Tears burn my eyes, attempting to spill onto my cheeks. My heart is in my throat, threatening to choke me, just like Drake did hours ago.
“She’s inside. Tomorrow, you’ll be attending a gala event with me. One of the men my father worked for is hosting. I’ll have my shopper get a dress for you to wear,” he smirks, raking his gaze over me. “And I suppose I’ll have to get you something sexy to wear underneath as well. Be ready at six,” he says finally, leaving me at the entrance to my future. To see the girl, I’ve watched being hurt. Tortured. I’m finally going to look into her eyes again. And I’ve never been more afraid in my whole life.
Pushing the door open, I step inside the room. There’s a large four-poster bed to the right with dark sheets and my sister curled up under them. She’s all grown up, an adult, and my chest tightens with sadness realizing I wasn’t there for her when she needed me most.
Even though I was stolen, severed from the family I grew up with, I feel the guilt sitting heavily in my gut. I set the bag down gently. Toeing off my shoes, I pad closer to the bed, not taking any notice of the room itself, but the girl who’s sleeping soundly.
I want to talk to her, to wake her and hold her in my arms, but fear holds me back. The anxiety that she’ll hate me for leaving her in that house with the monster we called Dad. Sighing, I lean forward, pressing a hand to Harper’s shoulder, which wakes her immediately. She scurries away from me, fear written all over her face. But when our eyes meet, she stills, staring at me as if I’m an apparition.
“Caia?” I nod at her query, knowing that seeing me after all this time must be strange. “It’s really you?” She moves closer, slowly, but she comes toward me, taking in the sister she most certainly won’t recognize. I have ink on most of my visible skin, my hair is a deep red, and I’m certain my eyes are no longer shiny and glistening with happiness.
“It’s me, Harper,” I tell her, hoping she’ll see through the façade of who he made me into and find the sister beneath the mask.
“Oh God,” she cries, flinging herself on me, causing us both to topple onto the thick carpet. Her arms are wrapped around my neck, holding onto me as if I’m her lifeline. “I’ve been searching all over for you.” Her words still me, ice racing through my veins.
“What do you mean?”
We’re sitting on the floor, my sister curled in my lap, our arms wrapped around each other. Harper lifts her gaze to meet mine and confesses, “I ran away from home. As soon as I could, I packed a small rucksack and ran. Malcolm found me at a club and got me a job at a nightclub that was owned by his associate, Thanos.” There’s so much sadness in her eyes; those beautiful pools hold the agony of what she’s been through.
“And he hasn’t looked for you?” I question, causing her to still, her body rigid with anxiety. It’s thick and heavy in the air between us. “I’m sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.” This time, I blink, and the tears I can no longer hold back spill down my cheeks.
“It’s not your fault. When I found out you didn’t leave by choice I knew I needed to find you,” Harper whispers. Her voice cracks, and soon, we’re both crying. She shakes, trembling in my hold, and I can’t stop my own frame from shivering. “I missed you,” she tells me. “All I wanted was to see you again, to know you were safe from whatever . . . from whoever . . .”
Her body wracks with sobs, and I hold onto my little sister so tight I’m sure I’m cutting off her air supply, but in this moment, all I want is to feel her in my arms. She’s safe, alive. She’s no longer being hurt. I know she should talk about what happened, but right now is not the time. Right now, we need to let the pain flow by crying out the agony from the past few years that I know will soon be haunting us once we fall asleep.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DRAKE
“So, you’re going to have her working with us?” River questions as I light a cigarette, pulling the smoke into my lungs, praying it calms me. But nothing can calm me now. The girl is in my house, only a floor up, but it’s as if she’s right beside me. Four years is not long enough to forget how she made me feel. It’s also not long enough to make me forget how tight her virgin cunt felt gripping my dick as I slammed into her. Most of all, it’s not been long enough for me to stop the way my heart aches to be hers.