Page 67 of Like An Animal
I expected both Massimo and Xavi to be just as mad at me as Jeremy is, but they don’t seem to be holding those grudges. Well, Xavi might, but Massimo was always much quicker to anger than Xavi. Xavi never got mad at anyone unless pushed too far.
“Quit playing catch up and get in the fucking car,” Jeremy growls, but Massimo doesn’t seem fazed at all. He just shrugs and gets into the driver’s seat of the sleek black car before Jeremy practically shoves me into the backseat. I manage to catch myself before I faceplant into the other door.
The door slams behind me as I sit right and put on my seatbelt. Massimo starts the car as Jeremy climbs into the seat in front of me.
I make a quick assessment of my surroundings, taking note of the expensive upholstery and lack of worn carpet. There’s not even a slight scuff on the seat. Either the car is brand new or rarely used. Either way, it’s clearly expensive. It’s something one can tell by the design of the buttons on the door and the slight tint on the windows.
Based on the logo on the steering wheel, it’s an Aston Martin–very expensive. However, I’ve never seen one that looked like this. It must be a custom build or an unreleased model. Based on the quality, I would bet on the latter.
“Just relax, little lady. We’ll be there soon,” Massimo says as he speeds down the road, maneuvering between vehicles like he actually knows what he’s doing.
Thank God I put on my seat belt, but sadly, there’s no getting out of this. At least, not until I find my daughter and we can leave together. Once I have her in my arms again, I’m going to run with her and disappear into the night. I’ll go somewhere that neither The Fathers or Jeremy will ever find us again.
Massimo pulls downa long driveway with guards standing at a gate at the end of the driveway. They open the gate before letting him onto the property and I watch the gate close behind us, immediately realizing that if I want to escape, I’ll probably have to either steal a car or scale the fence.
That’s going to be a difficult task.
Massimo speeds down the long winding driveway, trees flashing by the car, as I stare out into the practically empty property…until I seeit.
The massive estate settled into the back of the gated area.
And I thought the house we were raised in was ridiculously big. That had nothing on this monstrosity.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Jeremy was trying to compensate for something. Clearly, that’s not the case, so why does he have such a big house? Hell, maybe it’s not his. Maybe it’s his grandfather’s house or Xavi’s parents' place.
Either way, there’s no reason for anyone to need that much space.
It’s a massive mansion with a very minimalist exterior, much like the compound I ran from in the dead of night. Even the men walking around with rifles in their hands match up, except The Fathers didn’t have men with bulletproof vests and military style gear.
It puts me on edge. The similarities are too close for my comfort.
Massimo pulls up to the front door and parks next to a car similar in style and color to this one before Jeremy climbs out. I pull off my seat belt before looking at Massimo.
“Max, what is this place?” I ask, hoping he’ll give me more than Jeremy would.
He turns his head and smiles at me. “This is the compound. Once Jer feels like it’s safe, he’ll move you to his house, but for right now, this is the best place for you. There isn’t anywhere on Earth safer. No one comes or goes from this place without one of us approving it.”
Well, there goes my escape plan. I guess that will need to wait until we leave this place.
Emotionally, this place feels the furthest from safe.
Just being near it makes my skin crawl.
The door is pulled open and my arm is yanked out, pulling me along with it.
“Hey!” I grunt as I stand to my feet, wobbling in my heels from the way my legs shake. I meet Jeremy’s cold eyes as his eyebrow twitches.
“Come on.”
The man seriously needs to take a chill pill. He almost pulled my shoulder out of socket. It wouldn’t have hurt too bad, but it would’ve been a hassle to put back into place.
“I was just asking Max some questions.” Seriously, what is his problem? Why is he in such a hurry?
“Your interrogation methods can wait. We are on a schedule.”
What?
I thought Massimo said we were going to stay here until Jeremy decided to move us. I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.
