An Adventurous Life (Alternate Addie Story)

Knowledge: Part One

My mind is awake before the rest of me. I float around in darkness for a moment, then slowly, limb by limb, my body catches up. I can feel something soft beneath me, but I know it isn't my bed—it doesn't smell like Victor. The thought of him brings our argument back to the surface . . . and then the memory of my abduction hits me.

I open my eyes and carefully sit up. My body still feels heavy with sleep, but at least I can look around. The soft thing under me is actually a bed, which means I'm in a bedroom, I guess. I toss the blankets off me and get up, using the small amount of light filtering in from a door just a few feet away. Being as quiet as possible, I walk over and carefully turn the handle.

It's unlocked—weird. I wait a moment, debating if I should even leave, then open the door and step out.

A polished hallway stretches out to my right, and there's a bathroom to my left. A male's voice reaches me from the room beyond the hall. I should probably go back into the room, but I've never won a fight with curiosity. Careful to step lightly on the cool, black tile, I move to the end of the walkway.

A glass window takes up the entire far wall in the next room. Beyond it, a city stretches out as far as I can see. Victor and I try to avoid cities, and now that I think about it, so do most of his enemies—or at least the ones that I know about. I have no idea who would keep me hostage inside civilization.

The thought draws my attention to the man standing across the room. He's on the phone, so I don't think he knows I'm here. I can't see much of him, because his back is to me, but I'm pretty sure I've never met him before. He's tall, with a broad back and a powerful stance—the same way Victor stands. His posture tells me he's also probably just as prideful as Victor; he's no doubt confident in himself and in whatever he has planned for me.

Great.

Victor is never going to let me leave the house again.

"Ms. Stryker, how good of you to join me."

I jump, startled at suddenly being addressed—when did his phone call end? His voice sounds oddly familiar, but I can't figure out why. Before I can respond to him, my captor turns around.

A surprised gasp escapes me as I realize I do, in fact, know the man—or at least, I know of him. I've heard him speak in the store speakers, since my boss firmly believes in playing every single FoH broadcast, and I've seen him on TV. He's the man Victor won't tell me about—despite my constant questions—and Drake doesn't even acknowledge.

He's Graydon Creed—Victor's son.

My eyes sweep him over with this new revelation in mind, and I take notice of the similarities. He has Victor's jaw, shoulders, and the same blue eyes as Drake. I didn't realize pride could be inherited, but judging by Graydon's stance, I guess I was wrong.

"You seem surprised," he says, smirking slightly. "Don't you know who I am?"

"I do, actually, Graydon." I speak for the first time since I woke up. My throat is dry, and my voice sounds hoarse. I clear my throat. "I just wasn't expecting to meet you anytime soon."

It's Graydon's turn to look a little surprised. "Did Victor tell you who I am?"

"He didn't have to. You can't throw the name Creed on the news and not expect someone to make the connection. The moment you went public with the whole Faith of Humanities thing, I pieced together who you were."