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“You good?” he grunts, those gray eyes searching mine. Weird. Why should he care? He has me bound up with a syringe at the ready if I step out of line. My safety and comfort are of little concern to him.
I nod once, swallowing hard. His eyes tick down to my throat, watching the motion. The man grunts again and tears his gaze away from me, looking around my room for something. I have an old chair in the corner and he dumps the clothes off of it, dragging it closer to the bed and taking a seat.
“I’m sure you know why I’m here,” he starts, his voice cold and almost businesslike. I suppose this is another day at the office for someone like him. Whoever he is.
“I don’t!” I cry right away and I wince. That came out a lot louder than I had intended. I clamp my mouth shut, hoping he doesn’t use the syringe on me to keep me quiet.
“Right,” he says and I can tell he’s not buying it. “Well then, let me get you up to speed.”
He leans closer to the bed and I recoil, my breath coming faster. The man’s brow furrows, still not liking my reaction to him. What else does he expect? He’s built like a tank and has made it clear he’s not above manhandling me. Still, something close to regret sparks in those gray eyes. It’s gone before I can be sure, though.
“I was sent by Mario Gambino,” he says, as if that will answer all of my questions. I blink my eyes, trying to place the name but I’m sure I’ve never heard it before. “He sent me to track you down after you stole from him back in New York. I’m here to bring you and his money back to him.”
“I don’t know a Mario Gambino,” I rush to say, desperate for him to believe me. “I haven’t stolen from anyone. You have the wrong person!”
“Right.” He rolls his eyes, igniting my anger. My stomach is twisted up in knots and the worst part is, I have a feeling no amount of evidence will convince this man of my innocence. Nevertheless, I have to fight for myself. Lord knows no one else ever has.
“You have to believe me! I’m Keyera. Keyera Barclave. I’m not the girl you’re looking for,” I cry, struggling to sit up on the bed.
My pale blonde hair is matted to my face on one side, wet from my tears. I'm wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt and it slides off one shoulder, but there's no way for me to fix it with my hands tied behind my back.
“I just moved into this apartment last week,” I continue, trying to reason with him even though I know I’m wasting my breath. I’ve got to take advantage of this time without the gag in my mouth, so I keep pressing on. “I’m subletting it from some woman. She gave me a great deal on it and I thought it was my lucky day. But obviously that’s not the case,” I ramble on, my nerves getting the better of me.
He glances over to the corner of the room. There are a few boxes stacked up there and I hold my breath, praying that he believes me. Every muscle in my body is tensed up to the point of pain, making me shake as my heart thuds against my ribcage in harsh, uneven beats.
A long moment passes between us, me sitting on the bed with my tangled hair, tear-stained cheeks, and bound ankles and wrists while my kidnapper is as stoic as ever. His eyes drift down my face, briefly pausing on my lips before snapping back up to meet my gaze.
I think he’s about to relent,thank fucking God, but then he opens his mouth. “Well, we’ll let Mario sort this out. We’re going to go see him in a few days.”
I close my eyes and I can tell I’m about two seconds away from screaming for help. Before I can, though, he’s reaching forward, cupping my chin and stuffing the gag back in my mouth.
“We’re going to be quiet for the next few days. If you start screaming or try to escape? Well, I have enough drugs to keep you unconscious until it’s time for us to leave.”
A few more tears slip down my cheeks and he lets my chin go, taking a seat back in the chair.
I stare at him for a few minutes before I fall over onto my other side, giving him my back. I curl up as best I can and start to cry as soon as my back is to him. I know I should get some rest so that I can try to escape when the time comes, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a long time before sleep claims me.
THREE
Locke
Well,shit.
I pace around the living room the next morning, trying to come up with a new plan. I hardly slept at all last night, and it was only partially to do with the uncomfortable chair I was sitting in. Mostly, I couldn’t take my eyes off Keyera.
I watched her tiny shoulders shake with sobs, though to her credit, she hardly made a sound. I probably wouldn’t have noticed her crying if I wasn’t staring at her for hours on end. Eventually, her breaths evened out and she fell into an uneasy sleep.
Several times throughout the night, the woman whimpered and startled awake, like she was having a nightmare. I could tell once she opened her eyes, she realized it wasn’t a nightmare, she really did get tied up and gagged by a mean motherfucking monster.
All night long I fought the urge to cut her loose and curl up behind her. She couldn’t escape if I held her close, right? But I shoved those thoughts down and reminded myself of who she is. Mario’s mistress, whether she’ll admit it or not.
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, tugging at the strands. The phone call last night threw me off. If only my boss had called a little earlier. Then I wouldn’t be in this situation.
He hadn’t given me many details. He sounded annoyed, though. It’s not unusual coming from him, but it still caused me a bit of unease. Mario is the type of man who hides his fear, knowing it would be a sign of weakness to his men and any threats that are lurking out there.
He hadn't told me what was going on. All he said was that there was some shit going down back in New York and I needed to lay low out here in Pittsburgh until he called again. I wanted to tell him I found his mistress but he hung up before I could give him the news. Now I'm stuck in this apartment with the target until they call me back and give me the all clear to come back home.
Normally, I would just drug the target and keep them tied up and unconscious until it was time to go, but I don’t want to do that with this girl. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a woman, or because of the feelings she stirs up inside of me.
