I sit up and stretch, looking out the windows. I can’t tell where we are. There is a huge house in the distance, bigger than I’ve ever seen, and lots of sprawling green landscape around it. How far did we drive? No way something like this exists anywhere near the city.
“Hey, excuse me.” I get the driver’s attention but just barely. He lifts his gaze to meet mine in the rearview mirror. “Can you tell me where we are?”
He darts a glance at the guy in the seat next to him who gives ahalf shrug before responding. “I’m not sure.”
“You drove here, and you don’t know where we are?”
“No, I know where we are. I’m not sure if I should tell you.”
I roll my eyes and slump back in the seat. “Is there any way you could take me somewhere?”
“No.”
Wow, not even a maybe. Okay.
“I’ll call a ride share then.” I pull out my phone, but the car doors instantly lock with a jolt. “Uh, guys. I’m allowed to leave. I’m not a prisoner.”
The driver and guard glance at each other. The guard affirms, “You’re not a prisoner. But we are under orders to protect you. We can’t do that if you leave in a ride share.”
“Um, follow the car if you must, but I have to go.”
“We can’t leave the boss here.”
Dang it, Vin! “Call your boss. Tell him that I’m ready to go.”
The driver sighs and pulls out his phone. “I’ll text him. Calls are for emergencies only.”
I’m so frustrated I want to cry. I feel lost in a world defined by rules that I didn’t agree to, every single one of them designed to stop me from doing anything that I want.
“Fine,” I say and wait.
Within seconds, the driver lifts his gaze to meet mine in the rearview mirror again. “Sorry, miss. Boss says it’ll be another couple minutes.”
Another couple minutes? He shouldn’t have even dragged me out here! I have things to do.
I text Vin and get no response. So I text again. And again.
I’m done with Vin’s nonsense. This mess ends today.
52
VIN
Dr. Rossi is already at the Arsenal waiting outside Sophie’s upstairs apartment when we arrive. I texted him on the way back from Ronan’s while Sophie sat stiff and cold next to me, arms crossed staring out the window, not speaking to me.
That’s fine. She can be mad all she wants. But she had a gun pointed at her today less than 10 minutes after I left her side. That never happens again.
Never.
Sophie stops in the doorway and glares at me when she sees Rossi.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Vin, it’s my body.”
“It’s our baby. And you just went through something traumatic. Is it too much to ask that you get a checkup just to make sure that everything is okay?”
