Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Stunned me long enough that by the time I had my wits about me again, I was off the bed, a gag in my mouth, and my wrists were bound behind my back, and another man was busy finishing up the restraints around my ankles.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I tried yelling, but with the gag in my mouth, it was only a bunch of muffled gibberish. Tears slid down my cheeks. Where were my mom and stepdad? And oh, God, Beck was going to be destroyed when he learned of my kidnapping.
A smack landed across my face again, only this time, it wasn’t as hard. Still, my face swung to the side, and blood welled in my mouth from my teeth cutting into the inside of my cheek. I sobbed, my chest threatening to cave in. How the fuck was I, living in a goddamn multi-million dollar house with top-of-the-line security, getting kidnapped?
“P-please,” I tried again, only to get hit even harder. I fell to the floor with a hard thump. I prayed it would make my parents wake up, but instead, I was just yanked to my feet and dragged out of the room. I fought, twisting my body and doing everything I could, but eventually, my attackers got fed up, and the other one grabbed my ankles so they could carry me down the steps.
A black SUV was waiting on the circular drive, and I tried screaming again, though I knew no one would hear me. They’d just carried me out of the house without caring they might get spotted, which meant I was the only one home. I had to be. There was no other explanation as to how they just took me out of my own home so easily.
There was no one here to save me. No one to rescue me.
I screamed, lurching up in bed. Snot and tears ran down my face unchecked, and I gasped for air right before vomit spewed from my lips, landing on the comforters. Beck hurriedly pulled the blankets off of me just as Tank barged into the room.
“I—they—it—” I couldn’t speak. What the hell was I even trying to say anyway? I wailed, gut-wrenching sobs ripping themselves from my aching chest. Tank lifted me from the bed, and I twined my arms and legs around him, my nails biting into his skin as I clung to the back of his neck.
“My room. Now,” Tank ordered before striding out of the bedroom, heading for his. As soon as we were on his bed, Beck crawled in behind me, and they sandwiched me between them, both of them holding me so tightly, I couldn’t tell where my body ended and theirs began.
Neither of them said anything; they just held me for what felt like hours as I willed my body to calm down and for my tears to stop flowing. My eyes were puffy and sore from crying, and eventually, a yawn slipped past my lips.
“That’s my girl,” Tank murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Such a good girl, little one.”
I sniffled. “I need to clean my face and brush my teeth,” I croaked.
Beck slid off the bed before helping me up, and he led me to the bathroom in the hall right outside Tank’s room. After wetting a washcloth, he began cleaning my face as I rinsed my mouth out with Tank’s mouthwash, not the least bit bothered by the snot. After, he dropped it into the sink to deal with later, his eyes roaming over my face.
“You okay now?” he softly asked.
In answer, I just wrapped my arms around his midsection, pressing my body to his. He folded his arms around me, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. We stood there like that for a good minute before he pressed another kiss to my hair. “Come on. Let’s get back to bed.”
I let him lead me back into Tank’s room, where he was still laying in bed, waiting on us. The only part of him that had seemed to move was his head as he tracked our movements.
A shudder wracked through my frame once I was back in his arms, and I sighed when Beck’s warmth pressed into my back again. “I dreamed of the night I was kidnapped,” I croaked. “I was the only one home, I think.”
Tank stroked a hand over my hair, his other hand laying on top of Beck’s over my hip. “Even if you hadn’t been, the outcome still would have been the same, little one. Knowing no one was home that could’ve helped you might make this easier to eventually cope with.” He tipped my chin up, his eyes meeting mine. “But just know, you and Beck now belong to me.” I shivered at his words. “And I don’t let anything of mine get taken. Ever. I’ll protect you both until my last dying breath, and even then, my brothers will never let anyone hurt you either. From now on, you’re safe.”