Page 77 of His Obsession
I shut up then, not because I’m out of things to say, but because the look on his face tells me the next one might cost too much.
He walks back to the door.
“Adrian,” I say before I can stop myself.
He turns.
“Sebastian will find me,” I say.
He pauses with one hand on the doorframe. “Then I suppose we’ll see who wants you more.”
He walks out and locks the door behind him.
I stand there for several seconds after he’s gone, staring at the door, trying to make my body move. It doesn’t want to. My legs feel weak. My jaw hurts. My shoulder hurts. My stomach turns again, though I don’t know if that’s the baby or the fear.
Eventually I force myself to pick up the water bottle. The cap is sealed. I check it twice anyway before opening it. I drink slowly because my stomach still isn’t steady, then sit on the edge of the bed and stare at the window bars.
Adrian is alone. He’s desperate. He’s planning to move me. Even knowing all of that, I have to believe Sebastian is going to get here first. He’ll find me. He has to.
I press one hand to my stomach and take another careful breath. “We’re going to be fine,” I whisper.
I have no idea if that’s true.
28
SEBASTIAN
Matteo is already parked off the private road when I arrive, his car tucked beneath a stand of dead eucalyptus. Two of our men wait farther down the shoulder, both watching the house at the top of the hill. Even from here, I can tell the place has no power. No porch lights, no glow from the windows, no generator noise carrying through the trees. Nothing.
I park beside Matteo and get out. He meets me between the cars and hands me a folded printout.
“County records. Mostly useless.”
I glance down. First floor, second floor, a few utility notes, and a detached garage that looks like it’s been abandoned for years.
“Any mention of a basement?”
“None. Which means nothing at all.”
I hand the papers back. “Have you seen any movement?”
“Nothing. No guards outside. No cameras that I can see.”
That should be good news. It isn’t.
“It feels too easy,” I say.
“It probably is.” Matteo looks up at the house, then back at me. “It could be a trap.”
“From what I’ve learned, he doesn’t do anything alone.”
“He might now,” Matteo says. “A desperate man is dangerous. Don’t be so locked in on what you know about him that you miss what’s right in front of you.”
I know he’s right. I also know Adrian is unstable enough to improvise and arrogant enough to think he’s brilliant.
I look toward our men.
“One of you circles the back. One covers the drive. If anyone comes off that property, I want to know before they hit the trees.”
