70. Come With Me
Come With Me
Sheridan
“Look, you don’t need to kick me again. I told you, I’m not kidnapping you.” The massive goon drags me up to the elevator as the lobby security just sits and stares at us.
“Taking a person without their permission is the definition of kidnapping, and I certainly didn’t give you permission to shove me in a car and drag me to Center City.
” Why am I trying to have a rational conversation with a man who just kidnapped me and left me tied up and gagged in the back seat of his car as he drove me here?
“I got my orders. That’s it. I was supposed to bring you in so nothing happens to you until your ride comes and picks you up. And that’s what I’m doing.” The elevator opens, and he half shoves, half lifts me in.
“You know none of this makes sense, right?”
“Vex doesn’t make sense, but he’ll also kill me if anything happens to you. And I don’t wanna die, so just please don’t make this hard on me.”
Who is Vex? “If you are trying to protect me, why didn’t you just say so?”
The goon shrugs. “Explaining would have taken time, and Wick wanted you in before the boss gets back from his meeting.”
The boss? “You make him sound like some mafia boss, a crime lord.”
The goon doesn’t deny anything.
“Really? Seriously?”
“Vex’s woman should understand how the world works.”
“I’m not Vex’s woman. I don’t belong to any man.” Who is Vex? Fly wouldn’t pretend to be this Vex guy, would he?
“Don’t care.”
Wait, what? “You would just hand me over to some guy that I don’t know because you’re scared of him? What if he’s evil? What if he plans to hurt me?”
“Vex is evil. Everyone knows that. But the boss isn’t.
He’ll make sure no one hurts you…Though I really hope you're wrong and Vex is your boyfriend.” The elevator doors open and the goon walks us straight into a massive office.
It’s fancy almost to the point of ostentatious.
It says, ‘look at me, I have money, and I want you to know it’.
“The boss will be in soon. If I untie you, will you be good?”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I’ll take that as a no. Too bad, I hate tying up women…Sometimes. Sit.” He moves me towards a massive wood couch. The goon has the nerve to smile as he does it. “There now, be a good girl until the boss comes.”
Yeah right.
The idiot left me in a room with a telephone. I’m getting out of here, just as soon as I figure out how to get out of these cuffs and get over to that phone.
Dylan had a book where her character escaped the handcuffs. She dislocated her thumb. Was that legit, or did Dylan make it up? She’s usually accurate, but…
Can I do that?
This guy said he didn’t kidnap me.
Then he cuffed you to a twenty-thousand-dollar couch.
To be fair, I don’t know how expensive it is. I try to pull up with my hands. It’s definitely heavy, which means it’s well made.
Vexing.
Also, who is Vex and how do I know him?
Focus. You need to escape. Just get to the phone and call the cops.
I yank and tug and shimmy and shake…nothing moves this thing.
It might be time to think about breaking my thumb. Dylan, you better be right.
Also, how does one break their thumb in a way that you can slide off a pair of handcuffs?
An image of a bloody mess that needs to be amputated pops into my mind. I can’t do it.
But you need to. Women who are abducted don’t get chances like this. You fight to the death rather than letting them take you anywhere.
You need to escape.
The door starts to open.
“You’re telling me there is a woman in my office, handcuffed to my couch. Is that what you’re telling me, Wick?” A familiar voice says.
It can’t be. But I know that voice. I’ve known that voice since before I was born.
“Yes. Vex called while you were out at your meeting, needing a simple favor. This girl watched until her man picked her up. You know how he is. I figured you wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. So I sent Viktor to watch her, but you know how Viktor is.”
“He’s loyal but an idiot.”
“Basically. He thought she’d be easier to watch here. So he dumped her in your office.”
“And how do you think Vex is going to handle it when he finds out this woman he wanted protected is chained to my couch?”
“I would have apologized and offered her a refreshment, but Viktor said she was a little kicky. I didn’t want her to get hurt trying to hurt me. So I left her there. You’re better at problems than I am.”
“Better at problems…You left a ticking time bomb in my office and expect me to go in there and smooth it all over before Vex comes here and kills us all painfully.” His voice sounds a little deeper than when I last saw him. There’s a hard edge to it. “I should fire you.”
“Yup, you should, but I’ll go order you lunch. Do you think the lady will be here long enough to eat? You know what, I’ll just grab her something in case.” The sound of footsteps racing away punctuates his words.
“Idiots.” He steps through the door. “I’m very sorry about Viktor and Wick—” His briefcase slips out of his fingers. “Sheri. What are you doing here? Why…What…Sheri…”
“Hello, Draven. It’s been a while.”