Promise Me Forever: Manhattan Ruthless
: Chapter 50

It plays out exactly as Shane Ryan predicted: Boyle is only interested in the money. He gives us a time and place to leave the cash, and in return, Chad gets a location. These guys aren’t criminal masterminds, and their entire plan is full of holes. If I wanted to take them down there and then, I could have.

But that can wait. Amelia comes first.

The address they’ve given us is an abandoned repair shop on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen. Constantine drives us there, and I feel the tension build as we make our way through the dimly lit building. It smells of piss and old motor oil, and I can hear rats scurrying around in the darkness. I can’t stand the thought of her being trapped, alone and scared, and my fists clench so tight that my nails slice into my palms.

What if she’s not here? What if something goes wrong? If anything has happened to her …

I shut down that train of thought and cast my flashlight around the room. The light flickers over piles of rotting newspapers, a heap of tires, and I think I can hear something that isn’t a rat. I stand still and listen more closely. Yes! It’s a mumbled voice, and it’s coming from the next room. I kick the door open and spot her in one dark corner. As the light hits her, she closes her eyes against the glare. Thank fucking Christ, it’s Amelia. She’s here. She’s alive.

Chad and I race forward and drop to our knees beside her. My eyes scan her for injury as I tear the gag from her mouth. She has some bruising on her face, but she’s in one piece. She’s sitting in an old office chair, and I growl when I see she’s been tied to it with thick ropes. Our ropes. They must have taken the Shibari gear from her apartment. It was only ever intended to bring pleasure and comfort, not to abuse her. Her ankles and wrists are bound to the sides, and bile surges up into my mouth at the sight of broken skin where she’s struggled against the hemp. Blistering rage blurs my vision, narrowing my focus until all I see is her. My girl. My everything. Bound and beaten.

“Mimi, honey.” Chad’s cloying, saccharine voice drags me back into focus. He’s pulling on the knotted ropes but only making it worse. Amelia shivers, her eyes darting around the room like she’s waiting for her kidnappers to return. She hasn’t said a single word, and I realize she’s terrified, hurt, probably dehydrated. My fury momentarily paralyzes me, and I listen to Chad say, “It’s okay, angel face. I’ve got you now.” Like he was any fucking use in this whole shitshow.

I shove my anger aside. That’s not what she needs. Finally able to move again, I step up and pull out the knife that I brought in case of trouble. I could untie those knots eventually, but I want to get her free quickly. As I slice through the ropes, I feel sick at the thought of her being violated like this. I want to find the men who did it and carve them into tiny fucking pieces. She rubs at her wrists, still eerily silent as I do the same at her ankles. Chad strokes her hair and talks to her like she’s a fucking child, and I decide I’d like to carve him into tiny pieces as well.

When she’s completely free, she sucks in a deep heaving breath that makes her whole body shudder. Her fingers grip the sides of the chair, and her eyes are fixed on the door. “Have they really left?”

Chad answers before I can. “They’re really gone, angel face.”

Still crouched on the floor before her, I fight my anger along with the desire to pick her up, crush her to my chest, and never let her go again. She turns her attention to Chad and blinks. “Th-thank you, Chad,” she whispers.

He preens at her response, and I ponder cutting off his dick and shoving it down his throat, but then she turns to me, her hazel eyes huge and shining. I meet her gaze, and as we lock eyes, the control she was holding onto so tightly crumbles. She crumbles. I hold out my arms, and she falls into them, tears running down her face, heavy sobs racking her body.

“Drake!” She chokes out my name, and I press my lips against her hair as I stand, scooping her up with me and holding her close.

“Shh, baby. I’ve got you now.”

She throws her arms around me, burying her face against my chest and curling her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. She’s trembling and frail, and I tighten my grip on her. “I was so scared. But I knew you’d come for me.”

My heart cracks in two, but I need to get her out of this hellhole. I lift her up into my arms, cradling her to me like she’s a little girl, and put one foot in front of another in the direction of the exit. She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder, her whole body sagging with relief as she finally feels safe.

Chad scowls at me like I just stole his woman, the prick. I never stole her. He was stupid enough to let her go, and she’s been mine since the day I met her. She’ll always be mine.

I glare back at him, and his hand goes up to the black eye I gave him earlier. I nod, putting a warning into my fierce gaze: come near her again, I’ll kill you.

Amelia sniffs. “Will you stay with me?”

I hold her tighter, pressing my lips against her temple. “Yeah, baby. I’ll stay with you forever.”

Amelia didn’t want to go back to her apartment, which was totally understandable after those sick fucks lay in wait for her there. I had no intention of letting her out of my sight anyway and had already told Constantine to take us back to my place. He frowned when he saw the state of her and laid a gentle hand against her cheek. “You okay, Miss Ryder?” he asked quietly.

“Better now, Constantine,” she said, managing a weak smile. We left Chad there in Hell’s Kitchen, and he was pissed about it. Like he expected a fucking ride home.

It doesn’t take us long to get back to the penthouse, and I run her a bath as she sits on the toilet seat, sipping from a bottle of water and watching me. She’s dirty and tired and battered, but she insists she doesn’t need a doctor. I checked her over as best I could in the car, and apart from bruises and scrapes, she seems to be okay. At least physically—the trauma might take longer to heal, and I intend to be here every step of the way.

I dip my hand into the bath water and check the temperature. Shaking off the bubbles, I tell her it’s perfect and turn off the taps.

As I help her undress, I notice that she was wearing one of the outfits she used to wear to the office. “I had a job interview,” she says, looking down at the pile of soiled clothes. “I’ll have to burn those now.”

A job interview? Fuck. She really was thinking of leaving. But what could I expect after the way I behaved?

There’s a purple mark on her ribs, and she’s holding her hand to her side as though it’s tender. “I think I broke his nose. Then the other guy slammed me into the door and kicked me when I was down. I thought … Well, I thought it was going to be a lot worse, but after that, they drugged me. When I woke up, I was there, in that place. In the dark. They said it was something to do with you.”

My fury burns hot once more. “Me? They said that?”

She swallows. “They said that it was the man in my life they were interested in.” A shudder runs through her, and I pull her to me. My hands skim the bare skin of her shoulders, and her naked body melts into my embrace. I hate that for a single second she thought I’d ever allow anything like that to happen to her because of me, but her basically telling me I’m the only one who holds the title of “the man in her life” takes a little of the edge off. “It wasn’t me, mi rosa. Chad owed them some money.”

“Chad? But he’s … we’re …”

“I think he’s been telling people you were getting back together.”

She blinks up at me, her eyes wet with tears. “We’re not. You know that, right?”

I press a kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, I know that, baby.” Because you’re fucking mine. I don’t add that last part—for now. Her body’s still trembling, and I need to get her into the hot bath and take care of her, but we’ll get there.

“I was so scared, Drake,” she whispers.

“I know, baby. So was I. But it’s okay. You’re here with me now. You’re safe.”

I take her hand and help her into the bathtub. She sinks into the bubbles with a sigh and then submerges herself in the water completely. A few seconds later, she pops back up with a gasp. “That felt good.”

I perch on the edge of the tub. “You need anything else? I ordered some takeout, but it won’t be here for a while. Has to come all the way from Brooklyn.”

Her eyes light up. “You didn’t! You ordered Mario’s?” The childish gleam of delight on her face gives me hope.

“He’s even sending me some uncooked donut balls that can be deep-fried piping hot for you.”

Her mouth drops open. “He is not!”

“He sure is.”

“But he never does that. I mean, I know. I’ve asked.”

The sparkle in her eyes warms my heart. She’s so fucking beautiful, inside and out. Kidnapped, tied up, and slapped around, but she’s willing to accept that the world is a good place because of exploding donut balls.

I shrug. “I guess you just never asked him the right way.” By the right way, I mean a five thousand buck tip. Mario drives a hard bargain, but I’d pay him five million to see the smile on Amelia’s face right now. It would be worth every cent.

“Wow. Have I ever told you that I love you, Drake James?” She laughs, but then she freezes. She used to tell me that she loved me all the time. I never took it for granted and it always felt special, but our time apart taught me exactly how special it was. I hate the way she’s looking at me now, as though she thinks she made a mistake.

“You have,” I reply quickly. “But I can never hear it enough. I love you too, mi rosa, and whenever you’re ready, we can talk things through.”

She nods and casts her eyes down at the water. When she looks back up, her smile is back. “If we have an hour to wait until food, would you maybe like to get in here with me? It’s big enough for two.”

I tilt my head and study her features. Is she deflecting? Asking me to get in with her because she wants to avoid a difficult conversation? She knows that her naked body against mine is the surest way to distract me, even if we don’t have sex.

“Please?” she whispers, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Fuck, how could I have been so stupid? She wants to be held. She wants to be reassured. Of course she fucking does—she was just held hostage for a whole day.

“Whatever you need, baby.” Hurriedly, I undress and slide into the space behind her. I drape her wet hair over her shoulder, wrap my arms around her, and let her settle. She sighs, her body relaxing into mine.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m okay, I think. Maybe it will hit me tomorrow or the next day, but for now, I’m just grateful and relieved. Is that weird?”

“No.” I kiss the top of her head. “I feel grateful and relieved too.” Among a whole host of other things. Mostly anger. But I can deal with that tomorrow. For now, she is my only concern. Fuck, she’ll always be my only concern, and it’s about time she knew that.

“When Chad told me someone had taken you—when I thought I’d never …” I choke back a sob, unable to finish the sentence. Unable to put into words the dark places my mind took me.

“I know,” she says softly, her hand resting over mine.

“No, you don’t know, Amelia.” I turn her around so she’s sitting on my lap, her legs around me. I need to be looking into her eyes when I say this. I need her to know how much I mean it. “Baby, I have never been so fucking scared in my entire life. The thought that I might never see you again. God, I’m so sorry I pushed you away. I’m sorry that I thought for a single second that I wasn’t what you needed, mi rosa. I was scared of how much I loved you. Scared of how much I needed you too.”

She blinks at me, and a tear rolls down her cheek. I brush it away with the pad of my thumb and cup her jaw. “I will always be everything you ever need, Amelia. Whatever and whenever you need it. It will always be me. Your ride or die. The other half of your heart and soul. Forever.”

Her bottom lip wobbles. “Drake …”

“I love you, Amelia. With every fucking fiber of my being, I love you. I would give my last breath to make you happy. I promise never to give up on us again, and if you let me, I will spend every second of the rest of my life proving that to you.”

Another tear leaks from the corner of her eye, and she swats it away. “Are you sure this isn’t just—” Her throat constricts as she swallows. “Are you sure this isn’t just a reaction to what happened? I know it was scary, and I⁠—”

I press my mouth against hers and run my tongue across the seam of her lips until she allows me entry. My chest aches at the thought of her doubting what I just said, even if she has good reason to. So I show her instead, doing exactly what I wanted to do when I saw her tied to that chair earlier and pouring every ounce of regret and longing and love for her into this one kiss. I moan into her mouth and wrap my arms around her, pulling her as close to me as humanly possible. Her skin, coated with bubbles, slides so easily against mine. It’s as though she was made to be molded to my body. Like we were carved from the same star.

She snakes an arm around my neck, kissing me back with equal passion. My cock aches painfully, desperate to take her, but now is not the fucking time. Only when my jaw is aching and the water is growing cool do I break our kiss. She blinks up at me, her lips red and swollen. I brush my fingertips across her bruised eye and swallow down the river of rage that wants to erupt out of me at the thought of anyone’s hands on her.

Tomorrow. I’ll deal with them tomorrow.

“What happened to you was the kick in the ass I needed, Amelia. I might not be the best at expressing my feelings, but believe me, they’ve always been there. From the first time you smiled at me, I was done for.”

She grins at me, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. “I think I fell in love with you during our first dance. I love dancing.”

“I know, baby. And from now on, we’re going to dance together every fucking day.”

She shifts on my lap, and my cock twitches against her. She glances down, eyelashes fluttering and a wicked smile playing on her lips.

Placing my forefinger under her chin, I tip her head back up until she’s looking into my eyes. “Ignore that. All my cock can feel is your sexy naked body pressed against him. Cocks have no idea how to read a room.”

Hurt flashes across her face. “Maybe it’s you who doesn’t know how to read a room. You don’t have to treat me any differently, Drake. And it’s been so long.”

A growl rumbles in my throat. “I’m not going to treat you any differently, mi rosa. But for now, we’re going to put some more hot water in this tub, and you’re going to let me wash your hair along with every other part of your beautiful body.” I trail kisses down the side of her throat. “And then you’re going to have some food and let me take care of that eye.”

She arches an eyebrow. “And then?”

“Then you’ll probably fall asleep on the couch, drooling.”

She swats me playfully on the chest, and I catch her wrists, my fingers running over the red dents left by the rope they used to tie her. I hate that they did that to her. I hate every single thing they did to her. I’m going to make her some new marks when she’s ready, chase away those ghosts and start writing our own history.

I yank her closer, resting my lips on her forehead. “If, after you’ve eaten a dozen exploding donut balls, you’re not asleep and you still want me to, I will fuck you hard and long and deep, Amelia.”

Her breath catches in her throat. “Promise?”

“I promise.”