“She wouldn’t dare to do something to your drink. Merideth obviously thinks that a few fucks should give her special attention. Something she will quickly learn does not.”
“You’ve slept with her?” I asked, my voice sounding way too interested.
He cocked his head, that sly smile of his sliding across his face. “A few times here and there on long flights. Does that bother you, little wolf?”
I rolled my eyes and took a big gulp of my water, almost choking myself in the process.
The plane began to move, and I flinched and set down my water, forgetting all about Hendrix and the girl as butterflies began to swarm in my stomach.
“Drink this,” Hendrix said gruffly, picking up the scotch and handing it to me. I drank it back without question, desperate for some liquid courage.
The butterflies turned into bats as the plane ascended into the air, and I went from gripping onto the couch to gripping onto Hendrix’s leg like it could somehow keep me safe.
“Deep breaths, little wolf,” Hendrix murmured, stroking my hair softly.
My breaths were more like gulps of air as I closed my eyes and tried to think happy thoughts.
I just didn’t have a lot of happy thoughts to draw from, so it wasn’t a huge success.
The plane leveled off, and I was finally able to breathe normally right as Merideth arrived with two plates of food that even smelled heavenly after the panic attack I’d just experienced.
She set the plates down on the coffee table with rolled-up silverware before standing up and pointedly staring at where my hand was still holding onto Hendrix’s leg.
I hastily let him go…which did not make Hendrix happy.
“Do you have a problem, Merideth?” he asked silkily, the danger in his voice so obvious that I was suddenly scared for her.
“N-no sir,” she said, her face paling. Merideth took a deep gulp and then pushed back a lock of her pretty brown hair. “But if we could talk for a moment privately,” she stupidly continued.
“There is nothing you could possibly have to say to me except ‘yes sir,’ and ‘do you need anything else?’ Is that clear?” he said coldly, his eyes beginning to flash red like they had the night before.
A sob tore out of Merideth’s throat, and she scampered away as fast she could.
“Christopher,” Hendrix called mildly in only a slightly elevated voice.
As if he had been waiting to be called, which I suspected he had been, a nervous-looking guy dressed in a sharp grey suit leaped from a couch a few feet away and hustled over. “Yes, sir?”
“Make sure Merideth is reassigned to one of the outer islands. I don’t want to see her again.”
If Christopher thought that was an odd request, he didn’t show it. “Of course, sir. I’ll put her on a different flight back on our next stop.” He bowed slightly to both of us and then hustled back to his seat where he resumed studying a screen filled with scrolling stocks.
“Eat,” Hendrix ordered as he picked up one of the plates and handed it to me.
I found myself shoveling in some of the potatoes and almost orgasming right there because I’d never tasted anything so good in my life. I hadn’t gotten any kind of income for my work at the bar. Someone had delivered some ramen and canned goods to my loft once a week. It had been tasteless, but it had kept me alive. What I was tasting right now was so beyond anything I remembered in my life that it honestly had me second-guessing this whole kidnapping thing.
I’d seen the ocean and was eating steak straight from the Moon Goddess herself.
When was the shoe going to drop?
I didn’t speak again until I’d completely demolished my plate, and Hendrix wisely kept silent as he ate his own meal.
When I felt like my stomach was in danger of exploding, I finally set down my fork.
“Does everyone always listen to everything you say?” I asked, studying how everyone in the plane was working and shooting panicked glances at Hendrix every time he moved.
“Yes,” he drawled, leaning back into the sofa, clearly amused.
“Do you ever get tired of it?” I asked, not sure why I was brave enough to ask all these questions, but figuring I had nothing to lose.
All amusement fled his face and he leaned forward. “You should know better than most, little wolf. Once you’ve lived life as an ant, you’ll do whatever it takes to never be an ant again.”
I had a million questions, but I held my tongue. There was a haunted, fierce look in his eyes, and at that moment I decided it was best to stay as far away from his demons as possible.
I had enough of my own.
The rest of the flight passed without incident. Hendrix worked the whole time, and I stared out the window at the passing clouds…and napped. Apparently, Hendrix had that effect on me.
I was relaxed enough that I barely sweated as the plane touched down. Hendrix pulled me up and guided me towards the front as soon as the plane door opened. Everyone else stayed seated until we’d passed. I took one step outside and promptly gasped, knowing exactly where we were.
Fervian City.
Fervian City was home to the rich and famous of the world. A place that had always seemed more like a story from a fairy tale than a real place.
But here we were.
Tall, gleaming skyscrapers stretched high in the sky. Luxury cars moved down the golden-colored streets, and beautiful people were everywhere.
I’d been surrounded by luxury for several hours now, but it still struck me how strange the world was that some people had so much…and some people had so little.
“Come on, little wolf,” Hendrix said, gently moving me forward so that I would go down the stairs. There was a shiny black town car waiting a few feet away, and I hurried down the , assuming we would be getting in that.
I slowed when I saw all of the men strapped down with machine guns standing around watching our surroundings closely, like any minute we were going to come under attack.
Evidently, this was par for the course for Hendrix, because he simply put his hand on my lower back and pushed me towards the town car as if the armed men didn't exist at all.
"What did you say you did again?" I asked as I slid into the car’s over-the-top cream leather interior.
Hendrix chuckled darkly. "I don't think I said," he responded as the driver started the car and began to pull away without a word from Hendrix.
He was obviously being deliberately obtuse.
"Well, do you think you could enlighten me? There were a lot of guns out there. Are you expecting an attack?"
Hendrix was already back to typing on his tablet. I was learning he was never far from either that or his phone.
"I provide assets to countries all over the world. And sometimes, that makes me a target," he explained calmly.
I shot a nervous look at the driver since it was obvious that Hendrix's business wasn't exactly on the up and up.