Chapter SIX
Summer
The first thing I felt was the suffocating heat. Sweat was rolling down my skin, making everything itch. I had no idea where the hell I was.
I forced my eyelids open, but it didn’t make a difference—it was pitch-black.
I instinctively tried to move my hands, but they were pinned flat behind my back, bound tight with plastic zip-ties that dug viciously into my wrists.
I tried to shift my legs, but a sharp, metallic clank echoed through the dark room.
One of my ankles was chained securely to a burning-hot radiator.
I was in some kind of basement, and the heating was cranked up to the absolute maximum.
Then a wave of raw panic washed over me as I realized the terrifying truth. I didn’t have a single piece of clothing on. Not a damn thing.
As my eyes slowly adjusted to the dim, I noticed a figure sitting directly across from me. It was Dominic. He was completely stripped naked, too, tied up just like me—and his eyes were fixed entirely on me.
“What the actual hell?!” I hissed, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and embarrassment. “Why did you just let them strip me? Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you fight back?!”
He let out a low, exhausted groan. “Because I was completely knocked out, just like you were, genius. I didn’t exactly have a say in our wardrobe change.”
“Fine!” I fired back. “Then at least have some damn decency and look away! Stop staring at me!”
Dominic shifted slightly, his heavy chains rattling against the floor as he tried to turn away, but the space between us was too cramped.
“Turn where, Summer? There’s nowhere else to look.
It’s a tiny-ass room.” He paused, his voice dropping into a flat, blunt tone.
“Besides, I’ve already seen everything anyway. ”
My anger spiking straight through the roof. “How long have you been awake, you creep?!”
“About an hour.”
“An hour?!” I shrieked, kicking my unchained leg against the floor. “You’ve just been sitting there, staring at me naked for an hour?!”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t exactly have better options,” Dominic muttered, completely shameless.
“If there were Netflix down here, I probably would’ve watched that instead.
But since you dragged us both into this lethal mess, I figured the least I deserved was some entertainment in my final hours. ”
I froze, the anger slipping away for a fraction of a second as his words hit me. “What do you mean, our final hours? What makes you say that?”
Dominic let out a dry, bitter laugh that sounded entirely devoid of hope.
“I don’t know how much you know about the mafia, city girl, but from what I know, this never ends well.
I highly doubt they stripped us naked just so they could wash, dry, and iron our clothes before sending us on our merry way. ”
I swallowed the lump of anxiety forming in my throat, trying to focus on something—anything—resembling a plan.
“So,” I started, keeping my voice as steady as possible. “What do you think? When are they coming for us?”
“When is who coming for us?”
“Your colleague!” I snapped, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I assume you told that coworker of yours exactly where we were going. So they’ll be looking for us soon, right?”
A heavy, incredibly awkward silence stretched between us.
“Well, actually…” he muttered, rubbing his chin against his bare shoulder. “I didn’t exactly tell Ian our specific coordinates. I just told him we found an undocumented, secret property that wasn’t on the maps. So… realistically speaking, he has no clue where the hell we are.”
I stared at him, my mind momentarily blanking out from pure disbelief. I wanted to scream. “I cannot believe this,” I hissed, throwing my head back against the wall. “Of all the people in Alaska, I had to get captured with an absolute idiot. Unbelievable.”
I took a deep breath to stop myself from losing it entirely. “Okay. Fine. Then how long do you think they’re going to keep us locked up down here?”
He just nodded his head toward the corner of the dark basement. My eyes followed his gaze, and I finally noticed a plastic bucket sitting alone in the shadows.
“Judging by that bucket, which they most likely left here for us to do our business in,” Dominic said flatly, “I’m guessing they aren’t planning on checking back in on us anytime soon.”
That was the final straw. Total panic and frustration finally boiled over. “Okay, smartass!” I barked, twisting my bound wrists against the plastic zip-ties. “Then what are your ideas? How are we getting out of here?”
“My ideas?!” Dominic shot back, his voice rising in sudden, defensive anger. “Maybe step number one should have been avoiding this entire place to begin with! That would have been a great start. As for step number two? I haven’t exactly thought of it yet!”