“Yeah. You never got to experience a night with me and we never got to—” His voice was husky and I felt my stomach churning. I had no romantic inklings toward David anymore, not even to kissing. I knew I’d have to pretend I was still attracted to him, even if he now revolted me. I’d make him feel that he was obliged to be my Prince Charming. If he wasn’t a sociopath, it would work—but I knew that was also a gamble.

“So, tonight?” I cut him off, not wanting to go down the innuendo road. The last thing I needed was for him to show up thinking that tonight was going to be the night we were going to seal the deal.

“Meet me at a cute place called the Little Owl. It’s in the West Village, on Grove Street.”

“Okay. What time?”

“Seven?”

“That’s fine.” I nodded gratefully. “Thanks for this, David.”

“You’ve nothing to thank me for, yet.”

He hung up and I sat back on the couch, my breathing labored. Part of me was scared that David was going to ambush me. What if he arrived with someone else? What if I was kidnapped again? It scared me to be making such a big move without thinking it through properly. Though this time, I wouldn’t be a sitting duck. I jumped up and went to the kitchen, fishing a serrated knife out of the cutlery drawer. I wanted to take my butcher’s knife, but it wouldn’t fit into my handbag. I wrapped the one I had chosen in a paper towel and placed it in my handbag. At times like this I wished I owned a gun, a small pistol or something.

I stared at the wall clock in front of me and sighed deeply. I had a few hours left to do research before I had to start getting ready for my meeting with David. I was going to have to scrub up and shave every part of my body before I left the house. I wanted to show up looking like a femme fatale. I wanted him to take one look at me and think to himself, I will do anything to have this woman, I will tell her whatever she wants to know. I knew that women had a certain power over certain men. I knew that there was power in sex, or the promise of sex. David was my best bet—and my only bet right now—to find out exactly what had happened all those years ago.

The Little Owl was a cozy restaurant on the corner of two quiet streets. The red facade and blue awnings made me smile. This place didn’t take itself too seriously. I walked inside and smiled at the commonplace wooden tables and chairs. This wasn’t fancy or ostentatious. I immediately felt comfortable.

“Bianca!” David stood up and waved to me from a table by the wall, his face bright as he watched me walking toward him. I stopped at the table and took in his appearance. It was hard not to compare him to Jakob. Next to Jakob, David was a boy. Handsome, yes, but roguishly attractive, no. His face and build seemed almost babyish when compared to Jakob’s wall of muscle and sinew. David was a prince to Jakob’s king.

“Hello, David.” I smiled at him weakly as he stepped forward to give me a kiss. I turned my cheek quickly so his lips didn’t meet mine. I saw a slight frown on his face and knew it was going to be harder than I’d thought to fake it with him.

“You look stunning.” His eyes showed their appreciation for the efforts I’d made.

“Thank you.” I nodded and took a seat as he pulled my chair out. It was almost as if we were on a first date and his brother hadn’t kidnapped me.

“How are you?” He took a seat across from me and I kept my face passive, though a storm was brewing inside me. How do you think I am, motherfucker? I smiled weakly and turned to the side. My body froze as I saw someone on the street peering through the front window. I furrowed my brows to get another look. Was it Steve? My heart was racing and I looked back at David, searching his face to see if this was a setup.

“What’s wrong?” He frowned and grabbed my hands.

How could I ever have thought he was cute? My stomach churned at the softness of his fingertips on my palms. “Nothing.” I looked back toward the window and the figure was gone.

“You look great.” He leaned forward. “Really beautiful.”

“Better than what you expected for someone that just came back from being kidnapped?” I raised an eyebrow at him and pulled my hands back. I wasn’t going to let him get away with this so easily.

“Bianca, I . . .” He sighed and sat back. “You’re mad at me?”

“Are you joking?” I shook my head. “Am I mad at you?” I laughed bitterly. “What do you think?”

“Well, it sounds as though you have some anger toward me.” He pursed his lips, and I think only then did he understand that this wasn’t about to be a night of hot sex between the two of us.

I leaned forward and went on the offensive. “Why did Mattias kidnap me?” This was my new strategy. I was going to go hard on the Mattias angle, even though I knew David was unlikely to tell me the truth. I hoped if I pushed hard on that point, he would answer my other questions without becoming suspicious.

“You were asking too many questions.” He shrugged.

“Did he kidnap me because he was worried I’d stop the merger from going through?”

“Bianca”—he bit down on his lower lip—“I really don’t know what to tell you. Mattias makes these decisions without me. I wish I could tell you what he wanted.”

“Mattias told me something about Maxwell when we were on the island.” I causally sipped some water, hoping the redness in my face wasn’t betraying my lie.