Mind Control

Body Slams

I wake up in the middle of a bed, with the blankets tangled around my body. Looking around, I see a television, desk, and door to (I'm assuming) a bathroom. I stand up and walk around the room, looking for any indication as to where I am. The window is boarded up with even pieces of dark wood, making it impossible to see outside.

"Mr Reed is in his office, Miss," a voice says behind me, causing me to jump.

"Who are you?" I question sharply.

"Irrelevant. Mr Reed has requested that you see him in his office when you wake up. It is down the hall and to the left," he repeats.

With a sigh and roll of the eyes, I walk out of the bedroom. Knocking softly on the door, I turn the knob to find it unlocked, so I walk in to find William talking animately on the phone. His back is turned to me and he is making elaborate gestures with his arms. Walking in silently, I sit on one of the two chairs.

"I personally don't care about your wife and child. Have the money ready by next week or you'll end up face down in the Thames, understood?" he says furiously. What the hell. "There's a cafe in..."

I stop paying attention to his call as I hone in on the laptop on his desk. I don't think he's noticed me yet, so I slowly turn around the laptop. The screen pulls up on a profile, Carl Evans. It mentions a five year-old daughter and a wife, along with a hefty debt; two hundred thousand dollars. Glancing at William, he's stll facing the other direction. I click out of Evans' profile, and see that he is accessing a database; "Lotus Inc". Going in the search bar, I start to type, but my hands are suddenly torn away from the keyboard.

"Lydia," William growls. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You'd really take a human life because of money? Are you insane?" I hiss, trying to free my hands from his.

"Honey, you're delusional if you think I care. Human life is nothing to me," his light eyes harden as he speaks. Glancing at the laptop, his grip on my hands tightens.

"William, let go of me,"

"You were looking inside the Lotus database?" he says, his eyes burning. He twists my hands behind my back at a painful angle, causing my back to arch towards him. "What do you want to know about me?"

"N-nothing," I say, gritting my teeth. He pulls my arms back more, causing me to let out a hiss of pain. "I was just curious to see what you do. Stop hurting me!"

"Bullshit. Did Declan put you up to this?"

"No!" my eyes widen. "Not at all,"

"Honey," his soft voice dangerous. "I found a tracking and listening device in your shoes,"

I shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Ary had put that in when dyeing my hair, but I had forgotten about it. Crap, that makes me look ridiculously guilty. "Um.."

He suddenly throws me over his shoulder and runs out of his office. I can't tell where we're going, since I'm upside down. He eventually comes to a stop outside a closed door. Putting me down, he says, "Get inside and change. Meet me in the gym in five minutes,"

"What? Why are we going to the gym? I know you're kind of overweight, but I happen to like my body," I put my hands on my hips, peering up at him. He takes my waist softly and leans in, brushing his lips against my left cheek.

"Your body is beautiful. The things I want to do to it would make you blush," he whispers. His hand travels down my body, past my hips, and slaps my ass. "Now be a good girl and go change,"

I push away from him with disgust. "Don't touch me. I'm not changing until I know what for,"

His eyes flash with anger. Taking my arm tightly, he drags me inside the changeroom. He takes my top off before I can argue, leaving me in my jeans and bra. I back away from him in alarm.

"Stop. I'll change myself, just get out," I say weakly.

"That's what I thought," he smirks, his expression still unsettling.

He stalks out of the room, leaving me to change into athletic shorts and a tank top. I search for a pair of shoes, but not finding any, I grab a pair of socks and walk into the gym.

The gym itself is huge. It has a dark blue padding on the walls and floor, and probably a fifteen foot ceiling. I can see now why I don't need shoes; it would damage the mats. Looking around the room, I see William on one of the benches, on a call. When he sees me, he hangs up and stalks towards me.

"What are we doing?" I ask apprehensively.

"Training. Get in the middle of the room and into fighting position. Let's see how good you really are," he says with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I- I'm alright, really," I stutter, backing away from his entreating figure. "I can take care of myself, no need for training,"

He doesn't reply, walking towards me until I'm backed to a wall. I put my hands on his bare chest and push, but to no avail.

"William, please," I squirm as he looks at me fixedly. "I'll train with anyone else, just not you,"

"Why ever not? Am I an inadequate instructor?" he questions rhetorically. Suddenly, he picks me up by the waist and drops me in a heap in the middle of the room.

"Stop this right now," I try to say sternly.

"Shut up," he snaps. "Get your ass up now or I'll just start attacking you,"

I get up nervously, feeling extremely uncomfortable under his scornful gaze. I plant my right foot in front of my left and hold my hands in front of my face. I look up to see him mirroring my stance.

He attacks first, smoothly connecting his fist with my jaw. I punch him in the gut, hard, causing him to double over. I try to attack again, but he dodges every one of my attacks. Just as I'm about to kick him, he grabs my leg and pulls, causing me to slam on the ground.

"William," I say breathlessly. He punches me, before grabbing my arm and making me stand up again.

"I just expended all your energy with dodging," he growled. "You and I will be training for a long time,"

Before I could protest, he picked me up and slammed me on the floor again. Seemingly for hours, he punches, kicks, and slams me to the ground until I am able to retaliate.