Page 60 of Shadowing Charlotte
"Perhaps," he agreed. "You remember where we had our first date?" Of course I remembered. It had been loud and overwhelming, and some idiot had spilled a drink on us at the end of the concert.
"The fairgrounds?" I asked softly.
"You have an hour, Charlotte. Come alone. Do this, and I'll leave daddy dearest be."
"Okay," I agreed numbly. This wasn't about me anymore. This was about keeping my father safe. "I'll come."
"Good. See you in an hour, baby." The line went dead, leaving me standing in the kitchen, feeling like my innards were going to spill out of my chest. An hour…
I didn't bother getting dressed, pulling on my sneakers that were sitting by the door. I paused, thinking about Alexander, sleeping in my bed only feet away. My sweet, caring Alexander who had turned my entire world upside down. God, I loved him so much. All the more reason to do this. Adam needed to stop, and I couldn't see the people I loved hurt or killed because of me. I pulled a piece of paper from my purse and scrawled across it with trembling fingers.
I love you…Short and to the point. I wanted to add that I would see him later but promises were useless. I didn't know what Adam had planned, too terrified to even imagine where his mind was at. No, I just wanted to get the confrontation over with and move on with my life. With Alexander…
Laying the note on the coffee table, I sucked in a steadying breath and walked out the door, leaving my entire world asleep in my bed.
The drive was taking too long. Every time I glanced at the clock, three or four minutes had passed. I began to panic, praying to whatever Gods would hear me that I made it in time. I pulled into the deserted parking lot with three fucking minutes to spare, my head whipping around in search of Adam. I was there, so where the fuck was he?
At one hour, on the dot, my phone rang. I answered it immediately, my heart pounding in my throat like a war drum. "Are you there?"
"I'm here," I croaked.
"Send me your location," he demanded bluntly. I did exactly as I was told, sending him the information. "Good. I'll be there in three minutes; you better be alone." He hung up without another word and I was left sitting in silence in the middle of the parking lot.
Adam rolled up in his Mercedes exactly three minutes later, the music blaring as if he was simply out for a fun drive. As the window rolled down, the music was lowered, and he smirked at me.
"You're not dressed," he commented idly.
"There wasn't time," I replied, my voice little more than a shaky whisper. "Adam, let's talk about—"
The security car pulled up beside him before I could finish. "You two can't park here! We're closed!" he called as he stepped out of the vehicle.
Adam smiled, completely unperturbed. "No problem, officer. We were just leaving." He turned to look at me, lowering his glasses and giving me a pointed stare. "Let's go, Charlotte." As the security guard rolled away, I turned to climb into the Jeep, ready to follow him, when he coughed. "Get your cute little ass inmycar, Lottie."
"But… my Jeep," I replied.
"Leave it."
"Adam—"
"I said leave it, Charlotte!" The smile completely fell from his face. "Leave everything but your wallet." I nodded, wracking my brain with ideas on how to get out of the situation without completely fucking over Lex or my father. As I leaned over to pull my wallet from my purse, I dialed Alexander and dropped the phone on the seat. "I don't have all day!" Adam called out through the open window.
"I'm not going anywhere with you until you promise to leave my father alone and tell me where you're taking me. Why can't I bring the jeep?" I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest.
"We're going on a little vacation, baby. All you need is your ID," he replied. I left the keys and the phone on the seat and slammed the door, climbing into his car.
"You know this is insane, right?" I asked tensely. "People will come looking for me."
"That doesn't mean they'll find you," he replied, cranking the music back up as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Buckle up, sweetheart." I clicked the seatbelt into place, gripping my knees as he began to weave through traffic. My legs twitched anxiously as I stared at the road ahead, trying to figure out where we were going. When I couldn't take it any longer, I turned the music down.
"Do you really have a gun, Adam?" The question left an acidic taste in my mouth.
"Damn right, sweetheart," he affirmed, pulling the handgun from the side of the door and holding it up for me to see. The lump in my throat slipped into my stomach, writhing like a nest of snakes as I gaped at him, feeling like I was going to vomit.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere I can keep you all to myself," he replied. "You'll get used to it, sweetheart. And once you do, you'll remember why we belong together." Remember… I couldn't ever recall thinking we'd belonged together. Hell, he had never even been all that nice to me.
"Adam, you can't just lock me away for the rest of our lives." Didn't he understand how insane his little plot was? Kidnap me and hide me away? How on earth was he able to rationalize it?
