Next the bathroom.There’s a cabinet with towels and washcloths.Extra toilet paper.Little soaps and shampoos and conditioners like you’d find in a hotel and some samples of makeup and lotion.No obvious cameras in the corner or peeking out of the vents.
I draw in a breath and go to the wardrobe.The other piece of furniture in the room.I pull it open and find some clothes hanging.A couple dresses.Some sweaters and slacks.Socks.Even some panties and bras.Shoes, but nothing with a high heel.
Checking a few labels tells me they’re my size, and most of them still have tags on them.
I close the wardrobe and turn to scan the room for anything I missed.I even drop down to my knees and check under the bed, but there’s nothing there.Not even dust bunnies.
On my body, I have my clothes and my sneakers, which do have laces.I sit back on the floor and draw in a breath.I don’t have much to help me escape, but I still need to check the windows.
A cursory glance told me we’re on the second floor.Not a surprise with the steps.But now I stand, brush off my jeans, and make my way over to them.
They’re like hotel windows.No way to open them.The house backs up to a forest.When I glance down at the ground, rose bushes line the wall below the windows.It’s a sheer drop to the bushes.So if I broke the glass and managed to not cut myself, and if the fall didn’t injure me, the thorns probably would.
I sink down on the edge of the bed.At least it’s a comfortable prison cell.
I take off my shoes and grab the quilt to pull over myself.Tom is going to owe me big time for this.I’ve been kidnapped because of him.That much I’m sure of.This is big enough to overlook me dating his best friends.All of them.Whatever Tom is up to needs to end, which means he’ll be back here, but I’m not ready to be done with Finn, Dante, and Wyatt.
Turning on my side, I sigh.I sleep better in their arms, but I barely slept any last night before Peabody woke me.Fuck, I hope Peabody is okay.I hope the guys are okay.I’m going to get out of this.
* * *
As promised, breakfast and lunch were brought to my room.Both by the henchman who said nothing.It’s okay, I didn’t want to talk to him anyway.
It’s dinner time.I’m still in my sweater and jeans.Peter didn’t say to dress for dinner, but given the dresses in the wardrobe, he was hoping.I may be a prisoner, but I’m not going to prance around like this is some sort of vacation.
Lurch opens the door at what I assume is six.No phone.No clock.And calling the henchman Lurch, even if it’s not out loud, makes me smile.
I stand and run a hand down my jeans as I smile at him.It’s that soft, plastic smile that says everything is fine when really inside I’m a raging bull ready to throw plates and candlesticks in a full-out tantrum to be released.
When I step into the hallway, he leaves my bedroom door open and leads me away from my cell.The walls are dark and lined with pictures.The pictures are old black-and-white photos of men that are similar to Peter.I’m not surprised when it transitions to color or that it ends with Peter and his daughter.
I long to stop and study her to see if I recognize her, but instead I follow Lurch to the staircase.The stairs are wide and long, ending in a marble-tile-floored entryway.I doubt I could push him down the stairs and make it out the door before someone caught me.I also don’t want to accidentally kill the man.So I just follow.Everything in this house is top-of-the-line and crazy expensive looking, but this is nothing new to me.
If Peter hoped to impress me, he’ll be disappointed.I’ve been in houses like this all my life, just usually not as someone’s captive.
We pass by the front door, which appears locked.But as we walk by a set of windows, I realize we’re in the middle of nowhere.Probably his estate.It would take me an hour to just walk off the property.
If I didn’t get caught first.
The rope tightens a little more around my neck.Escape seems futile, but I have to try.
I don’t know how I’m going to manage this or what my guys are doing to try to get me back.We didn’t have enough information to find Tom before.Will they be able to find me?
“Good evening, Ms.Morris.”Peter Sokolov stands at one end of a table large enough for ten, but that can be expanded even farther.
Lurch pulls out the chair at this end and doesn’t change his expression.I’m tempted to knee him in the balls just to find out if he shows anything, even in pain.I could have stayed in my room and claimed I wasn’t hungry, but I can use this opportunity to find out more about Peter and maybe figure out a way out of this place.
I sit in the chair like I’m wearing a ballgown and a tiara instead of jeans and a sweater.My back straight and my head high.
“I hope you find your room to your liking.”He sits and puts his napkin over his lap while people start to buzz around.Honestly, there are more employees than needed for the two of us.Our wineglasses are filled, along with our water goblets.
Plated salads are placed before us and then the employees slip into the background, leaving us alone.But they’re listening.In a household like this one, it pays to know things.And if there are employees, that means I might be able to get one to send a message to my guys.
Or even if I could steal a phone.Dante made me memorize his phone number in third grade when the driver broke down and couldn’t pick me up.I almost touch my chest at how my heart aches, knowing how disappointed Dante will be with me.He’s never going to let me out of his sight again.
I lift my wineglass and touch the liquid to my lips.It’s a dry red, but I’m not going to drink with this man.He hasn’t clearly stated his intentions yet.
All day, I had nothing but time to think after I woke up.Think about my guys and what they must be feeling right now.Think about what Peter’s motives might be.Think about my dog and what happened to him.
