An hour earlier...
Jasper's POV
I close my door, locking it before walking down the hall leaving the girl alone in my bedroom. I didn't want to admit it, but I was mesmerized by her beauty and thought her brains are not that much less beautiful. This is the girl I have been messaging. We were going to meet face-to-face next week. But fate had another idea, and now I am going to have to win her trust now thanks to my men. Underneath all of those bruises that had started to form, I could see her radiance clearly. It was almost impossible not to run my hands through the silky soft curly locks, to feel her gradient soft porcelain skin, to kiss those soft plump lips so hard. Until now, no girl has ever captured my attention as she does. She is the one exception and she will be mine.
When I walked into the shared office I found Ben still in the office. He nods to me. "I need a wedding arranged quickly, I am not letting her get away," I said as I entered the room.
He stared at me full of surprise. "Okay, but for whom?" he asks, eyeing me cautiously.
I smirked as I pointed to myself, "It's for me, dumbass!"
Laughing he asks, "Really? You're kidding right?" sitting down at my desk, I turn and shake my head. He continued to look at me in surprise, saying "Boss, if this is a joke... then you have bad taste in jokes, this isn't funny!"
Turning my computer on, I glance at him only to find him glaring at me in confusion. "My bride just so happens to be upstairs in our room; the preparations need to get started immediately," I smirked at him, watching as the color faded from his face. Before I forced my bride down the aisle I had much to do, so I sent him a wink for fun and turned back to my computer screen to get to work.
An hour later, I decide to get up and go and check on my bride. The image of her bruised face kept surfacing in my head and I was having a hard time concentrating. With the tear-stricken look on my sweet angel's face, I just had to go and check on her in our bedroom. It was proving hard for me to wait, I had a deep desire to just take her right now. It was hard for me to restrain myself, but I had to be honest with myself. Every second I was having to wait made me want her more and more. When I heard the sudden shattering of glass downstairs, I rushed out of the room pulling my gun from my holster. I got ready for anything.
As I entered the living room, I stepped cautiously. Immediately I notice the shards of broken glass lying across one of the couches and the floor. I noticed one of my men looking down at something small. "Boss, someone threw this stone at the window to break it," he said, showing me the small stone. Immediately I noticed it was from my garden outside, was I being invaded? My mind wondered silently about the girl, maybe she was in trouble. I sprinted for the stairs, quickly making my way back to the room. Opening the door, I was shocked to see it empty. I eagerly hurried to the bathroom door, turned the knob letting myself inside. Glancing around the completely empty room, I notice the window was wide open... I cursed realizing that she had escaped me.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I quickly sent a group text message to all of my men. "Find her, Damn it!" I turn around and rush for the front door, knowing that she was bound to try to get out of the estate and I couldn't have that. While running toward the gate, I came to a halt as I found it wide open and unattended. Turning around, I glared at the two of my men who were stationed at the gate as I heard them come up behind me. Why the hell were they not guarding the gate? They let a simple little girl escape so easily? "Sir, the girl... she got away!" Ben growled coming up behind them.
"I know... I want everyone looking for her, except for you two." I growled pointing at the two who were supposed to be on gate detail. "Now, let's get her before she gets to the police! I don't want that drama."
I watched as my men scattered, and I glared at the two in front of me. They looked terrified, and for good reason, as I have killed for much less. "Why did I find the gate unattended?" I ask them.
"Sir, we heard the glass... and I don't know, we panicked." The one named Charles.
"That's no excuse, you know the rules of the job. Don't let me catch you breaking those rules again. Because the next time, it will be your life I'm taking." I growl out sending them on their way back to their duty station. They were younger than most of my other men. New recruits often guarded the gates as it was a boring and mundane chore. I heard rushed footsteps and glanced up in time to see Granger running toward me. "Found her sir, she got help from Mr. Thorton. Your old and retired neighbor and it seems she is still there. Although I heard sirens, so I am pretty sure the cops were called." he says as he comes to a stop right next to me. Looking at him, I couldn't help but smile as I pulled my phone out and placed a call to someone who owed me a big favor.
At the neighbor's house...
Gracelyn's POV
Getting inside the house as quickly as I could, I mean literally, as soon as the old man had opened the door I rushed inside. I was so afraid that his men had already started searching for me. "I'm so sorry sir, but I need your help. I need you to call the police, please!" I quickly demanded from him. He looked at me carefully, before walking away leaving me standing there. He returned with a soft fuzzy blanket and draped it across my shoulders. "Thank you very much, sir," I respond with a smile, pulling the blanket closer to me.
He smiles while saying, "The police are on their way. Are you warm enough?"
"Yes I am, thank you so much," I responded as I heard the sirens approaching. As the police arrived, the old man watches out the window. A soft knock on the door made my heart race as I realized that help had indeed arrived. I was going to go home, he did not own me and he would never force me into marrying him. If he intended to keep me forever, he should have been more prepared.
The two officers who responded stepped into the room. One approached me looking intimidating as he glared down at me. "What happened to you, Miss?" he asked me in a slur.
"Yes, I want to report my own kidnapping..."
"You're kidnapping?" he asks, his voice laced with surprise.
"Yes, my kidnapping! You see I escaped!" I told him but noticed he didn't even flinch to take down what I was saying. "There were a bunch of guys, they were holding me just down the road here. You know, that big house with the huge steel fence all around it. I slipped out of there and ended up here."
"The big one at the end of the street, right there?" he asks pointing through the window. I walked over there to look that way and immediately I froze at the spot. Right there in front of this house was that man talking to a police officer. It had me gasping in surprise to see him again so soon. What the hell was he doing here? Then I watched as he turned and headed in the direction of the house. I was preparing myself to run as I didn't know what he was exactly doing here.
"Hey sir, there is a Mr. Van Doren here. He says he is looking for his fiancee... seems she often runs away spilling loads of made-up stories to get attention." Came a police officer through the guy's radio. I stare up at the man in front of me, as he just makes his way inside of the house. Seriously? They were just going to take this guy's word for it as if I was the one that was insane here. This can't be happening!
"I'm sorry, but that's my fiancee. She's a bit drunk and I didn't realize she had slipped out, I apologize," he says with a smirk across his face.
"It's okay, Ma'am is this your fiancee?" the cop asks. I met his eyes as he shot me a domineering gaze, and I knew he was challenging me with those eyes.
"Technically, I did say that I would marry him..." I began.
"That's enough, you can release her to her fiancee here. That's all I have to say here, let's wrap this up. We have real cases that need our attention." He says interrupting me before I had even finished talking. I watch as all the cops start grabbing their things to leave. It was all over, that was it? He had won, and I wasn't going home.
I ask dumbfounded, "Is that really it? You're just going to leave me with my kidnapper?"
In response to my question, he said, "No, not at all. We are simply releasing you into your fiancee's custody. You will be alright, go home and get some rest." Before going to step out of the house.
"Really, so you're not even going to ask about my bruises?" I snap angrily at the cop.
"What you two do on your own time isn't for me to say unless you want to press charges," he says.
I go to respond, but he beats me to it. "No she's not going to be doing that," he growls and the cop pauses a second before stepping out of the house.
I gritted my teeth, not wanting to admit that I had been outwitted. "Are the police in your pocket?" I asked him.
"In fact, some are so yes," he spoke with clenched teeth and a devil-like look in his eyes. "Come on, let's get going," he said nonchalantly. "Thanks again, Mr. Thorton."
I glance at the old man, who nods to Jasper, and then back at him as I place my hands on my waist as I respond, narrowing my eyes at him. "I don't want to go anywhere with you, you can kiss that little marriage goodbye because I won't be marrying you." I wasn't going back there, and I definitely had no intention of marrying this man.
As he moved closer, I took a step backward. "That would be where you are wrong, my dear. You are mine and right now you are coming with me!" his lusty voice reverberated through the room.
My voice was pathetically low as I took in a deep breath. "I don't belong to you!" I exclaimed.