Rescued by the masked billionaire

Chapter 3

Arnold'S POV

"Let the female go down. All we need is to look at her. Maybe you want to say one or two more words with her.

Listening to Dominique's urgent voice on the phone, I leaned back in my chair, eyes set on Jarek, my loyal bodyguard.

Wanting to keep my increasing irritation aside, I grabbed the gun on my desk and nonchalantly loaded it with one round. As I set an apple on Jarek's head, his eyes widened; his face turned pale as he saw my point of view.

I whispered, a frigid grin on my face, "Let's make this electrifying." Turning my chair around to take aim caused it to squeak.

Jarek's breath caught, his eyes fixed on the gun, but he did not speak forcefully enough to keep me from calling. One miss would end his life.

"I told Dominique to please refrain from asking." I own her now. Mine." I spoke flippantly into the phone, my finger tightening on the trigger.

As the shot resounded around the room, the apple burst into little fragments, leaving Jarek shaken yet alive.

My goal was still perfectly intact.

My voice steady, I looked back at the phone as if I hadn't just employed someone as a shooting target.

“Dominique. Should you ever mention this, I will kill you." I hung up, ending the call before Dominique could say more.

Jarek let out a sigh of relief; his composure had been restored. "Sir?" he asked, his voice steady.

"How's the girl?" I asked, my attention already turning to the eighteen-year-old who had nearly died at the meeting. Fortunately, my boys had returned her to her room before the rest got there.

He stumbled, his left eye twitching. "She's... she's asleep... weakening. The maids did their best to quiet her, but she is rather... err, sure."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Bring her here."

Then he turned and walked from the room, leaving me by myself to think.

By flipping a switch on my desk, the room descended into near darkness as I waited for her to arrive. I didn't want her seeing my face.

Not until now, anyway.

The door was gently knocked, and I shifted in my seat, inviting her in.

The door opened, and she entered cautiously, judging by the way her legs shook with each step, her eyes on the ground as she fought not to trip.

"Emily..." I mumbled quietly.

Her breath caught.

The first question that sprang to my mind was, "How are you doing?" I didn't intend for my voice to sound so harsh and daunting, but oh well.

Her hair fell across her face, and she did not appear to want to tuck it back behind her ears; she didn't raise her gaze.

Part of me wanted to do it on her behalf. And so on.

"What..." Her voice came out between trembling breaths, and from where I sat, I could smell her terror: "What do you want to do to me?” She could not stop fiddling with her silk garment.

"Absolutely nothing." Again, I inquired, "How are you feeling? Tell me." I was especially concerned about the bad dreams.

In the next second, she turned her face, her eyes narrowed, trying to distinguish my features in the dim light but unsuccessfully. I was still wearing my mask, even though she could see me well.

Her voice shook when she said, "There must be something you want with me."

She was upset. Horrified even.

"Look, Emily. All you need to do is sit back. You're safe here.”

She remained near, but I knew she was still shaking. That wasn't a good idea. I didn’t want her to feel insecure in my company.

“Emily…”

I could hear her shuffle awkwardly on her feet. “Yeah?” she muttered.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Oh?... Uhhmm I’m... I’m okay.” A sigh slipped out from her; it sounded like a moan. Damn!

I shifted back in my seat, wanting to have a better look at her adorable round face. Her freckles added to her beauty.

“Hmm... I just want to ask you a few questions.” I rested my hand on the table, waiting for her to show some sign that she was listening, which came in the form of a nod.

“Before you came here... did you have any friends or anything? Perhaps something you’d like to do?” I asked carefully.

She hesitated, her hands clenching into fists on her dress. “I... I had one. Amelia. We met... she was among the girls... with me, and... she’s my friend. Was. She was my friend; I don't know where she...” She choked back a sob and shut up.

Amelia...

My mind raced back to the auctioning of that day. Amelia. I didn't think she was killed. No.

I scoffed as I realized what had happened to the girl; she was sold, and it just had to be James. He bought her.

Fuck.

I sighed and put a hand on my forehead, thinking. Emily clearly seemed to consider Amelia a close friend, so if I was able to get Amelia, she might feel comfortable and open up more.

That sounded like such a great idea.

“Emily...” I suddenly muttered, looking back up at the woman who jerked at the sound of her name.

Who gets startled at their own name!

“Come here, Bella.” I said huskily, my voice smooth as my eyes roamed around her curvy figure.

She tensed but didn’t move, playing dumb like she hadn't heard me, still biting those damn lips.

“I don't like repeating myself for any reason. Come here.” I spaced my words so she understood that I wasn't joking around.

With wobbling legs, she came over to my desk and stood there.

“Sit,” I ordered somewhat.

She immediately dropped down into the chair beside me, her form tense and her eyes refusing to turn to look at me.

“Stay put.” I said, standing up to open my drawer.

I retrieved a small box, noting how her interest had been piqued and her gaze was now on the small wooden box.

I came to stand in front of her and dropped the box on the table, opening it and removing the first gift.

“Here.” I said, giving her the phone.

Her hands trembled, but she reached out to receive it.

“What is...” she paused, realizing what I had given her. “A phone? Why?” she whispered, her eyes glittering beneath the dim light.

“You will need it. Don’t worry, it’s a burner phone and it’s all yours. I wanted you to have it,” I explained—not entirely the truth—before reaching into the box to remove the second object.

A leg chain.

I squatted down, noting how she reacted to that, her body shrinking into the seat.

“Chill out.” I said gruffly as I grabbed her leg gently, trying to put on the beautiful leg chain for her.

As my hand wrapped around her ankle, a jolt of energy shot through my being; my wolf immediately started pacing around. I paused what I was doing, a frown on my face… what the hell was that? A sudden urge rose in me, a primal sense of desire coursing through my veins, making my skin prickle in focus.

I gritted my teeth, preventing the urge to act out on the thoughts swirling through my mind as I quickly clasped the chain around her ankle, fumbling with it. This wasn't about desire; I was protecting for f**k's sake, yet the raw s****l urge inside me was real.

Finally, I managed to fasten it around her leg, and I quickly stood up. “You can leave,” I told her harshly, my voice strained but still calm.

She immediately stood up, shooting toward the door. “I, uhmmm, thanks...” she paused as if trying to remember my name.

I almost let out a laugh because I knew she didn’t know it.

“Emily?” I called after her.

She stopped abruptly, turning around to look at me.

“The phone... you left it on the desk.”

As if considering her next line of action, she rushed to the desk and grabbed it, avoiding my gaze.

“Thanks... I uhh... yeah.” She stuttered a little before leaving.

But I didn’t miss the smile playing on her lips.

PING

My phone!

It was a reminder for the hunt taking place tomorrow in the forest backing my property. This should be a good opportunity to bring Amelia so she can be with Emily all night while we wolves did our thing.

Collapsing back in my seat, I thought about the hunt. It was simple. I’d somehow get James to bring Amelia along.

I picked up my phone lying on the table and dialed that one number, knowing how wrong this would go.

“Hello, twin brother?”

Hopefully, Amelia was still alive...