“Why can’t I go with you?”
“Because it is too dangerous. You will remain here with Patton until I return. Understood?” His piercing eyes matched his tone, and I knew I wouldn’t win this argument. Maybe I could use having Patton here to my advantage. Surely, he could tell me more about my mysterious captor.
~22~
Reyna
Patton remained in the living room while I showered and got dressed. When I returned, the living area was lit up with the city of Atlanta just as the bedroom had been. As I showered, I tried to think of a way to get Patton to soften up to me so I could get more information about Davian. I wasn’t sure how much he felt comfortable sharing with me, but I thought starting with simple questions was the best approach.
Patton took a seat on the couch, looking at his phone and typing messages to someone on the other end. Taking a seat on the chaise, I remembered to start with simple questions. “So… Patton. How long have you known Davian?”
Turning his head my way, his left brow lifted, probably analyzing my intention. “If you are fishing for information about Mr. Cross, I’m afraid I can’t help you out with that. Anything you want to know about him, you will have to ask him.”
Getting him to tell me more about Davian would be harder than I thought, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “It’s a simple question, Patton. Did you guys go to school together, or did he hire you?”
With the same stern look, his eyes met mine. “Mr. Cross hired me. Before that, we never met.”
Well, at least that was something. Thinking about my next question, I looked over to the screen displaying the city in real-time. “Were you the one who installed this high-tech window to the outside?”
“You could say that. I handle all of Mr. Cross’s security.”
Patton handled all of Davian's security. Hmm… maybe he knew what kind of business Cross Enterprises was. Thumping my finger against my chin, I contemplated my next question. “I suppose with the business Cross Enterprises does, security is a must. I understand a lot of unethical business practices take place.”
Knowing I was reaching for answers, maybe I could at least put my mind at ease that Cross Enterprises was on the up and up. Davian knew too much about my biological father, and his affiliation with the Russian mafia didn’t settle well with me. I needed to know that I could trust Davian.
“Ms. McCall, I’m not sure what you're getting at, but if you are referring to his venture with your father’s agency, I can assure you Mr. Cross has spoken to Mr. McCall about his staffing arrangement.”
I wasn’t sure how my adoptive father fit into this conversation. But based on what Patton just said he must be mistaken. There was no way that Crosby McCall had a connection with anything shady.
The vibration of my phone stopped me from asking any more questions when I saw Kenzi’s number across the screen. Intending to keep my conversation with my best friend private, I walked past Patton and headed to Davian’s study.
Pressing the phone icon, I said, “Hey, girlfriend.”
“Reyna, where are you. Are you in Atlanta yet? My phone has been ringing off the hook. The administration office at GSU has been trying desperately to get in touch with you. You listed me as your emergency contact on your school application, so they’ve been calling me non-stop.” Kenzi was frantic, and I could just see her pacing back and forth with worry.
“I don’t have my phone anymore, and they don’t have this number. Remember, Davian took it away from me. Did they say what they wanted?’
“No, they just said there was an issue with your registration and that you needed to get down to the administration office as soon as possible.”
I couldn’t leave. There was no way Patton would let me leave, at least not without Davian’s approval. I knew that would never happen. “I’ll call them and see if I can handle the issue over the phone.”
“Okay, but you better do it today. The lady from the office wasn’t very happy when she called, especially when she couldn’t get a hold of you. I think her name was Karen.”
“I’ll call them right now. I’ll call you back and let you know what Karen needed.” Kenzi would worry if I didn’t let her know what was going on.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye for now.”
“Wait… I need the number. I have no way to look it up.” That wasn’t exactly true. I could ask Patton, but then he would know what was going on, and if I had to leave, I couldn’t let him know.
Once I tapped the number of the administration office at GSU, I waited for someone to answer. It was Monday morning, and I knew someone would be there to answer.
“GSU administration office, this is Karen, how can I help you?”
“Hi, Karen. This is Reyna McCall. I understand that you have been trying to reach me.”
“Oh, yes. I’m so glad that you called. We need you to come to the office. The information on your class registration form seems to have been misplaced. If you would like, I can give you the link to complete it online.” I could tell that Karen was preoccupied with something else since I could hear the sound of papers being shuffled.
“Can’t I just give you the information over the phone, and you could fill it for me? I don’t have access to a computer.” I already knew what classes I needed to take, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to complete.