I frown as he picks up the paper and shows it to me. “This was in the mailbox.”
There’s printed text on the paper.
The little girl is mine unless you surrender yourself, Charlotte.
Call the attached number. If you don’t … more will get hurt.
Your father.
My eyes widen, and my jaw drops.
All along, I thought Easton took her so he could get me back … and now I find out my father did this? He could kill that little girl just to get me because his life is at stake. This is even more dangerous than I thought.
“What do I do?” Deion mutters, his voice as broken as his heart.
“Nothing,” I say, grasping the piece of paper. I stare at the phone number at the bottom. “This is my fault … and I will fix this.”
I get up from the floor and go to the living room. Deion calls out from the kitchen, “What are you going to do?”
With the telephone in my hand, I sit down on the couch and sigh. “I’m going to give myself up.”
He doesn’t follow me back to the living room as I stare at the number on the paper. He knows as well as I do that I have to make this choice. Only I can fix this.
But if I call my father now, I doubt he’ll give Ashanti back.
In fact, I’m certain he’d have her and Deion killed while picking me up.
There’s only one thing I can do to prevent that from happening. Only one person who would ever do something if I begged for it.
I dial Easton’s number.
* * *
Easton
My phone rings, and I immediately pick it up, expecting to hear from Davis or one of my men. It’s been far too long since I heard news about Charlotte’s disappearance from any of them. It’s as though no one is looking anymore … or they’ve already found her and kept her hidden from me. Let’s fucking hope not because I’d rip out their throats if they did.
“Van Buren,” I growl.
“Easton?”
My eyes widen. “Charlotte?”
“Easton … I … I …” She’s sobbing out loud.
“What happened? Where are you?” I ask, grasping the desk.
“My father … He took a little girl …”
Her father? What the …?
I thought I told that son of a bitch to contact me if he found out anything. And here she is calling me to tell me he’s abducted a girl?
“What girl? You’re not making any sense,” I reply.
“I’ve been living with a family. Somewhere … close.” She swallows loudly. I can tell she’s trying her best not to tell me her location, but she knows as well as I do there’s no point in lying about it. I will find out where she is, one way or another.
“But my father has been tracking my location since I called him and my brother, and now he took this family’s little girl,” she says, sniffing. “I don’t think he’ll bring her back.”
So he went behind my back anyway … that fucking bastard. He knew where she was, and he didn’t care to fucking tell me.
“Tell me where you are right now,” I say, clenching the phone in my hand so hard it almost breaks.
“No,” she says.
“Then why did you call?” I say.
Even though it’s hard, I have to be patient with her. After all, this is the first time we’ve talked since she escaped my grasp, and I don’t want to scare her away. I can’t let this chance to find her slip away.
“Because … you’re the only one I could call,” she says.
“You want me to help you,” I answer for her.
“Yes. I want her back.”
I rub the stubble on my chin. “You know the price, right?”
She takes a deep breath, and there’s a pause. “Yes.”
A devilish smile forms on my lips. “You did good to call me.”
“Will you bring her back?” she asks. “Please?”
That final word undoes me, stripping me bare of all my defenses.
“If that’s what you wish,” I mutter. “I will honor your request on one condition.”
“Yes,” she says in one breath. Not a moment of hesitation on the answer because she knew all along where this road would take her.
“You already know your answer without knowing the question?” I say.
“There’s only one thing I know Easton Van Buren wants most of all,” she replies. “My answer is yes.”
She’d sacrifice that much for a single girl? Interesting.
“Deal.”
I hang up the phone. No need to find out any more details. Davis will give me exactly what I need …
Chapter 10
Easton
I jump into my car and start the engine. Jill rushes toward the car and knocks on the windows. “Sir. Sir!”
I roll it down.
“What are you doing without a driver? You could be killed,” she says.
“Nick’s in the back seat,” I say, glancing over my shoulder. “He’ll protect me.”
Jill throws him a look and then me. “Sir, you’ve got to be kidding me. This is highly unsafe and against protocol.”
“Screw the fucking protocol,” I say, shifting the gear. “I’m going to get that little girl and bring Charlotte home.”
I drive off before she can say any more. I know she’s only worried, but I need to do this on my own. Davis plotted against me, moving without my knowledge and without giving me the information he vowed to give me. And now he’s going to pay for it.
As fast as I can, I drive toward the house where his men lay low. It’s a suburban house in the middle of the city Davis has always used as a second home here in the Netherlands. I’ve known about this place for years after tracking his and his men’s movements. It’s the only place they could’ve taken her without attracting too much attention. A perfect place to hide a little girl.
When I finally arrived, I park the car and immediately walk up to the house with Nick tagging behind me.
I glance at him over my shoulder. “Be ready.”
He nods and shows me the holster of his gun tucked underneath his shirt.
Without hesitation, I ring the doorbell and wait. The moment someone opens the door, Nick steps in front of me with his gun pointed straight at the man’s head.
“Don’t make a sound,” Nick says with a calm voice.
The guy sucks in the words he was about to spit at us. He briefly glances at me over Nick’s shoulder.
“Where’s the girl?” I ask.
The man nods to the side toward the living room. Nick presses the gun to his forehead and forces him to move inside. We go through the hallway and into the living room where a bunch of guys is watching the television, completely oblivious to our entry. There’s a little girl in the back of the room playing with a few dolls, but she lifts her head the moment she spots me, and her eyes are filled with fear.
Nick directs the guy to walk, forcing him to alert his buddies.
“Um … guys …”
They all turn their heads and reach for their pockets, but Nick’s quicker and shoots at the chair, killing one from behind without a drop of blood visible from the front. Wouldn’t want to scare the kid. I’m glad I told Nick to put a silencer on his gun.
“The kid comes with us,” I say.
“Who the fuck are you?” one of the two remaining guys asks.
Nick points his gun at him, and the guy immediately raises his hands. “All right, all right. I’m not looking for trouble, sheesh.” He shakes his head. “No one told us this would be a dangerous job. I thought we were supposed to babysit a girl, and that’s it.”
“I don’t know, dude,” the guy who opened the door responds.
The little girl eyes me, and I nod at her, holding out my hand. “C’mon. I won’t hurt you.”
She glares at me with her chestnut eyes but doesn’t move an inch.
I go to my knees, and say, “I’ll take you back to your family.”
She narrows her eyes and ru
bs her lips together. Then she drops the doll and immediately runs toward me. I grab her and hold on tight while she spins in my arms. The men throw her a look, and she sticks out her tongue.
“Nick,” I murmur as I get up.
“I know,” he replies. “Go on ahead. I’ll be waiting for you at the house.”
I nod. He knows what’s expected. It’s what he always does for me, no questions asked.
And as I turn around with the girl in my arms and go outside, closing the door behind me, there are three consecutive poofs … then silence.
Time to bring a missing daughter back home.
* * *
Charlotte
The minute hand on the clock moves slower than a snail as I sit on the couch and stare at it. The cup of tea Deion made sits untouched on the coffee table. It’s probably cold by now, but I don’t remember how long it’s been there either. Or how long Deion’s been sitting right next to me.
The silence is uncomfortable. I shift in my seat, and the couch creaks under my weight as though I’ve become the same size as the elephant in this room.
My thoughts are racing—churning and spitting out ideas and possible outcomes—but they all revert to one point. And the moment that doorbell rings, I’m ready.
I’ve been through all the options, weighed them and crossed them off until all that remained was this one. The one where I stand like a zombie, briefly held back by Deion who clutches my hand and squeezes tight before releasing. And I walk to the door and open it.
There he is.
Easton Van Buren. My husband. My captor.
Here to bring back a girl taken away from her father, her home.
Here to take me back to mine.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as we stare at each other, the moment lasting an eternity in the span of a single second.
My eyes instinctively lower in defeat and connect with Ashanti instead. She smiles and breaks free of Easton’s grasp, only to hug me instead. “Charlotte,” she mumbles.
Tears spring into my eyes as she releases me and runs past me, straight into her daddy’s arms. The way they cuddle with tears of joy brings a broad smile to my face.
Easton clears his throat, and says, “I’ve held up my end of the deal. Now it’s your turn.”
The smile on my face fades as I realize there is no way back now.
“Under one condition,” I say. “Promise me nothing will happen to them. Promise me they’ll be safe.”
He mulls it over for a second, and says, “I promise.”
I nod and gaze down at my feet. This is it. My freedom in exchange for that little girl, crying in the arms of her father right now. The small amount of time I had with them lifted my spirits like nothing else could. And in the end, it was worth it.
Easton holds out his hand.
I suck on my bottom lip and look up into his eyes. “Can I say goodbye first?”
He nods. “But do it fast.”
I spin on my heels right as Deion and Ashanti stop hugging each other. “Guys, I have to go now.”
“What?” Ashanti exclaims. “But you only just came here.”
“I know …” A blush forms on my cheeks. How do you explain all the reasons for an adult’s decision to a girl who can’t possibly understand? A girl who shouldn’t even know about this underground world and its existence?
It’s because of me that she was taken, and now I have to face the consequences with pride and dignity.
Ashanti suddenly runs up to me and wraps her little arms around my belly. “Please, don’t go.”
My eyes sting with tears.
“Ashanti … come.” Deion beckons her, and Ashanti frowns while walking away from me. “She has to go.”
“But it’s not fair!” she exclaims, stomping her feet. “Make her stay.”
“I can’t,” Deion says, looking me directly in the eyes. “I would ask in a heartbeat. Beg if I needed to.” He swallows, and the pain in his eyes hurts more than a thousand shards of glass.
“But she can’t.”
I nod a few times, rubbing my lips together to stop the tears from tumbling down.
“But I just got back. Why does she have to go?”
Deion goes to his knees in front of Ashanti and grabs her by the shoulders. “Zij heeft jou gered van die slechte mannen. She saved you from some very bad men. En nu moet ze gaan. And now she has to go. Geef haar maar een allerlaatste dike knuffel. Now go give her one last hug and make it count.”
Ashanti nods. I’m honored to have been able to learn a bit of Dutch under their wing. At least now I can semi-understand Deion’s words to his daughter and all the love they hold.
She runs to me and hugs me one last time, gazing up at me with those soulful eyes. I know she’ll be okay. She’s safe now and right where she belongs.
“It’s okay, Ashanti,” I say as she sniffs.
“Promise me you’ll visit us,” she says.
“I … I …” I hold my breath for a few seconds to stop the tears from flowing. “Maybe. Someday.” And I throw a pleading glance at Easton, who merely cocks his head in acknowledgment.
Ashanti immediately runs up the stairs and slams her door shut, practically knocking the air from my lungs. Deion and I gaze at each other, and he takes some steps toward me. Just a few. Enough to shake hands but not enough to hug. Easton’s watchful gaze stops him in his tracks.
The silence between us is deafening.
He clears his throat. “Well, I guess this is it then.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, lowering my eyes. I don’t know where to look. I don’t want to cry.
“We’ll miss you,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’ll miss you guys too,” I reply.
The gentle smile he gives me tugs at my heartstrings.
He holds out his hand and waits. It takes a few seconds for me to get the cue and take his hand too. The shaking seems to last an eternity. That’s when he suddenly pulls me in for a hug, wrapping one arm around my shoulder.
Easton steps forward but stops himself before interfering. He knows I need this … this goodbye. It needs to be good in order to last.
“Thank you … thank you for saving her.”
His whispers undo me. Unravel a part inside me I didn’t know existed.
A single tear manages to escape my eyes and rolls down my cheeks as we hold on tight for life. For love. Because even though we had no physical relationship, the love I felt for this daddy and his little girl was real. And I won’t ever forget that.
“No, thank you for offering me a place to stay … a home … and for being the best teacher in linguistics and culture I could ever have.”
Deion snorts and cries at the same time.
“For being a great dad and an amazing friend and for everything else you will be. Even without me.” When our embrace ends, I add, “Because you will live your life to the fullest. Promise?”
He nods, sniffing. “What about you? Where will you go?”
“With me,” Easton replies with a stoic voice.
“Wait … isn’t this the guy you told me about, the one who—”
He attempts to glance at Easton, but I direct his attention back to me.
“Yes. But I made this deal. It was my choice,” I say. I don’t want him to start an argument. The last thing I want is for this to end in a fight or worse … for Deion to be killed.
He rubs his lips together and nods a few times as tears well up in his eyes.
And I shake my head, and mutter, “Don’t. Don’t cry for me, please.”
A gentle smile appears on his lips. “I won’t.”
“Promise me. Promise me you’ll be happy and forget about me,” I say.
The melancholic look he gives breaks me apart. “I can’t.”
“You have to,” I say. “Please.”
He closes his eyes and sighs. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” I say. “For everything.”
And I turn my head before he open
s his eyes. I don’t want to see the tears. I don’t want to see the guilt and the truth that reflects in his eyes. The truth where I leave in exchange for Ashanti coming back. The truth where I was the cause of her being taken.
I’m the only one who can fix this, and he knows it.
That’s why I have to leave.
None of this will stop … until I make it stop.
So I walk into Easton’s open arms and let him guide me outside and into his car. Back to the life I once knew … the life of a princess … a pet.
Chapter 11
Charlotte
I don’t cry on the way back to Easton’s mansion. When I called to beg for his help, I thought I would, but I guess I’ve already settled on the idea I’m going back to the one place I tried to escape from. It’s as if the universe is telling me it wants me to be there … with him. Easton Van Buren … my husband.
My eyes instinctively draw up to meet his eternal gaze. Those eyes that can set my soul on fire with a mere blink. How does he do that time and time again? How does he defrost my heart and make me so complacent in my own captivity?
I don’t understand. Not when I’ve been living with such a sweet man for so long and still didn’t feel anything remotely the same for him even though he was perfect in every way. Too perfect, maybe. And Easton is anything but that, which is why I find it so hard to understand why my heart can’t stop beating out of my chest whenever I look at him.
It’s as if my brain hasn’t yet gotten the cue that I’m back in his clutches while my body is ready to go. And that is one confusing clusterfuck of feelings.
“That was a heartfelt goodbye you gave there,” Easton mutters while driving.
I look out the window at all the shops and homes and wonder if I’ll ever see the outside world again now that I’m going back.
“I needed it to last,” I say. “I probably won’t ever see them again.”
There’s a moment of silence. “Who says you won’t?”
I turn my head and glare at him, blinking a couple of times. Did he just say that? “What do you mean?”
He sucks in a breath. “I can arrange for you to see them more often.” He briefly glances at me. “If it makes you happy.”
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