and punished, even while we are gone. Don't think you can take it off, either. There is only one way to take it off, and I have it. Be a good girl, and it can be removed."
He leans in and presses his lips to my head like a loving father would, but there is nothing loving about it. It's all about power and ownership for Bain. Because he's married to my mother, he assumes I now belong to him, too. I belong to one person only. I think of Beau, but then my hope depletes a little as I think about how he just walked away…I may belong to him, but does he still belong to me?
The week has gone by so slowly. I stay at the Manor, not wanting to take the chance that Bain would make good on his word. Within the first few days, I have memorized the layout, and now, I'm just bored. I run the trails twice a day, because the loneliness is getting to me, and with the loneliness comes the darkness and the despair.
Without Beau, my demons are beginning to rise once more, and I can do nothing about it. I've talked to my mother once since they left, but now it goes straight to voicemail. I'm sure that it's Bain's doing. What is it that he wants? I get the whole stepsibling thing, even though I disagree with it, but it seems like there is more to it.
I'm roaming the halls when I pass his home office. Looking around, I slip inside and wander over to his desk. The massive wooden structure dominates the room just like its owner does, and I second guess what I'm about to try and do. I shake it off, though. Moving forward, I sit in the padded chair behind the desk and stare at the dark computer screen.
Bain said I could use whatever I needed, and since I no longer have my phone, I will get online. Booting up the computer takes no time at all, and surprisingly, there is no password to get into it. Either he trusts enough that nobody will snoop, or he's cocky to think nobody woulddare snoop. It sucks for him that I'm not a nobody.
Scrolling through his work and opening file after file, I'm coming up with absolutely nothing. That is until I come to a file in the family album that just doesn't look right. Amongst the pictures of a young Beau and a beautiful woman with the same piercing green eyes as my Beau—I can only assume it's his mother—there is a file that says'past times'…I click on it.
Photos of some pretty scary men pop up, but it looks like they don't know their picture is being taken. Picture after picture, it's all the same men…three, to be precise. Bain was cautious not to leave names, but there is a slip-up on one of the files where it says D' Angelo. I write the name down so I can look it up afterward.
I'm about to close the folder when I notice a video file. I click on it. Beau's handsome face appears, but it's angry. He's here in this office, it looks like. Do I dare open it? Will Bain know if I do? Somehow, I feel like Bain really wouldn't care if I saw this or not. After all, he said I could use whatever I needed. Biting my lower lip as I stare at the image of Beau on the screen, I make the decision and open it.
Twenty-One
Tingles shoot through me as soon as I hear Beau's voice. I wish I had my phone, so I could play back the voicemails he has left me in the past, just to soothe my aching heart. Even though Beau's voice is full of anger, I still hold tight to it, but then the words start sinking in.
"I'm not leaving her, Dad… I love her! I have loved her for so long…please just accept us!" Beau begs.
"I will not have the company's reputation go down the drain because my son, and partner, will not stop fucking his sister!" Bain yells.
"Ryan is not my sister, Dad! Get it through your head…fuck!"
"Watch your language when talking to me…" Bain warns.
"Fuck you! If you don't respect me or my feelings, don't expect me to respect you! Where is she, Dad? Where is Ryan? If you have hurt her…"
"You'll what? What will you do, Beau?" Bain snarls, "I can do whatever the fuck I want with her, because I own her now!"
"What the fuck is your deal? Just because you married Lacey doesn't mean you own her daughter! You sound like a sick pervert!” Beau barks.
The sinister grin on Bain's face as I continue to watch this encounter, which must be after I was taken, is giving me chills. I can't believe the audacity of Bain, but what's worse are the words he says to his son next.
"I'm sure I can make a pretty penny on the black market for our pretty girl. What I've seen of Ryan, the monsters who buy women would love to get their hands on her tight little body." Bain's grin is evil as he watches the horror grow on Beau's face.
