Defiance (New Adult Romance) (Isaac & Maya) (25 page)

34

Isaac

Maya is asleep when the phone rings. At first I don’t answer it, the temptation to stay sleeping in her arms is too great. Then it rings again. And again. That’s never good. She stretches her legs and rolls over as I climb out of our wet, post coital bed. It’s my lawyer.

My anxiety spikes. I hope I’m not legally obligated to pick up because I’ve been avoiding him for the last three days. I better call back though, at some point he’ll just come over and then Maya will worry.

“Hello?”

“Nice to finally speak with you, Isaac,” Nigel says.

“I wish I could say the same.”

“You are coming to my office tomorrow morning.”

Fuck. “Why?”

“Because you need to be updated. You can’t run away from this,” he reminds me.

Actually, I can.
“I know. Can’t we do this over the phone?”

“Absolutely not. This is sensitive information.”

“So there’s been a change?”

“Of course there’s been a change, Isaac. It’s been almost four months.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

“I am a very busy man. If you intend to blow this off again, please let me know.”

“Will do.”

Maya asked me to tell her about this stuff, but I just can’t ruin her normal morning. She’s almost done with school, I’m not letting this bullshit derail her at the end. I send her off with a smile and a kiss like I always do, thankful that she’s running late and too distracted to notice that there’s something wrong.

I sneak in to Nigel’s building through the back. He says it’s unnecessary because it’s a high rise and there are hundreds of other business I could be legitimately visiting. I’ve been doing this for so long, it doesn’t feel right to walk in the front like a normal person. I’m not a normal person yet. This is the only form of entry I understand.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised to see you,” Nigel greets me.

“Yeah… sorry about the cold shoulder.”

“It’s understandable, Isaac. This shouldn’t take very long. Have a seat.”

It’s a very comfortable chair. It should be, based on what he charges per hour. “So is it done?” I ask.

“No. But she did broach the subject with your father.”

Holy shit. I can’t believe this is actually happening. “How did that go?”

“Well, the thing is, we’re not really sure. Gloria insists that it was successful. We only have audio, so we’re not as confident.”

“Audio? She’s fucking wired?”

“She is.”

“How?”

Nigel looks downward uncomfortably. “It’s in her collar.”

He collared her. I didn’t think she’d let him do that. “Was there a ceremony?”

“Apparently, yes.”

“Holy fuck…” I shouldn’t be surprised that’s how Dad wanted it, but I am. That had to be so horrible for her. I doubt he shared her or anything, but…

The walls start to close in and I can’t stay sitting down. I take a deep breath, then another and another, but they start getting faster no matter how much I try to stay calm. My pulse races and my head spins. I’ve seen his hands on her so many times, there are so many horrible images for my mind to flash on against my will.

Ever since this started, I’ve been telling myself that he’s different now, at least with her, that he wants something real, but what if he doesn’t? She doesn’t want him anymore, I know that for sure, but she’s laying down and enduring him anyway. For me. All they have on her is admission, they can’t prosecute her. She doesn’t have to do this for herself. Every fucking time her blood runs cold before she has to go see him, it’s for me. And I haven’t said a word to her for months. She doesn’t even bother to call anymore.

“Isaac?”

Nigel’s voice is far away and there’s a familiar, bitter taste in my mouth. I didn’t even notice that I took anything. It’s so automatic. And necessary. I don’t know if I’ll ever be completely free from it. “I’m okay,” I whisper.

“Are you sure?”

“Close enough. What do you need me to do?” I ask.

“They wanted you to listen to the tape, but now I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Can you edit out the explicit parts?”

“I already took that precaution, yes.”

“Then let’s get this fucking over with.”

Eyeing me warily, Nigel opens a separate laptop and turns a set of speakers to face me. There’s rustling and heavy breathing, but it’s over. Glory doesn’t exactly cuddle afterward, she never did with me anyway, so it’s hard to picture them. Then a lighter flicks and a hear her take a drag. That’s a good sign, he doesn’t like her smoking.

“Give me that,” my father’s voice insists. Maybe he’s not okay with it after all.

“Since when did you start smoking?” Glory doesn’t have a real voice or a fake voice, but she does have a mentally checked out voice and this isn’t it.

“Since you came back around,” he laughs. There’s a smacking sound and a giggle. Did he just kiss her? “I told you that you don’t have to wear this,” he says, right before a loud yet muffled sound crackles through the speakers. Something is brushing against the mic in her collar. His fingers, maybe?

“But you like it,” she coos.

“It does look incredible on you.”

“It makes your other girlfriends jealous, too. Probably because it’s worth more than all of theirs combined.” Well, Miranda’s is worth over a million dollars and most of them have to be at least $100K, so… shit. That is one expensive collar.

“It is. Because you mean more to me than all of them combined.” I’m pretty sure he’s kissing her again. It feels so wrong listening in, this is far more intimate than I thought it could be for them. I wonder if it’s always been this way, I would have gone fucking ballistic a couple of years ago if I’d heard it. Now it makes me strangely happy for both of them. “You still don’t have to wear it, Birdie,” my father whispers.

“I like it. And not just because it’s gorgeous and exorbitantly expensive,” she squeals before a few seconds of rustling and suckling. “It makes me feel like I’m yours.”

“You are.”

Nigel cuts the recording off, so they must start messing around. I don’t want to hear it, but not because it would make me anxious. It’s too private. “What’s your take on that?” he asks. “Do you think your father suspects something?”

“No. Not at all.”

“But he doesn’t want her to wear it.”

“No, he doesn’t want her to wear it out of obligation,” I explain. “He’s still worried about losing her, I can tell. So the fact that she wants to wear it is very meaningful.”

Nodding, Nigel starts clicking around on his laptop. “Ready for another one?”

“Yeah.”

“This is from a different night, a few weeks ago.”

“Have you spoken to Isaac lately?” my father asks.

“I have,” Glory lies. “He’s well.”

“And still unwilling to speak to me?”

“What would you talk about?”

“I don’t know. I just assumed he’d contact me by now.”

“For what?”

“A girl, I suppose. Is he screwing the architect?”

“I’m not sure. I think so. He’s definitely fucking the interior designer,” Glory laughs. Great. Polly would really appreciate being dragged into this.

“Is that why this room looks so fantastic?”

“It is.”

“Pause it,” I insist. “Are they in her house?”

“Yes. They typically are unless they’re at his.”

“Really? That’s definitely good for you guys,” I say. “Do they ever go to the clubs?”

“Aside from the collaring ceremony, never,” Nigel informs me.

“Good.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s not showing her off. This isn’t about looking good to his buddies, it’s about her,” I explain as Nigel makes another note. “Did I officially remodel her house or something?”

“Not you. Just Polly.”

“Is she aware of that?”

“She is.”

“Well, no one told me. Go ahead and play it.”

“You should have asked me if I was okay with my son redesigning your bedroom,” my father says.

“He didn’t, I just used his girl. He’s busy with that hotel lobby.”

“Isaac is good at this, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is,” Glory replies.

“Does he enjoy it?” It’s strange to hear him asking so many questions about me.

“For now. It’s definitely not about the architect.”

“That’s good to know. Are they making any money?”

“They are. Please don’t ask for a cut, Baron.”

“That’s not what I was getting at. I just wondered if he’s comfortable.”

“He’s very comfortable.”

“And you’ve seen him?”

“I have. He cooked for me last week and we spent the night getting obliterated.”

My father sighs and there’s a smacking sound, but Glory giggles. He didn’t really hit her. “Is his drug use an issue I should be concerned about?”

“He’s 22 and he lives in a hotel suite, Baron,” she laughs. “He’s having a good time. Lots of booze, girls, and pills, but he still gets up every morning.” Wow. That is so not my life.

“I just don’t want him to end up in the ER again.”

“Neither do I. That’s why I’m still dropping by unannounced to check on him.”

“Just to check on him?” Dad asks.

“Yes.”

“Are you still sleeping with my son?” He rarely calls me his son.

“No. Would it bother you if I was?”

“I’m honestly not sure.”

“Well, it’s not an issue at the moment and I doubt it ever will be. I don’t want him like that anymore. He’s not like he used to be.”

“Don’t you mean he’s not like me?” My father says this jokingly, but he’s actually rather insecure. This is so fucking bizarre. If they had it in them to be relatively normal people, why the fuck have I been dealing with crazy all these years?

“In a way, I guess I do,” she replies.

“Is it the brat thing?”

“Partially. He’s also a lot more controlling than he used to be.”

“Controlling?
Would you care to elaborate on that?”

“Not really. Let’s just say our preferences aren’t aligned anymore.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” he says. “I thought you said it was the other way around.”

“I’m beginning to realize that’s what Isaac wishes he wanted, not what he actually wants.”

“And how did you come to this realization?” my father asks as Glory sighs. “Why are you getting dressed?”

“Because I don’t want to fight and I don’t want to talk about your son’s exploits.”

“Stop lying to me. What happened?” he demands. Glory lets out a whiny groan like she doesn’t want to talk about it, that way he’s responsible for the rest of this conversation. “
Birdie
. Tell me.”

“There was an incident.”

“What type of incident?”

“He lost control with a girl,” she says softly. “A normal girl he picked up at a bar.”

“How bad was it?”

“More psychological than anything.”

“Did you take care of it?”

“Isaac took care of it himself, but he found the incident unsettling. That’s why I know.”

“Just to be clear, you do mean that he paid her off, correct? I’m not going to see this on the news one day?”

“Baron,” Glory scoffs. “Of course that’s what I mean. He even got her to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

“That was smart.”

“Well, he is your son.” I wish they would stop fucking reminding me.

“So then, why are you so worried?” he asks.

Glory pauses, sighing. “He keeps trying to resist who he really is. That isn’t sustainable. What happens next time? If he ever... went way too far, he wouldn’t have his shit together enough to clean it up and he’d be too proud to call us even if he did.”

“Watch your mouth,” my father snaps. I guess some things never change.

“Sorry,” she replies meekly. “The kid drives me crazy, and not in a good way anymore. He’ll definitely be responsible for my first gray hair.”

That makes me laugh aloud, much to Nigel’s dismay. “What?” my lawyer says.

“Nothing. It’s just Glory’s been getting her roots dyed every week since I was fifteen.”

“Oh.” He restarts the recording.

“I just wish he had an outlet for his urges,” Glory explains. “He could pretend to be normal with another woman if he was able to get it out of his system regularly.” That line wounds me. That’s how I really ended up, I just got lucky enough to get everything I need from Maya.

“He can still come visit the club, see my girls. If he wanted to.” Now my father is the one that sounds timid. It is so fucking strange to hear him let his guard down. If I wasn’t positive that it was him, I’d swear I was listening to a different person.