Chapter 14 – Vivian
U nbelievable. This was absolutely unbelievable. I was walking alongside my captor into the small inland town to find our getaway ride.
Finishing his granola, Luka shoved the plastic bag in his back pocket. He tapped the screen of his phone and then the ringing came out over the speaker.
This was perfect! I wasn’t going to cause drama. Not here, where there was no help. But I could discover what the hell Luka intended to do with me.
The hope of gathering information on this bastard took a heavy hit when the conversation took off in Russian. The animated rise and fall of the cadence had me shooting glances out of the corner of my eye. There were no clues on Luka’s face as he spoke.
But there was insistence in his tone.
What was this favor he would receive when I was delivered? Was it for him? Or someone else? That detail mattered, because if he wasn’t personally invested in it, I could work on him—the man.
I blew out a breath. Who would have thought I was prepared to seduce a man for freedom? It was such a twist from the actions that landed me in this mess in the first place.
Right as we approached civilization, Luka hung up the phone.
“Who was that?” I asked, not expecting him to tell me.
“My cousin.”
Shock flared inside me.
“What?” Luka chuckled.
“I didn’t take you for a family man.” He’d mentioned his step-mom, but cousins?
“Family is the only thing that’s worth anything,” he stated.
While I couldn’t bring myself to agree with him, I certainly couldn’t mock the sentiment. “You’re lucky to have a loving and caring family then.”
“I am.”
We stepped onto the cracked pavement of a used car lot. As we marched to the office, I couldn’t help the sassy question. “What? No last-minute lecture about how I have to keep my mouth shut or people will be hurt?”
Luka shook his head.
The building was dated. The big glass windows were painted with chalk messages about the deals and policies. There were bright, plastic banners strung from the light pole to the eaves. But weeds grew in the cracks. Rust stained the sidewalk. And the interior looked ratty.
Hand on the door, Luka started to open it for me but paused. “Vivian?”
I arched a brow. “Yes?”
“Keep your mouth shut or people will get hurt.”
If the door hadn’t swept open, creating a partial barrier to the man, I would have kicked him. The gust of coffee- and popcorn- laced air carried with it the sounds of the two employees. I swallowed my explosion and marched inside.
A portly man in a too small navy suit with anchors on the brass buttons padded forward to shake Luka’s hand. It was like watching a circus performance. Yet it was Luka who dominated the show. He fell into an easy conversation and had the salesman eating out of his hand within seconds.
After politely refusing the receptionist’s offer of stale coffee and powdered creamer in a Styrofoam cup, I followed Luka and the salesman to the lot. The sun was already bright and strong. Used to the humidity, I fluffed the top knot I’d managed to corral this morning. The moisture would go to great lengths to help the volume, so if I could wash it and set the curls, I would be in good shape.
The men stopped beside a dull black car that belonged in the pages of a history book.
A dinosaur car for a dinosaur man.
When Luka pulled out a stack of cash, my jaw nearly hit the blacktop. The salesman had the same look.
“Just install the stereo we talked about,” Luka said with a grin.
“Yes, sir! Right away, sir!”
***
Ten minutes later, we were walking to the grocery store. There was a coffee shop along the way. Luka must have caught me eyeing the place because he stopped.
“Do you like raisins? Or prunes?” he asked with all seriousness.
I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“How do you feel about a date?” He jerked his chin to the door.
Words failed me. Me! Summa Cum Laude, and every other random honor. Miss Smarty Pants, who could write an academic essay before it was even due. I had no words.
“A coffee date?” Luka drawled, as if I didn’t understand his cheesy pickup line about the dried fruit.
“I can’t date you,” I scoffed. “You kidnapped me!”
A long sigh escaped his lips. He pulled a twenty from his pocket and handed it to me. “Fine. I’ll take a quad shot Americano. Hot. Meet you at the Winn-Dixie.”
“Only a monster would drink something hot in this weather,” I grumbled. But as I plucked the bill from his fingers, I paused, tipped my head to the side, and narrowed my eyes.
“What?” he asked, anticipation sparking in his eyes.
“You didn’t say please.” With a flounce, I turned and stepped toward the café door. “Maybe I’ll get you something blended, cold, and sweet.”
The door banged closed, the handle flying from my grasp. The bastard stopped me from opening it! I rounded on Luka, but the protest turned into an exclamation of shock. There he was, on his knees.
“What in the hell are you doing?” I hissed.
“Begging you.” The impish playfulness glowed on his face.
My insides were in danger of melting. “You’re being ridiculous!”
Luka chuckled. “A girl like you deserves to be knelt to when a commoner like myself makes a request. So this is me, on my knees, humbling asking you to take my coffee order.”
I opened my mouth and then shut it.
“ Please , Vivian.” His plea was velvet, soft and caressing. The tone slid across my skin, igniting a flurry of gooseflesh.
“You’re being ridiculous, mister.” I reached for the door, but he shut it again.
Infuriating man! I hated him!
You like him.
A sigh wrapped around my heart. I do.
“People are looking. Stand up,” I ordered.
“So what if they are? I’m only looking at you.” Those light blue eyes might be the color of a glacial spring, but they were anything but cold. No, they were the heart of a flame. Bright and fierce. Beautiful.
“Alright,” I laughed. “Get off your knees, you lunatic. I’ll get you your damn coffee.”
Luka shot to his feet, ripped open the door with a flourish, and gave me a wink. “See you in a few. And Vivian?”
“Yes?” I drawled.
“Be a good girl, and keep that pretty little mouth shut,” he murmured.
Heat flared in my stomach. At least my voice was steady when I quipped, “Ah, shucks, if I’m supposed to be a good girl, that means I can’t make your drink decaf.”
Luka chuckled. That rich, low laugh sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “Maybe I should have started with this warning. Alter my drink order in any way, shape, or form, and I’ll put you over my knee and paddle that fine ass until it’s glowing cherry red.”
Those words sent a bolt of lust straight through me. One so powerful that it made my panties instantly wet.
“You can’t touch me,” I hissed.
“Oh, darlin, if you think I have to touch you to spank you, you’re not using your lawyer brain.” With that parting shot, he bobbed his head and left.
The blast of AC had nothing to do with the shivers racing through my body. No…that was its own brand of wicked electricity. I was turned on, and if I didn’t do something soon, I would explode.
I will not find relief in the arms of my kidnapper. That was the command I repeated mentally as I ordered our drinks. To quell the fire raging in me, I turned my mind to another facet of this development. Namely, my kidnapper was so freaking confident that he left me alone in a public place.
Did he think yesterday changed anything? Did he think helping me through a migraine meant something?
Well, it did, didn’t it?
I bitch slapped that annoying thought right back into its place. Nothing had changed as far as I was concerned. Nothing except I was more interested in the man and his motives.
“Crap,” I muttered under my breath as I accepted the lavender white mocha latte from the barista. The cold liquid spread over my tongue, and the sugar went right to my veins.
I wanted to know who had sent Luka, what favor he was gaining, and where he was trying to take me. Those pieces were vital if I was going to prevent this ever happening again.
Because the next kidnapper might not be as….
Gentlemanly?
A groan of pure disgust scraped my throat. I pushed outside, striding purposefully toward the grocery store.
The road turned and then I was in front of a copse of trees. There was a single picnic table next to an arch with two metal swings. Next to it was a rocket ship with the big spring that allowed kids to teeter back and forth. It had to be the world’s most pathetic excuse for a playground. There wasn’t even a slide!
A single male sat on the top of the picnic table, under the shade of the palm trees. There was a small orange truck parked along the road. I should have crossed the street, but the grocery store was right there.
Keeping my eyes ahead, only watching from the corner of my gaze, I walked past the miniature playground. The hair on the back of my neck prickled in warning.
Sure enough, the man catcalled a moment later.
I ignored him and kept walking.
“Hey cutie, what you got there? One of them for me?” That voice was closer than I would have liked.
Because of the distance, I couldn’t see him in my peripheral any longer. But the shuffling sound told me he was getting closer.
I will not run. I will not run! I kept moving, but a stone fell in my stomach when I realized the street was dead. Spanish moss swayed on the oaks, but the breeze did nothing to dispel the stifling heat. The rundown buildings all up and down the street weren’t attracting commerce and industry, not like the bustling, tourist-heavy roads just a couple blocks away.
Suddenly, the desolation hit me with a wave of panic. I was all alone out here.
“Hey! Lady, I was talkin’ to you,” the man insisted.
Oh, great, he’s right behind me. “And I was ignoring you.”
Self-defense. I should have invested in self-defense training. If I had to do it over again, I would have taken martial arts as a kid and spent my twenties in as many classes as I could. The only way to make men think twice about preying on women was to fight back.
“That’s really rude.” The man skirted around me.
There it was, the gleam in his eye that promised he wasn’t up to anything good.
“Back off,” I growled, making to move past him.
He reached for my wrist.
My pulse roared in my ears as my arm swung of its own accord. The piping hot Americano splashed over the asshole’s face.
He screamed like a little girl.
I didn’t stay to gloat. I ran down the street, gaze darting about for anyone who was around.
This was the third time I’d run from someone in almost as many days. Although, I still wasn’t sure if the one chasing me down the road after work was a dream or not. What the hell was the universe trying to tell me? I dug my heels into the ground and raced—
Only to get knocked off balance by a strong pair of arms wrapping around me. I was hauled off my feet and slammed into the side of a building.
“Why’d you have to go being all nasty?” the man snarled.
Although I knew it wouldn’t do any good, I doused him with my own drink.
He spluttered and protested.
But I wasn’t done. I kneed him as hard as I could. The satisfaction was instantaneous as he crumpled over. I followed it up with a second knee toward his face.
Only, that one I missed when he jerked to the side.
“I’m going to teach you some manners, you little bitch.” Stout fingers dug into me, and I cried out.
And then, there was nothing.
Through the panic, my reeling mind tried to grasp the situation. The picture that unfolded in front of me was something straight out of a fantasy movie. A monstrous shadow loomed behind my attacker. There was a black spot pressed against the loiterer’s throat.
I blinked.
The shadow morphed into familiar features with impossibly bright blue eyes.
“You owe the lady an apology,” Luka breathed, lips nearly skimming the man’s ear.
There was a split second where the man paused. “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”
I nodded, wondering if I could kick him in the nuts.
“Now….” The scrape of Luka’s knife crackled along the man’s scruff. “Apologize to me.”
“What!” the man exploded. “What in the fuck makes you think I’m going to do that?!”
The sharp edge of his blade bit into flesh. “I don’t make a habit of repeating myself. You touched what’s mine, so apologize.”
“Fine, fine!” the man stammered. “I’m sorry, man, okay. I’m sorry for having a little fun with your girl. It won’t happen again.”
“No, it won’t.” Luka tapped the flat of his blade against the man’s cheek. “Your payment will make sure of that.”
His voice shook. “What payment?”
“Is that a diamond in your ear?” Luka cajoled, body suddenly animated. “It doesn’t sparkle like a fake.”
“Yeah, it is,” the man grumbled. “Take it, I guess.”
“I will, with interest.”
The black metal flashed. Wet and sticky liquid squirted on me. I reached my fingers to my cheek as something sparkling bounced on the sidewalk.
A plaintive howl filled the air, but Luka spoke over it. “Now it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyways, don’t go running your mouth, ya hear? Otherwise, I’ll pay you a little visit before I leave town and take the whole ear and I might just be mad enough to take the other.”
With a shove, Luka let the man go.
I should be terrified. But there wasn’t a drop of fear in my veins, nor was there an ounce of disgust. My chest rose and fell rapidly, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the monster in front of me.
Ah shit…. I had it bad for this man.
That was quite possibly the hottest thing I had ever seen, and since no sane person should be aroused by the sight of their kidnapper slicing off the earring of a handsy asshole, it was quite possible I was a little bit psycho too.