Sienna POV
When I woke up, Luca was already gone from the room.
The sky had only just begun to lighten, the river wearing a pale gold sheen.
I lay in a bed I didn’t know and watched the ceiling.
After Luca took me from my apartment, he hadn’t done anything to me.
He hadn’t even stayed the night: he brought me here, said a few things, and left.
I was still in yesterday’s clothes, the creases in the skirt not yet fallen out.
I washed and went downstairs, and found Theo waiting in a dark suit, holding a black cardholder and a set of car keys.
His eyes rested on me a moment before settling back into calm.
“Good morning, Miss Hart.”
”Where’s Luca?”
”He’s already left.”
”Where to?”
Theo didn’t answer that.
He held out the cardholder.
“He asked me to give you this.”
Inside was a black card.
“Mr. Hawthorne says that while you’re living here, your daily expenses go on this card. You don’t need to report to anyone. And this.” He set the car keys on the table.
“He’s giving me a car too?”
”He said you wouldn’t like being shut up at home all the time.”
”He does know me.”
I turned the keys over, about to put them down, but Theo didn’t leave.
“There’s one more thing.”
I looked up.
His tone turned more serious.
“Mr. Hawthorne asked me to tell you this. Now that you’ve moved in, he’d like you to keep to your part.”
I said nothing.
“As for your relationship with him, he’d like you to be clear about it yourself. Miss Evelyn is his fiancée, and that isn’t going to change. He doesn’t want you approaching her, or doing anything that might affect relations between the two families.”
I listened quietly, my face empty.
“On the condition that you keep to yourself, Mr. Hawthorne will do his best to meet your needs.”
He put it very politely, and every sentence drew a line.
Mistress.
That was the place Luca had given me.
A mansion, a black card, a car, and a position that couldn’t bear daylight.
I had known it would be like this.
From the moment I decided to get close to Luca, I knew what I was doing.
I needed evidence.
Luca needed a woman who did what she was told.
We each took what we needed, and as things stood, the arrangement suited us both.
Once I had what Evelyn wanted, I’d be out of New York.
I looked up and gave Theo a smile pitched exactly right.
“I understand. Tell Luca I’ll wait for him to come back.”
Theo nodded and left.
The front door closed, and the house went quiet again. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
I put the card away and took out my phone.
The last message in the window was still from the night before.
I stared at Luca’s name, and an idea came to me.
Since he’d left me here alone, I ought to make some trouble for him.
Miss me yet?
No reply.
I waited a few minutes and sent another: Your house is beautiful.
I can see why you like waking up here.
Still nothing.
I put the phone on the table and went to the kitchen for water.
When I came back the screen was as quiet as ever, and it was irritating.
I frowned and picked it up again.
I borrowed one of your shirts.
Don’t worry, I’ll return it.
Eventually.
After a moment I added: Maybe I won’t.
I leaned back on the sofa and stared at the silent window, wondering whether Luca was ignoring me on purpose.
Three days went by, and I was bored enough to start studying every room in the house.
In the afternoon I stood at the floor-to-ceiling window and took a photograph.
Night was just coming down, scattered lights waking on the river, the distant city caught in the glass, the room hazy and still.
I looked at the picture, then sent it to Luca.
Wish you were here.
I keep wondering what it would feel like to kiss you against this window.
No reply.
I watched the screen, then turned the phone face down on the windowsill.
This man really did mean to play dead.
Then the phone rang, and it was Lily.
“Are you free tonight?”
”Why?”
I’m buying you a drink tonight.”
I was startled for a second, then laughed.
“All right.”
God knew whether I’d go out of my mind if I stayed in much longer.
I changed into a short black skirt, picked up the car keys Luca had left me, and went out.
The address Lily sent was behind a commercial building in Manhattan, the entrance tucked into a side passage with no sign outside.
I walked a length of dark-carpeted corridor, and the music grew clearer.
The moment I pushed the door open, I finally understood what Lily had meant by a drink.
It was a male dance club.
Metal poles stood across the stage, lights shifting with the music, a handful of dancers working it.
At the peak of the song one caught a pole and spun, then dropped to one knee, and the room erupted.
Another sat in a chair and undid a few buttons to show a tight chest; whistles went up.
Some dancers came down to work the crowd up close.
The women were used to it: some handed them drinks, some threw bills onto the stage, some stood and danced along.
I found Lily in a corner seat and went over.
She pushed a glass in front of me, smug.
“Well? Am I a good friend or what?”
I looked at the stage, then back at her.
“You invite me for a drink and bring me here?”
”What’s wrong with it?” She tipped her chin toward the stage.
“The strippers are good tonight. I even saved a few for you. They’re excellent in bed.”
She said it as if it were obvious, then waved at a man nearby.
He came over: very tall, shoulders exaggeratedly broad, black trousers, an open dark shirt, the muscle of his chest and stomach clear under the lights.
He smiled at Lily first, then his eyes landed on me.
“This your friend?”
”Yes.” Lily patted the seat beside me.
“Say hello.”
The man leaned closer, smiling.
“First time here?”
”Yes.”
”Then you won’t be disappointed tonight.”
While he said it, his hand was already braced on the back of my chair, close enough that I shifted away.
I was about to push back when he dropped into the chair on the other side and took my wrist, guiding my hand toward his stomach.
“You can touch.”
I froze and tried to pull my hand back at once.
“I…”
Before I could finish, a tremendous crash came from the club doors.
Every movement in the room stopped.
Rapid, heavy footsteps came through the entrance; several people in body armor rushed in with weapons raised, and women started screaming.
“FBI!”
Hard light flooded the whole hall.
“Everyone on the floor!”