Break Free (Pacific Prep #4)
R.A. Smyth
Prologue
Fifteen Years Ago
The party is in full swing when we arrive, exactly as planned. It took a while for everything to come together, but by the end of tonight, the Davenport name will be synonymous with grief and heartache.
“Ow, you’re hurting me,” the woman beside me hisses as she tries to tug her arm free from where it’s linked with mine. I relax my shoulders enough so I’m not squeezing her arm, and scope out the room. Now that I’ve come this far, I just want it over with, but I have to play my part if I want tonight to go off without a hitch.
“Let’s get a drink and mingle,” I mutter, grabbing a couple of champagne glasses from a passing waiter. Handing one to my date for the evening, we make our way through the crowd, stopping every now and then to chit-chat with incessant suck-ups.
Just when I’m about ready to blow my brains out, Wilbert Warren shuffles his way through the crowd, the fat fuck already rosy cheeked from too much alcohol.
“Lawrence, lovely party, isn’t it?”
“It is.” I return his too wide grin with a tight smile and zero enthusiasm.
His glassy eyes move to the woman I brought with me this evening, carefully selected so she will blend in and get the job done.
“Who’s your ravishing date?”
“Elise,” she greets politely, introducing herself. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” He reaches out to take her hand, kissing the back of it, and I have to bite my tongue to hold back my sarcastic comment. The idiot thinks he’s so smooth, flirting with anything that’s attached to a pair of tits, but it’s beyond me how he managed to knock up not one, but two women. Money obviously speaks louder than good looks.
Elise emits a girly giggle that I know is all for show, but Wilbert eats it up like it’s chocolate frosting, and the two of them flirt back and forth until Barton steps up to the front of the room, Maria dutifully at his side. Tapping the rim of his champagne flute, he speaks up, gaining everyone's attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have you here this evening to celebrate with us. I still can’t believe it has been five years since this wonderful woman agreed to marry me.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the ladies room.” Elise smiles softly, flitting her gaze my way before taking off through the crowd, just like we planned.
The second she’s out of sight, Wilbert digs his elbow into my side to gain my attention, waggling his eyebrows like a pussy-deprived teenager. Sighing, I ignore him and pretend to focus back on Barton’s pathetic speech. In reality, I’m with Elise, picturing her sneaking upstairs. All of our houses are built exactly the same, so it wasn’t difficult to give her directions to the nursery.
With everyone focused on Barton and distracted by the party, she should be able to sneak in unnoticed and take the girl, and we’ll all be long gone by the time anyone realizes she’s missing.
Elise returns by the end of Barton’s boring speech, and I catch her eye. Knowing my unasked question, she gives a small, barely perceptible nod of her head, silently letting me know the job is done. She got the girl and has handed her off to one of my men, masquerading as our driver for the evening.
We mingle for a while longer, and I make a point of congratulating Barton and Maria, even though the words taste like poison on my tongue. The only reason I get through it with a straight face is knowing everything will change after tonight. While they are down here, showing off for their guests, their daughter will be on her way to the compound where she will never see the light of day again.
As the night wears on, Elise and I get more explicit with our PDA, making it more than obvious that when we duck out early and I can’t be reached, it’s because I’m too busy fucking her brains out. As anticipation thrums through my veins, that’s exactly how I plan to fucking celebrate.
When we do finally stumble out into the cool evening air, we hurry to the limousine I hired. The driver tilts his head when he opens the door, and as I slide into the back seat, my eyes fall on the sleeping toddler lying across the leather seats.
Elise slips in beside me, and the driver closes the door, moving to the front of the car and starting the engine.
“What are you going to do with her?”
I don’t know if she’s second guessing her decision, just curious, or simply trying to make conversation, but I don’t care. She had no qualms accepting my money in exchange for her role in tonight’s plan, so even if she is rethinking her decision, it’s too fucking late.
“That’s none of your concern.”
She shrugs it off, and we lapse into silence again until we pull up at the hotel I booked us into for the evening. The driver pulls open the door and helps Elise out. Sliding out behind her, I pause as I redo the button on my jacket, and say in a low voice so it doesn’t travel, “Take her to the compound and come back in the morning.”
“Will do, boss.”
I stand and watch as the car leaves the parking lot, and only when the red lights have faded into the distance do I turn around, a victorious grin on my face. For the first time all night, I take in the slutty dress on Elise, noticing the way her nipples are visible through the thin fabric, and her long, toned calves in the heels she’s wearing. My dick hardens. Oh yeah, I’m more than fucking ready to celebrate.
By morning, I’m sated and happier than I have been in a very long time. My phone has been going off for the last hour, but it’s still early so I don’t answer it—after all, I’m meant to be in a sex-hazed cocoon.
The same limousine as last night pulls up at the steps, and the driver gets out as I open the door for Elise.
“My driver will take you wherever you want to go,” I tell her. “I never want to see you again.”
She doesn’t say anything, all business as she gives a sharp nod of her head and climbs into the back seat. I close the door behind her and turn to the driver.
“Any issues last night?”
“None. I have someone looking after her for now. When she’s old enough, she can join the other recruits.”
I nod in agreement, not giving a damn what the guards at the compound choose to do with the girl now. I don’t give a shit about some useless child. I’ve achieved what I wanted, and now I get to revel in the fallout.
He moves to step away, and I stop him, gesturing with my head toward where Elise is hidden behind the blacked-out window. “Bowen, deal with this problem too.”
I can’t have any witnesses, or risk her gaining a conscience and coming back one day. She needs to be dealt with, permanently.
Bowen grins maliciously. “Already done, boss.”