Page 17 of The Nanny and the Don
He simply nodded his head before continuing on his way out of the door. Once he was gone, I plopped down on the plush gray couch. It was actually pretty comfortable. His mentioningthe book I hoped to be able to live long enough to finish had me imagining curling up on that very couch with a good book.
I wished that I was reading one of my romantic thrillers instead of actually being holed up in some crazy man’s house like I was in one. None of the fairy tales I had read over the years prepared me for what was happening to me right now. It was all well and good when I was living vicariously through the characters I read about, but actually being kidnapped by a handsome and powerful man didn’t exactly feel like the beginning of a magical, heartwarming love story.
I had no idea what was in store for me, but I could only imagine. My head was spinning with thoughts of what could be waiting for me downstairs. I kept praying that I was deep in some lucid dream, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wake up.
Swallowing hard, I hopped up from my place on the couch and stormed toward the door. I was surprised to find that the door was no longer locked. I rolled my eyes as I swung the door open. I stared down the stairs before walking down to my fate. I didn’t hear anything at all as I ventured down the stairs. Once I was off the bottom step, I made a break for the door. Relief washed over me when I turned the knob and opened it. I flung it wide open, not bothering to close it behind me as I ran outside into the front yard.
Two gigantic men dressed in black stood out front talking. When one of them spotted me, he tapped the other one on the arm causing him to look my way.
“Hey, my name is?—”
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to go back inside or be escorted there.”
“I’m not going back inside. I need to get out of here.”
Throwing his head back, the slimmer of the two walked over to me and grabbed my arm. “I got her, G.”
“Get your hands off me,” I fussed as I fought to release my arm from his vice grip.
“I’m sorry, but I have instructions to make sure you don’t leave the premises.”
“Do you understand that you’re an accessory to a crime?” I asked him just to make sure he knew he was going down with his boss when this was all said and done.
“I just need you to understand what I have to do. You should have known there was a reason that he didn’t even get up when you came outside. We’re not letting you leave until he says it’s OK. Now relax.”
I felt defeated as we made it back to the open front door. Imagine my surprise when I stepped across the threshold and saw Mr. Evil sitting on a couch while two small children played with a ton of toys in front of him. I stood in the doorway taking everything in for a moment before the big guy nudged me in the center of my back.
My eyes moved from my captors’ stoic face to the little girl as she sat in the middle of the floor crying and waving a doll. She was adorable with her hair filled with pink barrettes. I didn’t have time to focus on her when I caught the boy standing on the arm of the chair out of my peripheral.
“Aht-aht, you better get down from there,” I warned him.
Suddenly every eye in the room shifted to me. Mr. Evil’s stone-cold expression warped back to the look of disdain he took on every time I was in his presence. He stood to his feet causing me to freeze in place. I kept my eyes on him as he stopped next to the boy and motioned for me to come closer with his head. When I walked over and stood in front of him, he introduced me.
“Devlan, this is King, and the little songbird is Evie.”
“Hi,” I said, giving them a nervous wave.
“King, this is Devlan. Sit down and be still while I talk to her for a minute,” he instructed the little boy.
“OK,” the kid said before doing a somersault and plopping down on the couch.
Without another word, he turned and headed into another room off from the enormous living area where the kids were. After I followed him into the room, he closed the door behind me and walked over to sit on the corner of the desk in the middle of the room. The entire wall behind him was covered with bookshelves filled with books. I could tell from where I stood nothing on his shelves would interest me.
“Enjoyed your morning run?” he asked, lifting his brows slightly as he waited for my answer.
“Fuck you,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Hate me all you want. Don’t give my employees a hard time. Simon and Gerry are only doing their jobs. You should focus on doing yours. While you’re here, you are in charge of the kids,” he stated, standing from his perch on the desk.
“What do you mean I’m in charge of the kids? What am I supposed to do with two kids while I’m being held hostage?” I asked.
“You’re in school studying early childhood education, correct?”
“Yes,” I answered flatly, surprised that he’d remembered that in the first place.
“Good, this should be good practice.”
“None of this makes sense to me. First of all, I’m being held responsible for something I had nothing to do with. Now I’m supposed to act like I’m not being held against my will here and take care of some little kids. I’m not being a nanny,” I refused.
