Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Landon
By the look on her face, there’s no doubt in my mind that Allora is going to resist anything we suggest. We talked about it last night but she was obviously too out of it to have paid much attention, and I feel a twinge of guilt.
We should have been gentler in bringing this up again but it’s too late now.
Luckily, we have a little time.
“We’re all supposed to meet at Shadow Security’s headquarters. Your dad will be there too, and we’ll come up with a plan.”
“I have to go home to pack some of my essentials, my camera equipment, and Cleocatra.”
Cleopatra? I have no idea what she’s talking about and wonder if there are lingering effects from the drugs they gave her.
“Who?” I ask slowly.
She chuckles. “My cat. CleoCATra.”
Now I get it and smile back. “Is she mysterious and queen-like?”
“You have no idea. I’m sure her food dispenser has kept her fed while I’ve been gone, but she can’t be alone much longer. So, wherever I go, she comes too.”
“The Shadow Security apartments and safe houses aren’t finished yet,” Elliott says. “I mean, you could camp out in the main area but it wouldn’t be comfortable or give you any privacy.”
“What about a hotel?” I suggest. “Maybe in L.A.?”
She doesn’t respond, her expression inscrutable as we talk.
“You need to lay low until we figure this out,” I add gently, meeting her gaze steadily. “If this is the kind of trafficking ring we think it is, they’re not going to allow any loose ends.”
I watch her swallow nervously before she lifts her chin and shakes her head. “I’m not going to spend my life in hiding.
“Of course not. Just until we catch these fuckers.”
“I have a life. A job. Bills to pay.”
“You can’t do those things if you’re dead,” Rage says quietly.
Thank fuck he’s the one who said it instead of me because she looks annoyed. I know these reactions are how she disguises her fear, but she’s not making this easy on us or herself.
“I think I’m going to shower after all.” Without another word, she grabs the bag of clothes and stalks into the restroom, closing the door behind her with a thump.
“She’s going to have to compromise,” Rage says, shrugging.
“I talked to the cops last night and they know about this trafficking ring, but they don’t usually go for the locals, so they’re concerned about this change in protocol.
They tend to go for the homeless areas or towns closer to Tijuana, where they can whisk them over the border and make them disappear.
Doing it in a busy upscale area is a different M.O. ”
“Not to mention she’s older than their usual targets.”
“You think this was personal?”
“I don’t know yet but something about this is off. I just can’t figure out what yet.” I shake my head. “The point is, she can’t go home and she doesn’t want to go stay with her father.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be a dick, but this is for her own good,” Rage says. “We might have to force her to go somewhere safe, even if she doesn’t want to.”
“In my experience, especially with strong-willed women, that never ends well.”
He smiles. “You think she’s strong-willed?”
I arch a brow. “She was drugged and beaten, but the second she had a chance, she asked for help. From a stranger. She also stands up to her father, and I don’t imagine many people do. That tells me a lot about who she is at her core.”
“Regardless, I think she’s going to make protecting her difficult.”
“Look, she’s been through enough. I don’t want to traumatize her further. Let’s just play it by ear.”
He gives me a suspicious look.
“What?” I ask, scowling.
“You’re getting invested.”
“Getting? I was invested the moment she asked for help.”
“It’s more than that.”
“Don’t be an idiot. Her father gave Daniil a substantial down payment this morning to keep her safe. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
Luckily, he opts to let it go, and we sit there in silence until she comes out of the bathroom.
She looks a lot fresher than before, even with wet hair and casual clothes.
And as I suspected, she’s beautiful. Tall and slender, though not overly skinny, with long legs and a very pretty face. I can see past the black eye and bruises and she kind of takes my breath away.
“What’s the plan?” she asks without preamble.
“That’s somewhat up to you,” I say cautiously. “We have a meeting at our headquarters. Your dad will be there. We need to come up with a strategy to keep you safe until we find these guys and take them down.”
“Can we stop by my condo first?” she asks. “I need to get Cleo and pack a few things.”
“They may be watching,” I tell her. “It’s best we avoid your place for now.”
“I have to get Cleo,” she reiterates, meeting my gaze almost apologetically. “I know it’s a huge ask, and you’ve already done so much. But it’s not her fault my life has gone crazy.”
“I’ll get her,” Elliott says after a moment. “I can get in and out without a key. Do you have an alarm?”
She shakes her head.
“Make a list for me. I’ll get what you need, and the cat.”
Allora narrows her eyes and chuckles. “You think my cat is going to just go with you?”
I grin. “Rage has a thing for cats. And they for him. They love him. Big time. Of all the things to worry about, getting your cat is the least of them.”
She opens her mouth and then seems to change her mind about what she was going to say.
“I really am sorry. I’m being extraordinarily difficult.
I just…I don’t know what to do.” She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths.
“If I’m honest, I’m hanging on by a thread right now.
I just want to retreat and lick my wounds in private.
I need to wrap my head around everything that’s happened, try to get back some semblance of normal. ”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I reply. “You’ve been through a terrible ordeal. We just want to help.”
“And I just want to run,” she whispers. “Except I don’t know where I’d go to feel safe. Like, is Australia far enough? The Arctic Circle? Is there anywhere that I’ll ever feel safe again?”
“My place,” I blurt before I can stop myself. “I have a top-of-the-line security system. Even if the people who took you come looking, it’ll take them a while to find me or where I live.”
“Are you local?”
“No, I live in L.A. Shadow Security is located outside Temecula in Sage Canyon, so I’ve been commuting but obviously, I don’t work a nine-to-five situation so I can be based wherever. Short-term, I think that’s where you’re safest.”
I can feel Elliott’s gaze on me, see the look of disbelief in his eyes, but I ignore him. I know he’s going to give me shit but this has become personal. Her safety is up to me, and there’s no other option where I’m in control.
“Other than Daniil, maybe her dad, we don’t tell anyone,” Elliott interjects after a beat. “The fewer people who know where she is, the less chance there is for a slip-up.”
I nod even as Allora frowns. “A slip-up?”
“People talk. Someone tells their mom, who mentions it at the grocery store, and so on. Eventually, it gets back to the people we don’t want knowing where you are.”
“For how long?” she whispers.
“Until we take them down.”
An uncomfortable silence fills the room.
I can tell by the slight furrowing of her brow and the way she’s chewing the inside of her cheek, she’s mulling it all over.
Which is fair. She’s been through enough, and I’d bet that she’s trying to not just figure out how to move forward, but also how to regain her power.
I’ve never been sexually assaulted but I’ve been captured by an enemy and there’s very little that’s worse than losing what you perceive as your power, independence, whatever the case may be.
“Cleo has to come too,” she says finally.
I nod. “No problem.”
“I need money and access to a computer,” she says. “So, I can order a new license, stop my credit cards, stuff like that.”
“You can use mine,” I say. “For now, let’s get you a pad and pen while we wait for your discharge papers and you make a list for Elliott of things to get from your apartment.”
After a long moment, she finally nods. “Thank you.”
Then she reaches into the bag for the breakfast sandwich I brought her, unwraps it, and takes a big bite.
For some reason, that makes me smile.