by Lana Hartley
And that thought delights me.
“So what are you guys doing tonight?” I ask as Nate goes to the bar to make me a drink.
“What’ll you have, baby?” he says.
“Um, how about a very dry martini with extra olives?” I smile at him.
A part of me thinks it can be like this all the time. A part of me thinks that we’re gonna survive all the controversy surviving surrounding us. A part of me thinks that we can actually be happy.
And I refuse to let the situation with his boss bring me down. For this one moment, I just want to enjoy Nate.
He shakes up my drink like the consummate bartender. He’s the jack of all trades, that’s for sure. Titus gets up to sit at the bar with me.
And then he answers my question.
“Actually, we’re going out to dinner tonight.”
My eyes light up. Hope enters my heart.
“Is there a chance I can get out of here tonight?” I ask.
Nate looks down like he doesn’t want to look me in the eyes, like he feels bad. And I know the answer before he says it.
“No, Sienna. We have business to attend to. But I’ll be back before you know it,” he says.
“No bother,” I say, taking a sip of my perfectly-made martini. “I got too much sun today anyway. I’m probably just gonna relax and go to bed.”
Nate gives me a mischievous grin.
“You can go to bed, baby, until I get home.”
I know exactly what he means. He means that the moment he gets home, he’ll wake me up and fuck me until dawn. That’s the way it always is with him.
He’s taught me about the ways of love and passion. He’s taught me all I need to know.
And I’ve become chronically addicted to him.
“Okay, then. Have fun tonight,” I say, sitting at the bar with my martini.
It’s gonna be a lonely night without him. But I really need the rest.
I finish my drink and talk to the guys. Of course, they tell me nothing that I really want to know. We talk about superficial things, like the fucking weather and what’s trendy in the city.
And then they leave.
Nate comes over and kisses me hard before going.
“You’ll be okay here, Sienna?” he asks.
I look into his eyes and say sincerely, “Of course.”
“Listen…I know I don’t have to warn you. But don’t try to escape. I have my guys all over the building. There’s no way out for you.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, wrapping my arms around his chiseled torso.
“All right, I’ll see you later,” he says. “I won’t be long.”
I watch him go.
A devious thought enters my mind the moment I see him leave. When Nate’s away, I’m allowed to play. Actually, I’m going to do the one thing that’s been on my mind since I got here.
I’m gonna make one simple phone call to my mother.
What can it hurt?
She deserves to know that I’m okay. I can’t imagine compounding her grief for one more second.
I’ll just quickly tell her I’m okay and get off.
I go to his large kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. It’ll be the perfect tonic to help me get through this phone call. The entire time I think about what exactly I’m gonna say to my mother.
I pick up the phone from Nate’s office and bring it to my room. He must’ve absentmindedly left the door unlocked, probably never dreaming I’d defy him like this.
I take my cup of Earl Grey back to my room and sit in the modern white chair that looks out over the city.
I dial her number with shaky hands.
I can’t wait to talk to my mother. Even if it is just for a second.
It rings.
“Hello?” she says.
“Mommy?” I say.
With that one word, I hear her break down and start crying.
“Oh my god, Sienna! Are you okay? I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m okay. Listen, I can’t talk long. I just had to let you know that I’m alright—happy, even.”
“Oh Sienna, I’ve been beside myself. You sure you’re okay? Did you see that we had your father’s funeral?”
“Yes mommy, I was actually there. Only you couldn’t see me. That’s all I can say for now. I have to go. But please don’t worry about me.”
“But Sienna—” she says.
I hang up the phone, cutting her off. I can’t take the chance of being on longer.
There’s gotta be a reason Nate hasn’t let me use the phone.
But I figure my call was short enough that nobody can get ahold of my position.
I sink back into the chair and watch the city lights. They look like stars. The view never fails to enchant me.
I sip my tea and think how grateful I am for that moment, to tell my mom that I’m fine.
And then it happens.
About five minutes after I hang up the phone, I hear the door bust in.
Gunfire blazes, and I don’t know which direction they’re coming from. I put my tea down and attempt to hide, but before I can even move from my seat, my own door breaks down.
I can tell from his crazed eyes and portly shape that he is, indeed, Edison Shaw.
“Hi, honey. Probably shouldn’t have made that phone call. I’m your worst nightmare.”
I tremble with fear.
It couldn’t be.
All at once I realize how stupid I was.
All at once, I realize too late that I should’ve trusted Nate. I never should’ve made that phone call.
“Edison?” I say, trying to hide the fear from my voice.
“That’s right, sugar. Because of you, daddy’s little princess is going to die—and so will Nate.”
He laughs maniacally.
I start to cry and tremble with horror. He doesn’t care. One of his guys drags me harshly from my seat. I kick and scream to no avail.
I beg for my life, and I beg for Nate’s life.
Nobody hears me.
Nobody cares.
These guys have found what they wanted—me.
And then they’re gonna find Nate.
I fight the entire way. They take me down the elevator. I wonder where Nate’s guys are, and why they didn’t stop him. What went wrong?
Yes, I shouldn’t have made that phone call. But where were his men?
The man flings me over his shoulder, and as soon as he does, I see the answer to my question.
There are bloodied bodies everywhere.
I’m horrified at the scene.
More blood.
They take me into the underground garage and put me in an Escalade.
I sit in the backseat. They tape my hands together.
I can honestly say I’ve never been so terrified in my entire life. Even the first kidnapping wasn’t so ominous as this.
The man, Edison, smells like whiskey, smoke…and death.
This can’t be my end.
Nate
I just know.
No bad omen, no vision. I just know.
This is the call.
The bad news.
The evil has found us.
It could already be too late.
The faint glimmer of hope that there might still be a chance to save my angel from the clutches of the Devil incarnate himself is the only reason that makes me fight despair and take the call.
My phone buzzes again, and I’m nearly stunned with dread. My heart constricts in pain.
“Excuse me,” I interrupt my dinner guest, “but I’ll have to take this.”
I try to hide the fact that my hands are shaking as I fish my phone out of the inside pocket of my silk suit jacket.
It’s Titus.
“Yes,” I say flatly.
“Nate, I know you’re busy, but...”
“Just tell me.”
I have to steady my voice.
“Security’s been breached at the penthouse. We lost her.”
; I have to swallow hard.
“What do you mean ‘lost’?”
“She’s no longer...she...He has her. You know who.”
“I see,” is all I can manage to throw out from between my tight lips.
My throat is dry and my vision blurry.
“I’m on the move. I’ll call you with instructions.”
I hang up and get up, but I have to grip the back of my chair for a brief moment to remain standing.
The world has been swept out from under me.
Bile rises in my throat. The thought alone of Sienna in the hands of that sinister Edison Shaw is making me sick. I want to throw up all over the dinner table.
I swallow the sickness and panic and push the thought that it might be too late out of my mind. That she might already no longer be breathing.
“This concludes our meeting,” I hear myself say monotonously. “Something has come up that I must deal with straight away. My men will be in touch about the business end of our arrangement.”
My guest raises his hands as if to say, ‘No offense taken’. He knows better than to ask questions when Nathan Sharp cuts short a meeting.
I yank my suit jacket off the chair and just sling it over my shoulder as I stride out of the private club as fast as I can.
This is no time for elegance or style. Shaw knows neither.
The valet has my black Mercedes ready and I get in, my body on full autopilot. I drive off with squealing tires.
Think, Nate, think.
Disaster has struck. What is the emergency plan?
Hell has opened up, and the Devil himself is walking the earth, with your angel in his claws.
So, I’ll come at him. There is no other choice.
I already know where I’m going. The question is, who’s with me? Do I go there alone?
James and Titus have been with me every step of the way. This is their baptism of fire. Let them decide for themselves.
I arrange a conference call for the three of us.
“Hey again,” Titus comes on the line.
“Boss,” James reports in.
Their voices through the speaker fill the inside of the car. Hearing them does little to calm me, but it keeps me focused.
“How was this possible?” I wonder out loud.
Since I got the news, I don’t feel rage—all I can think of is Sienna.
“I have no idea how they got hold of the location, but they came in great force. I’m sorry, boss, but our men were overcome,” Titus says.
“The only thing that matters is Sienna.”
There, I said it.
“I can use every help I get. But this is my fight now. This is between me and Shaw. If you want out now, I won’t hold it against you. So, are you in or out?”
They don’t hesitate for a second.
“We’re with you, boss,” James says.
“Always,” Titus agrees. “We know how you feel about her.”
Do they? Will they ever understand the connection between Sienna and me? We share a special relationship.
She’s my angel, and I’m bound to her. I’ll move heaven and earth to be with her again. I won’t rest until she’s free of Edison Shaw.
I doubt they can grasp the full extent of my feelings and why I have to do this—but they’re loyal, and that’s what matters right now.
“Good,” I say. “Thank you.”
“The question is, will he know we’re coming? Do we act as fast as possible to save her? Or do we take our time to gather a large army?”
“He’ll expect us in any case,” Titus offers.
“He wants you to come for her,” James says.
Of course. And right now, that’s my only hope, that he’ll spare her life long enough because he wants to torment me. He wants to capture me as well and then do every unspeakable thing to her while he makes me watch.
That would be worse than ripping my beating heart out of my chest.
It’s exactly what this sick fuck Edison Shaw wants.
I won’t allow it to happen.
I’ll foil his evil plan.
“Yeah, I figured as much,” I say. “The less time we give him, the more he has to hurry with whatever trap he wants to prepare. I say we attack him now. Right now.”
“Good call,” they agree.
“There is only one place where Shaw could have taken Sienna. He has this compound outside the city. Unimaginative, but unfortunately for us, highly secure. He’ll dig in there and wait for us to come at him. The earlier, the better,” I say.
One way or another, I want this to be over. I want to deal with Edison Shaw once and for all. The only way out is through.
“What do you want us to do, boss?” Titus asks.
“James, go over the files and find the building plan for his compound,” I order. “I helped him build up the place, so we’ll use that to our advantage. We need to know every single weakness and every possible attack vector.”
“I’m on it.”
“Titus, we need men and firepower, as many and as much as you can get on short notice. Gather everyone and everything, and I’ll meet you on the road that leads to Shaw’s hideout.”
“You got it,” Titus confirms.
“I want fire and fury. I want assault rifles. I want snipers. I want fucking claymores and grenades, flash-bangs, and nerve gas.”
“I’ll empty out the armory,” Titus assures me.
I want all hell to rain down on Edison Shaw. No one takes Sienna from me and gets away with it. He’ll pay for this, even if it’s the last thing I’ll do.
Rage has finally found me, and anger is burning red hot inside in my bones.
“Move quickly. I’ll see you both there.”
Silence floods the inside of the car as I hang up.
The black night is racing past outside as the Mercedes eats up the miles.
But with every inch I get closer to Edison Shaw and Sienna, my terror grows.
What if I’m too late?
What fate has befallen my pure and innocent Sienna?
Will she fight her captor like she fought me when I took her? Has he harmed her already?
I pound the steering wheel with my fist, howling with the torment of that thought.
In fear, I push the pedal all the way to the floor, and the car roars in acceleration.
Sienna, I’m coming. Hold out a little longer.
My fist is red and raw, and my anger is nearly all-consuming.
Why did I leave her alone? How could I have been so stupid?
The business at the club was urgent, but it is my calling, the very purpose of my being, to take care of Sienna always. I’m there to protect her and keep her safe.
You’ve failed her.
The thought is screaming in my brain. My fear feels like a cold steel blade at my throat, sending shivers down my spine, threatening to end my life any second.
How could I have put her in this position? I should never have left her.
I grip the steering wheel with both hands and learn forward, staring straight ahead at the oncoming road.
“No, no, no!” I yell as loud as I can.
Fuck you, fear.
Fuck you, Edison Shaw, and fuck you, world, if you doubt me.
Our love is stronger than all of this.
If I give in to fear and doubt, the evil has already won.
We will prevail.
Here’s the turnoff. I leave the main road and enter a dirt path leading towards Shaw’s compound. I slow down the Mercedes to a crawl while peering ahead.
I can’t make out anything in the dark. I stop the car and kill the headlights.
I get out and stand in the cold night air, breathing hard.
It’s eerily quiet. Too quiet.
I feel drawn inside. I want to believe that it’s Sienna, calling me to her.
I have the urge to rush through the compound right now, all by myself, just to know. To be fucking sure that she’s still alive.
But I force my
self to hold my ground, to wait. Titus and James have my back.
The stars twinkle bright in the dark sky. The wind tugs at my hair and shirt.
I’m still staring ahead, but I’m now longer sane.
I’m a hound, come for Edison Shaw. And I want his blood.
There’s movement on the main road, and headlights are coming toward me.
Titus and James have arrived with the reinforcements.
It’s on.
These are your last moments, Shaw. Say your prayers, for your hour of reckoning has come.
Sienna
Edison Shaw is a malicious powerhouse. He’ll kill to get what he wants.
He didn’t become a billionaire mob boss by playing with rescue kittens and helping old ladies cross the street.
He’s ruthless. A legend, even.
I heard that Edison shot his own father for getting in his way. Although, he was careful not to kill him. Edison just made it so he was paralyzed from the waist down and stuck being fed through a tube for the rest of his miserable fucking life.
So, how the hell did I end up sitting on a white leather twenty-thousand-dollar sofa in the living room of his mansion in the middle of the night?
I’m just the hook he needs to catch a bigger, pricier fish.
“That bitch ass traitor will come marching in here looking for you. Like he’s gonna save the day or some shit!” he snarls through a tight jaw.
A petite redhead in pair of black limited edition Christian Louboutin heels and a sheer, floor-length lace robe hands him a Scotch on the rocks before quietly disappearing into another room. Her sweet perfume briefly lingers after she leaves.
I feel hot and scared. The walls are closing in fast as I think of what will happen to Nate if he comes to find me.
“He’ll be shot a hundred times before he fucking makes it through the front door!” Edison lets out a chilling laugh without breaking eye contact with me.
He makes me feel tiny.
I look down into my lap at my wrists, tightly bound by a zip tie. I can’t stand hearing him talk about Nate that way.
I wish I could warn him.
“Oh, have I struck a nerve, princess?”
Edison is in my face now, tightly gripping my jaw forcing me to look up at him.
My eyes shift back and forth throughout the room.
“You can’t escape.”
He laughs and removes his hand from my face.
