Twenty-Two
Bay
Be nice. Survive the day. People will find you soon.
They would start looking for me before the day was over. I just had to deal with this man for one more day. And I really liked his dog.
“All this, um”—I paused—“luxury, and you have a basic coffeepot,” I said, finding it odd and slightly amusing.
I was also trying very hard not to look at his back. The man was built well. Really, really well. Perhaps he would put on a shirt soon.
He glanced back at me over his shoulder, frowning. “What the fuck should I have?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Some fancy machine, like they have at Starbucks.”
“For a cup of coffee?”
True. He only drank black coffee.
“I mean, not even a Keurig,” I replied.
He turned around and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest and making his biceps bulge.
DO NOT LOOK. DO NOT LOOK.
“Is that the pod thing?”
I nodded.
“That makes shit coffee,” he replied.
I disagreed. I had one at home. I liked it, thank you very much.
Deciding to change the subject, I turned my attention to the dog, who was very involved in whatever was in his bowl.
“Did you name him after the lead guitarist in Guns N’ Roses?” I asked, already guessing that was where the name had come from.
“Yes.”
I smirked. “And you made fun of me for naming my dog after a rock song from the ’90s?”
“Never made fun of you. Just thought it was a weird-ass name for a dog.”
I’d loved the name. Although I had ended up shortening it to Remy most of the time.
I thought Slash was an odd name for his dog. He wasn’t very Slash-like at all. He was a sweetie. I doubted Hale would appreciate me saying that.
“I don’t have lavender or creamer or weird milk for your coffee,” he informed me.
“Do you have regular milk?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Most likely.”
“And sugar?”
He cut his eyes at me before reaching for a bronze container to the left of the coffeepot. “Yeah.”
“Then I’m all set.”
He motioned toward the refrigerator with a wave of his hand. “Help yourself to the milk.”
Ellen might have let me down last night, but I would be glad when she got here. I didn’t want to be alone with this man any more than he wanted to be around me.
“If you let me go, I’d be out of your hair. I won’t tell a soul what you did, and I will go back to my life.”
He turned back to look at me. “That life ain’t gonna be the same. You might not be talking, but your boyfriend will sing like a little girl when he faces Blaise.”
I had no idea who Blaise was, nor did I care. “I do not have a boyfriend. Like I told you yesterday—”
“Stop lying, darlin’. It’s getting old.”
My hands fisted tightly at my sides. “I’m not lying,” I bit out. “And stop calling me darlin’ and Snow!”
The corner of his mouth twitched, as if that made him want to smile, but he didn’t. He took a cup from the cabinet and held it out to me. Reluctantly, I walked over and took it from him.
Slash was at my side once again, having finished his meal.
“You stop baby-talking to my dog, and I will,” he replied before I said anything to the canine beside me.
“I’m not baby-talking to him,” I argued, although I probably had been a little. But he liked it.
“Yeah, you are. He’s a fucking Doberman. Trained to protect and attack. He doesn’t need you telling him he’s a pretty boy.”
Was he kidding? Trained to attack? Who? He was trying to scare me off his dog. Too late, buddy. I started to tell him as much when his phone began ringing.
I took the cup he’d given me and walked past him to pour some of the dark roast into it.
“Yeah,” he said gruffly as he answered the call, walking away from me and the pot.
“Didn’t doubt that. What’s he saying?” He paused.
I was listening for any clue that this might be about me and my freedom.
“Huh. Really?”
I went over to the refrigerator to find the milk.
“Didn’t think he’d live long,” he drawled.
I froze. Someone was dead?
“He wants us to keep her longer?” he asked, not sounding thrilled about that.
“All right,” he sighed. “Yeah. Ellen fed her last night, and I’m giving her coffee right now. Yeah, got it.”
Reaching into the massive two-door refrigerator, I pulled out the gallon of whole milk. He was right. There were no other options in here.
Did Ellen not drink coffee? Why didn’t she keep creamer or half-and-half?
“We got your boyfriend. He’s talking. Unlike you,” he said.
I turned around, closing the door behind me. “Then I’m sure you are aware that he is NOT my boyfriend. He would have cleared that up.”
Hale took a drink from his cup. “That’s the interesting part.
Seems he was real upset that we took you and were keeping you locked up.
He swore he hadn’t seen you in years, but he didn’t want you hurt.
Took a pretty hard beating for not confessing anything more.
Both your stories were the same, which sounds a bit rehearsed, don’t you think? ”
Beating? Was he serious? I shook my head. That was not my problem.
“Because it is the truth!” I said, raising my voice enough to cause Slash to jump. I ran a hand over the top of his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Maybe, but for now, the boss wants you to stay put. He’s not done with Harland.”
“Well, I hope you and Linc both realize someone will notice I am missing today. They’ll start searching.”
Hale chuckled. “No, they won’t. We cover our tracks.”
What did that mean?
“How so?” I asked, not liking the sound of that.
“Not your business. But until we are ready to send you back to DC, no one will come looking.”
He was wrong. He didn’t know everything about me. He thought he did, but he didn’t. A background check wouldn’t give him all he needed to know. I would be out of here soon. I had to be.