Kidnap My Heart

Chapter Seventeen: Will

Kidnap My Heart

Chapter 17: Will

My dad was hundreds of miles away—thousands, for all I knew—yet he still somehow managed to find out that Emma had escaped twice. Eric wasn’t the gossiping type, but my dad was pretty insistent when he wanted to know something. I knew both of them perfectly well. My dad wasn’t the type to let something go if he caught even the slightest whiff of it, and my brother wasn’t the type to hold out and keep secrets from our dad. It wasn’t hard to guess how my dad knew about everything that went on in our house.

Well, not everything, I guess. He didn’t seem to know about Emma’s pranks. If he’d known, that would have come up in our conversation over the phone. The phone I was using was an old Nokia cell phone—an indestructible little demon that blended in pretty much everywhere. I was surprised Emma hadn’t found it. She’d gone through enough of my things.

“This can’t happen again, William,” my dad yelled over the phone. I actually had to hold it away from my ear for a second. Those speakers were better than I thought. “There is too much at stake here. Do you know who that girl’s father is?”

“Yes,” I muttered.

“Do you know how much money the man has? Do you realize the amount we could get for this ransom? Don’t make me regret involving you.”

My jaw clenched. “I realize this.”

“Then keep a better eye on her. Eric has had no trouble at all with the other girl, and she was a liability that had to be silenced. Yet she’s the one who is under control. What does that tell you?”

“That you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” I snapped back. “Taylor is nothing like Emma van der Bilt. Emma is absolutely psychotic. She’s violent, reckless, smart, and pure evil, Dad.”

“She’s an eighteen year old girl. Not just that, but a spoiled little rich girl. How could a teenage brat possibly outmatch my son?”

“You clearly haven’t met her.”

“I don’t have to. That’s what you two are here for. You know the plan, Will. You keep the girls hidden for a few months, long enough to rouse some desperation in their families. We push for a ransom when it’s time, and then we take the money and leave and start over somewhere new. We can go wherever you guys want. South America, Europe, Australia—it doesn’t matter. But this won’t work if you won’t listen to me. Stick with the plan. Don’t screw it up.”

“I won’t,” I said, internalizing what I really wanted to say. What was the point? He wasn’t going to listen. He just wanted to be heard loud and clear. He didn’t care about what I had to say.

“I won’t let you screw it up,” he went on, as if I hadn’t just agreed to follow his orders to the dot. “You’re going to keep Emma van der Bilt at your side at all times. Get her out of that garage and into your room like Eric has done with Taylor. If Emma has managed to escape from that garage two times, you need to realize that this is a clear sign that your system is flawed. Follow Eric’s example. It works, and that’s all we need. Do you understand?”

What? No… Tell me I hadn’t heard him correctly… Oh, damn it. Fuck. So much for punishing the evil little brat. This completely messed up all of my plans. She wouldn’t be eternally grateful if I took her out of there now. She’d just be cocky about it. She’d count this as a win for her.

This was going to be a bigger challenge than I thought.

When I didn’t reply, my dad repeated his question in a louder voice. “Do you understand?”