My Kidnapper's brother

Chapter 2

Emily remained perched on the edge of the bed. At this point, she was not sure how to react to the situation that she had found herself in. From what she had picked from the conversation between the two men, she kept some hope that the kidnapper was not after her life, but indeed after her father’s money.

From the conversation, she also picked up that the two men were brothers who apparently didn’t agree on the idea of her being held hostage for whatever crimes her father committed. She wondered if that was to her advantage or not.

Before she could muse further, the door swung open. Two masked men walked in, one after another. The two men had the same body-size and height, standing at over six feet. Emily stared, frozen, as one man, the one who wore a leather vest that revealed his muscled arms, stepped forward and stood in front of her.

“Good morning, Emily. I can see you are already awake,” the man addressed her in a deep voice, devoid of any warmth.

“My morning would have been better if I woke up from my bed,” Emily said, trying to remain calm with an effort.

“Don’t you like our bed?” the man asked mockingly.

“Don’t you know that k********g is a crime and you could go to jail for it?” Emily shot back.

Keith scoffed and calmly strolled away from Emily. He stood by the closed window, giving Emily his back. “How much would you say your father loves you?” he asked. His voice was coated with rage.

Emily shook her head in confusion. They were mentioning her father again. “What is this all about? What do you want from us?” Emily asked. Her voice was going up with each word uttered despite her best efforts to keep calm and composed.

“How much does your father love you?” he repeated the question as though she hadn’t spoken and demanded answers to her own questions. This time, however, the tone of his voice didn’t invite or leave room for her to ask another question. It was clear only his question would get answered.

“Enough to get me out of here,” Emily replied. She wanted to sound firm and confident, but to her horror, there was uncertainty in her tone. She heard it and she was sure the men heard it too.

But when the man spoke again, Emily wondered if he hadn’t heard the tiny doubt in her voice or he had just chosen to ignore it.

“Good. Then we have no problem,” Keith said as he pulled out his ringing cell phone from the inner pocket of his vest. He connected the call and held the phone against his ear. “Hello… I know and I was just about to call you and fill you in…” He paused and looked at Emily with a lazy smile. “She is here with me and everything is fine... I will keep you updated. Bye.” Keith cut the call and shoved his cellphone back into the pocket.

Emily blinked. She could practically hear the words ‘the plot thickens’ playing in her head. Who else was involved in this madness? She wondered. She dared look up at Keith, and asked, “Who was that?” The moment the last word left her mouth, she realized that was the most stupid question to ask.

Keith chuckled before responding, “You don’t actually believe I will answer you that question. Do you?”

Of course not, Emily thought. She didn’t believe he was stupid enough that he would reveal his accomplice. The fact that they were all wearing masks meant they wanted to remain unknown.

Silence stretched for almost a full minute. Emily didn’t know what their reasons were for doing what they were doing. But she could already tell she wouldn’t get an explanation. Not that she was interested in reasons. She just wanted to go home. She looked at the man again. “Does my family know about this?” she asked, trying not to sound too angry and desperate.

“That you are missing?” Keith asked. He had turned his back on her again.

“Of course they know that I am missing. I stay with them, and I didn’t sleep at home last night.” She now sounded exasperated. “But does my father know what you want?”

“Not yet, but he will in the next three hours,” Keith said as he walked away from the window and headed for the door.

Ryan had not yet said anything during this conversation. He just stood in one corner, stealing glances at Emily. He also noticed that Emily kept looking at him, probably wondering why he stood there like a statue.

Something impressed him about Emily, Ryan mused. Her confidence. He had thought she would be hysterical after she found herself in such a situation. But the opposite was true. She remained calm. Even though her skin had paled a little, there was no sign of fear in her light blue eyes. Even when they had walked into the room, the sight of two men in masks hadn’t turned her into a crying mess. Ryan could imagine even a full grown man would have been more shaken. He was indeed very impressed.

Keith walked out of the room, leaving Ryan with Emily.

For about a minute, Ryan did not take his eyes off her. But he did not utter a single word.

“So, you are the watchman?” she asked teasingly. Her sense of humor almost made Ryan chuckle. The woman really had a pair of balls on her. But before he could respond, Keith walked back in. He brought with him a wooden chair and some nylon ropes. Ryan finally saw a flash of panic in her eyes. Emily knew what that meant. She was to be bound.

Keith placed the heavy chair in the middle of the space that remained between the bed and the wardrobe.

“If you would love to use the toilet, this is the time. If not, then come over and make yourself comfortable on this chair,” Keith said in a commanding voice.

“What is that for?” she asked, as if she did not know what was going to happen.

Ryan remained quiet and watched. There was really a transformation in the woman. For the first time since he walked into the room, Ryan could now read genuine fear written all over her face.

“I am not going to repeat myself. It is either I drag you to this chair or you bring yourself.” The tone in Keith’s voice left no room for argument.

Emily did not want to argue or agitate the man further. He looked a little unpredictable. She reluctantly stood up and took herself to sit on the chair. Keith then wasted no time and tied her legs together, wrapping rope around her ankles until they felt like one solid limb. He then secured them to the leg of the chair.

He brought her arms behind the chair and went ahead and gave them the same treatment. For a finishing touch, he wrapped an extra rope around her chest and thighs, making sure she would not move from the chair.

“Is that really necessary?” Ryan asked as Keith tightened the knots. It was the first time he spoke since entering the room. And his voice echoed concern for Emily.

“I don’t like surprises. I am going to the city to contact her father. There is simply no way I can leave her loose,” Keith said.

“But I am still around. I can watch her for you.”

Keith frowned as though considering it, then he shook his head. “I just don’t like taking chances, brother. I would rather know she can’t easily get away.” He checked the knots one more time before continuing, “By the way, I am going to use your van. I think it is well designed for this rough terrain.” Without saying more, he turned and headed for the door. “If she wants to eat, you can share your food with her.” He then walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

***

The first five minutes dragged by in an awkward moment of silence. Ryan had now made himself comfortable on his office chair. He seemed busy on his computer. Even though they faced each other, Ryan avoided staring at her by all means.

“Are you really brothers?” Emily asked, breaking the silence that was beginning to drive her insane.

The question caught Ryan by surprise. He somehow hadn’t expected the question. In fact, he had hoped she wouldn’t try to engage him in conversation. He knew that was the only way he was going to watch over her without getting involved. He contemplated not answering, but then he was curious and he asked, “Yes. Why?”

Emily shrugged. As much as the robes would allow her. “You don’t seem to be cut from the same cloth.”

He thought about it. “Do you find it unusual?” he asked as he typed something on the computer and tried to appear indifferent.

“Not really.” Emily recalled her own young sister, Bianca. Besides having the same father and mother, the two are the total opposite of each other. While Emily saw herself to be more reserved and ambitious in life, her younger sister, Bianca, was more outgoing and carefree.

Growing up, Emily was always closer to their father than their mother. On the other hand, Bianca had been closer to their mother than their father. Bianca found their father too strict and too much of a control freak.

When their mother died seven years ago, Emily and Bianca had only been 15 and 17 years old, respectively. The death of their mother had generated different reactions out of the sisters. Bianca had been devastated and became more unruly, while Emily became more mature and responsible. Emily pulled herself away from her thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.

“What do you think your brother will do if my father doesn’t meet his demands?” she continued worryingly.

She wasn’t just asking to create conversation. Emily was really worried about the amount of money Keith was going to ask her father. Contrary to what everyone thought, Emily’s father’s business was not doing as well as everyone thought. Her father’s Real Estate Business was on the verge of collapse. The banks had seized most of his properties for failing to pay business loans he had collected. And more properties were on seizure notices. A ransom demand was the last thing her father needed right now.

Ryan lifted his gaze over the top of the monitor and stared into her eyes. He then drifted his gaze back to the screen of his monitor. And continued what he was doing without answering her question.