Pandora

Pandora drew herself up. “Right, let’s get down to brass tacks. I can’t stay, that has to be obvious.” Xavier’s smile slipped and vanished. “Right. I see. Wait a minute.” He went off and came back with two glasses of wine and another Mars bar cut in half. When Pandora eyeballed it derisively, he tucked it into her hand. “Go on. Caramel goes great with wine.” Mindlessly Pandora ate it. She ignored the Chardonnay. She’d had enough for Dutch courage, but she didn’t want to get drunk. “Can’t you see that this isn’t right?” she said carefully. “You can’t just go about kidnapping people.” “You’ve said this already.” “And I’m saying it again,” Pandora snapped. “I made a mistake but I have a life, you know.” He sat down and watched her. “Don’t you like the wine?” “Did you hear what I said?” “Yes. I heard you the other time too.” Pandora thought she could have handled rage or threats better than this calm response. He was exasperating. How could she get through to him? “You’re even more beautiful than I thought,” Xavier murmured. “You have the most wonderful skin. And I love the way your hair curls around your face.” “Xavier, listen to me: I want to go home,” Pandora said tartly. He shrugged. “That’s impossible, Panda.” She could have screamed. “I. Don’t. Want. To. Be. Here,” she enunciated. His eyes flickered. “You’ll change your mind.” “I won’t! I want to go home!” To her surprise, her words sounded like echoes. “Something’s weird,” she whispered. “My voice is all strange in my head.” “I spiked your Mars bar,” Xavier said calmly. *** Framed for treason and abducted, Pandora’s fate lies in the hands of a man who can destroy lives from his laptop. Is Xavier her captor or saviour? In a passionate story of intrigue and espionage, Pandora is about to discover nothing can be assumed about anyone. Even herself.