Be Careful What You Wish For(17)

“Nice,” Sean said shortly, casting a glance at Valzar. “Do I want to know who this place belongs to?”
“My family,” Valzar said, sketching a short, mocking bow. “My father has always believed that wise men should have a nice, secure place to wait out a revolution. It’s come in handy over the years. We have a skeleton staff here. They’ll see to all your needs. They’re very discreet, of course.”
Someone coughed, and she noticed a man dressed in khaki pants and a white shirt standing off to one side. Valzar nodded at him, and he stepped forward.
“I’m Eduardo,” he said in softly accented tones. “I run the household here, as well as being in charge of security. If you need anything at all, please just let me know.”
“Thank you,” Sean said.
“Eduardo has been with our family for more than 20 years,” Valzar said. “He does far more for us than simply run the household.”
“I understand,” Sean said, and his eyes took on a new look. Sadness? It was hard to know. She could tell that something was going on here, but she had no idea what it might be.
“I trust that Eduardo isn’t so zealous in doing his duty that he won’t check with me before doing me any favors?” Sean asked pointedly. “I would take that as a personal insult, no matter how good the intentions were.”
“I respect your right to handle your own affairs, Senor,” Eduardo said. He shot her a look Sandra didn’t like one bit. “The situation is fully under your jurisdiction. I’m simply available should you need any help.”
Shit, they were talking about her. About k illing her. She shivered, and edged closer to Sean without thinking. He wrapped one arm around her, comforting her, and Valzar shot her another sharp look. She was tired of all these men looking at her, judging her. All she wanted was to go home.
“Senorita, Maria will show you to your room,” Eduardo said smoothly, nodding at a young woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was pretty, with dark hair and flashing eyes. Her lips were red and pouting, and her maid’s uniform did nothing to hide her lush figure.
“Please come with me,” she said. “I have a room prepared for you in the guest quarters.”
“She’ll stay in the same room as me,” Sean said, looking down at her proprietarily. “She’s mine.”
Rosa’s mouth tightened, but she nodded and gestured toward the stairs. “Please come with me, Senorita
.”
Sandra didn’t want to leave Sean, but he dropped his arm and nodded for her to go. She didn’t trust these people, and it occurred to her that she probably shouldn’t trust him, either. Sean was her enemy, the man originally responsible for kidnapping her, but now she longed for his presence. He seemed so much safer, so much less frightening than all these other people. What was that called? Stockholm Syndrome? She’d heard of it before but never dreamt she’d experience it for herself.
Something so unnatural shouldn’t feel so right—it wasn’t fair.
Slowly she followed the maid up the stairs, unconsciously noting the quality of workmanship that had gone into creating the villa. Everything was made of solid wood or tile, all of which bore the signs of hand-workmanship. Large paintings hung on the walls, including portraits of strong, menacing-looking Spaniards and delicate white beauties. Family portraits? Valzar’s people went back a long way; he must be some kind of aristocrat. Definitely old money.
They came to the top of the stairs and she followed her guide through the gallery. As they left the entrance hall and started down a hallway, she realized the house was even larger than she’d initially thought. The hall was bordered by rooms for a few meters, but as they turned a corner one wall fell away, revealing an open courtyard. Hot air hit her again, but it wasn’t as bad as outside. How did they do that?
The house enclosed the entire courtyard, all of which seemed to open either on to the gallery above or the courtyard itself on the lower levels. There was a large, luxurious swimming pool, as well as immaculately sculpted gardens and several fountains. Even a fake stream had been cleverly designed to run through the grounds, and in the distance, she could hear the chirping of birds. It was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen in her life.
Rosa seemed hardly to notice. She abruptly stopped in front of two large, wooden doors, then opened them and nodded toward the cool, dark interior. Sandra walked in and the doors closed behind her. She whirled, expecting to see Rosa behind her. Instead, she heard a snicking sound and realized the maid had locked her in.
* * * * *
“I’ll be leaving in the morning,” Valzar said. He and Sean sat in a tastefully decorated study, a room more likely to be found in a British hunt club than the jungles of the Amazon. “You can reach me any time with Eduardo’s help. We have a full communications center here, including subscriptions to all the mainstream news services, as well as more specific researching tools. I’ve prepared a file of financial information for you. You’ll want to know how much money you have, I’m sure, and you’ll need to make decisions as to what you’ll be doing with yourself.”