“It was no accident that your minion grabbed me, drugged me, and brought me here. Against. My. Will.”
Grym went into the hallway. I shifted so I could still see him. He had his hand around the throat of the guy who had kidnapped me. “Did you drug him?”
For the first time in my life, I was speechless. It was more out of confusion than hope, and I didn’t know if I could trust him. I wanted to. I mean, he was hot and seemed sincere. “I don’t remember how I got to your house. Listen, I’m only like twenty-seven years old and young and stuff. Maybe you guys should just let me go and kidnap someone who’s lived a lot longer than me. Older people know stuff. I don’t know jack crap about anything.” They turned to me, staring as if I’d said something in a languagethey didn’t understand. Grym’s hand was still around the big guy’s throat.
My little speech sounded way less confrontational, right? And it was all true. I was younger than a lot of people and didn’t know crap about crap. But what if it wasn’t information he wanted? What if it were something else? Like a ritualistic sacrifice. Maybe they were in a cult. Or what if it was sex? I didn’t want to fuck both of them. How bad was it that I would still totally do Grym, though?
Grym released the big guy and refocused on me.
“No one is going to hurt you.” It was as if Grymley had read my mind. He let go of Mr. Kidnapper Thug. “You’re safe here.”
“Your definition of safe is shit. And if you make me your sacrifice, I promise to stick this thing through your fucking chest before you bloodlet me or whatever it is you weirdos plan to do.”
Mr. Kidnapper Thug chuckled. “I see your imagination is alive and well, kid.”
“Says the guy who showed up in Gary’s kitchen dressed like death.”
Grymley had the audacity to raise his eyebrows and smirk. “Can you put the poker down so we can talk? I’ll explain everything, but it’s a little disconcerting to have it waved in my face.”
“Do you know what else is disconcerting?” I waved the poker around just to irritate him and prove my point. “Pretending to like someone just so you can have your friend kidnap them and use them as a virgin sacrifice. I’ve got news for you, Grymley Reaper. I’m not a virgin, and I won’t just roll over and take it. You’ll have a fight on your hands.”
Grymley sighed. “Would you be more agreeable if I took you home?”
For the first time in my life, I was speechless. But it was more out of confusion than hope. Hope set in, except I didn’t knowif I could trust him. I wanted to. I mean, no lies were detected, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t lying. It could mean he was just that good at it. Maybe he was a sociopath. I bet sociopaths made great liars. But I wanted to believe he wasn’t.
I shouldn’t be thinking about how tight his pants were, how big his dick looked, and how I could see the outline. Or about how he still held up his hands even though he could have put them down by now. I wasn’t going to poke him. I mean, I would if he came at me, but he wasn’t doing that. He stopped when I told him to.
“You let me call a cab, and then if you want to come over tomorrow at ten o’clock in the morning, I’ll let you.” If kidnapping me really was an accident—I seriously doubted it was—then he would let me go, regardless.
He shook his head. Saying I was disappointed was an understatement. “You’re in danger, Elliot. It’s not safe for you to be alone.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why would I be in danger?”
I lived in the middle of farm country, with forests for a backyard. Gary was my closest neighbor, living across the street. We had acres of cornfields separating us from everyone else. My mom had also been into hunting, so I had a couple of rifles at the house. Not that I could aim worth a shit. Mom might have been into that sort of thing, but I couldn’t sit still even in nature, which I liked. I was more of a hiking type of guy. Guns scared me. I didn’t like them, just on principle, but I would defend myself if needed.
“How about I just take you home? We’ll talk there.” He smiled as if he were doing me a favor.
“I just said no to that idea.” Or had he forgotten? “No means no. Consent is beautiful, no matter what someone is consenting to.”
His gaze softened. “I’m not holding you against your will. I promise.”
“Well, the locked door and you standing between me and the only way out of this room say otherwise.” Actions spoke louder than words.
He did something that made me almost believe him. He stepped aside while keeping his hands up.
I hesitated, wondering if he would grab me as I passed him. The guy who brought me here was in the hall, too. He could easily stop me.
My stomach twisted, and fear gripped me, leaping into my chest as I took a step toward my getaway. My instinct was to run to the bed and drag a blanket over me, pretending I was invisible, like I did when I was a kid. Maybe Grymley had ostrich tendencies and couldn’t find me if he wasn’t looking directly at my face, but something told me he’d have me right where he wanted me if I didn’t run as fast and as far as possible.
I held the poker out in front of me, pointing it at him as I took cautious steps toward the door.
I made it out without Grymley moving a muscle. Mr. Kidnapper Thug held up his hands, but the other fourteen people didn’t.
Thirteen men and one woman stood in the hall, blocking the way down the steps.
“Let him pass,” Grymley said. He sounded close enough to touch me, but he didn’t. His deep voice washed over me, soothing my fear, though it shouldn’t have. He was my captor. Nothing about him should bring me comfort.
People filed down the stairs, and I waited. I could almost feel Grymley’s breath on the back of my neck. “Go ahead. They won’t hurt you.”
