“Yes, I know all too well how big a deal things are with your family,” he replied coldly.
“They’re not me!” I cried. I had to turn this conversation back around and quickly. “I’m not my parents! I love you! I want to be with you! I don’t care what they say or think, we’re meant to be together, Dom. You know that, don’t you?”
He looked back down at me as if seeing me with fresh eyes, and smiled as he said, “Yes, I know you’re not them.”
He walked over to where Brian lay, looked down at his unmoving body for a moment before he turned and faced me again. “But I also know that they raised you, and there’s no way for you to escape that fact, Ava. You are your parents’ daughter whether you like it or not, and you’re smart and resourceful.”
“What do you mean?” I was absolutely confused.
“What I mean is that you are adept at deception, my dear,” he chuckled. “Your father is the king of lies and deceit and you are the queen of the empire!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I cried. “I’ve never lied to you. Not once.”
“Listen to her, Cheese!” he roared. “She lies to me about lying to me! What a piece of work!”
“Huh?” said Cheese looking back and forth between us, obviously confused. “She sounds sincere to me, dude.”
“Good lord, Cheese, you’re such a sucker,” Dominic scolded. “No wonder no frat house wants you as a member. You’re an idiot.”
“Hey!” Cheese protested. “I’m not an idiot!”
Dominic rolled his eyes and turned his attention back toward me, and suddenly a glimmer of hope peeked through the curtain of darkness. I knew what I could do to turn the situation in my favor and get Brian and I out of there, but first I had to get Brian to regain consciousness, and then somehow get him to play along with my little game.
“Dom, tell me how we’re going to get out of here, please?” I flirted and smiled at him. “I haven’t been alone with you in so long.”
“No, you haven’t, have you?” he smiled as he reached out and ran his fingers lightly down my cheek. “You must be so very lonely.”
“You have no idea,” I said. “It’s been the longest time since anyone has even touched me.”
“You mean you and the bodyguard didn’t get your groove on?” he asked with a surprised.
“Who? Me and him?” I said incredulously. “What on earth are you thinking?”
“Well, I figured that close quarters with a handsome, yet simple hunk might wear you down,” Dominic mused.
“Um, have you forgotten that he was hired by my father?” I asked as I rolled my eyes as far back in my head as I could. I had to channel my inner teenager to get this one right. I’d been a child in an adult’s world my entire life and I wasn’t sure I had it in me, but for Brian’s sake and mine, I had to try.
“True,” Dominic replied. “Daddy dearest would not like you mingling with the help one bit.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Brian’s fingers moving. The other two hadn’t seen it, and I was determined to make sure they didn’t notice him regaining consciousness. I shifted my focus and said, “Dom, let the room server go. He’s nothing. We don’t need him, do we?”
Dominic looked over at the teenager lying facedown on the carpet with a blindfold covering his eyes as if he’d forgotten he was even there. “Hmmm,” he murmured. “You might be right, but I’m not taking any chances, my dear. I’ve got a plan, and I’m sticking to it.”
“What kind of plan, Dom?” I asked eagerly. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Oh, we most definitely are,” he smiled. “You and me, that is, after we take care of the problem.”
“What problem?” I asked as my heart sunk into my stomach. I’d been lulled into a sense of false security because Dominic was calm, but the reality was that he was more dangerous when he wasn’t actively angry.
“Well, you see, my dear,” he smiled. “We can’t have the nosy bodyguard reporting back to your father and screwing everything up, now can we?”
“No, we most definitely cannot have that happen,” I said as I forced a smile and stole a peek at Brian. He was still out cold, and I was starting to sweat. Wake up, wake up, wake up.
“Good, I’m glad we agree.” Dominic smiled in a reptilian way as he moved across the room to Cheese and sai
d, “Get him up off the floor and into that chair.”
“How, dude?” Cheese asked genuinely confused.