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There is rustling from the other side of the door. Not the snakes. Sophie is hovering nearby.
“Haven, are you trying to use your phone? I thought you might so I just switched on the cell phone jammer.”
That’s not a welcome piece of news but it is surprising. Certainly shows more brain power than I would have expected from Sophie. But then again I also allowed her to lock me in a closet so maybe it’s my judgement that’s off.
I take a breath and keep my voice steady. “Can I come out now, Sophie?”
“No!” she yells. “No you can’t come out. You have to stay in there until we’re ready for you.”
We?
That doesn’t sound promising.
“You totally deserve what’s coming to you, Haven. What did you expect? You never put the family’s interests first.”
I roll my eyes even though there’s no one to see it here in the dark. “Who told you that? Your worthless, wandering prick of a phony husband?”
“Shut up. You can’t hurt my feelings anymore. All I ever did was treat you like a sister but the minute Lita wakes up you act like I’m not alive.”
Hearing her speak Lita’s name gets my blood simmering. “We aren’t sisters. I thought we were friends but apparently not.”
“Friends,” she sniffs. “You don’t even like me.”
She’s not going to open the door if I play nice.
In that case, I might as well be honest.
“Let’s see, you’re a self-centered, attention-seeking brat and you can’t go twelve hours without getting piss drunk and throwing a tantrum. And now you’ve locked me in a closet for reasons unknown. What’s not to like about you, Soph?”
“You’re an asshole!” she shouts and thumps the door.
“Yup.” I slide down to sit on the floor. “Go cry about it.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? No way. I’m going to go get the boys now. You stay here.” She starts giggling like a fucking lunatic. “But the snakes will stay. They’ll keep you company.”
So help me, when I get out of here I’m going to tear her bleached, overprocessed hair right out of her stupid head.
Her footsteps click in the opposite direction and I’m left alone. Just me and the snakes.
There’s still absolutely no service on my phone.
Using the phone’s flashlight, I take stock of my surroundings. The only thing in here besides me is Sophie’s mega suitcase. Pulling it free, I yank on the zipper and discover there’s nothing but a bunch of thick books inside. All the titles have something to do with the law. Jared went to law school. He just never practiced. So Sophie stuffed Jared’s books into a suitcase, dragged it down here and then plotted a way to get me exactly where I am now.
A sitting duck.
That’s an indignation I’ll ever get over. Of all the ways I could have been duped, this has to be just about the most infuriating. And I need to come up with a plan before Sophie returns with ‘the boys’.
My heart pounds faster at the idea of being at the mercy of my cousins. Judging by Sophie’s comments, I would guess she planned this little abduction on her own. Jared and Talon wouldn’t go for an idea so low key and haphazard.
That still leaves a big, glaring question.
WHY?
I’d rather not stick around to find out.
An examination of the door lock doesn’t bring much cheer. I know how to pick a simple lock but this is much sturdier. It’s probably where the manager kept his valuables, which would explain the metal door. A complete inventory of Sophie’s suitcase only uncovers more law books, some tissues and a tube of lip gloss. None of that is useful.
Miserable and defeated, I sit with my back to the wall and look at my phone again. There’s still no service, but I can flip through my pictures.
