I shivered as I realized that someone who knew I was a relative could be walking around the city while I knew nothing. It saddened me to know that everything I thought about true and eternal love might be false. My poor dad! How he’d suffered. I tried to banish my thoughts of self-pity—they were useless to me. I needed to remember what Blake had said. I needed to think about everything objectively, without letting my emotions get the better of me. I couldn’t look at Jakob as my lover or my enemy. I had to look at him as a man with an agenda. An agenda I needed to get to the bottom of.

Then a text came. There will be a car waiting to pick you up outside your apartment at 8 pm. It will wait for 15 minutes. The choice is yours. Do you want to become mine once and for all?

I dropped my phone on the bed, my heart pounding fast. What was I supposed to think? Rationally, I knew I’d be a fool to go. What was I expecting from Jakob? And what did he mean, become his once and for all? If I was honest with myself, I had become his the first time we’d made love. My body craved his touch the way my lungs craved air. I needed him to survive. I needed him to exist. Yet, I still had so many questions. Who was Jakob? Could I ever get used to calling him Mattias? Could I trust him?

I didn’t consciously make the decision to go, but as I found myself in the shower, I knew I had no other option. I had to see this through to the bitter end. I was addicted to Jakob. I needed him to take me to the edge, even if that meant falling over and into the abyss. Stepping out of the shower, I dried my body slowly, thinking about what the night would bring me. I splashed some of my Gucci II perfume on my body and looked through my underwear drawer. What should I wear to make him think I was sexy, but hadn’t come trying to look sexy? I opted for a matching black lace bra and panties. They were simple, but enticing. I shimmied into my favorite black skirt before pulling on a flowy, white blouse. I brushed my hair and blow-dried it before using a flatiron to straighten out all my waves. My hair was shiny and silky and bounced against my back softly as I applied my makeup almost as well as they had done in the department store a couple of months ago. I smiled nervously at my appearance, barely recognizing the girl in the mirror. She didn’t look like Bianca London. The muted green-brown eyes shining back at me possessed a bravery and stubbornness I didn’t feel. I glanced at the clock. It was minutes to eight. I had to make my way downstairs if I wanted to go through with the plan. I felt like a traitor to myself as my heels clicked down the steps. I was serving myself up on a platter to a man that had lied to me and been responsible for my abduction to a deserted island. I was a fool, plain and simple, but in that moment I just didn’t care. All I could think about was him inside me, calling out my name, holding me close to him. All I could see was the look in his eyes as our two bodies became one melded together by a spark so pure that our passion seemed never ending.

My timing was perfect—a black limo pulled up as soon as I walked outside. The lady beggar across the street looked at me as I made my way toward the car. I knew she was wondering what was going on, if I was some sort of escort. It wasn’t every day that a black limo pulled up outside my building, and I’d certainly never been in one before. A driver jumped out of the car before I could blink and made it to the pavement to open the door for me.

“Good evening, Ms. London.”

“Hello.” I waited for him to give me his name, but he didn’t say anything else. “Are you taking me to see Jakob?” I asked him lightly as I slid into the back of the limo. “I mean, Mr. Bradley?”

“Mr. Bradley is waiting for you, Ms. London.”

“He’s not planning on taking me anywhere, is he?” I laughed nervously. “Like to another island?”

“Would Ms. London like to vacate the car?” the driver said, his expression never changing.

“Do you think I should?” I asked him softly, feeling uneasy. Why wasn’t he even smiling at me?

“Mr. Bradley is waiting for you, Ms. London.” I stared directly into his eyes. They were emotionless and it scared me.

“Do you call him Jakob or Mattias?” I asked softly.

Only then did I see a small crack in his mask. His eyes darkened and he looked at me with a stoic expression. “We all call him Mr. Bradley,” he said softly. “We daren’t call him anything else, unless he gives us permission.”

“I see. Thank you.”

He blinked once as I sat there in the car. “You’d still like to go?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Take me to Mr. Bradley.” He closed the door without a word and I sat back, waiting to be driven to Jakob’s house. I had no idea what it was going to look like. Would it be opulent, like his hotel? Or would it be more modest, like David’s apartment? What did he have planned for me? What secrets was he going to divulge?

I reached into my handbag to text Rosie and let her know where I was going, but then I remembered I’d left my phone on my dresser. I bit my lower lip, annoyed that I had forgotten it. If anything happened, it was going to be hard for me to call someone for help. Though I wasn’t sure whom I would call: Rosie or Blake? I was glad when I felt the paper-towel-wrapped knife still in my bag. If anything happened, I’d stab him hard. Thinking about stabbing Jakob took me back to the island and that final night with Steve. How confused I’d been. For a few seconds I hadn’t known whom I could trust. It was ironic that after all that I hadn’t been able to trust either of them.

“We’re here, Ms. London.” The car arrived at a gated entrance and we waited for the doors to open. “Are you sure you want to go inside?”