Chapter 21
BELLA
I blink my eyes open with a groan, trying to make sense of what’s happened. My head throbs, and I try to lift my arm, but I can’t move. I’m tied up. Spots dot my vision, and I blink again. Whoever hit me did it hard enough to give me a concussion. I know the signs from experience.
As my vision clears, I see I’m in a warehouse. The tang of ocean brine hits my nose. I’m near the sea, probably in one of the warehouses on the docks.
My arms are secured above my head, but I can touch the floor with my toes. My legs aren’t tied up, which surprises me. They’re mistaken if they think I can’t do any damage with them.
I’m still wearing my clothes and boots. My ring is on my finger, and my necklace is around my neck. This is all good news. Copper can still track me. I need to focus on staying alive.
The door to the warehouse creaks open, and I let my body go slack, biting back a groan as my shoulders and wrists take my weight. Allowing my head to slump, I watch from under my lashes as Lloyd Eade and the Box Man come into view.
They contemplate me in silence. I try not to squirm, keeping my breathing even as I wait them out.
“How hard did you hit her, Samson?” Lloyd asks.
“No clue, boss. It was Charlie who snuck up on her. There was a shit ton of blood, so I assumed he hit her pretty hard.”
“Mm, head wounds always bleed a lot,” Lloyd mutters. “Wake her up.”
“Yes, sir.” Samson moves out of sight, and I hear a bucket clank on the bottom of a sink, followed by the sound of water running.
Shit. This is going to suck. When I said the Cursed Skulls trained me for every eventuality, I meant they literally did.
I was subjected to it all: sleep deprivation, waterboarding, electrocution.
Everything they could think of from their vast repertoire of torture.
Or they made me watch so I knew what to expect.
Still, being doused with a bucket of icy water has me gasping for breath.
“There she is.” Lloyd smirks. “Welcome, lovely Bee.”
“Not sure I’m a fan of your welcome,” I say dryly, blinking water from my eyes. I plant my feet on the floor to relieve the weight from my shoulders and wrists. “Do you mind telling me why you had your goons attack me?”
Lloyd chuckles darkly. “Still pretending you don’t know anything, eh? You took my guys out without batting an eyelid, so do you really expect me to believe you aren’t working for a government task force?”
A bark of laughter escapes me, and surprise flits across their faces as I shake my head, injecting truth into my voice when I say, “I don’t work for a government task force.
As for taking out your guys, if you’ve checked me out, which I assume you did, I’m sure you know I have a military background.
” I raise a brow at them as if I can’t believe they haven’t done their homework.
It’s bullshit. I’ve never been in the military, but Ramzi is skilled at what he does, and a quick search would lend credibility to my words.
“Mmm.” Lloyd walks closer and runs his finger down my cheek. “We did uncover that information but figured you’d been recruited.”
Throwing my head back, I let out another bark of laughter. “Why would I work for an organisation that hangs its soldiers out to dry when they leave?”
Lloyd’s gaze narrows on me for several seconds before he moves back to Samson’s side. “You know, I almost believe you. Everything you are telling me checks out, but there’s something about you, Bee. I think you’re lying to me.”
Shrugging as if I don’t have a care in the world, I say in a bored tone, “I can’t do anything about what you believe. I know what’s true.”
“We’ll see,” Lloyd murmurs.
He nods at Samson, who steps closer and slams his fist into my ribs.
I wheeze, gasping for breath. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Who do you work for?”
“I work for Carter Accounting.”
“See,” Lloyd moves closer again and lifts my chin with his index finger. “I don’t think you do. Too many of my shipments have been intercepted in the last few months, and I think you have something to do with it.”
He nods at Samson again, who lets fly with a volley of hits. I have to give it to the man; he knows precisely where to land a punch for pain value without causing too much harm.
When he finally stops, I sway on my feet, blood pooling in my mouth from a hit to the jaw. I spit the blood from my mouth, smiling as it lands on Lloyd’s shoe.
Locking my knees, I stand and look him in the eye.
“I don’t know how you put two and two together and got five.
I don’t work on your accounts.” And because I’m feeling bitchy and he’s pissed me off, my next words hit him where it hurts: his ego.
“I work on accounts far more important than yours. I graduated from small-fry clients a long time ago—because I’m that good at what I do. ”
Anger flashes across his face, and he growls, backhanding me hard across my face. His ring catches my cheek, tearing it open.
Throwing my head back, I laugh in his face. “Aw, did I hit a nerve?” I taunt. “Did you really think you were that important? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you have a mole in your organisation?”
Lloyd and Samson exchange a look that tells me they hadn’t considered that.
I smirk. “Tut-tut. First rule of business, gentlemen—if something is going to shit, chances are the leak is coming from inside your organisation. Seriously, it blows my mind how the fuck you’ve stayed in business this long. I’m baffled.”
Lloyd loses it again and punches me in the kidney. I gasp but don’t give him the satisfaction of crying out.
I really should shut up and stop poking at the beast, but I’m so fucking done with cocksucking wankers who profit from selling people.
I pray that the guys are nearly here; I don’t want this wanker slipping away. I need to keep him here, and if that means taking his punishment, I’ll keep pushing.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I taunt. “A toddler hits harder than that.”
That does it. Lloyd goes apeshit and lets his fists fly. I feel myself fading, my vision blurring at the edges. My head throbs from my earlier concussion, and every blow drives me closer to darkness.
“Boss, we need to keep her alive. She’s right. We could have a mole. Her people will come after us if she goes missing. We can still play this off as a mugging. And we’ve got a shipment leaving in two hours that we need to deal with.”
Samson’s voice reaches me through the haze of pain as Lloyd delivers another punch.
“You’re right,” Lloyd pants. “Put her in with the boy. We’ll deal with her later. Start looking for the mole.”
Samson unhooks my arms, but my legs won’t hold me up, so he throws me over his shoulder. Every muscle in my body protests before blackness swallows me again.
***
I’m not sure how many hours have passed when I’m woken up by soft hands patting my cheeks.
“Lady, wake up.”
Blinking, I stare into bright blue eyes framed by dark blond lashes. His dirty cheeks are lined with tear tracks, and a riot of blond curls frames his cherubic face. For a minute, I think I’ve died, and an angel has come to guide me to heaven.
Then, nausea rips through me, and I turn my head, purging the contents of my stomach on the ground.
When I’m done, I slowly push myself into a seated position against the wall and look around.
Or at least, I try to look around; it’s tricky with one eye swollen shut and the double vision in the other.
From the looks of it, we’re still at the warehouse.
I’m not sure if it’s the same one I was in earlier or if they’ve moved me to another.
One door on the opposite wall. A small blanket rests on a grungy mattress on the floor with a bucket and bottles of water beside it.
In the distance, I hear people sobbing and shouting.
Glancing down, I’m relieved to see I’m still dressed and wearing my boots. I still have a knife tucked in my boot. My hand flies to my neck, and I exhale shakily when my fingers find my necklace.
The little boy shuffles closer, and I raise my arm for him to snuggle into me. It’s bloody freezing in here, and he’s only wearing a thin shirt. I don’t want to think about why.
We need to get out of here, but I have to find out who the boy is first.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Noah,” he whispers, his big blue eyes fixed on mine trustingly. At that moment, my heart tumbles and falls.
“How old are you, sweetie?”
He screws up his nose and holds up four fingers.
My heart clenches and breaks. “Do you have a mummy and daddy?”
“No.”
Bloody hell, did they kill his parents?
I need to figure out how long I’ve been out and whether backup is imminent.
I know it’ll take about two and a half hours for them to get to me.
Then they’ll do recon. In the meantime, I needed to get over to the door and check it out.
As long as there’s no deadbolt on the outside, I’ll be able to get us out of here.
“Did I sleep for a long time after the man brought me in here?”
Noah shakes his head. “You not sleep long. I wake you up. Bad things happen when you sleep.”
Fucking bastards.
Anger thrums through me. Never again. When we get out of here—and we will—I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure this little boy never has to worry again about bad things when he sleeps.
I run my fingers gently through his curls. “I’m going to get us out of here, okay?”
Noah shakes his head frantically, clinging to my arm. “No! They’ll hurt you.”
Pressing my lips to his little head, I ignore the smell of unwashed boy as I comfort him. “Listen to me, little man. My friends are coming for me, but I need to get us out of here before Samson comes back.”
“Samson?”
“The man who brought me here.”
Noah’s lip wobbles. “Don’t leave me. You take me with you?”
Rage flows through me at the anxious look on his little face. I’m a stranger to him, yet he’s willing to come with me if it means escaping this place.