“And you’re not sure if you want to have a child with a man like me.”
She swallows nervously, but doesn’t deny it or look away.Her silence is damning, and the tightness in my chest morphs into a strange aching pain.
Releasing her arm, I step back.“You can tell Goldberg to get you the pill and whatever birth control he thinks is best.”My voice sounds unusually cold and distant.“I’ll wash up and get dressed.”
And before she can say anything else, I go into the bathroom and close the door.
I don’t want to see the look of relief on her face.
I don’t want to think about how that would feel.
2
Nora
Stunned,I watch Julian’s naked form disappear into the bathroom.He’s hampered by his injuries, his movements stiffer than usual.Still, there is a certain grace to the way he walks.Even after his hellish ordeal, his muscular body is strong and athletic, the white bandage around his ribs emphasizing the width of his shoulders and the bronzed hue of his skin.
He didn’t object to the morning-after pill.
As that fact sinks in, my knees go weak with relief, the adrenaline-induced tension draining out in a sudden whoosh.I had been almost certain he would deny me this; the expression on his face as we spoke had been shuttered, unreadable… dangerous in its opaqueness.He had seen right through my flimsy excuses about my school and his injuries, his undamaged eye gleaming with a cold blue light that made my stomach knot in dread.
But he didn’t deny me the pill.On the contrary, he suggested I get a new method of birth control from Dr.Goldberg.
I feel almost light-headed with joy.Julian must be on board with the no-kids bit, his strange reaction notwithstanding.
Not wanting to question my good fortune, I hurry out of the room to grab Dr.Goldberg.I want to make sure I get what I need before we leave the clinic.
Birth control implants aren’t easy to come by in our jungle compound.
“I took the pill,”I tell Julian when we’re comfortably ensconced on his private jet—the same plane that took us from Chicago to Colombia after Julian returned for me in December.“And I got this.”I raise my right arm to show him a tiny bandage where the new implant went in.My arm aches dully, but I’m so happy to have the implant that I don’t mind the discomfort.
Julian looks up from his laptop, his expression still closed off.“Good,” he says curtly, and resumes working on the email to one of his engineers.He’s outlining the exact specifications of a new drone he wants designed.I know this because I asked him about it a few minutes ago, and he explained what he’s doing.He’s been much more open with me in the past couple of months—which is why I find it odd that he seems to want to avoid the topic of birth control.
I wonder if he doesn’t want to discuss it because of Dr.Goldberg’s presence.The short man is sitting at the front of the jet, more than a dozen feet from us, but we don’t have total privacy.Either way, I decide to let it go for now and bring it up again at a more opportune moment.
As the plane ascends, I entertain myself by watching the Swiss Alps until we get above the clouds.Then I lean back and wait for the beautiful flight attendant—Isabella—to come around with our breakfast.We left the hospital so quickly this morning that I only managed to grab a cup of coffee.
Isabella comes into the cabin a few minutes later, her bombshell body squeezed into a tight red dress.She’s holding a tray with coffee and a platter of pastries.Goldberg appears to have fallen asleep, so she heads toward us, her lips curved in a seductive smile.
The first time I saw her, when Julian came back for me in December, I was insanely jealous.Since then I’ve learned that Isabella has never had a relationship with Julian and is actually married to one of the guards at the estate—two facts that have gone a long way toward soothing the green-eyed monster within me.I’ve only seen the woman once or twice in the past couple of months; unlike most of Julian’s employees, she spends the majority of her time outside the compound, working as his eyes and ears at several high-end private jet companies.
“You’d be surprised how loose-lipped people get after a couple of drinks at thirty thousand feet,” Julian explained once.“Executives, politicians, cartel bosses… They all like having Isabella around, and they don’t always watch what they say in her presence.Thanks to her, I’ve gotten everything from insider trading tips to intel about drug deals in the area.”
So yeah, I’m no longer quite as jealous of Isabella, but I still can’t help feeling that her manner with Julian is a little too flirtatious for a married woman.Then again, I’m probably not the best judge of appropriate married-woman behavior.If I were to stare at any man longer than a second, I would be signing his death warrant.
Julian takes possessiveness to a whole new level.
“Would you like some coffee?”Isabella asks, stopping next to his seat.She’s more circumspect in her staring today, but I still feel the urge to slap her pretty face for the come-hither smile she gives my husband.
Okay, so Julian is not the only one with possessiveness issues.As messed up as it is, I feel proprietary about the man who abducted me.It makes no sense, but I gave up trying to make sense of my crazy relationship with Julian a long time ago.
It’s easier to just accept it.
At Isabella’s question, Julian looks up from his laptop.“Sure,” he says before glancing in my direction.“Nora?”
“Yes, please,” I say politely.“And a couple of those croissants.”
Isabella pours us each a cup, sets the pastry platter on my table, and sashays back to the front of the plane, her lushly curved hips swaying from side to side.I experience a moment of envy before reminding myself that Julian wantsme.
