Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Her statement is bitter. “I guess this means I’m also staying here for the night.”
I go to the dry bar and pour the overpriced scotch into three glasses. Carrying a glass to her, I work my tie loose. “It’ll have to be a little longer.”
She grabs the glass from my hands. “How long are we talking about?”
I throw the tie onto a chair. “As long as it takes.”
She dumps the drink in the flowerpot that holds a plastic fern and slams the glass down on a side table. “For what?”
“Excuse me?”
She huffs. “As long as it takes for what?”
“For getting Tatiana and Noah settled in.”
Her back goes rigid. “Settled in where?”
“Where they belong.”
“You mean in New York City.” She adds with snide, “In your house, I assume.”
“Correct.”
Her lips part as if she expected me to deny that statement. “You can’t. You can’t take her back there.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Come on, Jasper. You’re cleverer than that. I can put her and Noah up in any place of my choosing, and the same goes for you.”
“You just want to make sure I don’t run to the police and report this kidnapping, because this is what it is.”
“Correct, again.”
She points a finger at me. “You have no right to do this.”
“I can do whatever I want. I can make you do whatever I please, and I think you know that.”
Her cheeks pale. She lowers her hand to her side.
“Go to bed, Jasper. We’ll talk about what comes next in the morning.”
“I want to see Tiana.”
“Tatiana is fine. You’ll see her in the morning.”
“If you hurt her—”
“If you want to sleep without zip ties around your wrists and a gag in your mouth, I suggest you retire to your room now.”
She looks ready to jump on me and scratch out my eyes.
I speak before she can act on any violent ideas that may be running through her head. “And if you have to sleep bound and gagged, so does your friend.”
Her eyes grow round. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
“Bastard.” She walks backward to the door. “If you lay a finger on Tiana—”
“You’d be wise to shut up now.”
Reino enters from the lobby. “I double-checked the rooms. They’re clear.”
Meaning free of bugs and cameras. You never know who’s following you. I don’t have many enemies, having eradicated most of them, but there’s still one who won’t mind putting me six feet under. Blackmailing or threatening hotel staff to spy on me isn’t below him.
Reino points toward the door at the far end of the lounge. “The main bedroom is through there. It has an en-suite bathroom. The other two rooms down the lobby share a bathroom.” He waves a hand toward a door that stands ajar next to the main entrance. “Guest toilet. The door on your left leads to a study where you can work privately.”
I nod my thanks. “Escort Jasper to her room.” I meet her narrow-eyed glare with a smile. “You better lock it.”
She cuts Reino a seething look as he takes her elbow. “Get your damn hands off of me.”
Reino removes his hand from her arm and indicates the hallway. She glances at me from over her shoulder as, with no other choice, she follows Reino.
He returns a moment later, scratching his jaw where a five o’clock shadow is showing. “That one scares me. She threatened to tie me up in my sleep and castrate me with a butter knife.”
“Did you lock her in?”
“The doors lock with a push button from the inside. I had to move the cabinet from the lobby in front of her door. At least she has access to the bathroom in case she gets thirsty or needs to use the facilities. I made sure to lock the door to the bathroom from Noah’s room before you arrived. I wouldn’t want her to slip into his room and escape.” His lips quirk. “She may go looking for a butter knife.” He lowers his voice. “A word of advice? Check that Miss Teszner hasn’t unlocked the door when she’s done with putting Noah to bed.”
“Fire exit?”
“I put two of our men in front of the door in case one of the women or the kid gets out. Four are guarding the stairs on the ground level. Not a soul will get past them, if you know what I mean.”
Yes. I ordered them to shoot first and ask questions later.
“Men are stationed outside the hotel as well as in the lobby downstairs,” he continues. “They’ll rotate at different times, as you instructed.”
“Good.”
I can’t risk a gap in the watch if the guards change shifts simultaneously.
“The landlines are in the bedrooms.” Reino brushes his fingers through his hair. “I’ve already disconnected them. No one can ride the elevator up without a key card, but you don’t need the key to go down. You can however lock the elevator on the control panel next to the door to prevent anyone from using it, including from going down.”