SHE KNEW NATHAN WAS FURIOUS WITH HER. AFTER LYING to him, Dakota had to earn his trust back. She smoothed the tight skirt and admired her shapely legs in the mirror. Pleased with her appearance, she descended to the chamber where he was being kept.
He looked up from his breakfast, then back at his plate, making a point of ignoring her.
“I know you’re mad at me,” she said.
“Liar, liar pants on fire. Lied, tried, fried, died. One, two, three, four.” It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. Friggin’ counting. Enough already. She took a seat across from him. She wanted to look nervous, so she bit her lip and made her eyes wide.
“He made me do it.” Her voice cracked.
Nathan looked up.
“I’m his prisoner. I needed your help, and I didn’t know what to do.” Tears fell from her blue eyes.
“Who made you do it?”
“The man with the big, black car. He won’t let me leave here unless I do what he asks. I’m afraid.”
Nathan puffed out his chest.
The rube was falling for it.
“What does he want you to do?”
She cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”
“Tell me, sell me. I want to know.”
“There are people. These people are hurting babies. He wants me to stop them.”
His eyes grew huge. “Hurting babies is bad. Bad, bad, sad, mad.”
She nodded. “Yes, but I’m afraid they’ll hurt me, too, if I try to stop them. I’m not brave enough.”
“I’m brave.”
“Yes, you are, Nathan. That’s why I thought you could help me, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Why not? Don’t you think I’m brave?”
She covered his hand with her own. “Of course, I think you’re brave. You’re the bravest person I know. But I don’t want to be unfair to you.”
“I want to help. What do you want me to do?”
She smiled.
“You will be driven to the place where they hurt babies. You will need to leave a package there. And you’ll leave a note saying you did it to save the babies.”
“That doesn’t sound hard. Easy, peasy, leasy.”
“That’s because you are a brave, brave man.”
He leaned toward her.
“Then he will let you go, and we can be together?”
She licked her lips. Like taking candy from a baby. “If you do a good job.”
He sat up straighter. “I will. Good. Hood. Should.”