14. Audrey
14
AUDREY
When I woke, it was very dark and I was bouncing around like a pinata in the back of a vehicle. The trunk, to be precise. It was at that moment that I wished I had listened to Baldy about how to survive a kidnapping and what to do if I were in a trunk. That would really come in handy right now.
As it was, my head was pounding and I had the feeling that not even my really awesome skills as an action star would save me this time.
“Think, Audrey. Think,” I hissed to myself. But as I closed my eyes, the only thing I could think about was the impact of that vehicle hitting us and the deafening crash as we hit more than one object.
Heat overwhelmed me and my heart started racing as I remembered every terrifying second after the impact. But it was the darkness after the fact that left my body shaking like a leaf. I didn’t like not knowing what happened or how I got here. More than that, I didn’t like that I hadn’t been able to defend myself.
And if I was here, that meant Craig and Alec were?—
No, I couldn’t think about that right now. They had to be okay. I survived and I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. They were both strapped in. That had to mean that they made it out alive.
Suffocating heat pressed down on me, making it difficult to swallow. I was never going to survive back here if I didn’t figure out how to calm the hell down. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, then opened them and tried to see around the black blobs dancing in front of my eyes.
“Holy hell, this is bad,” I whispered.
The car jolted to a stop and I rolled back, knocking my head on the back end of the trunk. I winced in pain, still tender from the last time I got knocked around. I was going to have a serious talk with them about the nice way to kidnap someone.
If I got out of here in one piece.
Footsteps echoed off the ground outside and I had a split-second decision to make. Did I pretend to be knocked out or surprise them with a karate kick to the nuts? My brain couldn’t handle the never-ending possible outcomes, and before I knew it, the trunk was being opened.
I twisted and shoved my foot out, screaming with all my might as my foot connected with the man’s balls. He immediately fell to the ground, clutching his nuts as I swung my legs over the edge and climbed out. My head swam as I stumbled around, trying to right myself and figure out where the hell to go.
Run .
I heard shouting—saw the vague outlines of men rushing toward me as my head spun—and then I took off running. Except, I was missing a shoe, which would have been a good thing to realize before I jumped out of the trunk. I hobbled along the ground, trying desperately to get away with my one heel seriously slowing me down. So, it was no surprise to me when I was captured from behind, hauled into the air off my feet, and spun around.
I was not going down like this. After all the shit that I’d been dealt lately, this was not how it ended for me. I was supposed to be on vacation. And as terrified as I was, Baldy was right. Fighting back was better than doing nothing.
“No! I am not going with you!” I shouted, trying to kick him with my one shoe.
“Lady, shut the fuck?—”
I finally made contact with his shin, but it wasn’t enough to escape. If anything, his grip tightened on me, making pain shoot through my battered ribcage. My fighting was useless. The man charged toward a small one-story house, carrying me across the threshold as if I weighed nothing.
“You really have no manners!”
“Complain to someone else,” he muttered.
Another man grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the center of the room. I already knew what was coming before I was set down.
“No, you’ve got to be kidding me! You are not doing this to me!”
“Strap her down.”
“Do not strap me down. I refuse! I will not be strapped down. You can’t make me!” I knew what would happen if they strapped me down. I’d seen enough of my own movies.
The other man pulled out duct tape and stretched it across my lips, sealing it tight with a hard smack. I glowered at him, killing him with my eyes. When I got out of here, I was going to make him pay for this so hard.
My hands were the first to be tied to the chair, then my legs. It was like they thought I was a serious flight risk. Which I would be if I had any idea of where I was or if I had more than one shoe. This was turning out to be the worst kidnapping ever.
“I’ll call the boss. Keep an eye on her.”
“Like she’s going anywhere,” the man who dragged me in here laughed.
I had to figure something out. There was no way I could sit here with tape over my mouth the whole time. I would suffocate like this. Obviously, I wouldn’t actually suffocate, but this was torture, and I knew because I had done it in the movies.
The movies.
Yes, I just had to think of my characters again. I couldn’t snap any ties like I had in the van. I was tied with rope and had no knives or scissors on me, so that was definitely out. I glanced around the room, searching for anything that would help me, but sadly, not a single weapon was in sight. The house was clean.
Too clean.
As in, nobody had lived here in a very long time. Bare bones furniture, not a picture on the wall or a lamp on a table—it was as if this place was about to go on the market.
And if that was the case, there wouldn’t be any knives in the kitchen either.
I was shit out of luck in the help department. I was going to have to get out of this alone. Shit. Yes, shit. I had one thing on my side that couldn’t be helped. It would buy me my freedom and possibly save my life. I just had to act at the right time.
I started wiggling in my chair, hoping to draw attention to myself. It took a few minutes as the man pointedly ignored me. Not even the scrape of the chair got his attention. All he did was stare out that stupid window. But by the time five minutes passed, he couldn’t ignore me any longer. I was making so much racket that even the other man outside could hear me.
“Goddamnit, what the hell do you want?” he shouted, stomping over to me.
I mumbled behind the tape, but of course, he couldn’t understand me.
He rolled his eyes and tore the tape from my mouth. “What?”
“I need to pee.”
“Too fucking bad.”
He was about to replace the tape, taking away the small freedom I had. Without my mouth, how was I supposed to talk him into letting me go?
“Please, it’s a desperate situation. I have a weak bladder, and if I don’t go, there’ll be an awful mess.”
“Lady, do you think I was born yesterday? I take people hostage all the time, and do you know the first thing they try to do when they get tied up?”
I shook my head slowly, hoping he wouldn’t say use the bathroom. “They politely ask to be taken home?”
“They do the same fucking thing you’re doing. They beg. They plead. The bathroom is always the first target.”
Well, shit. If that didn’t work, I’d have to find another way out. Maybe I could show him my cleavage. I bent forward slightly, hoping it looked like I really had to hold it in. “I’m not trying to do anything. I just really have to use the bathroom after?—
He snorted. “Yep, and that’s the second thing. For women, at least. Although, you’d be surprised what men will do in desperate times.”
My back straightened at the accusation in his voice. Though, I could tell he was enjoying the show by the way his eyes lingered. But I was used to that. Men always watched.
“Do you know who I am?” I went with, hoping my fame would get me out of this.
“Sure, that chick in the action movies.”
“And doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
He grinned, kicking his feet up on the table. “Yep, a bigger payday.”
Well, wasn’t that just fucking special. This man really didn’t care about the fact that I was a woman, that I was injured and in pain, or that I was famous. Nothing would get to him. “You know, I could probably pay you way more than whoever your boss is.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Why? Because he’s some big-time criminal?”
If I was hoping to get answers out of him, I was sorely mistaken. He quirked his eyebrow at me with a grin. “Look at you, trying to get answers. It’s cute.”
“That’s not what I was doing,” I sneered.
“Right, you were just asking questions. For the sake of my mental state, right?”
“Something like that,” I grumbled. “You know, it’s not good for your chi to walk around with so much hate in your life.”
“My what?”
Had I gotten that wrong? Hell, I didn’t know what I was saying or if I was pronouncing it right. I just went based on what Spencer said. He was always doing yoga and weird exercises and drinking that green shit that he thought tasted so damn good. It wasn’t. I almost vomited after drinking it once. He had no idea what that did to me. I spent endless days on the toilet as my bowels tried to rid me of whatever toxic shit he put in my drink.
“I don’t know,” I said, giving in. “Spencer always talks about all this crap. I just pretend to listen. He’s always ranting about trying to live a more peaceful life and blah, blah, blah. Half the time, I just nod and agree with what he’s saying.”
“Huh. You know, I actually get what you’re saying.”
“Yeah? You have an insane friend who likes to poison you with kale, too?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Nope. Vinegar.”
“Vinegar?” I grimaced. “You drink it?”
He nodded, his eyes wide. “Something about cleansing or some bullshit.”
“See, why does everyone have to ruin junk food and bad health? Why can’t I choose to eat cookies and cake if I want to? Why do I have to be healthy and run ten miles a day? Can’t I sit around all day and stuff my face as I watch Sex In The City ?”
“You like that show?” he grimaced.
“No, but I don’t have time for TV and that was the first show that came to mind. Maybe I would have time to watch something if I wasn’t constantly on set or in my trailer with Spencer, doing my best not to gag on his disgusting drinks. Do you know the last time I went to a pizza place with him, he actually ordered a veggie pizza?”
The man looked just as disgusted as I did.
“I know, and then he asked for just water. Water!” I shouted, wincing as something rattled in my head. “Who has just water with pizza? Isn’t that the time to indulge and have a Pepsi or something?”
“I prefer Dr. Pepper,” he shrugged.
“With a touch of lemon?”
“Lime. And no self-respecting man orders a veggie pizza. That’s just…unmanly.”
“Well, let’s not take this too far. I may not agree with his choices, but he’s definitely manly.”
“So, you’ve uh…done things with him?” he smirked.
“One, this is not a gossip column, and two, even if I were friends with you, I wouldn’t tell you. As it is, you’ve got me tied to a chair. I wouldn’t exactly call this a friendly situation.”
“You’re probably right.”
“And besides, I should be angry at you. Just because you’re being somewhat nice and talking to me doesn’t mean you’re a good guy. You did tie me to a chair, after all. And I know you’re planning on keeping me tied up until you trade me for money. Which is really stupid, by the way.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because I happen to have one of the most loyal friends on my side, and you just pissed him off. I can guarantee he’ll be breaking down your door any minute.”
I smirked at him as his eyes flicked to the door nervously. Time ticked by second by second as we both waited for Craig’s arrival. Of course, he didn’t know it was Craig, but I did. I just hoped he wasn’t actually dead, but if he wasn’t, I knew he’d come for me. That’s just what friends did for each other.
“Well, it appears he’s not coming. That’s five minutes.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not an exact estimate.”