3. Jade

Isit at the far end of a long oak dining table, still in my silk gold and lace nightdress, still unable to process Dominik’s shocking news.

And his betrayal.

This is nothing less than a betrayal I will never forgive.

My dad could be dead, and he just left him. Carried me away and left him.

He sits opposite. Over his right shoulder is my one and only avenue of escape: a door with a button on the side that looks like an elevator. The rest of the penthouse doesn’t matter. My brief glance as Dominik led me from the bedroom to the dining table revealed masses of white everything. And glass.

“Eat,” Dominik gently orders me.

He can keep his gentle orders. He’s my captor here, and I want nothing to do with him.

My gaze lingers on the white door with the gold round button.

Is it only a matter of getting to that door, pressing the button and riding an elevator down to the lobby of his penthouse apartment? Or will there be a key I need to insert?

And he said something about a concierge. So where is this concierge hiding? Is he lurking out of sight, waiting to stop me the second I get close to that door?

“Your food is getting cold,” Dominik says.

But not my anger.

The more attention I pay that gold button, the more warning I give Dominik that I’m planning to run for it, so I peel my eyes off it and focus on my newest captor. “My dad told me to leave you in that cell. He wanted me safe. I wanted to break you out. I really wish I had listened to him.”

His expression doesn’t change as he points his chin at my plate. “The pasta is from one of Manhattan’s best restaurants. Comes highly recommended by the concierge.”

I pick up my plate of pasta and I launch it at the nearest wall.

Still expressionless, he sits back in his seat, reaching for a glass of red wine. “You are behaving like a child.”

“You are behaving like a dictator. Let me go.”

We stare at each other across the glass twelve-seater table. On my left, a view of Central Park is so stunning it belongs on a postcard.

Dominik at one end, probably wondering how to control me. I’m at the other, figuring out how I can escape.

“Your place is here, with me.” Dominik takes a sip from his glass and returns it to the table.

I lean toward him, not even thinking about my V-neck dipping until his eyes flare with heat. “My place is with my dad and?—”

Dominik’s mouth flattens, and I lean back in my seat. “Those friends of yours?”

“Shep, Isaiah, and Patten saved you. You should be grateful they?—”

“They claimed what is mine?” he interrupts.

I stare at him, and I see all the arrogance he must have been hiding from me all along. “I was wrong. You don’t sound like a dictator, you sound like the collector.”

The corners of his eyes pinch, and he takes a long draw from his wine glass. “You are not going back to them, Jade. The sooner you accept it, the better for you and our child, and the happier you’ll be.”

“And how is accepting you as my captor better for me or my child? Please tell me how happy I can be as long as I agree to be your captive.”

“You would not be my captive. I can give you everything you want.”

“I want my freedom.”

He nods at one of the sliding glass doors. “The reason I selected this penthouse is that it’s one of Manhattan’s tallest buildings. I have a private rooftop terrace where I can come and go.”

Fly and go is what he means. I broke his chain in Oklahoma, and he carried me away to his New York penthouse.

“Was there a reason you’re telling me this?” I ask.

“There are only two ways out of my apartment. My elevator and that roof.”

Unless I want to plummet to my death, escape is not happening from that roof.

Which leaves the elevator.

“Okay. Fine.” I get up.

“You are not leaving me, Jade.”

It’s not that big of a distance between me and the door. And he’s sitting. I could make it.

“Jade.” He sighs as if I’ve exhausted him.

He takes another sip from his glass.

I sprint toward the door.

Five steps. That’s it. And Dominik has me.

He grips my arm, pulling me down a short white hallway and away from the door I didn’t come close to reaching. “Come, I need to show you something.”

“The way out?”

He peers down at me. “Everything that is mine is now yours.”

“I don’t want anything, so if this is you trying to bribe me with?—”

He stops at the end of the hallway and flings a door open.

I lose my ability to use my brain.

“My hoard,” he declares proudly.

I swallow hard as I take in the mountains of gold, gems, and a hell of a lot more than that.

“Yeah,” I mumble. “I got that.”

“This is all yours to enjoy,” he says.

I spin to face him. “I don’t want to enjoy it. All I want is to go to Wilkerson and see my dad. Atticus shot him with a bolt. I need to know he’s okay.”

Dominik waves his hand. “It was a bolt. He will be fine.”

“He fell out of the sky. How can he be okay?” Without waiting for a response, I turn to leave.

Approximately two seconds later, Dominik has me pinned to the wall, his body caging me in. “Leaving isn’t an option. I refuse to allow you to put yourself and our child at risk.”

“You refuse to allow me?” I whisper, rage flooding my veins.

Dominik’s eyes dip as he touches his fingers to my throat, right over the place he bit me. “Here is the woman I claim as my mate.”

My stomach clenches.

“I’m not yours,” I whisper.

“With blood and with seed. We are bound.” His smile is gentle, but his eyes burn with a possessiveness that terrifies me. “In all ways, Jade of House Kaida, you are mine, and you will be mine forever. Only death can part a mated pair.”

“No,” I breathe.

He touches his lips to mine. “Yes.”

He pulls away before I can shove him away. “Since pasta wasn’t to your liking, I will take you out to celebrate. I have a jade bracelet in here that perfectly matches your eyes.”

My back stiffens. “I don’t want a jade bracelet.”

He stops at the door, peering over his shoulder. “Then perhaps a diamond?”

And he closes the door.

A lock snicks shut.

I rush toward it.

“No. No. No.” Wrapping my hand around the knob, I rattle it.

Too late.

It’s much too late for that. “You cannot lock me in your hoard! Let me out.”

“I have not locked you in, mate. You’re selecting a piece of jewelry to wear for dinner tonight. I will return in two hours.”

“I’ve picked something,” I yell. “You can open the door now.”

His arrogant laugh drifts through the door, and I grind my teeth, wanting to punch him in the face. “Take your time to select something you truly love.”

His footsteps move away from the door. And me.

“You cannot lock me in here. I am not a piece of gold,” I yell, rattling the door. I even kick it, and all I get for my trouble is a stubbed toe.

“Dominik! I just need to know if my dad is okay. Please.” I wait. “Dominik!”

Silence.

Turning my back on the dark wood, I take in the gold and jewels covering the floor, every table, and even hanging from hooks on the walls.

My eyes burn as I slide down it, covering my face with both hands while I try not to cry. “I just need to know my dad is still alive.”