“How?”
He held up his phone and tapped his earpiece. “I still have all the security feeds. If he told his bumbling fuck-up of a security director, I'll know.”
Laura swallowed hard. Despite the water, her mouth was dry again. “What if he doesn't come alone?”
Craig faced her. “I like you, Laura. You make him happy, and that's all I want. I want him happy,” he told her. His face went dark. “But, if he doesn't listen to me, I have to prove my point.”
Laura shrank a little in her chair.
“You understand, don't you?” Craig asked. “He needs to know that I keep him safe. That he needs me. I'm only looking out for his best interests.”
“I'm sure he knows that,” Laura whispered. She had to get out of here as soon as possible.
“I hope so,” Craig agreed. “I don't want him to have to learn the hard way.”
The way he looked at her made Laura's blood run cold. He looked at her the way a teacher looked at a difficult test. She hoped that Ethan was going to pass.
“When is he supposed to get here?” Laura asked. She had to figure out a way to escape before then.
“Soon.” Craig pulled out a pocket knife and began to play with it. It made a metallic click every time he snapped it shut. She tried not to wince at the sound.
“Could you untie me until then? I promise not to run,” she told him, already figuring which way to run to get away. “These ropes really hurt.”
He shook his head and clicked the knife shut. “I'm sorry, Laura, but I don't trust you. No offense.”
“None taken. I know you're just trying to do what's best for him,” she told him. She had to keep him talking. The longer he talked, the better off she was. She got information and hopefully provided a distraction. “You mentioned the other team was following stupid leads? What lead?”
“They think his old secretary is the one they need to worry about,” he said, flicking the knife open. She stared at the blade and tried not to shy away.
“The old secretary? You mean Janie? The crazy one?” She winced after the word “crazy” left her mouth. It probably wasn't the best word to use around him. “She broke into his house?”
He snapped the knife shut. She wasn't sure if it made her feel better or not.
“He just made me so mad,” he told her. “After all, I've done, he just fired me.”
Laura frowned. “I'm afraid I don't understand.”
Craig sighed. “I keyed his car. I wasn't thinking. I was just mad.” He shrugged like he was truly sorry for it. “I'll pay him back for the damage, I swear. I just lost it. It won't happen again.”
She watched as he flicked the knife open again. She really hoped he didn't lose it.
“I get it,” she told him, her eyes on the knife. “There are a ton of country songs about that very thing.”
“There are, aren’t there?” he agreed with a smile. “When his security team saw the car, they told him it was his crazy secretary.”
“How very silly of them,” Laura said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.
“I know, right?” Craig closed the knife. “Like his secretary would know how to turn off the cameras? And then the whole house thing...”
“The house? What happened to his house?” She almost didn't want to know. Why hadn't Ethan told her any of this?
“I broke into his house,” Craig admitted sheepishly. “I wanted to apologize for the car.”
“So you broke into his house?”
“You say that like it's a bad thing.” The knife flicked open.
“I'm sorry, Craig. I'm just trying to understand,” she said quickly. “He didn't tell me any of this.”