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Hannah's eyes dropped to the half-naked woman kneeling on the floor before Jake, her back to the door. Her arms were tied behind her back in an uncomfortable way, thick rope constricting just above the elbows, forcing her shoulders back uncomfortably. Even without seeing her face, Hannah knew it was Mia at his feet, and her anger flared hot. She lurched forward as if to run to her friend, but the brute next to her held her tight, she was unable to break free.
"Nice of you to join us, Hannah. I'm disappointed you chose to take the hard route. It didn't need to be like this," Jake said evenly.
Anger burst out. "Oh, really? And how was it supposed to be? You're a sicko, you know that? I only came here to give you back what I took and to get Mia and Lucy. Then we're leaving."
His menacing chuckle sounded like it belonged on the soundtrack of a horror movie. "Oh Hannah, my dear, you're in no position to negotiate with me. I'm the only one who calls the shots around here. You work for me. I believe I explained clearly my expectations regarding your employee performance. I'm going to enjoy delivering a very harsh corrective discipline session. As you can see, I've already started with Mia here."
"You sick fuck. There's no way I'm working for you after you raped me," Hannah snarled.
Jake's eyes darkened. "I'd be careful if I were you. You're only making this worse for yourself."
Dylan's voice in her ear pretty much said the same thing. "Stop antagonizing him, honey."
"Go to hell!" She wasn't sure if she was addressing the man in the room or the one surveilling from afar.
Jake's lips formed a lopsided smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes. "You'll find this place is going to be your own personal hell if you don't shut your mouth and start listening."
Her breath caught in her throat as the man next to her shoved her further into the room until she stood directly behind Mia. There was no way her friend could push to her feet without the use of her arms. Hannah reached out to free her, but she was yanked back.
Trying to stay calm, she glanced around the room, more to give the men on the outside a picture than out of interest. She was surprised to see Lucy hiding in the corner, an out-of-place smile on her face. As their eyes met, Lucy moved out of the shadows to stand beside Jake. Alarm bells went off in Hannah's head. How in the world could she be letting Jake hurt her own sister?
Ignoring Lucy, Hannah remembered she only had one goal she wanted to accomplish, and then they could all get the hell out of there. Reaching into her purse, she pulled the leather journal out, holding it close to her body.
"I brought your journal. We had a deal. I'm taking Mia and Lucy out of here."
Lucy laughed, turning to Jake with joy in her eyes. "See? I told you I was an excellent actress. She totally believed we were in danger. Does this mean I get the part?"
For the first time Jake took his eyes off Hannah, sliding his predatory gaze to the over-dressed young woman who was the only person in the room completely clueless about what he was capable of.
Jake reached out to cup Lucy's face, deceivingly gentle. "You are indeed quite the actress. I have just the spot for you in a show we have starting tonight."
Lucy's face lit up with a victorious smile.
He didn't take his eyes from his prey as he addressed his second-in-command. "Mohammed, take her to the vault and strip her. Have Doc check her out and prep her for the final party tonight. I have a few clients who've been requesting Asian meat. They'll be pleasantly surprised."
Lucy looked confused, but Mia groaned a protest through her gag. Quick as lightning, Jake's arm swung, backhanding Mia across the face so hard she fell sideways to the floor. Lucy screamed, lurching to move towards her sister only to be backhanded herself, throwing her to the floor in the opposite direction with a thud.
The man named Mohammed held Hannah back from rushing to her friend while Jake leaned over Lucy, gripping her by her arms and yanking her face up until it was only inches from his gloating grin. "You see, Lucy dear, I win the prize for best actor. Your sister and Hannah were right. I'm a dangerous man. Now be a good little girl and go quietly."
"Are you fucking nuts? I want to leave. I didn't sign up for this. I'm not willingly going to be part of some freak show," Lucy said defiantly.
Hannah tried to press her hands over her ears to block out the sound of Jake's sadistic laughter. "That's great! My clients absolutely love playing with unwilling sluts. It makes breaking you all the more fun."
He yanked Lucy to her feet and then shoved her hard towards the door. She would have fallen if Mohammed hadn't let go of Hannah to catch her. He scooped her up over his shoulder and stalked out the door, her screeching quieting only when the solid mahogany swung shut behind them.
Now free, Hannah rushed to Mia and knelt down next to her crying friend. She pulled her into her arms as best she could. In her rush to help, she'd thrown the ledger to the floor and Jake reached to leisurely pick it up.
From her peripheral vision, Hannah sensed him leafing through the book to check it hadn't been tampered with. She prayed he wouldn't figure out that the men had photographed each page before sending it back with her.
"I'm so disappointed in you, Hannah. I had such high hopes for you. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do about your insubordination and deception. All I know for sure is that I'm going to make sure you hate it so much you'll think long and hard before you try anything like this again," Jake said evenly.
As he turned to walk back behind his desk Hannah started working feverishly to untie Mia, hoping the two of them together might have a shot at overpowering the crazy man in the room.
"Let go of Mia and come stand before me, Hannah." It was an order.
No way was she stopping until her friend was free. She could see the terror in Mia's eyes, her left cheek already bruising from the vicious blow she'd just suffered. Hannah's hands shook as she tried to get the knots of the ropes loose.
Jake's next words froze her. "Mohammed, as soon as you get Lucy secured, return to the office for her sister. Seems Hannah isn't going to be able to focus on me until I get her alone." She glanced up and saw the cell phone at his ear. As he ended the call, his eyes bored into hers. His ominous promise only made her move faster.
