Broken, p.31
Broken, page 31
“That was…” No words can live up to what I’m feeling. “The best birthday present ever. I knew you had it in you.” I’m referring to the writing lyrics part there.
“I have a good muse,” he says, as smooth as ever.
“Just good?” I tease.
The pre-recorded music returns, and I find myself locked in a slow dance with Damien. Until Paul goes and ruins the moment by turning the music off, which gains him a rather loud protest from Jess, Amy and Raif. Those three are so far past drunk, I’m surprised they’re still standing upright.
“Pretty sure it’s time for my birthday present,” Paul says. I thought I’d already had my presents from Paul, but hey, I won’t say no to another.
Paul looks to Damien, who nods, leading me to the very edge of the deck at the front of the yacht. Paul moves along with us, instructing me to close my eyes. I’m not overly at ease with that idea, but after a pointed just-do-it stare from Paul, I oblige.
“I’m gonna talk,” he says, “but you better keep those eyes closed until I say otherwise, you hear me?”
I laugh at his authoritarian tone. “Yes, sir.”
“Save the submission for Damien,” he jokes, and I slap a hand to his chest, or at least, I’m hoping it was his chest. I can’t actually see. “Okay.” He takes a deep breath. “Roughly three years ago, I lost my kid sister…” That’s me, I’m assuming. “And not long after, I lost my brother.” That’d be Damien. “Until I got the happiest phone call of my life. My kid sister was back from the dead, and I sat back and watched as my brother came back to life, his only goal to find the woman he loved. Luckily, he got his wish, and even though she just had to make the road so much harder than it needed to be…”
I can hear the quiet laughter coming from the others, and I’m forced to resist the urge to slap him a second time.
“Two of the most important people in my life were reunited,” Paul continues. “So, I decided, should the time come that I got to share their happiness, I wanted to give them something extra special.”
I feel Paul slide something small but cold into my hand, but I’m still awaiting the order to open my eyes, so I merely close my hand around it.
“It was a long shot,” Paul admits. “And most of the credit goes to Ray…” Ray? I turn my head in the direction of Paul’s voice to portray my surprise. “Turns out, he’s a stickler for holding on to things.” Okay, now I’m confused. “I doubt Dani’s given much thought to this, and I know Damien thought it was lost…” What the… “Open your eyes, lass.”
I do as I’m told, and I look down to find a ring sitting in my palm. A beautiful three-diamond band that somehow, I instantly recognise: my engagement ring. The same engagement ring Damien gave to me all those years ago. I can’t believe it. I look to Paul, but he nods his head to… Oh, my God. Damien’s down on one knee in front of me, and I instinctively bring my cast-covered hand to my mouth to cover my gasp. The yacht, the moonlight, the ocean backdrop… Damien’s recreating his first proposal and I’m as stunned, yet unbelievably happy, as I was then.
“It’s been one hell of a road to get here, babe,” Damien says. “But for me, this is just the beginning of the amazing life I want for us, filled with passion, laughter, and more love than I ever thought possible.” The tears are refusing to be fought, but I don’t even care. “I love you more than life itself, and after experiencing how it felt to try and live a life without you, I never want that to happen again. I want to stay by your side for eternity. I want to hold you, make love to you…”
That gains him a whoop, from Raif, I think, and Damien can’t help but laugh. I would laugh, but I’m too busy crying.
“You are my heart, my inspiration, and my strength,” Damien continues. “I promise you, if you want me, I’m all yours, babe, and I will do anything and everything to make you happy for the rest of your life. So…” Damien takes the ring from my hand and holds it at the edge of my finger. “I’m asking you…”
“Again,” I hear someone say.
“Daniella Blake –” he overemphasises my newer surname purely for the fun of it, I think “– will you do me the honour of making me the luckiest and happiest man alive by marrying me?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “Of course it’s a yes!”
Damien’s slides the ring onto my right-hand finger. Wrong one, yes, but the other is a little cast hindered. He stands, and when his lips meet mine, time stands still, the entire world fading away. All I can see is the beautiful man I love.
The cheers erupt, and I’m forced to tear my lips away. Jess is the first to drag me from Damien’s grip, pulling me into a tight hug that swiftly reminds me I’m not entirely healed, not that I complain aloud. When she pulls back, her tears are flowing as freely as my own.
“I’d better be maid of honour,” she says, jabbing a finger at me. “Congratulations, Dani.”
Amy’s next, and again, I’m fighting the urge to groan under her intense grip. Surprisingly, she kisses my cheek before pulling away. “Welcome to the family, sister-in-law.”
Raif follows suit, albeit gentler, for which I’m silently grateful. “That was the most beautiful scene I have ever witnessed,” he gushes, wiping away tears. “If that’s not the fairy-tale ending you both deserve, honey, I don’t know what is.”
Words are eluding me. I’m far too emotional to speak. No one seems to be minding much, and when Paul wraps his arms around me, I’m back to sobbing. He merely laughs, letting me cry into his chest for a minute before pulling away.
“What you just did…” I manage to say.
“Like I say,” he insists. “Thank Ray.”
“Oh, I will.” I nod. “But to even think about trying to track down my old engagement ring…” I think I’m beyond stunned. “You’re gonna make some woman a very happy lady one day with sentiment like that.”
“I can only hope, lass,” he says before joining the excited chatter coming from the others.
Damien wraps his arms around me, and I bury myself in his warmth. It’s a clink of a glass that has me lifting my head to find my friends standing around us, holding their drinks high.
“To the happy couple,” Paul says. “May their nauseating love for one another never end. I want to wish you both all the happiness in the world. After the seriously fucked-up shit you’ve been through, you had better make it worth it.”
“Congratulations,” everyone yells, and yep, the tears are never going to stop. I know I’m an emotional wreck at the best of times, but this takes the biscuit.
I’m soon bombarded by Raif, Amy and Jess chatting all things wedding, and as Paul retakes his driver’s seat, I let the gentle rocking of the boat bring me back down to earth.
The yacht reaches the harbour, and Damien and I walk hand in hand, the others walking a little ahead, unable to wipe the smile from my face.
“Did they know you were gonna propose?” I ask Damien, and his grin is all the answer I need. I take my hat off to them for managing to keep their mouths shut for a change. “So, what now?”
“Now,” Damien replies, pulling me into his arms, “we are gonna do a little celebrating on our own.” The sexy, husky tone of his voice has my insides screaming in delight.
“We’re going out,” Jess pipes up. “Give you guys some privacy.”
Paul turns to look at us, walking backwards. “Although, if you’re still at it when we get back –” I roll my eyes “– my room is next to yours so please, do me a solid and keep it down, yeah?”
Damien calls a taxi, and we’re soon arriving back at the house. The second the door is closed, my hands find Damien, and in a whirlwind of emotion, I make love to my beautiful fiancé until my eyes refuse to be kept open, and I blissfully fall asleep.
It’s the sound of my phone vibrating that has me opening my eyes to the first signs of sunlight. Groaning, I fumble until I feel the cold exterior on the bedside table and press it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Daniella.” A menacing, gruff tone penetrates my ear.
I bolt upright, my heart jumping to my throat, the colour draining from my face.
“Adrian.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Time stands still. This can’t be happening. It’s not real. It has to be a nightmare. Pathetically, I pinch myself, silently pleading with the universe to wake me the fuck up, but it’s useless. I’m not dreaming.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” he says.
“How…” I falter, my voice trembling. “How did you get my number?”
“I have my ways.”
“What do you want?”
“Isn’t that obvious, Daniella?”
“There ain’t no way I’m visiting you, Adrian.”
Adrian laughs that arrogant cackle I remember all too well, sending a screaming shiver down my spine. “Which is why I’ve come to you.”
My heart stops. “Wh –”
The phone slips from my hand, hitting the bed with a bounce. With teary eyes, I instinctively glance beside me, but the side of the bed where Damien should be is empty. I jump to my feet and race into the bathroom. Nothing.
“No, no, no, no,” I mutter, pacing the bedroom in a daze.
“Daniella.” I hear Adrian’s gravely tone, and with shaky hands, I force the phone back to my ear. “If you’re looking for your beloved,” he taunts, “I’m afraid he’s otherwise detained. His early morning run took a turn for the worse.”
I fall to the floor in a heap, my head spinning. I can’t see straight. The panic-laced fog is taking me under, and my chest is tightening. I can’t breathe. I sit, gasping for air. The flashbacks are coming thick and fast. My head is going to explode. Any confidence I’ve gained over the past couple of months evaporates into a cloud of dust, and I’m the same broken shell I always was, every instinct in my body telling me to run, run as fast as my feet can carry me and never look back. Only I can’t, because Adrian is here, and he has Damien. My past is well and truly back to haunt me, and my fiancé’s life is hanging in the balance.
“Here’s how it’s gonna go, Daniella,” Adrian says, but I’m barely listening. “Daniella?” His stern voice cuts through me. “Pay attention,” he barks. “There’s a car waiting at the end of the drive.” I move to the window and peel back the curtain just enough to see a black car sitting outside. “Get in it, Daniella.”
I blink repeatedly, forcing my brain to think rationally. “Where’s Damien?” My anger awakens, and Adrian’s condescending chuckle sickens me. “How do I know you ain’t already killed him?”
“You don’t,” he replies calmly, “but if you don’t come quietly, I can assure you Damien will be dead before the day is done.”
I fight back the pending nausea. I don’t have a choice. It’s me Adrian wants, and if there’s a chance Damien’s still alive, there’s a chance I can bargain for his life with my own. I let the tears flow silently yet relentlessly.
Composing myself as best I can, I ask, “Can I at least put on some clothes first?”
“Of course,” Adrian says. “But don’t even think about waking your friends, Daniella. It won’t end well.”
I huff sarcastically. I couldn’t wake them even if I wanted to. There’s no way they’d let me go, sacrificing myself like a pig to the slaughter, not even for Damien.
After being instructed to stay on the line, I quickly chuck on a top and some jeans. I hear a creak from the hallway, and my heart skips a beat, but when I peer out through the door to find the coast clear, I let out a sigh of relief. Tiptoeing downstairs, I hover in the hallway for a second, questioning my sanity and the reality of what I’m about to walk into.
“Time’s ticking,” Adrian urges, and it takes all my strength not to scream “Fuck you!” down the phone.
Without further hesitation, yet shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, I head outside. Before I even reach the car, a figure appears behind me, and a needle punctures my neck.
I wake up feeling groggy. My head hurts, my ribs are screaming in agony, and… I look at my hand, unsurprised to find it cuffed to a radiator. I yank at it until common sense kicks in and reminds me that escape is futile. There’s no way it’s coming off. I rub my eyes with my free hand, and once the blurriness subsides, I scan my surroundings.
I’m in what used to be a living room but is now a dilapidated space that’s falling down around me. An abandoned house, no doubt. I scramble to my feet, my hand remaining close to the floor, thanks to the bastard cuffs, and I stretch as far as I can to glance through the crack in the boarded-up window. Nothing but countryside and out in the middle of nowhere. Of course. Horror movie, take two.
I sink back down, and that’s when I see him. Damien. He’s on the floor at the far end of the room opposite me, both his hands cuffed to a second radiator, tape plastered across his mouth. My heart sinks into another wave of panic. His eyes are closed, and he’s not moving. I’m about to burst into a flood of tears, assuming the worst, when I see his chest rise and fall, and although the tears still descend, I let out a sigh of relief. He’s still alive. Battered black and blue, but alive.
I instinctively pat myself down in search of my phone, despite already knowing it’s probably lying on the driveway or smashed to pieces by now, leaving no trace or breadcrumbs to our location. I could scream, but from what I briefly saw through the window, there are no neighbours close enough to hear. The car Adrian’s lacky used to bring me here will be burnt out no doubt, all evidence erased, and it’ll be hours before my hungover friends wake and realise Damien and I are gone. Fuck. I yank at my cuffs again out of nothing more than pure frustration.
Let’s face it. Adrian’s managed to escape prison and make it all the way here without being caught. He’s a clever, manipulative bastard who thinks a thousand steps ahead and won’t make the same mistake twice. I’m not going to be rescued, not this time. I’m the only one who can save Damien and me, but as someone who’s spent so much time ruled by fear, a fear Adrian will no doubt reinstall at the earliest opportunity, I’m not liking my odds.
My eyes drift to Damien. We were so close. So close to putting everything behind us and moving on to the future, a bright, happy future with marriage and kids, and all the love a person could ever need. So fucking close. At least I’ll get to say goodbye this time, but my heart is already breaking because even though it’s me Adrian will physically hurt, emotionally, we’ll both spend the rest of our lives in pain.
It will kill Damien knowing he’s lost me to Adrian – again. Damien and I have been through so much already, neither of us deserves any more suffering, but Damien will drown in guilt and blame anyway, and it only makes me hate Adrian more. Adrian is the one who should be suffering, not us, but I guess the only comfort I have is knowing the motley crew will do their best to keep Damien afloat, and he’ll at least be alive. That’s all that matters now, and I’ll do everything I can to keep it that way, even if it means resigning myself to a life of endless torture.
It’s the sound of footsteps that drags me out of my thoughts, and when Adrian wanders into the room, my entire body instinctively tenses. I lift my head to stare into the cold, piercing brown eyes of the one man I despise more than anyone or anything else on this planet, and the sight of that smug smirk on his face is enough to make the nausea hit the back of my throat.
For an escaped convict, he looks awfully well kept. He’s ditched the curls for a shaved do, and in true Adrian style, he’s clean-shaven. Wearing a black suit with a white shirt and matching black tie, topped off with a few extra muscles since the last time I saw him, he screams power and dominance, and it sickens me. Prison clearly suited him, the bastard.
“You look well, Daniella,” he compliments. “As beautiful as ever.”
I dry heave. I’m not in the mood for small talk, funnily enough, and there’s only one thing on my mind. “Let Damien go.”
Adrian cackles. “Why would I want to go and do that?”
“Because you’ve got what you want.”
“Except we both know he’ll never stop searching for you.”
“Does it matter?” I ask. “Since I’m guessing this shithole is just a pit stop, it’s not like he’ll find me.”
Adrian nods. “True.”
“He doesn’t need to die,” I state.
“I have no intention of killing Damien, Daniella.” I let out a sigh of relief. “Death would be a kindness but living…” Adrian’s face fills with contempt. “The guilt of losing you, of knowing I have reclaimed what is rightfully mine, will eat him alive, and I’ll take great pleasure knowing he will spend the rest of his measly existence suffering.”
The tears well in my eyes. Silence falls as Adrian pulls a rickety old, wooden chair from the corner of the room and places it in front of me – just out of reach – before taking a pew, and casually crossing one leg over the other with a smile.
“How did you do it?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. “Escape.”
“Good old-fashioned manipulation and bribery,” Adrian declares. “I doubt you’ll be overly surprised to hear I kept a few loyal names out of the extensive list I provided the police.” The list that gained him a lesser sentence. “Nor that police corruption is not limited to a cinema screen.” Unfortunately, not.
“Are you getting to the point?”
Adrian scowls but continues. “I was temporarily released from prison to aid a drug trafficking investigation.” He smirks. “It took months and months of planning, but with the help of two particularly money-minded police officers, the prison reluctantly agreed, and I disappeared before fulfilling my role.” I shake my head in dismay as Adrian glances at his watch. “Although, I should imagine the second watch has arrived by now to take over babysitting duties.”
“And your accomplices?”
“I’m sure they’ve devised a suitable story that doesn’t implicate them.”
