12

Christina

Settling inside my car, I called Will. My heart raced from the adrenaline of the hearing; that had to be it. Running a hand through my hair, I waited for him to pick up. My fingers traced the scar on my forehead, which had healed nicely. There was only a thin pink line now, which would turn white in time.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Will. Have I caught you at a bad time?"

I heard rustling in the background. "No. Is everything all right?"

I smiled. "Yes. Actually, that's why I called. Faye and I just finished our hearing, and the judge awarded her temporary sole custody of the kids." My smile grew from ear to ear, recalling the outburst in court.

"That's amazing. You did it. I knew you would. Faye must be so happy."

My eyes misted, thinking of Faye's reaction, and I had to clear my throat. "Yeah. She was relieved."

Inhaling a calming breath, I continued, "Once I speak to my sister and make sure she's okay, we should go out and celebrate the win."

"I'd love to." His voice was solemn. He was serious about his work, but he rarely sounded down about it.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm afraid my news isn't as good as yours."

My chest tightened. "What happened?" My sister and I weren't on the best terms, but that didn't mean I wanted something bad to happen to her.

"I tried to smuggle a phone to her through a pizza box, but Simon found it and threw it away." He swore softly under his breath, but I heard it.

"Oh. Well, that's not too bad."

"It's not bad, but it's not great, either. I'm frustrated that property laws are holding me back. If this were back in my army days, there would have been a lot less red tape."

"Well, people still have the right to defend their homes in this country, so I wouldn't be going all G.I. on his ass just yet."

"I know," he chuckled. "But I did think about it. Sounds like you're getting to know me better than most."

"Does it?"

He was quiet, then changed the subject. "How is Faye getting back to the apartment?"

"Her sister is driving her. She worried about how long she could stay."

"As long as she needs to."

"That's what I told her you'd say."

Huh. Maybe I was getting to know him quite well. The thought was unnerving.

"Maybe we can get together tonight and come up with a different plan for my sister."

"I'd love to, but I can't. I've got to listen to the audio from the house just in case there's something said that will provide me a way inside."

"Yeah, of course." I hired him to do just that. So, I was confused as to why I was disappointed by his response. My mind should be on talking to my sister and getting her away from Simon. Not on Will.

"You could come here." I heard him say. His soft and sexy voice made my stomach drop. Biting my lip, and tossing back my hair, I said, "Ok. I'll go home first to freshen up and then I'll come by." My voice was huskier than usual. This man had me talking like a sex phone operator. I nearly shook my head at the thought. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, babe."

Babe?

That threw cold water onto a very hot vibe. I'd never been anyone's babe and never planned to be. I knew it was a term of endearment, but the possessiveness of the word had always turned me off.

Nobody owned me.

I'd make that clear when I saw Will, that there would be no nicknames like that between us.

As I drove through the Brooklyn Bridge, I wondered if I'd always been like this—defiant—or if it was something I'd learned. I'd never questioned myself before, but I was starting to wonder if the failed relationships in my life had always been due to the other person or if some of this was on me. I knew I wasn't easy to get along with, but you knew where you stood with me. What you saw was what you got. I was honest about my feelings and expected the same in return. Not everyone wanted honesty. And I could appreciate that. The truth hurt me more times than I cared to think about.

***

I pulled up to Will's building a couple of hours later. Between a long hot shower and New York traffic, I arrived a little later than I'd planned. Although I'd never told Will what time I'd be there.

When I entered the foyer and approached the concierge, a familiar voice called out my name. I turned to see Jake Devereaux walking toward me.

"It is you," he said, smiling. He wore a suit just like the last time I saw him. I was pretty sure I threatened him that day. Said that we would have a problem should he not treat my friend right. Fortunately for him, it sounded like she had no complaints.

"Nikole isn't home. Was she expecting you?"

"Um…" I wasn't sure what Will had told his friends, so I thought it best to keep it professional. "I'm here to see Will about my sister's case."

"Oh, that's right." Then he looked at my outfit. I hadn't dressed up, but I did put on some lipstick and did my hair. He smiled. "Say hi to Will for me."

I nodded and was about to head to the elevator when Jake's next words stopped me. "And by the way, thank you."

I turned around. "For what?"

"I haven't seen that dimple on his face for a very long time."

Then he shook his head, still smiling, and left through the glass front doors.

Dimple?

Why would Will's dimple have anything to do with me?

My stomach tightened as the elevator tore up the twenty-plus floors. After checking my lipstick in the mirrored walls of the elevator, I took a deep breath and walked down the hallway.

I was just about to knock on Will's door when he opened it. His eyes rounded and he pulled me inside.

"What's going on?" I asked, stumbling into his apartment.

"It's your sister. She's outside Simon's house. Hurry."

He wore an earpiece in his right ear and handed me the left one, then he ushered me inside a dark room. There were three monitors in the room, and I saw my sister in one of them.

I blinked several times as I watched her slowly walking down the front steps. She looked behind her and to the side. "Do you think she's trying to make a run for it?"

Will shook his head. "I hope not. But if she does, I've got a cop friend ready on standby to pick her up until we get there."

"That's good," I muttered as we continued to watch.

Donna didn't run down the driveway, or to the neighbor's house, as I expected. Instead, she raced toward the trash bins out front.

"Fuck me. That's it." Will said softly, but his words and the way he had said them made my body clench.

"What's happening?" I asked, but then I remembered.

The phone.

"Yes!" I whispered, and Will leaned down to stare closer at the screen. He squeezed my shoulder when Donna pulled out a phone from the trash.

"Please, God. Make it work," he whispered.

Donna shoved the phone inside the pocket of her zippered sweater and ran back toward the house. When she reached the porch, she tiptoed to the front door.

Through the earpiece, the door squeaked, and both Will and I held our breaths. There was no shouting or any other sound.

We waited for Donna to call one of us. "Does she have your number?"

"It's the only number in the contact list."

I nodded, pleased with his thinking.

But as time went on and no call came in, our excitement turned to fear. What if Simon had discovered her when she returned to her room? What if he was hurting her right now?

I pulled out the earpiece and stood up. Pacing the room, I rubbed the back of my neck. "I should go there and check on her."

"Let's just wait. Give her a few more minutes. She may just be waiting until the coast is clear. If we storm in there now, it might blow everything."

I blew out a frustrated breath. "How do you do it? Be patient?"

"When lives depend on it, you have no choice."

I stopped pacing and looked at him. "Have you ever lost someone?"

He looked away. "Yes."

"Was it because you stormed in there?"

"No. It was because I was too scared to tell anyone until it was too late."

Confused by his statement, I tried to piece it together in my brain.

He pushed away from the monitor. "You're right. Let's go."

Then, he grabbed my hand, and we were racing toward the door when his cell phone rang. We both stopped for a second, hope rising in my heart and his eyes.

Pulling out the phone from his back pocket, he checked the number before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Hello. This is Donna. Are you the one who left the phone inside the box?"

His chiseled features softened slightly. "Yes," he exhaled.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice shaky. I'd never heard my defiant sister sound like that. The last time I'd spoken to her, she told me that I'd have to take care of myself, just like we all did now.

"I want to help you. Are you in trouble?"

There were a few seconds of silence, then she said. "Yes."

"What's going on? Why can't you leave on your own?"

"He threatened to kill us if we left. To kill our whole families."

Will turned to me, and our eyes met. Mine grew wider. ‘ Us' I mouthed.

"Who else is in there with you?" he asked.

"There's me and two other girls. One of them has a kid who lives with her grandmother, but she's worried Simon will get to her."

"What does he want with you?"

"He…" she struggled to get the words out. "It was supposed to be an equal partnership at first. He would bring the Johns and we would perform the service. He was only supposed to take a thirty percent cut. But he threatened us and we haven't seen any of that money. I just want to go home."

I ran both hands through my hair. "Motherfucker."

"Who's that?" Donna sounded panicked.

"It's your sister Christina."

"Oh, God. I didn't want her to know about this. She's just going to say it's my fault."

I whipped my head around to look at Will. I would never blame my sister for this. I knew the piece of garbage Simon was. But Donna and I hardly had a loving relationship, either. I shouldn't be surprised to hear her say that. Even though it hurt.

I turned around so that Will would not see the pain it caused me to hear it.

"I don't think that's the case. She hired me to help you."

"She did?"

I wiped away the moisture from my eyes and turned around. "What do we do now? We have to get her out of there."

"Donna, are the doors to your room locked?"

"No. But he knows we won't leave."

"Give me some time to come up with a plan. We will get you out of there. All of you. I promise."

"Leave the phone on silent and hide it somewhere safe. I will text you when we're ready. It won't be long."

"Thank you," she whispered and hung up the phone.

As soon as he put his phone back into his pocket, I faced him. "What's your plan?"

"I don't know yet." He walked past me to his security room, and I followed him.

"We have proof now of Simon doing something illegal. We should get the NYPD involved," I said.

"We should. But not yet. It could take days or longer for the police to get organized." He checked something on his laptop, then pulled out his phone again. "You hired me to get your sister out of there, and that's what I'm going to do."

"All alone?"

"No. I'm calling in my brothers."