“I’ll need your phone now.”
Of course she did, and her phone was about to end up the same way as her earrings. Digging into her purse, she handed the device over, closing her eyes, not wanting to see the destruction. Hearing the clatter as it landed on the ground and the shattering of the glass was bad enough.
“Thank you for being so co-operative Steffanie, there is hope for you yet. Let’s go.” Cynthia grabbed her arm, squeezing tightly. “And when we leave this alley, don’t try and get anyone’s attention.”
“I won’t.”
As if she was satisfied with her response, Cynthia dragged her toward the street. Once there, she changed her hold and hooked her arm through Steff’s, giving the impression they were two friends just out for the day.
If only that was true.
Steff’s headwas pounding by the time they reached wherever they were going. Cynthia had driven them out past the city limits. The last sign she’d seen had been for Acton, and they’d traveled along the highway for a bit before turning down a dirt road, and had now stopped out in front of a cabin that had seen better days.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Don’t ask a silly question. I know you saw the sign for Acton, but we’re at a cabin; can’t you see?” Cynthia pointed to the structure. “Come on, let’s go.”
Steff got out, happy to stretch her legs after being confined for so long. She followed Cynthia to the cabin, looking around to see if there were any other signs of life. To see if Cynthia was working with anyone or was doing this all by herself.
There was an air of emptiness about the place, as if it hadn’t been inhabited for a while.
Surprisingly, when they entered the structure, it was relatively clean. There was a cot in the corner that looked like it had clean bedding on it. Along with a couch, and while the fabric was faded, it looked like it was in good condition.
“What’s going on Cynthia? Why have you brought me here? Is there anyone else coming?”
“So many questions, and yet I’m surprised you haven’t asked the obvious one.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a black box, placing it on the table. It wasn’t large, and didn’t look like it could contain a firearm. Then again, Steff wasn’t well versed in the size of handguns, so it was possible it could hold a small one.
Surely by now Dalton and the others would know that something was wrong. The moment she hadn’t texted him to say she’d finished her session with her therapist and had met up with Cynthia, he would’ve immediately gone to Cass to check if her earrings were transmitting. He would’ve found out that they weren’t and would’ve started looking for her.
At least she hoped he would. He could’ve been called into a meeting and hadn’t been able to check his phone.
Anything was possible, but she continued with the belief that he was looking for her.
“What’s the obvious one?” Steff countered, even knowing what Cynthia was alluding to.
“Am I responsible for everything that happened to you?”
Steff shrugged and wandered over to the couch. “Considering what’s happened in the last few hours, I don’t need to ask. I know.”
“But aren’t you curious as to why?”
Cynthia was fishing for something with these questions, as though she wanted to gloat about how clever she was.
“I guess, but I’m more curious on how you pulled it off. I’m guessing you paid people to do it.”
Cynthia slow clapped. “Give the girl a gold medal. But you know what nerdy guys who spend all their time in their mom’s basements want the most? They want sex. It’s amazing what you can get when you spread your legs. You may not have enjoyed your time when you were held captive, but I did. I loved it. And then it all got fucked up because of Fox and his friends.”
Steff couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had to be wrong. “Are you telling me you wanted to be shipped off to some horrible place and be someone’s sex slave?”
The very idea seemed abhorrent to Steff, and one she never thought her friend would willingly be open to.
Cynthia stormed over to her. “My life was finally going to be perfect, and then Teresa had to fuck it up with her investigation. I was supposed to be living in luxury, but here I am still stuck here. But I wasn’t going to give up. I was going to get what’s owed to me.”
“I don’t understand any of this. Why target me?”
“I got invited to Angelica’s stupid party as well. I didn’t want to go, but I was intrigued why she would reach out to me after all this time. I decided to check it out anyway. I saw you arrive. I almost knocked on the door, but decided to bide my time.” She went back to the table and ran her finger over the black box. “I’mglad I did, because I saw you leave with that asshole Jag. Let’s just say the rest is history. I knew you were my way in. Not to mention, there are still plenty of people who would love to have someone like you at their beck and call. I know what my clients want.”
My clients?
