Chapter 5
Addie was so scared she was close to peeing herself.
She might have if she hadn’t just been to the bathroom.
A squeak of fear left her as someone drew back the tarp covering her. She’d spent the entire ride in the back of the pickup, trying to convince herself to jump out and run.
But her limbs just wouldn’t cooperate. So she’d decided to wait until the truck stopped.
She hadn’t factored in that the driver might lift up the tarp before she could escape.
“What the hell are you doing in here?”
The demand rattled through her brain, making her freeze with fear.
“Who are you?” he said.
“Who is who?” another voice asked.
This was a disaster.
“Holy shit, there’s a girl hiding back here.” The owner of the second voice appeared, staring down at her. “Hey, isn’t that one of the girls from the bar? The one with the backpack?”
They’d been in the bar. They’d seen her there. Oh God, this was getting worse and worse. She was shaking so hard her teeth were rattling.
She couldn’t even see what they looked like since a street light was behind them, blinding her.
“Get out, girl,” the first guy said in his deep, commanding voice. “Then explain what you’re doing in the back of my pickup.”
That was going to be a bit hard to do, and not just because she’d lost the ability to speak but because she had no idea how to explain what happened or if she even should. She needed Dotty and Monroe.
“Come on, girl,” the first guy said. “You can’t spend the night there.”
“Do you think she’s too scared to move?” the second guy asked.
“All right, I’m going to help you out,” the first guy said. “If you don’t want me touching you, then you need to move by yourself now.”
She really didn’t want anyone to touch her, but there was no way she could move on her own. Large, warm hands grasped hold of her hips and lifted her down. She let out a small cry of fear.
“Shh, no one is going to hurt you. You’re safe.” There was something about the way he spoke. Something familiar about his voice. But it wasn’t until she turned and glanced up at him without a light blinding her that she saw that it was the guy from the bar. The one who had told her to run.
That should’ve made her feel better, however she was well beyond being able to think.
He stared down into her face. “What are you doing in the back of my pickup, girl? And where are your friends from earlier?”
She studied both of them. While it was dark, the street lights lit up the area well.
Both of them were dressed in T-shirts and jeans with jackets.
They looked rough and a bit scary with tattoos up their necks.
She tried to keep telling herself that this man had helped her, protected her, but it didn’t make her feel any better.
“You gonna talk?” the first guy asked in a rough voice as they both stared at her.
She shifted from foot to foot, feeling uncertain about what he was thinking and seeing. She glanced around. This was actually a nice-looking street.
“I think she’s too scared. Look at the way she’s trembling and she can barely hold herself up,” the second guy said.
Unfortunately, all of that was true.
And, apparently, very obvious.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” the first guy said.
God, he was gorgeous. Even when he was scowling.
Also, way, way out of her league. Not that she could ever be with a man.
“What do we do with her?” the second guy asked.
“Did you lose your friends?”
She nodded.
“All right. Do you have a phone? Can you call them?” the first guy asked.
Oh my God.
She was a complete and utter moron. Why hadn’t she called them? Her hands shook as she took her backpack off. For some reason, both men tensed.
“Give it to me!” Number One barked.
Addie grasped the backpack against her chest. What? Why did he want it? It was hers! Was he going to rob her?
That wasn’t cool.
Not cool at all. This backpack held her life in it and she wasn’t going to just hand it over to him.
So she attempted to back up a step. Only she found herself trapped against the pickup. She moved to the side. Maybe she could just take off. Surely she was faster than these guys?
“Easy, girl,” Number One said. “No one is going to hurt you or take your stuff. I just want to make sure you don’t have a weapon in there.”
A weapon? Why would she have a weapon? The only weapon she had was a flashlight. Well, there was Snaggles, but he’d never bite anyone.
Suddenly, Number One guy snatched the backpack out of her hands. She launched herself toward him, but he stepped back and the other man got in between them.
Another squeal of fear left her.
She wished she wasn’t such a scaredy-cat. Her mother had taught her to fear everything.
And she’d been a very good teacher.
Number One, who she was starting to think of less and less as her rescuer, and more and more as a meanie, searched through her bag. First out was her phone, then her wallet.
“Check to see if she’s got ID so we know her name,” Number Two said.
“Yep, here it is. Her name is Adeline McMillan.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Doesn’t seem as though she likes that name,” Number One said. “What about Addie?”
She nodded.
Then the other guy drew out a small flashlight she had in there in case she needed to see things. Because who liked the dark? No one.
The last thing to come out was Snaggles.
Addie dove around Number Two and grabbed Snaggles from the first guy’s hands. Then she hugged her toy tight while glaring at him.
“Hey, it’s all right,” he told her with his hands up. There was a softness to his voice that hadn’t been there before. Did he think she was weird? That maybe she was emotionally or mentally not right?
She was standing there holding a saber-toothed tiger toy, unable to speak, trembling so hard that her teeth chattered, so maybe he wasn’t wrong.
Crouching down to make herself smaller, she kept Snaggles close.
This was a disaster. She had no idea where Monroe or Dotty were.
She’d seen a man carrying around a dead body, then she’d hidden in the back of a stranger’s pickup and now these two guys were demanding to know what was going on and touching her stuff.
And even if she’d known what to say, she couldn’t because her anxiety was riding her hard.
“Hey.” Number One crouched in front of her. “Why don’t we go inside where it’s warm, and then we can call your friends, okay?”
She shook her head. That didn’t sound like a smart idea. What she needed to do was just call for an Uber and head back to the bar.
Or should she go to the hotel?
Oh, God. She didn’t know.
Number One looked up at the other guy, who now held her phone. She held her hand out for it and he immediately gave it to her.
Addie attempted to tap the screen with her shaking hands, despair filling her as she realized that it was dead.
Her breath started to come in sharp, short pants. What was she going to do? Her phone was dead. She had no way of calling for transport or contacting Dotty or Monroe. How was she going to get back to the hotel?
Tears dripped down her face as she fought the panic.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Number One said.
Great. Now he was going to leave. Not that she could blame him or expected him to do anything. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in a dark and strange place.
He reached out and picked her up, standing with her in his arms.
She didn’t even have time to react as he walked up to the front door of the townhouse. Number Two walked ahead of them, opening the door, before they stepped inside. A wave of warmth hit her. She hadn’t realized how cold she was.
“Get us a blanket, will you? And maybe some hot chocolate or something?” Number One said.
She just stared up at him as he moved into what seemed to be the living room. This was where these guys lived? Somehow she’d expected something rougher, maybe even a bit dirty, but everything was neat and clean. There was a comfortable sofa, a large TV, and a coffee table with coasters on it.
Coasters!
These guys didn’t look like coaster people.
Instead of placing her on the sofa on her own, Number One sat with her on his lap. Addie tensed before attempting to get off, but he just held her tight.
“Stay where you are, Stowaway,” he told her.
Stowaway? What kind of name was that? She glared up at him.
“You don’t like your nickname?” he asked, sounding amused.
“You could tell her your name,” Number Two called out before he appeared with a blanket and a phone charger.
He handed the blanket to Number One who tucked it around her. She felt kind of ridiculous sitting on his lap like this. Stiff and unsure. No doubt it wasn’t very comfortable for him either. She was all bony. There was nothing lush or curvy about her.
“Let’s see if this works.” Number Two held out his hand for her phone and she passed it over nervously. He plugged it in.
“Right, I’m Cash,” Number One said to her. “This is Ralen.”
Ralen nodded to her before leaving. “I’m going to make hot chocolate.”
They had hot chocolate? She had definitely read them wrong.
They couldn’t be bad guys or even morally gray if they liked hot chocolate.
Right?
It should have made her panic, being held on his lap like this. She didn’t like being pinned down. Generally, she didn’t like being touched. But his touch made her feel weirdly protected.
Get it together, Addie!
She pointed at the sofa next to him. He raised an eyebrow, but to her surprise, he set her down on the sofa.
Moving on instinct, she slid into the corner of the sofa, raising her knees up against her chest to protect herself and Snaggles.
The blanket came with her and she grabbed it, wrapping it around her head and shoulders so just her eyes were visible.
Her phone beeped, alerting them that it had turned on as Ralen walked in holding a cup in one hand and two bottles of beer in the other. Cash took one bottle and the cup. Then he held the mug up to his mouth, taking a sip.
Oh, was he having hot chocolate too? With beer? Seemed a weird combination, but what did she know? They made chocolate beer, so maybe this wasn’t much different.