Listen, Obey

40. Fortieth Lesson

"Stay in the car." Matthews decisive tone gnawed at my confidence. He had no right to order me around, but I also trusted him to make better decisions than I did.

I shook my head. "No, I want to do this on my own."

"He won't expect me, which will make it a lot easier for us, but not for him."

My shoulders slumped in defeat. He had a point. Even so, I didn't like the thought of Matthews meeting with Sam without me. If he got hurt, I would blame myself until the end of time.

"What if you get hurt?"

"I doubt it. I'm just delivering money. He should be happy to see me."

His words held little comfort. However, it felt useless to argue about it. We were both adults, and if I wanted to go with him, I could. The same was true for him. If he wanted to come, I had no chance of stopping him.

Opening the door, I got out of the car and waited for him to join me.

The door on the other side slammed as he stepped out. "Stay in the car, Ethan." Again, his tone indicated that I wouldn't want to continue my opposition. He was a true Dom, and it was hard to say no when he exerted his influence.

"I'm not your sub. Stop," I tried.

Matthews rolled his eyes. "Do you want to be my sub?"

I gulped. Did he have to pick this moment to ask that question? He was well aware of my wish to explore the BDSM scene, and I wanted to do it with him. But, what he did now wasn't fair play.

"You can't force me to listen by holding that ransom." I folded my arms across my chest and gave him a hard stare.

He sighed. "You're right, but seriously, please stay in the car. It's for my peace of mind."

My anger wavered. He was pleading, and from what I knew of his personality, it wasn't something he did often. Taking a deep breath, I decided to resign. If he wanted to treat me like a child, then he was free to do so. I could argue with him later.

"Thank you," he said and disappeared into the hotel. We had spent a good few hours to track down Sam's location, but after a tip at the Grand Escalier, we ended up outside one of the nicer hotels in the city. I couldn't believe they organized an escort business from here, but stranger things had happened, I guessed.

My fingers tapped an even rhythm against the dashboard, counting the minutes while I waited. The revolving doors on the hotel revealed all those who stepped inside and those who left, but Matthews was nowhere to be seen. Another couple of minutes passed before I checked the time. It had barely been ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

I reclined against the head rest, looking out across the park instead. It was an empty place—something that would change as soon as Spring arrived. It looked desolate, but also calm—a forgotten oasis. It seemed to call out for me, begging me to visit its lonely fields. If I hadn't been freezing, I might have listened.

The car door swung open, startling me out of my trance.

I didn't say a word as Matthews took his seat. The frown on his face told at least half of the tale, but I couldn't make sense of it all.

I should have gone with him.

"You okay?"

"He won't take the money unless you come with me."

Without waiting for his next words, I got out of the car and stalked over to the entrance. If we were doing this, I didn't want to wait a second longer than I had to. There was no room for hesitation. No room for uncertainty.

"Ethan, wait." Matthews strode behind me, less urgent than I to get inside.

"Why wait. Let's do this before I change my mind and run in the other direction."

Matthews laced an arm around my back, but for once, it wasn't a comforting gesture. I was far too tense to appreciate the offered affection.

"This is not something to rush into." He was right, but I wasn't ready to listen. Instead, I squirmed out of his embrace and stepped into the elevator without even checking with the young woman the reception.

Matthews shook his head as he stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor. "Can you at least try to listen to me now?"

I winced. That sounded less like a suggestion and more like a reprimand. When I didn't reply, he took my hand in his and ran his thumb across my skin.

"He's not alone in there. But you're not alone either, don't forget that."

Swallowing down the lump of unease that suddenly lodged in my throat, I squeezed his fingers. I was nervous and there was no use hiding it. The others in that room might be people from my past, and things might turn ugly. Plenty of old friends accused me of putting Jace at St. Mary's even if it wasn't my fault. They thought I had went against Jace's wishes, as weird as it sounded. Although, perhaps they resented me for other reasons. No one was supposed to get away from the life I had. Dealers didn't like to lose customers.

Matthews stopped outside one of the rooms and knocked on the door. Immediately, it swung open, revealing a man even taller than Matthews. He filled out his suit, and I was pretty sure he was packing a gun somewhere. He had that air of gun-induced confidence.

"They're here," the man announced and opened the door for us to step inside.

The first person I saw was Sam, but as my eyes traveled further, my world halted. Seconds became endless and my entire body ached.

I could hardly breathe. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to return to the place that had almost killed us both. 

  "Jace..." 

A/N yes, short chapter, but I wanted to post since it's been so long. I will hopefully sort out this story within a few chapters. It's ready to say goodbye, or at least I'm ready to say goodbye to it.