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20
JANE
Slowly,I opened my eyes and a sharp pain shot through my head when I moved my eyes to look around the space I was in. What the hell happened? I couldn’t remember anything after I left the clubhouse.
Scanning the area, I squinted in an effort to see something, anything, but I could only make out shadows. A shiver ran through my body, and when I tried to lift my hands to rub along my arms, I realized they were tied behind my back. I jerked my arms but stopped when something thick and rough, like rope, cut into my wrists, and pain seared along my skin.
Closing my eyes, I listened to the sounds around me, but it was eerily quiet. With my head pounding, I forced myself to concentrate in an effort to remember anything that happened that could’ve led me to this place.
Tank.
I’d argued with him. He was angry with me for leaving. He knew I was giving in to the pressures of my family. But he didn’t know the real reason. It had only taken a weekend to realize I was falling in love with him. I wanted to be with him and talk to him every chance I got. I loved spending time doing nothing together, and I trusted him implicitly, but more than anything, I loved waking up with him. Except that wasn’t what this was for Tank. He was only having fun. He didn’t know I heard him say those exact words to Bear and Josie, but at that moment, I knew it was over. He didn’t want a relationship, and that was all I wanted.
It was entirely my fault because he never made me any promises.
But I’d wanted him to.
And now I’d not only lost him but I may never see him or anyone I love ever again.
Snapping my eyes open as panic began to course through me, I pulled my legs up when I realized they weren’t tied, but I couldn’t stand. My legs felt heavy and numb, but it wasn’t surprising with how cold the room was. When I heard something above me, I stilled and tried to calm my breathing, but it was pointless. Fear like I’d never felt in my life overwhelmed me. A flash of light filled the space before it was dark again, but in that flash, I saw a window on the wall across from where I sat. It was small and covered with something, but it was still a window, and that was the only hope I had to hold on to.
No longer able to see, I waited, and footsteps were the only sounds in the room until someone stood in front of me and squatted down. I swallowed hard when I could only make out the shadow of his face.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
“Doesn’t matter who I am. It only matters who loves you enough to save you.”
His voice sounded strange, almost as if something covered his mouth, but then I thought about his answer. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re my payday. Just need to figure out if your daddy’s gonna rescue you or your boyfriend.”
Squinting, I focused on his face but felt nothing except frustration when I still couldn’t make out any features. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“No, I guess you don’t.” He smirked. “You have a fuck buddy. Gotta admit, never thought Tank would go for a girl like you. I didn’t believe it when I heard, but then I saw you fucking outside and realized there’s more to you than I originally thought.”
He saw us? But that was impossible. It was dark, and we were around the side of the building. I should’ve been embarrassed, and under any other circumstance, I would’ve been, but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was how I was going to get out of here.
“Are you asking for money?”
“Five hundred K,” he replied. “That’s only pennies to your family, isn’t it?”
I inhaled a shaky breath when I sensed the hostility in his tone. “My father won’t pay that.”
He reached out and ran a finger down my cheek. “Oh, come on, what father wouldn’t pay to have his daughter back?”
I swallowed hard when bile rose in my throat at the feel of his hands on me.
“Mine,” I answered simply.
He dropped his hand, but his voice tensed when he spoke. “I got two options for getting what I need.”
He meant Tank, and it sounded like he knew him, but he couldn’t know him that well if he thought Tank could pay that.
“Tank doesn’t have that kind of money.” I started, but he cut me off.
“If you believe that, then you’re not as smart as I thought.”
“He’s a mechanic,” I whispered, but my head began to pound as I spoke.
