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Water drips off my face and into the sink, and I’m sluggish in meeting my own stare in the old mirror hanging on the wall just above the tiny vanity. The edges of the mirror have age spots, places where it doesn’t reflect anymore, a sign of decay. A sign that this house, this whole city, really, has seen better days.
Who are Max and I to think we’re special enough that we deserve a ticket out of here? We’re really no different from everyone else. Having a parent in prison isn’t so out of the norm here; being children of a parent with addiction is probably more common than not. This scheme, kidnapping a mafia boss and then selling him to his archenemy… it’s basically a get rich quick scheme, and those never work out.
What are we doing?
What am I doing?
I turn the water off, wipe my face dry with my shirt, and straighten up. Time to head back out there and—
Before I can finish that thought, a loud sound booms through the house, and I rush out of the bathroom to see what it is. From the kitchen, you can see straight into the living room, and in the far end of the living room is the front door. That sound was someone busting it down.
I try to rush into the living room to grab the gun, but I only make it halfway before a very large, very intimidating man steps foot into the living room and whips his shiny black pistol in my direction. Reflexively, I throw up my hands in surrender the same moment I wonder, is this it? Am I going to die here?
“Don’t shoot her,” Silus calls out as a few other men hurry into the living room, weapons drawn. “She’s alone in the house. There’s no one else here. Can one of you get this tape off me?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I watch as one of the men, one of his underlings, slides his gun into the waistband of his pants and pulls out a switchblade, which he then uses to free Silus. Meanwhile, the first man who barged in is still laser-focused on me, staring me down over the aim of his gun. He’s tall, just like Silus, with dark, handsome features. The only thing that separates him is his scowl.
His brother, I assume. Roark McLean.
Silus stands the moment he’s cut free, and the man whose switchblade freed him is now picking at the lock on his handcuffs. “I was starting to worry you weren’t coming,” he remarks to the man who must be his brother.
“There were some… uncooperative people at the club. I don’t think they’ll be uncooperative again,” the other tall man says with a sneer. “What are we doing with her?”
Silus waits until the handcuffs are off him, and then he stretches out his arms and rubs his wrists as he turns to look at me. That signature smirk is back, and I know exactly what he’s going to say even before he says it. “What time is it, Roark?”
His brother checks his watch. “Just shy of one forty-five, why?”
The way Silus’s black eyes glimmer after that is an omen of what’s to come. To me, he says, “It seems you owe me quite a lot of time, Thea. Are you going to come willingly, or shall we find a new purpose for the handcuffs?”
Roark glances at Silus. “You want to take her with us?”
“I want to take her with me,” Silus corrects him. “She’s mine now. She’s going to pay me back for helping her brother drug and kidnap me.” He glances at the other men around him. “I want you three to wait here. Her brother will return, and when he does, I want him alive.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” one of the other men says.
Silus grabs his gun from the coffee table and hides it beneath his suit jacket. He notices his brother hasn’t lowered his gun, that he’s still aiming it at me, and says, “I told you I want to take her. Put the gun down.”
Roark is measured in lowering his gun, but the action doesn’t make me feel any better. I might be in my own house, but I’m staring down multiple dangerous men who’ve clearly killed before and who wouldn’t hesitate to kill again if Silus gave the word. Really, the only reason I’m not a corpse right now is because Silus told them not to shoot me, and that means I owe him.
Fuck.
After a few long strides, Silus now stands between the rest of the men and me. “Put down your hands, love. We don’t want you walking out of the house at gunpoint, do we?”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands up much longer, anyway. My arms are already shaking like a bitch. Who knew I don’t do well in high-stress situations like this?
As I lower my arms, the smirk on Silus’s face widens into a full-out grin. “I told you,” he whispers low enough that his words draw a chill up my spine, “you and I are going to have some fun. You should’ve taken my offer when it was still on the table, Thea, because you’re out of options. You belong to me now.”
If I wasn’t so anxious and frightened with the number of dangerous men with guns in my living room I might get turned on by that statement, but as it is, I can’t help but be terrified. Terrified not only by what he means but also for me and my future.
Well…
Shit.
Chapter Eight – Silus
Once we get to my place, I put Thea in a windowless room in the center of my condo and order a pair of men to guard the outside of the door. Should she try to escape, they’re to use whatever force necessary to drag her back into the room. They are not allowed to use lethal force, however. That is their one rule. The room doesn’t have a bed yet, but it will. I’ll see to purchasing everything she’ll need in there before dusk today.
