Still haven't gotten around to responding to reviews. But I did finish editing the next chapter! *Pats self on back*
Voting is now closed for the MeetTheMateContest, but you should still head over and check out all the fantastic stories. I had the pleasure of BETAing a couple of the entries. So much talent here! Winners will be announced mid September.
Nothing crushes the spirit quite as effectively as realizing you have put your faith and hope in the wrong person. Denial turned to horror in a split second. Bella's eyes widened, and she began to struggle. She sobbed involuntarily as she felt the sharp tug of the leash at her throat and wrists. The knots didn't budge, they only tightened. She could never escape without assistance, and it was immediately apparent that Demetri had no intention of offering his.
Demetri's smile stayed fixed in place as he came over to examine her bonds. She noticed that his hair was gelled back, and he was wearing a hotel uniform. He wore thin leather gloves and held a smartphone up, biting his lip thoughtfully. He snapped several pictures of her, zooming in on her face from several angles. He ran his hands around her wrists and tested the strength of the collar and leash.
Tears streamed down Bella's face and dripped from her nose, pooling in the silk tie that dug into her cheeks. She couldn't tell whose feelings were possessing her body, her own or Marie's. The flood of fear and betrayal were one and the same.
Masen had said three minutes. Had he seen Demetri enter their rooms? Was he on his way? How long until he arrived? What would happen to when he did?
Demetri was humming tunelessly, poking around in the closet and bathroom. He walked back and forth in front of her several times, but, apart from his initial response, he seemed completely disinterested in the naked girl tied to the bed.
"How long has he had you?" the man asked without preamble, but it was obviously a rhetorical question. Bella's low moan of despair didn't tell him anything useful.
"That doesn't look very comfortable. Does he leave you there often?"
Bella gave a halting nod, but Demetri wasn't even looking at her. He was rifling through Marie's jewelry box.
"I'll be done soon. Just relax," he spoke casually as he left the bedroom.
Bella could hear him shuffling papers at the desk. His footsteps sounded on the kitchen tiles. She heard him opening and shutting the refrigerator, drawers and cabinet doors. The seconds ticked by. Bella wished she had some way of warning Masen. He was walking into a trap!
Demetri returned to the bedroom and stood in the doorway watching her. How had she ever thought his eyes were kind? They looked blank now, as if there was no soul behind them. Why it shocked her, she couldn't say. After all, she had been playing a role all along. So had Masen. If the good guy could play the villain, was it so hard to believe that the villain could play the saint?
How had he found them so quickly? Masen had only started making casual inquiries on Monday. Demetri had made his first appearance on Tuesday morning. He had been surveilling them for at least two days, maybe three. Who did he report to? What had he told them? And where was Masen? Bella could no longer hear anything beyond the rushing of blood in her ears and the wheezing sound she made as she tried to force air down her tear-clogged throat.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."
His words were not reassuring. He might not have plans to hurt her, but his tone implied that he wouldn't be surprised if somebody else did.
"Your Mr. Cullen must have a lot of important business to leave you here all alone so often. He could really use better security."
The minutes dragged on. All of a sudden, Demetri's head came up, and he smiled, turning to face the main room.
"Mr. Cullen. At last. We were just talking about you!"
Bella had never stopped struggling, but when she realized that her partner was finally there, she began to thrash about. She tried to scream, but the sound gurgled in her throat.
"You little shit. What are you doing in here? Who sent you?" Masen's voice carried all of the hatred and conceit she was used to hearing in Edward Cullen's voice, but his eyes were his own. He took in her condition with a fast look. She was just where he had left her two hours earlier. Frantic and terrified, but unhurt.
"You're so intelligent. I think you can answer that question for yourself," Demetri smirked, his posture and tone conveying his cocky confidence.
Masen's face twisted into a mask of fury. He sent the housekeeping cart careening across the room. It crashed into the wall and toppled over. He barrelled across the room and made a grab for Demetri, but the smaller man slipped snake-like beyond his reach. Bella's eyes couldn't open any wider. Masen was fast, but Demetri was faster. His movements were a blur to her.
They traded punches, Masen only delivering glancing blows as his smaller opponent danced barely out of range. Demetri darted in periodically, landing several solid hits to Masen's ribs and stomach. Demetri's fists struck with cracking thuds, but Masen didn't flinch or fall back. He leaned into them. The blows didn't seem to faze him at all. He appeared to be content to let the intruder tire himself out.
Suddenly, Masen swept one leg out to trip Demetri, following the kick with a wicked jab to his opponent's stomach. Demetri twisted slightly at the last second, and the blow glanced off his lower ribs, but Masen's hands darted out to deliver three more hits in quick succession. The meaty thuds made Bella's skin crawl, and she shrank away from the battling pair.
Demetri was bent almost double, and his mouth gaped wide like a fish out of water. A trickle of air gurgled in his throat. Masen grabbed him by the nape of his neck and slammed him face first into the floor, then planted his left knee between the younger man's shoulder blades. Bella flinched when a knife appeared in Masen's hand, and he held the blade flat against Demetri's scalp, just behind his ear.
"Okay, you fucker. Now we talk. Who sent you?"
"My employer is a careful man. He means no offense," Demetri choked out, his voice muffled by the carpet.
"No offense? You've been skulking around for days, following us around, flirting with my girl. And now I find you in my rooms rummaging around in my belongings with your pansy-ass gloves on. You have three seconds to tell me who sent you before I slice off your ear and shove it up your ass."
Bella was panicking. How far would Masen go? What sort of game was he playing? She knew now that Demetri was the enemy, but could she really kneel there and watch her partner torture him, disfigure him for life? As if she had a choice. He's bluffing. He has to be! Please let him be bluffing. The fabric around her wrists burned as she twisted and tugged. She was too horrified to watch, but she couldn't make herself turn away.
"I am not at liberty to disclose his name, but I was asked to deliver a message to you, if you turned out to be the man we hoped you were."
"Spit it out. I have better things to do today than mopping your blood up off the floor."
"It's in my pocket. Left rear."
Masen released Demetri's neck, but kept him pinned beneath his full weight. He continued to hold the blade flush against his captive's skin. Masen reached with his left hand and pulled an embossed card out of Demetri's pants. He scrutinized it for several seconds before standing up and pocketing the knife.
"I'm not sure if I should accept. First impressions are important to me. I can't say that I'm happy right now."
"But I'm not really your first impression, am I? What about Chicago?"
"So I was being followed. Your men lack finesse. And I saw straight through Maria's clumsy attempts to arrange a meeting. One that I'm sure would have left me at a severe disadvantage in any sort of negotiations. No. We're a long way from the trust necessary to do any sort of business together. I'm afraid I'll have to reconsider my original request. Tell your boss thanks, but no thanks."
Masen bent over and picked up the smartphone that Demetri had dropped in the struggle. His brow darkened as he scrolled through the photos Demetri had taken of Bella and their possessions. He pocketed the phone and glared at the Volturi spy.
"How long can you keep this up?" Demetri asked. He had regained his composure, but his posture was not as straight, and his voice had an odd hollow tone to it. "Your lifestyle doesn't hold up well to public scrutiny. Imagine what would have happened if any other hotel employee had walked in here this morning. You might be able to mince words with bankers and bureaucrats, but nothing you say can make the average person okay with the type of entertainment you prefer. Stay in one place too long, and you're going to find yourself with more attention than you really want. You're new. I can tell. You think I'm over-confident? Look in the mirror, Mr. Cullen. You need real security. Round the clock guards. Invisibility. We can offer you that, no strings attached, while you consider all your options. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals, and you'll learn why everyone turns to us eventually."
"And as soon as I let her out of my sight, you whisk her off, lock the gates, and I'm out a quarter of a million dollars. No thanks."
"That would never happen. My employer values hospitality and his duties as a host more than anything else in this universe. If you accept our invitation, you will be extended every honor and courtesy. You have my word."
"The word of a spy. Priceless, I'm sure. And if I don't accept?"
"Open season, sir. We protect our interests. You do not want to be left out in the cold."
"That sounds like a threat," Masen replied woodenly, his nostrils flaring in distaste.
"Merely the truth."
Masen evaluated the Volturi's emissary coldly, flipping the card absently between his fingers. Bella looked back and forth between them, trying to guess her own fate.
"Your threats mean nothing to me. Life is short. We all know that. If I die tomorrow, I really don't give a shit. But I have to admit. . ." The silence hung between them for several seconds. Masen looked down at the card in his hand, then pocketed it. His lip turned up the slightest bit. "I am curious. . ."
"So, shall I tell our staff to prepare a room?"
"It would be my pleasure to accept your employer's kind and generous invitation. But let me be clear, if I ever see you near my girl again, they will never find all the pieces of your body. You have my word."
"That would be an inconvenience. However, I doubt we'll ever have cause to meet again." Demetri bowed stiffly and exited the room. Moments later they heard the front door close behind him.
Bella looked to Masen. He features were inscrutable. Rather than make a move to release her, he began walking through the room, looking carefully at every piece of furniture, the light fixtures and framed artwork on the walls. There was a crease forming between his eyebrows. He disappeared from the room and returned a few minutes later with a serious look on his face.
"Sometimes I think you are more trouble that you're worth," he said coldly.
The frigid tones of Edward Cullen's voice chilled her to the core, as sharp and brittle as cracked ice. He raised his right hand and rubbed his temple meaningfully. Bella nodded her understanding. Demetri had bugged their rooms. The Volturi may have invited him to stay in their complex, but they didn't trust him. Not yet.
Masen cut her bonds with the same knife he had used to threaten Demetri. Her muscles trembled, and she sank limply into the pile of bedding.
"Get dressed, you're coming with me. And hurry the fuck up. This bullshit has already made me late."
Bella nodded, dressing as quickly as her shaky limbs allowed. She slipped several clunky bracelets over her wrists to hide the angry red weals from the ties, then trailed behind him all the way to the car. As soon as she shut her door, she opened her mouth to speak, but a quick look from her partner silenced her.
She had so many questions, but Masen's angry visage made it clear that she might have to wait a long time for answers.
When I imagine Masen fighting, I think of a young Clint Eastwood. Who do you picture?