by Tia Wylder
“Yes,” the woman said. “And your idiot of a husband was too stupid to go to the police.” She shrugged. “Gianna, it’s almost like you thought nothing bad could seriously happen.”
I glared at her. “Fuck you,” I said. “I told him I was afraid!”
“And what did he do?”
I sighed.
“Gianna, I’m not here to hurt you,” the woman said. She stepped around me, and I felt the chair being turned on the floor to face the hotel bed. It had been slept in – the covers were strewn about, and a pillow had fallen on the floor. Knowing I’d been tied up all night long while a complete stranger slumbered right next to me was terrifying.
“You’ve already done that,” I said with a groan, trying to stretch in my bonds. “I can’t feel my hands. Or my feet.”
The woman sat on the edge of the bed and winced. “Well, there was bound to be some discomfort,” she said. “But can’t you guess why I’m here, Gianna?”
I stared at her. She was very pretty but too old to be an aspiring actress. And with her obviously expensive tailored suit, she looked professional. From the way she talked, I wondered if she was a lawyer.
“I don’t know,” I said finally. “I…I thought it was some crazy fan, or maybe another actress was jealous of me.”
The woman threw her head back and laughed. “No,” she said, shaking her head. Her smile faded. “My name is Jessica Norris. I’m a private investigator.”
“What?” I squinted at her. “Why would someone want to hire a private investigator to find me? Are you the same person who has been photographing me? And what about the car chase?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “You’ve seen too many movies, Gianna,” she said. “No, of course I wasn’t directly involved in either of those.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I have a whole team of staff working for me.”
“So, you hired someone to stalk me?” I gasped, feeling betrayed. “Why? Why am I so interesting to you?”
Jessica snorted. “Trust me, you’re not,” she said. “But my client was very particular and very aggressive.”
Her words made my stomach cramp with fear.
“Here,” Jessica said. She reached inside an expensive alligator handbag and pulled out a bottle of spring water. Just the sight of it was enough to make me start drooling. Jessica untwisted the cap, then held the bottle to my lips. “Not too quickly,” she warned. “I had an IV in your arm last night so you wouldn’t become dehydrated, but I wouldn’t want you to get sick?”
Gasping in horror, I looked down at my arm. Sure enough, there was a slight needle mark in the crook of my elbow.
“You drugged me?”
Jessica shrugged. “I had to,” she said. “I couldn’t risk having you become so dehydrated that you needed medical assistance. My client was very specific – you’re to be returned home at once.”
She held the bottle to my lips and tilted it slightly so a trickle of water flowed into my mouth. I drank greedily, swallowing gulp after gulp until I felt like my stomach would burst. When Jessica took the bottle away, I was shocked to see that I’d finished the whole thing.
“So, you can take me home?” I asked skeptically. “Home to my husband?”
Jessica laughed. “No, Gianna. Home to Boston.”
“Boston?” I squinted at her. “I…I don’t live there.”
Jessica sighed. “Gianna, your parents hired me to find you and bring you back,” she said.
“No!” I shouted. “There’s no fucking way I’m going back there! I’m an adult, you can’t make me!”
“Yes,” Jessica said primly. “And has anyone ever told you just how adult you sound when you say something so ridiculous?” She shook her head. “I know practically everything about you, Gianna. You’re twenty-five years old, and you don’t even know how to function in the real world. Everyone has always taken care of you.”
“That isn’t true,” I said.
“You had your parents, and then you had Barnes,” Jessica said. “Which, by the way, your parents are extremely upset about. They wish to annul the marriage at once, making you eligible for the man they’ve chosen.”
I felt like I’d walked off the set of Heaven Cove and straight into a science-fiction movie.
“Gianna? Are you listening to me?”
“This can’t possibly be real,” I replied. “There’s no way.”
“And why not?”
“Because this is the twenty-first century,” I exclaimed. “And I’m a married woman. I’m not going to let my parents have my marriage annulled!”
Jessica got to her feet and frowned. “Well, then I hope you’ll consider the consequences if you don’t return to Boston,” she said.
“What? That I stay happy with my husband and my career?” I blinked at her. “I’m completely happy here. Why on earth would I go back?”
“Because if you don’t, the assets your father set aside for you will be frozen. Your bank account – yes, the one under your own name – will be frozen. Your father has powerful allies, don’t forget.”
The words came like a punch to the gut, but I shook my head.
“Barnes will always take care of me,” I said. “He loves me. That’s what you don’t seem to get – I married for love! I’m happy!”
“Your father is prepared to offer Barnes a lump sum of five billion dollars if he leaves you,” Jessica replied.
“He’d never do that,” I said fiercely. “Barnes loves me.”
“And then there’s the tabloid story,” Jessica continued. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small folder. When she opened it, I saw photographs in a neat stack.
“The tabloids don’t care about me. I’ve never done anything wrong,” I replied. “I sunbathed naked in Malibu, and if anything, I think the producer of Heaven Cove would be pleased with the publicity.”
“Oh, no,” Jessica said. “Not anything you’ve actually done.” Her cruel smile returned, and I realized that this woman was seriously deranged.
“What?” My heart thudded with dread. “What do they have?”
Jessica’s smile grew a shade wider. “Why not look for yourself?”
Biting my lip, I looked down. To my horror, I saw a variety of images – all fabricated – with my face and body Photoshopped into the picture. There was one that featured seven naked people, all in various states of sex with one another. Another photo showed ‘me’ in a porn shoot.
“This is horrible!” I said. “I can’t believe my parents would do this!”
“They want you to be an obedient daughter, Gianna,” Jessica said. Her voice, although sharp, was almost soothing in the same way that I imagined a good psychiatrist to sound. “And you have a chance – you can agree to return home to Boston, and leave Barnes, and your parents continue to allow you to access your money, as well as protecting your reputation.”
I swallowed. I knew that no matter what happened – no matter what threat or demand my crazy parents made, I’d never leave. But Jessica was a hard bitch, and I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to untie me until I agreed.
“Think about it,” Jessica said. “I can leave you here until you make your decision.”
I closed my eyes and thought of Barnes. I thought of my life in LA.
“I’ll do it,” I said, opening my lids and staring Jessica down. “Just untie me.”
Jessica nodded. “I’m pleased, Gianna. You’ve made the right decision.” She stepped closer with a pair of wire-cutters in her hand. “After I untie you, I’ll have one of my men drive you directly to the airport.”
I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding like a drum, and I shivered despite the warm, tepid air of the hotel room. “Okay,” I said.
It was all I could say. Unless I could think of something to do – and fast – I was three ways fucked from Sunday.
When Jessica snipped the ropes holding my wrists, I groaned in pain. My arms hurt tremendously but I managed to lift my hands into my lap, and I started massaging the
m in a desperate attempt to get the blood flowing again. Jessica cut the ropes around my ankles.
“Before we go, I have to use the bathroom,” I said in what I hoped was a calm voice.
Jessica gave me a suspicious look. “Less than five minutes,” she said. “My driver is already outside.”
“You’re not coming to Boston?”
Jessica laughed. “Gianna, I’m based in Los Angeles,” she said. “Your parents hired me remotely.”
My feet were numb, and I hobbled to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. As soon as I was inside, I turned the faucets on and sat down on the closed seat of the toilet. Think, Gianna, think! I ordered myself. There has to be something you can do!
“Gianna, hurry up!” Jessica called. She rapped on the other side of the door. “It’s been five minutes!”
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. Getting to my feet, I flushed the toilet for effect and washed my hands before drying them on the moldy-looking towel that hung over the back of the door.
“I’m ready,” I said opening the door and stepping back into the room.
Jessica smiled at me. “Good,” she said. “Let me just grab my bag.”
As soon as she turned around, I knew that was my chance to strike. Leaping forward, I swung my leg through the air and tripped her down to the floor. Jessica cried out and tried to dodge, but she wasn’t quick enough, and she crashed down with a painful-sounding thud.
“Gianna, stop!” Jessica yelled. “Stop it!”
Crouching over her, I pinned her to the ground with one hand and swung my fist through the air. When my hand connected with her cheek, Jessica’s head snapped back, and blood spurted from her mouth.
“I’m never going back to Boston!” I growled, punching her again in the eye. Jessica cried out. Her body twitched on the floor, and I realized I’d knocked her out.
“So don’t try to keep me here,” I muttered, getting to my feet and wiping my hands on my thighs. It was crazy – I’d never so much as slapped someone before, and now I’d just beaten the crap out of another woman. The adrenaline was flowing powerfully through my veins, and my heart was thudding in my chest.
“Barnes, I’m coming home,” I whispered as I pushed out of the dingy hotel room. “I’m coming home!”
Chapter 14
Barnes
The hospital kept me overnight, but I bribed the female doctor to help me sneak out in the early hours of the morning. It took over seven thousand dollars and an ironclad agreement claiming that I wouldn’t sue, but I was free.
“And you’re sure about this?” The female doctor looked as if she was beginning to have regrets about helping me. “Because it’s really not safe for you to be on your own. You need intense care.”
I shrugged. “I am,” I said. “And I won’t tell anyone.”
The doctor looked nervous.
“Trust me, I’m a lawyer,” I said. “The agreement is strict – there’s no way I’m going to be able to violate it.”
The doctor swallowed. “You’ll need to come back every day,” she said. “To check in, and we’ll take the pins out of your leg. Do you have someone at home who can care for you?”
“I’ll hire someone,” I lied. “Thanks for your help.”
My driver, Max, picked me up at the curb. He helped me into the back seat, trying not to look surprised at the giant cast on my leg.
“Sir, are you sure this is the right decision?”
I sighed. “I need to find Gianna, and I can’t do that if I’m stuck in the hospital,” I replied. For all of Thomas’s praise of Jessica Norris, I hadn’t heard from her since she’d come to my hospital room. I wondered if she’d made any progress, but there was no way of knowing. Every time I tried to call her, her phone automatically went to voicemail.
“Yes, sir,” Max said stiffly. He adjusted my leg so it was propped on the seat. Moving still hurt like hell, and even though my doctor-friend had given me a huge prescription for painkillers, I was wary of taking anything that would dull my senses too rapidly. I needed to be on alert if I was going to find Gianna.
“And Mrs. Harrington?”
“She’ll be home soon,” I said curtly. I had no interest in my chauffeur learning the particulars of how massively I’d fucked up. “Please take me straight home, and then I’m going to send you out on errands.”
“Yes, sir,” Max said stiffly.
As Max drove through the Hollywood hills, I sighed and rested my forehead against the cool glass of the backseat window. Everything in LA had seemed so beautiful and perfect to me just a short while ago. And now that Gianna was gone, everything had changed. The scenery that I’d found charming and quirky before just looked garish and awful. Instead of happy, gorgeous, rich people, I saw fat tourists on vacation from the Midwest and annoying groups of college kids with selfie sticks taking too many photos.
“Max, do you like Los Angeles?”
Max shrugged. He looked at me in the rearview mirror. “It’s a different place, sir,” he said. “But it’s served me well.”
I sighed. I only liked it because of her, I thought as Gianna’s gorgeous face popped into my head. And if I can’t find her, I’ll never be happy again.
When we arrived home, Max helped me inside. The shock that I received when I hobbled into the living room was almost enough to give me a heart attack.
Gianna was sitting on the couch, with her hands in her lap. She looked pale, and there was a bruise on her face, but her long red hair was piled into a loose, wet bun on top of her head. From the floral scent in the hair, I guessed she had just gotten out of the shower. When she saw me, she gasped. Her hands went to her mouth, then she leapt to her feet and threw herself at me. She squeezed me so tightly that it hurt, but I didn’t care. My beautiful girl was home safe, and that was all that mattered.
“How the hell did you get here?” I asked, pulling away so I could look into her beautiful golden eyes. “What happened to you?”
Gianna ignored me. She stepped back and looked down at my leg, gasping again when she saw the row of pins.
“Barnes, you’re hurt!”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said quickly. “Now that we’re together again, nothing matters.” I took her hands in mine. “Gianna, if I could, I’d kneel down and beg for your forgiveness. But with my leg the way it is, I’m just going to have to ask you standing up.”
Tears rolled down Gianna’s face, and she shook her head. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” she said softly. “I love you. I was so worried about you!”
I took her hand in mine and raised it to my mouth, kissing it. “I was gutted, baby,” I told her. “I couldn’t think about my life without you – I never would have forgiven myself if something had happened to you. I’m so sorry I was too stubborn and proud to call the police.”
Gianna pressed her lips to mine. “I love you,” she repeated.
“I love you, too,” I said. “But Gianna – what happened to you? Where were you?”
Just as Gianna opened her mouth to speak, there was a loud knock on the door. Her already-pale face turned even whiter, and she reached out and gripped my arm with both of her small hands.
“Don’t answer it,” Gianna begged. “Please!”
“Gianna,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “What’s going on? What are you so afraid of?” I frowned.
“You don’t have anything else to fear, princess – we’re both home safe, and you’re going to be totally fine.”
“Barnes, I was—“
The knock came again, louder this time. Gianna fell silent. Her eyes were as round as saucers, and she licked her lips, which I noticed were chapped and dry.
“Just, please don’t answer the door,” Gianna said. Her grip on my arm was so tight that I could feel my circulation slowing. Her eyes were big and scared. “Barnes, please!”
“What’s going on with you?” I asked slowly. “What the hell are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?”
Gian
na bit her lip. “I was kidnapped,” she said. “By some…men, I don’t know! I woke up in this gross hotel room, and I was tied to a chair!”
Hot anger tore through my body and for a second I was so filled with rage that all I could see was red. My broken femur was throbbing, but my anger was stronger than the pain.
“What the fuck,” I growled, unable to comprehend that someone would be evil enough to do that to my sweet, beautiful wife. “Who the fuck did it?”
Tears were streaming down Gianna’s face, and she shook her head so her red hair flipped over one shoulder. “I don’t know,” she said. “I told you, I didn’t see the men!”
