Page 38 of We The Depraved

“Reading glasses,” he gestures and takes them off sitting them on the desk.

I take him in. “Why take them off?”

He doesn’t answer. “What do you need?”

I brace myself on his desk. “I want my phone.”

He straightens up behind the desk and very slowly, closes his laptop. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you need it?”

I frown. “One, bucko…it is my phone. Two, you have me locked in here like some caged slave.”

He laughs loudly. “Hardly a slave. My slaves,” he licks his lips. “Do what they’re told.”

“Mr. Safaryan,” I use his last name to drive home a point. “Please return my property.”

“You have to do something for me, first,” he says.

I don’t like how the tables have suddenly turned. His features turn up into a small smile and I know something is dancing behind those green eyes. Taking a step back from his desk, I’m caught off guard.

“What could I possible do for you, Niki?”

He continues to smile.

“Tonight…after dinner, would you…”

He pauses for dramatic affect. Foolishly, I’m hanging on his every word, desperate to get my hands on my little piece of technology. I haven’t seen my phone since we arrived at the ranch and something tells me I’m behind on lots of gossip and at least three cat fights. There is a burning need to know what Yasmine has been doing or if she’ll need to be fired soon.

“Would you dance for me tonight?” Niki’s words shock me.

My mouth falls open a little bit.

“Like swing my ass around a pole dance?”

He nods, licking his lips.

“I don’t understand.”

“I want to see you in action,” he shrugs. “Don’t tell me you’re bashful.”

Inhaling deeply, I let it go. It’s been so long since I’ve danced. “I don’t have the right clothes.”

He laughed. “You’ll figure it out. Do we have a deal?”

Nodding, I offer a resounding, “Yes!”

He quirks and eyebrow and then stands. Behind him on the wall is another painting that his mother must have done. The same sad details are there and I realize it’s him and his brothers. Four little boys in white shirts and black trousers sitting on a bench. The youngest has a red apple, bitten into, in hand. Their green gazes stare at me and instantly I know which one is Niki. His stare is the most commanding.

Within seconds the portrait slides to the side and a digital safe is revealed behind him. He punches in the code and opens the door. Briefly, I wonder what happens if the power goes out.

My cellphone is handed over to me, but not before he warns me.

“Remember your sister,” he states. “Don’t make trouble.”

I snatch the phone from his grasp and storm from the room. His laughter echoes behind me but I don’t turn to look back. Sunshine touches my face and I sit on the front porch swing, the phone against my chest. There’s a magnetic pull to open it and I do.