Ray
“You and I are going to take a little drive,” Jack said, lifting the gun higher and pointing it at Ray’s chest.
There was a manic glint in his eyes that made Ray realize just how much of a precarious position she was in. As if the gun hadn’t already clued her in.
“Where are we going?” she asked, hating how small and frightened her voice sounded.
“To an ATM. You’re gonna get me some of the money you owe me.”
He waved the gun at her, and she was terrified that he might accidentally pull the trigger.
“Well, come on, fucking move!” he shouted.
She let out a whimper of panic, then rushed to the door. He snatched up a set of keys off the table in the hallway then followed her out, pulling the door closed behind them. Then he grabbed Ray’s arm and held it, walking practically plastered to the side of her body, the gun pressing against her lower back.
“You say a fucking word to anyone and you’re dead, understand me?”
Ray nodded.
“It’s just money, and you have plenty of that, so don’t fuck this up for me, or I’ll fuckyouup, clear?”
She swallowed hard and nodded again. She had always thought that she would be brave and stubborn if she was kidnapped and not show her kidnapper even a modicum of fear. And when that was how she had acted when Sloane had kidnapped her, her belief had been confirmed. But she realized now that her lack of fear and belief that Sloane wouldn’t hurt her was because deep down, she’dknownhe wouldn’t hurt her. She’d sensed the mate bond they shared. With Jack, she was absolutely terrified and there was no doubt in her mind that hewouldhurt her and, if she didn’t do exactly as he asked, probably kill her. The realization chilled her to the bone.
They walked past the car she recognized as Jack’s and he muttered a curse when he took in the parking ticket attached to the window.
“Fucking meter maids,” he bit out. “Got nothing better to do.”
She stopped at his car, but he pressed the gun harder into her back. “Keep walking,” he said. “We’re taking your car.”
She kept on going until they reached her car, then fumbled around in her purse for her keys. She hoped she might be able to start the engine and make a quick getaway when she got behind the wheel, but Jack had evidently planned for that and made her walk around to the passenger side, instructing her to get in and climb over to the driver side, all the while pointing the gun at her.
Ray let out an almost silent sigh of frustration then turned to Jack. “Where to?”
He gave her instructions then she set off.
“How many bank cards have you got on you?” Jack asked.
Ray thought about what was in her wallet then answered, “Four.”
“How much can you withdraw?”
She shrugged. “A thousand on each.”
“It will do for now. We’ll come back each day and take out your limit.”
Ray gasped as the words hit her, and turned to stare Jack in horror. “You can’t seriously be thinking of keeping me at the house to come back to the ATM each day?”
“Where the fuck else would I keep you?”
Oh, God. Sloane would go out of his mind with worry. Sloane. Sloane would come for her. But what use was turning into a bear against a man with a gun?
“You know, when I targeted you at the charity event, I had planned on kidnapping you and holding you for ransom, but then I figured that was too messy. That would have involved fucking police and FBI and hostage negotiators. That’s too much heat. Much better to go for the long con. Then of course you told me that your father wouldn’t have paid the ransom anyway, so I knew I’d made the right choice. It was all going so well, but you just had to fucking break it off with me, didn’t you?”
He thumbed the dash and glared at her.
“You fucked everything and now I’m gonna fuck you. Here it is,” he said, pointing to the ATM. “Pull over.”
Ray did as she was instructed then got out of the car and Jack got really close again, the gun pressed once more to her lower back. Once at the machine, she began the task of withdrawing a thousand dollars out of each of her accounts, handing the money to Jack who insisted on counting it each time before shoving it into the pocket of his jeans. After they were done, he led her back to her car and made her drive back to the house. Ray started to panic anew as Jack let them back inside. She couldn’t stay there for days or even weeks with him, but maybe he would drop his guard and leave the gun unattended. It was her only hope, and she clung to it.
