AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He rubbed the shadow on his jaw. “And you got this reservation from yourgram?”
I could practically hear the other three laughing as they informed him ofGram’sreservation.
“Grandmother. Yes. But I’m wondering if whatever this reservation is for is not a good fit for me. Perhaps you should point me in the direction of where I came from and we can forget I was here.” My heart thumped a little louder and a sheen of sweat broke out on my forehead.
“I’m not sure you understand the scope of the situation. That’s not possible. You have a reservation. We can’t simply call it a day.” His voice grew even more condescending, which I hadn’t imagined was possible.
This had to be some sort of illegal business. Between the look of his people and him? No way this was an up-and-up situation, and Gram had been nuts enough to think it might be a good fit for me? Whatever she’d arranged, this wasnotwhere I should be.
“Look, I don’t want to know anything about your business. I’ll never tell another soul I was here because I don’t even know wherehereis. You just need to let me go. Blindfold me on the way out if you want. I don’t care. It’s fine.”
He smiled now, and it softened his harshness just enough to make him devastatingly handsome. If I didn’t suspect he was some sort of psychopath running a criminal operation, I would’ve found him attractive. Luckily, I hadn’t been born yesterday, and I knew a predator when I saw one.
I glanced at the other chair in the room, deciding whether to sit or attempt a quick exit while he was across the room.
He jerked his head toward the door. “That idea won’t work out well for you.”
“Are you saying you won’t let me leave?” It was hard to speak when your chest was so tight it felt like there was an iron grip around it.
“What would you do if I did? Would you call the police?” He waved his hand in a blasé motion.
I could feel a drop of sweat sliding down my temple. It was hard to play it cool when I looked like I was sitting in a sauna.
“No.” Of course I’d call. I’d already tried, not that I’d tell him.
“Where would you tell them you were?” He disregarded my answer for the lie it was.
“They could ping the phone and find my location.”
“You think so?” He reached into his pocket and tossed his phone at me. “Call them. Let’s see how it works out for you.”
It would be miserable to play poker against this guy. There was no sign of whether he was bluffing. Would he really have given me his phone if I were able to call the police? It must be a trick, and he assumed this would make me believe him, that I’d hand back his phone without bothering to try.
I dialed. He leaned back, stretching his neck as if he were killing time.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” the operator asked.
Kaden yawned. This wasn’t looking like a bluff, but…
“I’m lost. Could you possibly ping my phone and come and get me?”
“Ma’am, it doesn’t appear you are in our jurisdiction. I can forward you to the Antarctic authorities if you would like?”
Antarctic?
“You couldn’t have pinged me already.”
“No, but I can see on our calling data that you are in the Antarctic. As I said, I can help forward you to their authorities.” She was losing her patience. Did she think this was a prank call?
He wasn’t bluffing.
“That’s okay. I’ll call them.” I gripped the phone for a few more seconds before I placed it on his desk. I bit my lower lip and then slowly looked up. “I’m not in Antarctica, right?”
“No, you’re not.” He smiled. “You are at an outpost betweenTopsideandNowhere. My outpost, to be precise.”
“Topside and Nowhere?” Yeah, okay. The guy was nuts. This place was nuts. Why was I even speaking to him, dragging this out? “Look, you agreed to let me leave. Can I go?” I’d figure out where I was after I left. I stood, ready to fight to the death to get out of this room, this building.
“You can walk out of here whenever you want and go back to wherever it is you came from. But you won’t stay there because you have a reservation. That sets certain things in motion.”
