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“Oh,chica, don’t tell me you found some secret S&M dungeon or something. This place is big enough that he could have three of them.”
I laughed as I opened my bedroom door. “Don’t worry—he doesn’t have one of those, at least as far as I know.”
We entered my room and Marta stepped over to the window, taking in my view of the beach and ocean.
“This is quite the vista,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and looking out. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the view of the garden. But this is something else.”
As she spoke, I stepped over to my new laptop and opened it.
“Check it out,” I said. “Logan got me this.”
Marta turned her attention away from the view toward my computer.
“That asshole bought you this?” she asked. Marta came over to the computer and picked it up, looking it over.
“He got it for me to work on my book. Marianne let it slip that I had a novel I’ve been writing, so he got me this so I don’t have to write it by hand.”
Marta set down the computer, turning to me with a hard expression on her face.
“This is not good, Emily,” she said.
“Huh? Not good how?”
“You remember what I said, how a man like him would do anything to take your innocence?” she swept her hand toward the MacBook. “Giving gifts like this is a classic way for a man to butter up a woman. Don’t get me wrong,chica, I know that you’re sheltered and a little on the naïve side of things. But you need to learn how the real world works.”
“Marta… I don’t know if this is like that.”
“Oh, but it is. It’s a good thing I’m here now. I can watch out for you.”
There was something off about Marta, something sharp and even a little bitter.
“Are you OK?” I asked. “I’m happy you’re here, but all the same you seem a little irritated.”
Marta sighed, as if my words had caught her off guard.
“No, you’re right. I don’t mean to come down on you so hard. It’s just that I’ve been worried sick about you for the last week knowing that you were here with some strange man doing God knows what with you. And it doesn’t help that I’m a little worn out from the trip.”
I stepped over to Marta, opening my arms and pulling her into a hug.
“I get it. And like I said, I’m so happy that you’re here.”
Marta returned the hug, patting me on the back. “Same here, Emily. Now, if you don’t mind, I need a little rest.”
“Sure. Take a nap, and when it’s time for dinner, I’ll let you know.”
Marta smiled, squeezing my hand one more time before leaving. Once she was gone, the door shut, I turned my attention back to the view.
Something was off with Marta, and the more I thought about it, the more I found myself wondering if there was more to it than just fatigue and worry. She’d sounded like Dad at times, worrying about my “innocence” and convinced that I was some helpless woman on the verge of falling prey to whatever man wanted me.
All the same, Marta was right about me being sheltered. I took my eyes from the view and regarded the laptop. I’d been so wrapped up in the gift at the time that I hadn’t stopped to consider if there had been more to it other than something given to me out of the kindness of Logan’s heart. What if it had merely been a way of buttering me up, trying to get me to trust him more so that I’d easily give myself to him again?
It was all too much to think about. My stomach grumbled, and I decided that a little snack would take my mind off everything racing through it. I left my room, stepping over to Marta’s and peeking inside. She was already on the bed, her eyes closed as she rested. I shut the door softly before heading down the hall.
Minutes later I approached the kitchen. It wasn’t near dinner time yet, so the staff wasn’t around. I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Logan was alone in the big kitchen, seated at the island in the middle, half of a sandwich in one hand and a tablet in the other. He brought his eyes up from whatever he was reading.
“Hey, there.”
