“No. We can’t spend any more time together.” Ryker opened the villa door, and I followed him inside. A twinge of disappointment twisted my gut, and my pathetic reaction only confirmed he was right. Spending more time together wasn’t a good idea. Actually, it was a terrible idea.
The villa was just as I remembered it—a collage of warm jewel tones and creamy whites. An oversized, oil-rubbed bronze chandelier, dripping with hundreds of tiny diamond-shaped crystals, hung from the center of the vaulted ceiling. Light from the wall of windows reflected off the crystals, creating hundreds of miniature rainbows on the tile floor, walls, and furniture. I’d seen many impressive homes in my life, and this villa rivaled any of them.
Ryker turned right down the hallway and I followed him, treading four or five steps behind. “Where’s the pool?” I asked. Logically, it should have been right out the living room doors, but I didn’t see it when I escaped a couple days ago.
“On the side of the house.” Ryker nudged the door open to a bedroom.
It resembled a smaller version of the one where Ryker left me a couple days ago. Same creamy bedding. Same honeyed wood. The throw blanket at the bottom of the bed was orange, cranberry, and dark chocolate instead of red and black. The ceilings weren’t vaulted, but it looked nearly identical.
“Maybe you could bring me there next.” I wanted to swim some laps. Even though I had run through the jungle when I tried to escape, it didn’t offer the same fix as structured exercise in a controlled environment. I ran and swam religiously at home. It kept me focused. It kept me in control.
“Javier will show you.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “That will work.”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back onto his heels. “Your clothes should be in the closet. Your toiletries should be in the bathroom. Your suitcase is under the bed. I had them put everything in here.”
“What about my phone?”
“Except for your phone.”
My shoulders slumped even as I knotted my hands into fists. I didn’t expect a different answer. He may have granted me limited freedom, but it would be dumb to give me my phone, and Ryker wasn’t dumb. Far from it. I squared my shoulders and cocked my chin to the side. “I wanted to call Vera.”
“Your red-headed friend from the bar?” He rubbed the dark stubble on his chin with the top of his knuckles.
“Yes, that’s Vera. I don’t think my family will keep her in the loop, and I know she’ll be worried about me.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “I know Vera, and she’s blaming herself for what happened to me.”
He sighed. “I’ll think about it, but don’t get your hopes up. It probably won’t happen, and if it does, it won’t be until a few hours before you’re released.”
“Am I going to be released soon?” I knew I shouldn’t prod him for answers. He had given me enough for one day, but I wanted to know.
“Everything hinges on the video conference tomorrow, but that’s the plan.”
“Will I see you later today?”
“No.”
With that one word, he walked out of the room and my heart stumbled. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again, and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye forever.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next morning, I had showered and put on my swimming suit and a sundress by the time someone knocked on my door.
I slept better last night than I had in a week. Total exhaustion—both mental and physical—probably had something to do with it, but I also attributed it to the comfort of the bed.
“Come in,” I said as I slid my feet into my camel colored ballet flats. My feet hurt too much to wear any of my sandals.
Javier stood in my doorway with a food tray in his hand. He dressed in a version of the same outfit he always wore. White shirt. Khaki pants. Brown loafers. “?Desayuno?” he asked. Then, he shook his head. “I’m sorry. Breakfast?”
“Thank you.” I took the tray from him.
Yogurt, fresh fruit, and chia seeds. “How did you know?” I asked, my eyes searching his.
“Ryker requested it.”
I nodded, my heart squeezing and my mind reeling. Ryker remembered my flippant comment about what I liked to eat in the morning. I didn’t need any reminders of him. I needed to erase him from my system before he released me for good. “Of course.”
“Ryker wants you to be ready for a video conference at ten in the morning,” Javier said, backtracking a few steps.
“Wait,” I said, putting the tray of food on my nightstand. My eyes flickered to the alarm clock. It was only eight-thirty. “Can you show me where the pool is? I want to swim this morning.”
Javier rubbed his hands together. “Now?”
“Sure, or after breakfast. Either is fine.”
Javier walked through the bedroom, stopping at the curtained window. He glanced over his shoulder. “Do you mind?”
“No,” I answered, confused by his actions.
In one swift motion, he pulled back the floor to ceiling silk curtains. “The pool is right here.” He swung the door open.
“Ryker said you liked to swim, so he selected this room for you.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. Ryker knew I liked to swim. I guess he wasn’t bluffing about keeping tabs on me before he abducted me. Conflicting emotions flashed through me, but I buried them for later introspection.
“You can use the pool anytime.” He shifted on his feet. “Except at night.”
“Why not at night?”
“Ryker swims at night,” he answered simply, as though that’s all he needed to say, and maybe it was.
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Anything else?” Javier asked, smile on his face.
“Why did you join the Vargas Cartel?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question. Unlike Caesar who tried to kill me, Javier didn’t belong here, or at least from what I’d seen of him.
He tipped up his chin and puffed out his chest as though he was offended by the suggestion. “I’m not part of the Vargas Cartel. I work for Ryker.”
My mind stumbled. “Ryker? I thought he was part of the cartel.”
“No. He’s not.” Javier answered without explanation.
“Does helping the cartel hide me and keep me captive bother you?”
“I’m helping Ryker. He saved my life. I’d do anything for him.”
“How did he save your life?”
“Ten years ago, the Vargas Cartel broke into my home as a kid. Ryker was with them. I hid under the bed, but they found me. Ryker stepped between the gun and me and refused to let them kill my brother and me.”
“Why did Ryker do it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m grateful. He gave me a job and he has kept my family safe for ten years now. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Okay, then be in the study by ten this morning for the video conference.”
***
Ten o’clock arrived faster than I had anticipated, and I ran through the house, my bare feet slapping against the tile floors, and my wet hair dripping onto the sleeves of my gray t-shirt.
“Hattie,” Ignacio said, inclining his head the minute I breached the study door threshold.
“Yes?”
Ignacio pointed toward the chair behind the desk. “Please sit.”