by Anya Nowlan
Sienna couldn’t help but laugh.
“You make it sound like I’m sort of a degenerate. There is no shame in making an honest living.”
Antonio shot up from his seat, his features hardening.
“You speak when you are spoken to! Or have you forgotten your manners altogether?”
Sienna remembered all too well. She was supposed to be a subservient little thing, keeping her mouth shut until a man graced her with permission to speak. Her only concern was to look pretty so she could one day be married off to whatever family Antonio needed to cement business ties with.
Too bad this was the 21st century, not the Middle Ages, and she wasn’t a scared teenage girl anymore.
She stood as well, to be eye-level with her father. He was all but trembling with rage, but she didn’t care.
“I am not your property and I will not be silent just because it is more convenient for you. You wanted me back so badly, well, here I am. And you better believe me when I say I’m going to make your life as difficult as I can.”
Sienna had barely finished her sentence when her father’s hand swung back and slapped her across the face, hard enough for her whole head to jerk back. But she managed to stay on her feet. It hadn’t used to be like that.
There was a time when a backhand like that would send her sprawling on the floor, but she was stronger now. She placed a hand on her stinging cheek and turned to stare defiantly at Antonio. Carmen emerged from the dining area, a glass of wine between her perfectly manicured fingers.
“Antonio, was that really necessary?” she queried, sounding like she was admonishing a child for spilling a cup of water.
“Sure it was. He had to put me in my place,” Sienna remarked dryly.
Her father’s hands were balling into fists at his sides.
“Mind your business, Carmen,” he bellowed.
Sienna’s mother let out another sigh and disappeared behind the wall separating the dining area from the rest of the parlor.
“Sit down,” Antonio ordered, voice low and threatening as he turned his attention back to Sienna.
Sienna didn’t want to comply with any of his wishes, but it was smarter to hear what the man had to say to start out with. She didn’t even know how long they would be staying in Chicago. If she was going to come up with a plan to get away, that might be useful information.
It would be a lot easier to sneak out of the hotel than out of the fenced-in, heavily guarded mansion back in New Mexico.
She sat down, fuming but silent. A hint of a smile hovered over her father’s face as she did as she was told.
“Getting you back was inconvenient and expensive. Do you think I enjoyed negotiating with mobsters?”
Sienna knew he definitely did not. This was a man that considered himself to be in a league all on his own and he didn’t like dealing with people he considered to be beneath him. Which happened to be most people.
Antonio sat back down in his armchair, interlocking his fingers before him. He had always thought the gesture made him look respectable. Sienna thought it made him look like a creep.
“We had already paid the considerable ransom when we were contacted by this company calling itself The Firm. They said they had custody of you now, and felt it prudent to notify your family. I could tell right away it was a finder’s fee they were after.”
Antonio smirked at that. He was a big believer in the notion that money made the world go ‘round and everyone had a price, as he had always told Sienna. It pleased him whenever he was proven right.
If only money could buy you a heart, or a conscience.
“Luckily, I was able to freeze the funds I’d already transferred into that Holland person’s accounts before they were moved or withdrawn,” he finished, giving Sienna a pointed look.
Like it was somehow her fault Holland figured out who she was and decided to kidnap her. Or that Arlen happened to re-kidnap her.
Arlen.
Thinking of him hurt much more than her father’s slap. She was sure she would never see him again, a thought that became more unbearable with every second she focused on it.
How she wished he was here now, wrapping her in his arms, making her feel safe and cared for…
“But I will give you a chance to make it all up to me. We’ll be going home soon, after I’m done with my business here. Then will find you an appropriate husband and you will give me a grandson, someone who can carry on the Marquez legacy after I’m gone.”
Sienna had gotten so lost in thought her father’s words almost didn’t register.
“What?” she sputtered out, even though she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised.
She was an only child and in Antonio’s opinion, a woman could never be a worthy heir to his name and fortune. So Sienna was going to be matched up with some other rich snob so she could pump out babies her father could mold after his own image.
Despair took over as she considered that future.
This is even worse than I’d expected.
Twenty-Seven
Sienna
Sienna woke up in the suite’s guest bedroom, her loneliness only emphasized by the lavish luxury that surrounded her and the huge bed she was in. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for just one more morning with Arlen, cramped up on a small bed and tangled in one another’s arms.
Her father’s security guards kept a tight watch on the door leading out of the suite and she was having trouble coming up with a plan to distract them so she could slip out. As she stretched and considered this, there was a soft knock at her door. Her mother entered the room, accompanied by a clicking of heels.
“Sienna, sweetheart, how did you sleep?” she asked, sitting down at the edge of her bed.
It’s worth a shot, Sienna thought, looking at her mother.
“Mother, please, you have to help me. I’m not a child, father can’t just…”
Carmen put a hand on her leg through the blanket while murmuring soothing words.
“Now, you know your father knows best. I don’t see why you always have to argue with him,” she chided her softly.
Sienna felt like she could scream. Leave it to her mother to totally downplay the fact she was being held against her will. Carmen was still the same woman Sienna remembered. Burying her head in the sand and justifying the unjustifiable.
There was no use in arguing with her, or with pleading with her, as she only heard what she wanted to hear, anyway.
Sienna took a deep breath, calming herself.
She couldn’t hate her mother, even though sometimes it felt like it would be easier that way. Carmen had been putting up with Antonio for years before Sienna was born. Since then, there hadn’t been a day that she hadn’t been reminded how she was a disappointment for not giving birth to a son.
The man’s subjugation tactics had definitely been more effective on Carmen than on Sienna. Add in that and the fact that her mom was too hooked on the lifestyle he offered her to ever rock the boat, and Sienna couldn’t imagine why she had even tried to talk to her mother.
“You’ll be happy to know I’ve already hired a stylist to put together a new wardrobe for you with pieces that would fit you now as well as pieces that will fit you later, once you’ve lost a few pounds. And I’ve booked an array of treatments for us at the wellness center. We’ll get you back to your old self in no time,” Carmen said cheerily.
Sienna remembered what her ‘old self’ was like. Polished and buffed within an inch of her life, all the while seeped in misery. Even her hairstyle wasn’t her own choice. Father had decided her natural curls weren’t ‘sophisticated’ enough, so he had constantly told her to straighten them. She didn’t know if it was the memories or something else, but suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach again.
Her mother yelped as she shot up from under the covers and ran past her to the guest bathroom, holding a hand over her mouth. She barely made it to the toilet as her whole body started to heave. Her forehead and back became cl
ammy with cold sweat as she threw up what little dinner she had managed to force down the previous night.
“Are you alright?” her mother called out, careful not to enter the bathroom.
“Just puking my guts out, mom,” she called back in between retching, taking childish pleasure in the shocked gasp she received in response.
It was a good ten minutes before she felt well enough to brush her teeth and leave the bathroom. Carmen was waiting for her in the bedroom, looking concerned.
“Are you sick, honey?”
“I don’t know… I still feel a little queasy, but I don’t have any other symptoms.”
A little shock ripped through Sienna as something occurred to her. Her cycle was very regular and counting the days in her mind, she realized she was supposed to be on her period already, but she wasn’t.
With all that had been going on, she hadn’t really paid that much attention to it. It could have just been stress that was delaying it, but now, coupled with this nausea…
“Mom, I think I need a pregnancy test,” she said, her voice a little uneven.
Carmen looked baffled for a second, then angry.
“Did that man holding you for ransom touch you?” she asked, showing a lot more emotion than when her father used to throw her around.
So there were some protective instincts buried in there somewhere, they just didn’t apply to Antonio. Sienna almost smiled at that.
“No, it’s nothing like that. It was… It doesn’t matter. Can you help me?”
She couldn’t think of a way to word it, as she didn’t fully understand it herself. But she knew that she had been less than careful with Arlen, consumed by the passion the two of them had for each other.
And now, it seemed she might be carrying his child.
Guess he wasn’t fast enough after all.
Carmen had immediately sent someone to the pharmacy and now there Sienna was, back in the bathroom, this time to pee on a stick to see if her whole life was about to be thrown upside down. Even more than it already was, anyway.
She took the test and placed it on the counter, counting the seconds down in her head. What would she do if the test confirmed what she feared to be true? Did she even have any choice in the matter taking her current situation into account? Her father was determined to control every aspect of her life, and he’d already laid claim to her reproductive rights by saying she had to give him a grandson.
The allotted minute ticked by and Sienna stood in the middle of the room, paralyzed, too afraid to look at the results.
“Are you done in there?” her mother asked from the other side of the door.
“Yes, mom,” she sighed.
Carmen strolled in and went straight to the counter, comparing the test to the illustrations on the box it came in with a pinched look on her face.
“It looks like I’m going to be a grandmother,” she declared, sounding almost excited.
Sienna felt her knees go weak. She sank to the floor, lost in her own thoughts. She was carrying a piece of Arlen inside her, proof of the love they’d shared, which sounded extraordinarily mushy even to her, but was the truth nonetheless. That alone made her get emotional.
She had no idea what a normal family looked like. Hers was so dysfunctional, she hadn’t the slightest clue on how to raise a child.
What if she turned out to be an even worse mother than Carmen? It chilled her to the bone.
Without even being conscious of it, Sienna’s hand had already flown over her stomach and was hovering there protectively. Sadness overwhelmed her as she realized Arlen would never know their child. Even if she somehow got word to Arlen of her pregnancy, Antonio would never allow him to be a part of the child’s life.
Arlen wasn’t rich or powerful enough for his tastes.
And what happens when Antonio figures out I’m pregnant with a shifter’s baby…
Dread crawled up her spine as she realized she would have little say in her own kid’s upbringing. If it was a girl, her fate would be similar to hers. If it was a boy, Antonio would take charge and groom him to be his successor, if he got over the shifter ‘problem’. Both were equally horrible outlooks.
“Mom, you can’t tell dad about this,” she pleaded, getting up and grabbing hold of her hand.
Antonio chose right that moment to step into the bathroom, eyeing both her and her mother with an arched brow.
“And what are you two up to in here?”
Shit.
Twenty-Eight
Arlen
Arlen leapt at the phone when it rung. The number was unknown, but it had to be Graham.
“Hello?” he asked, more than anxious to get any and all information his friend had managed to get access to.
“I got to the logs and am looking at the GPS now. The van Travis signed out stopped in front of The Langham Hotel. My best bet is that’s where you’ll find your lady.”
“Thank you, Graham, I owe you big time.”
“And don’t think I won’t collect,” Graham replied with a chuckle. “Good luck,” he added in a more serious tone before hanging up.
The tiger inside Arlen gnashed its teeth, more than ready to go get Sienna back. He pulled up The Langham’s website, studying the rooms they had available.
She has to be in one of the suites, Arlen reasoned.
He had been looking up any information he could find about the Marquez family. From the pictures of Antonio and Carmen at different charity events, he could tell these were people who didn’t settle for anything but the best. There were two suites, on the eleventh and twelfth floors, that looked like they would meet a billionaire’s standards. He’d have to figure out which one was the right one when he got close enough.
Antonio was bound to have a security detail, which meant things could get messy.
Arlen didn’t fear for himself. Whoever the unlucky men guarding Sienna were, they were no match for a shifter commando like him. But things could get out of hand very quickly and he didn’t want to put Sienna in danger. He needed a plan that would get him close enough to make sure she was safe before he made a move.
With the wheels in his head already turning, he got into his car and headed downtown. All he could think about during the ride over was seeing her again.
His single-mindedness scared him. Once he got close enough to smell her, he knew he might not be able to control himself. The heat was still roiling through him, making him unpredictable, but adding that in with the fact that he felt his mate was in danger… Spirits help those who chose to stand in his way.
After arriving at his destination, he parked close by to the hotel and forced himself to wait and take in his surroundings. He had to make sure The Firm wasn’t still involved. He couldn’t afford to get dragged in by them now, not when he was so close.
Can I trust Graham on this? he wondered for a moment.
But what choice did he have?
Twenty minutes passed and he didn’t spot anyone suspicious or remotely familiar hanging around. He rolled down his window and took deep breaths, drawing the scents of the city into his lungs. All he could detect were normal, everyday smells, no hint of shifters around.
Just as he was about to get out of the car, he spotted someone he recognized.
You looked shorter in the pictures, Arlen mused, as he watched Antonio Marquez get into a town car, escorted by a bodyguard.
Good, two fewer opponents to worry about upstairs.
Itching to get to Sienna, Arlen grabbed his backpack and jumped out of the car as soon as Antonio was out of sight. He entered the hotel by melding into a group of guests, following them into an elevator.
Everyone had already gotten off when the doors dinged open on the eleventh floor, where he knew the Regent suite was located. Holding the doors open and looking around the hallway, he could immediately tell Sienna wasn’t there. He whiffed at the air once more just to confirm.
He could pick out her scent from any sea of smells, and there wasn’t a trac
e of it on this floor.
She has to be on the next one, he thought, pressing the button marked ‘12’.
The doors slid open once again after only a few seconds, and he took a deep breath, searching for that one scent that was burned into his nose. The smell was faint, but unmistakable.
Sienna was definitely there.
His skin hummed just at the thought of being able to touch her again and a smile spread over his lips.
His training was the only thing that kept him rushing out of the elevator and running towards the Infinity Suite. It was a good thing, too, as some soft rustling and a murmur of voices quickly told him there were at least two men guarding the door to the rooms. There could be more of them inside.
I have to play it safe. For Sienna’s sake.
With no idea how trigger-happy these guys were, Arlen couldn’t risk a full-frontal assault in fear of Sienna getting caught in the middle. He wrapped his fingers around the straps of his backpack, smiling slightly.
Luckily, he had come prepared for just such an occasion.
A vicious wind beat at Arlen as he re-checked the ropes he had anchored onto the side of the roof.
Wouldn’t want this trip to be cut short, he mused, looking over the side of the skyscraper.
He had plenty of rappelling experience, but most of it was on the sides of mountains, not down glass and metal. There couldn’t be that much of a difference, right? Putting his feet through the harness and tightening it at his waist, Arlen could feel his heart starting to beat faster.
Sienna was so close, all he had to do was get her. And make sure she was unharmed in the process. He clipped himself onto the rope attached to the rooftop, giving the locking carabiner one last look-over before deciding he was all set to go. Pulling on some gloves, he started moving closer to the edge, back first.
