Control

  They asked me to go to a counselor when I got out. They also asked me not to go back home; at least, not until Chris had been arrested. I was polite in my refusal of both. I knew they were worried, but I refused to live in fear. Chris was lucky to get in the first time, but he wouldn’t do it again.

  My thoughts of my parents were interrupted when a person entered the room. I had my eyes closed as I laid back on the bed and I was too lazy to open them for my visitor. It would only be Daemon or the nurses. Since goose bumps weren’t running up my arm when the visitor approached, I assumed it must be a nurse.

  I waited to be poked or prodded, but several minutes went by without a touch or a sound. I opened my eyes to identify my visitor and my breath caught when I saw Alex’s pain-filled silver eyes.

  His body was ridged and he stood a few feet from my bedside. Every toned muscle in his body was held tight and his jaw was clenched. I watched as his eyes took in every visible injury on my body. Horror flashed across his face when he saw my wrists. Slowly, he stepped closer and he took my hand into his. His grip was soft and unsure, but he needed the contact to know that I was okay.

  His eyes were stormy and bleak. Too many emotions flitted across his face for me to keep up and I waited for him to speak. His eyes met mine and a pain erupted in my chest. Until now, I hadn’t realized how much I missed him.

  “What happened?” His voice came out in a whisper and I was confused by his question.

  “What do you mean?”

  It was obvious he was struggling to control his emotions and his hold over himself was weakening. “Why are you here, Paige? What happened?”

  He didn’t know. How was that possible? Someone must have told him in order for him to have found me. But who? It occurred to me that all the people who would know how to get in touch with Alex were here.

  “Alex, how did you know…?”

  I was interrupted when goose bumps shot up my arm and I knew that Daemon had entered the room. My eyes opened wider as I looked from Alex to him. Alex followed the direction of my vision and turned immediately when he caught sight of Daemon.

  “You fucking bastard! What the fuck have you done to her?!” Alex charged at Daemon and I tried to jump up to stop him. I was attached to the bed by all the cords and gadgets and all I could do was yell to stop him.

  “Alex! No! It wasn’t Daemon!”

  The two massive men collided into one another. Alex attempted to overpower Daemon while Daemon only reacted to restrain Alex from touching him.

  “Calm down, Alex, or you are going to get us both kicked out of here.” Daemon’s voice was controlled but menacing.

  “I hope I do you sick son of a bitch! At least it will get you the fuck away from her!” Alex pushed off of Daemon and they stood nose to nose glaring at each other.

  I untangled myself from the net of tubes and wires stretched across me and sat up as much as I could. “Alex! Stop! Chris did this. It wasn’t Daemon.”

  Alex’s head snapped to me and then back to Daemon. The tension between the two of them was palpable and highly charged. Whereas Alex’s intentions were written clearly in his body language and expression, Daemon just held a defensive stance. His face was emotionless and unreadable.

  Alex turned to me again. “Explain, Paige.”

  I sighed and reached out for his hand. He looked back to Daemon quickly but then accepted my hand and moved closer to my side.

  “Chris broke into the apartment. He attacked all of us. David and Annie were hurt the worst. They’re here as well.” I paused. “Alex, how did you know where to find me?”

  He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze kept returning to Daemon and his discomfort with Daemon’s presence was obvious. I considered asking Daemon to leave, but decided against it.

  Alex finally settled his gaze on me. “I went to your apartment to apologize for the way…” He hesitated and glanced over at Daemon before returning to me. “…for the way I had left things with you. The door was smashed and the place was a mess. There was blood…” His face twisted in worry and pain, but he shook off as he continued. “…I called your work and they told me that you hadn’t called in for any assignments. I went around looking for you and finally came here. I gave them your name and they told me where I could find you.”

  Sadly, I could only focus on two issues that Alex inadvertently revealed in his story; my apartment was still open and the privacy policies of this hospital sucked. I couldn’t allow my apartment to remain open and I started to push myself up even farther to get out of bed. I needed to get home and get the front door fixed so that the apartment could be secured.

  Daemon appeared to have focused on an entirely different issue with what Alex said. “Alex, I understand you are probably in shock and that you are angry to see Paige this way, but I have to ask; why did you immediately assume I did this to her?” Daemon’s voice was clear and controlled as he spoke to Alex. It was obvious that he was attempting to reign in his anger at having been earlier attacked.

  Alex turned to Daemon and his face couldn’t contain the contempt he was feeling. Daemon clearly had a better poker face and I made a decision that if I ever had a chance to go to Vegas, Daemon would be the person to take with me.

  Alex moved closer to Daemon and pointed a finger dangerously close to Daemon’s face. The muscles in Daemon’s body tensed and that tick developed in his jaw that gave away the fact that he was grinding his teeth. “Because I overheard what she told David about you. You’re apparently a control freak when it comes to women and although Paige is willing to go along with that, I’m not. The truth is you are nothing more than a sick fuck and I will kill you before I allow you to hurt Paige; emotionally, physically or otherwise. You don’t know her, you don’t know what she’s been through and the last thing she needs is for some power hungry prick to push her around and tell her what to do.”

  This situation had rapidly gone from bad to worse. Daemon held the blank expression on his face as he processed what Alex had just said. I couldn’t tell if he was angry with Alex’s threat, or if he was angry at me for having told David about him. The tension in the air was suffocating and I needed to get out of here. I don’t handle awkward silences well either, so escape was my only option at this point.

  Daemon moved to my bedside as I struggled to remove myself from the complicated maze of cords apparently used by hospital staff to keep me pinned down to the bed. “What are you doing, Paige?”

  “I’m getting up and leaving. I need to go deal with the apartment. The front door needs to be fixed and I’m the only one left standing who can take care of it.”

  Daemon placed his hands on me to attempt to keep me in bed and Alex shot him a murderous look. Daemon ignored Alex and continued to hold my gaze. “You’re not going back to that apartment, Paige. You can’t. Chris is still out there and until he is found, I’m not allowing you to go back there alone. I want you to stay with me until he is found and put in jail.” He spoke with authority which only served to irritate Alex more.

  “Like I said man, you will not tell Paige what to do.” Alex stepped up closer behind Daemon and I cringed when I thought a fight was unavoidable.

  Daemon turned on his heel and pointed a finger at Alex. He spoke slowly and articulately as he said, “I appreciate your protectiveness of my girl…” Alex flinched at those words but he maintained the stare down with Daemon. “…and I’m not telling her what to do for any other purpose but to keep her safe. If you could look past your dick for one fucking second, you would see that and shut your mouth.”

  This is bad.

  “Daemon, I’m fine. You don’t need to go all caveman on my ass just because of Chris. The likelihood of him breaking into the apartment again is slim to none and I’m not hiding in fear from the sick bastard. If he shows up again…”

  “Paige! Will you stop being obstinate for one second of your fucking life!” Daemon’s voiced boomed through the hospital room.

  Oh crap. I’ve pissed him of
f now.

  Alex’s body tensed again when Daemon raised his voice. These two were going to brawl in my room if I didn’t diffuse the situation and fast.

  I opened my mouth to interject when Daemon cut me off. “No, don’t even try to argue with me, Paige. There’s a difference between being independent and being stupid and it’s obvious that you have not been able to distinguish between the two.”

  My jaw dropped at his words. How dare he call me stupid?! My anger was beginning to boil inside me and there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to speak to me that way.

  Daemon continued. “I have been patient with you. I have sat back and kept my opinions to myself this entire time that this Chris situation has been progressing. I’ve known this entire time that you were being careless and ignorant when it came to the damage a man like that could inflict on you. You have no idea how pissed off I am at myself for having not locked you up when I originally wanted to. That man could have killed you, Paige. You came this fucking close to being raped and tortured. Had I NOT shown up that night, you wouldn’t be here to be as stubborn and aggravating as you currently are!”

  “He’s right.” A female voice spoke and all three of our heads snapped in her direction. A short blond woman stood in the doorway to my hospital room. Her hair was cut into a straight bob and she wore a crisp black pant suit. She carried a file in her hand and some type of I.D. was clipped to the lapel of her jacket. “Hello, Ms. Stone. I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Detective Susan Troy. I spoke with you when you woke up after arriving here.”

  I had no idea who this woman was and I briefly wondered how many times I had regained consciousness before I could remember having done so. Detective Troy eyed Alex and Daemon before continuing into the room to stand between them. I was instantly thankful for her intuition that a buffer was necessary between the two men.

  “Paige, after you advised who had attacked you and your friends, we determined Chris’ full identity. We obtained a search warrant for his apartment, however we have not been able to locate Mr. Baxter. We founds items of…concern…among his belongings and I would prefer that you stay with family or friends until he is apprehended.”

  Great. Just great. I didn’t need to look at Daemon to know that the arrogant smirk was pasted to his face.

  “What items of concern did you find, Detective?” Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the types of items that had been found, I was overly curious to know specifically what Chris had been planning. Had he followed me? Had he done this to other people? Surely, two embarrassing moments hadn’t caused someone to snap to that extent. His words and actions from the other night hinted towards a deeper psychological issue and it was imperative that I understood the level of his depravity.

  Detective Troy was a true professional. She held herself in an authoritative, yet unintimidating manner and the blank expression on her face closely competed with the one Daemon had displayed earlier. Hmmm, maybe I should take her to Vegas.

  “We found journals and photos that Mr. Baxter has been keeping over time. You and your friends were not Mr. Baxter’s only victims. He is a sexual deviant as far as we can tell and you are extremely fortunate that Mr. Pierce was able to show up when he did. Unfortunately, Annie was not as fortunate and we have been requested to refrain from asking her questions by her psychologists. Review of Mr. Baxter’s journals, however, has given us a better idea of what may have been done to her.”

  “Fuck!” Alex’s face twisted in rage and he pulled at his hair from the frustration.

  Detective Troy didn’t react to Alex’s outburst, except to turn her head slightly in his direction and state, “Mr. Simmons, I’m going to need for you to contain your composure while I speak with Ms. Stone. If you continue exhibiting excitable behavior, I will have you escorted out of here.”

  Alex stilled. I was most impressed with Detective Troy’s authoritative demeanor and I regretted that I didn’t have paper and pen easily accessible at the moment so that I could take notes. Unfortunately, I had bigger issues to worry about at the moment; like the fact that I was being cornered into staying with Daemon.

  Keeping his temper under control, Alex turned to Detective Troy. “How do you know my name?”

  “It’s my job to know the name of every person who contacts Ms. Stone until Mr. Baxter is caught.” Detective Troy eyed Alex, daring him to retort. I was really starting to like her. If the circumstances were any different, I believe Detective Troy and I could have been good friends. She was calm, collected, and didn’t put up with any person’s drama. Those were admirable attributes.

  Alex stepped away from the bedside and began to quietly pace the back of the room. Detective Troy and Daemon stared down at me awaiting my response as to what I planned to do. I wrestled with indecision and it irritated me to no end that Daemon was correct in what he had said. It would be stupid of me to return to my apartment while Chris was running around free. I contemplated whether I could go to the Center, but quickly dismissed the idea when I realized it could possibly be dangerous for the people that stayed there. My only option was to stay with Daemon. The idea of allowing him to win this argument was grating on my nerves.

  “Fine, I’ll stay with Daemon until Chris is caught.” Alex ceased his pacing at my words. His gaze remained trained to the ground and his jaw continued to work over itself as he considered his next words.

  “Paige, I’ll see you around. I’m going to go check on Annie and David and go.” Alex didn’t look at anyone as he strode out of the room. I wanted to call after him, but I couldn’t talk to him with the audience currently standing in my room.

  I returned my attention to Daemon. “Like I said, I’ll agree to stay at your place. But I have conditions that I will speak to you about in private.”

  Detective Troy must have taken the hint because she nodded once and said, “Good. Now that we have that issue resolved, I’m going to return to searching for Mr. Baxter. If you see him, or he contacts you in any way, you are to contact me immediately.” She reached into her folder to pull out a card to hand to me. “There are three numbers on that card where I can be reached. If none of those work and you are in immediate need of help, I encourage you to call the emergency line. This is a serious situation, Ms. Stone, and I hope that you will conduct yourself appropriately in light of the circumstances.”

  I nodded my head in understanding before Detective Troy turned to leave. “Have a good day, Mr. Pierce and Ms. Stone. I’ll be in contact if I discover any additional information regarding Mr. Baxter. I must warn you, sometimes finding people can take time. It will be best for you to secure Ms. Stone’s apartment and gather as much of her things as you can to take with you.”

  She exited the room without waiting for a response.

  “Conditions?”

  Daemon gazed down at me with amusement in his eyes. My shock at his sudden change in demeanor was evident and he chuckled. Once again, the bastard chuckled. His inability to hide his enjoyment of having won that battle was annoying. I wasn’t going to make this easy on him. My determination to remain independent of him was fierce, but I had to succumb to the fact that he succeeded in getting his way. And damn if he didn’t have that arrogant smirk back on his face. I was torn between slapping away the expression and grabbing his face to crash my lips against his. The odd lighting in the room caressed his face in such a way that every smooth edge of his cheekbones and strong jaw was accentuated and defined. My desire to reach out and run my palms against the stubble on his skin was almost irrepressible.

  “Yes. Conditions.” My sigh was heavy and I stated my demands. “I won’t stay in your room, number one. I’ll stay there as a guest, but we’re not playing house or anything like that. I’ll also be paying you rent for the time period that I remain there. I don’t take handouts, so I want to contribute to any added expenses.” Daemon opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. “Also, I’m not agreeing to stay there because you told me I have to. You’d better get
the idea out of your head that you have any say in my decisions.” I glared up at him at that last part. There was no way I would allow him to think that he had any authority over my life.

  Daemon remained quiet and still for a few moments. His eyes never left mine and his expression openly challenged what I had just stated. His lips began to curl at one side and a dimple popped out on his cheek. The crystal blue orbs that stared back at me twinkled with his mischief and he leaned down closely to whisper in my ear. His hands came up to brush down the traitorous bumps that gave away his effect on me. My heart pounded and the increased tempo of the beeping machine behind me caused my cheeks to redden. His eyes flashed to mine as his body shook from his silent laugh. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and it irritated me greatly that I couldn’t hide it better.

  His voice took on a seductive and low timbered quality as he whispered, “Think what you want, Damsel. The end result is that I’ll have you at my place and I get to watch over you. I’ve achieved what I wanted. But don’t think that I couldn’t have convinced you otherwise…” His lips were dangerously close to mine. My body trembled at his proximity. The feeling was staggering considering I was still sitting in a hospital room. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his sculpted mouth. Memories of the things those lips had done to me was heating my body and tightening my muscles. When his scent hit me, I was almost completely undone. I leaned forward to kiss him, but when my lips had only slightly brushed his, he pulled back just out of my reach.

  His eyebrow smugly cocked over one eye and a sly smile played over his face. “You can stay in one of the guest rooms and I accept your challenge at not playing house. I think it will be fun to see who can resist who longer. I know how stubborn you are, Paige. But I also know your weaknesses. Can you say the same thing about me?”