“In general?” he said.
I lowered my brow. “You know what I mean.”
“I haven’t informed Merrick about this particular course of action. I know that I was loyal to him first, but he told me to serve you and that’s what I’m doing. You don’t trust me?”
“I do,” I said. “I just know that if you think it’s best for Merrick to know what’s going on...”
“What’s best for Merrick to know is that you are leading your empire with strength and pride exactly as he wants you to. As far as I’m concerned, my first loyalty is to you.”
A small smile came to my face. “Good. Thank you.”
He nodded and then continued on his way out through the office doors. I folded my hands in front of my face and started to stew over my plan.
Maybe, just maybe, my hunt for my perfect sub had clouded my vision and the Narzands were going to be a superstorm that would ruin my business, my father’s business, and my life.
With everyone gone, I opened up my computer and woke it up, going immediately to the surveillance app I had installed. I flipped through the feeds of the front of my compound, the road outside, and the various hallways inside until I got to the newest shot I had. I was just in time to see the door open and the staff member usher Avion inside, tossing her onto the small cot, before retreating and leaving her alone. I waited, expecting her to cry or scream, but no, she huddled as far away from the door and reached a hand under her arm, then started to fiddle with something out of view with her back to the camera.
I leaned in with heightened curiosity, a smile rising to my face. “Ah, Avion. What are you hiding?”
10
AVION
If I had to make my best guess, the room that I’d been shoved into was a repurposed closet. It was about as big as a small bathroom and had very little furniture inside. There was a single cot, with a thin, twin-sized mattress on top, and no electronics at all. It was much colder than the rest of the house felt, and the walls were a boring gray color and had no windows to speak of with only a single light bulb on a string hanging overhead. There was one door other than the one that the staff member brought me through, which led to a small water closet with a toilet, not even a sink.
Deplorable conditions.
Whatever. It wasn’t like I expected the man who kidnapped me to put me up in five-star conditions. So long as it was isolated, I felt better. I’d heard the unsubtle warning in Gio telling his staff to make sure my room was always watched, so I walked as far away from the door as I could and crouched down in the corner, with my back to it. My right arm was stiff from keeping it pressed against my side for dear life, but finally, I could lift it up just a little bit and pull my cell phone out with my left hand.
It only had about five percent of its battery life left, I hadn’t had a chance to charge it since before we went up to the rooftop party, but that didn’t matter, it was enough to call for help. In the hustle and bustle of being dragged out and bound and gagged, I was able to shove it up under my arm before the driver saw that I had it. I managed to get it turned off before I did that so that it wouldn’t ring and tip me off. Thank god for my fast-acting brain.
The question was… who should I call?
My initial thought was my brothers. Whether it was due to actual concern over me or some iron they had in the fire, they did seem concerned about my wellbeing when they saw me talking to Gio, I’d told Anton that I was safe, but if I text him and told him someone came back after I spoke with him, that should raise enough alarm bells. The only issue was that he wouldn’t have any idea how or where to find me. They could go to the police, sure, but if Gio found out due to the media covering a story of the youngest Narzand being kidnapped, he’d know I’d gotten word out somehow, and then he’d probably just kill me.
Still, they were pretty much my only option. My best friend, Lorie, though would be more concerned for me personally, her dad was the police chief and that would immediately raise flags. Cops loved going to the press, especially when they were trying to smoke out a regular threat. The situation required discretion, and there were none better at that than my brothers.
I navigated to Anton’s number and was just about to hit the button to call when my phone started ringing in my hand. It was Lorie. I pressed the button to ignore the call, but before I could do anything else, it started to ring—Lorie again.
“Damn it,” I hissed. She was just going to keep calling if I didn’t answer, so I did the only thing I could think to do and picked up the call. “Hey,” I whispered. “I’m kind of dealing with an emergency. I’ll call you back.”
“What?” Lorie said. “What’s wrong? Why are you whispering? Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I don’t have time for this. I’ll call you back later and fill you in, bye.”
I hung up the call to Lorie’s continued questions and then started, once again, to press the button to call my brother, but at that exact moment, the door to my room opened. I looked over my shoulder and tried to stuff the phone down my dress to hide it, but it was Gio standing there, and he was looking at me as if he already knew everything.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he started quietly. “Someone is not behaving like she promised she would.”
I pushed the phone under my arm again and stood up to face Gio. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t?” He took a couple of strides towards me and then stopped. “You have your cell phone.”
“How would I have it? I didn’t know I was going to be kidnapped. I wasn’t prepared,” I argued.
He lowered his gaze, turning ever darker and more sinister before my eyes. “Avion, hand me the phone.”
“I don’t have my phone.” But then he stepped even closer, looming over me, and I panicked. I opened my arm and the phone fell out, clattering to the floor. I looked down at it and then back up at him, before finally ceding and bending down to pick it up and then I handed it over.
