by Anna L
“I still knew it was wrong! I should have been smarter.” I slouched in my chair. I didn’t want to talk about last night anymore. The only thing it did, was stress me out, and there was no good in doing that.
I could sense Sam staring at me. He wanted talk to me some more, but that wasn’t going to happen. He put his hand on my thigh, trying to comfort me. I liked it there, but suddenly Sam’s head snapped up and his hand disappeared.
Brent and Thomas were back from the bathroom. Thank God. I was for sure done talking about last night, for the moment at least. But I really liked Sam’s hand there.
“Everything okay here?” Brent asked Sam and me.
I gave a stern look to Sam who smile back at me.
“Yeah, everything is fine,” I grumbled.
A few minutes later the plane pulled into the gate. The plane was small. It was one of those special planes that spies got just for being a spy. We needed a direct flight to Rome, Italy. No stops. That would just be wasted time. This was the only plane that offered us that.
I then realized that we were the only ones waiting for this plane at this gate. The rest of the people were waiting for the plane at the next gate over.
The four of us stood up and gave the check in lady our tickets and then began to make our way to the plane.
The plane was amazing. There were leather seats in the front for the passengers and a lounge area in the back. There was a mini fridge, and a T.V. I had never been in plane like this before.
The food was amazing, and it never ended. Even the drinks tasted better than what I usually got.
The plane trip was long. I slept for most of it. When I wasn’t sleeping I was talking to Brent. He sat right next to me and never took his eyes off of me.
When the plane finally landed in Rome, I was wide awake. Go figure. We were going to go back to the hotel and sleep, because Brent was right. It was about 1:45 A.M. on Thursday in Italy. There was nothing we could do at that hour.
We all got into a nice car that Brent set up for us to use on our trip. It was a black BMW. Where does he get all these nice cars?
We drove to our hotel and checked in. We were sharing a suite. When I walked in the door I was speechless. I had walked into a full kitchen. Nicer than the one I had at home. I walked through the kitchen and into the living room. The view was amazing. The whole back of the suite was one huge window. The room had two big couches and a couple of chairs. There was also a humongous T.V. on the main wall. There was a mini fridge that was already stacked with drinks for us. My stomach was in butterflies just being in the room.
I turned to my left and kept walking and found myself in a bed room. It had two big fluffy beds and a walk out porch. The bathroom, that was attached, had a Jacuzzi and a shower with two heads. It was the nicest bathroom that I had ever been in.
I went back into the living room, leaving my suitcase on the bed.
“I’ll sleep in that room over there,” I pointed to the room that I had just come from.
“Okay, sounds good. There are two more bedrooms on the other side of the suite.” Brent was talking over everyone. “Either two of us can share a room or one of us can sleep on the couch. Catherine gets her own room no matter what.”
“I will take the couch,” Sam announced.
“Okay, thank you Sam. We will be staying here for the whole time that we are in Italy. So, make yourselves at home.” Brent smiled and then went into the kitchen.
It was still dark out in Rome. There weren’t that many people on the roads either. Rome was a big city. Many people live here, and knowing that my dad is somewhere nearby was kind of scary to know. He could be in the same hotel as me right now, for all we knew.
Thomas and Brent had disappeared into their rooms, and I was stuck with Sam in the living room.
“I am mad at you,” I told Sam, breaking the silence.
“I figured,” Sam sounded sad.
We stayed silent. I didn’t want to say anything else to him.
“So, is this going to be how this whole trip goes?” Sam asked me.
“I don’t want it to be this way,” I replied. I walked towards him and sat down next to him on the couch.
“Why did you come and sit next to me?”
“Fine, I’ll leave.” I started to stand up, but Sam grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards the couch.
“What can I do to make you not mad at me?” Sam asked. He was serious too.
“I don’t know. I feel like I can’t be too close to you anymore because I’m still in a relationship with Brent. But who knows how that will turn out.”
“Fine.” Sam sounded mad now. He stood up and left the room. Now I was the sad one. I got up and walked to the kitchen. I was getting something out of the refrigerator when someone knocked on the door. I looked at the door surprised that someone would be knocking on the hotel door at this hour. I began walking towards it. I was sweating and shaking.
I was a few feet from the door when someone put their hand over my mouth and their arm around me.
“Be very quiet,” the voice was a whisper. I think it was Sam.
The hand came off my mouth and grabbed my hand. Yes, it was Sam. Thank God. Sam led me towards my bed room very quickly and quietly.
Someone began pounding on the door again. It scared me and I clung to Sam.
“Who’s going to get the door?” I whispered.
“Brent is.” Sam’s voice was very quiet.
“I’m so scared.”
“It’s okay, come over here.”
I tiptoed over to Sam who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. I sat on his lap and he put his arms around me. I felt much safer now.
“How you doing?” Sam asked me.
“Better, thank you,” I replied.
“You’re always welcome.”
We were silent for awhile then. The pounding stopped, but I never figured out if Brent answered the door or not. I don’t think that he did. I wonder who it was.
Someone knocked on my bedroom door and I jumped.
“Can I come in?” Brent’s voice had no emotion.
“Yeah, come on in,” Sam replied.
Brent opened the door and walked over to where I was sitting with Sam. I got off of Sam’s lap and rushed over to Brent. He gave me a big hug that never seemed to end.
“Are you okay?” Brent asked me.
“Yeah, thanks to Sam. I was scared and he kept me safe.” I replied.
“Thank you, Sam,” Brent told Sam.
“Anytime,” Sam mumbled.
“Where is Thomas?”I asked.
“He’s out in the living room. He’s okay.” Brent said. He was still holding me.
Sam stood up and left the room. Brent and I followed him. We all sat down on the couch.
“Okay, so I put a camera outside the door when we came in the first time. I was just looking over the film and I didn’t recognize the man. He didn’t leave a note either, so I would try not to remember him,” Brent shared with all of us.
“Catherine, we need to keep you safe. If you don’t know the person don’t even try to talk to them,” Sam sounded mad again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” I replied.
“Just stay away from the door, okay?” Thomas’s voice was serious.
I nodded my head and stayed quiet.
The next couple of hours were silent. We decided that we should probably get some sleep. Everyone slept in their own room. By the time that everyone woke up from their nap, the sun was out and it was time to eat.
“Okay, is anyone hungry?” Brent asked the group.
“I’m hungry,” Sam said.
“Should we order room service, or what?” I asked.
“I could go get something from somewhere,” Thomas offered.
“That sounds like a good idea! I could go with you,” Sam agreed.
“Yeah, that works,” Brent said.
Brent and I gave Sam and Thomas our orders and the two boys lef
t.
Chapter 27
“So, what are we doing today?” I asked Brent.
“Not sure yet, Cat.” Brent replied. “Come over here, on the couch, by me.”
I walked over to him and sat next to him. He put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder, and we just sat there.
“How you doing?” Brent whispered.
“Good. How about you?” I replied.
“Missing you. I feel like I haven’t seen or had anytime with you lately.”
“I know what you mean, Brent.” I moved my head so I could see him. He sat up more and moved his hands so one was on my chin and the other on my neck. He was pulling me even closer now. I could feel his breath on my face and there were butterflies in my stomach.
When our lips met, it felt like the first time I kissed Brent. It was amazing. I put my arms around Brent’s neck and pulled him closer to me.
Brent’s hand on my neck was strong too. He wasn’t letting me go anywhere. I never wanted this kiss to end. It was a real kiss, from my real boyfriend. It felt good and I was happy.
“I’m going to keep you safe Cat,” Brent whispered to me before kissing me some more. I had nothing to say to that, so I just kissed him back.
I don’t know how long we were kissing, but when we were done I basically collapsed in his arms. We were still on the couch and I had my head on his chest. His arms were around me and I didn’t ever want to move.
“Promise me that no matter what happens after this trip you will always be my friend and love me,” Brent whispered.
“I promise,” I replied a little confused.
“Cat, I love you,” Brent said, telling me for the first time.
“I love you too,” I responded.
About ten minutes later, Thomas and Sam arrived. They brought our food in and put it on the kitchen table.
“You guys ready to eat?” Sam asked as he walked into the living room area.
“Yeah, I think we are,” Brent replied. He kissed me gently on the lips before letting me go, allowing me to stand up.
“What did you guys do while we were gone,” Thomas asked.
I looked Brent and we smiled. “Umm, we just…talked.” I replied.
“Oh, sure,” Sam replied, smiling at me.
“So, what do we have to eat?” I asked Thomas and Sam.
“Oh, a little bit of everything, Kate,” Thomas replied.
“Good! I am so hungry,” I said. Brent’s hand was intertwined with mine, as we walked over to the kitchen.
We ate breakfast fairly quickly. After that we finished settling into the hotel. We all unpacked our bags and got ourselves ready for our first day at work.
Our first stop was where my dad was called into work the first time; before he was kidnapped.
“Okay, I’m going to talk. The rest of you please be quiet. Oh, and if something goes wrong everyone fights for themselves, except Cat. Sam I trust you to keep her safe.” Brent was getting down to business.
Brent looked at me and then to Sam, who nodded. Sam then looked at me and smiled and I smiled back. Sometimes boys were so confusing.
We walked into the tall building and Brent talked to the guy at the front desk. He seemed to recognize my dad’s name and gave us new directions.
We went around the city; from person to person. We didn’t find any new information until our last stop. It was the restaurant that my dad was supposedly last seen in.
It was an old Chinese restaurant. The man behind the counter in the back of the room was older. As we approached him he looked up at us. Brent slowed down his pace, and I suddenly felt like I was in danger. Sam moved closer to me and so did Thomas.
“Hi, we have a couple questions for you,” Brent said cautiously to the Chinese man behind the counter.
“What questions could you possibly have for a Chinese man?” The man spoke with a strong Chinese accent.
“We were wondering if you have ever heard of a guy by the name Richard Stone.”
“Why do you need that information?” The man tensed up and looked away.
“We are just trying to find him.”
“Yeah, I have heard of the name,” the man paused, as if he were trying to choose his words. “He left my restaurant without paying. One second he was here and the next he was gone.” So that’s why the man tensed up. He seemed like he was lying though.
“Oh, okay,” Brent seemed disappointed. “Do you have any idea where he is?”
The man didn’t make eye contact with Brent and shook his head.
“Do you mind if I look around the place?” Brent asked.
“Yeah, actually.” The man’s head snapped up. “You can’t do that. It’s against the rules.”
“Why? I don’t see any of the rules written down,” Brent was testing the man.
“Do they have to be written down to be followed? Just listen to me!” The man was getting very mad.
Suddenly, another man came from the back of the store.
“What is going on out here?” The man asked. I didn’t realize until then, that Brent and the Chinese man were yelling.
“This man wants to search our restaurant, because he is trying to find Richard Stone,” The older man exclaimed.
“Why does he need to do that?” The other man said. This guy was much younger, maybe in his thirties. He was Chinese too.
“Apparently he knows him.” The older man said.
“You know who Richard Stone is?” The younger man asked Brent.
“Yes, actually,” Brent replied. “Do you know where he is?”
“Yes, I know where he is!” The young man yelled. Then he looked at me and started smiling. Sam and Thomas took one more step towards me and then stopped. Brent backed up keeping an eye on the two men.
The younger man started walking towards me and I began moving back towards the door we walked in. Brent’s hand moved around to his back signaling me to stop moving backwards.
“Where is he?” Brent asked the men.
“We’re afraid we can’t give you that information.”The older one replied.
“Why not?”
“Why would we tell some random guy where he is?” The younger man was still yelling at us.
“We know who he is!” Brent yelled back. The two men gave Brent a questioning look. They had stopped walking towards us, but the younger man never took his eyes off of me.
“Prove it!” The young man shouted. Brent hesitated, how could he prove that Thomas and I were Richard Stone’s children? Our passports! That was why Brent wanted us to bring our passports.
Brent fumbled around in his pocket until he found something; my passport. He handed it over to the younger man who hesitantly took it. The young man opened it and he read over the information. A piece of paper was folded up inside the front cover. The man took it out and unfolded it. My birth certificate; that should do it. Then Brent handed over another passport; Thomas’s. The man did the same thing and looked at his birth certificate too.
The man looked at Brent and then at me and Thomas.
“I see,” the young man said; quiet now.
Brent just nodded his head. I felt like I was missing something.
“If you come back here with those two,” The man pointed at Thomas and I, “tonight around 5:30P.M., we will tell you where Richard Stone is, and that is it.”
“Why do they have to come with?” Brent asked the man.
The man gave Brent a questioning look before answering. As if, Brent should already know the answer. “We think they should answer some of our questions. We won’t hurt them if that’s what you mean. You can come too if you want.” The man was pointing at Sam. “But, I am pretty sure that you already know why we want them to come back…”
“Okay, promise me that these two won’t get hurt and we will all come back here tonight.” Brent said. Brent seemed to ignore what the Chinese man had just said.
“We promise.” The two men said at the same time. I believed it. Maybe I was the
only one, but still.
“Okay. We will see you later then.” Brent said and then slowly turned around and began walking back towards where the rest of us were standing. “Let’s go,” he said under his breath.
We quickly walked as far away from the restaurant as possible. None of us talked. It wasn’t until we were in the car driving back towards the hotel that someone spoke.
“So, are we going to go back there tonight?” It was Sam who asked the question.
“Yeah, I think we should. I believe them, I think.” Brent said. If he believed them, then we all could.
“Okay. So we have to be back there in an hour and 45 minutes. What do you guys want to do? Go eat dinner? Go back to the hotel?” Sam was throwing out options all over the place.
“I think that we should go back to the hotel.” Brent said. “We can get something to eat there.”
“Okay, that’s good with me,” I said, still a little confused on what just happened.
“Kate, are you okay?” Thomas sounded concerned.
“Yeah, I think I have some questions though.” I replied.
“Ask away,” Brent said. He smiled at me, but this smile was different. This smile almost made him look scared or worried. I wasn’t used to that smile.
“Why was that Chinese guy staring at me?” I asked. “And why do they seem to want me?”
Brent took a deep breath before answering my question. “Look, Cat, he obviously knew of your dad. Whoever kidnapped your dad did it for a reason.” Brent took another breath. “Cat, please don’t get mad at me.” I looked at Brent and then nodded my head. “The only reason your dad was kidnapped was so the kidnapper could get to you, but you already knew that. I told you before we left. Right?”
“Yeah, Brent. I knew that. Tell me more.” I was about to explode. I think that the truth was about to be revealed.
“I am the delivery man. It was my job to bring you to the kidnapper.” He paused but the car was silent. “The company really needs your dad back. We don’t even care about you, to tell you the truth. The first time we met, that was a big lie. Evan wanted me and you to get close. Close enough for you to trust me. That way, the whole exchange would be easier.” Brent stopped talking. He was letting everyone soak it in. “But it’s actually harder, because I actually fell in love with you.”