4. Cashlynn
CHAPTER 4
CASHLYNN
M y eyes fluttered open and I had to blink a couple of times to get my eyes adjusted to the lowly-lit room. My brows furrowed and I went to move but noticed my hands were bound above my head. My body stretched vertically, with my legs shackled as well. Dull aches passed through my shoulders.
“What the fuck!” I attempted to move and glanced down, noticing I was naked. My heart slammed against my ribcage and my eyes darted around the room.
“Carson!” I whispered.
A low chuckle caught my attention. I whipped my eyes in that direction. A man sitting in a chair leaned forward. He had a notepad in hand and a thick, black pencil.
“Let me down! Where’s my brother? Carson!” I shouted, struggling to break free. My stomach twisted in dread not knowing where Carson was. It looked like I was in a basement and us two seemed to be the only ones down here. My wrists ached from where the cuffs rubbed against my skin due to my struggle. My shoulder muscles pulled and strained.
He stood up and slowly made his way closer to me, blowing smoke out of his mahogany, cupid’s bow lips.
Nazai Tavarez.
I swallowed hard and leered at him. I’d have to be living under a rock to not know who this man was, yet I refused to show any fear. My stomach flipped as his dark, almost black, upturned eyes peered into me.
Rumors of his dad being corrupt and ruthless in the courtroom were loud and hard to ignore, but that wasn’t what bothered me. If someone was a part of the underworld, they knew them as the cleaners. If a person needed a problem to disappear or be taken care of, then they knew who to call. I remember my parents mentioning them a few times, apparently there was underlying beef there. Nazai was the oldest son and rumored to be next in line to run things.
If I would have known it was his house I was breaking into, I would have chosen differently. I expected someone like him to have higher security measures than he did. The only reason I needed to break into his house was because I’d ended up getting blood on me from a job a couple streets over and needed to shower. Somehow, someone had found out where I was staying and tried coming after me. Thankfully, I was able to get both me and Carson out safely. For the past two nights we had slept in my car. My goal was to get enough money to pay for a new identity. It was the reason I was taking jobs left and right. After my parents died a few months ago, we were left with nothing, so I was starting from the bottom.
“Cashlynn Cavana.” He spoke in a deep baritone with a slight rasp to it, causing me to flinch slightly before I could catch myself. “You’re a hot commodity right now.” His head tilted to the side and his eyes ran down my body. I tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. My chest rose and fell a bit quicker. The way his eyes peered into me caused my nipples to harden.
“Where’s my brother?” I asked, ignoring his comment.
He towered over me—his skin the color of a gingerbread cookie, beard thick, but low cut and shiny and hair faded on the sides with a low Caesar cut on top. He wore a dark red, short-sleeved button up with black dress pants that hugged his thick thighs.
“Oh, the boy?” One of his bushy brows rose. “He’s around.” One corner of his mouth ticked up.
My lips pressed together and I flared my nostrils. “If you hurt him I swear?—”
“You swear what?” He stepped forward and brushed his hand across my bare breast.
“Don’t touch me!” I attempted to yank out of his touch, ignoring the way it sparked heat in my stomach. He smirked and gripped my nipple, twisting it painfully, making me wince but become aroused at the same time.
“You’re in no position to make demands right now. Now, who sent you?”
Breathing in, I spit, sending it into his face. “Fuck you, where’s my brother?!”
His eyes narrowed and grew darker. His partially-crooked, medium-sized nose flared at the nostrils.
Stepping back and releasing my nipple, he wiped his hand down his face. “Now I get why your fiancé’s family put a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar bounty on your head.”
The blood running through my veins ran cold. My heart beat painfully against my chest as my stomach twisted in knots. Just the mere thought of Maddox caused my body to fill with rage.
The bounty on my head was my biggest issue right now. It wasn’t hard to get news around in the underground world, so people knew there was money on my head. Thankfully my handler only knew me by my alias “Queen of Hearts”. Either way, I didn’t regret what I did to get the bounty; I only hated that my brother was affected by it too.
“That’s not my fiancé,” I said coldly, my words thick with malice.
“You’re a wildfire, you know that?” He licked his lips, studying me for a second. “I think you need some time to yourself.”
My eyes bucked when he turned and started to walk toward the steps. “Wait! Wait! Where’s my brother? Where’s Carson?” Panic exploded inside me. “Fuck! Nazai!”
I struggled against my restraints, still shouting at him but he ignored me. “Fuck! Fuck!” I yelled when the lights flickered off and I heard the door close.
Darkness surrounded me and my breathing was heavy. I tried to stay calm. In situations like this, I was trained to keep a level head, but my mind kept going back to my brother. While I could handle myself, he was innocent in all this. The rumors about the Tavarez family indicated they weren’t the people to mess with. There were a handful of people in Silver Stone I never wanted to beef with and they were one of them. While it wasn’t clear to most people, I knew they were well connected. My heart ached and my muscles twitched. I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt pressure built behind them.
Memories of my childhood flashed through my mind. This wasn’t the first time I’d been restrained in a dark room alone.
I didn’t cry, crying was a weakness. I had been conditioned to deal with situations like this.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, I tried to locate anything I could use to help me once my eyes became adjusted. I couldn’t hear anything going on around me or above me. My mind raced as memories I wished I could forget flooded my mind.