“I’m starting to understand that now.” I get a bad feeling the more I speak to him.
“Sai around here?” he asks, looking around, but I feel like he already knows the answer. Either Ravi told him or he saw the yacht in the bay. Deniz doesn’t strike me as a man who acts without purpose.
“He had something to do in town. I was just going to wait for him on the yacht.” I tell him, not wanting to give too much away.
“Why don’t I join you? We can chat. I don’t believe I’ve barely gotten to know you since you arrived,” I don’t like the way he says that. He isn’t really the kind of man I want to get to know more of.
“Uhm. No thanks. I think I’ll walk around the market some more.” I try to walk past him, and he grips my arm. I look up into his hazel eyes that match his son’s, and I hiss, “Let go of me.”
“I think we should have that chat.” His fingers dig into my arm painfully. I can scream and maybe get the attention of someone, but something tells me I should go with this piece of shit. There is something sinister about the way he looks at me.
“Fine.” I say through gritted teeth.
Instead of walking toward the yacht, he leads me toward the market He doesn’t seem to mind the stares we’re getting due to the awkward way he grips my arm, dragging me along. He leads me into a run-down building. When we enter the building, he walks me directly to the lift, still not letting go of my arm. “You can let go of me now. I’m not going to run anywhere.”
“Oh, I’m not very trusting, pretty one. It comes with experience, you see. I’ve been crossed far too many times by your kind.” He smiles down at me. There is something about Deniz Veer that makes me weary of crossing him. I have to wonder who would have had the guts to. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t run. I just have to hope that Sai realizes I’m gone before something happens to me. The elevator opens and we step in. He presses a button I think is for the basement.
“You and Sai seem to be quite friendly. So friendly that he cancelled his engagement to Amelia Tekin.”
I say nothing. “So, where is he, Kennedy?”
“I told you, he asked me to meet him back at the yacht.” He smiles down at me. He looks so much like his son, but at the same time, completely different.
Th elevator door opens, and a dimly lit corridor stretches out in front of us. I have no idea what this place is, but I have a horrid feeling about it. “Follow me.”
We walk down the corridor, passing several closed doors. He opens one of them and leads me into what looks like a perfectly normal living room, complete with plush couches, an oriental rug, warm lighting, and a coffee table with picture books on it.
“Take a seat, Kennedy.” He gives me that sinister grin again before taking an armchair. I do as I’m told, taking a seat on the couch opposite him. A lady dressed in a business suit walks in with a tray which she sets down on the coffee table. There’re two cups of tea and biscuits on it. If you were looking in on the scene, you’d find it eerily normal. The living room could be my grandmother’s.
“Can we cut to the chase? Not mess around?”
“Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy. I think you know more than you’re letting on. I really need to find Sai, and if you don’t start talking, I’m going to have to find other ways of persuading you.”
“I told you all I know.”
He leans in and takes a cup of tea. He doesn’t add any milk or sweetener, he just takes a sip. “I like English tea, it’s the best in the world. Have some.”
I lean back in my seat, arms crossed. “I’ll pass.”
He picks up a small remote and a curtain behind him opens up to reveal a large glass window. I stand and gasp because behind that glass is a woman, and her head is covered by a black bag. She’s tied to what looks like an electric chair. The dress she’s wearing makes tears spring to my eyes because I recognize it. The man behind her removes the bag, and familiar red locks and green eyes stare at me. I fall to my knees.
“Amelia is okay for now, but every question I ask that you answer untruthfully will cost your friend dearly.” He says in the sweetest voice. “I’ll start with a small electric shock, and as we go along, we’ll increase the voltage.”
I look up at him. “You monster.”
“Oh, you have no idea, pretty one.”
17
Sai
The spice merchanthad handed me what looks like a keycard which has a small crown logo on it. She was adamant that I see the “Angel”, as she referred to the woman I was seeking, on my own. One look at Kennedy and she immediately warned me that the Angel doesn’t like t tagalongs. That is not how I see Kennedy, but it doesn’t quite matter what I want. If I intend to see this woman, I have to play by her rules. The merchant spoke in Turkish, with a harsh, croaky voice. A smoker, I assume.
She didn’t give me an address or an exact location, she merely motioned her head in the direction I am supposed to go.
After Kennedy is out of sight, I head off down the stall and shop lined street, looking for any sign or symbol that matches the keycard. I’ve been walking for half an hour but still, nothing. There is a part of me that wonders if I’m on a wild goose chase, but it’s not enough for me to give up. I feel a hand on my arm, and I stop. I look beside me, and a teenager who can’t be older than fifteen asks me in Turkish if I’ve lost my way. I wonder if I should show him my keycard, but something warns me against it. I shake my head and tell him I’m just sightseeing. He nods, smiles, then pulls out a card just like mine. He walks ahead of me, without asking me to follow, but I do.
He branches off onto one of the side streets then stops in front of what looks like a regular home. There are even potted plants outside the window. He puts his palm out, and I assume I need to give him my card. I hand it to him, and he nods, walking away. I knock at the door and when there is no answer, I assume I’ve been tricked. But then the door opens of its own accord, and I cautiously make my way inside. I’ve done shady transactions long enough to know that you don’t walk in guns blazing, calling out, “Hello” or “Angel”. Instead I walk around the first floor. There’s a sitting area, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. A kettle whistles on the stovetop. Everything is outdated, like stepping back into another time.
