The reply comes instantly.
“Ntz ntz ntz… aren’t you being a little rude?”
“I’m going to the police if you don’t leave me alone!”
I reply, already beyond frustrated.
“Want me to call them for you? I can send them straight to you. But the moment they show up, I’ll make sure that picture ends up on every smartphone in the city.”
Fuck. If that picture gets to the wrong people, my dad will disown me… he’ll lose clients… I’ll ruin everything for him.
My chest feels bound up, my breathing stuttering as I search for any way out of this.
There isn’t one.
Why the hell did I think fucking a stranger was a good idea?
“Fuck, Sierra… why are you so stupid?” I say out loud, my voice barely steady as tears start to gather in my eyes.
“How much?”
I type quickly, hoping that whoever this is, will take the money and disappear.
The reply comes almost instantly.
“Money? That’s what you think this is? No, kitten… what I want from you isn’t something you can buy your way out of.”
My jaw tightens as I read it, a sharp, uneasy feeling settling in deep enough to make it hard to ignore, and I don’t even think before I start typing.
“What the hell do you want from me?!”
The answer shows up almost immediately, like he never stopped watching the screen.
“Tonight, you’ll stop acting like your daddy’s spoiled little girl… and become exactly what you’re meant to be. Mine.”
I look at the message, reading it again, slower this time. I should call someone… Tess, maybe Cain, even the police. But he said he’d send the picture to everyone.
My throat tenses at the thought, the options running through my head and dying just as fast.
I can’t do anything.
I’m so screwed.
Chapter 11
Sierra
The steering wheel feels colder than it should beneath my hands as I drive, my fingers locked around it a little tighter than usual, even though I’m trying to keep myself steady.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I know that. But after those messages, sitting still didn’t feel like an option either.
I check my phone again, the route Cain sent still leading me somewhere unfamiliar.
I know I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about this. I know how much I’m risking right now, but what was I supposed to do? Stay home by myself and wait to see what happens? Not a chance. Maybe I won’t tell Cain everything. Maybe I keep the details to myself for now, but at least I got out of the house. And if I’m being honest… he’s been on my mind since the party. I always told myself I needed a good guy, someone who actually knows what he’s doing, and since he was the one who tried to saveVince—even if it was too late—he still feels like the hero in my story. And maybe that’s exactly what I need right now. Besides… he’s too damn hot to just let him slip away.
My thoughts are cut off by a sudden, sharp sound. I glance in the rearview mirror, my brows pulling together as two bright headlights come into view, one on the left, the other on the right, way too close to my car.
“What the fuck…?!” They weren’t there a second ago.
