“What do you want with us?” I ask her calmly, not giving her the reaction she wants if her frown is anything to go by.
“To be honest, I don’t wantyouat all. I don’t think you’re necessary to this plan. It’s the twins we needed, only one of them, really. You’ve fucked everything up for us, but the boss insisted we still needed you.”
I frown, trying to process everything that she said.
“I need to pee,” Jacinta demands, and Cecelia snorts with disgust. She pulls out a gun from the back of her pants and points it at Jaxon.
“Raquel, quit fawning over that idiot, so you can untie Jacinta.” She turns her focus to my sister. “As for you, if you even so much as breathe wrong, I’ll kill your brother.”
Raquel bites her lip and looks between Jaxon and Jacinta. “But you promised me I could have him!” she whines, but Cecelia just gestures with the gun.
“Hurry up, or I’ll put a bullet in you just like we did Luke when he became a problem. We don’t need you.”
“Mom and Dad won’t let you kill me! You’re such a fucking bitch.” Holy shit. Are these two sisters? Now that I look at them closely, I can see a slight family resemblance. There’s just enough to believe it now that I’m seeing them in the same place at the same time. How did that get missed in the background checks? They must have applied under different names, so no one ever connected it. They must have some excellent fake documents.
“Dad is whipped and will do whatever Mom tells him to. Just help the spoiled bitch to the bathroom and try not to let her kick your ass, or I will shoot himandyou.” Stepping closer to Jaxon, she holds the gun against his forehead. Jacinta whimpers, the sound small and desperate, and Cecelia gets this ugly smile on her face that I’ve never seen before.
I watch as Raquel helps Jacinta to her feet and walks her over to the closed door. Pushing it open, she shuffles Jacinta in, following after her, and I can hear Jacinta say, “Are you really going to stand there and watch? Could you at least turn around?”
I don't hear Raquel’s response, but they return soon after the toilet flushes. When they do, Raquel shoves Jacinta into her chair, ties her back up, and steps back.
Cecelia lowers the gun she had pointed at Jaxon. “See, if you cooperate, everyone is going to be okay,” she assures me, but I can tell she’s lying. There’s a glint in her eyes that promises she’d be distinctly unhappy if everyone was okay at the end of this. There’s no way they’ll leave us alive after this. Not only do we know who they are, but we now know that there’s a family connection between them and even more people involved. We’re three loose ends. When I look at Jacinta, I can tell that she realizes this too. A tear trickles down her cheek since she’s unable to stop it with her hands bound.
“Look, if it’s money you want, just tell me how much. Dad will cut you a check,” I tell her. “Or one of the businesses? I’m sure he would gladly sign one over to you if you let us go.” I wasn’t holding up high hopes that she’d negotiate that, and my hopelessness is confirmed when she laughs.
“Oh, Harlow, nice try. What we want is far more valuable than anything your dad could offer us. What we’re after will set us up for life,” Cecelia gloats while Raquel paws at Jaxon again. She’s climbed onto his lap and is busy placing little kisses over his bruises and cooing to him. Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, I try not to let it bother me that she’s writhing on my unconscious boyfriend’s lap. Jacinta, of course, isn’t so patient.
“Get off my brother, you whore. He’s a taken man, practically married. He doesn't want anything to do withyou.”
With a snarl, Raquel climbs off his lap and stomps over to Jacinta, delivering a backhand that snaps her head to the side. Jacinta grunts at the impact, and a trickle of blood appears where her lip has split.
“Who are you calling a whore? Wouldn’t that be the woman who’s fucking six men at once?” She points at me, and I chuckle.
“Well, I haven't had all six at once. I’m not sure if that’s on the table, to be honest,” I tell her, trying to get her away from Jacinta. They already said they need just one of the twins. I don’t want to push them closer to deciding they’ll get rid of the troublesome one to make their lives easier. “But I’m happy to give it a go. Jaxon probably would be, too. He’s a virile man, such a high sex drive. I’m usually exhausted after he’s finished fucking me.”
I try to hit her trigger points, and sure enough, she screeches and lunges at me. This time, it’s my head snapping back. It hurts like a bitch, but I’m not willing to let her see how much. When we make it out of this—if we make it out of this—I can let myself feel it then.
“You hit like a child. Is that all you’ve got? Jaxon did more damage fucking my mouth than you just did.” She lunges at me again, and as she hits me, my chair tumbles backward. I can’t hold back a startled shriek when I hit the floor, my tied arms trapped against the ground. She starts pulling at my hair and scratching my face.
“For fuck’s sake!” Cecelia shouts, trying to pull her sister off of me. “Get your shit together. We can’t kill her yet. Do you want us to lose our leverage?”
Raquel spits on me and walks away, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. Thankfully, she has shitty aim, so it lands on my chest, with my shirt protecting me from the worst of it.
“Stop riling my sister up, or I’ll let her beat the shit out of you. Our leverage needs to be breathing, but a little blood won’t take away your value,” Cecelia warns while she rights my chair. As she walks away and pulls Raquel into a corner where they whisper fight with one another, I wiggle my arms in the hope that I haven’t broken anything in the fall. I stop suddenly when the back of my chair wobbles ever so slightly. It must have been damaged when we landed so hard on it. Hopefully, they won't notice. My mind races with possibilities. If I can get them to leave, we might have a chance to get out of here. I rack my brain for how I can do that, but I’ve got nothing. Without knowing what they want, I have no clue how I can manipulate them.
A small movement to my side has me turning away from the arguing sisters and looking at my boyfriend. Unlike Jacinta and me, he hasn't got his arms tied behind the back of his chair. His chair has shackles that have been fastened around his wrists, and my heart starts to race when I see one of his hands opening and closing. Looking up, I just about sob when his beautiful yet swollen aquamarine eyes meet mine.
“Oh, thank god,” I whisper quietly enough for only Jacinta to hear. She sighs in relief, her split lip having stopped bleeding. “Are you okay? What happened?”
He blinks a couple of times while his eyes scan the room to get his bearings. They almost bug out of his head when he catches sight of Raquel. But I can see him thinking quickly, and when he turns to me, there’s an apology in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. Don’t believe a word that’s about to come out of my mouth,” he whispers. What is he talking about?
“Raquel, baby! What are you doing here? I missed you so much!” Jaxon pitches his voice like he’s hurting, and I can see the minute she hears him.
Cecelia tries to hold her sister back, but she shakes her off and rushes over to Jaxon.
“Do you mean that?Reallymean it?” she asks as she pushes his hair back off his face in a gentle manner.
