Bound by Her (28 page)

I smiled. “I am now. Where’s Mummy?” Before Maia had a chance to answer the bedroom door opened and Emily came in holding two steaming cups. I smiled at the sight of her wearing nothing but my oversized T-shirt and her cheeks reddened.

“Sorry, did she wake you?”

“It’s okay, I can think of worse things to wake up to,” I said whilst sending Maia down into a heap on the bed with my tickles.

“Did you sleep okay?” Emily asked as she handed me a mug of coffee. Ah, just what I needed, it smelled divine.

“Yeah, good thanks. Did you?”

“Yes, very well, thank you. Do you have any plans for today?”

“Yes, we do as it happens. We’re going to get you a car,” I stated matter-of-factly. Emily gawped at me, her mouth opening as if to speak but no noise came out. I returned her shocked gaze but with a smug grin.

“I don’t need a car, and you are certainly not buying me one,” she finally said.

“You do and I am. No arguments, it’s not a gift for you, it’s for us,” I assured her.

“And how did you work that one out?”

“Emily, listen. With my father out, I need to know that you and Maia are safe. I don’t want you on the tube and I don’t want you walking the streets. Please, just do as I ask and use the car that I shall purchase today,” I begged.

I knew my father had no reason to go anywhere near Emily, but it didn’t stop the nagging thought that refused to leave my head that he may get desperate and use her as bait to get to me. Although, it wasn’t me he wanted, so I was sure that that would never happen, but even still, it would help to set my mind at ease if she wasn’t wandering the streets alone.

She paused, looking up at the ceiling as if deep in thought. “I suppose I don’t have much say in the matter,” she replied with a long sigh

“Good girl.” I winked before noticing her body stiffen. Fuck! Did I seriously just say that out loud? “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out.”

“It’s fine, don’t apologise. So, what car did you have in mind?”

Oh, there were lots of cars on my mind but I suppose I had to think practically. What I really wanted to buy was another Bentley, but I had just got the Audi so that was out of the question. Or was it? “It’s up to you, baby. You can choose whatever you want,” I said, discreetly studying her reaction to my words. If it made her feel that uncomfortable to accept a car from me, there may just be another way around it.

She frowned. “I don’t
want
anything.”

“Would you feel more comfortable using the Audi? I know how much you love it.” Her frown instantly smoothed in response to my question and I felt her tensed body relax. My stomach turned with excitement.

“And what would you be using?” she asked with a suspicious glint behind her eyes.

I suppose I could technically use my Aston Martin that mostly sat dormant in the garage, but it wasn’t very practical with its lack of two back doors, it was really just for fun.

“I’ll replace the Bentley,” I mumbled, knowing full well what her reaction to that statement would be. Well, this way I wasn’t buying her a car, was I? I was simply loaning her mine.

“Well, Mr Extravagance, you can spend your money on whatever you want, so yes, I’d be happy to use the Audi. I can tell you don’t like it, you only brought it because you knew I loved them.”

I grinned. “You got me there.”

She was right, I didn’t like the Audi. Sure, it was a nice car, but it didn’t do anything for me. Not once had I thought
wow
as I had driven it or studied its appearance. Now a Bentley, that was a different story altogether, they were about as
wow
as you could get, in my opinion.

Car shopping appeared to excite Emily almost as much as it excited me. Of course, I already knew which car I was getting. The new Bentley Flying Spur. God, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that steering wheel, with its top speed of 200mph and the ability to reach 60mph in just 4.3 seconds, this baby was going to fly. My anticipation must have been rubbing off on Emily as her high pitched squeal caught me off guard.

“Oh my God! Look at this!” She beckoned me over with her hand; at least I thought that was what the flapping hand movement was intended to do. I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I approached her. Her excitement really was infectious; who would have thought car shopping with a female would be so much fun. In the few seconds it had taken me to reach her, she had already clambered into the car and was now sitting in the driver’s seat, actually pretending to drive, it would seem.

“You should get one of these. This is amazing!” she thrilled as her hands stroked lightly over the leather steering wheel. “What is it anyway?”

A burst of laughter escaped from me before I could stop it. Typical woman, she was all ready to persuade me to buy it, yet she didn’t even know what it was. “It’s a Bentley Continental. Nice, but not very practical for work purposes.”

“What’s not practical about it? It drives, doesn’t it? And it has seats. What more could you need?” She raised her petite brows whilst shrugging dramatically. She really was very cute when she acted so oblivious.

“It only has two doors, Emily. Not great when you’re wearing your best suit for an important meeting and have to clamber into the back.” I stroked a hand over the roof of the extraordinary car as I spoke, as if to praise the car for being so damn perfect.

“Oh, has it? I didn’t notice.” Emily poked her head out of the door and glanced at the back to clarify that it did in fact only have two doors. “Which one are you getting then?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.” My cheeks were beginning to ache I was grinning that widely.

I showed Emily to my car of choice and she gasped aloud. “Wow! It’s ...”

“Incredible, right?” I finished for her as she seemed to be struggling to do it herself. She nodded and peered through the side window, cupping her hands around her face as if this was somehow going to enable her to see through the dark tinted glass.

I chuckled. “You can open the door, Emily.”

“I daren’t touch it.”

I let out a playful sigh and opened the driver’s door for her before climbing in behind her to inspect the back. I watched her as she nestled into the deep, leather chair as her eyes scanned its immaculate interior. And it really was immaculate. The leather seats were a kind of pale grey colour that complimented the steel grey exterior, and were smooth and pristine - exactly what you would expect with a brand new car. There was more space inside than in my previous Bentley, and that was saying something. This newer model was definitely longer, it was almost like a limousine in the back.

“You do know I’m driving this bad boy home, don’t you?” Emily poked her head into the gap between the front seats and grinned ridiculously at me as I gawped at her, my expression no doubt revealing my panic. “You’re not getting me out of this driver’s seat.”

Was that a wink I just noticed? Was she kidding? How could I politely put it that she was definitely
not
driving this baby home? Not just because of the fact that I couldn’t wait to hear the rumble as the engine came to life, or feel the surge of power as I pressed my foot to the accelerator, but because this car was powerful. I would be worried sick with her behind the wheel.

“Relax, I’m kidding. I wouldn’t dare drive it.”

Thank God for that!
Although, her little joke reminded me of an all important fact. I had completely forgotten to bring Ryan with us to drive the Audi home; she would have to do it.

“Are you okay to drive the Audi home? I didn’t think of that,” I admitted with a wince.

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll have to follow you though, I’m terrible with directions.”

“No problem, baby. I’ll be sure to stick to the speed limit.” As difficult as that was going to be in a car that easily reaches 200.

“Yes, please do. And promise you won’t leave me behind?”

“I won’t let you out of my sight, I promise.” I pressed a gentle kiss against her lips and felt the familiar surge of energy rush through me. There was something about women and new cars; I couldn’t wait to get her home.

“Let’s get this baby home. What time is Adrian bringing Maia home?”

“He’s picking her up from the holiday club at nursery at three then taking her out for tea, so we’ve got a while yet.”

My stomach did a slight flutter when I realised Mickey wasn’t at the nursery today, as I had no idea that Maia would be there, but I pushed the thought away, forcing myself to stop worrying quite so much. Normal people got through their entire lives without being kidnapped or murdered, or anything else of the like, why did I always think everyone I loved would be any different? I was being overbearing, and ridiculous.

“Great.” I flashed a wicked grin at Emily before entering the sales office and finalising the boring part of purchasing a car, the paperwork.

I glanced regularly in my rear view mirror to ensure that Emily was still following. She appeared to be reluctant to get too close to the Bentley and so trailed behind, which made leading quite tricky. I had to stop at every roundabout and wait for her to catch up before judging a gap in the traffic that was big enough for both of us to fit through. I tried to slow on a few occasions, thinking maybe I was going too fast for her, but each time I did, she did too.

As I pulled to a stop at the glowing red traffic light, I glanced in my mirror, ready to flash Emily my most seductive smile, but instead of the large, blue eyes that I was expecting to see behind me, I was greeted by the wrinkled face of an old man. My eyes scanned the cars behind me; a dirty brown coloured god-knows-what behind me, followed by a red A1, followed by a blue Peugeot. No Audi Q7. No Emily. Shit. It couldn’t have been any longer than a minute since I had last checked, and she was there then, grinning at me as her eyes locked with mine in the rear view mirror. Where the fuck could she have gone? The last mini-roundabout only had the option of a gated dirt track to the left, straight over, which was the correct direction, or right around it and back the way we had just came. Surely she wasn’t that bad with directions that she would’ve turned back on herself, with or without my lead?

As soon as the traffic from the opposite direction slowed, I raced away from the lights, doing a complete U-turn and heading back the way we had just came, much to the disgust of my fellow drivers. I ignored their horns and put my foot down, my eyes searching the opposite side of the road. Maybe she broke down? Although, in a brand new Audi, that wasn’t likely. They would be sure to get a heated complaint if that was the case. I came to the mini-roundabout, where I had last seen her following, and there was still no sign of the car.
What the fuck?
Where had she gone? I carried on a little further, back towards the car dealer, but there was nothing. No sign of Emily, or the Audi. She had vanished.

“Fuck!” I slammed my hand against the steering wheel as I stopped the car and reached for my phone. I dialled Emily and listened to the ringing, but there was no answer.

‘Emily? Where are you?’

I don’t know why I bothered to text, if she couldn’t answer her phone then I was assuming she couldn’t text either, but somehow it had seemed necessary. I called again, but after about five rings I was greeted with her voicemail.

“Hi, this is Emily. I’m not here to take your call, but leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you.” Beep.

“Emily, what the fuck? Where are you?” I shouted down the phone before slamming it down on dashboard. What use was it leaving a voicemail? Where the hell was she?

My no doubt injured phone burst to life and I grabbed it, my heart pounding. Then I saw it was a blocked number. “Emily?” I answered.

“No, Julian, it’s Mum.”

“Mum, sorry but I’ll have to call you back, I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I said, trying desperately to keep my tone light to hide my irritation. My mother calling me now was not what I needed.

“In the middle of looking for Emily, you mean? I know. I need to tell you what’s happened.”

My heart sank. What had happened? And more to the point, what the hell would my mother know about it?

“She’s not with you then? That’s good,” she muttered.

“How is that good?” I snapped. “What the hell is going on?”

“Emily is fine, don’t worry. Isabella called her and made her lose you; she’s meeting her at your apartment. Ryan is heading towards you now.”

What the fuck?
Had I completely missed something? Obviously. “What are you talking about? Mum, I don’t have time for this.”

“You’re father called. He’s been following you; I’m hoping you managed to lose him. I assume you went back to look for Emily.”

“Yes, of course I did. Why? How do you know all this?”

“You’re not listening to me, Julian.” My mother’s voice was raised and frantic now. “He called me, he’s been watching us all and he said he was following you and Isabella. I called Isabella and she said she wasn’t with you, that it must be Emily with you. Ryan said you were out buying a car, so when Natalie called Emily and she said she was following you home, she told Emily to lose you,” she ranted, barely pausing for breath.

“Why? Why would she do that?” I had never felt panic and fear as powerful as I felt it at that moment. The familiar pulsing roared in my ears and my heart was pounding as I struggled to fill my lungs with a substantial amount of air.

“Because he’s following you so we thought it’d be best to get Emily out of the way of any danger, just in case he catches up with you.” Now her voice was calm, almost as if she was proud of herself for saving Emily. “Plus, we knew you’d drive like a maniac to find her and probably lose your father in the process, either that or notice him. We knew if we called you you’d confront him, and we couldn’t risk that.”

I knew my mother was still talking, but I struggled to make out a single word that she was saying as my mind replayed her earlier words, over and over, “he said he was following you and Isabella”. Then, it clicked. The sickening knowledge that I prayed was a figment in my imagination. It clicked, and it was real.

“Except, Mother, if what you’re saying is true, then he wasn’t following me, was he? Think about it,” I interrupted her rant, of which I had no clue of its content.