“Come on, then. I’ve got dinner for us all.”
“You want us to come up there and eat with you?” I ask, my brows pulling together in confusion.
He hasn’t let us out without a blindfold yet, so why would he suddenly want to have a sit-down family meal?
Mum pushes to her feet and I hesitantly do the same, curious as fuck as to what he’s playing at.
With each step I take up the stairs, I expect him to laugh in our faces and slam the door once more.
My stomach aches where it’s so empty, and as I hit the top step and the scent of food hits me, I forget all about this being a setup and begin moving faster, desperate for what he might have for us on the other side of the door.
“What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath as I get a look at the house we’re being kept beneath.
I blink a few times, looking around in disbelief.
It’s our house. Only… it’s not.
But the walls, the furniture, even some of the photographs, they’re identical to our house.
This is seriously fucked up.
“I’ve got our favourite,” he says, gesturing toward the kitchen diner.
We walk inside ahead of him and find the table covered in everything to make tacos.
My mouth waters at the sight of all the food after only existing on dry bread and lukewarm water for… days.
“What did we do to deserve this treat?” Mum says softly behind me, her tone making me cringe.
“I thought it was time for us to be a family again.”
“Why?” I ask, the question falling from my lips before I even realised I was going to say it out loud.
“Because I want to do something nice for my girls.”
I spin around and stare at him. He looks better than he did the first time I saw him in our home, however many days ago that was. Being free is obviously good for him.
“We’re starting over. Just me and my girls. I’ve planned everything and we’re going to be so happy.”
My eyes narrow at him, but I manage to keep my thoughts to myself.
“That sounds wonderful, darling. Why don’t you tell us more about it?”
Jonas’s eyes never leave mine as he leads Mum toward the table.
“Where are we going to start over?” I ask, realising that he’s suspicious of me and needing to follow Mum’s plan to make him think we’re on his side.
“We’ve got tickets booked for a couple of days’ time. I’ve got the most incredible house waiting for us. It’s near some fantastic universities, you’re going to love it.”
“Where is it?” I ask, my heart racing.
If he gets us out of the country, we’re royally fucked.
“You don’t need to worry about that right now. Sit, eat. You both must be starving.”
Yeah, no thanks to you.
Jonas pulls Mum’s chair out, and the second she’s seated, he begins filling her plate.