He stared at me, his dark brows furrowed. I could tell the wheels were spinning in his head about what kind of heartless girl I could be not to want to put my worried parents’ minds at ease. In the vast scheme of things, it didn’t matter what he thought of me, but at the same time, I couldn’t bear to have someone as good and kind hearted as he was thinking I was a bad person.
“Rev, I’m sure this all seems strange to you, but just like I don’t understand the world you come from, you don’t understand mine either.”
His expression softened a little. “Trust me, I get that people have fucked up families. But no matter what happened before with them, they have a right to know.
Nibbling my lip between my teeth, I contemplated his response. I finally relented. “What if you called them?”
“Seriously?”
I nodded. When he still seemed unconvinced, I said, “Please?”
He exhaled a long, almost defeated sigh. “Do you want to speak to them after I have?” When I shook my head, he groaned. “Fine. I’ll call them.” He then wagged a finger at me. “But you owe me.”
“You’re right. I do. But for more than I can possibly repay.”
“Some things are on the house,” he replied, with a tender smile that made my chest tighten with emotion.
“I’ll give you my father’s private number. That way you won’t be given the run around by his aides.”
To my surprise, Rev put the phone on speaker. “This is Emmett Percy,” my father said on the third ring. Hearing his voice should probably have brought me some form of comfort, but it didn’t move me at all. When you’ve been kept at arm’s length your entire life by your parents, even a catastrophic event doesn’t change the way you feel. The only person I would want to talk to at the house was Connie, my former nanny who was now employed as my mother’s assistant.
“Mr. Percy, you don’t know me, and I don’t know you. The only thing you do need to know is your daughter Annabel is safe.”
My father sucked in a harsh breath. “What do you mean? Who are you? Where is my daughter?” he demanded.
“The less details you know of her kidnapping and rescue the better. That can be said for all parties involved. She is safe andrecuperating, so any search efforts you had should be canceled. She will be returning home to you in Virginia in a few days.”
“I don’t believe a fucking word you’ve said. I want to speak to my daughter this instant.”
Rev thrust out the phone to me. His no nonsense look told me I had no other choice but to speak to my father. With a resigned sigh, I said, “It’s me, Father.”
“Annabel? Annabel, are you really okay?”
“Yes, I am. I swear. And I’m not being coerced into saying that either.”
“Where are you?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“The hell I don’t! Is that man the one who kidnapped you? I’ll have the CIA and FBI on his ass in seconds.”
“Father, please. He saved me from something pretty horrible. He doesn’t need to be harassed by you or your minions.”
“I want you home this instant. It’s been a media circus since you left?—”
Rage boiled inside me at his comment. Gripping the phone tighter, I spat, “I didn’t just leave. I waskidnappedby a group of traffickers. Do you understand what that means? I had no choice. In anything that happened or was done to me.”
My father remained silent for a moment as if he was trying to process the horror of what I had just said. But he wasn’t focusing on my torment—the unspeakable pain his daughter had gone through. No, I was certain he was worrying about how my family could find a way to get out of this unscathed both politically and socially. “I will send the plane for you right now. Wherever you are in the world.”
“No. It isn’t necessary.”
“Annabel, be reasonable. Your mother hasn’t slept in weeks. We’re both a wreck.”
Once again, he was only thinking of himself. It didn’t matter what I had gone through, the many sleepless nights I had endured. “I’m sorry, Father. But that’s all you need to know right now.”
A humorless laugh came through the phone. “Fine. I see this experience hasn’t humbled you and has only made you even more headstrong. So if that’s the way you want to play it, I’ll just find your location from the phone tracer. Or have you forgotten all my calls are traced?”
“This is a go-phone. Good luck with that one,” I replied, before disconnecting the call. I tossed the phone back at Rev. “Happy now?”
