My eyes roamed around the space, finding everything was exactly my style. And it made me feel worse. So much fucking worse because I didn’t like it all. I hated it. Everything about this situation was horrifying.
“It’s nice… but where is home exactly?”
“Look out the window.”
I didn’t know if I was allowed to get up from the table, but when I looked back at him, the man was smiling at me. He waved towards the patio doors to our right. Slowly, I rose from the chair and walked over to it. My eyes darted around the landscape, finding we were set off a little way back from the edge of a cliff. And beyond that? It was the sea. A very rough sea. The waves were high with whitecaps, and the water looked grey. Rain battered against the glass as a storm raged outside, but I couldn’t see anything else near us.
We were on the coast somewhere. And we were isolated.
Fuck. Oh… oh fuck!
“Mason, where are we?”
This time, I couldn’t keep the rising alarm out of my voice.
“The northwest coast of Scotland.”
My stomach was on the floor in a matter of seconds. Mason had basically taken me as far away from my boys as we could get without leaving the country.
“And this place is yours?”
“Ours, and yes, I bought it five years ago. I finished redecorating it earlier this year, so it was ready for you.”
I turned around and met his eyes.
“Ready for me?”
Then I remembered what Stuart had told me. How he intended to hand me off to Mason like I was a prize for his loyalty. A fucking trophy.
“Yes, this is our home, Scar.”
He said it like it was something I should have known already. And it was the creepiest fucking thing I’d ever heard come out of his mouth. This man had bought this place with the sole intention of bringing me here and keeping me under lock and key. Of that, I was certain.
“Mason, this is…” It’s creepy. It’s so fucking creepy. “Really lovely of you. Thank you.”
His smile made me want to throw up.
“I’m so happy you like it. Now, sit back down.”
I did as he said on automatic. If I did anything sudden right now, I didn’t think it would end well for me. My mind was rioting, rebelling against everything I was seeing and hearing. This wasn’t Stuart’s doing at all. Mason had taken me for his own reasons.
He’s obsessed with you.
I realised it was probably hypocritical of me to be alarmed by Mason’s obsessiveness when West was obsessed with me too. However, I’d grown up with West. I knew him inside out. He wasn’t a threat to me. He’d killed for me, and he would do it again. In fact, I was relatively sure this would be the final straw when it came to Mason, regardless of the fact his father was the Met Police Commissioner.
Besides, I was in love with West. Even after he told me about his diagnosis, it didn’t change my feelings. He might be a little psychotic, but I could see how the past had shaped him. How guilt had eaten him up inside. To me, he wasn’t crazy or lacking remorse or empathy. He had those two things in spades… for me. No one outside of me and the boys knew the truth of the night I’d fallen. They didn’t understand him. I did.
Fuck, I miss you. My heart burns for you. All of you.
Mason brought over a cup of tea for me, along with French toast with apples and cinnamon. I didn’t want him to think I was ungrateful, so I thanked him. It was one of my favourites, and I couldn’t fault him for it. He sat down across from me and watched me eat. It tasted like ash in my mouth. Only because this whole situation had me on edge.
“Good?” he asked me after I’d finished, having forced the food down. I needed to keep my strength up.
“Yes, thank you.”
He gave me a smile, getting up and collecting my dishes. I watched him walk into the kitchen.
“Um… is it okay if I have a shower?”
Mason was turning the taps on for the sink.
“Of course, it’s the room across from our bedroom. And there are clothes for you in the wardrobe.”
“Thank you.”
I got up, giving him a nod. Then I walked out of the room, trying not to break down on the spot. My feet carried me to the bedroom. I pulled open the wardrobe doors. The sight I was met with made my body tremble. He’d bought me so many clothes, I could barely count them. Not wishing to think too hard about it, I pulled out some jeans, a t-shirt and a jumper, along with underwear. I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door. There were towels on the rack and all the toiletries I could need.
Dumping the clothes on the floor, I stripped out of my dress and got in the shower. I turned it on, not caring that the water was cold at first. When it warmed up, I stood under the spray and allowed myself to feel the fear seeping into my veins. Tears mixed with the water as I washed, wishing I could rid myself of the horrors awaiting me outside the door of the bathroom.
Mason had planned this for years. He’d watched me, bided his time and waited until he could take me away from my life. So he could hold me captive, just like Stuart had done. Only I had the distinct feeling he wanted to play house with me. It meant he would expect me to be his… girlfriend? Wife? Neither of those things sat well with me. The implications had me clenching my fists at my sides.
I will not break. I will not fall apart over this. I will be strong.
West called me his little warrior. I was going to be exactly that. A warrior. All I had to do was bide my time and play nice. Then I could question him about what the fuck he thought he was doing. And I would find a way to get myself out of this situation. I wasn’t going to wait for them to find me, but they would come for me. They would fight tooth and nail to get to me.
I was going to rescue myself too. I wasn’t a fucking damsel in distress. I was a queen. And it was time to put on my crown.
I finished washing, dried myself and got dressed. Instead of drying it, I braided my wet hair and left the bathroom. I walked back into the living space and found Mason watching TV again. Going over to him, I sat down and curled my legs up underneath me. He gave me a smile as if to show he was pleased with me.
Time to begin with a charade. You will think I’m compliant. And I will make you let your guard down. When you least expect it, I will burn you to the ground, Mason. Just fucking watch yourself.
Four
Scarlett
I was climbing the walls after only two days of being here with a man I could no longer stand. Everything about this wore on me. When I’d been kept prisoner by Stuart, it had been all I’d known. There was nothing I had to compare it to. Now, I knew what freedom was like. Being denied it again had left me with very little patience.
Whilst I knew the boys would come for me, I didn’t know when. It made my situation precarious. I didn’t know how long Mason would tolerate not sharing the bed with me. For now, he was content to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room. No doubt it wouldn’t last long, and he’d want to share the bed with me. It meant he would try to do things to me. Things I didn’t want from him under any circumstances.