1
Dexter
I’m pacing the driveway, awaiting news, a call, a car pulling up to the Estate, but there’s nothing.
The guests are long gone. The only person here with me is Kelley, the Oakes’ driver who seems almost more worried than I am. He’s a fatherly figure, and he confided in me how much Pandora reminds him of his daughter.
Emilian Oakes is furious. Once he found out Easton Brantley disappeared with his daughter – his most prized possession – he smashed a priceless Ming Dynasty vase and retreated to his office. I got him to speak to me, and he offered Kelley’s services in case I found out anything about Pandora. But he knows as well as I do it’s likely too late – Easton’s already got his claws in her.
I spent the night watching my phone like a hawk, waiting for a call that never came. All of my friends disappeared along with Easton and Pandora. I know what this means. I know they’re ganging up on me, using the toy I’ve deemed as my property.
It’s been twelve hours since Pandora disappeared from Oakes Estate. Twelve gut-wrenching hours filled with guilt, anguish and shame.
Now, my phone lights up and Lai’s number flashes across the screen.
“Hello? Hello? Lai, where the fuck are you?” I demand, picking up the call on the first ring.
There’s nothing but the sound of breathing on the other side. I furrow my brows, rubbing my temples as I wait for a reply. I hope nothing bad has happened, but I have a bad feeling about this. How could Pandora just disappear from her own party? Surely something messed up has happened, and the fact that Brantley’s gone too does not speak in his favor.
“Where is Pandora?” I bark down the line. “You need to tell me where you took her right the fuck now, or I’m going to make your life a living fucking hell, you hear me, Lai?”
“Maybe stop it with the threats for five seconds,” my friend growls in response. “And just let me fucking speak for once instead of interrupting me before I’ve even gotten a word out.”
“Where is she? Fucking tell me.”
“She’s… safe,” he finally says. “She’s with us.”
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you soon,” he says. “Listen, Dexter, this is more of a courtesy call than anything else.”
“A courtesy call?” I repeat incredulously. “Fucking remember who you’re speaking to, Lai. I own Eden Falls. You don’t get to treat me like some plebeian, for fuck’s sake. I need to know what’s going on. I need to know she’s okay!”
“Since when do you care about her?” Lai demands. “Last I checked you didn’t give two flying fucks about Pandora Oakes.”
I grit my teeth together so hard my jaw aches. I don’t care, I tell myself resolutely. But even I’m struggling to believe that lately. It’s obvious the dark-haired, porcelain-skinned bitch has gotten under my skin, try as I might to deny her effect on me.
“Look, Easton took her away,” Lai finally speaks up, and the note of regret is clear in his voice. “He… he had this plan, Dexter.”
“What plan?”
“I… can’t exactly tell you. But you’re my oldest friend. I couldn’t just let you stew there, waiting for her to come back.”
“Where is she?”
“Julian’s lake house,” he finally admits.
I click my fingers at Kelley, the Oakes’ driver, and he gives me a curt nod, opening the car doors for me. I climb into the limo, sinking into the buttery leather as I bark instructions at Kelley, and he starts driving. But even though we’ve set off now, we’re at least an hour away from the lake house, maybe forty-five minutes if Kelley really fucking steps on it.
“Lai, what have you done?” I demand.
He remains quiet, and I know that whatever it is, it’s likely fucking bad. For me, and for Pandora.
“Is she alive?” I ask, and Lai laughs out loud.
“Of course she’s fucking alive,” he hisses. “What do you take me for, some kind of monster?”
“Don’t forget I know more about you than anyone else,” I remind him.
“Look, Dexter,” Lai goes on firmly. “She’s fine, you’ll see for yourself when you pick her up. But you’re not going to be calling the shots forever. You’re not the boss of us anymore.”
“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” I demand. “You were more than happy to work out a deal with me before Brantley came back. I got your back, you got mine. What’s made you change your mind?”
“Well…” He hesitates, making me roar in frustration. “Look, it’s her, alright? It’s Pandora.”
“Why her?”
“Because she’s currently the most valuable asset in Eden Falls,” he goes on resolutely. “Whoever marries her will automatically be the most powerful man in town. Especially after she has their kid.”
“But you know her father wants her to marry Easton,” I growl, watching the scenery change through the limo’s tinted windows. “What’s that got to do with you, anyway?”
“Easton will share her,” Lai mutters.
“Excuse me?”
“He won’t keep her to himself like some selfish, obsessive fucking stalker, Dexter. Like you.”
“What the hell did you just call me?” I’m fucking foaming at the mouth with anger.
“You kept Pandora away from us for too long,” Lai sighs. “You teased us with her. Taunted us. You had to know we were going to stand up for ourselves.”
“Except you’re not,” I hiss in reply. “You’re just following someone else’s orders.”
“Well, at least he has more perks for us,” Lai explodes. “At least he lets u
s have a share.”
“What have you done?” I demand. “What the hell have you done to Pandora?”
“Just… get here,” he says with an exasperated sigh, and it’s then that I hear the faint sound of sobbing in the background.
It sounds like a woman crying. No, it sounds like Pandora Oakes crying.