American twat. He thinks the rules apply to everyone except him?"
"It's not the first time, William," Gustave replies.
"Time to make it the last."
His voice is so cold, I shiver. Malin tightens his arm around me. He says, "Agreed."
William turns, as if assessing me. "You were with Penelope?"
Chills dig into my bones. I'm not sure how to respond.
"She was only in Santiago's custody for a few hours," Malin states.
"But you saw her?" His black eyes remind me of the President's.
"Y-yes."
His face hardens. "What has that pig done to her?"
"Umm... I...ummm...."
"Answer me," he barks.
"She was only there a few hours. Do not speak to my property like that," Malin snarls.
William glances between Malin and me. "I heard I missed quite the event last night."
Malin's body stiffens further.
Heat flushes my cheeks.
William steps closer to me and looks down. His voice lowers. "Did you enjoy it?"
My heart beats harder. I push my chin out and confidently reply, "Yes. Every minute."
Bernadette gasps, but I think only I can hear it.
William's jaw twitches. He licks his lips and scans my body.
Malin moves me away from him. "Where is our apartment?"
William points to a man behind us I didn't notice. "He will show you."
We get escorted to our unit, and Malin leads me into a bedroom suite. He shuts the door. "Are you okay, ma belle?"
"Yes."
He pulls me onto his lap. "You cannot be so bold to members of the Global Leaders."
"How am I supposed to respond? Should I lie and try to pretend I hate it? Then when we are at an event or in front of any of them, am I supposed to resist your every touch?"
He sighs. "No. But you must not forget you still are expected to submit to them. Confidence, when they address you, is asking for trouble."
I turn away.
He pulls my chin back. "Ma belle, we are here to survive. We are not here to stand out."
"Then you shouldn't have paid a billion dollars for a girl."
His lips twitch. "Don't you mean woman?"
I tilt my head and bite my smile.
He leans into my ear and kisses underneath it. "I told you I got you cheap. You're worth a lot more than a billion dollars."
My flutters take off. "What does a person of interest mean? Is the President accusing Naomi and me of a crime?"
He pulls back and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. "No. It means you have information about a crime. He issued it to get Naomi on American soil to trade her to the Belizean government."
"Why?"
"So they give him Santiago's brother, Nicolas."
My chest tightens. "And it's his way of taking me from you?"
"Yes."
"How can so much evil exist in one man?"
"I'm not sure, but he isn't the only one. You saw it with all of them last night, didn't you?"
"Yes." I straddle him. "I've been thinking about a few things."
"What?"
"Where do you live?"
He smiles. "Amazing we've never talked about this, huh?"
I softly laugh. "Never too late?"
He kisses me. "I have a house in the countryside of France."
"Will you take me there someday?"
"Yes. I think you would love it."
"Will we live there?"
"If you want."
"I want to be wherever you are."
"That's good, ma belle. And I you."
I run my hand through his hair. "Is there any way to find out if Naomi is okay or where she is at?"
"I'm sure Andre is taking care of her. But I will ask Gustave to see if he can find anything out."
"Thank you."
There's a knock on the door.
"Come in," Malin says.
I turn on his lap.
Gustave opens the door. "The wardrobe is here. We have to be ready in a few hours. Malin, I need to review some things with you before tonight."
"I'll be out in a minute," he replies.
Gustave shuts the doors.
"What will tonight be like?" I ask.
Malin shakes his head. "I'm not sure. I wish I could prepare you better."
"I'll be next to you the entire time, correct?"
"Yes."
"Do the same rules apply? No one can touch me except you unless you permit them?"
"Yes. Always."
"Who will be there?"
"The man you met downstairs and—"
"How does he know Penelope?"
"She worked for him. They had a relationship."
I shudder. I can't imagine her with that man. "She was forced into it?"
"My guess would be yes."
My insides quiver. I stare out the window.
"Ma belle, what else is wrong?"
I promised Penelope I wouldn't tell anyone.
I also promised her I would help her find her daughter.
"I...ummm... I think I should tell you something."
"What?"
"Before we left the camp, Penelope told me Santiago didn't just kidnap her."