His to Steal

Ch. 19: Answers (Part Two)

Sutton

"Yeah, that's easy," Lauren says, typing away on her laptop. "I can do that in about five minutes."

"Why do you need—"

I pin Dominique with a look that screams you promised no questions.

She holds her hands up and backs away from Lauren's desk. "Fine, fine, sorry."

"I promise, I will tell you about it as soon as I'm done if I can," I say, giving her what I hope is an apologetic look.

"Yeah, I know," she says, leaning against the far wall of the lobby with her arms crossed, staring out the door into the street.

I turn back to Lauren when I'm satisfied Dominique isn't listening and whisper, "I need Nicolai Marković's address because I am done fucking around with him. I want to know the truth about everything once and for all. He's going to give me the answers I need."

A grin spreads over her face and she wiggles her eyebrows. "All right, I'm here for this. Hold on, this won't take long," she says as she types a few more things into her laptop. "Okay, one more thing. Yep. Got it."

She jots something down on a sheet of paper and slips it in my hand.

"That's it?!" I ask incredulously.

"That's it. Perks of working security. I know some of the best tricks."

"Thank you, Lauren. Seriously, you're a lifesaver."

"I expect payment in the form of details when you get back."

"It's a deal."

Dominique is still glaring at me when we get outside, and I tilt my head to the side. "Please don't be mad, Dominique. I promise I would tell you if I could. But it's for the best that I don't yet."

She just nods once and says, "I'll stay a block behind you, but you better make sure I get on the same train as you if we need to take one. And if I call that phone and you don't answer, I'm coming after you, no questions asked."

My bun that now looks more like a ponytail that I really wish I'd gotten a chance to style bounces against my head as I nod. "Got it."

And with that, we're off. Of course, we do need to take three trains to get over to Brooklyn, and Dominique keeps her word; she doesn't try to keep up with me, and the few times I turn around, she isn't even in my eyesight.

I look down at my phone and my breath hitches when I see I'm nearing what should be Nicolai's home. As much as I hate to admit it, my heart warms when I look around at the neighborhood. I'm glad to see that he's ended up in a nice place and not where he always thought he'd be—somewhere dangerous that he'd be afraid for me to visit—

Before I can finish my thought, a blindfold covers my eyes, my wrists are twisted behind my back, and a voice rasps in my ear, "Scream, and I swear to God, I will slit your throat."

The knife that is held below my chin tells me that whoever this is isn't lying.

I writhe against them, kicking in the air as my feet leave the ground. I'm hitting nothing but empty space, and even when I try to kick backward, the person must dart out of my reach. I immediately try to unscrew the rose on my self-defense ring I used on Nicolai last night, but with the way this asshole has my hands twisted behind my back, it just isn't possible.

"Stop struggling, you little bitch, or you're gonna make this way harder on yourself," the man seethes against the shell of my ear, and I nearly vomit when he adds, "More fun for me, but harder on you."