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“I just want to see what’s going on.”
“Are youout of your mind?”
Yanking my arm from her grasp, she stared at me, jaw agape. “If you think he’s so bad, why do you work for him?”
Maddie stared at me. “The same reason you do…money. That’s all it comes down to… money! You know that!”
“I’m going,” I said, sidestepping another of her attempts to grab me and pushed my way through the crowd. I made it to the rear door in time to witness two men and a woman being hustled out, sacks over their heads and hands tied behind their backs. Realizing too late I was in over my head and I had already seen too much, I tried to back away, but I was exposed in the small hall and not hidden by the crowds.
Emrick was coming up the rear of the group, hoodie pulled over his head and hands shoved in his pockets. He stopped before leaving, his hand holding the heavy metal door, and turned slowly to see me standing there, hands clasped over my mouth.
I was such a fool.
His face was hidden in shadow, and at this moment, he was a dark, faceless entity which couldn’t be reasoned with. When I heard his demand, I tried to run, but I was too slow.
“Take her.”
Shrieking as a sack was pulled over my head, I was bundled up, my kicking and screaming doing nothing to stop them as I was thrown into the back of a van, landing on top of a stranger’s body.
Muttering to myself, I managed to roll over until I hit the cold metal side of the van with a thud. At least I was no longer lying on top of other people. Tearing the sack from my head, I tried to stand but was immediately thrown into the side of the van again as it took off and rounded the first corner out of the back alleyway. The three people on the van’s floor had their wrists tied and were lying uncomfortably on top of each other, sacks still in place on their heads and groaning with every turn.
Crawling, I managed to pull myself to the front of the van despite the violent steering. Emrick was driving like a madman—it was a wonder he could see at this time of night with those dark sunglasses on. He didn’t look at me as I clambered into the passenger seat and pulled the seat belt on with a click, and he shifted gears as the van screeched in protest to his rough treatment.
“Where are you taking me?”
His head swiveled toward me, his expression blank, still half hidden in shadows under his hood. He said nothing, looked back at the road, and continued to drive.
“Where are youtakingme?” I asked, raising my voice over the van’s rumbling and trying to get a rise out of Emrick, anything from him besides a cold stare.
“Shut up.”
When I moved to lean across him and grab the wheel, his hand shot out and grabbed my throat. He wasn’t looking at me and kept his gaze firmly ahead as he guided me back into my seat, using his grip to maneuver me.
“Who are they?”
He didn’t answer.
“Why am I here?”
Nothing.
“Emrick!”
Slamming on the brakes, he pulled to the side of the road, ignoring the car horns as they screamed past and the insults of the people on the sidewalk he had almost hit with his bumper. I bet they wouldn’t talk like that if they knew who was behind the tinted windows. With a flick, Emrick undid his seat belt, leaning over me until my back was pressed against the van door, my own seat belt twisted out of shape. He gripped where it met the clasp, covering it with his large hand, and any thoughts I had of undoing it and running were tossed away.
He took his sunglasses off and threw them to the floor. “What do you see?”
“I—”
“Tell me what yousee!”
Staring at his eyes, his pupils were dilated as they jumped between mine. This close, I could only barely see the difference in color between the black of his pupils and the darkness of his irises.
“I… I don’t know.”
And it was the truth. I didn’t know anymore. I was a fool to think there was anything to him beyond the tales of what he was capable of. He had proven himself to be dangerous, volatile, and violent with a temper which could snap at any second. He shifted wildly between a man who threw someone out of the club to protect me to a man who would drag me down a hall and choke me. Every second in his company was either pleasure or pain, or both.
I coughed as he grabbed my throat, his weight resting awkwardly on me as I pressed against the van’s door. He asked again, quieter, “What do you see?Look. At. Me.”
