AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Steeling her jaw, Taylor lifted her chin and wrested it from his grasp. “Unfortunately for you, you’ll be joining him soon.”
Confusion swept through her as his gravelly chuckle flooded the room.
“Are you sure about that one, honey?” Laychee asked. “I hope you aren’t banking on that hotheaded lover of yours charging through these doors to save your ass anytime soon. In fact, right about now he’s probably fast asleep and dreaming about that sweet little face of yours. Too bad he’s never going to see it again.”
Fear coiled around her heart like a snake, slowly squeezing the life out of her. Her eyes darted to Laychee’s and studied the cold, iron depths in search of the truth. Tears threatened, but she tamped them down. He was lying. He had to be. Sebastian was okay. He was too strong, too smart for the likes of this man, and Josh would never let anything happen to him. Her chest heaved as she lowered her gaze and struggled to get her breathing under control.
“Don’t believe me?” he asked. “Hold on. You can see for yourself.”
The confidence in his voice struck a deep cord of dread. She bit her lip hard enough to draw a new wave of blood. Alternating bouts of absolute rage and terror battered her without mercy, making her shake against the cruel bite of the restraints. Everything in her wanted to turn away when Laychee’s phone went off and he swung it in her direction with a cold sneer. Afraid some small part of him was telling the truth, she forced herself to glance his way. Her heart shattered and sank, the fragments falling clear down to the pit of her stomach.
Bright fluorescent lights lit the scene, giving her a glimpse of the dank concrete walls surrounding Sebastian. Thick spirals of duct tape wound around his forearms binding him to a sturdy metal chair. They’d stripped him of the outer layers of his uniform, leaving only the thin black tee shirt he’d worn beneath and his slacks. True to Laychee’s word, his head rested against his shoulder.
She took comfort in the slow but steady rise of his chest. He was just sleeping, she told herself, not dead. Her chin trembled as Laychee cruelly wrenched the phone away. Knowing it could be the last time she ever saw the man she loved was almost more than she could bear. Her body shook with her efforts not to cry, but she didn’t want to give him that kind of pleasure. He was taking enough from them already.
Closing her eyes, she straightened in her chair. Sebastian would want her to be strong.
“You can help him, Taylor,” Laychee said in a soothing tone. “Give me what I want, and I will let Sebastian live.”
Her shoulders and stomach jerked with genuine laughter. It sounded maddened, crazed, even to her. She dropped her chin to her chest with a slow shake of her head. “You’re a liar.”
“No, precious. I’m telling you the truth. I’d much rather that murdering son-of-a-bitch be alive to suffer the consequences. It’s much more fun that way.”
“By killing me.”
He shrugged. “It has to be one or the other. At least you have a choice in the matter. What’s it going to be, cupcake?”
Forcing her attention to the small fireplace lining the wall and the wild fern spilling over the top of the mantle, she struggled to get her temper under control. For the moment, it was winning over her fear. Grinding her teeth, she ignored him. Laychee stood with a nod.
“Think it over. I’m going to leave you in the care of my associates while I pay your lover a visit. I’d play nice if I were you. My aversion for Sebastian is way too strong to enjoy his sloppy seconds, but I assure you the other men here have no such reservations.”
Her stomach rolled, and the bitter scald of acid splashed the back of her throat. Straining against the ties binding her hands behind her back, Taylor thrashed in her chair. “What the hell do you want from me?” she screamed.
He regarded her with a soulless smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
His tongue felt thick and swollen. Fighting to shake the metallic taste clinging to the inside of his mouth, Sebastian grimaced. Everything ached. His entire body felt tense and sore. Cold, he tried to roll over in search of Taylor. Confusion spiraled through him when he found himself immobilized and unable to turn. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered the fact he wasn’t in his bed. He was sitting up.
As strength and comprehension started to return, he jerked his arms only to find them useless. Pain shot through the stiff muscles of his neck as Sebastian flung his head back. Holding it up was a battle he lost several times. His eyes kept drifting closed, his vision too blurred to make out his surroundings. A familiar voice called from his right, the sound helping to coax him from his dazed cocoon.
“There you are,” Dominic said. “I was starting to think we’d lost you. Did you have a nice nap?”
Sebastian squinted, trying to focus on the man’s wide features.
Nap? What the hell was he talking about?
The question and triumphant leer his teammate boasted threw him for a loop. His head threatened to fall backwards. The sudden instability made him feel like he was falling and he jolted in an attempt to steady himself. This time, Sebastian became all too aware of the tight restraints securing his arms. Glancing down, he stared at the thick coils of duct tape winding in sections from his wrists to just before his elbows. Fury and disbelief grappled for control. Lifting his gaze, he pinned Dominic with a murderous glare.
“I’m going to kill you for this,” he warned in a strained whisper. His pale eyes narrowed with hatred and rage swelled as the memories slowly filtered back to him. Dominic laughed.
“Spare me the bravado, Baas. You’re in no position to make threats. In fact, now would be a good time for you to start begging.”
“I don’t make threats and I don’t beg, Dominic. Not for you. Not for anyone.”
“Oh, I think you’re wrong there, Sebastian. You’re right about one thing. You’d never beg for your own life. You’re way too stubborn and prideful for that, but I’m willing to bet all of that goes out the window when it comes to Taylor.”
His head snapped up at the sound of her name. Blinding fury bubbled through his veins just hearing the bastard mention her. A sick sense of dread pulsed beneath the surface as he remembered his phone going off right before the traitorous son-of-a-bitch stuck him in the neck. If they hurt her….
He clenched his jaw, his heart sinking. It wasn’t a question of if—it was a matter of how bad. Tamping down a wave of panic, he fought to keep his expression neutral and scanned the walls in search of a clock.
“What, no answer for that
one, Baas?” Dominic taunted.
Forcing his attention back to his teammate, he shrugged as much as the compromised position would allow. “She’s a good lay, but that’s nothing that can’t be replaced. I think you overestimate my capacity for emotion.”
“You’re full of shit,” Dominic countered.
“Am I?” Sebastian asked, his stare tracking the hefty man as he strode back and forth in front of him. “I pawned my sister off on the first man I could find because I didn’t want the hassle. My niece is living with her grandparents because that was the most convenient arrangement I could think of and one less problem I’d have to deal with. My half-brother and nephew are lying in the ground. Did I ever bother to ask who was responsible or seek revenge? If that wasn’t enough to break me, what makes you think I would crack over a piece of tail?”
Doubt flickered across his teammate’s stony face before he shook his head and pointed with a reproachful wag of his finger. “No, Sebastian. That’s not going to work. See, I work for the same organization you do. I know what you are up to here. No one is that cold and heartless, not even you.”
“Think what you want. Just remember there is a reason Marx prefers me over the rest of you, men with more time and experience under their belts.”
Dominic whirled and drove a meaty fist into his gut. The force doubled him over and propelled the chair across the concrete floor. The sound of scraping metal grated in his ears while the air left his lungs in an excruciating whoosh. Another blow followed in quick suit, forcing the chair back another foot. Gasping and snorting through his nose, Sebastian hung against his restraints, reminding himself not to let the man catch him off guard again. His ragged coughs bounced off the walls, reverberating through the vast warehouse.
