Chapter 9
ALEX
Alex froze, his muscles tensing as his heart hammered against his ribs at the two masked gunmen standing at his front door.
His instincts kicked in, and he tried to slam the door shut, but one of the men wedged his foot inside, grasping the door with a gloved hand as he forced it open again.
Alex stumbled backward, his mind racing. Should he hide or seek a weapon? Maybe both.
Panic surged through him as he considered his options, his eyes daring around the room.
Sierra popped into his mind. In the living room awaiting word from the weapon retrieval, she was a sitting duck.
He raced to the room, his eyes wide and panic hurrying his voice. “Sierra!”
“What is it?” A second later, her eyes went wide, too.
Alex twisted, spotting the men directly behind him.
One of them clamped a hand down on his shoulder as Sierra screamed for them to leave him alone.
“Please don’t hurt her,” Alex said before the other man rammed a gun into his face, knocking him backward.
Blood spewed from his nostrils as pain bloomed.
One man reached a meaty paw toward him and dragged him to his feet while the other zip tied his wrists together. The plastic tie dug into his flesh, causing him to wince.
Each man grabbed an arm, dragging him with them to the van outside his door amidst Sierra’s shrieks for them to stop.
They tossed him inside. Before he could think, the door slammed shut, plunging him into darkness.
Only the sound of his breathing filled the space until the engine revved and the van lurched forward, knocking him onto his side.
Panic raced through him, twisting his stomach into a tight knot and edging out any reason.
He tried to remember the turns the van made. If he ever managed to escape, he could lead the police to his location and they’d have a shot at catching these people.
But he lost track, his mind numb from fear as he realized he’d likely never escape. This wasn’t a random kidnapping or even one centered on a ransom.
This was likely tied to The Board. And The Board wasn’t exactly reasonable.
He chewed his lower lip, struggling to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. He’d never see Ava again—the life they’d just started to build together would be ripped away.
Despair washed over him as he thought of everything they were supposed to share. Why hadn’t he told her how he truly felt sooner? Regret gnawed at him, each moment they’d lost together now a haunting memory.
Would having been together longer made this any easier?
The van screeched to an abrupt halt, and the sound of slamming doors echoed in the confined space. The side door rolled open, a blinding light flooding in and making Alex squint.
He raised his bound hands to shield his eyes just as rough hands grabbed his ankles, yanking him from the vehicle and sending him crashing to the cold concrete floor.
The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he gasped for breath as he was dragged to his feet.
“Get up,” one of the men said gruffly as they pulled him to stand.
His knees wobbled, and he struggled to walk when they dragged him forward, pushing through a set of double doors into a starkly lit hallway.
Green concrete blocks surrounded them as they forced him forward on the dirty tile making up the floor.
Overhead, the fluorescent lights flickered, making his already sick stomach turn even more.
“Look, guys, I have a lot of money. I can double whatever they’re paying you if you just let me go. You don’t even have to take me back to my house…just…let me leave.”
“Shut up,” one of the men said gruffly before he reached for a metal door. He flung it open, and they shoved Alex into the small room.
He trembled as he stared at his new location using the dim light streaming through the dirty glass block in the door.
A metal cot sat against the far wall next to a wooden desk.
He stumbled forward, collapsing onto the thin mattress as he desperately tried to control his panic. His chest constricted, making breathing difficult.
How would he ever escape this place?
But he had to try. He had to come up with a way to get out, to get back to Ava.
Ava. Her beautiful face filled his mind. He screwed up his face, recalling that she’d also been taken from him. Raven held her.
Was this all part of Raven’s plan? Had he orchestrated this entire nightmare to ensure Ava remained with him?
Alex’s mind whirled with questions.
The men who had taken him had worn masks, but their eyes were visible, and they didn’t use a voice changer. Maybe they weren’t tried to the infamous Raven. Or maybe they were.
Doubt and fear clawed at him, each thought more unsettling than the last.
“Okay, stop,” he whispered to himself. “You need to think of a way out of this, not who did it or their motives. You have to escape. Think, Alex.”
Despite the tension in every muscle, he forced himself to stand and cross to the door. He peered out into the hall through the filthy glass before he tested the door.
“Locked, of course. Did you really think they’d leave it open for you?”
With his bound hands, he fumbled blindly for the lock, his fingers brushing against the cold metal. “Ava could pick this. Too bad Ava’s not with you.”
The irony of the situation twisted the knife of his despair even deeper.
His heart shattered again as he recalled the last time he’d seen her. The tender kiss she’d given him after his pouting earlier. Then before she’d left to see Sebastian, he hadn’t even kissed her.
Why hadn’t he pulled her into his arms and told her how he felt, showed her how he felt?
He let his head smack against the door as regret coursed through him.
He’d always assumed there would be more time. He’d done it from the time he’d met her.
She’d almost slipped through his fingers once, and he still hadn’t learned his lesson.
He continued to hold back, unsure of himself, of her, of their relationship.
Shuffling back across the room, he plopped onto the mattress and let his head sink into his bound hands. Images of Ava being left alone as he languished here in his new prison haunted him.
He chewed his lower lip as he tried to search for a solution, but his panicked mind found none.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself, but before he could, the lock on his door clanked and the door swung open, light streaming into his cell.
A pair of heels clicked across the concrete floor as the light from the hall limned the figure of a woman. She strode into the room, followed by a man.
Overhead, a light bloomed to life.
“Hey, pal, you don’t look so good.” Alex raised his gaze as his eyes adjusted to the light to find Chris and Miranda in front of him.
He heaved a sigh, shaking his head. As if things weren’t bad enough, having to deal with these two was an extra punishment he wasn’t certain he could endure.
“Nothing to say?” Chris asked.
“Well, then you can just listen,” Miranda said. “You should have joined us when you had the chance, but since you didn’t, well, now we’ll just take what we need from you.”
“You can try,” Alex shot back, anger boiling inside of him.
Miranda snorted a laugh. “Oh, tough guy, huh? Somehow, I doubt we won’t get what we want.”
“You’ll never force me to play your game,” Alex answered.
“Really?” Chris asked. “Hmm, I think there a lot of ways. Also, you’re kind of a wimp. So, I’d tone down the tough guy act, Alex. You can’t deliver on it.”
“If it was up to me, this would be simple,” Miranda answered. “My suggestion was merely to drag Ava in here and put a gun to her head.”
He leapt to his feet, his jaw clenching. “Don’t you touch Ava.”
“Aw, don’t worry, buddy. Ava’s safe. For now,” Chris said.
Miranda rolled her eyes. “I really don’t get it with her. I mean…okay, she’s fairly pretty–”
“Fairly?” Chris shot back. “She’s a knockout. Not that you’re not hot, but she just…is other-level beautiful.”
Miranda heaved a sigh, shaking her head. “I still think this is an effective strategy. I mean, look at the reaction we’ve gotten already. He’s shaking with anger. A couple of well-placed blows to that beautiful face should do the trick. If not, maybe a bullet to the kneecap.”
Alex lunged at Miranda, reaching for her throat.
She stumbled away from him, Chris stepping between them and knocking him back. “There’s no reason to get so upset. I already told you Ava’s safe.”
“We can only hope she disappoints Sebastian Bancroft soon so she isn’t.”
His stomach turned at the words, his features pinching.
“Yeah,” Chris said with a sheepish glance. “We both lost on this one, buddy. I tried to get her back, but she wasn’t having it. No, she was with Alex. Alex bought her a puppy. Blah blah. Turns out, that didn’t matter, though, because Sebastian Bancroft has his eye on her.’
Miranda crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. “I just don’t get it.”
“Whether you do or you don’t, if he has his way, she’ll outrank us both, which is really a bummer,” Chris said. “Anyway, you can take solace in the fact that I won’t be getting Ava back. Although, neither will you.”
“Stay away from Ava,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Yeah, don’t think that’s going to happen. With you out of the way, she’s ripe for the picking. All that angst about your disappearance, needing a shoulder to cry on. Heck, I could be back in the running, though I really don’t want to tick off my new boss.”
Alex’s heart sank at the words. He tried to force himself to believe they were nearly playing him, but he knew that wasn’t true. He knew the way Sebastian Bancroft looked at Ava, the way he had giddily led her away from him at the masquerade.
Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “Anyway, just wanted to give you a welcome, let you know what to expect. Basically, awful things until you give us what we want.”
“Not awful enough, by my standards,” Miranda said, “but pretty awful. And now, you can sit there and anticipate every horrible moment to come. Goodbye, Alex.”
She strode to the door with Chris in tow. Alex took a step toward them. “Wait. Wait.”
They spun to face him, their gazes fierce.
“I’ll…join you. Take you up on the offer. I’ll even put in a good word with Ava for Sebastian.”
Miranda’s forehead creased before she burst into laughter, joined by Chris. “Oh, Alex,” she said with a shake of her head as she sauntered back to him, “the time for negotiations is over. You’re ours now. We’ll just take what we want.”
With an icy glare, she spun on a heel and strode from the room. The door slammed behind them, the lock engaging as Alex raced toward it, tugging against it with a frustrated growl.
He let his head rest against the cool metal as he slid to the floor below, desperation filling him.
“Ava,” he whimpered. “I’m so sorry.”
He’d left his new wife at the mercy of The Board. If she survived their machinations, it would be a miracle. And if she gave in to them…he’d lose her forever.