Page 12 of Drawn Together

“If I told you about the things she gets up to at school… Fuck, I have to warn her not to leave!”

I felt like I was about to have a heart attack as I raced to my bedroom and found my cell phone. It was nine thirty here, two thirty in the morning there. She should be asleep, so I opted to send her a text instead:

Don’t even think about leaving school. Something’s happened. Call me when you get this. It’s urgent.

Our father hadn’t told Gabi about the kidnappings, because he hadn’t wanted to worry her, but he had no idea that I’d taught her all the best ways to sneak out of school. She could cross the woods and get to town without anyone knowing. If anything happened to her, it would be all my fault!

Leaving the room with my cell phone in my hand, I watched as Sebastian’s door opened and he stepped out into the hall, as if he’d read my mind and knew that something was wrong.

“What’s going on?”

Liam stood up from the couch and came over.

“My sister has no idea about the kidnapping. My father didn’t want to tell her, but what he doesn’t know is that she sneaks out of school. She goes into town with a few other girls and they meet up with friends… If they came for me, they can do the same thing to Gabi.”

“She’s probably asleep now, Mar—you can talk to her tomorrow and explain everything,” Liam said, though I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sebastian.

A few seconds later, he finally spoke. “I’ll make some calls. I know someone in London. I’ll ask him to make sure nothing looks suspicious. I’ll talk to your father tomorrow and inform him.”

NO!

I stepped forward and grabbed Sebastian’s arm as fear tookhold of every single one of my nerve endings. “You can’t tell him! He’ll kill her!”

Sebastian studied me for a few fleeting seconds, during which, although it might seem impossible, we communicated without a need for words. He walked away without a sound, and I knew that my sister would be safe.

CHAPTER 4SEBASTIAN

I went back to my area of the apartment and made several calls. If what Marfil had said was true, we were going to have to keep a much closer eye on the youngest of the Cortés sisters.

Wilson answered on the second ring, and after explaining the situation, he took the necessary measures for the time being, until we could get one of Alejandro’s more experienced men to London. I knew the girl would be safe with him looking out for her.

The day seemed like it would never end. I had only been on the job a few hours, and I already felt claustrophobic. I would’ve never chosen to serve as bodyguard for Marfil Cortés, but the boss had given me the order, and there was nothing I could do about it. Babysitting a spoiled brat was not on my list of career ambitions. I had received the highest possible score on the C-SORT and the physical tests to become a Navy SEAL. This job should be nothing compared to any of that, but I was beginning to think it might require more mental effort than all the military intelligence tests combined. Working for Alejandro Cortés was proving more difficult than I’d ever imagined.

Almost without realizing it, I found myself watching the computer monitor linked to the camera I’d set up in the apartment’s living room. Marfil was lying against her “friend” on the brown leather couch as he rubbed her back until her eyes closed. No one had alerted me to the existence of a possible boyfriend; I should’ve been informed.

I looked at the ebony color of her hair, contrasting magnificently with the ivory skin that did justice to her name. Her enormous eyes, with their long eyelashes, seemed to follow me everywhere I went. Her body surpassed any standard of beauty to the point that I sometimes lost my concentration whenever she was near. The need to gaze at her, as if I were in front of a work of art in motion, became increasingly difficult to ignore. She was beautiful. Even Samara couldn’t hold a candle to this girl. I wasn’t usually too impressed by beautiful women, but I understood why her father wanted to keep her locked away.

I went to the mini fridge I’d brought in for my personal use, opened a beer, and took a swig. With the computer in front of me, I clicked through the camera feeds in other rooms of the apartment. I had placed cameras everywhere except for her bedroom and bathroom, which made me nervous, since it would be pretty easy for someone to enter through the bedroom window. Marfil didn’t know about the cameras, and my instincts told me not to mention them for now. I had a feeling that, sooner or later, her ignorance of them might benefit me.

My left hand unconsciously moved to my rib cage, to the spot right between the fifth and sixth ribs. The wound should’ve healed by now, but the infection had been bothering me for a couple of weeks.

I looked back at the living room feed and wondered, seeing her lying there asleep, if she had any idea of the danger she was in.

CHAPTER 5MARFIL

I opened my eyes and realized that I was lying on a wrinkled sheet of paper. I picked it up, half asleep, and read the note Liam had left me.

I didn’t want to wake you. You need your rest. I’ll see you next Wednesday for dinner and a movie. Love you, babe.

I smiled. I liked feeling that things were still the same. Well, more or less. Our Wednesday movie night might still be in place, but my inner voice told me that something had changed. I looked at the time. Eleven thirty!

“Shit!”

I jumped up and threw on a pair of jeans and a red-and-white-striped T-shirt. Then I stepped into my motorcycle boots and went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I had a mark on my right cheek from where I’d slept on Liam’s note, but I couldn’t waste time putting on makeup.

I rushed out of my room and shrieked when I saw Sebastian standing there. He was dressed in light jeans, a dark T-shirt, and white Nike sneakers. Was this the same guy who’d picked me up at the airport yesterday looking like a bank manager? He lifted one of my white coffee mugs with hearts to his lips, and I felt so dizzy that I had to hold on to the wall behind me for support.

Sorry, you’re not scary; I was just startled by how hot you are,I would’ve liked to explain. But I still had some self-respect, so I tried to play it off with as much dignity as possible.