Billionaire's Captive Complete Trilogy - Stasia Black Page 0,64
buildings.’” Her eyes scan the grey-green stone, the towers, the turrets.
“My little homeschool genius.” I brush a tendril of hair from her face.
She rolls her eyes at me. “It makes sense. In medieval times, the tallest building in a village was a cathedral. Religion ruled. Then came the political palace.”
I study the castle with her. “And a castle? What does that mean?”
She faces me, penetrating me with her fierce green gaze.
“High walls,” she says. “An impenetrable stone fortress.” She tilts her head. “You don't want to let anyone in.”
I straighten her coat and pull her close. “I let you in.”
She raises a brow. I can hear her thinking, yes, as your prisoner. A reluctant guest, at best.
“Come. It’s too cold.” I release her and guide her to the door, a hand on her back. She hesitates on the threshold, and it takes everything I have not to throw her over my shoulder.
I’m putting the coats back into the closet when she says in a low voice, “You think the walls will keep me in. But I'm not the one actually imprisoned here.”
“What do you mean?” I take her elbow and steer her to the nearest fireplace. I position her in front of the blaze, but it’s not enough. Taking her hand, I start to chafe it.
“When was the last time you left this place? Other than the night of the ball.”
“You forget.” I drop her right hand and reach for the left. “I waited for you at your mother’s grave.”
She flushes, bowing her head.
I gentle my tone, really considering her question. “But you're right. Before that, I’d been a year in this place without stepping out the front door. But what about you, Daphne? What's the tallest building in your life?” When she gives no answer, I supply it. “Belladonna. The aptly named. Beautiful woman. Poison.”
She sighs. “We help people.”
“Is that why your father moved the headquarters to the most expensive area in the city?” I catch her chin. “New Olympus worships power. Money. Greed.”
“I don’t deny it. Logan, I’m trying to change it. To hold to my ideals. You could help me.” For a moment her expression blazes with hope. Then she turns to the fire, shuttering her expression, angling her face away.
And I’ve never felt more like a monster.
“Daphne.”
She turns, her cheeks still pink from the chill. Gods, she’s so beautiful. She’s more than I deserve.
And I must be crazy because I open my mouth and hear myself saying, “If I let you go, you must promise to return.”
She doesn’t respond right away. She squints those perfect green eyes, studying me.
“You have to promise,” I say raggedly. I’m surprised my chest hasn’t cracked down the middle, that I’m not bleeding out in the middle of the frostbitten garden. Because that’s how it feels.
She leans into me and I almost stagger with relief. I need her close, always.
“I’m not the one who left and stayed away,” she reminds me. She lays her hand on my cheek again, looks me straight in the eye. “I promise.”
Twenty-Five
Daphne
The same kindly old cabbie picks me up in his taxi. If he’s curious why he keeps ferrying a young woman back and forth from the city to this castle, he holds his tongue.
Logan stands on the stoop, dark and forbidding in his greatcoat.
“I promise,” I mouth. I watch him until the road curves and the castle disappears.
“Oh thank gods,” Rachel gasps when I call her. “The board is breathing down my neck. They’ve been here since practically dawn, holed up in the executive conference room.” Plotting your removal I hear the end of the sentence she doesn’t speak.
“Tell them I’m on my way. I have to make a stop first.”
“Daphne,” my father greets me. He looks thinner than when I last saw him, but there’s a healthier flush to his cheeks. Maybe Rachel was wrong? Maybe he’s actually doing better?
“Dad,” I kiss his cheek and stand a little ways from the bed. “I need to ask you some things. You’re not going to like it but I need to hear the answers.”
“Is this about the patents? Because—”
“No. Not exactly.” I take a deep breath. Steady. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened to Logan?”
In a flash, my father grows so pale I jolt with alarm. “Dad?” I take his hand.
“You can’t trust him.” Eyes wide, he squeezes the life out of my hand. “Daphne, please, promise me you won’t ever go near him.”
Promise me.
“Dad, you’re scaring me. I can’t make that promise.”