Chapter 3 Marfil #3
I rolled my eyes, exasperated. “Liam.”
“Your father made it clear to me that there would be no men in the apartment.”
I laughed. “Yeah, sure! And I’m Bluey.”
Sebastian seemed lost.
“From Bluey the TV show…” I said, but still no response.
He probably didn’t have any younger siblings.
I shook my head and pulled the door open, ignoring the presence of the gorilla behind me.
Liam barely gave me a chance to get a look at him, his arms instantly lifting me off the floor, squeezing me tightly against him. I inhaled his scent, which smelled like home. “Fuck… you scared me to death.”
I felt my eyes well up with tears. I’d been holding it all in. Ever since I’d gotten back, it had felt like my life was no longer mine, my home was no longer my home. Now, with Liam here, everything seemed to fall back into place, and I finally felt relaxed, comfortable.
“I still can’t believe what happened…” I said into his neck, not wanting to let him go.
Liam nuzzled his face in my hair, then tensed a few seconds later. In a single movement, he put me down and fixed his gaze on Sebastian. “Who is that?”
I huffed, hating the fact that his arms were no longer around me. “My new bodyguard.”
Sebastian looked Liam up and down. I closed the door behind me, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.
“I need to see your ID,” Sebastian demanded.
Liam looked at him in disbelief. “Isn’t it enough that she says she knows me?”
Sebastian barely blinked. “Your ID, please.”
Liam rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his black leather wallet. He removed his driver’s license and handed it over.
Sebastian studied it for a few seconds, then gave it back. “I’m going to have to ask you to return the keys to this apartment. For security reasons, we can’t have them circulating. There’s a chance someone could steal them from you and try to get in.”
What? No! Why would anyone try to get in? I hadn’t even been kidnapped at home.
Liam looked shocked and offended. “I would never place her at risk. I have a key in case there’s some emergency and she needs me.”
“If there’s some problem or Marfil needs help, I’m here now.”
They stared at each other for several endless seconds.
“Liam, just give him the keys. My father’s the one behind all this, and the last thing I want is to give him a reason to do something crazy, like force me to move back home, for example.”
Liam let out the breath he was holding in and turned toward me, a scared look on his face. Then he did as Sebastian asked. As soon as he had the keys, the bodyguard excused himself and went into his room, after reminding me that I should let him know if we went out.
“Do you want a beer?” I said, focusing back on my friend.
Liam nodded as he sat on the couch and looked down the hallway. “I can’t believe what happened, Mar,” he said, resting his elbows on his knees and smoothing his hair.
I sat down next to him as I handed him a cold beer and brought mine to my lips. “Me neither… It’s been terrifying, but at the same time it’s like it was all a nightmare, like it’s not real. I was drugged the whole time, so I guess that’s why I feel like it happened to someone else.”
“But why? Fuck. Why would someone want to kidnap you?!”
It was obvious that I came from wealth, but I never talked about it, and Liam could tell it made me uncomfortable, so he never asked.
His mother was an elementary school teacher, and his father owned a pet shop.
He owed everything he had to his brilliant mind, having been accepted to Columbia on a scholarship, and he’d had to work nights at the trendiest clubs in the city to pay his bills, since the scholarship didn’t cover everything.
I admired Liam because, as opposed to him, it didn’t matter how much I achieved in life, everyone would always see me as a little rich girl, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, never having to lift a finger.
My father had so many companies that I couldn’t even name them all.
He owned Banco Cortés, one of the most important banks in Latin America, and he raised Appaloosas, a desirable breed of horses.
All that, along with countless other investments, had made him into something of a public figure, and it was no surprise that people envied his fortune.
That was why my father had always kept Gabriella and me away from the limelight.
He had never let us attend his parties, and we didn’t know any of his business associates.
My father rarely discussed work; all he ever talked about with us was horses, which he’d taught us to love and respect from a young age.
“I don’t know… no one knows. My father thinks someone was just using me as a way to threaten him. The fact that they didn’t ask for anything in return and they also didn’t send a note, nothing, is almost more confusing than the kidnapping itself.”
“And now you’re going to have this guy around all the time?”
I nodded, pursing my lips.
Liam placed a hand on my cheek and set his beer on the table.
“Your father did the right thing. You were kidnapped right here in Central Park, Mar. They could do it again if they wanted, especially if they were to find out about the other parts of town you frequent,” he said, a displeased look on his face.
Liam and I had argued about this issue countless times. I realized I was going to have to inform Sebastian and beg him not to say anything to my father.
“I won’t get kidnapped again. I’ll be careful. The only thing that worries me is my father… and my sister…”
“Gabriella is in London; she should be safe there.”
“If I told you about the things she gets up to at school… Fuck, I have to warn her not to leave!”
I felt like I was about to have a heart attack as I raced to my bedroom and found my cell phone. It was nine thirty here, two thirty in the morning there. She should be asleep, so I opted to send her a text instead:
Don’t even think about leaving school. Something’s happened. Call me when you get this. It’s urgent.
Our father hadn’t told Gabi about the kidnappings, because he hadn’t wanted to worry her, but he had no idea that I’d taught her all the best ways to sneak out of school. She could cross the woods and get to town without anyone knowing. If anything happened to her, it would be all my fault!
Leaving the room with my cell phone in my hand, I watched as Sebastian’s door opened and he stepped out into the hall, as if he’d read my mind and knew that something was wrong.
“What’s going on?”
Liam stood up from the couch and came over.
“My sister has no idea about the kidnapping. My father didn’t want to tell her, but what he doesn’t know is that she sneaks out of school. She goes into town with a few other girls and they meet up with friends… If they came for me, they can do the same thing to Gabi.”
“She’s probably asleep now, Mar—you can talk to her tomorrow and explain everything,” Liam said, though I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sebastian.
A few seconds later, he finally spoke. “I’ll make some calls. I know someone in London. I’ll ask him to make sure nothing looks suspicious. I’ll talk to your father tomorrow and inform him.”
NO!
I stepped forward and grabbed Sebastian’s arm as fear took hold of every single one of my nerve endings. “You can’t tell him! He’ll kill her!”
Sebastian studied me for a few fleeting seconds, during which, although it might seem impossible, we communicated without a need for words. He walked away without a sound, and I knew that my sister would be safe.