Arranged Abduction

Chapter 4

They texted in short bursts over the following week, nothing long just as Wren had expected, nothing that would read as anything other than two people confirming logistics. She was certain she had figured him out in a way but still had a lot to know. During the course of weeks, she had explained the layout of the east road to him, how the estate worked and several other things while he told her what car to look out for. Kasimir had adjusted the window they had to work with to the time her evening walks ended. Wren was more amazed at Kasimir’s calm response after she had disclosed that Desmond had hired additional security for the wedding process. She had always been amazed by his cool demeanor; back in the elevator and every time she had a conversation with him.

Days passed by without a single conversation between them, which served as a token reminder that their partnership was practical, and they were not friends. Yes, they had a shared interest in the same outcome, which was the dismantling of a specific engagement, and once the engagement was dismantled they would go their separate ways and the only remaining connection between them would be a hotel anecdote neither of them would tell anyone. Wren never forgot to recall this while also confused why her mind kept going back to the hardware store receipt.

Wren was positive that there was more about Kasimir she had to know; when Kasimir proposed for a meeting, which was different from his usual behavior and the Stoic expression he always had on his face, which Wren read as not wanting to be near people. They met once before the night itself, briefly, at a coffee shop three miles from the estate that Desmond's people did not know she used. Kasimir was already there when she arrived with his back to the wall and a black coffee going cold in front of him, reading something on his phone that he put away when she sat down. Of course, he was early not to contrast his control maniac image he already had with Wren.

“Hi. You’re here early,” Wren was already used to giving a perfect fake business smile.

“Or maybe you arrived late.”

“Aren’t you the happiest person to see me?” She shone a brighter smile at Kasimir, who was pulling out a chair for her which, for some reason, pissed him off which was obvious with the appearance of his usual annoyed expression.

“Let’s go over the plan,” Kasimir cleared his throat after sitting back again and ignoring Wren’s response.

He laid it out clean and exact; she would tell the house she was going for her evening walk at ten and take the east road at ten: fifteen. Pass the gap in the camera coverage at approximately ten twenty-two and then head to the lay-by just past the old drainage gate where he would be packed with his lights off to get in. This was the perfect getaway plan; they'd be on the freeway in under four minutes without leaving any clues. Her family’s oblivion to the fact that she had been preparing her travel documents for a while was even better.

"Anyone following you out of the house?" The question popped out, disrupting Wren’s daydream.

"Not usually. Desmond trusts the cameras more than the guards."

"And if someone does follow?"

"I'll handle it."

His eyes shot at her with a distrustful expression plastered all over his face. "How?"

"I've been managing this family's assumptions about myself for six years. I think I can redirect a security guard."

For once, his expression had watered down, meaning he had probably accepted this, which Wren couldn’t help but appreciate. Most men in her experience did not accept this kind of answer and required a demonstration first.

"After," he said. "You have somewhere to go."

"Yes. Will you miss me?" She spouted before making a pouting face which she stopped immediately after remembering she wasn’t talking to her friend but Kasimir Hale.

"You're not going to tell me where." Fortunately, he had ignored the latter as if noticing Wren’s discomfort and countenance after blurting it out.

"Not yet." She slowly wrapped both hands around her coffee. "No offense."

"None taken." He said this plainly with no shrug nor reassurance attached to it, as if trying to say it was none of his business. She was starting to understand that he operated without the usual conversational padding, no of course, and absolutely, and I completely understand. He just said things and moved on, which, oddly, made her trust what he did say more than she trusted people who said everything the right way.

She walked him through a secondary route in case the east road was blocked which he walked her through what to do if the car wasn't there at ten-twenty-two. They covered three contingencies, and she added a fourth, which he acknowledged with a single nod.

Before she left, she reached into her bag and put a key on the table. It would’ve been a little stressful to return the key to him if she forgot to, and an instance where her family found a random suitcase key that would trace to her disappearance would’ve been horrible.

"Your suitcase key," she said. "I found it in the front pocket."

She watched as his eyes did a little examination on the key before picking it up." You've been carrying this for a week."

"I kept forgetting to mention it."

He stared at her for a moment, and she couldn't help but stare back, and she was not going to mention the shirt again, or the reason he'd told her to keep it, or the way the conversation at the gala had sat with her longer than it had any right to.

"Tuesday," he mentioned, adjusting in his seat.

"Ten fifteen,"

She left before he drank the rest of his coffee, which had gone cold while they talked.