‘Not knowing is driving me crazy.’
Jack sighed. ‘Arlo, have you considered this may not be the work of Arjun’s enemies? That it might be a stalker? Or even…and I hate to say it…the work of your ex-girlfriend?’
Arlo gave him a chilly smile. ‘I doubt Sabine would have a clue how to pull this kind of thing off, and she may be a world class bitch, but she’s not violent. And, yes, I have thought about it being a lone stalker…after all, the group in India wouldn’t bother to kidnap her.’
‘No, they would have slit her throat in her workplace restroom, quick and cold.’
‘Jesus, Jack!’ Arlo looked sick and angry. ‘Do you not think before you speak? Do you know how many nights I’ve lain awake imagining every kind of horrific scenario?’
Jack looked shamed. ‘Sorry. It just doesn’t make sense to me, none of it. When I thought it was her family connections but….’
Arlo nodded. ‘Yeah.’
The floor manager came to find Arlo. ‘We’re ready for you, Mr. Forrester.’
Arlo stood and pulled off the paper bib the make-up artist had given him. ‘Okay.’ He followed the floor manager out but stopped by the door and turned to look at Jack. ‘Jack…I have to do something. I have all this money and influence, and I couldn’t save the one thing I hold most precious in this world. Let me do this.’
Jack was quiet and then nodded stiffly. ‘Okay. Okay, Arlo.’
Cosima is my love, my heart. Please, whoever you are, stop and look at the beautiful, brilliant woman in front of you, the woman you are keeping from her family. Imagine she is your daughter, your sister, or the love of your life and examine how you would feel in my position. If it’s money you want, you can have it. If you’re holding her because of her family’s history…you are punishing Cosima for the sins of her fathers; she has nothing to do with those old arguments and differences. And if you are holding her because you think you feel something for her…I know how you feel. She is incredible. But love is not a negotiation, love is not control, love is not imprisoning or harming the one you love. Please…set Cosima free, let her come back to her family. Thank you.
Sabine clicked off the television, her mouth curling up in a sneer. Revolting, she thought to herself, ignoring the sharp pain in her chest. Arlo would never have spoken about her the way he spoke about the fucking princess. When she had heard Cosima had been abducted, she had felt a certain glee – she was convinced Naveen – her occasional lover - was behind the disappearance. She hadn’t seen Naveen since the news broke that Cosima was missing, and she was feeling the absence – especially of his magnificent cock drilling her to the bed – but seeing as he was doing her dirty work for her, she’d let him off. Sabine had also sat through a desperate, pathetic, overwrought Monica talking to Diane Sawyer about her ‘darling daughter’ earlier that day which had put Sabine into an even better mood.
Now she reached for her cellphone. Really, the timing couldn’t be better. She pressed the call button and waited. When he answered, she dropped her voice to a warm purr. ‘Arlo, darling, I’m so sorry. What can I do to help?’
He couldn’t stop thinking about her, her skin, the brief moment when the drug in her bourbon had made her hallucinate, think he was Arlo. Her smile. God, it made him hard just thinking about it. The moment his cock had plunged into her, he had felt like a king. Triumphant. When she’d started to fight him, the power and control he had over her…
He was seriously rethinking killing her. What if, instead, he just kept her, wore her down, and made them into a family…could she be his? Forever?
She would have to be broken, he decided, so much that she would do anything to live, even submit wholly to him. Forget the past, forget Arlo Forrester, and even forget her sister. He would take her away, somewhere no-one would even think to look for them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have the means or the imagination to keep her away from the rest of the world for as long as he needed. The house in the bayou had been a good prison, but now he was getting edgy. It was too near New Orleans, too close to civilization. It only took one gator hunter out on the bayou to come across the house…
Yes. He would begin to plan the move, find a good base…put the plans into motion. In the meantime, he had one way of distracting the people looking for Cosima, and he smiled to himself. He was going to enjoy this.
Jack called at the hotel just after seven a.m. and by the look on his face, it wasn’t good news. Harpa huddled close to Arlo, and he put his arm around her, pressed his lips to her temple to comfort her. Jack sat opposite them.
‘Guys,’ he began slowly, ‘I don’t know….this is the hardest…’
‘Oh no, no, no,’ Harpa crumbled, and Arlo gave a low moan. Jack, his own face betraying his grief, held up his hands.
‘We’ve found a body…now, look. It may not be Cos…I haven’t personally seen the body yet. We got a call an hour ago, up near Baton Rouge. A young woman of Asian heritage was found, bound and stabbed to death. She matches Cos’s description but…I don’t know, something about it seems hinky. I’m going up there now, and I’ll call you, straight away.’
Harpa and Arlo looked at each other then turned back to Jack. ‘No,’ said Arlo, ‘We’re coming with you.’
Jack shook his head. ‘No. I’m sorry but no…if it is Cos, I don’t want you seeing her like that.’
‘That’s not your decision to make,’ Arlo was angry now, ‘you may have known her longer than I, but she is my love. I need to see her, Harpa needs to see her.’
‘And if it is Cos, you will – after we’ve released her body, after we’ve prepared you and her. Harpa, does Cos have any tattoos, birthmarks, scars I should know about?’
Harpa shook her head. ‘No…god, please, don’t let it be her.’
Jack stood. ‘Look, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of this. I’ll call you when I know more.
And he was gone.
Arlo and Harpa hugged each other, the room suddenly cold despite the temperature of the day.
‘Please tell me it’s not her, Arlo, please,’ Harpa’s voice was barely audible. Please tell me I’ll see my sister again.’
But he couldn’t.
Cosima replaced the window pane back in its setting, her throat red raw from screaming for most of the night. Nothing. No-one. The sky was lightening on the horizon, and she knew it wouldn’t be long until the camera switched back on. She crawled under the bed and had another go at trying to loosen a floorboard. A half hour later, she screamed in frustration and gave up. The boards were just too firmly screwed down for her to make any difference. She lay on the floor for a few minutes, breathing hard.
Okay, okay, she thought. Plan B…whatever that might be. Two days of her deadline were up, but she refused to believe there wasn’t something she could do so save herself. She went and took a quick, cold shower then sat down on the toilet to pee. As she stood and flushed, her elbow caught the heavy porcelain lid on the cistern and pain shot through her elbow. But she barely noticed. The lid had moved. It had shifted. She froze. At that moment, the bathroom camera blinked on.
Cosima didn’t look behind her, didn’t acknowledge the sharp pain in her elbow from whacking it on the hard porcelain. Instead, she moved like an automaton, washing her hands and brushing her teeth. She moved deliberately casually but inside her, the adrenaline was screeching through her system.
She got into bed and pulled the covers over her head, letting out a shaky breath. How had she missed it? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and at that moment, she knew.
Today was the day she was going home.
Jack called them from Baton Rouge. ‘I’m about to go in. Are you sure there are no identification marks I could look for? Because…god…the girl has been dead a few days and in this heat…’
Harpa dashed to the bathroom to throw up. Arlo, feeling sick, gripped the phone tightly. ‘No. We’re sure. Please, Jack…’
‘Stay strong, Arlo. I’ll call back soon.’
Arlo
put his phone down on the table and closed his eyes. There were so many emotions whirling around in him; fear, despair, grief. He sucked in a big breath and went to find Harpa. She was sitting on the side of the bath, the room stank of vomit. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. Arlo shook his head.
‘Don’t be silly,’ he opened a window then grabbed a face cloth, running under the cold water. He wiped her face gently, then sat down next to her, his arm around her shoulders. Harpa leaned into him.
‘Arlo…if it is Cos…I want you to know that she was the happiest she had ever been when she met you. She loved you so much…’
Arlo’s voice was gruff. ‘I know. She was my world; no, screw it, she is my world. She’s coming back to us, I know it.’
Cosima heard his car door slam, and she darted into action. The porcelain lid of the cistern was heavier than she’d reckoned but despite her screeching muscles, she got ready, her heart beating at a hundred miles an hour.
As he opened the door and stepped in, she brought it down on the back of his head with as much force as she could muster. He dropped immediately, and the aftermath was so silent, she stopped there blinking for a second. Had it really been this easy?
He didn’t move, didn’t groan. She dropped to her knees beside him and went through his pockets, found his keys. Without another thought, she ran, down the flight of stairs to the front door. Locked. Her hands trembling violently, she tried each of his keys. Finally, she yanked the door open and stepped out into bright sunlight. His car stood on the driveway and ignoring the gravel tearing into her bare feet, she ran to it. When it started the first time, she almost screamed with relief. Tugging the stick into reverse, she turned the car around…just as he appeared at the door. The goat’s mask was even more terrifying; its calm visage in sharp contrast to his obvious rage. He raised his gun and fired. Cosima ducked and pressed her foot hard down on the gas, the rear window shattering behind her. She didn’t care, with every second she was freer – a bullet zinged along the side of the car but then she was at the end of the drive and pulling onto what looked like a normal highway. She really had been this close to civilization this whole time. Motherfucker. Cursing loudly, she drove along the highway, speeding, not caring if she was stopped – she wanted to be pulled over by the cops. The cops were safe, they’d get her home. Finally, she saw the sign for New Orleans…six miles. Six miles? God…I’m coming home, baby…
I’m coming home…
Arlo and Harpa stared at his phone as the screen flashed up with Jack’s number. Harpa moaned softly, but Arlo took her hand in his. ‘We have to know, Harpa.’ He pressed the speaker phone button. ‘Jack?’
‘Hi.’ He paused and Harpa started to cry. ‘Guys, we couldn’t make a positive identification. The body is too decomposed. If it is Cos, then she was killed almost as soon as she was taken.’
Arlo had trouble breathing. No. No. ‘Then it can’t be her. I’d know, I’d sense if she were dead.’ He felt Harpa squeeze his hand.
‘Jack…do you think it’s her?’
Jack sighed, his own voice racked with pain and grief. ‘I wish I could say positively one way or the other, Harp, I really do. I don’t want to believe it’s her but the height is right, the victim has long dark hair, dark skin that matches Cosima’s own skin color. Until we have DNA proof…’
‘Until we have DNA proof,’ Harpa said, her voice suddenly strong, ‘We are going to believe it’s not her, okay? Okay, Jack? Okay, Arlo?’
Arlo nodded, but his eyes were hooded and dark. Jack sighed. ‘It can’t hurt to think like that. I certainly don’t want to think it could be her…although it is someone.’
‘Someone’s daughter, sister, lover,’ Arlo repeated in a monotone. ‘There is no good news here for anyone.’
‘Yeah.’ Jack’s voice was low, and Harpa unconsciously reached out her hand as if she could comfort him through the phone. She dropped her hand.
‘Jack…I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to see that.’ She glanced at Arlo. ‘We both know how much Cosima meant…means…to you.’ Arlo nodded and cleared his throat.
‘Yes, we do, and we want you to know, Jack, we’re grateful for everything you’ve done for us, for Cos.’
‘Thanks, man. Look, I’m going back to New York to see where we’re at for a couple days then I’ll be back. We won’t stop looking for her, believe me.’
Arlo ended the call and hugged Harpa. ‘There’s still hope.’
She nodded. ‘Look, I think I need a shower and some food. Then maybe I can think straight.’
He nodded and she padded into the room. Arlo stared after her, not really seeing anything. He rubbed his face with his fingers, trying anything to relieve this numbness he was feeling. He really believed what he had told Jack, that he would know if Cosima was dead. No, it wasn’t possible. He closed his eyes and sighed. Come home.
Steve, one of Arlo’s security team, knocked and came in.
‘Sorry to disturb, boss, but there’s someone here who wants a word.’
Arlo’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Not press.’
‘No. It’s Mikah Ray.’
Arlo half-smiled. ‘Send him up.’
Mikah Ray rode the elevator, feeling sick with nerves. Which was a new feeling for him – for the love of God, he was a successful businessman, someone with influence, connection and yet he was terrified. Terrified that Arlo would turn him away and not listen to him, scared Harpa would lose it when she saw him. Mikah’s hand hovered over the stop button. What was he doing bothering this family at this time? For what? His hard-on?
No. Because it wasn’t just about sex…he wanted to be part of Harpa’s life, to be there for her now, in this hell she must be living. He wanted to be the one she leaned on – and yeah, that was monumentally selfish, but he couldn’t bear to know she was in so much pain, and he wasn’t able to do anything. His hand dropped; no, he was going to do this, and if she rejected him now, then that was that. It was over.
He stepped out into the foyer and Arlo Forrester was there to meet him. Mikah felt a jolt of sympathy when he saw the pain in the other man’s eyes.
‘Man, I can’t even imagine what this must be like for you. I’m here for you, for Harpa, for whatever you need.’
Arlo half-smiled as he shook Mikah’s hand. ‘Thanks, dude. Listen, I think you may be what Harpa needs right now, but it’s up to her. I’m all for whatever it is you need from her but…’
‘I know. Just five minutes is all I ask.’
Arlo nodded. ‘Okay. Come on in, she’s just in the shower.’
Mikah followed Arlo into the penthouse and whistled when he saw it. ‘Dude, this place is magnificent.’
Arlo smiled sadly. ‘All Cosima; she has a great eye.’
‘You’re telling me, wow.’
Arlo thanked him. ‘Look, I’ll just go see if…’ He nodded to a closed bedroom door and Mikah nodded, his nerves returning.
‘Okay. Cool.’
‘I’m decent, come on in,’ Harpa called when Arlo knocked at her door. She was toweling her long dark hair, wrapped in a robe and she smiled at him. What’s up?’
‘There’s someone here to see you. A very nervous someone.’
Harpa looked confused, and Arlo smiled. ‘It’s Mikah,’ he said gently then put up his hands as she looked first shocked then panicked. ‘Relax, he just wants five minutes to talk.’
Harpa sat down heavily on her bed, staring at him. ‘I don’t know…all of this…I just…’
Arlo sat down next to her. ‘Maybe it’s good…closure at the very least. You should talk to him; he’s invested, Harp, he deserves five minutes. And can I tell you something?’
‘Of course.’ Her voice was soft, trembling. Arlo nudged his shoulder to hers.
‘Don’t waste love, not even for one second. There’s no good reason for you not to be with the man you’re crazy about. Cosima would kick your ass.’ His mouth hitched up in a grin, and she couldn’t help but join in.
‘Okay…but five minutes – and I’m not promising anything.’
‘You don’t owe me any promises, nor Mikah neither. Go with your heart, Harp.’
She swallowed and nodded. ‘Okay. Let me throw some clothes on.’
‘I’ll send him in a minute or two.’
Harpa took a deep breath in and opened the door. Oh God, she’d forgotten just how beautiful he was, his dark skin shining, his eyes big and soulful, and his cute way of wearing his porkpie hat on the back of his head.
‘Hey,’ he said. Even his voice was rich and made her stomach warm.
‘Hey. Come in.’ She stepped out of the way to let him in and closed the door behind him.
For a long moment, they stared at each other, drinking the other in. Then he smiled – making her stomach flutter.
‘I want you to know…that I have superpowers.’
That she didn’t expect. ‘Huh?’
Mikah chuckled. ‘Go with it. Yeah, I have this power…to transform into anything you need right now. A rock, a punch-bag, a friend, a lover, hell, even a unicorn – if that’s what you need right now. Anything, Harpa. You say you didn’t want me messed up in your family’s crap…too late, Bedi, I’m already in deep.’
She gazed at him then closed her eyes before she spoke. ‘My sister is probably dead.’
‘Yes.’
His honesty stung but she liked he didn’t bullshit her. ‘It hurts like all hell. If it’s true, then I don’t know how to be in a world without her.’
‘Who would? This situation is so fucked up but, as Arlo must have found, some things really are out of our control. The only control we have is how to react to the situation – and even that’s tenuous. No-one is expecting you to hold it together if Cosima’s been murdered. No-one. I’m offering to be the person you can go absolutely batshit crazy at if that’s what you need.’
TORN: A Billionaire Romance Series (Contemporary Romance Novel) Page 16