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I wasn’t sure what had come over me—maybe it was the fact that there was a child growing inside me, a little baby for whom I was responsible. I knew in an instant that I would protect my child above all.
I was ready to face down my dad. There was no question that he was the one responsible for kidnapping me. I’d spent the last thirty minutes or so blindfolded in the back of a van. I’d been worried that Dad was planning on taking me deeper into Long Island, all the way to the estate where I’d never be seen again.
When we stopped somewhere not too far from the gallery, however, I realized he had something else in store for me. What it was, I could only guess.
The car stopped, the driver-side door opening, followed by the back of the van. A hand took hold of my arm, followed by a press of the gun into my belly.
“You scream, and that’s the end of it,” he said. “Be smart, and you and your baby will live.”
The voice was unfamiliar. Whoever it was, I wanted to claw his goddamn eyes out for threatening my baby. I went with himout into the cool evening, the blindfold coming off just enough for me to see that we were approaching some shitty, run-down townhome. The guard quickly fixed the blindfold before I could spot an address, and we travelled up a flight of stairs and inside. As we walked, the echo of our footfalls let me know the room was open and spacious.
With a shove, the guard pushed me into a seat.
Then there was silence. I sat, wondering in fear what was going to happen to my baby and me. I did my best to push the fear away, to stay strong, to hope that Logan would somehow find me.
Footsteps soon sounded, the click of expensive dress shoes on a wooden floor.
“Take off that blindfold.”
Someone grabbed the blindfold from behind me and yanked it from my face. The room revealed was big and ornate, looking like something out of thenineteenth century.
And there was my father. He stood with a shit-eating grin on his face, dressed in a dark suit. He shook his head as he approached, looking me up and down.
“Emily, Emily, Emily,” he said, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You’re going to let me go if you know what’s good for you,” I snarled.
Anger flashed on his face and he pounced on me like a wild animal, pulling back his hand and drawing it against my cheek. Acracksounded out, pain exploding on my face, tears forming in my eyes. He stepped back, his chest rising and falling.
“Let’s get one thing straight, you ungrateful little bitch,” he said. “You’remine. And unless you want your teeth scattered across the floor, you’d be wise to keep your mouth shut. In fact, why don’t we take care of that right now?”
He nodded over his shoulder. The guard behind me put a gag over my mouth.
“There we are,” he said. “Much better. Better seen and not heard.” I squirmed as the guard tied my hands and feet to the chair.
Dad swept his hand toward the room. “Nice place, huh? This was my getaway when your mother was still around. Your mother, she was a nosy one, always poking around in my personal business, always jumping down my throat when I came home too late. This is where I’d go to escape her endless nagging.”
He sighed, shaking his head.
“You and this Logan prick. The plan was supposed to be simple, you know? I’d give you to him to square our debt, you’d get ‘kidnapped’ by some cartel, and I would hold him to blame. Little would he know, however, that you’d be back home and I’d have Stone on the hook for allowing you to be taken. But man, did you both complicate things.”
Another sigh.
“But that doesn’t matter now. You’re here and you’re still in one piece. That means you’re fit to be sold. Bring ‘em in!”
The guard left, returning moments later with a pair of hard-faced men in expensive suits, their look striking me as Slavic and wealthy. One seemed to be in his thirties, the other older.
“Here she is, Yuri,” my father said. “The perfect bride for your son.”
My gut tightened. I didn’t need any more than that to understand what my dad had in mind for me. He was going to sell me to these men, to be rid of me forever.
The older man came over, looking me up and down like I was a farm animal on auction. The younger man did the same, nodding approvingly. They spoke to one another in Russian. Lucky for me, that was one of the languages I spoke.
“What do you think?” the older man said. “Suitable?”
“Nice body, good face. Her father says no health issues, and that her virginity is intact. She’ll do.”
My virginity. They were buying me because they thought I was a virgin. There was no way they’d want me if they knew I was pregnant. I had to tell them, if only I could get the gag off my face.
