Relinquish(44)

“She’s just another escort,” I remind him, and myself.





CHARLIE


“Oh, my God! Charlie, I was so worried!” Jayden flings herself into me as soon as I walk through the door, nearly knocking me over.

I smile and hold her close, the smell of cocoa wafting from her hair a solace. She squeezes me hard, making my ribs scream with pain, but I don’t care. To feel loved, to know someone would miss me if I disappeared is unfamiliar.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I whisper into her shoulder.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Jayden cries into my hair. “What happened?” Jayden pulls herself back using my shoulders, her gray eyes filled with unshed tears.

“Landon happened,” I grumble, pulling from her fully and throwing my shoes by the bed.

“I’ll be right outside this door, Charlie,” Osborn states, reminding me he followed me up here. I look over my shoulder at him. Osborn is a muscular man who looks like he just swallowed a year’s worth of steroids. His shoulders are broad and muscled to the point he doesn’t look like he has a neck. He’s in a black suit with black sunglasses placed snuggly on his face, even though it’s night.

“Who the f*ck is this?” Jayden shrieks, not noticing Osborn followed me in before now. I grab her arm, stopping her in her pursuit of anger.

“He’s the watchdog,” I sneer. Osborn doesn’t even flinch, just shuts the door behind him as he leaves.

“What?” Jayden questions, wiping her cheeks with her hands.

“Landon, the man who gave me that thousand dollars—”

“What about him?” Jayden interrupts.

“I guess he runs some escort business. I work for him now – actually, I’m owned by him. It looks like Mick got himself in some kind of situation, because I no longer work for Mick,” I clarify, peeling my dress off my sweaty body, leaving me in my bra and panties.

“You can’t be serious. He can’t own you.” Jayden shakes her head in confusion, her forehead wrinkling in panic.

“He’s very powerful, and has made it clear what happens if I try to defy him.” I take my gaze from Jayden, debating if I should tell her that Landon threatened her life. I bite my lip and decide against it. She doesn’t need anything else added to her plate of terror; losing each other is going to be enough.

“He’s not to be messed with, Jayden.”

“When you say owned, do you mean, like, you won’t be living here anymore?” Jayden asks, her voice taking a tone of sorrow. I look at her, my expression clearly telling her everything she needs to know.

“No. He can’t do that. We can run. We can call the police.” Jayden tears up, her hands grabbing at me frantically.

“No, we can’t, Jayden. We just… can’t,” I stumble on my words. I can’t dive into telling her how obviously powerful Landon is. This is unbearably painful for me, to know this is the last time I may see Jayden. All I want to do is slump to the floor and cry with her, but I can’t. I won’t give Landon that power. I’ll savor the time I have with Jayden and be strong for the both of us.

“You’re all I have,” Jayden whispers, making my eyes snap to hers. I grab her into a hug, needing that feeling of comfort.

“You’re all I have, too,” I respond. “I’ll work something out. Get you in there as an escort, see if I can come home on the weekends, or find a way out of there — something,” I mumble into her curly hair, her fingers digging into my back as she cries.

I start to pull away. “It’s late. Let’s get some sleep,” I suggest, but Jayden doesn’t let go. I reach over and turn the light off then walk us over to my bed. I pull the sheet back and pull myself from Jayden’s grip. Too stunned to move on her own, I unzip her red dress, letting it fall to the floor. I climb into the bed and hold the sheet up, encouraging Jayden to crawl in beside me. She kicks her heels off and crawls in, her back to my front, and we snuggle close to each other. Her body shakes as she sobs, the heat radiating off her causing me to sweat, but I don’t pull away. I don’t even kick a leg out from under the sheet.

“We’ve been through so much together. You’re the only person who understands me and doesn’t hold judgement.” Her voice cracks with emotion. “Charlie, you can’t leave me. Promise me you’ll come back,” she sobs.

I take a deep breath, not sure if I’ll be able to deliver on that or not, so I lie.

“I promise.”

***

A loud knock at the door has Jayden falling out of the bed and me pulling the sheets up over my head.

“What?” Jayden yells, opening the front door. I smirk. I know she’s in her bra and undies. She has no shame. At least she didn’t sleep next to me naked, though.

“It’s time,” Osborn remarks, his voice deep.

“Yeah, okay,” Jayden clips, slamming the door, probably in his face.

I sigh and throw the blankets back.

“We could take him, you know,” Jayden mutters, pulling the sheet from her bed to cover herself. I laugh. The two of us trying to wrestle Osborn, tie him up so we can run, is an image to be seen just in my head.

“I don’t see that playing out too well.” I half-laugh, shaking my head as I slip on a sports bra. “Besides, Landon would come for me, and I know he’d find us,” I tell her, grabbing some ripped jeans and a dark blue shirt that has the sleeves cut off, revealing my white sports bra. I hate leaving Jayden, but at least I don’t feel as apprehensive about being a part of the Blackwell Estate. If Landon is anything like I thought he was, maybe I can leave on the weekends and have Jayden come see me or something.