Chapter 5 - The Glass Cage
"We don't have a future," I said, backing up until my legs hit the edge of a velvet armchair.
Declan didn't stop until he was standing inches from me. He reached out, his long fingers wrapping around my wrist. He didn't pull hard, but his grip was a steel bracelet—impossible to break.
"You are carrying my child, Amelia," he said, his voice dropping into that dark, velvety register that used to make my skin shiver with pleasure, but now made me feel trapped. "You live in a drafty building in the middle of nowhere, working for pocket money. That ends today."
"This is my life now!"
"This is a hiding spot," he corrected harshly. "And the hideout has been blown. Do you think Gavin and I are the only ones who can track a cash withdrawal? Victor Calloway hired private investigators three days ago. They're scanning regional registries in North Carolina right now. If I leave you here, you'll be taken within forty-eight hours."
My heart gave a sickening lurch. "You're lying to scare me."
"I have never lied to you," Declan snapped, his storm-gray eyes flashing with genuine anger. "Not once. I omitted things to keep you clean from my business, but I have never lied to your face."
He stepped closer, using his free hand to gently cup the side of my neck, his thumb tracing the racing pulse beneath my skin.
"Come back to Chicago," he murmured, his voice softening into an irresistible plea. "Come home to the estate. I have three teams of private medical staff waiting. I have security that can hold off a battalion. You will have everything you want—your studio, your work, your freedom within the walls."
"Freedom within walls is called a prison, Declan," I whispered, staring into his eyes.
"It's called safety!" he roared, his frustration finally bursting through his calm mask. "You think I want to live like this? You think I enjoy having six armed men outside every room I sleep in? I inherited a war, Amelia! My father died in a car bomb when I was twenty-two! My uncle was shot in his own driveway! I built this empire so that no one could ever touch me again!"
He leaned down, his forehead pressing against mine, his hot breath fanning across my cheeks.
"And then you walked into my life with your paint-stained hands and your ridiculous wooden frames, and you gave them a target. You gave me something I couldn't bear to lose."
I froze.
"Declan..."
"I love you," he growled against my lips, the words sounding like a confession tortured out of him. "I have loved you since the night I found you sleeping on the floor of your studio wrapped in a canvas drop-cloth. I will tear this country apart before I let anyone hurt you or this baby."
My breath hitched. In two years, he had never said those three words. He had given me expensive gifts, he had protected me, he had spent hours listening to me talk, but he had never said I love you.
Hearing it now, in a dusty antiques shop in the middle of a rainstorm, felt like a golden cage slamming shut around my heart.
"If you love me," I whispered, tears spilling down my face, "let me stay. Let me raise this baby in peace."
Declan leaned back, looking into my eyes with a cold, devastating finality.
"No," he said softly. "I love you too much to let you die for your pride."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black phone, sliding it onto the table beside us.
"We leave at dusk," he said. "A private helicopter is landing at the regional airfield five miles from here. You have two hours to pack whatever you want to keep from this room. Anything you leave behind will be packed by my men and shipped to the estate."
"And if I refuse to walk into that helicopter?" I challenged, tilting my chin up.
Declan looked at me, a dark, terrifying smile touching his lips.
"Then I will carry you, Amelia," he said simply. "And you know I have the strength to do it."
He turned on his heel and walked toward the front door, pulling his black coat back on.
"Declan," I called out.
He stopped, looking back over his shoulder.
"Savannah Calloway," I said, my voice trembling. "What is she doing right now?"
Declan’s eyes turned to ice. "Savannah Calloway is currently sitting in a federal holding facility in downtown Chicago. She tried to transfer twelve million dollars out of my logistics account yesterday morning. She was arrested for corporate espionage at noon."
May you like
He opened the heavy oak door, stepping out into the gray rain.
"I told you," he added before closing the door. "The matter was being resolved quietly."
