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She gasped hoarsely and started to struggle against her bonds until she realized it was me. Then, her eyes widened in surprise and she tried to say my name.
“Lu…”
“Mother of God,” I breathed, still certain I was seeing this wrong because…it was just so wrong.
“Wha…what the hell areyoudoing here?” she finally managed to ask.
I wanted to turn away, give her some privacy, and then have a little breakdown for myself because I couldn’t believe this had happened to her.
But Chloe needed me. And I needed to keep my shit together so I could help her.
“Oh, you know,” I murmured, forcing myself to be casual because I wanted to help put her at ease since she looked as if she was a hot second away from her own panic attack. “I was just in the neighborhood.” I stepped into the basement with her and swiftly shut the door at my back. “Thought I’d pop by and see what’s up.”
Then I rolled my eyes at her to piss her off, hoping she’d rise to the bait and get mad back at me instead of thinking about the horrific situation she was currently stuck in.
“What the fuck do you think I’m doing here?” When she said nothing, I added, “I’m here to save you.”
A sob stuttered from her throat, and she shuddered once before sassy Chloe started to emerge. “Then, could you hurry it up,” she rasped. “I’m freezing my nipples off down here.”
“Trust me; I noticed.” Glancing around as I hurried to her side, I knelt next to her, touching her hand even as I squinted toward every dark corner. “You alone?”
“Yeah. He’s gone. I don’t know where Lucy is, though. I was at her house, and he knocked me unconscious. I don’t know if he has her somewhere too or—”
“She’s at home.” I dropped my gaze to her wrist. It was bloody and gouged from how much effort she had no doubt put into trying to pull her hands free.
“She is?” Chloe started breathing hard as if trying to contain a flood of relieved emotions. “Is she okay? And the baby? I was holding the baby when he hit me. I don’t…I don’t know what happened to the baby.”
I nodded and lifted my hand to calm her. “Just…it’s okay,” I murmured soothingly. “They’re both at home. And Luce was a little banged up, but she looked a hell of a lot better when I saw her than you do now.”
“Really? Oh God. Thank goodness. I—I didn’t know. And the baby? Ava Grace?”
That one, I couldn’t answer.
“We should get these things off you,” I said instead and ran my fingers over the cuffs, hoping to find some kind of safety release. But they looked like the real deal. I was going to have to find a damn key. Unless…
I grabbed the chains that seemed to be Tapconned to the floor, and then put both feet on either side of them before pulling with all my might. But the only thing I managed to break free was some skin off my palms.
“Son of a bitch,” I growled, and looked up at her face, freshly startled by all the naked flesh. Yeah, that was going to be a major distraction. “Where the hell are your clothes, anyway?”
She sent me a dry glower, her bloodshot eye still wigging me out every time I looked at it. “Good question. I’d like to know that too. Are they on that table over there?”
I stood and peered over toward the table, but there was absolutely nothing that appeared as if it could even pass for cloth. It was littered with books and paperwork and office supply stuff.
“Nope.” Not wanting to accidentally cop another look at Chloe’s naked bits, I ripped off the black, Forbidden Nightclub T-shirt I wore and knelt beside her again before gently draping it over her like a blanket.
I mean, a mini blanket. It barely covered the tops of her thighs to her shoulders, but it gave her a smidgeon of modesty, at least.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, her lips trembling and eyes full of glossy trauma.
I nodded, not quite able to manage eye contact because I was still feeling pretty shitty about how much I’d seen already. But seriously, she damn near shaved it bare, and hell, it was the only thing I could think about for a second because the bruises and blood were too much for me to process.
Clearing my throat, I finally forced my gaze to her eyes and asked, “You got any wounds that need immediate attention before we work on breaking you loose?”
She shook her head. “No. Not that I know of.”
“Okay, good.” I reached out to touch her face in comfort, nodding at her to let her know everything was going to be okay now, then I tucked a clump of wet bloody hair behind her ear so she could see.
“Let’s get you out of these damn handcuffs, shall we?”
