Page 84 of Pas de Trois
Chapter 20
Anya
I hold my position on my knees, gun in hand, aimed at Renata. At my insistence, she sends Luca to her room to get the key to remove the padlock and Ezra’s collar. I wait until it falls free from his neck and lands heavily on the floor before I lower the gun. But I don’t give it up. Not yet. I hold it tightly in my grip until Murphy has led Ezra and I back to my room and he shuts the door.
Murphy holds out his palm. “Hand it over, lass.”
“Where will he be staying?” I’m not giving up this gun until I know Ezra will be behind a locked door that Renata and Lorenzo can’t access before they leave.
Murphy sighs. “Am I going to regret it if he stays in your room?”
My pulse thrums with unexpected hope. “You would let him stay with me?”
“It’s probably against my better judgment, but since my home is a fortress and there are extra security measures in place while my wife…adjusts to her new lot in life, I’ll allow you to keep your talent slave for now. Do you have any plans to point a gun at my head?”
I swallow. “No.” As a show of good faith, I hand him the gun.
He takes it with a sigh. “Fuck, I’ve gone soft. Listen,” he points his finger in my face and I lean back from the intensity of it. “I’m only doing this for you because Renata is on my last fucking nerve. If you test me, you will regret it. If you behave yourselves, then we won’t have a fucking problem. Understood? There is no escaping my home, so don’t even think about trying.”
I nod. “Understood.”
Murphy turns and walks toward the door, then stops and spins back to us, looking at Ezra. “Do you understand what’s at stake here, slave boy? You step out of line and try to cross me, and I will hurt you in ways you never imagined.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Ezra says.
Murphy gives him a once over. “I really hope you do.” Then he looks at me pointedly. “Watch him. You’re responsible for his behavior. He fucks up, you’ve fucked up. And you know I’ll make you pay for it.” He turns the knob and pulls the door open. “Lock this,” he says before he slams the door shut behind him.
I practically run to the door, turning both the lock on the knob and the deadbolt above it. Then, I press my back to the door and take what feels like the first breath since I saw Ezra lying there on the floor, facing Renata’s wrath in the hallway.
Our eyes meet and my heart aches at the look on his face, at the sight of him trembling and terrified.
Oh, God.
What did she do to him tonight?
He doesn’t just seem frightened for me as he always has been—he looks tortured in his own right. We both move at the same time and meet in the middle of the space between us, nearly colliding. I reach for his bound wrists, my fingers instantly threading between the knots to free him.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my fingers working frantically to loosen the knots, but they’re tied so tightly.
“No. No, I’m not fucking okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, though I don’t know what I’m apologizing for.
“I didn’t rape her.”
“I know that, Ezra. I know. What did she do to you? God, what happened?”
“I need a fucking shower. Fuck. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just…” my voice cracks, “he pulled the trigger on you and you would’ve died if it hadn’t misfired.” I manage to free one of the knots and focus my attention on pulling the long length of rope through the loop, rather than let the reality of that truth sink in.
A tense, terrified silence falls between us as I work quickly to undo the heavy knots. It feels like it takes me forever to pull them free. His wrists finally separate with the knot I’ve just undone, but the rope is still tied to his right wrist. As soon as he’s able to pull his arms apart, he shoves my hands away and throws his arms around me. The dangling ends of rope whip around to lasso me to him.
“I thought I was dead,” he whispers. “I thought I was dead, and I left you behind.”
His words grip me and shake loose the tears I’ve been holding back. I press my face into his bare chest and let them fall free. “That was terrifying. I’ve never been more afraid in my life.”
He half-sobs, half-chuckles as he kisses my hair. He pulls back to examine my face with his hands holding my cheeks. “Never? After all you’ve been through?”
