breaking the silence that had lingered for several seconds between us. It didn’t seem like he could read my mind, so I relaxed slightly, despite the fact that it was unnerving that he also knew of Ian. But I soon concluded that, if he knew of me, he probably would know of Ian. Then I answered his question.
“Maybe. We could call him if you’d like.”
“Yes, I would like that. But I would like it even more if he came here to visit me. What message did you have for me from Jonah?” He held up a hand before I could answer. “That was a lie, wasn’t it? You just made up that Jonah’s sick so that I would agree to see you, didn’t you?”
I sat up straighter, determined not to let this little freak get the upper hand of me and Ian, of our plan. “Well, yes, you’re right about that last part. Jonah is not sick. The message I have is from me and Ian about Jonah. Ian will kill Jonah if you don’t do as we want. We have abducted him. Since you seem to know who both Ian and I am, I’m not going to bore you with telling you about us. Suffice to say that we know how much you value the fruits of your loins. Are we understanding each other here?”
To his credit, he didn’t flinch once despite my threat to murder his only son that didn’t deserve all the unconditional love he apparently felt for him. “Yes, I understand perfectly. Where do you keep Jonah? Is he hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. I’m not going to tell you where we keep him, sorry. But what I can do for you is contact Ian via Skype and he’ll let you speak to Jonah yourself. This way he can tell you himself that he’s okay.”
“Fine. Let’s call him then.”
I checked the time on my phone. Less than ten minutes had passed since I sent the text to Ian, notifying him that I was with Stenger. Ian would need at least half an hour before he’d get to his brownstone where Jonah was. “Unfortunately we need to wait a while before we can contact Ian. He won’t be with Jonah until at the very earliest ten o’clock.”
“Oh. I see. Well, in that case, let’s wait.”
“I’ll text him to call me as soon as he gets to Jonah.”
“That’s a good idea. Tell him to hurry up. I don’t have all day.” The statement was followed by that uncomfortably familiar and much too charming soft chuckle, ostensibly to take the edge of the harsh words.
I typed a message to Ian on my phone: I’m with Stenger and he seems to be well aware of who you and I are, which is freaking me out. Hurry up getting to Jonah, then call me.
My phone soon buzzed with Ian’s response. Yes, I’m aware that he knows who I am, but I’m surprised he knows about you. Or maybe not now that I think about it. Are you okay?
I fired off a quick response. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.
Barely had I pressed Send before I got a response from Ian. I’ll always worry about you. You mean too much to me for me not to.
I frowned at Ian’s text. This wasn’tthe time to get all warm and fuzzy with me.What the hell was he thinking when he typed those words in a moment like this?
“What’s up with that scowl, Gabi?” Stenger asked, intercepting my annoyed thoughts. “A pretty girl like you should not frown like that. It’s not becoming.”
As I met the wheelchair-bound man’s eyes that were of an indeterminable color, I made sure the scowl deepened. “No? Why not?” I held up a hand, exactly like he had done only moments earlier. “Wait. Don’t answer that. I forgot that in the world you want to create, everyone needs to be perfect-looking. A scowling face must be a big no-no in such a world, correct?”
“No, that’s not true. I’m not wishing for people in my world to walk around smiling all the time. But it’s of course preferable if they’re happy instead of upset. And I do like them attractive, I’ll have to admit. You looked upset. What did Ian tell you that upset you so much?”
I gave a lopsided smirk that I hoped conveyed just how inappropriate I
“Maybe. We could call him if you’d like.”
“Yes, I would like that. But I would like it even more if he came here to visit me. What message did you have for me from Jonah?” He held up a hand before I could answer. “That was a lie, wasn’t it? You just made up that Jonah’s sick so that I would agree to see you, didn’t you?”
I sat up straighter, determined not to let this little freak get the upper hand of me and Ian, of our plan. “Well, yes, you’re right about that last part. Jonah is not sick. The message I have is from me and Ian about Jonah. Ian will kill Jonah if you don’t do as we want. We have abducted him. Since you seem to know who both Ian and I am, I’m not going to bore you with telling you about us. Suffice to say that we know how much you value the fruits of your loins. Are we understanding each other here?”
To his credit, he didn’t flinch once despite my threat to murder his only son that didn’t deserve all the unconditional love he apparently felt for him. “Yes, I understand perfectly. Where do you keep Jonah? Is he hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. I’m not going to tell you where we keep him, sorry. But what I can do for you is contact Ian via Skype and he’ll let you speak to Jonah yourself. This way he can tell you himself that he’s okay.”
“Fine. Let’s call him then.”
I checked the time on my phone. Less than ten minutes had passed since I sent the text to Ian, notifying him that I was with Stenger. Ian would need at least half an hour before he’d get to his brownstone where Jonah was. “Unfortunately we need to wait a while before we can contact Ian. He won’t be with Jonah until at the very earliest ten o’clock.”
“Oh. I see. Well, in that case, let’s wait.”
“I’ll text him to call me as soon as he gets to Jonah.”
“That’s a good idea. Tell him to hurry up. I don’t have all day.” The statement was followed by that uncomfortably familiar and much too charming soft chuckle, ostensibly to take the edge of the harsh words.
I typed a message to Ian on my phone: I’m with Stenger and he seems to be well aware of who you and I are, which is freaking me out. Hurry up getting to Jonah, then call me.
My phone soon buzzed with Ian’s response. Yes, I’m aware that he knows who I am, but I’m surprised he knows about you. Or maybe not now that I think about it. Are you okay?
I fired off a quick response. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.
Barely had I pressed Send before I got a response from Ian. I’ll always worry about you. You mean too much to me for me not to.
I frowned at Ian’s text. This wasn’tthe time to get all warm and fuzzy with me.What the hell was he thinking when he typed those words in a moment like this?
“What’s up with that scowl, Gabi?” Stenger asked, intercepting my annoyed thoughts. “A pretty girl like you should not frown like that. It’s not becoming.”
As I met the wheelchair-bound man’s eyes that were of an indeterminable color, I made sure the scowl deepened. “No? Why not?” I held up a hand, exactly like he had done only moments earlier. “Wait. Don’t answer that. I forgot that in the world you want to create, everyone needs to be perfect-looking. A scowling face must be a big no-no in such a world, correct?”
“No, that’s not true. I’m not wishing for people in my world to walk around smiling all the time. But it’s of course preferable if they’re happy instead of upset. And I do like them attractive, I’ll have to admit. You looked upset. What did Ian tell you that upset you so much?”
I gave a lopsided smirk that I hoped conveyed just how inappropriate I
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