Pounding on the dark wood, I shout, “You cannot keep me here with no food and water! Sergio? You need me alive. Please!”
The last thing I want is for Pinzon or Sergio to come back. They could still hurt me—even if they do need me to look…presentable. But I need information, and there is only one way I will get it.
I must bang on the door for a full ten minutes. My arm aches, along with my throat. Maybe using the last of my strength was not a good idea. When I cannot stand any longer, I limp back over to the corner and slide down the wall.
My eyelids are so heavy. Every blink hurts. Maybe sleeping would not be so terrible. Curling into a ball, I try to remember the comfort of Leo’s arms around me. His scent. His deep voice. I can almost feel his body pressed to mine.
Until someone kicks me in the ass. “Wake up, Domina,” Sergio says sharply. “Time for another video.”
I jerk up, and the room starts to spin. “Please,” I croak. “I need water. Food. A bathroom.”
Sergio pulls out his phone and checks the screen, then turns to Pinzon, who’s standing right behind him. “You did not check on her? At all?”
A vein at the thug’s temple throbs. “I almost lost an eye because of her.”
So quickly, he is only a blur, Sergio punches Pinzon in the stomach. “Fucking idiot. We need her coherent for this.”
Pinzon straightens with a groan. “Sorry, boss.”
Holding out his hand, Sergio gives me a curt nod. “There is a bathroom right outside the door. I will have a bottle of water brought down after we are done.”
I do not want to trust him. But I am too weak to get up on my own, so I place my hand in his.
The bathroom is small. Only a toilet and sink, with no window. Sergio refuses to close the door, but he does turn his back so I can relieve myself with some dignity.
I stick my head under the faucet and manage a couple of sips before he wraps strong fingers around my arm and drags me back to my small prison. Like before, he instructs me to sit in the chair and look only at him.
Pinzon pulls the balaclava over his head, stands behind me, and presses his hands down on my shoulders. I want to squirm, but I force myself to remain as still as possible.
“If you tell him anything about us, we will hurt you before we let you go,” Sergio warns. “Badly and for many hours. Do as you are told, and you will go free with nothing but the unpleasant memories of a night spent on this hard floor.”
“And you kidnapping me. Feeling me up, hitting me,” I mutter. Pinzon squeezes the soft muscles of my shoulders so hard, tears spring to my eyes. “I am sorry! Please…”
With a snap of his fingers, Sergio warns the other man to stop. It takes me several seconds to get my breathing under control again.
“Starting to record…now. Domina, we have a message from Mr. Basher. To prove to him you are still alive, we also allowed him to ask you a question. One you will answer.”
I take a shuddering breath as Leo’s voice fills the room. “Tell her I’m sorry for failing her. That I’ll do what you want because it’s the only way to save her.”
“And the question? I am losing my patience, Mr. Basher,” Sergio says, his voice rough on the recording.
“The night we met…what did I tell her to hang on her chair?”
My tears spill over, and I swipe at my cheeks, wishing I had even another minute to find a way to give him more than a simple answer. But from Sergio’s expression, he is already losing patience with me.
“Bells,” I whisper. After a hard swallow, I clear my throat. “You told me to put bells on my chair, and it made me feel safe.Youmade me feel safe, Leo. I…I lo—”
Sergio tucks the phone back into his pocket. “That is enough. Daniel, take the chair and retrieve the bottle of water at the top of the stairs for our guest.”
I rush to stand before Pinzon yanks the chair out from under me. “Please don’t do this. You can still let me go. I…I will leave Panama. With Leo. We will move somewhere far away and you will never see us again.”
“Even if I believedyouwould do this,” Sergio says, clearly amused, “you have made it very clear that Mr. Basher will kill me for touching you. In fifteen hours, Cortez will die, along with your precious Leo, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”
Pinzon hands Sergio a bottle of water, and the younger man tosses it to me. It is ice cold, and I crack the seal, downing half of it before I realize it tastes…off.
Sergio watches me intently, an emotionless smile curving his lips.
“What did you do?” Fear steals the strength from my voice. I tremble, shrinking into the corner of the room.
