Chapter 4
“What about your sister?”
The question is an accusation that I’m not concerned enough about my sister, and that I don’t have my priorities in line correctly. But she’s the reason I need to figure this out.
“She’s a teacher. She’s going home. Jimmy will take care of her.” I’d like to believe my research will help Sage, but unfortunately, the timeline probably won’t allow my work to save her if she finds herself in need of a second transplant. Research and development is a slow, onerous process. But my work can save another family. Future children.
“Pretty sure Knox will have something to say about that.”
Knox Williams. Sam told me if I were ever in trouble, I should go to Knox. Sam suffered from paranoia.
A battery of images floats by. Knox touching Sage’s shoulder. Bringing her coffee. Watching Sage intently. Max said they are together.
“Did Sage have sex with Knox?”
“I’d say that’s a safe bet.” The lines around Max’s face quiver, as if he’s trying not to laugh. But I didn’t make a joke. Sage once told me she didn’t have any interest in sex, but she’s physically healthy. Logically, her libido and sexual desire would increase. I don’t know if she’s on birth control. I’ll need to speak to her to ensure she’s being safe.
“You don’t look happy.”
Max’s deep voice disturbs the quiet, reminding me of his presence. As Knox’s friend, he possesses information I can’t ask Sage. “Will Knox be careful with her?” He lives far away. “Does he want her to move?”
“Hey.” He presses his back against the wall and does things with his arms to stretch his muscles. Those things cause his shoulder and pec muscles to flex. The broad-shouldered man is exceptionally fit. A unique male specimen. “Those are all questions you’re going to need to ask your sister.”
“But I asked you. Sage is inexperienced. She’s never dated before.”
“Well, like I said, my boy has fallen in love with your sister.” He said that? “He’ll die before he lets anything happen to her. It’s my understanding he’s considering moving to be with her, but you’ll need to talk to your sister.”
“The world order has shifted.”
“What was that?” Now he’s stretching his right arm over his head, and his torso bends. “You always say the most unexpected shit, you know that?” He stretches his left arm, and the bicep bulges. “Sloane?”
Oh, right. He’s talking to me. “You should stop doing that.” I wiggle a finger in his direction in case he doesn’t understand me, keeping my gaze on the cumulus clouds out the window.
“Stretch?”
“You’re distracting.” My mind shouldn’t be reacting to him like this. I have an IV line digging into the back of my hand and the remnants of a vicious headache. But I bet he has this effect on all women, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. Who stretches on a wall?
“Sloane?”
“Yes?”
“I asked you a question.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. I asked you if you find me attractive.”
I twist, lift a pillow from under my head, and throw it as hard as I can. He laughs. He literally laughs as a sharp pain shoots up the back of my hand and through my lower arm.
“You’re physically attractive, and you know it.” I’m sure they put the IV in my hand because of my small veins, but it hurts. I let out a long exhale, stretch my fingers, rest the hand on my thigh, and close my eyes. I need to focus on what needs to be done. Not a Thor doppelg?nger and his calisthenic stretches. “We’re planning to leave tomorrow, right?”
I keep my eyelids squeezed closed. Doing so blocks out the light and the distracting man. Scientists will be the only men in my future.
“I believe so.”
“Do you have my passport? Or my credit cards?”
“Last I heard, Jack was pulling strings with the embassy to get you a replacement passport. Do you know where yours is?”
“In my apartment, in my home file.”
“Solonov never showed your passport at any country”s entry point?”
“No. They smuggled me around like contraband.”
“I suppose to them you are. The big question is who was calling the shots. The fact they went after Sage…it’s almost like they had a plan to force you to do something. Why else keep you alive? Who did your former boss go to work for? I think you said his name is William?”
“William would never do this. And he went to work for a multinational conglomerate. They’d never take on the legal risk of violating international law.”
“You may be right.”
“I am. I need to gain access to my credit cards so I can schedule my flight.”
“Arrow’s taking care of your return trip.”
“And where is Arrow flying me?”
“To Asheville. With your sister.”
“Sage needs to go to Asheville. I need to go back to Grand Cayman. If necessary, I’ll connect in North Carolina, but it would save time if I didn’t have to do that.”
“You’re not going to listen, are you? Hold on a second.” His deep voice sounds farther away. “Yep. All’s good. Knox is back at the hotel. I’m here for the night shift.” I squeeze open one eyelid and take in Max’s profile, one beefy arm holding a cell phone to his ear. “Copy that.”
“Who was that?”
“Office.”
“Rather quick call.”
“They wanted to be sure they got a message to me. Two men passed through Kuala Lumpur’s customs ninety minutes ago. Could be nothing, but they’re on Interpol’s watch list and known associates of Anton Solonov.”
“You think they’re here for me? How would they know where you took me? You flew me here, right? There’s nothing on me for them to track. I don’t have my phone. The way we left, I left everything behind. Again.”
“What do you mean, again?”
“They put me on that boat without any of my stuff. I mean, I had my phone but haven’t seen it since he drugged me. My wallet and a pocketbook. Gone. And my clothes.”
“Where’d you get the clothes you were wearing before they admitted you to the hospital?”
“When I got off the boat, they kept me in a house for a couple of days. They had some clothes. A small satchel. Some used books. Not a great selection. I left behind all of that.” Yet another reason I want to go home to my apartment.
The phone is back to Max’s ear. This time he’s facing me.
“Do you know what happened to Sloane’s clothes after we arrived at the hospital?” With swift steps, he approaches a paneled door, taps it, and the spring lock opens, exposing a closet. The ugly gray dress hangs clean and pressed. I do not want to put that back on. It itched. Max bends, giving me a fine view of his muscled derriere. He pushes back up off the floor, and I’m pretty sure I hear his knees crack. He holds up a shoe.
The cloth shoe has a woven textured base. He tucks the phone between his ear and shoulder and pulls out a small knife from somewhere on his waist. The silver blade shines beneath the fluorescent lights. With a twist, he digs into the bottom of the shoe.
He can destroy the shoe for all I care. I do not wish to wear that outfit ever again. It’s what all the women in the compound wore. Drab, poorly fitting clothes. Although, I was one of the few women given a dress. Some wore the same loose pants and shirt the men did.
Max holds up a small silver dome. “Yep. They had a tracking device in the sole of her shoe. Fuck.” He drops the shoe back into the closet and closes the door. Holds the device up and dumps it in a cylindrical metal trash can. “Copy that,” he says and ends the call.
“Okay. I’m going to see about getting you out of here early.”
“Why would they want me? They can’t be here for me.” None of this makes sense. If it’s about the report, I don’t have my laptop. I don’t have access to the report.
“I’m not sure what they want, but we’re getting you and Sage back Stateside.”
“No.” He can’t force me. I have choices. “You don’t have any answers. And I’m the only one who can get those answers. If I’m in danger, I’ll rely on Knox. That’s what Sam told me to do.”
“No.”
I narrow my gaze at him and all his hotness. Fine. He’s attractive, but he doesn’t get to call the shots, as Sam would say. Nope. Those are mine to call.
“Knox is with your sister. He’s been a wreck since your brother died. And the guy is finally happy. I’m not letting you take that away from him. Your sister has to get back to her job, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she’ll go back. Knox will go with Sage to ensure she’s safe. She’ll be safer in Asheville with Knox. I’ll go with you. If you think answers are back in your apartment, I’ll go with you.”
“I can go on my own.”
“No. You can’t.”
“I’m not leaving my research.”
“There’s a very good chance your lab, or someone at that lab, is behind your abduction.”
“We can agree to disagree.” That’s what I say, but there’s a chance he’s right. Doubtful, but an annoying nagging insists it’s conceivable. It’s hard to say. “But whether they are or are not involved isn’t the point. I’m going to figure out what’s going on, turn the responsible parties in to the authorities, and get back to my work.” Because my work is important.
“Fine.” The tone of his voice and the meaning of the word conflict. “But you’re not doing it alone.”