Page 13 of Enemies to Wife

"Alec," I asked apprehensively after a few minutes of him sitting there on the edge of the desk, his hands clenched. "Please say something." Alec looked up at me and smiled. He stood up and walked around the other side of the desk.

"I won’t lie," he said, his voice almost monotone. "That is going to complicate things a little." He met my eyes, and I felt a sinking feeling at the almost devoid look in his eyes. "But I suspect my father will be even more motivated to teach the almighty Sebastian Lynch a lesson after this." He opened a drawer and reached inside.

"I don't get it," I said. "What do you mean?" Sebastian pulled a brown envelope from the drawer and walked back around the table and handed it to me.

"My father is a powerful man, Lily," Alec said. "Whatever Sebastian thinks he has on my father won't be enough. My father will have everything smoothed away by the end of the night." Alec grinned again, only this time it seemed a little off, like there wasn't any sort of personality behind it.

"But that all doesn't matter, because all you have to do is sign that," Alec said gesturing to the envelope in my hand, "and you will be free from Sebastian Lynch's clutches." I looked down at the envelope and then back up at Alec with wide eyes.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Open it," he said with a grin.

I pulled open the envelope and pulled out the contents. The first thing I saw was the Wife for Hire Agency logo at the top of the paper. My heart skipped a beat. Could this be it, a termination of contract, could it be this simple? I began reading down the page but stopped dead at the contract title. An icy chill settled in my stomach as I looked up at Alec.

"I don't understand," I said, and held out the contract. "It says transfer of contract, I don't want it transferred, I want it ended." Alec smiled as he walked towards me.

"I know sweetheart," he said. "But this is the best way, don't you see? If I could get the contract terminated, then there would be nothing to protect you from Sebastian trying to do the same again." Alec put the contract down on the desk and took my hand. I was starting to feel really uneasy about what was happening.

"Plus, from my understanding," Alec said as he stroked my hand in an overly intimate gesture, "You owe the Agency, and the university, a significant amount of money. With this contract, that debt will be totally wiped clear. My father is on the board for Regents, he will be able to do that." Alec reached up and cupped my cheek. "And you will be protected and looked after for the rest of your life." My eyes widened, and I took a step back away from Alec. I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes as I did.

"What do you mean the rest of my life?" I asked. Alec stepped forward again, invading my space.

"The contract is permanent," he said. "It has to be, so I can better protect you." I shook my head and backed away.

"I don't want to sign a permanent contract with you," I said. I needed to get out of here.

"I mean technically the contract is in my father’s name," Alec said as he mimicked my movements. His tone was reassuring and his movements subtle, but I couldn't deny the alarm bells going off in my head.

"Your father? The contracts in his name?" The very notion of that man having control over me made me want to vomit.

"Well, yes, and he may require your attention from time to time," Alec said. I stared at him in horror. My attention? He was talking about my body like it was some sort of product. "But ultimately, you would be mine, like you were always meant to be." What? I stopped dead and looked up at him. Always meant to be.

I knew then; I had gotten Alec wrong. Or maybe he had gotten something wrong. I needed to diffuse the situation. I turned and headed to the door.

"I-I need to think about it," I stuttered. I grabbed the handle and turned it, but the door didn't budge.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I can't allow that." Alec's voice had taken a cold edge. I turned and looked to see he was right behind me.

"Alec, please unlock the door," I said, trying to keep the tremor from my voice. I forced a smile on my face hoping I could charm my way out of the room. But Alec looked me dead in the eyes and what I saw scared me.

"No Lily," he said, his voice had an edge of something cold in it. "I have not bent over backwards and worked all these years for you to just walk away from me now."

"All these years," I asked, dread suddenly flooding my body. "Alec, what do you mean, all these years?" The smile that Alec gave me made my blood run cold. He turned and walked back to the desk. I had to get out of here. I turned to pull on the door again. I knew it was useless, but I had to do something to stop the panic from taking over.

I didn't realise he was right behind me until I heard his voice again.

"I see we are going to have to do this the hard way," Alec said. I yelped as I felt a sting in my neck. My hand flew up to my neck, and I felt something wet. The room started to spin, and my head felt really heavy. Oh god, had he drugged me? I felt Alec's arms around me as I fell, and he lowered us slowly to the floor with me in his arms. I wanted to fight, to struggle as my vision blurred around Alec's face, but it felt like my body was made of lead.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll come around soon enough," Alec said as everything began to get dark. The last thing I felt before the world was swallowed into darkness was Alec's mouth over mine.

Chapter 10

Sebastian

"James, please. We've been friends for years." I remained impassive as William sat in the chair opposite me trying to reason with James. He had been pumped full of painkillers and his fingers strapped up and had spent the last twenty minutes trying to tell us that the evidence we had against him was fabricated.

"This is crazy, how could you think I would do this?" I'd give the old bastard his dues, he was persistent, and stupid, considering his situation. Since the previous hour had been spent calling me every name under the sun as I had delighted in breaking a few more fingers and considering the information all pointed to him being at the head of an underground trafficking ring, we knew every word out of his mouth was bullshit.