“Yes, Dandelion?”
“My call. You said I could call my sister.”
“I said we’d see, and I saw and decided you won’t be making any calls just yet. I mean, where is the lesson to be learned if I just let you make the call? Give you what you want when you throw a tantrum. It’s how you spoil children, isn’t it?”
Rage uncoils inside me. “You said—”
“I said we’d see.” He checks his watch again, and this time, when he spins to leave, that rage that starts as a slow burn in my belly courses through my veins, and I find myself charging him. He turns just in time to catch me when I jump, all claws and nails. I get my fingernails into his neck, but he’s too fast and, within moments, has me on my back on the bed, his full weight on me, both of us breathing heavy. He pins my wrists over my head and draws back a little, looking at me as I process what it is I’m feeling. What it is that’s pressing between my legs.
“I’m going to enjoy you, Dandelion,” he says with a slow thrust of his hips.
I freeze, unsure what to do. Unsure how far he’s willing to go. And he holds on to me until I finally look away, being the first to break eye contact. Another victory for him.
He straightens, then adjusts the cuffs of his shirt. I remain where I am as he stands looking down at me. I know I’m beaten.
He turns to go.
“Is it money you want? Ransom?” I ask, sitting up. “My brother—”
At that, he spins angrily back, and I find myself cowering from the sudden storm in his eyes. “Look around you. Does it look like I need your money?” He looks like it’s taking all he has to hold himself back from launching at me, and I wonder if I got off lucky just now when he resumes his walk toward the door.
“Tell me your name,” I call out. He stops. “I don’t even know your name. I don’t know who you are.”
He looks back at me. “Amadeo Del Campo Caballero. Now you know my name.” He points at the book he left on the bureau. “In there, you’ll see who I am.”
He gives me a once-over, and I’m very aware of how naked I am. I draw my knees together and tuck them to myself. His eyes meet mine, and there’s nothing victorious or arrogant in them. Just a deep, unending darkness like a void. And after everything that’s happened now, that makes me shudder. That has me pulling the blanket close and hugging my arms around myself.
A moment later, he walks out without a word or a backward glance, and the door is once again locked.