Chapter Three
Ches
On the weekends, I was in charge of three villas in addition to my regular duties. All the omegas were. But the tips were incredible, so I did what I had to without fussing.
Okay, I did a lot of fussing but still managed my job well.
We’d just set up one of the larger conference rooms for some kind of entertainment that promised to be risqué and vulnerable. A new act we’d never seen before.
My cell phone rang, the one I carried with me when on villa duty.
“Ches here. How may I be of service?” Ugg, I hated my voice when I spoke to guests. It transmuted into something computer and very customer-service like. Not me at all.
The man on the other end of the line’s chuckle sent a shiver down my spine.
My wolf was perceptive and always knew when people had ill intentions, but unfortunately, sometimes, we had to deal with them anyway.
They were paying guests and our rapport with them meant everything in hospitality. “We need you to bring us some ice.”
This instantly struck me as strange. The villas had their own ice machine not only outside, but each one had a countertop ice machine, and I’d inspected the room myself earlier in the day to make sure everything was perfect and in working order.
It had been.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I’ll be there shortly. Is there anything else?”
He grunted. “No. Just the ice. Make it quick. I need a drink.”
“Of course, sir.”
I got off the phone and chuckled. When I started here at the resort, I got upset at their weird requests and demands. Some were extremely rude and demeaning but, for the most part, most guests were kind and friendly. Or even dismissive, which I could live with.
Maybe this one was just having a bad night.
I moved quickly, fueled by the hope for tips, filled a bucket with ice and delivered it. The villas were only for the richest of the rich. He had an icemaker in the refrigerator and a countertop version as well, so more ice than a Norse god, but it wasn’t the strangest request I’d received lately.
When I arrived at the villa, the door was already open.
May have been because was expecting me and didn’t want to trouble himself to let me in.
I knocked on the open door but didn’t step in.
Not yet. Maybe the person figured out that we had ice machines everywhere on the compound, and went out for some and left the door open?
No…if he figured anything out, it would be that he had them in his villa.
I looked around for a sign of the guest or the sound of anyone moving around, but there was nothing. It was almost midnight, so most of the guests were already quiet for the night, despite the many entertainment options available.
My heart thumped hard in my chest.
“In here,” I heard from inside and craned my neck to try and see someone, but no one appeared.
“I’m coming in and bringing the ice. I’ll leave it on the entrance table, sir.”
This didn’t feel right. To me. To my wolf. But a lot of things didn’t feel comfortable.
I walked into the doorway and put the ice on the table and swiftly turned around, but the lights went off. Complete darkness. I heard the door shut and then…a prick at the side of my neck. Crumpling to my knees, sleep took over without permission. No, not sleep, something heavier.
Damn, what a nap.
My body didn’t want to move. Muscles had become boulders. My eyes itched. I tried to move my arm to scratch them but found I couldn’t. My legs either.
Fuck, I was tied down. Tied up?
It took forever to force my eyes open. I groaned as I tugged at the ropes that bound not only my hands but my feet to the headboard and footboard of the bed.
What in the hell was happening?
Then it all came back to me. The call. Ice. Open door. Weird circumstances. The darkness. The prick.
I smacked my lips, trying to get some kind of grip on words that were stuck in my throat.
“Help!” I yelled as loudly as I could, but it came out more like a whisper.
Thrashing around, I tried to break my bindings but I was tied up tight.
One more try.
“Help! Someone help me!”
Two big men came around the corner from the hallway and took me in. They argued about how much of something I was given.
One of them put their knee on the bed right beside my head and leaned down. His eyes were iron-black and bore right into me. “Are you going to shut up, or should we make you shut up?”
I counted to calm myself. Freaking out wouldn’t help me.
One.
Two.
Three.
“Help! Help! Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs until my throat began to hurt.
“Shut him up!” the man said and slapped me across the face. I flailed, trying to make a rope release me. Maybe cause so much trouble that they let me go. If I had to pee, I would’ve urinated on myself. Anything to get away from here.
I yelled out one more time before a coarse cloth filled my mouth.
Damn it.