Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
She'd explored the penthouse from top to bottom, and had found the lovely and very private rooftop balcony. The area was designed strategically to block off any high winds, and she'd spent a few pleasant hours here and there working on a suntan she'd never had time for before. She hoped he never caught her during her moments of leisure, but surely she wasn't supposed to be working twenty-four-seven? There wasn't possibly that much work available for her to do.
All and all, except for being nervous around him, she was content with her temporary life, if only it weren't for the nagging guilt that she shouldn't be having such a restful time. She didn't have to worry about anything. Not bills, not food, not her mother's boyfriend trying to sneak into her room in the middle of the night.
Marco had only called her on the cell phone he had given her twice--the two times he wanted to eat in. And now, inactivity making her claustrophobic, she slipped the phone into the pocket of her shorts and laced her tennis shoes. It had been too long since she'd gotten any real exercise, and surely a building as nice as this one had a gym?
She grabbed the extra key card from the entryway table and took the elevator down. In the two weeks she'd been living here, except for the rooftop, it was the first time she'd been out of the penthouse. Suddenly, she was itching to see the world again and decided to take a brisk walk instead of looking for the gym.
Natalie smiled at the concierge as she walked past, and then again at the doorman. She had a ten-dollar bill in her pocket, just in case, and she set out walking at a brisk pace. It was the noon hour, and the sidewalks of Downtown were full of business-type people. She made a mental note of the corner she started from, and made a quick decision to turn right and take off from there. She quickly caught on to the ebb and flow of traffic; how the lights would change, and the wave of people would cross in front of the stopped cars. She walked up and down the streets rapidly for about half an hour before she became out of breath.
She was hot and sweaty, needed water or a Coke, and decided to head back. There was a commuter train that ran just a few blocks from Marco's building, and she decided it would be fun to ride it. It only took a few minutes standing on the platform before the train arrived and she was able to board. The train was comfortable, and she watched the sights as they sped by.
She hopped off when she thought she'd gone the correct distance and looked around to get her bearings. She didn't see anything even vaguely familiar and a tiny sense of foreboding hit her, but she refused to panic. She had her phone if she became lost, and anyway, it was still early in the afternoon.
As she wandered around, she wished she could call her cousin, but knew he wouldn't be home for weeks. She didn't know anyone else in the city except Marco, and she wasn't quite that desperate yet.
She strolled up and down the block. She seemed to be in the hospital district, and wandered around for another fifteen minutes, trying to figure out what to do. The train that had been so easy to catch before didn't seem to be coming back around, and she didn't think the money she had would be enough for a cab ride back to her building.
She was waiting at another crosswalk for the next wave of cars to pass when a sleek black Audi pulled up beside her. The window lowered silently. "Get in."
A mild sense of shock hit her that Marco would appear at the exact moment when she needed him, and the hows and whys of it didn't occur to her immediately.
She opened the door and slid inside. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
The light changed, he accelerated and then his eyes briefly left the road and touched on her. "Buckle up, Natalie."
She did as he said with fingers that trembled and after a few minutes of silence as he drove, she tried again. "How did you happen to be there?"
He didn't answer immediately, and when he did, his voice was curt. "Coincidence."
But he didn't explain further, and she lapsed into uneasy silence, her mind working on the problem in her brain. She didn't for one second believe it was a coincidence. He had known she was there. And it didn't take her long before she came up with the only answer there could be to the equation of how he could have happened upon her in a metropolis of over four million people. He was tracking her with her cell phone.