“Take a break. I got it from here,” the man said calmly.
Ledge shot daggers my way and locked his jaw so tight that shit looked like it ached. Once again, he was sucking on his bottom lip, restraining himself from snapping on me. He backtracked to the door, but I knew he wanted to lay hands on me. Once he was gone, the man that stood before me waited until he was sure that he had left before facing me. The way his eyes raked over me in my short, tight dress made me feel naked, but he wore no expression. They lingered a little longer over my curves like he was engraving them in his memory. I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered. His eyes pierced me before he went over to a closet in the room.
“Who are you, and why am I here?” I asked, hoping he would have an answer for me since his abrasive ass friend wanted to play mind games.
I watched him open the closet door and reach on the top shelf. He removed a laptop and faced me.
“I understand that you are able to crack just about any encryption for some of the most-sensitive databases.”
“And how would you know that?” I replied, perched on the edge of the bed.
I squinted, trying to find some familiarity with him, but there was none. I’d never met him before in my life. Somehow, he seemed to know me. And it wasn’t like my favorite color or no shit like that. I got the feeling that if I looked into his eyes too long, he would be able to figure out all the little quirks that made me. He walked over and held the computer out for me to take. My eyes bore into his, and I observed his strong hand. Where his sleeve was rolled up, I could tell that he had tattoos on his arm, and that only made me more curious. Hisexpression was empty, and from the way that he dressed, he didn’t seem like a thug or no shit like that.
“I need you to tap into this system. You think you can manage that?” he asked, condescending.
Extending my arm, I snatched the laptop out of his grasp and set it in my lap.
“Does a pig eat feces?” I retorted, scowling.
“Is that your example of humor?” he replied.
I opened the laptop and propped my knees up by lifting my toes from the ground. I had thrown both of my shoes at Ledge when I first woke up, so a bitch was barefoot. My attempts at access kept getting denied, frustrating the shit out of me. Letting go of a sharp breath, I nervously ran my fingers through my hair. Bringing my eyes up, I held them on the handsome stranger.
“Do you have a name?” I questioned, taking him in from head to toe.
He seemed so unbothered. The way he stared through me sure as hell rattled my nerves. The fact that he was also fine as hell kept me on my toes. He wasn’t just high-school crush fine. He was that long-term fine— like wine, aging and still top shelf.
“Frequency,” he stated, very confident. “And you are Harbor Lawson. Daughter of Harold Lawson. Student at Virginia State, GPA of 4.0, graduated early, top of your class, at the age of just sixteen. Enrolled in college courses at that time and entered as a sophomore on a full-ride scholarship for synchronized swimming. Did I miss anything?” Frequency queried, leaving me stumped.
If I weren’t being held against my will, I might’ve found it sexy, but since that wasn’t the case, it irritated me more than anything. Who the fuck was he?
“How do you know all that?” I paused and asked.
“Are you having some trouble?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Nah. I got it,” I quipped, my eyes drawn back to the access screen.
I closed them and took a few deep breaths. I was always up for a challenge. Rolling my neck, I moved my shoulders before I brought my head back upright and squared off with the computer screen. Most girls my age got off on parties and shopping and dick hopping. Not me. The sound of my fingers clicking away on keys and seeing different codes brought to life was what got me off. Don’t get me wrong; the money was starting to be a great bonus as well. I was just never on the same shit as my peers. After a few combinations, I got the green light, and the system unlocked for me. Relieved, my shoulders dropped, and I turned the computer on my lap so that it faced him. His brow lifted, and he bobbed his head like he was satisfied. He reached for the laptop, taking it from me and keeping it open in his arms.
“My accountant will be here in the morning. Get some rest.” He began marching toward the door, and I leapt to my feet.
“What the hell do you mean get some rest? Why am I here?” I demanded, mouth tight with anger.
He closed the laptop shut and spun around to face me. With a blank stare that shook me to my core, he said, “You’re here until I’ve got all the information I need to go forward.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means… get comfortable.” He looked me up and down and cleared out of the room.
I bolted toward the door, and before I could even get the knob to turn, I heard a lock click. Beating on the strong wood, I lost my shit, kicking and screaming until I was exhausted. Falling to the floor, back against the door, as I wept. How the fuck did I get there? And what was going to happen tome? Curling up in a fetal position, I lay there staring off into nothing. My mind had gone blank, and eventually, I drifted off into reluctant sleep. I was dreaming of a million ways to get out of there.
Present Day…
If someone had told me a year ago that I would be held hostage, I would’ve told them they had lost their damn mind because what the fuck? Days went by. Celine brought me food, but I didn’t touch it. I gave her attitude at first too. Everyone here was the enemy. When I realized I wasn’t getting out of here any time soon, I used dance as a distraction. It was the only thing that carried me to another place, a happy place. I could forget for a while about my situation. Nothing existed outside of this massive house. Once I finished eating, I stood and took my plate over to the sink. Frequency’s dark, piercing orbs followed me around the room. I didn’t have to look in his direction to know that.
Being there, I always felt like I was under his watchful eye. For all I knew, I could’ve been. The place was massive, and there was always an underlying feeling that I had while I was inside it. I couldn’t quite place it. In the beginning, I thought for sure I was in danger or going to be roped into a world of drugs and sex trafficking. But days went by, then weeks, and months. Hell, I had lost track of time. Sometimes it seemed like a short span had gone by, and others, it was as if I had gone through an entire lifetime within these walls. I’d almost forgotten what my life was like, and I did my best not to think about my time before entering this prison.
“Well, she’s getting settled in. She is going to need to do some shopping, dad,” Celine said as she returned to the kitchen. “She’s grown damn near two feet since she was last here. Nothing inthat closet fits. I told her to go through everything, and we can donate it.”
