Chapter 3
DORI
Hunter’s mom leads us out of my loft to a black SUV waiting in the drop-off zone of my complex. My knees are about to buckle and I can barely see straight.
Her goons are at my sides, and Isabella is right behind me with a gun pressed to my back.
Isabella pushes the metal harder into me. “Scream and you’re a dead woman.”
I nod and keep my mouth shut. My body trembles as I scan the surrounding area. It’s a beautiful spring day, but nobody is in sight.
A man in a blue suit stands at the side of the car with the door open. Joan, Hunter’s mom thanks him as she climbs inside.
One of the men escorting me veers off as the other man shoves me.
“Get in.”
I slide in and scoot to the middle of the seat, and Isabella jumps in behind me. The door slams shut. One of the thugs gets into the passenger seat as the other takes the driver’s seat.
I peek over my shoulder and see the guy in the blue suit get into a car behind us. We speed away moments later .
Blood swooshes through my ears as my heart pounds like a bass drum in my chest.
I turn to Joan Venturi. “What do you want from me?”
She lifts a thermos out of the drink holder near my feet. “Drink this.”
“What is it?” I shake my head.
“Nothing you haven’t had before.” She smiles as she nudges me with the container.
I fidget with my hands, but Isabella jams the pistol into my ribs.
“Do what she asks or else.”
They could be poisoning me. The hard metal of the gun reminds me I’m in no position to fight this. I take the bottle as thoughts of sabotage grip me.
I force myself to take a drink. Crisp white wine shocks my tastebuds. It’s delicious, so it flows down my throat too easily.
“Well? How is it?” Joan asks.
“It tastes good.” I try to hand the thermos back to her.
“No, thanks. This one’s for you. It’s your favorite.” Her evil tone coats her words.
I nod and take another drink, praying I’m not being killed. My erratic breathing has no intention of slowing down, so I take a bigger gulp. Maybe it will help me somehow.
Joan and Isabella stare at me as I try in vain not to cry, but tears well in my eyes and trickle down my cheeks as the SUV skids out into traffic. I swat at the traitorous liquid streaming down my face.
Jami’s words echo in my head. I’m serious, Dori. Don’t take any chances.
Why didn’t I listen to him?
I didn’t think something like doing my last walkthrough of my loft would be dangerous, but I should’ve known. I can’t believe I didn’t think it would.
Buildings blur as we speed down the road, swerving in and out of traffic. A strange softness creeps up the back of my neck and up my spine. It loosens the knotted muscles in my neck. My vision goes unfocused. Within seconds, my memory hooks onto the time I was roofied.
Shit.
I’ve been drugged.
Jami’s face comes into focus. “Dori, are you okay?”
I blink as my eyelids tick down. “Jami, is that you?”
He doesn’t answer. My head grows heavy, and I start to nod off but jerk back up. I pry my eyes open. I’ve got to stay awake because I need to know where we’re going or else no one will be able to find me.
His panicked voice rings in my ears. “Do not fall asleep.”
“I’m so tired, Jami.” I rest my head back against the leather seat.
My eyes close as I begin to fade into the ether.
A muffled woman’s voice invades the quiet. “Do you think he’ll join forces with you?”
“If she means anything to him, he’ll do whatever I need him to do,” another woman says.
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll hand her over to the men he’s been protecting all these years.”
A breeze moves my hair over my face. I reach up to swipe it away and scratch the tickling of my nose, but a heavy cuff squeezes my wrist. I open my eyes and find myself bound by thick metal chains.
The pounding of my head takes center stage. My memory is fuzzy.
I gaze around the room. I’m lying on a dirty mattress on the floor. The walls of my room are made up of dark-blue drapes. They flutter in the wind and expose an opening in the material. I peek out, but all I can see is more material swaying in the draft.
The chains clank as I push myself upright and scan the brick wall behind me. I trail my gaze up to the top. There’s an open window way up high. The sunlight streams in, but not enough to brighten the space I’m in.
Where am I, and how did I get here?
My thoughts swirl around the haze in my head. A wave of nausea hits me. I groan out loud and rub my belly.
“Shh. Keep quiet,” a female voice floats in a whisper from the left of me. “If they think we’re awake, they’ll come in here. They’ll give us more drugs to knock us out. Or worse.”
I turn in her direction. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the space next to you.”
“Where are we?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere nobody can find us.”
“How long have I been here?”
“You got here yesterday.”
I mull that over and glance down, trying to piece together how I got here. I’m still in my pink yoga pants and oversized white yoga shirt.
Jami.
I was supposed to be with Jami. Adrenaline shoots through me.
I clamor to my feet with my chains rattling loudly. “We need to get out of here.”
“Please be quiet.”
My vision blurs, and I stumble back, tripping over my mattress. My head smacks against the brick. I slide down the wall while fighting to remain conscious. My need to escape makes my heart hammer in my chest when heavy footsteps thud toward me.
“Which one of you is causing all this commotion?” a man’s voice with a thick foreign accent booms .
I shrink into a ball and lie on my bed. The slit in the material at the front of my room flips open, and a man in black jeans and a black T-shirt peeks in. He’s got brown hair and a light complexion.
His dark eyes bear down on me. “Ah, so the pretty little new girl is awake.”
I don’t move. Not even to look away. He steps inside and stomps over to me. My limbs go numb.
Please don’t let him hurt me.
He kneels before me and whispers, “What’s your name?”
His terrifying demeanor fades. His accent… It’s gone. And now that he’s closer to me, I realize his eyes are blue.
I shake my head and blink. The drugs I’ve ingested must be causing me some confusion.
He glances over his shoulder, then turns back to me and whispers again, “I only have a second. What’s your name?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
More footsteps pound against the concrete floor. Two more guys enter my makeshift cage.
“Don’t touch her. This one is special.” A guy with light-brown hair grabs the guy who’s in front of me by the shoulder. “No matter how hot this one is, nobody gets to taste the merchandise.”
My stomach roils with his words. I wretch and heave as bile burns the lining of my throat.
“Fuck. Get her something to puke into.” The guy with dark hair turns to the one still standing at the opening.
He rushes away, but it’s too late. One more twist of my stomach, and I’m tossing myself over the edge of my bed and throwing up all over the floor.
“I’ll get something to help with this, but you’re on clean-up duty.” The lighter-haired man leaves.
The darker-haired guy stands back as I dry heave. Once I’m done, I push myself back against the wall and run the back of my hand over my mouth .
I curl into a ball and stare at the man, waiting for him to reprimand me. “Sorry. I don’t feel well.”
He sidesteps around the puddle of bile and spit on the floor. “The mess isn’t too bad, so forget about it.”
“I’ll clean it up. Just don’t hurt me.” Sweat pebbles on my upper lip.
If I didn’t feel so terrible, I’d be an anxious mess. That’s not to say I’m not scared out of my mind, but my body doesn’t seem to be responding to my fight-or-flight defense mechanism.
Instead, I’m dealing with a drug-induced hangover from hell that has left me nearly incapable of having a normal reaction to this situation.
He crouches before me. “I’m not going to hurt you. What’s your name?”
“Why do you want to know?” I run a suspicious gaze over him.
“Don’t worry about that and tell me.”
Aiden’s lecture about what to do if a situation like this occurred plays on repeat in my head. He had just become an FBI agent, so I let him school me on his protocol to stroke his ego. I never thought I’d get abducted, but maybe he knew something I didn’t.
Remembering that conversation, I know what I need to do. “My name is Red.”
“Red? That’s your given name?”
“My parents are hippies and named me that because of my hair.”
Before the guy digs deeper, the other one returns.
He places a bucket and a rag on the floor. “Here are the supplies. After you’re done, join us in the office.”
“Okay, boss,” the curious one says with his accent back in full force.
I wait for the other one to leave. He whistles some unfamiliar tune as he disappears out of the area .
Once he’s out of earshot, I take a good look at the guy who keeps changing his voice. He picks up the cleaning supplies and gets to his knees. He begins his clean-up duties without asking me to help.
“Why are you doing that?” I gesture to the scrub brush in his hand.
He peeks up at me. “I was given a job to do. You’ll do yourself a favor and learn from me. Anything that one asks you to do, do it without question.”
I study him as he wipes up the floor. There’s something gentle about his aura. I get the distinct feeling he’s not high up in this organization. My brain is too fuzzy to figure anything else out about him.
“So, Red, where are you from?”
“Why do you keep switching accents?”
He stills and raises his head, burning his gaze into mine. “I’m not like the others, so call it a disguise.”
“He’s the nice one,” the girl next to me says.
I force myself to an upright position. “How do you know for sure?”
“I’ve been here for three days. He’s never done anything bad to me.” Chains rattle from her room.
The man studies me as I take in the declaration of the girl next to me. “I told you I’m not here to hurt you.”
I nod as my heartbeat picks up. “Are you here to help?”
“It’s not that cut and dry.” He glances over his shoulder then back at the floor. “I’m done with this, so I’ll see if I can get you two something to eat and drink.”
“Thanks,” the girl says.
He rises to his feet and leaves the room without another word.
I rest against the cold wall and rack my brain for memories of how I got here. I’m supposed to be in Florida. That much I know.
Jami must be worried sick .
I haven’t talked to him or texted since he asked me to let him know I made it to the airport safely. He’s got to know I’m in trouble. At least I hope he does.
I should be in his arms and starting a new life with him. My heart aches for him as I piece together the day before.
A memory of Isabella holding a gun to my chest flits across the screen of my mind. The very next picture that slides into its place is Hunter’s mom smiling at me as I sipped wine out of a thermos.
Another wave of nausea cascades over me. Isabella is working with Joan Venturi.
Does Hunter know?
My stomach bottoms out as overwhelm fills me. Isabella’s carrying his child and working with his mother. He’s going to be devastated. He has to know by now that Joan has me but I can’t be sure.
What if they hurt him somehow?
What if they hurt Jami?
My hands shake as tears spring from my eyes. I’ve got to figure out a way to get out of here.
The fog starts to lift. A conversation I had with Jami comes to mind.
We’re lying in his bed after we just made love. I’m admiring the bracelet he gave me. He’s resting on his good side, making little circular patterns on my hip with his fingertips.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” He leans over and kisses my shoulder.
I smile as I sink into his words. “How much do you love me?”
“More than I could ever express.”
“That’s how much I love you.” I find his loving gaze. “Thank you for today. I needed this.”
“I thought you might need some tender care after Aiden laid into you.”
“He’s so angry with me, Jami. It seems over the top.”
Jami grunts as he pushes himself up. “He feels like I betrayed him. Fuck. I did betray him. ”
“I get that, but why is it such a big deal? It’s not like you’ve been a terrible friend.”
Jami sighs heavily. “In Aiden’s mind, I did the worst thing a friend can do.”
“Maybe I can get him to see that us being together isn’t a bad thing.” I palm Jami’s cheek. “He’ll see how much we care about each other and move past this.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” Jami takes my hand and brushes his fingertips over my knuckles. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with his wrath.”
I move my hand away, and my bracelet catches his gaze.
He rakes his teeth over his bottom lip and runs his fingers over the rose medallion. “There’s something I need you to know about this.”
And with that memory, hope fills my chest.I pray my captors left my jewelry on. If they did, I have my ticket out of here. If not, there’s no telling how I’ll escape. I look down at the metal cuff with my heart pounding.