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My phone rings, dragging me from my thoughts. It’s an unknown number. “Yes?”
“Is this how your family does business? A man misses a meeting due to an emergency, and you take what belongs to him without so much as an acknowledgment of what you did?”
The hair along the back of my neck stands up. “Mr. Alvarez.”
“Don’t Mr. Alvarez me, boy,” he warns in a deadly snarl. “You have something that belongs to me, and you’re going to give it back.”
* * *
“What is this?”
I look down at the take-out containers, then back at her. She’s sitting on the bed, pretending my presence doesn’t worry her. Her back is ramrod straight, her chin lifted. The princess. It’s quite a fitting nickname.
“You’ve never seen fast food before?” I place a box on the bed along with napkins. “A burger and fries.”
She’s not stupid enough to give me shit for assuming she eats meat or anything like that. And too hungry. Pride dissolves an instant before she flips the Styrofoam lid and picks up the burger, taking a huge bite.
“Did you ever consider the chances of me putting something in there?”
Her head snaps up, her cheeks bulging. Before she spits it out or chokes, I shake my head. “Kidding. I have no interest in poisoning you.”
“What a relief,” she mumbles before returning to her binge.
I sit at the other end of the bed and open my own container. “I’d like to have a conversation with you, Elena. A normal, one-on-one sort of talk. No screaming, no trying to run. Don’t force me to regret taking this chance.”
The wariness written all over her is a reminder of her intelligence. Granted, it failed when she attempted to flee, but she is, by and large, an intelligent girl. She had better hope that intelligence wins out now, or else everything that’s passed until now has been child’s play compared to what’s ahead.
Because I cannot guarantee I’ll be able to control myself if she begins shrieking and begging. I might forget what I came in here for.
“Go ahead,” she grunts before taking hold of a few fries at once and biting into them.
I’ve never seen anyone eat like this before. I suppose protein bars aren’t enough. Either that, or she doesn’t see the point in manners at this point.
“After giving it a little thought, it became clear to me your father did not make you aware of what last night was about. Why I was at the warehouse.” Her silence tells me I’m right, so I continue. “Prince and I were there for a first meeting with your father, in hopes of securing a deal between your family and mine. This would be a mutually beneficial arrangement, which we were assured your father was interested in pursuing. Yet he left me hanging. He never showed. He never contacted me.”
She’s no longer chewing, choosing to stare blankly at me instead. “Sorry? I’m not responsible for that.”
“I realize that.” She’s determined to set my teeth on edge. I distract myself by biting into my burger, which is as delicious as she makes it seem. “The fact is, I brought you here on impulse, and now I need you to help me keep the situation from escalating.”
“Me?” She blurts out a laugh. “If you want that, why have you treated me the way you have?”
“That can all be in the past,” I offer. “We can start over with a clean slate. But that’s up to you, too. I need you to behave yourself, and I need insight into how I can best manage your father.”
“I know a surefire way to do it.” She turns her full attention to me, leveling an even gaze my way. “Let me go home. I can’t think of a better way to stir up goodwill.”
She makes it sound so easy. I suppose I’d be able to do the same if I were in her shoes but I’m not, and therefore I have to do what must be done to protect myself and family.
9
ALICIA
Everything was going fine until he showed up with dinner last night. I was starting to believe he was softening on me. But no, as soon as he showed up, back was the rough and menacing kidnapper. He even tied me up, saying I couldn’t be trusted.
There I was,thinking I was going to get away. All I managed to do was make things worse. So much worse.
My hands are numb from my wrists being tied so tight. He wasn’t gentle about it, but I wouldn’t expect him to be as pissed as he was. I thought he was going to do worse than that.
It isn’t worth thinking about what I thought. It only makes my heart pump faster as my stress reaction kicks in. I can’t live in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight.
