“Of course you are.” Helete looked horrified. “Cameron must be worried.”
“Did you call him?”
She thinned her lips. “For all I knew, Mia, you were having an affair.”
“Of course I wasn’t. I asked you to call him.”
“Still,” she said, sounding terse, “it was lucky I was there. You interrupted my meeting.”
Sorry for interrupting you with my kidnapping, I mused darkly.
It really had been a coincidence she was there, though. I let that thought settle and rested my head back, staring out at the passing scenery. “I’m glad I’m out of that room.”
“What is going on?” she asked.
“I was checked in by a well-meaning person.”
“Against your will?”
As my gaze met Helete’s, my concern for Henry’s reputation grew. I only hoped all this didn’t cause a real problem between him and Cameron. They’d made such great progress mending their rift.
“Terrible state of affairs.” Helete shook her head, frowning.
The woman beside me seemed to be taking all this in with no reaction to the fact her friend had just rescued me and tasered a man. We’d left him laying on the floor out cold and even though I hated Barret, I hoped he was okay. They both seemed unfazed that we’d just fled a kidnapping.
I offered her my hand. “I’m Mia.”
She looked down at it but didn’t shake it. “I know.”
To hide my embarrassment, I went to take another gulp of water—holding the bottle suspended at my mouth as I recalled where I’d heard her voice—she sounded exactly like the woman who’d phoned about that cake.
My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the door. “I need to get out.”
“He might be following us.” Helete swapped a wary glance with her friend.
The hairs on my forearms prickled. “Please, can you let me out?”
Helete turned to her friend. “Everything set?”
The Russian gave a nod and refocused her gaze at the passing traffic.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I reached out for it, insistent.
“Mia, you’re safe now.” I think those words came from Helete…
Resting back, I tried to think how I was going to explain this without implicating Henry, as a wave of vertigo swept over me. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and tiredness was soaking into my bones. My gaze fell onto the bottle as it slipped from my grasp, and I tried to apologize for spilling the water, but I couldn’t form the words…
Dizziness.
Lying down on the seat with my face squished against the cold leather, I brought up my legs with a heavy breath, vaguely recalling the last time I’d seen Helete had been in England at that exclusive men’s club, Oberon Grove.
Richard had taken me there, and we’d been separated because those were the rules. Haunting memories caused a swell of panic to rise inside me as I remembered that Richard had been sedated after someone had drugged his drink.
A stark realization chilled my flesh.
It had been the woman sitting opposite me, who was staring at her phone as though I wasn’t slipping into unconscious.
“Cameron,” his name left my lips.