“I’m a fucking mess!” I shrieked.
He smiled, “Yeah. But you’re showing some good signs. You’ve been damaged but you’re not broken, babe. Now, tell me. Let’s sit down. I want to know the rest of your story.”
“I can’t. I can’t.” I shook my head and cross my arms, backing away from him. Damaged was an understatement.
“Baby, listen…”
“Can I go to bed? I want to go to bed.”
He nodded, “Okay. For tonight we’ll leave it on ice. We need to talk this out, though. Kiss me goodnight. I’ve got a bit to do and then I’ll be up.”
I went to him and he sat down at the table in front of a laptop. He put his arms around me and I sank into him. He pulled me down onto his lap and held me tight. My chin trembled.
“I’m tired, Dare. Can I go?”
“Go. I’ll be up soon.”
I listlessly climbed up the stairs, climbed into the bed, and got under the covers, got completely under the covers, head and all.
Dare
I found a folder on Frost’s laptop that said Angie. It was filled with video files. Bile rose in my throat. I didn’t open them. I paced the floor instead.
There was no way in the world I wanted to watch her get abused, watch anyone lay their hands on her. The fact that Frost could watch that shit? What the fuck? I stormed down to the barn, told the guards to get out of earshot.
“What’s in those video files, Frost?” I greeted. He was laying on the floor against the wall on some hay. He propped his head up on a palm.
“That’s a lot of footage of Angie’s first days at the resort. It’s also some footage of Angie and me before she found out about Kruna. And Donavan gave me footage of her from about three months in. Quite a transformation.”
“You videotaped sex with her without her knowledge?”
“I’m glad I had spank bank material all this time without her. I needed it. Once you have a girl like Angie you don’t wanna forget. I know you know what I’m sayin’. Of course you know what I’m sayin’. That’s a ten million dollar cunt you’ve got yourself in there and I know she’s worth every penny your old man paid.”
I ignored the urge to crush the guy, it wasn’t easy, “So, you inherited Donavan’s stock and thought you’d take over his position?”
“Yeah. That was the plan. But obviously that’s out the window. Listen, can we make some sort of deal? I know I’ve got balls to even ask since I shot first instead of approaching you, but we’re reasonable men, aren’t we? We’re business associates at this point, co-shareholders. How about we strike a deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
“I’d make a two-part deal, part one being for her but I can guess you wouldn’t be interested in selling her.”
“She’s not for sale.”
“Then one part only. You buy my Kruna shares, help me get gone so that they can’t take me out.”
“You think these guys would be alright with a partner buying up shares behind their backs? I doubt it.”
Frost shrugged, “They just want me out, man. They loved your old man. They wouldn’t have any problem with Ferranos holding a bigger stake.”
“They want you dead, man.”
“And I’d like to not be dead. How do we make that happen? Fuck, I’ll give you my shares. Draw up the papers.”
“If I let you out what’s to stop you from killing me and taking her?”
He shook his head, “I won’t. I’ll go and you’ll never hear from me again.”
“No, you’ll go away and plot some more to try to find a way to take her from me. You can’t get a girl like that outta your head; you said it yourself.”