Page 43 of Forever Endeavor

CHAPTER 14

Billie

Not knowing what he was up to was driving Billie bananas, but then Sonny really ramped up the suspense in the driveway. He stopped her from climbing into the truck, instead directing her to turn around and close her eyes.

“Seriously? Why?”

“Like I said, you’re gonna have to trust me,” he said, just before a black strip of fabric came down over her head and covered her eyes.

“Ooh, kinky!” Her hands flew up to the blindfold. She blindly patted the silk while he fastened it. “If you had a fetish, why didn’t you just say so?”

He let out a laugh. “This isn’t the game you think it is, but I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Can you give me a hint?”

“No can do. But the sooner you get in—”

“I know, I know, the sooner we’ll get there.”

He helped her inside and closed the door. What the heck was he up to? Alone with the sound of her heart thumping, she tuned into the muffled sound of him talking on the phone, followed by the crunch of his footsteps and finally, the squeak of the driver’s side door opening. The front seat dipped as he sat behind the wheel. “You ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said with a nervous smile.

The keys jangled and the truck’s engine roared. As they jostled forward, he reached for her hand on the seat between them and laced his fingers through hers. It brought instant comfort. They drove for a while, making a series of turns before the truck eventually slowed to a stop and idled, its stinky fumes tickling her nose. “Where are we?”

“The Dairy Queen. I’m getting a burger.”

She was aghast. “What? You blindfolded me just to get a burger?”

“No, I’m getting fries too. I’m starving.”

“And whose fault is that? I had our dinner all ready to go.”

“Listen, you want a burger or don’t you?”

The thought of food had her salivating. “Yeah, I do.” Sonny ordered in the drive-thru and the truck lurched forward. “May I remind you that there’s a woman in a blindfold on your front seat? You might have to do some ‘splainin’ to the cops.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” he said, laughing. And he was right. He paid for and received the food at the pick-up window without any questions asked.

“Geez, the people in Janus Lake sure are lax about felony kidnapping.”

“Nah, they just know me around here.” Sonny rustled the bag. “Now open your pie hole.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Say ahh,” he commanded.

Billie did as she was told, and he stuffed a few hot fries into her waiting mouth. She hummed happily, closing her lips around the satisfyingly salty, greasy goodness. “Mmm.”

“See? I take good care of my hostages,” he joked as they drove away. She continued playing the helpless, blind baby bird while he steadily fed her more fries. By the time the truck slowed down, she was much less hangry. “All right, we’ve arrived. But keep the blindfold on or you’ll ruin the surprise. No peeking, okay? You promise?”

A nervous giggle slipped out. “Promise.”

“Sit tight. I’ll be right back.” Sonny pulled the keys out of the ignition, grabbed the bag of food, and disappeared. After a short eternity, her door finally opened. Guiding her down and out of the truck, he led her in small, shuffling steps over grass and gravel until they reached an even surface. She heard the squeaky whine of a spring-loaded door that sounded an awful lot like a fishing cabin. But that couldn’t be, because it wasn’t malodorous with rank, rotting trout carcasses. In fact, she smelled only the sweet aroma of coconut. Coconut?

Sonny cautioned her to take a step up. Standing close behind, he leaned in and whispered, “Okay, you can look now.”

Billie pushed the blindfold up and gasped, blinking in disbelief at the lush, tropical villa awash in candlelight. Leafy botanicals in terra cotta planters, billowing curtains and wicker furniture teeming with sunset-colored accent pillows. A patterned throw rug covered the floor planks while above her head, twinkle lights sparkled like stars from the crossbeams. In the middle of the soothing oasis, facing the largest window, was a beautiful vintage desk with a tempered glass writing surface that shimmered like blue water.

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