Blood Ties

4. Wood & Stone

Quinn stared at the building. It was like being teleported back in time. She could tell the home was on the newer side—or at least it looked it—but it still had that rustic, wood cabin feel.

And not just wood. There were stone facades as well, making it look more grandiose and physically daunting. Something about logs made her think of cabins in the woods and the outdoors, but the stone made her simply think impenetrable.

And that scared her.

“You own this?”

He nodded, but Quinn only caught the gesture out of the corner of her eye. She was too busy staring, her mouth agape in wonder and staring at the perfection all around her. The snowy landscape, icicle-laden trees in the background, the two-story building directly in front of her. Like a scenic painting. It made one almost forget that they weren’t here of their own accord.

“Yeah. I bought it a year ago when the original owners decided that the north was too cold for them. It’s not a newer building, but I had the outside redone, and everything inside has been updated. I happen to live full-time in Malibu to be close to work, but I have access to my job here as well. I’ve spent very little time here, more so quite recently, but I put my assistant in charge back at the office while I was gone this time. I didn’t need any distractions, though I am available to him if needed.” He paused for a moment, stopping to look from Quinn to the house. “So far, he’s been able to deal with everything by himself, and I hope he continues to do so. I would hate to bothered while trying to connect with you.

Quinn let that go, because she didn’t know what to say to him. “What do you do? I mean, what is your job?” she mumbled. Her hands were still bound, and her feet were slightly unsteady under her because of the thick, uneven layer of snow, but Adam was close enough to keep her upright if she lost her balance.

“I’m CEO of a large business that finances movies. I would tell you more, but I think we should get inside before you catch your death out here.” He moved them along, and all Quinn could think of doing was getting into a nice hot bath. It had felt like a year since her last one when it had only been a little over 12 hours.

“Can you please untied my wrists now? It’s not like I can outrun you in three feet of snow. I don’t even have snow boots on.” She looked down at her flimsy sneakers.

Adam stopped moving. “You’re right. Come here.” She turned to face him. There had to be at least 8 inches height difference, but she was fast and could probably have run for cover from him if this was the right set of circumstances, but snow wasn’t very conducive to that, even with her strong dancer’s legs and fit physique. “We’ll get you indoors and warm soon enough.” She’d started to shake a little, her teeth chattering.

“It’s the sh-shoes,” she stuttered. “Should have brought boots, but you d-didn’t want to p-pack.”

“Told you…” He grunted gruffly before the last of the knots around her wrists released. “I have everything you need here. Clothing, shoes, underthings, toiletries. If there is anything else you need or want, I can get that as well. Easily. Hell, I even have a laptop I bought just for you.”

Her eyes narrowed up at him. His gaze lifted from her hands to her face, and her breath was almost punched right out of her chest. Those eyes. She remembered them so well from her dream that it was like being sucker-punched with déjà vu every time she caught the brilliant green.

“Why did you buy this cabin?” She sounded suspicious, and it was for good reason.

He answered her, and his voice was soft. “I knew where you lived. Buying a place in a city as busy as New York would have been ludicrous. Too many people, a plethora of nosy neighbors. I wanted somewhere close yet quiet. I want to get to know you, and for you to get to know me. I couldn’t do that with the constant threat of being found out. I…I was afraid that if I didn’t enough time for a bond to form, I would lose you, lose what we could have.”

Quinn went to speak, but he was already guiding her toward the front door.

“I know what you’re thinking. Brainwashing or Stockholm syndrome or the like. It’s not that. It’s so, so far from that type of manipulation that I can only say this: It’s more like fate--destiny. You and I were meant to be. You just don’t know that or feel it quite yet. You will, so long as I don’t f**k it up before then.”

She wanted to roll her eyes, but they felt heavy and everything was cold. The trek through the snow didn’t help, and she wondered if he had a snowblower to make the path easier to traverse somewhere on the property. She figured she’d ask about it later.

“That sounds like a load of bullshit, if you ask me. Something a kidnapper would say right before he tried to get the helpless damsel in distress to fall in love with him. I’ll admit you’re cute, but it would take a fuckton more than that to sweep me off my feet. Not kidnapping me probably would have been a better start, if you want my honest opinion.”

His lips twitched, though she didn’t see it because of the hood clouding her view. “It will happen. You’ll see.”

They were at the front door now, and Quinn watched how his fingers tapped the buttons on the door lock, almost too fast for her to see it. She only caught the first couple of numbers, and blinked like she’d witnessed some sort of magic trick. She almost said something about his dexterity, but he was opening the door and walking through, looking back at her with a small, sad smiling tipping his lips.

“Come on in. I have the heater on a timer, so it should be nice and warm by now.” Her turned around once he was inside, stepping into a large dark wood foyer that branched off in several different directions.

To the left there was a bright, chandelier-lit room. She figured the excess brilliance was possibly coming from a kitchen or dining room area further in. Through the open arch to the right of them, Quinn could see a large open space that had a full-wall entertainment center and a couple of overstuffed couches. There were large Persian rugs, and glass side tables that matched the coffee table in the middle, and the TV itself looked like it was twice as big as the one in Quinn’s old home in Virginia.

Straight ahead, there was a set of stairs that extended at least twenty feet up, and she wondered if there were a few bedrooms up there or just one. From the outside, the second story looked smaller, but then again, she also hadn’t seen it from the side or back. It could have been much longer than it seemed.

“Do you want something to eat? Drink?” Adam’s voice almost sounded anxious, like he was willing to do anything to please her. She was suspicious. Was he planning on drugging her? Mix her a Rohypnol smoothie? She was parched, but was it worth it if she was going to be raped in a comatose state?

At some point she would have to close her eyes, so she nodded her head and followed him to the left. Like the archway to the living room, this one was wide and opened out into a large space that had to be a dining room without the long table.

As if he sensed the question on her mind, he answered her aloud. “I haven’t had time to buy a dining room set in here, and since it’s just me and only then every so often, I didn’t see the need for it. When I get more time or visitors, I’ll probably furnish the room fully. I picked everything out myself with the help of my sisters, but I didn’t get around to every room yet—just the ones that really needed it.” He passed into a large, open kitchen, heading toward the fridge before opening it. “The kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms. You want water or juice? I also have some soda here too. I stocked up on food and drink for you before I hit the road to the city. Ice?”

She was confused and wandered closer to where he was standing. “Do you have apple juice? And yes please, just a couple cubes.” Why was he acting like the drinks and food were all for her? Wasn’t he planning on eating as well?

She didn’t ask, just assuming it was a misspeak. “Yeah, I have apple. I also have orange, cranberry, and some of the V8 juice drinks too—the kind with tropical fruits and stuff.”

She moved to beside him and was shocked at what she saw. Everything was pristine and gleaming, fresh fruits and veggies still unopened or in their packaging, butter and eggs and some packets that looked like cold cuts in the meat drawer. Her stomach growled, and Adam’s lips ticked upward.

“Just apple, please.”

She was too weirded out by this whole experience to put up much of a fuss. She figured that she would wait until he was asleep before she tried to escape. Hopefully the keys to the Lexus he’d driven them here in would be somewhere easy to find, because she had no idea where she was except for in Upstate New York.

She hoped the newer-looking car had internal GPS to go along with it. She wouldn’t get too far in her sneakers and hooded coat if she tried to hoof it on foot.

He pulled out a container of juice, and Quinn watched, afraid to even blink in case he popped a pill in there the moment her gaze wasn’t peeled on his hands. Nothing happened, and he filled it to the brim and added a straw before handing it over.

“As you can see, you have your choice of what you want to eat. I have chicken and beef in the freezer, some condiments and marinades if you want to broil a steak. I…I had to watch a lot of cooking shows to figure out what you would need. I don’t cook for myself—ever.”

She took a sip and swallowed, mulling over his words. “Do you have a housekeeper that does it for you then? My mom’s a great cook, and since we lived on a farm, all our meat was fresh from our own livestock.”

He shook his head, but didn’t answer her question. “If you want, I can take something out to dethaw for tomorrow. I also have cereal and milk, some bacon and eggs and sausage patties.” He paused, hesitating. “I didn’t know what all to buy, but I do see what people bring to work with them sometimes in the breakroom.”

Adam was odd, but she was too confused—and little overwhelmed—to think deeply about what he was saying to her. She’d chew it over when her brain stopped spinning in her head later on.

“There’s bread in the breadbox and sliced cheese and turkey. Mayo and mustard, some fresh lettuce and tomato. I mean, if you want to have a sandwich, just tell me what you want and I’ll make it for you.”

She still didn’t trust him, so she walked over to the fridge to look inside. “I can do it myself. I would actually prefer it.”

There was a pause while she pulled out a head of lettuce from the crisper and opened the meat drawer. Not only was there turkey and cheese, but some salami and roast beef as well. She decided on a turkey and roast beef sandwich, and grabbed them along with some mayo from the condiments shelf. It was her favorite, the kind that was made with olive oil.

Adam moved quickly, going to the cabinet that housed the plates and taking one down to hand to her. She didn’t catch his eyes, but took it out of his hand and placed it next to the lettuce before leaning forward to open the breadbox. Taking out two slices, she carefully twisted the plastic and used the twist-tie to close it back up before sliding it back into the box and shutting the door. She opened all the bags carefully, concentrating on stacking the meats evenly with a piece of cheese on top.

There was a bar-style island in the middle of the sprawling kitchen, and Quinn walked over to put her plate on there. Adam followed after, bringing her drink with him and sitting across from her.

She ate the sandwich slowly, becoming more and more uncomfortable the longer he stared. Keeping her eyes on her plate, she wondered when the other shoe would drop. Would she be chained in a dungeon at the base of the building? Kept handcuffed and under sedation until she was brainwashed enough to comply to his every wish? Why was he staring at her like that? It was eerie, and she finally looked up at him as she lifted the last few bites of her sandwich to her mouth.

Before she bit in, she asked a question. “Why am I here, Adam? Why did you bring me to this cabin? It certainly can’t be to make sure I’m fed and watered. I could have done all that in Manhattan. Why would you—”

That was when all hell broke look and the front door slammed open like a tornado had ripped it from the wall. Quinn nearly choked on air, dropping the last of her food onto the plate when she heard rapid footsteps coming closer.

“Adam? Adam! What in the f**k is wrong with you?”

“s**t,” he muttered, standing up from his seat. “I’m in here, sis.”

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