Never Truly Mine

Chapter 6: The Dark Infiltration

The door to the forbidden east wing clicked open. I stepped through. Pulled the wood frame closed behind me. My bare feet made no sound on the floorboards. I did not turn on a light.

* Victor Kane’s countdown timer flashed on my phone screen. I had ninety seconds before the security bypass script expired.

I moved down the hallway. I used the wall to guide my steps. I found the door to Damien’s study.

The handle turned easily. I slipped inside the room. I walked toward the massive desk in the center.

* Victor wanted the schedule. He needed to know when Damien would be out of the city for the merger negotiations.

I searched the top of the desk. My hands felt across the leather blotter. My fingers hit a leather planner. I opened it. I used the light from the window to read the printed flight numbers and dates.

I lifted my phone to take a picture of the page.

A sharp electronic beep echoed through the room.

The digital keypad on the door frame flashed red. A heavy deadbolt slid into place automatically.

The security system locked down.

I dropped the book. Ran to the door. I grabbed the brass handle. I pulled with all my strength. The lock remained completely rigid.

Then I heard footsteps. They were heavy, slow and deliberate. They moved down the east wing corridor. They stopped outside.

The red light on the keypad turned green. The door swung open.

Damien Knight stood in the doorway. His massive silhouette blocked the light from the hall. His suit jacket was gone. His white sleeves were rolled up to his forearms.

He stepped inside. Shut the door. He locked us in the room together.

He walked toward me. He cornered me against the mahogany desk. He was so close I could smell his cedarwood cologne.

His dark gray eyes locked onto mine.

"What are you doing in my office Ava?" Damien asked. His voice was deep and quiet. It had an edge.

"I got lost " I said. I forced my voice to stay level. "I wanted a glass of water. I took a turn at the stairs. I didn't know this was your wing."

Damien did not blink. He leaned in. He trapped me against the wood.

"You passed through a locked security door. Ended up at my private desk in the dark. Do you think I am stupid?"

"The door was open " I lied. My fingers gripped the edge of the desk behind me.

"Please let me go back to my room."

Damien didn't answer. He looked down at my hand. It was still holding the phone with Victor's text chain.

Before I could hide it he snatched the device from my fingers.

"Hey! Give that back!" I reached for it. He held it out of my reach. He scanned the countdown script and the unlisted number.

His jaw set in a line.

"Who were you texting, Ava?"

"A friend from the pharmacy " I choked out. I thought of the syringe Victor held to my dads IV line.

"He was checking on my dad. It's nothing."

Damien did not look convinced. He tapped his phone. He connected a link to my device.

A dark blue progress bar began loading across my screen.

"What are you doing to my phone?" I demanded.

"I am installing a tracking application, " Damien said. His voice was flat and absolute.

"From this second your location, your calls and your data are mirrored on my monitor.

You will not take a step outside your assigned boundaries without my system flagging it."

The progress bar finished with a chirp. It disappeared into the background.

Damien dropped the phone onto the desk. He did not step back.

"My ex-fiancée thought she was clever too " Damien whispered. His face was inches from mine.

"She sat in this room. She accessed my directories. She tried to steal my merger files for a competitor."

His gray eyes burned with an intensity.

"By the time the sun came up I had stripped her family of every asset they owned " he murmured.

"She is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence because she forgot who she was dealing with.

Do not mistake my tolerance for weakness, wife.

If you play games with my data I will destroy your fathers recovery program before you can make a phone call to stop me."

He released my jaw. He walked back to the door. He unlocked it with his thumbprint.

"Go back to your room. The car leaves for the press briefing in five hours."

I grabbed my phone. I ran past him. My heart pounded violently. I fled down the hallway to the west wing.

I locked my bedroom door. I sank to the floor. My hands trembled.

I turned on my phone. The tracking software was invisible. A new message from Victor Kane popped up immediately.

I saw the security alert on your sector Ava. Did you get the schedule? Do I need to call the ICU head nurse?

I stared at the screen. I was trapped in a vise, between both men.

I knew that the morning press conference would put my face in front of the world.