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I ignored him. After sitting in the dark for fuck know’s how long, my eyes were sensitive to the light. If he expected me to move, he needed to release me from the cuff around my wrist. I wasn’t going anywhere until he did, and that included standing. It was probably a dumb idea to provoke him, but I refused to let him or anyone else see that I was afraid.
He walked forward and bent down to grab my arm. With a sharp yank, he pulled me to my feet. I tried not to yelp with pain as my shoulder wrenched forward, not that he cared. He quickly unlocked the cuff, giving me a few seconds of relief before shoving me out of the room.
I squinted at the brightness of the overhead lights before I was pushed forward. We walked along a corridor and then up two flights of stairs. It appeared to be a house. At least it was decorated that way, with side tables, paintings on the walls, and terracotta tiled floors. We passed through a hallway and then waited as Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody knocked at a heavy wooden door.
“Come in.”
My not-so-pleasant companion pushed me into the room and closed the door behind me. Mateo sat behind a huge mahogany desk, a glass containing some kind of liquor in front of him. He smiled at me as if I was a guest. It was horribly jarring, given he’d kidnapped me from a football stadium.
“Why am I here?” I asked. My voice wobbled but I forced my shoulders back. This guy was a friend of Brax’s grandmother. He couldn’t be a criminal. Surely this was a horrible mistake?
“As I already told you, I believe you have something I want.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Kidnapping is a federal offense!”
He scoffed with amusement. “We’re not in the US anymore, so I’m not too worried about that.”
My heart stopped. How had he done this? If I wasn’t in the US, where the fuck was I? I tried not to reveal how frightened I was, but it was useless. He smiled when he saw my fear. It seemed to give him some kind of sick satisfaction.
“Nobody’s coming to rescue you, Estella, so you may as well tell me exactly what I want to know. Then if I’m satisfied, I might let you go.”
My brain snagged on the word ‘might’ and I knew immediately he probably wasn’t letting me go. Why would he? Once he had whatever he needed from me, I was expendable. No doubt I’d end up in an unmarked grave or dumped in a swamp somewhere. My boys would have no idea what happened to me. Dad would waste away in prison, unaware of my fate.
Sweat trickled down between my breasts and I had a desperate urge to pee. Mateo watched me curiously like I was a bug under a microscope. The charming, suave gentleman from the art gallery was long gone, replaced by a sociopath.
“What do you think I have?” I managed to grit out while struggling not to collapse under the weight of my fear.
“Your father compiled some documents that link me and my associates to his business. He refuses to say where they are, which is why you are here.”
“Dad didn’t discuss the business with me! I know nothing about any documents.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure I believe you, given you visited him in prison.”
He didn’t know about the safe deposit box or the USB drive, or he would have mentioned it.
“Please, I know nothing,” I pleaded. “I just want to go back to my friends.”
“You think they care about you? Stupid girl. You’re nothing to them. Lily has plans for Brax. I believe there is some well-bred young lady lined up for him once he graduates. As for the other two, they don’t strike me as the types to stick around.”
“Fuck you, you know nothing about me or them!” I snarled, anger eclipsing fear. “I know they’ll stop at nothing to find me!”
“And you know nothing about me and how far I’m willing to go to protect my interests!” He jumped up and crossed the room, and before I could react, his hands were around my neck, cutting off my oxygen. I tried to pry his fingers away, but it was useless; he was too strong.
“Your father should have kept his nose out of my affairs. All he had to do was funnel the money in and pay it back out. Easy. But no, he started digging into the source of the money.”
Mateo squeezed my neck tighter and my lungs burned. I struggled, my body fighting for oxygen that was unavailable. Black spots floated across my vision as my limbs grew heavy. Just as I was about to pass out, he released me and I fell backward, gasping for breath.
My throat burned as I lay on the floor choking, my chest heaving.
“I suggest you take some time to see if your memory returns. You have until tomorrow before I start using more unconventional methods to help you remember where the documents might be. And if that doesn’t work, su padre has just signed his death warrant.”
He walked back to his desk and downed his drink.
“Carlos!” The door opened. “Show Miss Cancello to the guest room and make sure she has some clean clothes. Mrs. Walker will be here for dinner later.”
Carlos was huge - at least six feet of hulking muscle. He looked at me like I was a piece of meat then hauled me to my feet and dragged me back out. I was pushed into a bedroom on the second floor where some clean clothes waited for me on the bed.
“You have an hour. Be ready when I come back for you.”
