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6
Faye
There’s a silence between us for a few moments, one that he is more than willing to prolong if it means he gets to keep the upper hand. Of course, there’s no way that I could ever come out of this situation as the winner unless he allows me to leave with my life, so his demonstration of power is nothing more than that – a demonstration.
“Okay, fine, I’ll stay with you. Though, I’m not entirely certain that I know what that even means,” I say, anxious about my decision now that I’ve put it out into the open. There might not be any going back from it now.
“It means that you’ll be staying in my house and following my orders until I know for a fact that it’s safe to let you leave. And when I saysafe,I mean for me, not for you. Your safety is hardly my priority,” he replies as he starts the car again.
Even though it would be naïve to assume that someone like him would ever care that much about my wellbeing, it still stings a little to hear it. How could someone disregard another person’s safety like that out loud? It’s one thing to feel that way, but expressing it is a whole other ballgame of apathy.
This man is not about to let me say no to him, and I fear that he must have a good reason to want me to stay with him. He seems like he’s been doing this for a long time, and I would be stupid to try to challenge him. Even still, I hate that I’m being forced to participate in this madness when it has nothing to do with me. I would rather just live in fear of his retaliation for the rest of my life than be forced to live by his law.
“Okay, fine, but I still don’t really understand what the day-to-day of that would look like. I still have a family and friends at home who will be worried about me, not to mention my job,” I reply, my stomach sinking at the thought of my friends reporting me missing after what was supposed to be a fun solo trip.
“Just pretend that they don’t exist until we sort this shit out. I don’t know, make something up, but do not underanycircumstances give away our location or your true reason for staying here. Do you understand me?”
I’ve always hated the way men speak when they’re trying to express authority. It’s like they already know that they haven’t earned your respect the proper way, so they’re going to shout at you and speak to you like a misbehaved dog until you hand it to them, anyway.
“What’s your name?” I ask in an attempt to humanize him a little more.
He seems shocked that I would disregard his prior warnings to instead ask a question of my own. I might not be the most confident woman on the planet, but I’m certainly not as timid as he’s expecting me to be. This might cause problems for me in the not-so-distant future, but I need to maintain some sense of personal fortitude to keep him from bossing me around.
“Did you hear a damn thing I just said?” he asks in disbelief.
“Yes, I did, but I don’t even know your name yet. Why should I be taking strict orders from you if I don’t know your name?”
His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t grow angry. Perhaps this is the best way for me to gain common ground with him – by being just as stubborn and bossy as he is.
“My name is Aleksander. That is all you’re going to get for now. And what is your name?”
I sit up straight, reveling in my quiet little accomplishment. “My name is Faye.”
“Do you have a last name, Faye?” he asks as we turn back onto the highway.
“That’s all you get for now. A deal’s a deal,” I reply as I try to suppress a smug smile.
He scoffs, and I can finally hear the exhaustion of the night catching up to him. “See, I don’t think you really understand how this works. You’re in my car, on your way to my house, because you took something of mine that didn’t belong to you. Don’t act cute with me.”
“Alright, then shoot me in the face and get it over with. I’m not going to let you try to convince me that I should be grateful to you for the chance to live. You weren’t saving my life back at the hotel, you were looking for the briefcase. I don’t owe you anything but mutual respect, which you also owe me in turn.”
I can tell that he’s ready to turn his whole body around to throw me out the back door, but there’s something in him that’s forcing him to exercise restraint. For my own sake, I hope it’s the fact that he’s secretly a decent person caught up in the wrong life. Whatever it is, I hope it holds up until I can at least form a plan of escape.
“Can you at least tell me what has you in such a rush? We got away from the hotel fast enough. I don’t think anyone saw us leave,” I ask, watching the lights from the main strip of the city as they fade into the hazy, starless sky.
He sighs, giving up the fight and relenting to my curiosity. “My brother has gone missing. I know who has him, but I’m not certain of where he’s being kept or what for. This isn’t the first time my brother has been in a compromised position, but it’s going to be the last one way or another.”
I would ask him to explain his last statement better,one way or another,but I have a bad feeling that I already understand it.
Now that I know he has bigger issues to deal with than my temporary presence in his life, I’m somewhat relieved. At the very least, he doesn’t have to worry about me causing bigger issues for him when there are clearly people out there who are seeking to deliberately destroy his life. The worst thing I’ve ever done to him was pick up something that didn’t belong to me. Even if he’s pissed about that, I’m still far from his worst enemy.
The drive takes forever as we continue on through the night. I’m actually a little shocked that someone like him would be driving his own car this much. He seems like the kind of person who could at least have someone else driving him. Maybe he’s just a control freak, and he needs to be in charge at all times. Given his disposition, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” I ask, growing nervous as we begin to pass fewer and fewer recognizable landmarks.
“Absolutely not. I can’t give you a location or you’ll just run off and tell someone where you are. Even if you don’t intend to cause issues, which I’m still not confident about, you’ll inevitably slip and tell someone. The less you know, the better,” he replies. His voice has grown even more weary throughout the night, and I’m hoping that eventually he will let his guard down.
I can’t be too hopeful for such a thing, not quite yet. He’s clearly very distrusting of everyone, even a tiny woman who couldn’t physically hurt him if she tried.
