Page 33 of They Call Him Reaper

Still, I do something I rarely do. I question him. “Why do I have to take that?”

“It’s easier.”

Simple words, but he’s not the one being drugged and taken around the world. At this rate, I can wake up in a jungle next.

“If you don’t want me to know where we’re going, can’t you just blindfold me?”

Dante raises an eyebrow. “You want to be blindfolded in a small boat crossing a large body of water?”

Okay, that description does make me a little queasy. Plus, he hadn’t exactly helped my fear of drowning by pushing me out of the boat the last time we shared one.

“And this isn’t some way to knock me out and drop me in the ocean?”

Dante rubs his beard, but doesn’t delay his words. “If I planned to drown you, I wouldn’t waste a pill.”

His matter-of-fact statement quickly reminds me of who he can be. Just because I haven’t seen that side of him lately doesn’t mean it just magically disappeared. No one can rework their mind that quickly. Dante is still Dante, even if he smiles at me from time to time.

I nod slowly and reach for the pill and cup of water. I can read a situation, and this is not the time to try to buck the system. His approach was giving easy-way-or-the-hard-way vibes. Whomever Katy Perry was talking about in “Hot N Cold”has nothing on Dante Orejón. He doesn’t go from hot to cold. Instead, he goes from nearly normal to killer and I’m not trying to get reacquainted with the version of him that abducted me.

I pop the pill, then follow it with the water so we can get this on the road. I do my best not to allow my disappointment to show. While he made a valid point about my fear of a lot of water, I also hoped we were beyond this. Dante walks around the table to lean in front of me. He tucks his finger under my chin to force eye contact. There is more emotion in his eyes than what was there a few seconds ago, but I wouldn’t dare try to guess. I feel my body slowing down, preparing for the inevitable fall. My eyes blink slowly as he leans in and takes a soft kiss, then scoops me up to carry me to the boat. He lays me down, but this time, I have a pillow.

I completely shut down only minutes into the water. Groaning awakens me enough to realize it’s my own. I stretch out my body just to realize that I’m actually really comfortable. It’s nothing like the last times he has knocked me out. Finally, I pry my eyes open and am stuck looking around the room, trying to allow my brain to catch up.

We’re not in any room as remote as I imagined. Rolling to my side, I notice a glass balcony that overlooks another beach and an ocean. The slight breeze from the open door makes the white curtains billow away from the glass doors.

“What?” I whisper to myself as I sit up.

Dante is nowhere in sight, but some more water is on the nightstand. It looks amazing for my dry mouth. That’s always the downfall of sedatives. They make me so thirsty. I down the bottle of water fast enough to make myself a little queasy. Opting to let it pass, I lean back on the headboard and take a few deep breaths. I’m in a fancy hotel room. No, a resort. But where?

Someone knocks on the door, the sound echoing in the silent room, causing me to believe that Dante will pop up out of nowhere. Once he doesn’t appear, I get to the door just before the worker walks off.

He smiles at me and gestures to the cart. “Room Service.”

His Spanish accent could give me an idea of where I’m at, but it could be misleading. There are people around the world with Spanish accents. I step aside and allow him entry, since only Dante could have ordered the food. He leaves the tray near the table and offers to remove the lids for me.

“No, thank you,” I tell him. “I can do it myself. Sorry, I don’t have tip money on me.”

He waves me off with a smile. “No worries. Your husband paid already.” He gives me a half bow before exiting. “Thank you. Enjoy your honeymoon.”

“Husband?” I whisper as the soft click of the door closing reminds me that I’m alone again. “Honeymoon?”

I try to ignore the way those words make my belly flutter since Dante has been known to exaggerate our relationship when traveling. My brain, however, is also stuck on reminding me that most of his ploys were before we had sex; before we cuddled and before he kissed me like he cared. His titles have a different effect on me, an effect that I can’t afford to feel. I’d have to know I’m not a pawn before I get my hopes up.

I rub my face, only to realize that metal brushes my nose. Pulling my hand back to look at it, I stare for long moments,because I fully feel like maybe this is a dream in which I thought I woke up. A beautiful diamond ring sits on my finger, as if I’m married in real life. I touch it and it is truly real. My bladder, however, doesn’t care about the ring. My toiletries are already in the bathroom, so I perform some basic grooming until my stomach grumbles to remind me that there is food to eat in my room.

Everything smells damn good, begging me to eat it, yet I still hesitate. I know he doesn’t need a reason to drug me just for fun or anything like that, but I’m not sure if a new location equals a new game. Telling myself to give Dante a chance to return, I wait fifteen minutes before my stomach growls again. I’m really hungry and can’t wait any longer.

I remove the tops from the three plates to find a salad, an entree of a half chicken with rice and vegetables, and a dessert. It all looks great, but this meal is for one.

“Where am I?” I grumble and swipe the remote to turn on the television. The hotel information immediately pops up on the big screen. “Ibiza! I’m at a resort in Ibiza.”

Nothing should stun me by now, but this is the polar opposite of the accommodations I’ve had since he abducted me. As I eat and stare off into the picturesque landscape, I ask myself the same question again.

What the hell is happening?

TWENTY-ONE

Inaya

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