“Shit, shit…”
Don’t you fucking lose your nerve.
Silas pressed his ear to the flimsy sliding door and twisted toward me, grabbing the t-shirt hem and wrenching it over my head. “On second thought, love, you’d be the perfect distraction.”
“Fuck you. They’ll kill me the moment I step out this goddamn door.”
The fucker caged me in, gun to the back of my head.
“No man’s first instinct would be to look at you and put a bullet through that pretty face of yours,” he rasped close to my ear. “One look at those tits will distract them and give me enough time to take several out.”
“You’re using me as bait? You bastard.”
He chuckled darkly into my hair. “Don’t get shy on me now. Not when you were begging me to fuck you in every hole, remember?”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m going to kill you, Silas.”
“Get in line,” he gruffed, pushing me out the door with a forceful shove that sent me stumbling forward. He owed me big time, and I was out for blood. Steadying myself against a booth, I whipped my head toward the sound of cocking weapons.
Shit.
Six men I didn’t recognize stared me down with varying expressions of anger, lust, and amusement as they took in my semi-nude form.
Putting my game face on, I straightened and flashed them a grin. “Thought I heard fireworks.”
A tall man with blond, slicked-back hair raised his hand in a silent command for his men to hold fire. He approached, a sly grin of his own lighting up the edges of his face as his eyes shifted to my breasts and then back up to meet my glare.
“Helena Adamos,” he taunted, closing in on me, gun drawn. My heart hammered like a drum in my chest. Me? I’m who they came looking for.
“Who are you?” I asked, knowing damn well what his answer would be.
He snickered and pressed the hot barrel of his weapon against my sternum. “What makes you think you’re in any position to ask questions?”
My jaw clenched as he drew slow circles around my nipples.
“These are cute,” he said, catching one of the barbells. I clenched my fists, wishing I had a knife to open up his throat.
Any day now, Silas.
“Stop.”
He feigned indignation, reaching up to grip my hair. I suppressed the hiss of pain moving up my throat. I’d be damned if I let him see any sign of weakness.
“Close those pretty lips, sweetheart.” The gun’s sights scraped painfully against the sensitive tip of my nipple, drawing blood. “Look at that.” Waves of pain rolled through me as he circled another biting loop. I closed my eyes, trying to think of an escape plan while wondering what the hell was taking Silas so long.
Why was I even counting on that son of a bitch anyway? If these men came searching for me, they probably had no idea he was even on board. No wonder he’d discarded me so easily. That realization made the muscles in my chest tighten.
I briefly contemplated snitching on him, though I decided against it at the last minute. My life was on the line, too, and if we had even the slightest chance of making it out alive, Silas held the key to our possible escape.
“So, Helena…Or do you prefer Leni?” he asked, the stubble on his face scratching my cheek.
This was personal.
“Fuck you.”
Crack.
Black dots spotted my vision when the handle of his gun connected with my jaw. Pain flared from where he broke skin and radiated to my face and neck. I blinked away tears and drew a long, shuddering breath.
