Chapter 2

Dwayne refunded Sierra’s money for the tickets he doesn’t want me on a plane full of people but I know the truth he’s afraid I’ll flirt with a man and stir up rumors again that he’ll have to silence like he’s done many times before. So he’s letting us use the jet and I must say I prefer it because the three of us are drinking Dwayne’s wine and having a blast talking about the clubs we’re going to.

“Are you sure, Sierra, that Avery doesn’t mind the three of us crashing at his place for two weeks?”Aurora asks and the wine that was in my mouth flew out like a fountain.

“W-what?”

Sierra crunches up her face.

“That was gross,” She said.

“Did she just say his name? I’m not staying in his apartment Sierra. I want nothing to do with him,” I scolded her and she rolled her eyes.

“Relax. He’s in Florence on business, he won’t be there,” She assures me and my tense body relaxes a bit but still my mind is uneasy about the fact that I’m meeting up with a complete stranger.

“I’m sorry about Dwayne,” Aurora says, her parents are Wade and Jenny Sierra aunt and uncle.

“I just can’t believe he’s forcing me to marry this man that I don’t know,”

“Why does he want you married so badly?” Sierra asks, and I narrow my eyes at her. Aurora and Sierra know about why I was so wild they knew how badly I was hurting over him. Since then Dwayne has kept me under his thumb.

“It’s good for business,” I told them both.

“Do you even know this guy?” It was Aurora that asked.

I shake my head.

“I’ll be meeting him when you guys do,” I shrugged. No need to dwell it is what it is, not changing Dwayne’s mind.

“That’s horrible,” Aurora shook her head. I turned and looked out the window of the jet.

I can hear the chatter from the girls but I can’t make out what they are saying. My mind goes back to the night when I was sixteen, the night everything around crumbled and turned my world upside down.

Eight years ago….

I’ve had a crush on Avery since I was fourteen and I thought the crush would fade but it only bloomed. Tonight I’m going to tell him how I feel before the opportunity passes by. My father forbade me from seeing him but that won’t stop me, not tonight. Tonight I’m going to tell Avery that I love him.

I’ve tried multiple times before and my father stops me. He said I can’t be in love with him because he’s my nephew and it’s wrong to pursue feelings when blood runs so close.

Tonight I don’t care what my father says, Avery’s leaving and it’s now or never to confess my love and beg him to stay.

I’ve been searching and no sign of him anywhere. Maybe my father pushed him too far with the family business nonsense and he left already. My heart squeezes at the thought and just as I was about to give up I see him walking out the front door.

My heart races as I run after him and I grab his elbow and his whole posture changes.

“Avery, please don’t go!”

He jerks his arm free from my grasp and throws his bag in the trunk of his car and he walks to the driver door. I quickly move to grab his arm again when he catches my wrist mid air.

“Don’t fucking touch me,”

I swallow the dry lump caught in my throat and take a deep breath.

“I love you, Avery. Please don’t go,”

Not only could I see his jaw tic but I could hear it. Avery and I have never been close but some reason I always thought he liked me. When we had a family movie night a year ago I sat next to him and the movie that was playing was a horror film and the farther into it got the more terrifying it was and I held on to him, he didn’t seem to mind.

Once the movie was over Sierra wanted to watch something else to get rid of the images of the horror show and she fell asleep halfway through Cinderella and Avery brushed a strand of my hair from my eyes and when I tried to kiss him he left.

I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. It was the same look my father gave my mother. So he had to care..right?

My thoughts were pulled back to present when Avery pushed me against the side of a cold car.

“Beg me again,” Avery whispers, his hot breath fanning my ear and a hot sensation forming in the pit of my stomach.

“Please?”

I gasp for air when Avery wraps his hand around my throat. Avery inches himself closer to me. My eyes widened when something hard pressed in my lower abdomen.

Avery cocks a lopsided grin.

“You’re feelings are one sided,”

I try to remove his hand from my neck but he only tightens his grip more.

My eyes welled up with tears.

“What’s the matter Whitney? Do you need to breathe?”

Unable to talk, I managed to nod.

He leans in.

“I need to breathe too. When your around I can’t,”

My stomach swirls with a giddy feeling until he adds.

“I can’t stand the smell of you. So get the fuck away from me,” He seethes and jerks me toward his face.

“I’ll be watching you Whitney. If you just so much let anyone put their finger on you,” He pauses and runs his finger down my arm a shiver runs down my spine, he no longer had that desire in his eyes the only thing flashing through his Carmel colored eyes…Pure hatred.

“You’ll have to deal with me, and trust me Whitney you won’t like the wrath I will bring down on you,”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Remember, the rules Whitney,”

How can I forget? When he texted me and called the moment the jet landed in California. I know what’s at stake if I fall out of line. I've done that many times and the scars on my back are a constant reminder of how far Dwayne is willing to go.

“Yes, Sir.” I replied and Sierra shot me a sideways glance before turning her attention back to Aurora about the beautiful lit buildings of Los Angeles.

No wonder Avery never came back, it’s beautiful here. I don’t say my thoughts aloud. I shouldn't be having thoughts about him anyway he’s the reason my back holds the reminder of Dwayne’s wrath of my disobedience.

“Phone me once you get there, and Whitney,”

“Yes,sir!”

Sierra is holding my gaze as I swallow the lump in my throat when Dwayne murmurs, “Avery is off limits, need I remind you of what will happen if you disobey?”

Closing my eyes to help calm my racing heart and gut-wrenching memories of the night Dwayne had Marcus to forever scar my body.

“Do I make myself clear?” Dwayne roars when I forgot to answer him.

“Yes, sir,”

“Your fiance will be waiting for you,” He mutters before hanging up.

Great to know.

Los Angeles traffic was horrific; it took the driver two hours to get us through downtown. Not sure where we’re headed but we left the glow of the city behind us as the driver makes so many round-sharp bends.

“I thought we were going to your brothers?” Aurora asks Sierra.

Must they keep bringing him up? Ugh, I have a feeling this trip will be the death of me.

“We are,” Sierra nods, “Avery has a house about thirty minutes out of the city,” she shrugs and picks up her phone. A smile spreads Sierra’s lips when she sees who’s calling.

“It’s Daniel,” She announces before she takes the call. Aurora’s in ‘Awe’ I just rolled my eyes. I mean she’s not been out of his sight for twenty four hours yet and he’s already calling asking her what she’s doing.

Daniel really needs to loosen his grip a little, and let Sierra enjoy her last few weeks as a single woman.

By the time we pull up to the black fence of Avery’s house the sun was beginning to set on the horizon and I must say the sunsets are much prettier on the island.

The driver pulls up to the gate and hits the button on the speaker box and a man with rough foreign accent barks and the speaker hisses and we cover our ears from the horrid sound.

“I’m delivering Ms Isla Martago and her friends,” The driver told the man who was just speaking through the box. The driver got no reply but the gate opened all the same.

“That was weird,” Sierra mutters.

Weird doesn’t cover it. Once the car came to a stop a slur of men, big men with weapons attached to their sides swarmed the car and yanked us out one by one.

“Hey, that’s mine,” Aurora shouts and tries to yank back her purse from the brute that took it.