“Miss North,” my new bodyguard said, bringing my attention to him.
I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m Emma, Emma O’Brien.”
“Please continue to step up. We’re almost to the top.”
“What is Mr. Ramses hiding from me?”
Making no attempt to answer my question, Ian continued his directions. “We’re to the top. Now we’re turning right.”
Ian’s directions continued through a labyrinth. With my vision obscured, my other senses kicked in stronger. Different textures of floors. We started on concrete, crossed hardwood, and now we were walking upon carpeting. Since leaving the concrete stairs, we’d climbed one staircase and then after walking, we went up another. The air around us was the steady cool temperature of air conditioning, and the only sounds I could distinguish were of our footsteps, Ian’s directions, and our breathing.
He finally stopped. “Miss North, this is your suite.”
Emma
Letting go of Ian’s arm, I reached for the back of the blindfold.
“Miss North, please—”
I pulled on the tie, loosening the material as a large door before me opened inward.
“Please step inside,” Ian said with a sigh as he reached inside the room and hit a switch.
Despite the lights, the room seemed dark, in need of an open window or doorway to the outside. Since it was nearly midnight, that would only add the artificial illumination of streetlights, but any additional lighting would help.
Before stepping in, I took a quick look to the left and right. The hallway extended one way with another closed door on the other side. The other way led to what appeared to be a landing for a staircase. The tall walls were covered in wood wainscoting with ornate trim to almost my height; above that was dark green. I lifted my chin, taking in the high ceiling and glowing sconces upon the walls.
“How will I find my way out of here?” I asked.
“That won’t be necessary. The suite is well stocked. Beyond the main room are others: a bathroom, an exercise room, and a small office or sitting room.” He tilted his head toward a large armoire. “There is a refrigerator in there with water and food for snacks. Your meals will be brought to you. There’s no need to worry about getting lost.”
As he spoke, my nerves from earlier returned, twisting and tightening with each phrase. I stilled outside the entry. “Wait, are you saying I’m supposed to stay in there?”
“Yes, Miss North. This is your suite. You’re perfectly safe in here.”
“No.” I crossed my arms over my breasts. “I didn’t agree to be a prisoner.”
“I’m not privy to what you agreed to, ma’am. I get my orders from Mr. Ramses. If you have any problems with the arrangements, he’s the one with whom you should discuss them.”
Peering inside, I took in the heavy drapes over what I assumed were large windows. This was New Orleans. Weren’t there usually balconies? It’s two stories aboveground—a third-story suite—from what I could assess from all our walking. It was a long way, but maybe I could climb down if I needed to.
“Ma’am.”
I let out a breath. “Tell Mr. Ramses I want to see him as soon as he returns.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Seconds after I crossed the threshold, Ian began to pull the door shut. Before he could, I stepped in the way. “Ian, I had things at the hotel, and there’s my phone and purse. I’d like to be able to contact Mr. Ramses myself.” Not that I knew his number but still. “Will you please get me my things?”
The man nodded. “I believe you mentioned that to Mr. Ramses.”
“Now I’m mentioning it to you, too.”
“I’ll inform Mr. Ramses.”
It wasn’t much, but it was something. “Thank you.”
Before the door was fully shut, Ian’s gray gaze met mine. “You are safe. No one will touch you here. You can rest knowing that.”