“Babe, I’ll take care of her.” The guy bit down on her earlobe, and she screamed. Their laughter raked down her spine like nails on a chalkboard. No question, she was in deep trouble.
Willa let loose another scream, but it was no use. The man was too strong, and Cindy wasn’t going to help her.
Willa tried to reach around and grab anything to make him stop, but he adjusted his hold on her and forced her arms down to her sides.
Tears filled her eyes. She hoped Cy knew she loved him. She wanted the chance to tell him to his face, but now that wouldn’t happen.
Cindy opened the door, and the jerk carried her outside. As the door closed, Cindy waved from inside the bar. Anger and fear mixed, leaving Willa light headed. She didn’t stop struggling against his hold. She was fighting with all she was worth, but it wasn’t enough to break free. She was able to force him to stumble more than once, but he kept his hold tight.
There wasn’t anyone in the parking lot to call out to, but that didn’t stop her from yelling. If someone happened to stumble out here, she was being loud enough that they would hear her.
“Let me go!”
“Oh no, honey. I’m going to get my money's worth. I spent over fifty dollars at that bar, and I want double that from you. Cindy said you deserve this, so I’m going to enjoy it.”
She let loose another scream as frustration ground through her. This guy was the worst. If she didn’t get free, she wouldn’t live to see another day.
The guy had the door to his truck open and was trying to force her in when someone came up behind them and hit the man over the head. The hold on her loosened, and then she heard the sound of fists smashing against flesh.
“Fuck you!” a man screamed. “She’s mine, you fucking sick-o.”
Willa dragged air in as she bent to catch her breath. She blinked as she stared at the guy who’d interrupted her abduction. It wasn’t Cy.
The sight sent fear sliding through her. Robert stood in front of her, a sick smile on his face. She’d just gone from the frying pan into the fire.
31
Cy decided to head to Aces early. He couldn’t wait for Willa to switch to working day shifts. It was selfish of him, but he knew she wanted to spend more time with him, so he wasn’t being totally selfish.
When he arrived, he spied her car in the lot and headed in. Of course, her car was still there. If she left early, she would have texted him. He liked that about her. She texted when she headed to work, or when she went out to the grocery store. It made him feel better knowing where she was.
He glanced around, looking for her in the crowd, but he didn’t see her. Maybe she was in the back. He moved to the far side of the bar and took a seat.
The place was busy, so the bartender didn’t come over but held up a bottle of beer that he liked. He’d been here enough for the bartender to know what he liked, which might just mean he was here a little too much.
He chuckled to himself, happy to have found Willa. He sure as heck wouldn’t be here on a Thursday night without his crew if he hadn’t met Willa.
It bugged him that he still hadn’t seen her. Where was she? When the bartender brought over his beer after delivering drinks to other people, he leaned in.
“Have you seen Willa?”
The bartender glanced around and shrugged. “She went to the back to get some bubbly. We had four groups in here celebrating, so we ran out. I haven’t seen her in a while.” The bartender turned away quickly, heading over to fill another order.
His stomach clenched. What had happened to his girlfriend?
Relief poured through him when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned, expecting to see Willa, but it was that other waitress, the one who hit on him. He’d told her he wasn’t interested. What was her name? Candy? No, that wasn’t right. Cindy.
“Hey, care if I join you?” Cindy asked.
He stood, trying to be nice, but anger held on. He didn’t like this woman. Willa hadn’t really said much about her, just that some of the people who worked with her weren’t very nice.
“I’m going to find Willa in the storage area.”
“Wait, don’t go.”
Cy’s gaze landed on Cindy, and he saw worry deep in her eyes. What was she worried about, and why did she want him to stay here?
“Nope, I need to get to Willa.”
