Mommy will get back to you, my sweet girl.
There was just no other option imaginable.
Our family needed to be together.
* * *
My body joltedawake when I heard a door slam.
I’d been left alone all night. While I tried the door once finding it locked, my body was tired and I felt too drained to do much else. I understood why the hospital insisted I had rest after having a baby, not that it happened. Between that, being shoved around, and hit, I was shutting down. I had shuffled my feet slowly back across the pitch-dark room, making my way to the bed where I’d lain down.
After mumbling quietly to Paxton and my baby girl, telling them how much I loved them, exhaustion sank in, and I fell asleep.
Upon waking, I stood on unsteady legs and hope eluded me when I noticed that the window above the bed was so small I couldn’t even fit through it. It was also boarded from the outside, the sun only peeking through small holes in the wood. My eyes scanned the area to find the bed was the only thing in the room.
When I saw there was a bathroom, hope surged again.Maybe there is another window.After quietly making my way there, careful not to alert anyone in the house that I was up, my heart sank to find no window, and nothing I could use to help me get away.
After closing the bathroom door, which didn’t lock, I used the toilet. Then I washed my hands and face with the towels laying on the counter. There was no mirror in the room and I wondered if they took it out so I couldn’t use the glass as a weapon or so I couldn’t see how horrible I must have looked. My eyes looked at the shower with envy, but there was no way I was taking the chance of the men coming in with me naked.
Making my way back to the bed, I sat down on the mattress and racked my brain for what to do. I was startled when the door banged open, hitting the wall, causing me to jump right out of my skin.
“Do you have the information I seek now that you’ve had time to think about it? Or are we going to plan B?”
I stiffened at the sound of the male voice, but then managed to turn my head sideways to look into the cold eyes of the man who had hit me.
“I told you that I didn’t know where your money was. I hadnothingto do with it. I tried explaining that to you already.”
Agitation flashed in the man’s frigid gaze and I noticed his hands clench at his sides. “Well then, I guess it’s plan B. Youwillget me my money.” He scanned my body from head to toe, and back up again, making my belly roil with nausea. “You should bring in enough to satisfy my loss once my men groom you.”
Did he say groom me?
A chill raced down my spine. I was scared to death what said grooming would intel.
An ugly sneer flashed across his face. “My guys are more than happy to get started, and by the time I return, you will comply. And you will do as you’re told.”
“I won’t do any such thing!” I screamed. I know I should have kept my mouth shut, not angered the devil further, but the horror of what he was talking about had me panic-stricken. But it also had fire raging through me.
He moved toward me and I frantically stood and quickly moved back toward the wall next to the bed, my back hitting it with a thud. It did me no good, the guy was on me in a second. The bastard grabbed my chin, harshly, in a strong grip. This man was not as big as his minions, but he was still scary as hell.
“You’re mistaken. You will do everything you are told or you will die,” he said so calmly, it made it even more frightening.
When he leaned in, bringing his face close against my ear, I cringed and tried to move away. He moved his hand from my chin and grabbed my arm in a tight grip, stopping my retreat.
“Don’t fuck with me. You may have gotten away once, but it’s not happening again.” In a flash, he released my arm, stepped back, and then landed another blow to the same side of my face as he had in the car.
I dropped to my knees in pain as he turned and walked toward the door.
“That was just the beginning,” he said in a parting shot, that spiked my adrenaline even higher.
The door slammed shut and I heard a lock click into place.
My lips trembled, but I shook my head as I sat on the floor, willing myself not to weep. I reached into my bra and once again touched my necklace.
Hurry, Pax. Please hurry.
* * *
My stomach growled from hunger.
