Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Coming right up.” The old woman gives me a sympathetic pat and doesn’t ask where I’ve been. She knows all too well.
She whistles as she cooks, and outside beyond the windows, I can see the bars of my cell glowing red in the sunlight, beautiful and breathtaking, but horrible just the same.
There’s no escaping this place.
Even if I can get out, I won’t survive the hike back. I’d need water, supplies, probably a vehicle. It would take a full day to reach a road, and even longer to reach civilization.
Erick knew what he was doing when he brought me here.
“We’re fully self-sustaining,” Marina says when she places the food in front of me. “Solar panels on the roof, batteries in the basement, a well for water, regular shipments of food. Erick should be back shortly if you want to discuss things further with him.”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t worry, dear. You’ll be okay. Do your job and he won’t hurt you. Erick’s fair.”
“How do you do this?” I stare as she pours coffee. “How do you work for a man like him?”
She tuts as she brings over the mug. “There’s much worse in this world than him. Besides, the pay is fantastic. There you go, eat up, you need it.”
Marina begins to wash the dishes and I stare down at my food. I take a tentative bite and it’s so good I can’t stop myself from devouring it all like an animal, desperate and unable to control myself, wondering when I’ll have my last meal, and if it’s happening right now.
Chapter 7
Hellie
I’m curled up on the couch in my room watching TV when Erick comes back. I hear him downstairs talking to someone. There are several voices; I don’t recognize them at all. Soon, someone knocks at my door, and enters before I can call out.
Erick lugs two heavy bags over to my bed and dumps them down. I stand, staring, as he pours one out. Clothes tumble all over: shirts, pants, underwear, all of it with tags.
“What’s that?” I ask, unable to help myself.
“I assume you don’t want to be in that for the foreseeable future.” He gestures at me. I’m in my dirty, sweaty work outfit still from last night. “This stuff is yours now. Everything should be your size.”
I drift to the pile, my mouth falling open. It’s all designer: Dolce, Prada, Yves St. Laurent, a few names I don’t recognize, but the price tags are all obscene. “You could’ve just gone to Target,” I murmur.
“My casino doesn’t have a Target. This will have to do for now.”
“Right. Sure.” I clear my throat, lifting up a tiny black dress. “What’s this for?”
“That’s for when we have dinner together.”
His face remains straight, but he’s got to be kidding. “We’re not sharing meals, and I’m definitely not wearing this.” I toss it back onto the bed.
“You can wear whatever you like, but you might change your mind.”
“I doubt it.”
“This doesn’t have to be difficult. You understand why you’re here and what your role is. We can work together.”
“You kidnapped me.” I stare at him like he’s gone insane. I’m reminded all over again of his pure sexual magnetism: the man’s a sculpted, gorgeous machine of raw masculine energy. I’m taken aback by the stare he pins me with in return. It’s unguarded, the desire in his gaze unmistakable. He doesn’t try to hide as he looks me from top to bottom, licking his lips as he does it. This fucking guy is absurd.
“Yes, I did, but I kidnapped you for a good reason.”
“To make art forgeries.”
“Because your father stole from me and two other men.”
“Right, and now I’m stuck paying off his debt, even though I had nothing to do with that.”
Erick gestures back toward the door. “Feel free to leave again. Marina told me you went for a hike.”
I grind my jaw. I guess I’m not surprised, but I liked her. “How far does it go?”
“Far,” he says. “You can try to make the main road if you like, but it’s too hot during the day and too dangerous at night. You’ll die of heat stroke or get bitten by a rattlesnake.”
I shiver. “But you make the drive.”
“It’s not bad by truck.” He runs a hand through his thick hair. I stare at it, unable to help myself, thinking about what those fingers have done. How many lives they’ve taken. How many bodies they’ve touched.
“That’s why you don’t have guards.”
“I don’t need them out here. Nobody knows about this place except for my inner circle. You’re safe.”
“I wasn’t really thinking about my safety, more about how the hell I’m going to get out of here.”
“You’re not, and don’t try. I’d rather not scrape your cooked body from the dirt. Corpses swell in the heat. It’s unpleasant.”
I glare at him. “Why are you doing this to me? You have to know I can’t pull off a real forgery.”