something.
They put her in some sort of elevator—she recognized the disorientation in her stomach as the car shifted into motion, which meant it was older, or at least less expensive, than many of the ones she’d gotten used to in New York. In Alex’s penthouse building, if you’d closed your eyes before the elevator door closed, nothing would have clued your inner ear in to the change in motion except the soft and muted ding of the various floors being reached. Without her eyes to help her focus, she slid badly sideways, her forearm slapping into something square and metal—the railing around the outside of the elevator car—and she had to cling to it until the car jerked to a stop when she heard the doors rattle open. Someone took her arm again and led her forward. The hand on her arm wasn’t unkind, but it wasn’t friendly. It told her to keep moving and not drag her heels.
She followed.
She wanted to be that brave girl in the action movies who managed to get free, pull out some impressive martial arts skills, and kick someone’s ass, or have stashed a bottle of pepper spray in her cleavage or something. But she didn’t know where she was, she didn’t have her phone or her wallet, and the voices she heard around her were not speaking English. At least here, she could be reasonably sure that she was being held to keep Alex compliant. She hated relying on him, but she felt reasonably sure that he would look out for her. He would find a way to save her.
She heard the beep and click of an electronic lock opening, and then a door closing behind her. The blindfold was pulled from her face, and even though the light in the room was dim, she found herself flinching away from it as her eyes adjusted. She hadn’t been blinded long enough for her eyes to tear up, but it was enough that she had to blink hard for a few moments.
When Zoey could see again, she saw that she was standing in a suite that had to be part of a hotel; it had that sense of industrial warmth that was only ever cultivated in the hospitalities industry that was luxurious. There was dark wood and a light colored carpet woven with pale pink cherry blossoms, and the walls were a mix of pale beige highlighted with the warm golden brown of bamboo. It was a beautiful room and nothing at all like the prison in which she’d almost expected to find herself.
There was a woman standing near a window, looking over a distant city. “Hello,” she said, her voice lightly accented. She turned and inclined her head towards Zoey for just a moment. Zoey returned the gesture after a bit of hesitation. “I am an associate of Mr. Tanaka. He has asked me to welcome you and see to your needs.”
The wooziness wasn’t entirely gone, and Zoey couldn’t contain the laughter that twisted her guts up. “I’d really like to go home.”
The woman’s expression didn’t shift from its polite, calm set point. “Alas, that is the only need I cannot meet. Not until Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Blankenship have concluded their business. But I can get you new clothes. Food. Make sure you are comfortable.”
“When can I see Alex?” Zoey could hear the hysteria creeping into her voice, and she hated it. She hated being the girl who panicked at the slightest inconvenience, but dammit, she’d been dragged halfway across the world, she was fairly sure, because her boyfriend was being accused of murdering her family—maybe—and she was starting to be more than a little scared that she wasn’t going to make it home. She’d gotten in touch with her mother in case she needed to say good-bye, but it hadn’t occurred to her as a real possibility.
She’d worn the facade of calm for so long that it was a little shocking when it cracked. It almost stung, feeling the torrent of tears slide down her face. She tried to choke back the emotions, but it was impossible. The best she could do was cover her face with her hands, and when her knees went
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