My fingers traced over his signature, the big “J” all the way to the little “n”. At least he left me a note. Breakfast. It was like I suddenly understood what he meant and I stood up, walking over to the display of food on the kitchen island. I was starving and I had no idea when they were going to ship me back to that decrepit little safe house. Breakfast and a bath. That was exactly what I needed. Bath first, I decided. I desperately wanted one of those first.
Before I walked over, I noticed a little black smartphone with a post-it attached. “This is yours, do not lose it. -J”
I scrolled through the contacts. There were just three. Janson, Greyson, and Joanna. The three people in this world who knew I existed back home.
Four. A fourth person knew where I was. The man who’d been in the safe house. I struggled to remember his name. He wasn’t programmed into the phone.
After a long leisurely shower and then breakfast I looked around the room and let out a sigh. I was filled with energy. Bored.
I wanted a walk. I was wearing yesterday’s clothing but they were still pretty clean. I didn’t have any money, but I could at least get the layout of my surroundings.
Surely no one would notice me if I just slipped out of the condo and went for a stroll around Hamden. It was a cute little hipster hamlet, one that I’d always liked visiting. I wondered if that antique store was still there. I could look, couldn’t I?
So I opened the door and stuck my head out, only to see a body standing there by the door. Waiting.
f*ck
. It was Michael.
That was his name. The fourth contact.
“I had a feeling you’d be popping out to say hi,” he said with a smile. “Trying to escape?” he asked.
“I just wanted a little walk,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to try to run anywhere, I knew how futile that would be. He stared me down like he was trying to decide if I was lying or not. I wasn’t, but my face got hot and I felt myself recoiling away. It was a bad idea. A bad idea.
“Why don’t I take you? I can say I watched you, that you didn’t try to make a break for it, and you can get your walk.”
“Really? You would do that?” I asked.
“Why not?” he said. He grinned at me and waited. “We could even buy you some clothing, on the company dime, of course.” He held up a credit card that had my brother’s company name on it.
Exactly what I was hoping for. I smiled wide and nodded. It was going to be interesting.
***
By the third store, both of our eyes were glazed over. I had two bags of clothing and I was starving. “Lunch?” I asked, hopeful.
“Why don’t we go back to the penthouse and I’ll make you something myself,” Michael said.
“You cook?” I asked.
“I make a mean grilled cheese,” he said as we turned back down towards Janson’s building.
“You know, you are a lot different than I imagined someone like you to be,” I said. I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth.
“You mean I’m not a total dick just because I’m family muscle?” he asked. There wasn’t any anger in his voice. In fact, he seemed amused.
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. “Everyone around my father has always been so angry. So stoic. I never got to see, well, the rest of it.”
“It’s probably a good thing. We do a lot you don’t want to know about.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I’d always known it. But after what I saw last spring… I shook my head. I couldn’t even think about it. It was all just too much. “I bet there is.”
He followed me up the stairs of the industrial apartment complex and into the penthouse on the top floor. It didn’t take long for him to get set up in the kitchen with a griddle and a stack of ingredients.
“So, what kind of grilled cheese do you want? Classic, jalape?o or sweet?”
“Sweet?” I asked.
“Mascarpone, strawberries, and just a light drizzle of honey on a sweet brioche bread.”
“That one. I want that one.” I grinned.
“I thought you might say that.” He got to work. “It’s one of Janson’s favorites.”
“You cook for him?” I asked.
“I do, that was originally why I was hired. A second bodyguard and cook for Greyson and Janson.”
I’d always thought of Janson as Greyson’s bodyguard, but that wasn’t possible. He was the son of the second in command. He was important. They were part of the problem. They were all part of the family that was making me stay here. That was making me live this life.
They were both important. And it made me furious.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he stood there looking at me. I must’ve gone quiet.
“What?” I said. “Oh, yeah. Just tired.” It was a lie. I’d been thinking about Janson. And Greyson. And how angry I was. All of it.
“You look more than tired.” He had the sandwich on the griddle now.
“Well, I’m a prisoner here. I’m trapped. It doesn’t matter if it’s that dump or this nice place, it’s f*ck