I hung my head and placed it in the palms of my hands. No one had come for me. Not my fiancée. Not his partner from work. Not 9-1-1. No one. Did I really matter so little to the world? Is that why things between me and Gordon had been going downhill? Because I simply didn’t matter?
“At least Daddy’s safe,” I croaked out.
Can I really trust those guys, though?
I leapt up from the bed with a renewed sense of vigor and rushed up the stairs to the basement door. I banged on it with my fists, slamming them as hard as I could stand as my voice girded itself from a place deep within my gut.
And when I bellowed, I knew those bastards could hear me.
“If I figure out that you assholes took me and still hurt my father, I’m gonna sic my motherfucking fiancée on you, and he’s a damn cop! I won’t stop until each and every one of you is--!”
The door slammed open, crashing into me before I went tumbling down the steps. I rolled head over heels on myself, slamming into the carpet at the bottom of the steps. I groaned in pain as I rolled over onto all fours. It took every ounce of strength I had to gather myself back to my feet. And the entire time, heavy footfalls echoed down the steps.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
I stumbled back toward the bed, trying to put distance between me and the beast lumbering down the steps. I panted for air as my head throbbed in pain. My entire body ached in places I didn’t even know to exist, and I watched, waiting for his shadow to emerge.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
Tum. Tum. Tum.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” I asked.
But, when the man emerged, I found the one named ‘Trooper’ staring at me from across the room. Coming slowly toward me, his gaze locked and his grin wide.
Carrying what looked like a tray of food.
“Dinner time,” he said as he set the tray on the bed.
I scooted behind it, pressing my back to the wall. He held his arms out, as if to present something I was supposed to compliment him for. I didn’t care, though. I wasn’t hungry. All I wanted was for Gordon to show up and whisk me away so that I could go back to my life.
Do I really want to go back to my life, though?
“My, my,” he said as he raked his hungry gaze up and down my body, “scared looks good on you.”
I swallowed hard. “How can I trust that my father is okay?”
He held up his finger, telling me to wait, of all things. Where the hell was I going? Where in the fuck did he think I’d dart off to, anyway? I watched as his hand slid into his pocket. His fingers dawdled around in his jeans, and as I watched those dexterous fingers slid against his thigh, I wondered who in the hell had the task of painting on those jeans he wore?
And why couldn’t I stop staring at them?
“There we are,” he said as he pulled out a cell phone. “Let’s see… ah. There it is. Hold on a second.”
He pressed a button before the room ignited with the sounds of a phone ringing. But, I damn near came out of my skin when my father’s voice flooded the room.
“Naomi? Is that you?” he asked quickly.
I vaulted over the fucking king-sized bed and snatched the phone out of Trooper’s hand. “Daddy! Oh, Daddy. Are you all right? Are you safe? Is anyone with you right now?”
“I’m fine. I’m okay, Princess. Are you okay? Where did they take you? Have they hurt you?”
“Watch your questions, old man,” Trooper warned.
