MIA
I scrambled to my feet immediately, utterly embarrassed to be seen in that position. It made me feel like the slut I was sold to be.
I heard Keith’s deep growl, and I couldn’t tell what his feelings were.
“Jackie, what are you doing here?” Keith asked her disgruntledly.
He sounded disgusted.
“Really, Keith?” She asked him without flinching.
She didn’t seem to be moved by Keith’s harshness. It was as though she was used to it already.
“The least you could have done was knock,” Keith told her.
She glanced at me, but her eyes were hot with fire and rage, and it burned into my skin. I couldn’t even hold her gaze.
Jackie, as Keith referred to her, was strikingly beautiful. There was something about her that screamed power and class, and looking at her and Keith, they seemed like the perfect match.
A slice of jealousy cut through me instantly.
Gosh, I don’t even know who she is, and there is nothing going on between Keith and I, so why did I feel slightly jealous?
“We need to talk, Keith,” Jackie said, eventually taking her eyes away from me.
“Leave us,” Keith ordered.
For a second, I didn’t know who he was ordering out of the room. I thought it was Jackie because she was the intruder, but when Keith looked at me stiffly, I understood that it was me.
“What the fuck are you still standing here and staring at?” Jackie barked at me.
I dashed out of the room, more embarrassed than I had ever been.
Then I heard the door slam loudly.
I guessed it must have been Jackie. She seemed really hostile and upset, and it made me wonder why on earth she would be upset with me.
She didn’t know me and I didn’t know her either.
Anyway, curiosity didn’t make me leave. Instead, I glued my eyes to the door and eavesdropped on them.
“Who is she?” Jackie asked Keith tightly.
“That shouldn’t be any of your business, Jackie,” Keith responded.
She sounded like a jealous lover to me, especially from the way she glared at me. If Keith already had a lover, then what was he doing with me?
“He bought you as his sex slave, duh,” a voice in my head reminded me.
“We are business partners, and as such, your affairs concern me as well,” she stated.
“And the last time I checked, this is personal,” Keith said. “How does my personal life affect our business together?” He asked.
Okay, now I understood it; they were business partners, but from my point of view, it seemed as though Jackie saw Keith more than that.
Well, who wouldn’t?
Keith was handsome and well built, and he carried with him an air of masculinity and power, and judging from everything I had seen so far, he was wealthy.
“Who is she, Keith, and don’t tell me that what I saw was exactly what was about to happen before I came in?” She asked, insisting on the first question.
“Why are you here?” Keith asked, deliberately ignoring her question.
They were simply going back and forth, and it didn’t look like either of them was ready to surrender to the other.
“You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on them, Mia,” a voice in my head warned me. “If you get caught, you might be in a more dangerous situation than you already are.”
But I didn’t walk away.
Where would I go?
Keith merely commanded me to leave. He didn’t say where, and I couldn't see anyone around, so I held onto that as my excuse for eavesdropping. My mum had warned me several times about fixing my ears into other people’s business without being asked, and that it would land me in serious trouble someday, but I didn’t listen to her.
“You should be concentrating on escaping and not listening to a back and forth banter between two business partners,” the same voice told me.
Yes, I knew that I should be doing that, but somehow, I couldn’t move my feet away from the door.
“Why are you being secretive with me, huh?” Jackie asked Keith.
She was refusing to drop the issue that Keith obviously didn’t want to talk about. Even a blind and deaf man could tell that she was obsessed with Keith. I spent only a few minutes in her presence, but I could tell. She might be an alpha female, but she was terrible at hiding her feelings.
So how couldn’t Keith tell? Or maybe he was just feigning ignorance.
“I have never discussed my private business with you, Jackie,” Keith told her gruffly.
“She is not even your type!” Jackie said.
Instinctively, I looked down at myself and felt somewhat inadequate. This was the first time that anyone had ever made me feel this way.
“She is too young for you, Keith, and too bland. There is nothing special about her,” Jackie continued to insist, as though she was trying to force Keith into agreeing with her.
“Why are you here?” Keith asked instead, pretending he didn’t hear all that she had said.
“I have been calling you, Keith, and it seems as though you are allowing your ‘personal’ business to get in the way of our business,” Jackie said sourly.
“I have been busy,” Keith responded, almost sounding nonchalant. “What is this shout?” He asked.
“There have been some problems that require your urgent attention, and you know I wouldn’t have come all the way down here just to tell you about it if it wasn’t,” Jackie said.
I fastened my ear to the door, wanting desperately to hear them. I wanted to know what Keith was into. As far as I could tell, he was a stranger, and I couldn’t trust him. He bought me for an outrageous amount of money and killed a man in my presence, and now, I was in his residence. So I really needed to know.
Again, I should be focusing on fleeing, I knew that, but…
“Hey,” I heard a stern voice.
And I jumped in shock.
Standing in front of me was Cain, the man I saw earlier with Keith. He had obviously caught me eavesdropping as he cocked his eyebrow questioningly.
My heart pounded hard against my ribs.
I was in deep trouble!
KEITHMia’s question took me off guard.“Why would you ask me that?” I asked her worriedly.“All the rules to keep me caged in here,” she responded, tears gathering in her eyes. “I am not keeping you caged, Mia,” I told her, broken to see her tears.“Then what is this about?” She asked painfully.The sound of her voice made my chest hurt badly. I had come to care so much about her that her pain had become mine. I wouldn’t have said anything to her. Before now, I would have let her believe whatever it was that she wanted to believe. As long as I was keeping her safe, I didn’t give a damn how she felt about it, but it wasn’t like that anymore. The last thing I wanted was to see her crying.“I am just trying to protect you,” I told her.“From what? Protect me from who?” She asked deeply. Then before I could give her a response, she added, saying, “You already bought me, so what else?”Her words pierced my heart. Mia had gotten this all wrong. She had no idea what lay ahead of her out th
MIAEver since I realized that I was strong enough to stand and walk, I had been waking up with so much joy and energy.“I can’t wait to use the library today!” I said with bubbling excitement.Now, I wouldn’t be so bored because there would be something to do. I was so excited that I could barely remember Athena’s outburst. However, I noticed now that she didn’t share in my excitement.“What’s wrong, Athena?” I asked her worriedly.Athena looked at me, and I could see sadness in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did yesterday, and I am sorry,” she apologized deeply, melting my heart.“I am not angry, Athena,” I told her.“Are you sure?” She asked wistfully.“We are friends, Athena, why would I be angry?” I asked her.Her eyes caught the time and she gasped.“What is it?” I asked again.“You are to have breakfast with Mr. Keith in his dining room,” she told me.I looked at her with shock.“That sounds like an instruction,” I said.“When Mr. Keith called me to his study yes
KEITH “I don’t want Terrace to be the one to call first,” I told Cain. “He might just be suspecting something if he happens to call first and I deliver the news,” I added.A part of me still felt skeptical about the whole thing. Cain had initially come up with a story.“All you have to do is tell Terrace that we delayed in getting back, so as you promised, you had to send one of your bodyguards to find them. Unfortunately, he found out that we had both been killed. As a matter of fact, he was only able to escape by sheer luck, and as a result of that, he couldn’t get their bodies,” Cain had stated.“You want me to lie to Terrace that you are dead?” I had asked Cain, surprised at his story.I had to ask him deeply and carefully because I felt that he hadn’t thought about the story thoroughly.“Yes, boss,” Cain had answered, confirming that he knew exactly what he was saying. “Why would I do that? Do you have any idea what that implies?” I had questioned Cain deeply.“Yes, I do, boss,
JACKIE “Why would I want to do that?” She asked me, her voice too loud for comfort.“Can you not raise your voice?” I pleaded with her but she sized me up with her eyes.If it wasn’t for what I needed, she would have had her hair pulled right away, and she definitely would be at her doctor’s for a couple of days. Men didn’t even dare speak to me like this, or stare at me with disdain, much less women. Even Madeline Dmitrii couldn’t stand my power. “Ma’am, you are wasting my time and I don’t even have it to give in the first place,” she retorted.Then she made to walk past me into the tavern, but I was faster. I grabbed her with one hand, and before she could scream, I covered her mouth with my other hand. Then I dragged her effortlessly to my car, shoved her in and pinned the door. Before she could unpin the car lock to get out, I was already inside the car, and I pulled out my gun.“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I told her just when her finger was about to reach for the car l
JACKIEI sat on my desk, trying to get some work done, but it just wasn’t working.“How do I get something to give Keith?” I kept asking myself.This was the question that had been running through my mind for days now. The good thing was that Tessa was out of the way, so I didn’t have to worry about that, and just yesterday, I spoke to Bertha, and she already agreed to do it…heartily.However, I still wasn’t satisfied. How could I possibly be? I felt like I was in the dark not knowing what was going on in Keith’s mansion.Had Mia recovered?Had her condition gotten worse or better?How about Keith’s murder issue?What exactly what going on?“Arghhh!” I yelled in agony, almost pushing off everything on my table to the ground.This was all too frustrating. Calling Keith was not even an option because he hardly ever took my call. Since the last time I called and I didn’t have any tangible news to give him, he had barely taken my call or called me back.“He is giving all his damn attent
KEITH “Are you going to get some rest?” I asked Cain.He had been thinking nonstop since our last conversation, and I feared that he was going to have a migraine from it.“The clock is ticking, boss,” Cain responded.“We have until evening to tell Terrace about Julian’s death, and that is enough time if you ask me,” I said.However, deep down, I was equally worried.I had also been thinking, but for the life of me, I couldn’t come up with something convincing enough. Terrace sent his best bodyguard to me. Julian was probably as important to him as Cain was to me, and I could already imagine how he would take it.It could be as worse as finding out about my involvement with what happened to Don Milano.“What I want is for you to get some rest. The more rested you are, the faster you will heal,” I added.“I am fine,” Cain insisted.“But I need you to be at your best,” I told him. “I only killed Julian, not get into war with ten mafias,” Cain responded.He was playing around with me, a