Mack’s Possession

Ten

I was feeling slightly dizzy by the time we got back to the mansion but Mack told me it was because of what happened and the more I rested the better I’d feel. And though I told him not to, he texted Adan to check on me once he returned from the hospital.

Mack led me straight to his room and ordered me in bed in a tone that left no room for argument. And considering my body was telling me to listen to him I allowed him to tuck me in.

“Get some sleep. I’ll go and interrogate the staff,” he told me and was about to walk away but I grabbed his hand at the last moment, halting him in his pursuits.

“Do you think it’s the right thing to do?” I asked and pulled my hand away as if his touch burned me. “I mean, it’s not like anyone will confess.”

He perched on the bed and regarded me with a tender gaze that had an unfamiliar emotion poking at my ribcage.

“I intend to ask Vivette.”

“She’ll never tell you anything that will piss you off. She loves you too much to see you upset,” I told him, ignoring the pinch in my heart at the prospect of another woman. But over here, I was the other woman and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise but he recovered quickly. “First of all, she doesn’t love me. At least, not in the way you’re implying.” It amused me how he was so clueless about her and her feelings. “Secondly, I’m concerned with you and you alone. But since she’s my personal maid I need to talk to her about what happened.”

“And then?” I prompted.

He pushed my hair aside and caressed the side of my face, his touch not leaving me unaffected as goosebumps rose in his wake.

“And then I’m coming back to you and making sure the poison is completely out of your body. Maybe I should have Vivette keep an eye on you so that no one tries to do anything like this again,” he said.

Anxiety shot up my nerves and I tried to sit up but Mack pushed me back down. “No, no, I don’t want her as my maid. She’s yours and she needs to stay as far away from me as possible. She hates me and I don’t want someone like that around me. She’s yours so keep her to yourself.”

He chuckled at me as his eyes sparkled with a whole array of cryptic emotions. “I know she’s loyal to me, little nymph, I have no doubt she is. And that’s why I want her around you, so she can be my eyes and ears… and of course stop you from running away from me.”

And to think I was foolish enough to believe he was nice. I should slap myself for such an error in judgement.

“When I want to run away from you, Mack, trust me, not even your precious Vivette will be able to stop me,” I said and patted his hand, condescendingly.

His smile morphed into a smirk as he leaned forward until his breath fanned my face. “I don’t need anyone to stop you from running away. I’m capable of it all on my own. And wherever you choose to go I’ll come after you and mark my words, Nia, I will always find you and bring you back home.”

His words had me wanting to get out of bed and running out of the house to some unknown location which even Google Maps couldn’t trace. But my body kept itself firmly on the bed.

“We’ll see. For now you have a killer to find,” I told him in a dismissive tone, and I was surprised that he didn’t lash out at me for disrespecting him.

“Yes, I do. Sleep tight. Vivette will be here shortly with some snacks for you,” he said and got up. I watched him walk out of the room, closing the door softly behind him before I sat up and propped the pillow against the headboard and leaned against it.

“What the hell,” I said and raked a hand through my hair. I never thought someone would want to poison me. But why? What did I do? I was here against my will. I was pretty sure everyone in this mansion knew that. So why did they want to kill me? I wasn’t after their wealth or trying to steal anyone’s boyfriend, so why were they targeting me? “I need to get out of here. I can’t stay here or I’ll end up dead.”

This was only the first attempt. I didn’t know how many more would follow. It didn’t matter how possessive he was of me, Mack couldn’t protect me from everything. Not that I needed his protection. No way. I could protect myself and I wanted to. I never wanted to be dependent on Mack for anything.

While I mulled over my secret killer the door opened and Vivette entered pushing a cart mounted with food.

“Master Mack told me to deliver this to you,” she said as she brought the cart close to me. She refused to make eye contact with me and I could only imagine what emotions her eyes must be holding.

“Thank you. I told him not to bother as I won’t be able to eat much,” I said. My stomach churned in revulsion as I eyed the food in front of me.

“Master Mack wants you to eat, so you must. It’s unfortunate I can’t shove the food down your throat because I totally would just so he can be happy,” she said and flashed me a menacing smile that had the hair on the back of my neck rising at attention.

“Killing me won’t make your Master happy,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

Her smiled turned into a scowl. “Who said anything about killing you?” She frowned in frustration. “He is your Master, too and you need to respect him as such.” She huffed as if speaking to a disobedient child.

Whatever doubts I had about Vivette poisoning my food, they all disappeared with just a few words from her. I was right. It wasn’t her. She might hate my guts but she wouldn’t try to kill me.

“You don’t own me, so stop telling me what to do,” I shot back as she put two cookies on a plate with a muffin and placed it on the nightstand beside me.

“My Master owns you and he wants you to eat,” she stated and slowly moved towards the door. “Make sure not disobey him. He already has a lot to worry about.”

She walked out before I could say another word and as soon as the door closed once again I glanced at the plate of food and flopped down on the bed once again. I turned on my side and closed my eyes, hoping the world would stop spinning. The darkness behind my eyes helped tremendously but sleep eluded me, which was perfectly fine since I didn’t want to sleep.

By the time Mack returned my world had stabilized behind my eyes. I felt the mattress dip before I felt his hand on my forehead. I didn’t want to open my eyes and talk to him but his touch made it impossible for me to fake my slumber any longer.

“You didn’t eat,” he said, his hand resting on my forehead.

“My stomach didn’t like it,” I said. “I don’t have fever.”

“Yes, you do, albeit slight,” he said and removed his hand. “Adan will be here soon.”

“I’m fine, Mack. I really am. It’s just the stupid poison,” I muttered. “Did you find out who poisoned the food?”

Darkness shadowed his face and he shook his head. “The staff is on rotation so the people working today weren’t there yesterday. But Vivette has given me a list of the people and I’ll be questioning each and every one of them.”

“I didn’t know you were a cop.” I chuckled and he rolled his eyes.

“We do our best not to utilize the police force. The people working for us belong to us so we have the right to play judge, jury and executioner for them. Plus I’d like to think that I’d do a better job than a cop at finding the culprit,” he said.

“I find that hard to believe.” I chuckled and he looked amused rather than offended.

“Just you wait, I’ll find the person before the end of this month,” he said. “Now get up. You need to eat before he comes. If he decides to give you some medication, then he won’t be able to if your stomach is empty.”

“I can’t stand the sight of food right now,” I said but he just rounded the bed and grabbed the plate which Vivette left on the nightstand.

“You don’t have a choice,” he said and forced me to get up.

“Must you be so annoying?” I whined as he handed a banana to me. “I don’t like bananas.”

“I know. But it’ll help your stomach before you eat the cookie,” he said and I scowled at the banana before peeling it and taking a bite. “Good girl. Finish this and you can have a cookie.”

I finished the banana and true to his word he gave me a cookie which I finished just as Adan arrived. He gave me a quick check up before writing a prescription for me and I hated how I’d have to take medication for the next few days.

I couldn’t understand why Mack was being so attentive. I never knew him to be so concerned about anybody’s well being. He was always so cold and aloof. Selfish. But this was a completely different side to him. Was he like this with Vivette as well?

You need to focus on getting out of here. Not being jealous.

I wasn’t jealous. I couldn’t be. Mack wasn’t mine to own, though he should be considering he owned me, but my world wasn’t like that. The relationship between a Diamandis and his slave would never be at an equal level. The fact that he wasn’t punishing me after every transgression was a miracle in itself.

“I’m glad most of the poison is out of your system,” he said once Adan left.

“Why are you being so nice to me? You’re not nice and don’t try to tell me you are. Just like you’ve been watching me, I’ve known you as well,” I said. “You’re not nice, so why the special treatment? What do you want from me?” I asked as my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“I would say I want you but you already know that. And since I have you, I have to say there’s nothing else I want.”

“Then why are you being so nice? Why are you so concerned about me being poisoned that you’re willing to break your own rules and allow your cousin to see and touch me?” I folded my arms over my chest and stared at him.

“It’s fairly simple, little nymph,” he said as he shifted closer to me. “Somebody is trying to take what’s mine and I don’t like it. It’s not your fault that I have an enemy in the midst, so why must you suffer from my wrath when you’re not deserving of it?”

“But I argue with you and tell you again and again that I’m going to run away. You don’t punish me for that,” I said.

“You arguing with me is cute and entertaining. As for you saying you’ll run away, it won’t happen, so I have nothing to worry about and therefore can’t be angry with you,” he said with a confident smile that made him look like a gorgeous devil or a demon.

I shot him a glare and decided to change the subject. “Whatever. So now what? You’ll just spend the rest of your days playing detective? What am I supposed to do?”

“You’ll work on getting better. The intercom is there, call Vivette if you need anything and focus on getting plenty of sleep.”

“That’s boring,” I complained.

“I’ll get you some books from the library to keep you occupied.”

“I want a job,” I blurted out, knowing full well what his answer would be.

“No,” he stated.

“Mack, you don’t understand. I’ll go crazy if I stay here and do nothing,” I told him.

“I’ll give you something to do once you’re better.”

“Like what? And don’t tell me you’ll give me permission to go shopping with an entourage of guards,” I snapped.

“No,” he replied.

“Then?” I prompted.

“Get better first, Nia. I’ll tell you once you’re alright.”

I knew he wouldn’t tell me and that added to my frustration but there was nothing I could do right now. So I sighed and nodded and received a smile from him in return.

“I’ll bring my computer here and finish the rest of my work with you. I can’t take the risk of leaving you alone,” he said and left the room and I couldn’t help the cracks that appeared in the walls around my heart. Had I misjudged him? Was he really not the monster I made him out to be? But he was a monster. They all were.

I just had to figure out what kind of a monster he was.