I wish I was like Sebastian—that I was good at reading people and their intentions. Then I’d know if I could trust Nolan or not.
What am I even thinking? Of course, I can’t trust him! He’s working with Steven!
“What are you doing?” Nolan whispers.
“I thought the answer was pretty obvious,” I say, whispering back to him.
“Not only is there an alarm on this door that would trigger if it’s opened,” Nolan says. “But there are also ten guards standing in the front yard right now. Do you really think you can fight them all off before the rest of the guards can get to you?”
Well, when he put it like that.
“No,” I say.
“I will help you, but not tonight,” Nolan says. “Tonight, you have to stay in your room. Steven is home. He is going to notice if you’re missing in the morning. Just wait. He won’t be here long before he leaves. I happen to know he’s going to get another lead; this lead is going to take him far away. Once he has that lead, then I will help you escape.”
“Why would you help me?” I ask.
“Because I owe you,” he says.
“You owe me?”
“You know... for trying to kidnap you. Back in Switzerland.”
I start to say something, but Nolan grabs my arm, not too tightly, and starts walking me back towards my room. And maybe I should fight or do something, but I don’t. Because I believe him. I believe that he is going to help me escape. Because, since I’ve been in captivity, he hasn’t lied to me once, yet. Why should he start now?
Nolan walks me into my room, shutting the door behind him. I sit down on the bed and look at him, waiting for him to say something.
“I swear, Serenity, you are the most frustrating person I’ve ever met,” Nolan says. “Do you ever do as you’re told?”
I shake my head back and forth.
“You and Sebastian really are perfect together. Both of you are completely stubborn,” he says. “Just... promise me you won’t try to escape again. Please.”
“I promise,” I say, still whispering.
“I’m doing everything I can to protect you, but there is only so much I can protect you from,” he says. “But I promise you, as soon as he leaves again, I will get you out of here. I have a plan. Just... trust me one last time, that is all I ask.”
And I don’t know why, but I do trust him.
“Okay,” I say. “But don’t let me down, Nolan.”
“I won’t,” he says. “Never again.”
I watch and Nolan turns and walks out of my room. I hear the door lock in place as he leaves.
Trusting Nolan probably isn’t my smartest plan, but it’s all I’ve got. He’s right. There is no way I could win a fight against these guys, especially considering they would have no problem killing me.
I’m so out of my league here.
Formal dinner.
I’ve been stuck in this stupid room all day with no word from anybody, except Nolan when he brings me food. I’m bored out of my mind and have been just pacing the room, wondering how long it’s going to be before I get the chance to explain.
The door to my room opens abruptly, so I turn around and see Nolan walk in.
Nice.
We’re just completely past knocking now.
“I need you to get dressed for dinner,” Nolan says.
“Dressed?” I ask, looking down at my leggings and hoodie. I’ve pretty much been wearing something similar since I arrived.
“In a dress,” he says. “Like, something nice.”
“Why?” I ask.
Since when does a prisoner have to dress nice?
“Steven wants you to come eat dinner with us,” he says.
I swallow hard. “What?”
“He has been asking a lot of question about you. I mean, he knew you when you were a baby,” Nolan says. “And you’re dating his son. So, he’s curious. And I told him you were being a very good prisoner.”
That’s a good thing.
But also...
“Why do I have to eat dinner with him?” I ask. “He’s a monster.”
“Right now, he is the one who decides if you live or die,” he says. “Serenity, please do this for me. And behave tonight. He will be leaving after dinner. After he leaves, I will help you escape.”
“Really?” I ask.
He nods.
Maybe I shouldn’t believe him, but he’s told me the truth since I’ve arrived. He hasn’t misled me. And he has treated me very well for a prisoner.
It’s not like I have another choice but to trust him.
“Fine,” I say. “I can handle one dinner.”
Nolan looks relieved by my words.
“I’ll be by to get you in, like, an hour,” he says.
“Is he going to hurt me?” I ask.
“Physically? No,” he answers. “But psychologically, probably.”
I nod.
I can do this.
Nolan leaves the room and I hate how much I really do not want to be alone right now. Do I really prefer to have the company of the guy who shot one of my best friends over being alone right now?
Why does Nolan have to be such an oxymoron?
I walk over to my closet and look through it. I still can’t believe that Steven had somebody stock my closet for whenever he got the chance to kidnap me. I take comfort in the fact that there are a lot of clothes in here, like he’s planned on keeping me alive for a while. But it’s also sickening.
He wants to keep me for his son.
Like I’m a possession.
It helps that my dad is Michael Sinclair, of course. He loves hurting my father.
Steven is seriously disturbed if he thinks that Sebastian would ever go along with any of this.
Sebastian is a good man. He’s kind and he loves his family more than anything. He is fiercely protective of me. And his is who he is despite his father.
An hour later, my door opens up and Nolan walks in.
I’ve put on one of the dresses in the closet. I’m surprised by how many cute clothes are inside there. It’s actually my style.
The dress that I chose is blue. It’s fitted at the top, but flares out at my waist. I think it’s some kind of sundress, but I’m not sure. I don’t know a lot about fashion. All I know is that I like it. I also put on a pair of the dressy shoes—the flat ones. The heels didn’t look comfortable. And I can’t run in those if I need to.
“Cute,” Nolan says.
I shrug, not knowing what I’m supposed to say to that. “Thanks, I guess,” I say.
“Let’s go,” he says.
I take a deep, shaky breath. “Okay.”
I follow Nolan from the room, wishing I were anywhere but here right now. I wish I were still with Sebastian... at Pop’s house. I wish I were back on his back deck, looking at the stars.
That last night I had with Sebastian before I was taken... that was when we had our first kiss. He asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes. I hadn’t even had time to process what that meant before I was taken.
I’m in love with Sebastian. And that fact alone is why tonight, at dinner, no matter what Steven says, I am going to keep a straight face. I am not going to fight with him. And I am going to be the best dang prisoner he’s ever seen. Because that is the only hope I have of seeing Sebastian again.
Nolan and I walk into the dining room together. The table is set, like we’re about to have some kind of formal dinner, which I suppose is what we’re about to do, considering the fact that I had to get dressed up.
“You have to sit here,” Nolan says, pulling out the chair for me.
“Where is he sitting?” I ask.
Nolan points to the chair at the head of the table, right by where I’m sitting.
Of course, he wants to sit by me.
“I’ll be sitting across from you,” Nolan says.
Once I’m seated, he walks around the table, sitting across from me.
“Is anybody else
coming?” I ask.
“No,” he answers. “Just us three.”
At least there is that. And at least Nolan is here. But I am a little worried. To have Nolan here, Steven must really trust him. He’s had to be a loyal soldier to earn that trust. I wonder what all he has done while being under the reign of Steven.
Sometimes when I look at Nolan, I see glimpses of the boy who snuck me food—the boy who rescued me from a life of misery. But he’s not the same boy. I have to remember that.
He is also my only chance of escape.
I have no choice but to trust him.
I hear footsteps from behind me.
“I hope you didn’t have to wait long.”
That voice.
It belongs to the man who has spent the last thirteen plus years torturing Sebastian—the same guy who has chased me around the world. And I can hear how smug he is about the fact that I’m here.
He sits down in the chair beside me. It’s then that I look at him. I don’t want to, but I also don’t want him to think he has power over me. I refuse to give him any power.
“I see why my son is so fascinated with you,” Steven says, as he studies me. “You look like your mom. She was always beautiful.”
I know it’s meant to be a compliment, but it makes me uncomfortable.
A guy walks into the room, setting food in front of each of us. It smells good, but my stomach is in such knots I worry I won’t be able to eat very much.
Steven starts eating immediately. I look at Nolan, feeling completely panicked.
“Go ahead and eat, sweetheart,” Steven says.
Sweetheart?
I try to keep my face even and not let him see how disgusted I am by him calling me that. I have a feeling if he knew it bothered me, he’d probably say it more often.
I hesitantly take a bite. I don’t really taste the food. I just chew and swallow.
“So, I’ve wanted to ask, how did you like the woman who raised you?” Steven asks.
I turn to look at him. “You mean the woman who kidnapped me? She was a monster.”
“She didn’t kidnap you,” Steven says. “I did.”
I choke on the bite I just took.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you this story for a while,” he says. “I hope to someday tell your dad the story, too.”
“You took me from my mom?” I ask, not liking where this conversation is going.
“She should’ve been my wife,” he says. “I saw her first.”
I try really hard not to react.
I try to keep my face even.
But I’m fairly certain my face is turning red right now. I grip my fork so tightly that my knuckles are turning white. But I can’t bring myself to care. This is the only way I can keep from stabbing him with the thing.
Did he really just say my mom should’ve been his wife because he ‘saw her first?’ Like she’s a car, or a toy, and not a human being.
“Your father never would’ve noticed her if I hadn’t pointed her out to him,” Steven says. “He was always surrounded by all the girls in the school. Everybody except her. It’s why I liked her. I thought she was immune to him. I was wrong.”
My stomach churns, and I really hope I don’t toss my cookies right here.
“I guess it worked out well for my son,” he says, looking at me. “I guess he’s more like me than he thinks. We’ve got the same taste.”
I am about to stab this freak with my fork.
It’s going to happen before the night is over.
Nolan clears his throat, so I look over at him, away from Steven.
“This food is great, right Serenity?” he asks.
I loosen my grip on the fork.
Right.
I have to behave.
If I do, he’s going to help me find a way out of here.
I take a deep breath.
“Amazing,” I say, even though I am not certain it is. I have yet to taste it.
“When I found out that your mother left Michael, I knew my chance had finally come,” Steven says, picking up with his story exactly where he left off. “I tracked her down and told her how I felt.”
I can imagine how that went.
“When she turned me down, I had no choice but to kill her,” Steven says.
The story... it was always leading to this. But for some reason, hearing him admit it out loud is a shock.
I didn’t know Steven killed her.
I wonder if my dad knows.
I keep looking at Nolan, knowing that if I look at the man who murdered my mother, I wouldn’t be able to control my anger. As it is, my hand is shaking. I put it under the table to hide it, though I’m certain that Steven knows how upset he’s making me. It’s why he’s telling me this story. He wants me to react. He wants me to give him a reason to kill me.
“I put you with that woman,” he says. “I had to send her money every month to keep you. She hated you.”
I know she hated me. She made sure that I knew that. Every single day of my life. It wouldn’t surprise me if he paid her to treat me as poorly as she did.
“You survived,” Steven says.
“I did,” I say, through gritted teeth.
He laughs.
LAUGHS.
This man tells me the story of how he killed my mother and made my life a living nightmare and he is laughing about it.
Sebastian, I remind myself.
I have to get back to him.
So, I keep my mouth shut.
“I see why my son likes you so much,” he says. “I find your fighting spirit admirable.”
Yeah, that was the goal I wanted to achieve.
For this monster to tell me that he admires my fighting spirit.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes, though.
Someday, this man is going to get what he deserves. Somebody is going to kill him. And it might not be me, but I hope I’m there to see justice being served.
My own thoughts shock me.
What am I saying?
I don’t want to watch him be killed. I can’t turn into him. I can’t be a monster.
I take a deep breath, slowly letting go of the anger that I have been building up.
“Huh,” Steven says. “I guess you don’t have your father’s temper after all.”
If only he knew the murderous things I’ve been thinking through this entire dinner.
But he doesn’t.
“Well, I’ve got to get out of here,” Steven says. “I’ve got a solid lead on Sebastian and I’d like to get my son here so I can move forward with the rest of my plans.”
Hearing him say Sebastian’s name makes my heart lurch.
I hope Bass is okay.
But Nolan already told me that this lead is false. So, I can relax knowing that Steven isn’t going to get him.
“Nolan, you’re in charge, as always,” Steven says.
He gets up, leaving the room. I sigh in relief when I hear his footsteps leave the room.
Nolan smiles at me.
I did good.
I don’t know how I did it, but I did.
I am going to get out of here—tonight. And Nolan is going to help me, or I am going to do it on my own. I can’t handle being in this stupid house for one more night.
Freedom.
That night, it’s just after ten and I am pacing my room, waiting for Nolan.
I changed out of the dress earlier and put on all black cloths. Black leggings, a black shirt and even black tennis shoes. I’m not sure what Nolan’s escape plan is, but I want to be prepared.
I hear footsteps in the hallway, and my door opens up.
Nolan stands in the doorway.
“You ready?” he asks.
I nod.
I’m so ready to get out of here.
“You did really good tonight,” Nolan says. “Thank you for trusting me, even though you have no reason to.”
I grab my bag from the bed, putting it over my shoulder, but Nolan grabs it.
“I’ll carry this,” he says.
“I’ve got it,” I say, trying to grab it back.
“If you walk out of here with a bag, it’s going to look suspicious,” he says.
“And it won’t if you do?” I ask.
“No,” he says. “I’m in an out of here all the time.”
“With a prisoner?” I ask.
“Of course not,” he says. “But you’re my responsibility, so it makes sense that you’re going with me.”
“You’re going with me?”
“Only a little way.”
Right.
And that’s supposed to make me feel better?
But I suppose I can’t complain. He is helping me escape. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead already. Because I most definitely would’ve tried to escape. Or I would’ve stabbed Steven with my fork. I’ve never had the urge to stab somebody before tonight.
I follow Nolan from my room and through the house towards the front door. When he gets there, he types a code into a security system that is by the door. I didn’t notice that last night.
He really hasn’t lied about anything so far, so I can only hope he’s not lying about this.
Still, I memorize the numbers that he punches in.
When we walk out the front door, the guard nods at Nolan, saying nothing as we walk over to an SUV with blacked out windows. I get in the passenger side of the car, hoping that I’m not headed towards my death.
“What are you going to say when you come back and I’m not in the car?” I ask.
“I’m going to park in the garage when I get back,” he answers. “So, they won’t see whether you’re in the car or not.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Steven is going to be gone three days at the most, so it’s important for you to get out of here,” he says. “I got you a motel tonight in the town.” He reaches into the center console and hands me a keycard. “I’ve called Sebastian. He’s getting on a plane right now and should be arriving sometime early in the morning. I know he will keep you safe.”
“Is this real?” I ask.
“Is what real?” he asks.
“You helping me,” I say. “I mean, you’re supposed to be the bad guy.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve helped you,” Nolan says. “I don’t blame you for doubting me, but this is real.”
Saving Me Page 3
