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  Lover

  Betrothed #3

  Penelope Sky

  Hartwick Publishing

  Lover

  Copyright © 2020 by Penelope Sky

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  Hades

  The men let me pass as I stepped into Damien’s home. His maid tried to talk to me, ask if I was staying for dinner, but I ignored her and sprinted up the stairs. I let myself into his bedroom and walked inside to the sight of him clean from a recent shower.

  Damien stood in his sweatpants, his hair flat and wet. “What the hell are you—”

  “Maddox has Sofia.” Both of my lungs burst like balloons just from saying those words, admitting the truth out loud. My knees wanted to buckle underneath me and let me collapse to the floor. Instead of being livid someone had crossed me, which was my typical response, I was too broken to feel anything but unimaginable pain.

  I couldn’t think about what he was doing to her—because I might kill myself.

  When Damien had processed what I said, his bad temper disappeared and his shoulders dropped with devastation. “What?” His voice came out as a painful whisper, as if he were just as haunted by the revelation. “What are you talking about? Hasn’t she been home this entire time?”

  “I don’t know how the fuck it happened, but it happened.”

  “Are you sure she’s not—”

  “No, asshole. He called me.”

  His eyes closed for a moment. “Shit.”

  My shaky legs couldn’t hold me up any longer. I fell into the armchair next to the table. I couldn’t even make myself a glass of scotch because I wouldn’t be able to keep the drink steady. I was shaking with rage, trembling with agony.

  Damien stepped closer to me, his face blank because he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

  I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, my hands planted against my mouth.

  Damien stood there for a while, ingesting the painful silence around us. After he went through the same emotions I had already experienced, he fell into the chair beside me. He sighed quietly, his fingers brushing through his damp hair. “We’ll get her back, Hades.”

  “How?” My voice was so deep, I sounded demonic. “I have no idea where the fuck he is. I don’t even know how long he’s had her. If I knew where he was, I’d be there right now.” I covered my face with my hands, feeling the tears burn behind my eyelids. I’d never cried as an adult, not even as a teenager, but now I was a pile of uncontrollable emotions. I knew I loved Sofia, but until that moment, I had no idea how deep my devotion ran.

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  “We’ve never been able to figure it out before,” I spat.

  “This time, we will.”

  “But it won’t be quick enough to stop him before…” My voice cracked from the emotion, and I shut my eyes so I wouldn’t have to picture what he would do to her, what he would do to my wife. I’d rather die by a knife to the gut than let that happen to her.

  Damien was silent, just as disturbed as I was. He wouldn’t dare mock me for my tears, for being a man with emotions.

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. I wanted to punch myself in the face in the hope I would wake up from this nightmare.

  “There’s no trade we could make?” he asked. “There has to be something he wants.”

  “No…” Because there was nothing better than her. She was the highest prize, the best way to hurt me, the best way to torture me. “My only hope is to steal her back…and kill that motherfucker.”

  “We’ll figure it out, Hades. One way or another, we will.”

  I leaned back in the chair and sniffed loudly. The back of my hand absentmindedly wiped away my tears.

  “I’m sorry…” Damien’s voice broke with an audible choke.

  All of this happened because of him—because he didn’t fucking listen to me. “The only reason that I haven’t killed you is because I need you. Everything that is happening to Sofia is your fault. Her blood and tears are on your hands.” I turned my gaze toward him to look him in the eye. “I lost my wife because of you, and even if we get her back, I’ll never forgive you.”

  2

  Sofia

  I was on the second story of a large house, somewhere in the middle of western Tuscany. Once I’d been transported to the location, I was thrown into a bedroom. The large windows were barred shut, and the bedroom door was impenetrable.

  I sat on the bed, leaned up against the headboard, my knees pulled to my chest. My arms were crossed over my stomach, and I kept my eyes on the door. I wasn’t in a grungy cell, but I knew I was a prisoner all the same. It was only a matter of time before Maddox came for me, either to kill me—or to do something worse.

  I hadn’t cried or showed any emotion yet. I was doing my best to stay strong, to convince myself that Hades would find a way to get me back. I recalled him saying he could never track down Maddox, that the man was impossible to trace.

  So what if he never found me?

  Or maybe it didn’t matter; maybe Maddox planned to kill me at any moment.

  I hoped Maddox wanted to make a trade. Maybe there was something he wanted from Hades, something they could exchange for my life. Whatever it was, Hades would do it. He would do whatever was necessary to get me home.

  The wedding ring rested on my left hand, the only comfort I had while I sat in this foreign bedroom. It reminded me that I was part of something greater, that there was someone out there who would do anything to save me.

  I knew it was nighttime because I could see the darkness through the windows. I had no idea what time it was because there wasn’t a clock in the room. My phone had been confiscated sometime after I passed out. Maybe it’d been a whole day, or maybe it’d been only a few hours.

  Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, and it seemed like a man was headed my way. My body automatically tightened, giving in to the fear of what would happen next. I wasn’t oblivious to Maddox’s attraction to me. Maybe he only wanted me because I belonged to Hades, but that made me just as unsafe.

  The door opened, and he entered. Wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt, he quietly shut the door. His gaze moved to me on the bed, and he stared at me with expressionless eyes. His hands slid into his pockets, and he stared at me for moments, hardly blinking.

  He hadn’t touched me, but that look made me feel violated. I was rigid on the bed, my heart beating fast because I was ready for another fight. I could feel the pulse in my ears, feel a sense of danger in my fingertips. My eyes were as focused on his as his were on mine.

  He eventually pushed off from the door and crept toward me, his hands slowly sliding out of his pockets. He moved to the edge of the bed and helped himself to a seat.

  I automatically pulled my legs closer to my body, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

  His eyes were focused on me again, the blue color burning like frost. The most alien part about him was his lack of need to blink. He could stare endlessly for minutes straight. Sometimes, he didn’t even seem human because of the trait. It was innately creepy.

  I was terrified. I did my best to be brave and pretend I didn’t feel anything, but deep down in my soul, I knew Hades couldn’t protect me right now. He wasn’t hiding in the shadows, ready to come to my rescue. I couldn’t rely on his protection anymore—and that was when I realized how much I needed him.

  And how alone I was.

  Maddox turned his gaze to his hands. “I’m sorry it has to be this way.”

  “If you’re sorry,
just let me go.”

  “You know I can’t do that. You know I’ll never let you go. You know I’ll do terrible things to you—because I know it’ll hurt him the most. Your husband is my greatest adversary. We have a love-hate relationship. He encroaches on my turf, kills my brother, and doesn’t keep his word…but I also respect him. He’s a good opponent. I suspect he’ll be an even better opponent now that this is happening.”

  This guy was a psychopath. “I’m sure Hades will give you whatever you want if you let me go.”

  “But this is what I want—you.”

  I started to shake.

  “I want to hurt him, to punish him. There’s no better way to do that.”

  This couldn’t be happening.

  “But I realize you’re an innocent person. You just made a mistake when you married him.”

  There was a glimmer of hope in my heart that this man had some compassion.

  He reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out a pistol.

  Shit.

  “So, I’m going to give you a way out.” He held up the gun. “It’s got one bullet—and that’s all you need.”

  My heart started to beat even harder. If my only way out was suicide, then I was in a worse spot than I realized. If death was preferable to his torture, then this gesture may be compassionate after all. “And if I say no?”

  “I’ll pity you. But I suspect you’ll change your mind later… The offer is always on the table.” He returned the gun to the back of his jeans, and his hands rested on his thighs. “Having the liberty to claim your own life is a gift. That’s the only compassion you’ll get from me.”

  I’d never been a crier, never been the type of person to let people watch me bleed, but this was so disturbing, I wanted to sob in heartbreak. I was scared…more scared than I’d ever been in my life. There was no way out of this unless I took his offer. “What will you do to me?”

  He moved his eyes to my legs and slowly lifted his gaze up my body. The arousal in his look was unmistakable, his intention clear as day. He wanted to claim me as his own, turn me into a slave.

  I was going to be sick. “Please don’t do this…”

  “I was a gentleman and gave you a way out.”

  “No, you’re not a gentleman. Gentlemen don’t…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word. “Hades will come for me. He’ll slaughter you and everyone you know.”

  “I hope he does. But even if that day comes, it’s gonna take him a long time to hunt me down. If he knew where I was, he would’ve killed me a long time ago.”

  I tried to control my breathing, but it was becoming more labored. My throat started to itch; my eyes began to water. I couldn’t keep up my strong resilience, not when I felt so helpless and alone. Crying and begging wouldn’t save me, but I felt the impulsive need to break down.

  “I’m sorry about this,” he whispered. “I really am.”

  The tears started. I pulled my body tighter, trying to be as small as possible.

  He rose to his feet and pulled off his shirt. “Resist me, and I’ll hurt you.”

  Now, I sobbed. Sobbed because there was nothing I could do. If Hades knew what was happening to me, he would kill himself just to make the pain stop. If my mother knew what was happening to me, she would never recover. I was tempted to take that gun just so I could keep my dignity. No one would judge me if I took the easy way out.

  But if I did…I would never see Hades again.

  And Hades would have to live with my blood on his hands.

  I had to live…just in case he did find me.

  When I closed my eyes, I decided not to open them again, not until this was over.

  3

  Hades

  I sat on the couch in my bedroom. I’d been sitting there for so long that the darkness had crept in the windows and brought my room into shadow. I hadn’t gotten up to flick on the lights. I hadn’t even gotten a drink.

  Scotch wouldn’t help.

  My phone was gripped in my hand, waiting for information from my men. They were following every lead possible, torturing any man who might possibly know where Maddox could be. Every phone call I’d received led nowhere.

  We had no idea where he was.

  No idea where my wife was.

  It’d been three days since she disappeared, three days that she’d been subjected to cruelty. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. I was so sick to my stomach I threw up a couple times. All I could think about was what he was doing to her.

  That I didn’t save her.

  I wished we’d never met. I wished she married someone else. If she had, none of this would have happened.

  I was supposed to keep her safe, but all this was happening because of me.

  I closed my eyes and rubbed my temple, feeling physical pain everywhere. My muscles were sore from running around, my head pounded because I hadn’t eaten, and my neck was tight from my face being constantly tilted toward the ground.

  But my pain couldn’t possibly compare to hers.

  My bedroom door opened, and I didn’t bother to look at who it was. It was probably Damien, there to deliver bad news.

  A deep voice I recognized erupted across the room. “Helena told me to walk inside.”

  It took me a moment to raise my chin and look at him. I could recognize that voice anywhere, because I’d been listening to it since I was a child. When my eyes landed on his face, they narrowed. I knew who it was, but it took me a moment to believe what I was seeing.

  Ash stepped farther into my bedroom, an apologetic look in his eyes.

  “Why are you here?” Reestablishing a relationship with him was at the bottom of my priorities. Alive or dead, I couldn’t care less. The one person in the world who actually mattered to me was missing. I couldn’t sleep in my bed, not when I had no idea where she was sleeping, when I had no idea how she was being treated.

  Ash took a seat beside me, leaving several inches of space between us. With his elbows on his knees, he stared straight ahead. “Damien called me.”

  I didn’t see why. “You didn’t need to come all the way down here.”

  “Thought I could help.”

  “Why would you want to help me?” I shouldn’t be so spiteful, but I was too depressed to care about my behavior.

  “You know why.”

  “I really don’t. You made it clear that you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. And I certainly don’t hate your wife. We’re a family…and I’m here for you.”

  It was ironic that my brother was sitting beside me, that he’d dropped his venom and put aside our differences. I couldn’t get him to give me a chance whatsoever, and now he was there, being a brother, being a friend. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

  “Any idea where he could be?”

  I sighed in annoyance. “If I did, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be sitting on my ass in the dark.”

  Ash wasn’t a smartass in response. “Any leads? Any moles?”

  “I’ve checked them all…nothing.”

  “We’ll keep looking,” Ash said. “I’m with you on this…til the end.”

  I dragged my hands down my face, furious that I had no idea how to fix this. My wife was the victim of god-knows-what, and I was sitting on my ass doing nothing. I pulled my hands away and let a few tears escape. I loved this woman so much that I would smile if I could take her place. Loving her was like living with my heart outside my body. It was vulnerable, delicate, and she carried it in her hand. Whatever happened to her happened to me.

  Ash glanced at me from the corner of his eye before he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, giving me affection I hadn’t expected. We hadn’t embraced each other as brothers in over five years. As if my father hadn’t been killed by my hand, he was loyal to me. He was there for me. “I’m sorry, man. You don’t deserve this.”

  “I’m surprised you would say that.”

  “You shouldn’t be.” He gently rubbed my back before he dropped his hand. “It
’s time we leave the past in the past. Mom and Dad are gone, but we have each other. Let’s move on—starting now.”

  I turned my gaze to meet his look, my eyes wide because I couldn’t believe what he’d just said. “Does that mean…that you forgive me?” I spoke the question out loud, unable to believe we were having this conversation at all.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I do.”

  Instead of feeling joy, I felt devastation. I’d accomplished what I set out to do, but it didn’t make any difference at all. My wife wasn’t here. She couldn’t love me when she was being tortured and god-knew-what.

  Or if she was dead.

  His statement only made me feel worse, made me feel like I’d lost even more.

  4

  Sofia

  It started to feel like fall.

  The trees and meadow in the distance were changing colors. The deep green of summer slowly faded to autumn, tints of red and yellow. I sat on the balcony and tried to focus on the innate beauty around me. If I focused hard enough, I wouldn’t have to think about my own reality.

  What I had to do every night.

  I stayed in this bedroom and took my meals on the balcony. I wasn’t allowed to leave, so this room became my whole world. When I looked across the countryside, sometimes I imagined that I saw Hades and his men coming for me, in armored trucks and with weapons.

  But then I blinked and realized it was a hallucination.

  As every night passed and my mind became more disturbed, I considered the option Maddox had offered me.

  All I had to do was pull the trigger.

  If no one cared about me, I’d probably do it, but Hades would never recover. My mother would be alone. And Maddox would win. I had to stay alive long enough to be saved. I had to have faith that Hades would come.

  I couldn’t give up on him.

  Not when he would never give up on me.