Chapter 17 Starling #2
Holding out my cell for the others to see, I suck in a sharp breath. “We should go.”
Silently, Sebastian leaves a pile of cash on the table to cover our bill, and we head out of the restaurant, filing into the large SUV my security team usually uses.
Instead of letting the valet park the SUV in the parking structure, we ask them to leave it in one of the handful of above-ground spaces near the valet station.
The large tip Evan hands the valet has them easily agreeing, and we make our way across campus as a group.
The coffee shop is busy with people when we arrive, so we commandeer two tables outside, while Hunter and Evan go inside to order.
“Are you okay, Little Bird?” Sebastian whispers against my ear.
“I just want this to be over,” I admit.
“By tonight it will be, and once it is, I’m taking you away for a while.”
“Away?” I question.
“Yes, just the two of us, naked for as long as we want. Somewhere the real world can’t touch us.”
Inhaling slowly, I nod. “That sounds perfect.”
“You don’t have to do this, we can think of another way of getting her,” he tells me, pulling me out of my chair and into his lap as he wraps his arms around me tightly.
“This will work,” I say, hoping I’m convincing him, because honestly, even though this was my idea, I’m not sure if this plan is brilliant or simply psychotic.
“It’ll work,” he agrees as the guys return to the table with our drinks.
Sipping at my coffee, I eye my watch, my heart racing as the clock counts down.
“You ready?” Evan asks me.
“Yep.”
Nodding, he pushes out of his chair, then turns and grabs Sammy, planting a kiss on her lips, his hand spread over her stomach.
“I’ll be back,” he says, nodding to me, before he turns and heads toward the campus buildings, where there’s a service entrance that leads into the underground parking structure.
I wait a few more moments, then try to stand, only Sebastian doesn’t let me go, his hold on me tightening. “I need to go,” I whisper.
“I know.”
“I need you to let me go,” I remind him, knowing that there’s no point trying to pry his hands free. I won’t be moving unless he lets me.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“Be careful, you could be carrying precious cargo.”
Laughing softly, I cup his cheek. “There’s no way I’m pregnant yet, Sebastian, but once this is over, we’ll keep practicing until I am.”
I can see the reluctance in his eyes as he slowly releases me, his eyes tracking my steps as I walk away.
It only takes me a few minutes to find the concrete ramp that heads down into the underground parking lot that houses the Kingsacre students’ cars.
I’ve never had a car here, and I doubt the majority of the people who go here have ever bothered to wonder where their cars are stored, considering the school provides a twenty-four-hour valet service.
The temperature drops significantly as I walk down, the low concrete ceiling and dull lighting giving the whole place a creepy vibe that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
Clay located Court’s car before we left the house. So I easily find it and a bored-looking Evan sitting on the floor with a backpack resting at his feet.
“You ready for this, Little Sis?” he questions, eyeing me with genuine worry in his gaze.
Exhaling, I look at her car, then nod. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Using the new key fob Clay programmed to unlock her car, Evan opens the trunk and gestures for me to sit on the edge.
“Put your hands behind your back,” he says, pulling latex gloves on, before he retrieves a pack of zip ties from his backpack and starts to fasten my wrists together with a surprising amount of ease.
“Do you and Sammy use these?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.
“Nah, I prefer gold chains if I’m binding her to anything,” he says breezily.
“Jesus, I was joking.”
“I’ve seen your sex tape, it’s only fair you know too much about our sex life too.”
“Sebastian wants us to have a baby,” I blurt.
“I know,” Evan admits, and I should have guessed that they’d have talked about it.
“I want to, too.”
“That’s good, Little Sis. Our kids can grow up together. They’ll be cousins and be as close as siblings.”
“Our kids won’t actually be related,” I remind him.
“That’s okay, they can fall in love and get married then instead.
We’re having a boy, you can have a girl, it’ll be perfect.
” As he talks, he binds my feet together with more zip ties, then carefully ties a strip of fabric across my mouth, fastening it behind my head.
“Are you okay?” he asks again, checking me over with worried eyes.
I nod, although I’m breathing hard, my heart racing in my chest.
“Close your eyes. I’m going to give you the shot that’s going to knock you out.
The dose should keep you unconscious for around about thirty-five to forty-five minutes.
By the time you wake up, this will be almost over.
Okay?” Evan’s brow is furrowed, and his eyes are full of concern.
“Are you really sure you want to do this?”
My nod is slower to come this time, but it does, and even though my brother doesn’t look convinced, he nods back. “Okay, Little Sis. I love you,” he says, taking a sealed package from his backpack as I close my eyes.