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“Fuck,” the one called Shadow, who seems to be in charge, whispers under his breath. Mossy eyes with flecks of gold and green rake over me.
I thought feeling more like myself was a good thing, but I hadn’t considered that without the makeup and dress, they are seeing me. Just me. Not Mesner’s daughter, the kidnapped bride, but a twenty-one year old college drop-out, who’s now very trapped in a hotel room with four very dangerous men.
They are all so different. Lightning is rougher than my usual type, but seems like the kind of guy I could meet at a bar, while his identical twin Thunder seems way more serious and intimidating. Outlaw, with his hard, black eyes and tousled red-brown curls, stares at me for a long moment before shaking his head and taking a swig out of the bottle in his hand. He’s the one that makes me the most nervous. If all four were like him, I would’ve hopped out of the car at the first opportunity and never looked back.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to take so long,” I mumble.
“We talked about it while you were in the shower. You take the bed by the wall and we’ll rotate using the other one tonight,” Shadow says, nodding towards the bed I was sitting on earlier.
“Are you sure? It’s a double,” I volunteer out of politeness before thinking about what that would mean. “Just to sleep. I didn’t mean—”
“If you wanna share, ain’t nobody here going to argue,” Lightning says with a sparkle in his warm chocolate eyes. “One at a time or you think you can handle us all?”
“Why would you want to? I thought I was a cold bitch who left her fiancé at the altar. Maybe I’ll stab you in your sleep or something,” I grumble as I climb onto the bed.
Before I know it, my back is pressed into the mattress and there’s a whole lot of man staring straight down at me, Lightning’s face is close enough that I can smell the sweet, hoppy scent of beer on his breath. The lighthearted joker is nowhere to be found. “Was that a threat?”
“Search her,” Shadow snaps.
“I was joking!”
Thunder pulls the dress out of my arms and tosses it in the corner. Stone faced, he and the others watch as Lightning’s hands skim my body, not leaving an inch untouched. He’s fast and professional. In spite of the crude jokes, there’s nothing sexual about the way he pats me down. Obviously there’s no knife, but he does find the phone I have tucked into the waistband of the pajama pants. He hands it over to Shadow.
I curl up, shrinking away from Lightning. “It’s just a phone. There’s nothing to find there.”
Shadow holds it out. “Unlock it then.”
“Fine.” I’m telling the truth, but my hands still shake as I punch in my code and hand it back.
He frowns and puts the phone up to his ear. I hear Penny’s voice answer again, but he hangs up quickly without saying anything. “Why did you make that call?”
“None of your business. It had nothing to do with this.”
“Wake up! Everything you fucking do right now is our business. We aren’t playing a fucking game,” Outlaw snaps. He shakes his head with an angry growl. “She’s gonna get us killed with this bullshit and then go right back to her cushy little life.”
“You don’t know anything about me! That’s the place taking care of my mom! I check on her every day and I hadn’t called yet today. Are you happy? Keep the phone if it makes you feel better. I might owe you a lot, but I don’t owe you my life story.”
“Harper, you have to see this from our side,” Thunder starts.
“No, she’s right. Leave her alone. We’ll split up in the morning anyway,” Shadow says, interrupting him. “The sooner we can all get the fuck out of here the better.”
7
HARPER
The room is pitch black, but something wakes me up. Maybe it’s just because I feel like I’m pressed under a weighted electric blanket, solid and close against my back. It's holding me close, and it's such a nice way to slowly wake up. Warm breath skates over my neck in time with the sound of slow, deep breathing.
Sometime during the night one of them must have taken me up on the offer to share the bed. I don’t know which of us snuggled up to the other, but as nice as it feels, I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea. I slide my hand between us, trying to make a little room. It’s not until my fingers hit bare, warm skin that I realize exactly how much trouble I’m in. That I don’t snatch my hand back right away must be because I’m still half asleep. It’s definitely not because there is just no way that what’s pressing against my palm could be what I think it is. Do they even come that big?
