Page 24 of Taking Adalisa (Montgomery Syndicate #2)

ADALISA

“ Y es, Margery is your friend. She has been safe the whole time, like I told you. Ethan didn’t want anyone to see her yet, but I need more eyes on you when I go out,” he explains.

“Wait. Hold up.” I raise my hand.

He couldn’t actually be talking about that Ethan, could he?

Ethan is dead. Ethan died years ago in the car crash.

“What?” Matthias asks, pulling up to a gate.

I look around quickly. The walls are one foot deep, made out of concrete, and probably seven feet tall or higher, with barbed wire at the top. How am I going to get out of here? There is even a guard in a little shed next to the gate.

There is no way.

Shit.

“Adalisa?” Matthias asks. “What’s wrong?”

“Ethan as in Margery’s Ethan who died?” I search his face.

There is no way that Ethan survived and Margery didn’t know about it. She told me she identified the body.

“Faked his death,” is Matthias replies.

I blink several times as I stare at the back of his head. Ethan faked his own death and didn’t tell Margery? I thought he loved her.

“So, her telling me that she kept seeing him and he was leaving her presents was actually true,” I whisper to myself.

“Yes, it was. I was the police officer who kept her from actually calling the police. Not that they would have done much. They didn’t the first time, and they weren’t going to after that. They thought it was a harmless secret admirer.” Matthias starts to drive when the gates fully open.

“I was one of those people,” I mumble, leaning back into my seat.

I was wrong. So wrong. Margery wasn’t going mad, and she didn’t need to go to a facility. She was actually seeing her dead ex-boyfriend.

Why didn’t I believe her?

“Margery and Ethan aren’t here right now. They are in a cabin until the end of the week. She is recovering and needs more sleep. She couldn’t sleep with so many guards around her and so much noise.” Matthias unbuckles himself and turns toward me.

I hadn’t realized we have parked in front of the big mansion.

“She doesn’t know you are here yet, and Ethan isn’t going to tell her until they are heading back. When they do get back here, you will be respectful to them. This is their house, and Ethan is graciously letting us stay here while I work so people can watch over you,” Matthias unbuckles me.

“I don’t need a babysitter.” I roll my eyes.

“You do. I won’t have you sneaking off again. You are my wife, and there is nothing you can do about it,” he states.

Maybe I should have really thought through what I was going to do if he caught me.

Matthias gets out of the car before I can say anything and walks to my side and opens the door. He grabs my hand and helps me out, keeping me in his hold as he walks me to the front door. I try to look around, but Matthias doesn’t give me time to.

“Can I not look around?” I ask.

“You’ll have time for that later,” he replies. “Right now, we need to get food into you.”

My whole body locks up. I desperately want food, but I know I won’t be able to eat anything. I hadn’t thought about that when I left my apartment..

“I brought some of your food here from your fridge,” Matthias says, taking me to the kitchen. “Which we will be talking about at a later time..”

I shake my head and take a step back. There is no way I am going to eat that now. Matthias has been in my apartment. He has taken my food out of the fridge. How do I know he hasn’t contaminated the food? I wasn’t here to watch him.

“Adalisa,” he gently says, taking a step toward me. “You need to eat. I bet you haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”

It was breakfast; I didn’t have any lunch. I am starving. But this has happened to me before. I’ve gone places and haven’t been able to eat. Does it suck? Absolutely, but it is nothing I haven’t dealt with before and won’t deal with again.

“How about this?” He walks back into the kitchen, and I follow him. “You wash a spoon so you know that it’s clean.”

I do as he says and get to washing a spoon, making sure to keep my eye on him as he brings out one of my food containers. As I’m drying the spoon, Matthias sets it down beside me and takes the lid off.

What now?

“I am going to eat a spoonful, and then you’ll see that it’s safe. That you can eat what you need to,” he states.

“That’s not how it works,” I mumble. “One bite isn’t going to hurt you.”

Matthias cups my face with his hands. “And one meal isn’t going to hurt until we can go to the grocery store.”

He’s right, but I don’t the anxiety to hit me.

“I would never give you any food that is contaminated, I promise,” he gently says. “I would never put you in harm's way. You are too precious to me, and the thought of putting something in there makes me physically ill.”

I look down at the food and then back up at him. He gives me a small smile.

“How about this?” he starts. “How about I take a bite and then you take a bite, and we go back and forth. That way, I get the same amount of food. Will that make it better?”

Will it?

It will definitely ease my nerves a little. “Is that okay?” Matthias asks again. “Do you think you can do something like that?”

I nod and look at the food, not wanting to see whatever emotion is pasted across his face. I know he is happy, but at what expense? “No, look back at me. You don’t look away,” Matthias declares. “Look into my eyes.”

I look back at him and lean into his right hand.

The warmth of his hands seeps into my skin, and I could fall asleep right here.

I shouldn’t, especially when I’m mad at him for finding me so quickly and for bringing me to this compound where I definitely won’t be escaping.

I should be trying to get away from him at all costs, yet here I am about to share food with him.

How messed up am I?

A lot.

I can’t seem to help but want to be around him all the time. I want him to touch me, feed me, and take care of me. I shouldn’t want that with someone like him.

“We are not going to think about anything,” he firmly says. “You and I are going to eat and talk. We aren’t going to think about anything else, understand?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “That’s easier said than done.”

Does he really think I can just shut off my brain and not think about anything? Does he realize how ridiculous that is for him to say that?

“You are going to do it because that is what I demand of you.” He kisses my nose. “I want you to focus on me and nothing else. Do you think you can do that?”

I shrug and try to get my face out of his hold. Can I do that? It’s a tall order, and I’m not really in the mindset to do it.

“We’re going to try. I’ll help you so you aren’t doing it alone. Would it be better for you to be watching something so your mind is off everything and I can feed you?” he asks.

I grip his wrists and shake my head, my breathing picking up at the thought. Nope. There is no way I am going to be watching TV while he feeds me. I can’t get caught watching something and not see if he puts something in it or not.

“All right, you’re okay,” he coos at me. “Everything is going to be okay. No TV while we eat. Forget I said that.”

I suck in a deep breath and close my eyes for a couple of seconds. No TV while we watch. I can do that. I can definitely do that.

“Good girl,” he whispers. “You’re safe. We’ll just talk, so you can keep your attention on me and can see that nothing is happening.”

My shoulders sag, and I nod. Right. I can do this. Everything is going to be okay because he won’t be able to do anything. I washed the spoon myself. He got the food out, but I didn’t see him take it from my fridge. I didn’t have an eye on it then.

“No thinking,” Matthias whispers. “No thinking about it at all. We are going to talk and nothing else. I want your attention on me and only me.”

“Arrogant,” I mutter.

He smirks. “I wouldn’t be your husband if I weren’t.”

His words leave me speechless as he lets go of my face and takes a step back.

His arrogance shouldn’t be a turn-on, yet when I look at Matthias in front of me, I can’t help but feel aroused and want to be around him.

There is just something about him that speaks to my soul, and I can’t figure it out.

“Come on, let’s get some food inside you.” Matthias grabs the container and walks around the island. “Sit next to me.”

I quickly follow him and sit beside him, looking at the food. My mouth salivates at the sight.

“Do you want me to warm it up?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I normally eat my food cold. I like it better that way. Put it in the microwave and it might get too hot and I could burn my mouth.”

The number of times that I have eaten something after microwaving it and burning my mouth. I don’t want to do it again, so I have just stopped heating things up. It’s easier that way.

“I can check the food before you eat it to make sure it’s the right temperature and won’t hurt you,” Matthias offers, holding his hand out.

Without thinking, I hand him the spoon. He would really do that for me? I’ve never had someone want to make sure my food was the right temperature so I didn’t hurt myself. Where did he come from, and why is he making me fall for him with every little thing he says?

“Open up,” he says.

Sweet potato and a little chicken are on the spoon, and I open my mouth, waiting.

“Good girl for letting Daddy feed you,” he praises me, and I take a bite.

My eyes go wide as I stare at him. I just let him feed me. How did he get the spoon? I don’t remember handing it over to him. I thought he would have his own spoon, but I am mistaken.

“Ah, no thinking too much,” Matthias reminds me. “Yes, I am feeding you, and you like it. You can keep a better eye on the food. I won’t let go of the container or the spoon. I want you to just focus on eating and relaxing.”

I open and close my mouth, trying to come up with something to say to him to get my spoon back. Maybe I can just get another one.

“Don’t even think about it. I did not give you permission to get up.” Matthias raises an eyebrow at me. “Do not think about getting up. I am taking care of you, and you are going to let me take care of you. Understand?”

My shoulders sag, and I nod. “Yes,” I mumble.

“Yes, Daddy.”

I shake my head and look away. I know I’m taking my eyes off the food, but I can’t call him Daddy out loud. That is going to cross a line I am not ready to cross yet, which he knows.

“Soon,” Matthias says. “Now, open your mouth again so you can take another bite.”

We go at this for a while, him feeding me and then taking a bite, and I find myself relaxing even more into my chair with each bite. What is wrong with me? I should call this a win, but I can’t help but stare at Matthias and wonder.

“I can see your brain working again, and I want you to stop.” Matthias feeds me the last bite. “I don’t want you to think about anything at all. Focus on me.”

I glare at him. “My focus is not always going to be on you.”

“Well, it should be,” he replies. “Your attention and thoughts should always be on me. That is what I want, and I think I’m pretty close to achieving it.”

If only he knew I constantly think about him. He is somehow always on my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. “Come on.” Matthias holds his hand out, leaving my container on the counter. “We’re going to leave the dish for the maid to clean up.”

“No.” I look at him like he is crazy.

“Yes, we are. I’m surprised she let us take it out of the fridge.

She has been working for Ethan for years and has a certain way of how she likes the fridge and kitchen.

She normally doesn’t allow any of us to touch anything in here.

Trust me, if she was here, she would give the same speech,” Matthias explains.

He holds his hand out, and I take it, looking back at the container that was once filled with food I had made. I really did it. I really ate that food without knowing it was safe.

Am I at a turning point in my life?

“We’re going to bed. I have a couple of things I need to get done tomorrow, and then we are going grocery shopping and cooking,” Matthias informs me.

“Will the maid be okay with me being in the kitchen cooking?” My eyebrows furrow as I look at him.

“I will be speaking with her tomorrow about that. She will understand.” Matthias sits on the bed.

I look around briefly. Everything in here is black or gray. It’s very clean and minimalist.

“This is my room when I am here. As you can tell, I don’t stay here often. If you need anything, I want you to tell me and we can get it while we are out or I can have someone get it for us.” Matthias pulls me between his legs.

I try to take a step back, but his arms keep me in place. We lock eyes, and he looks at me like he is seeing me for the first time.

“You are so precious to me,” he whispers. “Too precious that sometimes I don’t think I deserve you, but I’m never letting you go.”

I thought he sounded really sweet until he said he was never letting me go. And just like that, he has popped the bubble around me and made me realize that I am here against my will.

“Come on, let's get to bed.” He kisses my lips quickly.