take a step back, my legs bumping into the side of the bed. I sit down, unsure of what else to do.
“None of this is yours. You should be more appreciative of how well I’ve been treating you. Don’t forget, Ivan could have left you there to die.”
“I know…” I lower my head. I do know, but that doesn’t mean I accept the situation that I’m in.
“Not many people are brave enough to talk to me like that.” He walks over to my bed, and I have to crane my neck to look at him. He reaches for something on the nightstand and hands it to me. I look up and find he is extending the cup of coffee out to me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and take the cup from his hand.
“I brought you some clothes. You should be about this size if I figured right.” He points to a stack of clothes next to the bed that I hadn’t noticed until now.
“Oh…” Is all I can get out at the moment. Over the rim of the cup, I watch him sit back down while I take a sip of the coffee. It’s so delicious, I almost moan out loud. Which leads me to my next question. “Why are you treating me… this way, like a friend, instead of a foe?”
He has no reason to treat me with kindness. I’m a nobody, and he is some big huge mob boss. It hasn’t stopped me from thinking about the fact that he could kill me, use me, or sell me. I’m of value to him in other ways, and yet he brings me clothes and coffee.
“You remind me of someone,” he explains. I think he’s about to tell me more, tell me who I remind him of, but all he says is, “Zane isn’t dead.”
I almost drop the cup of coffee into my lap, my clammy hands just barely keep ahold of the mug. Did he just say that?
“Are you sure?” I ask. I want nothing more than to believe him, but I also don’t want to get my hopes up just to be crushed again.
“He came to see my brother last night, demanding a meeting with me.” Hope blooms in my chest. He’s alive, and he’s coming to rescue me. “He knows you’re here.”
“Is… is he coming? Is he coming here?” I try not to sound overly excited, but I’m giddy to see Zane, to wrap my arms around him, to be reunited with him. Never did I think I’d beg to see the man who kidnapped me and kept me hidden from the world, but here I am.
“My brother sent him away last night, he didn’t know about you being here. But don’t worry. I’m sure Zane will be back soon. He seemed quite determined on getting you back.”
“He won’t stop. He’ll kill all of you. Please, just let me go to him.”
“Do you know where Zane is?”
“Oh…well, no.” I guess I don’t. But… “Zane had security built into my apartment. Cameras and stuff. If you let me go there, maybe he’ll see it?”
“You think Christian doesn’t have someone watching your apartment? You really don’t know anything about our world, do you?” I get the feeling the words are spoken more to himself than to me, but I answer anyway.
“I told you, I don’t, and I don’t care about Christian. I just want to find Zane.”
“I’m not letting you go anywhere, and to be very clear, I don’t know if I’ll hand you over to Zane at all. Even if he comes for you. There is something about you… I can’t put my finger on it. But my gut tells me to keep you here, and my gut is usually right. Maybe you’re going to be useful to me later. I don’t know yet. For now, drink your coffee and enjoy your stay. You might be here for a while.”
And with that, he gets up and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with my suppressed anger and thoughts.
Even though I’m in a cell, I’m treated surprisingly well. A guard brings me food three times a day, which is actually pretty good, no that’s a lie. It’s delicious. It tastes like it’s been prepared by a gourmet chef, which is strange since I’m being held as a captive. I don’t know why I’m being treated so well here, but I’m not about to complain over my treatment.
Right after lunch, two days after arriving here, I hear someone talking