Awkward was an understatement. I thought to say something snarky to him or even kick him in the balls for making her cry, but one, I had my own problems, and two, I couldn’t piss him off.
“Seriously, I can come back.” I didn’t want to postpone my plan, but I needed his full attention. I had to befriend him before he would tell me the whereabouts of his father. Or maybe I had to revert to my other plan of kidnapping him. I wasn’t ready for the latter. I had to find a place to hide him first. I could tie him up in my room at the hostel. No one would be the wiser. I hardly ever saw a cleaning lady, and the place was pretty loud most of the time. People would just think he was grunting from great sex. I held in a laugh.
“No, Brew wants me to help you.” He waved his hand toward the open door. “Come on.”
I trudged up the steps and into the warm foyer. My eyes bugged out. I was like one of those bobbleheads as I took in the palatial home. A curved elegant staircase commanded the room, reminding me of a snippet out of Cinderella. Shiny wood floors ran throughout the first floor. A formal dining room sat to my right, a library to my left.
I twitched when the door closed. “Wow. Nice place.” My voice was sweet as I envisioned beating his father until he gave me my money back. “Are your parents home?”
Zach came up beside me. “My mom lives in Chicago, and I haven’t a clue where my father is, other than that he doesn’t live here. Let me put a shirt on.” He pointed to the library. “Have a seat in there. I’ll be right back.” He hesitated, apparently unsure of his next move. All of a sudden he took the stairs two at a time.
Calm down. Just get to know him. He’ll cave. I wasn’t so sure about that, at least not today. Zach’s mind seemed preoccupied with Chloe.
I made my way into the library. Bookcases covered two walls from floor to ceiling, and a leather sectional sofa sat in front of a marble fireplace. On the opposite side of the room, a massive wooden desk stood proud in front of curved windows overlooking the park across the street. I set my backpack down on the floor near the sofa then perused the bookcases, checking out the rich leather-bound works of Poe, Thoreau, Shakespeare, and other greats in literature.
Zach’s voice broke my attention. “Do you like reading?”
He’d donned a pair of jeans and a BU T-shirt and appeared to have splashed water on his head to tame the curls.
“Only when I have to for school.” I’d rather use my free time to play paintball or work out at the gym. “Your parents sure have great taste in décor.”
He strode over to the desk, his thick thighs eating up the space. “My parents don’t own this place. A friend of my old man’s is out of town for the winter. I’m just house-sitting it for him.”
“Your father has some rich friends. Doesn’t one of the Kennedys own a home on this street?” I’d read that on the Internet.
He snagged a sketchpad and a handful of colored pencils from the desk then plopped down on the sofa. “You’re here so I can show you some technique, not to discuss my old man.” The last three words were spoken with disgust. Maybe he would help me after all, since he didn’t appear to be enamored with his father. Then again, family usually stood above all else.
“Sorry.” I joined him on the couch. “I know how parents can get under your skin,” I lied. Sure, my parents and I had argued, but I’d never spoken about them as though I hated them.
He spread out the pencils and opened the sketchpad on the wooden coffee table. “You don’t know my father.” He picked up a blue pencil.
Yes I do. Then a frightening thought occurred to me. If he didn’t get along with his father, would Terrance pay the ransom for his son’s safety? My plan was unraveling even before I had a chance to put the wheels in motion.
“He can’t be that bad.”
“Does your father gamble away your college fund?” The pencil in his hand split in two.
I choked. His father gambled. Which meant my money was gone. Alarms blared in my head. Don’t panic yet. You don’t know that for sure.
He patted me on the back. “Would you like some water?”
Tears stung my eyes as I swallowed and cleared my throat. “I need to go.” I stood. “I’ll tell Mr. Brewer it was my fault I had to reschedule.” I could give two cents about my art teacher.
“Wait,” Zach said.
I flew out of the library, into the foyer, and right into a hard chest. I craned my neck up and into my past. Someone please, please kill me now. I couldn’t get away from Kelton. He shouldn’t have been there. Sure, Zach and Kelton knew each other from art class, but I hadn’t gotten the feeling they were friends.
His strong hands gripped my arms, but the heat of his palms did nothing to take away the cold inside me. “Whoa. Easy. Did Zach do something to hurt you, Emma?”
I shook my head, my nose brushing his rain-scented dress shirt. My gaze traveled up at a slow place, landing on his strong jawline. It sported a menacing shadow.
He dropped his hands, and I ran to the door.
“Emma,” he called.
I turned the knob.