“Well, good luck.”
“Would you like to come with me?”
I felt my eyes widen. “To Vegas?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
He laughed. “Seriously. I might need some help persuading Paul Martin. You can tell him what a great magazine Exclusives is.”
“But shouldn’t Justine be going with you?”
“She can’t, she’s leaving for Paris today to interview Ophélie Tessier for the March issue.”
“Oh good, has she finally agreed?”
“Yes, her agent phoned last night. Now, about Vegas. I’m flying at ten, can you be ready by eight o’clock?”
“Um, yes, I think so.”
“Good. Hunter will pick you up. You have a passport, I hope?”
“Yes, I do. How long will we be going for?”
“Three, four days.”
I could hardly contain my excitement as I began to sort through my clothes. I just had time to shower, dress, and pack before Hunter rang on the intercom.
“I’m on my way down!” I called, already rolling my suitcase through the door.
Hunter and I had chatted a few times since the day I was knocked down by the scooter, a month ago now. Well, not really chatted, just exchanged a few pleasantries. He was definitely friendlier than before, but I was trying not to read too much into it.
“We should be at Farnborough in plenty of time,” he said as I climbed into the back of the car. “We’ll pick Mr. Hawthorpe up on the way.”
“Farnborough?” I queried. “What’s at Farnborough?”
“The private jet waiting to take you and Mr. Hawthorpe to Las Vegas.”
“Private jet?”
He gave me an amused smile via the rearview mirror. “You don’t expect Mr. Hawthorpe to travel cattle-class, do you?”
I laughed, warmed by his smile. “No, but I expected that I would. I thought he’d be going business-class or maybe even first-class. Do you ever go with him when he travels,” I asked hopefully, “to drive him around when he gets there?”
“No, he usually hires a local driver.”
“You’ll be having a couple of days off, then.”
“I will,” he agreed.
“Have you got anything nice planned?” I asked, then blushed. My questions were becoming personal.
“Not really. I might have planned something if I’d known in advance that Mr. Hawthorpe would be going away. I guess I’ll just hang out.”
I almost regretted it then, going to Vegas. And then berated myself for harboring stupid fantasies. Even if I hadn’t been going with Ned, the likelihood of Hunter suggesting we hang out together while our boss was away was less than zero.
“Well, if you want to hear all about Vegas when I get back, let me know,” I heard myself saying. Then steeled myself, waiting for the inevitable brush-off.
“I might just do that.” He turned to look at me. “Maybe we could go for a drink.”
My heart somersaulted. “Maybe we could.”
We picked Ned up at his home in Wentworth. The house was impressive, a huge white building with pillars and a balcony behind ornate black gates. He sat in the back next to me, and all conversation between Hunter and me ceased.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
PRESENT
I open my eyes and for a split second, I think I’m in my room in Carolyn’s apartment. But when it remains dark, everything comes rushing back.
I’m cold, I’ve been cold since I was brought back to this black-as-night room. When was that? It’s hard to tell when they haven’t brought me anything to eat. I keep telling myself that they will eventually feed me. If they wanted me to die, they’d have killed me for trying to escape.
My blanket is gone. I searched everywhere for it but I couldn’t find it. They must have taken it away as punishment.
How did they find me so quickly? The man hadn’t shouted when I locked him in, but the other abductor, the one who grabbed me in the kitchen, hadn’t stumbled on me by chance, he’d come prepared with the blanket. He must have known within seconds that I’d escaped, which meant that he must have been alerted—because of course, they must have cell phones or walkie-talkies, something I’d stupidly failed to consider.
I push away the wave of depression that threatens to engulf me. I’m alive. I might not have succeeded completely, but I did manage to escape from this room. And I have knowledge about the house where I’m being kept—next to this room, there’s a room with double doors, next to that, a kitchen.