He quickly stepped forward, blocking me as planned, and I did my best to look like a deer caught in headlights.
“Ava,” he said again, as if testing reality. “You’re alive.” His eyes still swam in a mixture of confusion and shock.
I shook my head, as if dazed by the sight of him myself. “Please don’t tell anyone. Please, Mr. Anderson,” I begged in what I hoped was a panicked voice.
He took another unsteady step forward and clamped both his hands around my shoulders. There was no need to fake my recoil as I tried to step away from his grip, but he held firm. I had forgotten how strong his aftershave smelled.
“How are you here? You were kidnapped!” he whisper-yelled at me, then looked around the room to see if we were attracting any attention. We were, so he straightened a bit, but didn’t let go of me, afraid that I might run.
“I… I…” I stammered, but he gripped my wrist tightly and turned from me.
“Wesley, take Charlotte home,” he addressed a large man in a black suit that was eyeing me suspiciously. I hadn’t noticed him before, but I knew all about him. Wesley was Charles’s head of security, according to the books, but he was really a Capo, charged with Charles’s safety.
Charles turned to the girl, whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief. “My apologies, Charlotte. I will make it up to you, sweetheart. Go with Wesley.” He closed the distance to her with me in tow and kissed her on the cheek while she flashed me a despising glare. I was afraid that she would cause a scene, but it seemed that she knew better. After she’d stomped through the large golden doors, Charles turned to me, showing me to a half-hidden leather couch in the back of the lounge.
“You are going to tell me everything, young lady,” he hissed, as he dragged me across the floor.
My heart was racing. Had I not gotten to know the real Charles, I would have been glad to see him. But now that I had seen behind the mask, the masquerade, there was no unseeing it. This man was a monster.
I took a few steadying breaths as we dropped onto the couch, his knee touching mine as we sat facing each other. He still hadn’t let go ofmy wrist, which was shaking in anticipation. Was this going to work? Could I go through with it?
I thought of Grayson outside. He must be squirming in his seat.
“How the hell are you here, Ava?” Charles still looked shocked. Like he had seen a ghost. Maybe he had already thought me dead. Maybe the men he had searching for me were looking for a body.
“I… I needed someplace to lie low. And you know I always wanted to see Paris. So…” I watched his face wearily.
“Were you in on it? The bank robbery?” He shook his head, as if answering himself. He couldn’t believe that I would be.
“No. I wasn’t. I was taken, but...” I shook my head and covered my face. “Please, Mr. Anderson, you cannot let anyone know I’m here. I will be in so much trouble. They’ll find the gold and think…” I quickly took hold of his hands, hoping I looked desperate, knowing there was a trace of fear on my face also. “You cannot tell anyone you saw me, please.”
Charles shook his head in confusion but gripped my hands tightly. “Tell me everything. Start from the beginning, Ava. What happened at the bank?”
I nodded slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. When I’d decided to do this, I knew it would be difficult, but it was terrifying having him so close. I couldn’t see the calloused but cultured businessman anymore. Now I could only see the depravity sweating from every one of his pores. The niggling unease I always had around him, but quickly brushed off, was now full-blown fear. Images of all the things he had done flashed through my mind, always circling back to that photo of Grayson’s mother and sister.
I had to get a grip, reel in my emotions. Grayson’s Rule Number Four—Don’t let the fear or adrenaline overpower you. If you keep control of your body, you keepyour wits.
I had to do this for Grayson. He was counting on me, and I would rather die than let him down.
“It was terrifying. I was so scared.” I sank back into the couch, letting my shoulders slump. “There were three of them, dressed in complete black. They decided to take me with them. The police were close, and they were scared. They needed leverage in case they couldn’t make it out in time.” I looked up to see if he believed me. Grayson and I decided that staying close to the truth would be the best option. Charles was many things, but dumb he was not. He had always had a knack for spotting a lie. Something that frustrated Shaun to no end.
He did believe me, concern was in his eyes. Was it true concern? Was he capable of feeling something like that for another human being? “They drove around in a van for a few days. I think they were trying to confuse me. It worked. I still don’t know where they held me.” I shuddered. Not at my lie, but his thumb that had started to caress the back of my hand. Intended to comfort me.
“What happened then? Did they hurt you?”
I shook my head. “Yes. No.” I sighed. “They held me in a room, tied me to a bed. It was awful.” I swallowed at the memory. Ithadbeen awful. “But one of them, the leader, he…” I stammered, “he started to like me. Their plan was to kill me, but he couldn’t go through with it. He wouldn’t let the others do—”
“Did he touch you, Ava?” Charles interrupted. There was a sort of possessiveness in the way he said it. Not so much concern for me, but thatsomeone had taken something that was his. Grayson was right. Charlesdidview me as his possession.
I shook my head, looking down to hide the lie. Hehadtouched me. Every part of me. “No, he wanted me to like him too, so he wouldn’t do anything like that. That’s how I convinced him to let me go. I pretended to like him too. Got him to give me some of his gold and promised that I would return to him when the dust settled.”
“He gave you gold?” There was a crease between his eyes.
I nodded, still looking at our hands. “The gold they stole from the bank. He gave me money and six bars.”
He let out a breath. “Wow, Ava, that’s…”
“Insane,” I finished his sentence. “It’s absolutely insane.”
