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Locke brushes his lips against my ear, his hot breath sending a shiver down my spine. “Do I need to remind you how wild I can be?”
Before I can answer, Locke’s phone rings. He groans into my neck before kissing me there. I giggle and dance out of his grasp.
“I’ll let you get that. I’ll go get ready for bed. Maybe you can show me your wild side when you’re done.” I shoot him a wink over my shoulder as I sashay down the hallway, making sure to put a little extra sway in my hips as I go.
“Don’t start without me, angel,” Locke growls and my whole body goes hot.
“Don’t keep me waiting long, then,” I sass, disappearing into the bedroom.
I don’t shut the door, wanting him to walk past and see me stripping for him. I can hear him pacing in the living room but I never see him pass by the hallway.
I strip out of my clothes and slip on his shirt, wanting to tease him a bit. When he still doesn't come to find me after a few minutes, I grow impatient and pad silently down the hallway to him.
My intention is to wrap my arms around him from behind and maybe dip my hands a little lower. I want him to lose his mind. I want him to go crazy with want for me. I want us both to get lost in each other, in our lust.
Instead of burning hot passion, though, it’s like a cold bucket of ice water over my head when I step close enough to hear his conversation.
“Boss, I’ve been here in Pittsburgh like you asked. I’ve been keeping the target occupied and in my sights. She’s safe.”
He’s silent for a beat and my heart drops to my stomach. How could I forget what he said about his boss only calling him when it’s time to take me back to New York? And what about that last part? Is that what he’s been doing? Just keeping me distracted and in his sights so that I couldn’t escape?
“I know, sir. I’ve been waiting for your call.” His voice is so cold, so unlike the voice I’ve grown used to over the past few days. I hate it. “And the debt?”
Bile climbs up my throat as I listen to him talk to his boss, the man who sent him to kidnap me. Of course, Locke is talking about his debt. Once he delivers me, it’ll be paid in full. I’m sure he’s just double-checking before tying me back up again. How stupid am I to actually fall for my kidnapper? And worse, believe he felt the same about me?
“I understand, sir.”
A silent sob tears from my mouth and I almost crumble under the weight of his deception. He was using me all of this time. I was just a distraction, a way for him to pass the time until his boss told him to bring me back to him.
How could he not believe me? After all we’ve been through? After what we shared? HeknowsI’m not the mistress. He felt it for himself when he took my virginity. That doesn’t seem to matter, though. Maybe his plan is to drop me off, wipe his hands clean of me, and let his boss take care of sorting out the messy details.
I can’t take it. I can’t take any of this.
I turn and make my way back down the hallway as silently as I can. This time when I get to my bedroom, I do close the door. It’s getting dark out and I hurry to stuff some of my belongings in a duffle bag before throwing on a fresh pair of clothes.
I dig around in my bedside table as quietly as I can, breathing a sigh of relief when my fingers wrap around my car keys. It occurs to me I could have escaped last night while he was sleeping, but I didn’t want to leave him. Twenty four hours makes a hell of a big difference.
Taking one last look around my room, at the apartment I barely got to live in, I slowly open the bedroom window and climb out onto the fire escape. The stairs rattle slightly as I make my way down, but I can't stop now. I can't look back. Locke must still be on the phone call. Otherwise, I'm sure that he would be charging after me,his target, by now.
That thought has tears threatening to spill from my eyes and I blink rapidly, trying to clear them as my feet hit the ground. This is no time to break down. I can feel it all later, but right now, I need to be numb. Just like leaving my dad and living on the streets.
Don’t let it hurt. Bury the fear. Show no weakness.
I repeat my new mantra in my head as I jog over to my car and throw my duffle bag into the backseat.
I notice a baseball cap on the passenger seat and I reach for it with trembling hands, slipping it on along with a pair of sunglasses, even though the sun has almost set. I rush around to the driver's seat, climbing behind the wheel and heading toward the highway as fast as the late night traffic will let me.
I don’t even know where I’m going and for some reason, that’s the thought that has the tears filling slipping free. I promised myself that I would never be used by another man after my dad tried to use me to pay all of his bills. I never wanted to be a plaything but that’s exactly what Locke has made me.
He used me. He lied to me. And I fell for all of it.
My shitty car chugs along, sputtering every few miles like it’s as worn out as I am. I suppose it is. Life hasn’t been very kind to either one of us.
I’m such an idiot. I thought...I thought he felt it, too. The moment I said yes to him, the moment I surrendered and asked him for more. For everything. I had never felt more vulnerable in my entire life, which is saying something. And yet when Locke touched me, kissed me, and made love to me, I somehow felt confident and strong.
Only he wasn’t making love to me, was he? We were just fucking. Just passing the time.
A sob fights its way out of my throat, the sound wretched and pathetic. I have to pull over at the nearest gas station to get my shaking under control before I drive my car straight into a ditch or wrap it around a pole. Then again, either one of those options might be better than whatever is waiting for me in New York.
