Her Daddy's Jewel (MC Daddies Book 5) Page 3

  Jewel liked wearing short skirts. Tight clothes. But on her fucking terms. Not because some asshole had picked what she should wear.

  But she swallowed back the protest.

  “Bath,” the girl whispered, disappearing into the bathroom.

  Jewel forced herself to stand. She looked to the door. Seriously? She knew there had to be cameras in here. Did he think she was fucking stupid?

  Then again, maybe she was, considering the raised middle finger she gave the room as she moved towards the bathroom.

  Yep. Maybe she was fucking stupid. Because she knew that wouldn’t go unanswered.

  She stepped into the bathroom. The girl startled looking over her shoulder at her with wide eyes. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to scare her.

  Jewel walked closer then forced herself to kneel next to her. She lowered her head so if there were cameras they’d have less chance to see her lips moving. The running water would hide any sound she made.

  “They won’t hear with the water going. What’s your name?”

  “Karina.” The girl dropped her head too. Fast learner.

  Jewel reached out to run her fingers through the water. “How long you been with him? How did you come to be here?”

  Jewel wasn’t great with accents. It wasn’t like she’d ever traveled, after all. Wasn’t exactly in her budget. She was lucky if she could pay the utilities, rent, and food. Well, she might be better at paying the bills if she didn’t have a bit of a shopping addiction.

  But bills were boring. Shopping was fun.

  “Taken.” Karina was looking at her funny. “Not usual girl. Older. American.” Karina was staring at her like she had three heads all of a sudden. “Why here?”

  Then her breathing started to come in panicked pants. “Didn’t mean anything. Didn’t say anything. Tell him didn’t say anything.”

  Fuck. She thought that Jewel was some kind of spy.

  “I’m not saying anything. I’m on your side. I was taken too.” Kind of.

  But Karina just shook her head. “You not us.”

  The words were spat at her.

  “I’m not with him. Does it look like I’m with him?”

  Karina started to calm, but she still eyed Jewel suspiciously.

  “Bath.” Karina stood and turned it off.

  An hour later, Jewel was exhausted. All she wanted was to climb back into bed and sleep.

  Karina hadn’t said anything more to her. She’d simply helped her get dressed then done her hair and make-up.

  “She’s not ready yet? What the fuck you been doin’, girl?”

  Jewel glanced over at the doorway. She recognized the deep, dark, gravelly voice. It was enough to send chills over her skin.

  “You were told two fucking hours. You know the punishment for not doing what you were told.”

  Karina whimpered and Jewel’s protective instincts flared.

  “Grafton, should have known you’d be here. A devil can’t survive without his minions.”

  “I’m no fucking minion.”

  She glanced over at the bald-headed asshole who featured too frequently in her nightmares. He’d never touched her. But the way he used to stare at her . . . much the same way he was staring at her now. With hunger.

  He liked to make people bleed. To make them cry out in agony. It got him hard.

  Fear.

  Fear turned him on.

  She wouldn’t give him that, so she met his gaze head-on. Beside her, Karina was shaking so hard it was a wonder she could stay upright. Jewel turned slightly, putting the other girl further behind her.

  “No? I’m shocked that you didn’t try to seize control while the boss was down and out. Weren’t you tempted? To be the big boss, instead of the guy that gets constantly ordered around? Why didn’t you do that, Grafton? What’s wrong? Were you too chicken?”

  She was pushing it, yeah. She knew he was about to explode. But if his anger was aimed at her then his attention wasn’t on the girl quaking behind her.

  “You fucking bitch.” He stormed into the room.

  “Run,” she said quietly to Karina as he grabbed her, hoisting her off the stool she’d been sitting on. He shook her like a ragdoll.

  Her head thumped, her stomach rolling.

  Don’t puke. Don’t puke.

  Yeah. That wasn’t happening. Opening her mouth, she threw up the chicken soup.

  All over his nicely polished shoes and fancy pants.

  Whoops.

  Sorry. Not sorry. Asshole.

  The backhand to her face wasn’t unexpected. Didn’t mean it hurt any less, though. Or that a cry of pain and shock didn’t leave her mouth as she fell backward, slamming to the floor. Her cheek throbbed. Her raw stomach and aching head protested the movement. And she groaned as she lay on the ground, trying to calm her racing heart. Fuck. Fuck.

  “You little bitch! What the fuck? You ruined my pants. I’ll teach you to fucking vomit on me, slut!” She braced herself for a kick to the ribs. It was coming. Or maybe her stomach. The back of her thighs. She wasn’t sure. Could be all of them, depending on how mad he was.

  He sounded pretty fucking mad.

  Shit. She hoped Karina had run. And run fast.

  “What’s going on in here? What’s the hold up? Fuck, are you covered in puke? Get away from me.”

  Her insides quivered at the sound of Maxwell’s voice.

  Fear nearly had her pulling herself into a ball, putting her arms over her face to protect it.

  Instead, she made herself sit up, even though her head was throbbing and she could barely see. How hard had he fucking hit her? The pain in her cheek was barely indistinguishable from the agony engulfing the rest of her head.

  She stared up at Maxwell, her heart racing, her breathing shallow.

  “Grafton? Why is there vomit everywhere? And why is she on the floor, with a swollen cheek?”

  She knew he wasn’t asking because he was concerned or cared about her well-being.

  “Bitch vomited all over me after she spouted off shit.”

  “Hey, I was just catching up. Long time, no see, and all that. Got to say, though, I didn’t actually miss our chats. And the vomit is your fault, it happens when you shake someone who’s recently been ill.”

  “We have forgotten our lessons, haven’t we?” Maxwell mused. Then he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her hair which had been put into a high ponytail. She yelped as he yanked her onto her feet.

  Fuck. He was stronger than he looked. How had she forgotten that?

  She stood because otherwise she figured he’d yank her hair straight from her head. And she’d already lost plenty of that lately due to stress. Hmm, would he still want her if she was bald?

  He drew her close to him. It seemed wrong that he could hide the devil behind an angel’s face.

  It was Maxwell’s turn to shake her. Fuck, seriously! She closed her eyes as her head throbbed with each shake. But that was a bad idea as her stomach complained, rolling over nauseously.

  “Listen to me and listen carefully. You’re going to stop being fucking sick. You’re going to play your part or he suffers, understand?”

  Fear filled her. She got it.

  “Yes. But if you don’t want me to puke, then you might want to tell ape-man to stay away from me.”

  “Fucking bitch.” Grafton got up in her face.

  “Whoa, dude, maybe think about a breath mint.” She waved her hand back and forth in front of her face. “There’s a thing called dental hygiene.”

  “You cunt!” His fist went back and she braced herself.

  “Stop!” Maxwell slashed out the word.

  Grafton froze. Quite a feat, really. For a man who was all brawn, no brain.

  “She’s trying to rile you up,” Maxwell told him.

  “What? Why?” Grafton asked.

  “Probably so you’ll knock her out and she’ll be excused from tonight’s fun.”

  Damn it. She hated how well he knew her. That shit wasn’t fair
.

  Because she realized he was right. She hadn’t consciously thought it, but she had likely been riling him up in the hope that he’d knock her unconscious.

  “Grafton, go clean up. You stink.”

  Grafton straightened with a grimace as he glanced down at his vomit-splattered clothes and shoes.

  With a last glare at her, he left.

  Maxwell faced her. “You’d do well to remember the rules. It’s going to go much easier for you if you just obey me.”

  Fuck. Him.

  God, it was so hard to make herself compliant. To make herself lower her eyes. Give him her submission.

  “My pretty pet. You ran away when the leash wasn’t properly tied but now you’re back. Unfortunately, for you, all disobedient pets must be punished. But if you learn from your mistakes then those around you won’t have to suffer for your mistakes.” He savagely grabbed her chin, pushing her head back. “Understand?”

  “I understand.”

  “Good girl.”

  There was a timid knock on the door. When he opened it, another young girl stood there. What the fuck? There had always been women around, of course. But they’d usually been harder, older, with that look in their eyes that told you they’d seen more than they ever should have.

  But these girls were different. Young, fresh, so fucking scared it made her teeth ache.

  “Clean up this mess. Thoroughly.” His nose crinkled as he stared at the vomit on the floor. “And for God’s sake, get her a breath mint.”

  She could tell him where to stick his breath mint . . .

  Not a good idea, Jewel. Just breathe. Just endure.

  She had no idea when the end would come. Whenever he got sick of her. Or she figured a way to end it. But she wasn’t there yet. There was more fight left in her.

  Only she wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

  “How did you find me?”

  Tell that Maxwell said hi.

  It was the message Ink had given her.

  He hadn’t remember to give it to her for a while. He’d had a lot going on back then. And by the time he had, well, she’d already felt like she had eyes on her, watching her.

  “That was an accident. One of my men was in the right place at the right time. I nearly came for you right away. Then I thought I best have one of my men watch you while I did a bit of research into what you’d been up to in my absence. By the way, that therapist you saw had quite a lot to say. You should be careful what you tell people.”

  What? He’d spoken to the therapist she’d had to see after leaving him? Her mind whirled as she tried to remember everything she’d told him. Nothing about Reyes thankfully, but she had told him other things . . . oh God.

  She just realized what she had told him.

  This was all her fault.

  4

  A heavy fist hit flesh. Blood spurted from a broken nose, but the man didn’t even flinch back. He simply shook his head and dove back into the fight. The crowd roared.

  Jewel knew better than to pay too much attention to anyone. That would backfire on her in one of two ways. Either she’d get punished for looking at someone other than him.

  Or the person she’d been staring at would be taken out back and killed.

  Because Maxwell was nothing if not obsessive over her. She had no idea why. Hell, if she did, she’d fucking stop whatever she was doing that made him want her.

  It had been five days since she’d woken up in that room.

  Five days in her own personal nightmare. Well, the days of vomiting hadn’t been so bad in comparison to the rest.

  At least he hadn’t touched her yet. Her illness kept him away. But he’d had a doctor come in today to inspect her. To run tests. Because God forbid she give him anything.

  As soon as those tests came back clear then there would be nothing keeping him away from her.

  Last night she’d heard an argument coming from the courtyard. Maxwell had been speaking on the phone. When he’d gotten off, he’d been angry. He’d told Grafton that the Russian wanted to move up the timeline due to a new shipment coming in.

  Another smack of a fist against flesh, this time into the other boxer’s ribs. This wasn’t boxing like you saw on the television. There wasn’t a referee there to stop things if they got out of hand. The men in the ring would fight until one of them was unconscious or so hurt that they couldn’t get back up.

  This was raw and violent.

  This was what Maxwell lived for.

  Jewel stayed perfectly still as she stared out at the fight. Another smack of a fist against flesh and the dark-haired man fell to the ground. But the other guy, a big guy with a bald head, didn’t stop there. Moving to the unconscious man, he drew his foot up and head-stomped him.

  There was silence as if those in the crowd were shocked by this brutality. She didn’t know why. After all, that’s why everyone was here, right?

  They were seated up in a VIP area. They had their own bar with a private bartender. Nobody could see up here, but it was like they were all waiting for a reaction.

  She snuck a glance at Maxwell. He smiled. There came a ripple of laughter and applause from his goons, sitting around him. She didn’t recognize any of them apart from his top three lieutenants. All of the rest were new.

  How had he built everything back up so quickly? She didn’t get it. When one cockroach died, there were plenty to take his place. Was it due to this Russian?

  The man who had gotten his head stomped on was being dragged out of the ring, none too carefully. The woman tending bar must have left as a new woman walked over to them.

  “Can I get you anything?” she asked.

  Maxwell placed his order and the woman turned to her. To her shock, she placed her hand on Jewel’s. What was she doing? She ran her finger over the top of Jewel’s hand in a T shape.

  “And you?”

  “Don’t touch her.” Maxwell shoved her back and she fell on her ass. Jewel didn’t react. She couldn’t. Staying still felt unnatural. Like there were thousands of ants running over her skin.

  Her heart raced, but she stayed impassive as the woman shot Maxwell a frightened look.

  “I . . . I . . .”

  “Nobody touches her without my permission. Grafton, get her out of here. I want that last bitch back.”

  Grafton grabbed hold of the woman’s arm, dragging her out. She didn’t look. She wanted to. God, she hoped all that happened was that she got a few bruises on her arm.

  Please let that be all that happens to her.

  She didn’t really understand what had happened. Had she imagined that T? Did it mean something? Maxwell had turned away from her, uncaring about what he’d just done. He didn’t say anything to her.

  He’d made his point. She was his. His slave, his pet, his property.

  And at one time, that’s what she’d wanted.

  That’s what really made her sick. That she’d willingly gotten involved with this asshole.

  “I need the bathroom,” she said suddenly. What was she doing? She knew better than to ask for anything. To speak up without being spoken to first.

  Fuck.

  She hated that she remembered the rules so well. She tensed as she waited for retaliation. But all he did was nod. He waved forward one of his goons. She knew she was gaping at him. This wasn’t like him. How much longer could she do this?

  Her stomach was always in a knot. Eating had become a distant memory. She was barely surviving.

  But she had to protect him.

  “Rich, escort my pet to the bathroom.”

  With a shuddering breath, she got to her feet and the room around her spun.

  “What’s wrong?” Maxwell asked sharply.

  “Dizzy spell.”

  “Why?”

  Why? Why the fuck did he think?

  “Just stood up too fast.”

  “Hugh, get my pet a bottle of water and some food. Can’t have you fading away, can I?” he crooned, running his fingers up her
arm.

  Firming her legs, she moved out with another silent jerk walking behind her. He was huge. Seriously, where had he found these guys?

  Goons-r-us.

  Hulks-for-hire.

  No-neck-necessary.

  Brawn-over-brains.

  Okay, that was just dumb. As they grew closer to the private bathroom, he moved ahead.

  “I think I can get the door myself,” she said dryly.

  “Got to check there’s no one in there,” he replied in a surprisingly high voice.

  “Jeez, the steroids really did a job on you, huh?”

  “What?”

  “The pimples. The bulging veins. The high-pitched voice.” She shook her head. “You should probably lay off a bit.”

  “Listen, bitch—” He reached for her.

  She pushed the door open and stepped back. “Uh-uh, no touching the merchandise.” She moved into the bathroom and braced herself, expecting him to follow her inside. Her breath came in sharp pants.

  Did that actually work? Fuck.

  She wasn’t sure it would. But when a few seconds passed and a body didn’t slam against the door, trying to break the lock, the tension started to ease out of her.

  “Just as well he didn’t touch you with that hand or he would’ve lost it.”

  Shock flooded her. She froze. She couldn’t move.

  It wasn’t real. He wasn’t there.

  Nobody knew where she was. Nobody could find her. Nobody was coming for her.

  For God’s sake, she was in the private VIP woman’s bathroom in an underground flight club owned by Kenton Maxwell. Well, Luc Darrins, since that was his new name.

  So there was no way he was here.

  Slowly, she moved. She braced herself. She took deep, slow breaths. He couldn’t be the reason that woman had traced a T on her hand, right?

  But there he was, leaning against the wall of the bathroom. His arms were crossed over his wide chest as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “You can’t be here. If they find you . . .”

  Oh hell. She put her hand over her stomach. They couldn’t find him. Panic flooded her.

  Stop, Jewel. Think. You have to protect him.

  She didn’t have time to freak out.

  “One of them is just on the other side of the door. He could have come in here. He could have seen you. You weren’t even hiding.”