49. How Many Times Can One Be Taken Hostage?
how many times can one be taken hostage?
. . .
Sadie
Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-Taking Being Taken Hostage Forming a Partnership with Your Hostage Embracing the Hostage Lifestyle Not Freaking Out Escaping Being Taken Hostage (Again), Tip #30: Avoid being taken hostage yourself at all costs. (I can’t seem to master this one yet.)
Karma had found me. What was that saying?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Well, apparently that applied to hostage-taking.
And if there was one place I never expected to wake up in my life, it would be tied to a chair in a small bedroom that looked like it’d been abandoned midrenovation.
I wasn’t in much better shape myself. My head throbbed after being knocked out, and leftover tear tracks dried on my cheeks. I didn’t even want to know what my hair looked like.
And my company was… less than ideal.
Zain and Fessy stood together in the corner, whispering with quick hand gestures, but at least the other goons were nowhere in sight.
Blinking against the bright light from a lamp pointed toward me, I used the time while they were distracted to scope out my surroundings.
The room itself left a lot to be desired.
An entire wall of drywall was missing, leaving exposed and frayed wires. The wall across from it had clearly been mauled by a sledgehammer. Most of the carpet had been ripped up, and my upper lip curled at the dirty futon in the corner with a raggedy blanket and a bunch of rusty nails sprinkled on top. Both windows were covered by dark bedsheets.
As I eyed the ropes tying my wrists to the armrests and felt others wrapped around my ankles, it slowly sank in that my current predicament was exactly what Vince had warned me about—that I’d be used against Davian. And I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed by how I’d reacted before Zain had rudely hit me over the head. A crying, blubbering mess was the exact opposite of the woman Vince said Davian needed at his side, but seeing Zain point a gun at Bear had really frightened me. It felt warranted to cry a little.
But now, I needed to be brave.
Luckily, neither of the boys had noticed I was awake yet, so after being creeped out by the room, I used the opportunity to eavesdrop.
“Reed shot you over this girl, so she must mean something to him,” Zain was telling his brother. “This is our payday.”
Fessy didn’t look so sure, and he shifted his weight to lean on one of his crutches. “Yeah, but what if he retaliates?”
“Then we’ll handle it. No one messes with our family. Not even the Reeds. We’ve got a chance to get what we’ve been owed for years now.”
Or maybe my time would be better spent distracting them from their evil plotting.
“Why is there a bathtub in here?” I side-eyed a large grey-stained tub across from the futon. “Nothing about this place looks up to code.”
Fessy’s head snapped in my direction. “She’s awake.”
“No shit,” Zain muttered. He walked over and kicked the chair leg my right ankle was tied to, making my heart jump as I clung to the armrests. He wore the same no-nonsense look Gladys used with the dogs when they misbehaved. “Tell me exactly who you are to Reed.”
“What?” Instinct told me to deny any involvement. “I’m no one. I barely even know Davian.”
“She’s lying.” Fessy scowled, hobbling over to stand behind his brother. “He shot me because of her.”
“I only just met him yesterday,” I said, which was the truth.
“So, you just met him, but you were hanging out at his place today?” Fessy’s brows rose. “That was fast.”
“Well, it’s a bit of a complicated story.” I frowned. “Wait. How did you know I was at his place? And you knew I was in the Dog-Mobile before you chased us, too!”
A proud smirk curled Zain’s lips. “I don’t reveal my sources.”
My eyes widened. Sources? Could one of Davian’s men have betrayed him?
My mind went to Vince first, but I didn’t think he would do that. He’d been keeping me at the compound so Davian would be safe.
Unless it was all an act.
“Listen.” I tried to sound professional even as the ropes around my wrists and ankles were cutting into my circulation. “I don’t want any trouble. All I wanted was my dog back. I’m sure if we put our differences aside and speak from our hearts, we can work this out without involving Davian.”
Zain only sneered. “I’m done listening to her. Find some duct tape for her mouth.”
“Wait!” I pulled against the bindings, even though it was useless. “Time out. Can you please not do that? I’m not great at breathing through my nose if my mouth is covered. It’s like I have to actively think about it, and it feels like I’m getting less air?—”
“ Stop talking, ” Fessy snapped at me, and I smacked my lips shut. “How the hell does Reed put up with all your yapping?”
“Shut up, both of you.” Zain raked his fingers through his hair and glared at me. “All you need to do is sit there and be quiet when we call Reed. Can you do that?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, not sure I actually could. “I’ll try, but will you at least tell me what you want from him so badly that it was worth taking me hostage?”
I’d be a hypocrite to judge anyone using this tactic to get what they wanted, but at least rescuing Bear had been a noble cause.
“We just want the territory that’s rightfully ours,” he answered, eyes hardening. “Reed pigeonholed our family to the north side. My dad might not have been man enough to take him on and get the rest of our territory back, but that changes now.”
I sighed.
“You want to trade me for land?” I asked doubtfully, then shook my head. The lack of forethought in their plan was almost embarrassing. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, boys, but I think you’re severely overestimating my worth to Davian. You might want to lower your ask to something more reasonable.”
An idea sparked, and I perked up. “How about a beautiful twelve-speed and self-cleaning stand mixer?”
They stared for a full beat before sharing a silent look.
“A stand mixer?” Fessy echoed flatly.
I nodded so quickly my poor head screamed in pain. “Davian already has two in his kitchen. I’m sure his chef would part with one if it meant my life would be spared.”
Actually, I wasn’t so sure Antonio would do that. If the mixers had been mine, these boys would have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands.
They both only stared at me, which made me feel the need to fill the silence. “I mentioned the mixers were self-cleaning, right? That’s usually a strong selling point.”
Another long, uncomfortable pause passed before Zain turned his back to me and strode to the door. “I need to work with Nasir to set up a call with Reed. Stay here and watch her, Fes.”
Fessy hobbled after him. “You’re leaving me alone with her? But she’s crazy?—”
“She’s tied to a chair and completely helpless. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than babysitting some chick.” He stopped in the doorway long enough to pin his brother with a look. “Don’t screw this up, kid.”
The door clicked shut behind Zain before Fessy could get another word in.
Things only got worse from there. Refusing to look at me again, Fessy muttered a few choice curses at the door before propping himself up next to the table with the lamp and burying his nose in his phone. It was quiet and uneventful with him ignoring my existence, so I counted the seconds in my head while waiting awkwardly for something to happen.
Six minutes passed, and… nothing .
Who knew being a hostage could be so boring?
I tapped my toes against the floor and wished for the umpteenth time today that I had put underwear on before leaving Davian’s room.
“Where are we, anyway?” I asked when I couldn’t tolerate the silence anymore.
He glanced up from his phone. “Nowhere Reed knows about, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I would hope he doesn’t know about a place like this,” I muttered, eyeing the bathtub again with a sigh. “You know, none of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t committed a crime and abducted Bear.”
He slammed his phone down next to the lamp with a scowl. “It’s a shelter. Isn’t the whole purpose to get the dogs adopted? Who cares if we skipped the paperwork?”
“I do.” I straightened my spine as my voice went squeaky with frustration. “ I care. All adopters are screened to verify they can responsibly care for their new family member. Plus, there’s an adoption fee you definitely didn’t pay when you broke the lock on the door and abducted Bear.”
That only made him roll his eyes. “You need to chill. It’s not that big of a deal.”
I huffed at his ignorance. “It’s a big deal to me. I just don’t understand why you can’t go through the proper channels. They exist to protect you just as much as the dogs.”
“I am this close to finding that duct tape and risking your weird-ass breathing issues if you don’t shut?—”
But Fessy never got to finish his threat, because Zain chose that moment to burst back through the door with a knife in his hand and murder in his eyes.