Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
31
COREY
When I gained consciousness again, I was no longer in the trunk. I was in what appeared to be a bedroom, but instead of laying me on the bed, I’d been left on the bare floor. My ankles were duct-taped together, there was still tape over my mouth, and the tape on my wrists had been ripped off and replaced by cuffs, which were secured to a bolt in the floor. Why the hell were there floor bolts in a bedroom? I shivered. Maybe I shouldn’t think more about that.
I needed to focus on an escape plan. I wasn’t sure why Lisa and her accomplices hadn’t killed me immediately, but I couldn’t assume they’d keep me alive long.
I’d been so stupid. Why had I just accepted what the caller told me? I’d known everything sounded off. And as mad as he was, Dominic would never have me walk outside by myself, he would never have me leave without guards. Val and Vito wanted me there, not away from their father. They wouldn’t have arranged it. But I’d wanted an escape, so I took one, and now here I was.
I tried moving, wanting to test how tight the tape and cuffs were. Pain drove through my head as I moved. I vaguely remembered hitting it on the spare in the trunk as they’d pushed me in. The room spun around me. I had to get it together. I didn’t have any chance of escaping if I couldn’t stay conscious and fucking focus.
What was I going to do? I didn’t even know where I was. How could I hope to get out of this? As my panic rose, my breaths came faster, and I worried I was going to suffocate. I could only breathe through my nose with the tape across my mouth.
Slow breaths. Just take slow breaths. I tried, but when I attempted to move my legs and realized how tightly they were tied, my panic increased. I could move my toes, but I couldn’t feel them anymore. Fuck.
Was Dominic looking for me? Would he find me in time? Would Lisa or someone else kill him before he got to me?
No. I needed to believe things could turn out all right.
I yanked hard on the cuffs, but the bolt was clearly well set into the floor. I rolled over, ignoring the pain in my head and the rest of my body. I was alive, and I needed to stay that way.
I looked around the room. There were windows covered by thick curtains. They could be a way out if I could get free, but that was a serious obstacle. And outside of the house? How many guards would there be?
I heard footsteps, and I rolled over into the position I’d woken in. The door of the room banged open.
“Wake up,” Lisa called. “It’s time to go see your sad excuse of a bodyguard.”
I opened my eyes. If I pretended to still be out, I was sure she’d drag me out of there anyway.
I glared at her, letting her know how much I hated her, even though I couldn’t speak. It was probably best that my mouth was taped, because I wasn’t sure I would have been able to keep from telling her what I thought of her.
“Once again, that fool underestimated me. Such a shame. I bet you wish you’d never met him.”
Maybe I should, but I didn’t. And it wasn’t Dom’s fault, it was mine. I shouldn’t have believed the caller was X. I shouldn’t be so fucking trusting. Hadn’t I learned that well enough yet?
One of the men from the car appeared in the doorway. Lisa gestured toward me. “Get him up and take the tape off his legs, then bring him to the car.”
The man ripped the tape from my ankles, seemingly as roughly as he could. I tried to ignore the sting as he worked with my cuffs. Was Lisa really taking me to see Dom? Was he still planning to meet her? Did he even know I was gone?
I had to stop her from killing him, but what could I do?
32
DOM
The warehouse where we were meeting was dark when I arrived. I hadn’t expected anything else. Lisa would want to appear dramatically from the shadows.
I held my flashlight and my gun, sweeping the area as I took the last few steps to the open doorway. As soon as I stepped inside, I spotted her hiding place, but I didn’t shoot because she had Corey in front of her.
She flipped a light switch and suddenly the space was brightly illuminated. I didn’t move. I stood, weapon aimed at her, trying to focus on her and not Corey, whose face was bruised, who looked barely able to stand beside her. If I watched him, I would get distracted, and distraction meant death around Lisa.