by Claire Adams
Carlos needed to protect himself and his family, and I knew it. I couldn’t put his safety at risk, as well as mine and Jordan’s. He was probably right, though, I should have gone to the police at that very moment. I should have turned to one of the officers in the bowling alley and told them everything. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready to give up hope that I could fix everything.
“All right, drop me off downtown. I’ll go talk to the police,” I said as I closed my eyes in the passenger seat of his car.
I wasn’t about to talk with anyone from the police department, but there was a friend of mine downtown who I knew I could borrow a car from. He owned the Jeep dealership, and I sent him a text to see if he would meet me over there.
After swallowing one more pain pill, I hopped out of Carlos’ car and walked into the police station, pretending I was going to talk with them. I waited for Carlos to leave, and then walked right back out the door and down the street to the Jeep dealership.
The pain was almost unbearable. It took everything I had inside of me to pretend I wasn’t feeling it. I needed to sleep. I needed to lie in a soft bed and close my eyes with Jordan next to me. But sleep wasn’t about to happen anytime soon.
“Rick, how the heck are you?” I said as I shook his hand.
“Doing good, Chase. What happened to your car? You need a loaner?”
“Yeah man, mine is in the shop and I need to run out to my brother’s cabin for the weekend. Thanks so much for letting me borrow one of your sweet rides.”
“No problem. Anything for you. Maybe you’ll even decide to keep it,” he said with a smile.
I could tell he had no idea I had been cut off from my father’s money and that was perfectly all right with me. I needed a vehicle, and he was giving me one. There was nothing else that I needed to talk to him about.
“Thanks again, Rick. Yeah, I think I’d like to have one of these bad boys around my house,” I said as Rick handed me a set of keys to a black Jeep Wrangler.
It was souped up, with extra-large wheels and tinted windows. The vehicle was sweet and, if I had the money, I certainly would have purchased it from him. But driving it over to Escabar’s to save Jordan was going to have to be the end of my use of the vehicle.
I pulled away without staying around for small talk. I needed to get to Jordan before Escabar tried his torture techniques on her. I knew there would be no forgiving me if she ended up having her fingernails removed by a drug lord on her third night in town.
Jordan had been so afraid that I was some sort of sex trafficker or someone that I said I wasn’t. But she really should have been more afraid of the person I was. I hated that I had put her in danger like I had, and I knew there was nothing I could do to ensure she was one hundred percent safe. But I had to at least go over to Escabar’s. I had to try and make things right with him.
Before going to get Jordan, I swung by my house and grabbed the black book out of my safe. I hadn’t brought it to my brother’s house because I was afraid of having it with me. The book had been the worst decision I had made in a very long time. It was worse than deciding to take money from Escabar. I needed to give it back to him. Whatever happened to me, I would just have to deal with. But I needed to keep Jordan safe.
I put the book in the glove compartment of the Jeep and made my way to Carlos’ house. I knew he had said no because he was trying to protect himself and people he loved, but I also knew there was no way I could go to Escabar’s house alone. I had to get Carlos to come with me. He was level-headed and strong. He would be able to help me get Jordan out alive. My whole body felt like it could collapse at any moment, and I could hardly see straight as I drove there, but I wasn’t going to stop until I had Jordan. And that meant I needed Carlos’ help.
“I’m not getting involved in this mess,” he said as I knocked on his door.
“I’m sorry, Carlos, but I need your help. I’m hurt really bad and I won’t be able to get Jordan if someone doesn’t help me.”
He looked at me with disdain in his eyes as he tried to decide if he was going to help me. It was a tough decision for him, I knew that for sure. His life was calm and he had a girl of his own. He didn’t want to get mixed up into something that could possibly get him killed.
“I’ll come. But at the first sign of trouble, I’m calling the police.”
“Fine, it’s a deal.”
I had made way too many mistakes over the last few weeks, but I wasn’t going to make a mistake when it came to Jordan. I knew Escabar would be waiting for me and I knew he was going to want his book back. That was fine. I would let Jordan leave with Carlos. I would offer myself up to Escabar and beg for his forgiveness.
Perhaps I could convince him to spare me so I could get him the money he needed. I would even go to my father and get the money right away, if it meant that Jordan and I would be safe. I was willing to give up my claim to the company. I was willing to give up any chance I had of ever taking over Foster Industries, if only Escabar would spare Jordan and me our lives.
I knew Escabar all too well, though. And it scared the shit out of me that Jordan was there with him. Having a pretty woman like her in his house meant that he was either going to try and seduce her, or he was going to force her to be with him. It was also entirely possible that he was so angry with me that he would actually hurt her in order to find out where his black book was.
I took a couple deep breaths as we pulled into the driveway and up to the front of Escabar’s house. It was strangely quiet outside, and that made me nervous. Normally, there were a few of his goons there to greet anyone who showed up. But on that night, there was no one. I got out and made my way up to the front door. I was just about to knock when I noticed the door was open a little bit.
No matter what, I couldn’t let anything happen to Jordan.
Chapter Sixteen
Jordan
The second Salina shoved me into her car, I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t have any way of getting out of the vehicle unless I was willing to jump, and I thought it was entirely possible that Salina would just shoot me if I tried it.
My years of watching American television had not prepared me as much as I thought they had. I sat in the back of the car shaking for several minutes before I remembered I should be looking around for some landmarks so I knew where we were going. I watched the interstate signs go by and took mental notes, so I could call for help from wherever we were going.
“I’ll give you some advice, Jordan. If you know where that black book is, you need to tell Jose. Don’t fuck around with him. This is Chase’s fault for getting you into the mess. You shouldn’t protect a man who would willingly do something like that to you.”
Salina had a point, and she was getting it right into my head. I shouldn’t be around any man who would willingly put me in danger. But had Chase actually done that? I wasn’t really sure of that. He had tried to get me not to leave the cabin. It was me who had not listened to him.
If Chase had his way, I would still be there with him and not in a car with a gun pointed at me. Yes, it was his fault that I was in the mess in the first place because he shouldn’t have stolen from this man. He also shouldn’t have started taking money from a person who had the ability to hurt people if they didn’t pay him back.
I just couldn’t get my brain around why he had started borrowing money from this Escabar guy in the first place. If his father had money and Chase had money, there just didn’t seem like a reason for him to need more. Even if his father cut him off from finances, Chase still had a million dollar home he could have sold for money. I felt like there was something more to the story, but at the point I was at right then, it didn’t really matter.
Salvador pulled around behind a beautiful mansion, and I had to assume we had arrived at Jose Escabar’s home. It was certainly a beautiful house and had to have been worth millions of dollars. I kept my eyes out as we walked inside, and Salina brought me down an ornately decorated hallway.
“Jose, this is the woman who was in Chase’s safe when your men went over there,” she said.
She pushed me toward Jose, and I tripped over the carpet and fell flat on my face. I stayed on the ground as my legs and hands were shaking uncontrollably by that point.
“Are you okay?” Escabar asked.
I could see his feet standing right in front of me. He had on shiny dress shoes, and his hand reached down in front of me. He held his hand there and waited for me to grab on to it and accept his assistance in getting up.
I knew I had to accept his help, so I reached out with my shaking hand and grabbed onto him to stand up. My whole body shook from the combination of fear and the cold air in the room. I really didn’t have anything I could tell Escabar. I didn’t know where the book was, and I couldn’t even tell him why Chase had taken it. From what I could tell, even Chase didn’t know why he had taken the book.
“Yes, I’m all right.”
“You have an accent. Where are you from?” Escabar asked me.
“I’m from Liechtenstein,” I said as I looked into his dark brown eyes.
“Wow, now that is a small country.”
“She’s lying, sir. She told us she was from Europe!” Salina said as she looked at Salvador and then at me.
“Excuse them. They aren’t the brightest,” Escabar told me before he turned to the other two. “You two can leave now.”
As much as I didn’t like Salina or Salvador, I wasn’t sure I really wanted them to leave me alone with Escabar. Although, he was being nice to me at the moment. He didn’t really have a reason to be nice to me. For all he knew, I was in on the theft and knew exactly why Chase had stolen the black book.
When Salina and Salvador finally left, Escabar went to his bar and poured us a couple drinks. He handed me my drink and then motioned for me to sit next to him on the couch. I felt like he wanted something from me, something more than just his black book. The way he was looking at me had me worried that he was going to try to get me to sleep with him.
“Tell me how you know Chase,” he demanded.
“I don’t really know him. He sent for me from overseas to come and marry him.”
He laughed, and it took me a second to figure out why.
“So, Chase ordered himself a mail-order bride. That’s amusing. Do you know why he ordered you?”
“I think so. He said something about tricking his father into handing over his company to him.”
Escabar just nodded his head in agreement, as though he approved of Chase’s plan. I continued to sit there quietly and waited for him to ask me another question. I really didn’t know all that much about Chase. I hoped the fact that I had just met him might keep me safe from being hurt.
“So, did you marry him yet?”
“No, we haven’t even been on a date yet,” I said with a smile.
I decided trying to win Escabar over with my sweetness was my best bet at possibly getting him to let me go. What guy didn’t want a cute girl to flirt with him?
“Are you really this innocent or is this some sort of game to win Chase over?”
I just stared at Escabar. Obviously, I couldn’t admit to playing some sort of game with either Chase or Escabar. I wasn’t exactly innocent – I could tell there was some serious danger going on. But I also was innocent in the way that I thought he meant. I had not even considered men like him would be in the United States. As much as I watched television and the criminal shows, I never expected that I would run into a man like Escabar. It was scary, and I knew enough to just look at him and keep my mouth shut.
As he stood over me, I simply sat there looking at him. I was waiting for him to tell me what he wanted. What did I need to do to ensure my safety? What would I have to get from Chase to ensure his safety, as well? The only option in my mind was that both Chase and I would end up alright at the end of everything.
I watched Escabar as he appeared to contemplate what he wanted to do next. There was a fear that he might decide to keep me for himself, but I figured the prospect of getting all his money out of Chase and his black book was probably on his mind.
“Do you think Chase’s father will sign over the company soon?” he asked me.
I had no idea. I only knew about Chase’s father what I had been told. There was no way I could know if that information was even true. I certainly couldn’t know if the man was anywhere near signing his company over to Chase.
“Yes, he’s signing it over soon. Chase has grown his confidence. They are going to meet together and make company changes.”
“Can you get me my black book back?”
Again, I had no idea if I would be able to get that book back. I wasn’t even sure I knew where the book was. All I did know was that Chase thought taking it was a good idea, and he deeply regretted it now.
“I can convince him to give it back to you.”
“Good, then you do that and I’ll let you go free.”
“I have something else I want,” I said firmly.
The firm tone of my voice seemed to catch Escabar off guard, but he turned and waited for me to tell him what my demands were.
“Chase stays safe, as well.”
“Now, now, pretty thing. I know you like the guy, but you’d do better to stay here with me. He’s got nothing he can offer you.”
“They’re my terms, either take them or leave them.”
Escabar seemed to think for a very long time, as he walked around the room. I imagined he was trying to decide if Chase looking through his black book was enough cause to murder him. Chase had not done anything with the book yet, and that was a huge benefit. But I didn’t know if Escabar would be willing to go with my terms or not.
“He has to pay me back all the money he owes, with interest! And, give me my black book by the end of this week. If he can’t do both of those things, I’ll get rid of him. His father is the one with the money, I can just go to him to get it.”
“What about your black book? If Chase has hidden it and you kill him, you’ll never get it back.”
“Then, I guess you better convince Chase to give it to me with the money so I don’t have to kill him. You see, little lady, I don’t care about the black book if it’s hidden somewhere. I only care that Chase isn’t handing it off to one of my enemies. If Chase and you are dead, it won’t matter where the hell he hid that book.”
My eyes got wide as Escabar came closer to me. I could tell that he would easily kill Chase and me if he needed to. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in his eyes. My only choice was to convince Chase to give up the black book and to help him convince his father to sign over his company and the assets Chase needed to pay off his debt to Escabar.
I was so angry with Chase for getting me involved in this mess. I had been minding my own business in Liechtenstein and just wanted love. Instead, I got myself smack dab in the middle of some sort of all-out war between two men.
“You have a deal,” I said as I stretched my hand out toward Escabar.
He shook my hand and then gathered his things to leave. I didn’t know what to do. I continued to sit in the chair until he told me to either leave or do something else. I didn’t want to do anything wrong. I wanted to stay on Escabar’s good side.
“I’m leaving with my men. I assume Chase will show up here soon looking for you. It’s your job to make sure my terms are met. If you can’t do this, I’ll have no choice but to kill you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Sit in my living room and wait for him. I have guards outside and surveillance everywhere. Don’t touch anything in my home, and don’t tell Chase the deal we made.”
“Okay,” I said as I walked out to the living room area.
I sat still in the chair as I watched Escabar and his men leave. I wasn’t about to move, and I wasn’t going to do anything that would jeopardize my life or Chase’s. My mind swirled with all that was going on. I knew it was going to be hard to get everything done, but I also knew that Chase wou
ld do so to save us both.
I waited for what seemed like hours, but was probably only about twenty minutes, before Chase arrived. He flung through the front door, and I continued to wait for him in the living room.
“Chase, I’m over here,” I yelled out.
“Where is he? Where is Escabar? I’ll kill him.”
“Shhh, Chase, let’s just get out of here.”
Chase looked around the room, as if he was expecting to have a fight on his hands. He looked up to the balcony that overlooked the living room, and then he walked around the outer edge of the room.
“Where is he? Why is it so quiet?”
“I think he just took me to prove a point. I’m sorry I left you. I’m sorry I didn’t trust your intuition about those two.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I heard someone else say as he came in from the front door.
Chase didn’t look well at all. I felt so horrible for making him come out and look for me. It was my fault for going to meet those two and thinking they might actually want to be friends. I should have listened to Chase. I should have understood the level of danger he and I were both in.
As we drove back to the car at the bowling alley, I sat quietly in the backseat. After introducing himself, Carlos told me about the police and how they had been at the bowling alley when Chase and he arrived. Chase was quiet, and I figured he had fallen asleep. He looked exhausted and I was sure that he was in a lot of pain.
“Should I go to the police station and talk to them?” I asked Carlos.
“Well, if Escabar is having you followed, you probably shouldn’t do that. He’ll think that you are turning him in or something. You should assume that he’s following your every move. He’s going to want that black book back.”
“I don’t even know where it is. Chase, where is it?” I asked.
“He’s asleep.”
“Well, wherever it is, we need to just get it and give it to Escabar with the money as soon as possible. He will kill the both of us without a second thought, I’m sure of it.”