Something cold touched my foot, making me flinch. The zip tie fell away from my ankles, leaving my legs free.
I resisted the strong urge to kick out. Given the fact he had a knife in his hand, and I didn't want it accidentally embedded in the bottom of my foot, I stayed still until he grabbed my elbow and pulled me to my feet.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Don't ask too many questions," was his answer, which wasn't much of an answer, if you ask me. Although, it was the answer I expected. It wasn't as though he was going to give me a blow-by-blow description of the next hour or two.
A girl could hope, though, right?
He pulled me across the room and over to a door, which opened with a creak. If I had to guess, I'd say we were in an old house, one that hadn't been bought and renovated yet. People usually didn't leave squeaky doors untouched.
As far as I know they didn't anyway. The guys had bought a couple of houses and renovated them, so I had some understanding of what was involved. A squeaky door would have irritated Mannix and Ares, so it would have been the first thing they fixed. Especially since Ice would have opened and closed it at random intervals, to get a response from them.
I should tell him about this door. It could be a fun addition to his workroom. Torture by annoying squeak. Sounded like his thing. He was always looking for creative ways to drive people to the edge of insanity.
"This way," Tony said as if I could see where we were headed. He opened another door and pulled me outside.
A light breeze ruffled the hood over my head and pebbled my skin. Gravel crunched under my shoes.
I sucked in a breath. Past the smell of cotton, the air held a combination of salt and fumes. Cars passed on what sounded like the opposite side of the building from the here.
Tony wasn't going to parade me in front of the building, where people would see. Although this was Dusk Bay, people had seen things like this before. Possibly on a regular basis. They might not even notice, much less stop to help.
Tony's discretion might make it harder for my guys to find me. Where were they right now? I'd bet anything they were hunting the city for me. Probably threatening people for information. They were sweet that way.
"Who's coming?" I asked.
Tony said that to Chuck before he killed him, didn't he? He could be referring to my guys or someone else.
"You'll see," he told me. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I have everything under control."
I'd heard those words before. Usually said by people who thought they were in control when they actually weren't. Delusions of grandeur, I guess you could call it. Or someone lulled him into a false sense of security. Under the circumstances, he must know he'd be lucky to get out of this alive.
Honestly, that was so far from being my problem, it wasn't even funny. Whatever he got, he deserved.
He shoved me forward, pushing me into the back of a vehicle. Was it the same one they used to bring me here? I couldn't tell. I hadn't heard any other vehicles arrive, but that didn't mean there wasn't one here already. It made sense to switch to a different car. Chelsea might have seen the first one and given the details to my guys and hers.
The door slammed shut behind me. The car rocked slightly as Tony dropped himself into the driver's seat. The engine turned over. We rolled across gravel and out onto the road.
I propped myself up on my elbow, but it did me no good. I couldn't see past the thick fabric of the hood. The darkness started to get to me, but at least there was sound. Smells. Air. I shuddered at the memory of a dark room and the despair that creeped in after hours of nothing.
I shoved the memory out of my mind and pushed at the zip tie around my wrist. It wouldn't budge. The plastic was loose enough that it wasn't cutting off the circulation, but too tight to slip off. Almost like Tony and Chuck knew what they were doing. This was unlikely to be their first kidnapping. Just their last.
I sighed to myself, my breath hot against my face. I had a plan but I had no idea if it was going to work. One thing that was sure, Tony needed me alive. Otherwise he would have killed me by now. This might be my only chance.
I worked my shoes off my feet and felt around the car's door. Putting my feet in the right position, I waited.
I didn't have to wait long. A couple of minutes later, the car slowed and came to a stop.
We could be anywhere, but I was going to take the chance.
I curled my toes around the door handle and pulled, opening the door from the inside. I kicked it open and threw myself to my feet, fully aware I might be about to run in front of another car. I bolted. Sprinting as fast as I could..
"What the hell?" Tony shouted out behind me.
I kept on running until I reached the side of the road. I swung my foot out, feeling for the curb so I could step up instead of tripping over.
"Hey," a new voice shouted. Female this time.
