“I don’t want to relax. I want to go home.”
I break eye contact with him and stare at the glass with the dark liquid. I know it’s liquor of some kind. Truth be told, I don’t really like to drink. The fruity drinks on my birthday were delicious, but that liquid encouragement led me to Ethan, only proving that drinking doesn’t lead to anything good.
If I make it through this, I will never drink again.
Sitting taller and ignoring the drink in front of me, I say, “So…what’s going to happen?”
Ethan clenches his jaw, swirling his drink in his hand. “I gave you the opportunity to speak earlier, but instead you wanted to act like some feisty little ninja. Now I’m done talking.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I’m just really scared. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His laughter booms through the room, bouncing off the walls. “You could never hurt me. I would never give you that power.”
“But—”
“No more talking.” Ethan tosses his head back, swallowing the last of his drink in one gulp. He licks the flavor from his lips andthen carefully places his glass next to my untouched one, eyeing it with curiosity.
“I apologize there are no blueberry martinis here.”
Blueberry martinis?Oh! My drink of choice at the club. “How do you know what I was drinking at the club?”
Ethan sighs, tension tightening around his eyes. He slides next to me, his body so close to mine, the warmth from him radiates into me. Reaching across me, he picks up my untouched glass and drinks it in one swallow. For a few minutes we sit next to each other in silence. I feel him staring at me, but I don’t look his way. The front door slams shut and I jump, my body bumping into his. He glances at me, clearly unaffected by the loud noise.
“Don’t you two look cozy.”Logan.
My heart comes to a stop before speeding up. It was stupid of me to think I would never see this man again. Ethan called Logan. My suspicions being confirmed. They’re working together.
I’m going to be sent to be somebody’s sex slave. I’ll never get to see my parents again. Or Blaire. Or attend my brother’s funeral.
Ethan stands and walks over to Logan, and my hand twitches to pull him back, to beg him to protect me, which is quite ironic since not too long ago he had his hand around my throat.
“Cozy isn’t a word I would use to describe the situation where a woman tries to kick me in the balls, elbows me in the ribs, and slaps the fuck out of me.”
Logan laughs. “You should have slapped the fuck out of her. That’s what I did when she fought back. Crazy fucking bitch.”
My body tenses and my eyes find Ethan, who looks back at me, his gaze going to my busted lip before he turns his attention backto Logan.
“You hit a fucking woman? What is wrong with you?”
“The bitch attacked me!”
“What the hell is she even doing here? I told you to bring her to me.”
“I fixed everything. I’m getting back almost triple the money her brother owes you and we don’t have to worry about her running her fucking mouth.”
Ethan sneers. “If you had handled the situation with her brother correctly, there wouldn’t be anything to fix. What the fuck did you do to fix the problem you created?”
I close my eyes, fighting back the tears at the mention of my brother. What did Ethan mean by that? Was Logan not supposed to kill Stephen? Or is he mad because I was there and I’m now a problem to be fixed?
“She’s been sold. I know a guy who knows a guy. It’s done, Ethan. Two birds; one stone.” Logan shrugs then continues. “The less you know the better. I just came back to grab her. I had to junk her car so nobody would find it. Don’t worry, you won’t hear from her again and everything will go back to normal.”
This is it. I’m on my way to being sold. All because my brother apparently had a gambling problem. It makes sense now, though. The expensive remodeling of his bathroom. The way he acted so spooked. His final words to me. He must’ve known he was in trouble.
A sob rips through me, and Ethan glances my way—completely devoid of all emotion—before he continues his conversation.
“I think the more I know the better. You’ve already fucked this all up enough. You won’t be taking her any-fucking-where. Not onmy watch. I don’t know what you’ve been doing behind my back, but it’s over, Logan.”
My heart swells at his words. He didn’t know about Logan trying to sell me. Maybe he will save me after all.
