Page 39 of Ends of Being

He gives me a hard look and walks up beside me to knock on the counter a few times as he says, “You’re gonna need to put your dirty thoughts aside for now, Nettie. I’m not one for sharing much information with you, but there are a few points we need to go over because Matt and I have an errand we need to run later today, so someone else will be staying with you. We’re going to move you again, temporarily, because we never have anyone outside of us three on this property.”

I stand and pick up my plate, then walk over to the sink to rinse it off before I put it in the dishwasher. Then I turn to him, my arms coming up to cross over my chest as I say, “Okay, so do I need to pack a bag, or is this more like a day trip?”

“It should just be a day trip, but you may want to bring a few things to entertain yourself with. I don’t like doing this, but we all agree that the errand that needs tending to can’t go to anyone else but us. We could split up, but that’s just not feasible. It’s our only option to trust someone else with you.”

I shrug my shoulders, puffing a bit. “I have read enough thrillers to know not to do anything stupid to open myself up to an outside threat. You could just leave me here if you think no one knows about the property.”

“We did consider that, and we don’t feel you’re going to do anything intentionally that would draw attention to yourself. But this place is too far out, so on the off-chance someone did find you here, even with the cameras and alarms, it would take way too long to get somebody here to help you. And the camera trail is also lacking, unlike in the city, where there are so many more angles from where you can look.”

I squint at him, my mouth twisting as I say, “Cameras?” I see Matt wince from the corner of my eye, so I turn to him as I ask again, “What do you mean cameras?”

Matt’s the one to respond this time. “Dare definitely takes security seriously.”

I look between the two of them, anger boiling up inside me, and I wish I was still holding a knife so I could stab one of them with it. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given the hard evidence I found in what must be his other house. If he didn’t take all those pictures himself, he had plenty of eyes on me, and he must’ve known my every move.

At the very least, it seems he probably had cameras in my apartment and basically any place that I stayed in for more than a day. I guess that’s something I’ll have to take up with him next time I see him.

That fucker.

I open my mouth to say something, then close it, unable to get coherent words out through the anger burning inside me. I step toward Matt, and he immediately steps back, obviously not wanting to tangle with me today.

My gaze snaps over to Tony, who’s watching me blankly, and I get the feeling he’d like me to make a move so he can shackle me up again. So, I don’t give him the satisfaction and simply leave the room without another word.

Chapter Sixteen

Toni

Thetwomentheyhave assigned to me at the midtown apartment seem nice enough. Still, they’re not exactly excellent conversationalists, so I soon give up attempting to have any form of camaraderie with them.

I poke around a bit on social media, then giggle over a few spicy TikToks before I finally settle on a book to read. I’m about a third of the way through when a thud comes from the living room. I put my e-reader down, quickly moving off the bed I’ve been sprawled on, and step out of the doorway to peek down the hallway.

I’m stunned to see the sprawled legs of a body on the floor at the end of the hallway and press myself against the wall of my bedroom, taking deep breaths in the hopes my heartbeat will stop galloping in my chest. My mind is racing, coming up with and discarding scenario after scenario of what these people might want and what lengths they may go to in order to get it.

For a moment, I consider trying to find a place in my room to hide, but that seems impossible, given I’m not exactly the right size to be hidden. I could possibly make it to the fire escape at the end of the hall, but it seems unlikely I would get very far, considering whoever is out there is obviously here on a mission to do harm.

I take a deep breath, accepting there’s no use in me standing around here wondering what’s going on. So, I stuff my feet into some shoes and grab my jacket off the end of my bed before exiting my bedroom and walk quietly down the hallway. I hesitate for a moment when I reach the sprawled legs that belong to one of the men hired to stay with me. I give him a glance, noting the rise and fall of his chest, indicating he’s alive, then I school my features and continue into the room with a blank look on my face, my head held high.

They can fuck off.

Surprisingly, there are four of them, and they stand there, stonily staring at me. I wait a bit, thinking that maybe someone will say something, and when they don’t, I bite out, “May I help you?”

The taller one motions to the one on his left, and I can only assume it’s an indication that he should come and get me. Again, I contemplate fighting back, but I understand the likelihood of me escaping four people is pretty slim, so I put my hands up in surrender and say, “I’ll go with you willingly. There’s no need to use force.”

The man who was coming toward me glances back at the taller man questioningly, and he must’ve given some kind of agreement because he continues walking over to me, reaching out as if to grab me by my neck. I jerk away from him and snap, “Don’t touch me.”

Again, he doesn’t say anything, just glances over at the tall guy who finally says, “We’re gonna need your phone.”

I nod briefly in acknowledgment, handing my phone over and then motioning toward the door, saying, “By all means, proceed.”

The two other men immediately head toward the door, and the man still beside me indicates that I should go ahead of him while he and the tall guy follow behind. As we head down the hallway, I try not to think how ominous the click of the door feels as it closes behind me.

They lead me outside and around the corner into a wide alleyway where a limo is waiting. I hesitate, shocked to find a black stretch and not the van of the white windowless variety. The taller man grunts at me, giving me a little shove in the direction of the open door, so I get in.AndI’m alone.

I sit there for a few minutes, then attempt to open the doors and windows, but they don’t budge. The partition is up, and the windows are blacked out, so I just sit there in silence, twiddling my thumbs, and thanking my lucky stars that I’m not in the trunk…again.

We drive around for a while, then I feel the limo come to a stop. To say I’m astounded when the car door pops open and a blonde woman gets in beside me is an understatement. The door closes, and she turns to face me, her cool gaze scanning me all the way from the top of my head to the tips of my toes before looking me in the face.

Then it’s like watching a flower bloom as her previously cool features suddenly transform into a beaming smile. It almost takes my breath away as she exclaims, “Antoinette, what a pleasure to finally meet you!”

---