Chapter Ten
“No answer on his cell,” Allegra said, her voice heavy with worry. “It could be an emergency. I’ll follow your car.”
I was almost out the door by the time I heard the word ‘emergency’. A black sedan was parked in front of the cafe, a man in a chauffeur’s uniform standing at the rear. When he saw me, he opened the door and stood aside to let me in.
“Miss Montgomery.”
My heart clenched into a fist. “Is Jacob okay?” Allegra was beside me and while neither of us were ready for a ‘no’ answer, we held our breath, preparing ourself for whatever might come out of the man’s mouth.
His squirrely eyes darted between us. His appearance did not calm my nerves. His legs trembled and he kept licking his bottom lip, like he was harboring some terrible secret.
“Mr. Whitmore,” he began ominously, volume lowered to the point that Allegra and I had to move closer just to hear him, “Is perfectly fine.”
Allegra and I exchanged looks of confusion.
I turned back to him. “If Jacob is okay, why are you here?”
“I was sent to pick you up and take you to him,” the man explained, stroking his pencil thin mustache before gesturing at the open door.
My pulse slowed as I digested the information. A thought entered my mind briefly when the man called, that Jacob was keeping tabs on me. I had pushed it away once ‘emergency’ was uttered.
After our last confrontation and he dismissed me like some king on a throne, he had the nerve to summon me?
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I muttered, not making a move toward the door.
Allegra was still figuring it out. Her voice was as haunted as it was when we rushed from the restaurant. “Jacob is okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head at the nerve of the billionaire. “Well enough that he sent someone to fetch me.”
The final pieces clicked in place and Allegra’s jaw tightened. She stepped up to the lanky driver, turning her anger on him. “Questo è ridicolo! You came here to pick her up on his orders? She is no child! Jacob Whitmore does not own her!”
“Signora, I do my job,” the man said defensively. “Mr. Whitmore says pick her up, I pick her up.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket, calling Jacob before Allegra ripped the driver’s head from his body. The man was right—he was just doing his job. There was someone else that deserved the anger: the person that sent the car in the first place.
Jacob answered after two rings.
“I hope you’re calling me from the car,” he said smoothly.
I pulled the phone from my ear, glaring at the screen like I was glaring at the man himself. “I’m calling from outside the car. The unsolicited car!”
“Your instructions were simple, Leila,” he said icily. “Get in the car. Failure to comply will only increase the severity of your punishment.”
My jaw dropped, along with all will to fight. Want rushed over me like an unrelenting flame.
One word made my body ache with the possibilities.
Punishment.
Allegra was still pissed off and took the phone from my hand, before I could say I had every intention of obeying. While she fussed at him in her native tongue, I slid into the backseat.
She took notice of my compliance, slack jawed. “Leila, you don’t have to talk to him until you’re ready to.”
A simmering heat warmed my belly as I gave her a shaky smile. I did not think either of us were too keen on talking. We had other things in mind.
“I know.” I answered steadily. “It’s okay—I’ll go to him.”
She twisted her mouth in displeasure, growling into the phone. “Non siamo finiti.” She handed it back to me, but did not close the door. “We’ll finish the coffee soon?”
I nodded. “Thanks for letting me vent.”
I watched her out the back window until the driver turned onto a side street. Her concern for me followed after me, making me smile. I clutched the phone in my hand, then gasped when I realized Jacob was still on the line.
I brought the phone to my ear. “I’m on my way.”
“Good.”
The line went dead and I glanced at the screen. He had hung up.
Not even his abrupt departure could dull the excitement coursing through me like electricity. The driver was not taking me back to Jacob’s villa, which added to the intrigue. Where were we headed? And what did Jacob have planned?
The car turned down a familiar street. I recognized the cafe Jacob and I had gone to a few days ago. The owner was out front, flashing a toothy grin that was contagious. We took another right and pulled up to the museum Jacob had attempted to take me after lunch. Outside the property, a group of people were lined up, looks of anger on their faces.
I rolled down the window, trying to catch the conversation.
“Closed?”
“What do you mean it’s been reserved for a private tour?”
When the driver turned down the alley, the car sandwiched between two historic buildings. I felt doubly guilty. Jacob had obviously pulled strings so we could finish the tour we began—and I had to close my eyes as the corridor tightened. If we got stuck here, it would just add insult to injury.
I sighed with relief as the car safely pulled into a back courtyard. I opened the door and stepped out, taking in the bright colors of the painted building, barely faded even though I knew it was at least a hundred years old.
I followed the driver to the back entrance, pausing when he stepped to the side to let me pass.
“Mr. Whitmore is waiting for you inside.”
I smoothed the front of my wrinkled t-shirt, clutching my sweatshirt in my arm as I walked through the door. I expected bright lights; hues that presented the grand art, caressing every contour of the marble, and highlighting every stroke of the paintbrush.
Jacob Whitmore was all business to the world, but to me, he was my Dominant. So I was sure he brought a piece of art himself; a spanking bench, some travel Saint Andrews Cross.
I paused at the door, darkness swallowing the afternoon sun. The building looked completely empty. Closed for business.
I glanced over my shoulder, thinking there must be a mistake, but the driver had already abandoned me, inching toward the alley. Leaving me here alone.
Not alone, I thought, panic waning. Jacob is in there...somewhere.
I gulped, taking a small step forward.
“H-Hello?”
My answer was silence...and the return of a fear that raked across my skin like nails. Just as I was about to book it after the car, a deep, sensual voice rose above the silence.