by Amber Skyze
Bailey swallowed. She didn’t want her mouth gagged. She didn’t want to be tied up either.
“And no funny business, Ethan. I want her secure.”
“No shit, Vinnie,” Ethan spat. “I’m not dumb.”
“Coulda fooled me. If you was bright you’da paid the boss by now.” He laughed at his attempt at a joke.
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“Shit happens. I got in over my head. I’ve got the money for you, so why won’t you just let us go?” He began tying her hands behind her back.
“Ouch, that hurts.” It didn’t really hurt at all. Ethan had barely tied her hands together, but she pretended he was doing it the way Vinnie wanted.
“Shut up, bitch. Stop the whining.”
Bailey kept her mouth shut. Ethan was giving her a chance to escape if one presented itself. She wasn’t about to screw that up.
Once he finished he sat in his chair.
“Now what, Vinnie?”
“No more questions. I’m the one holding the gun. I’m the one in charge.”
“Yes sir.”
Why was Ethan provoking him? Did he want to get himself shot? Bailey silently prayed he’d shut his mouth like Vinnie asked.
“It’s time to tie you up. If you try anything funny at all I’m gonna shoot your girlfriend.”
“I told you already, go ahead. She’s not my girlfriend. I’m only with her for the money.”
Bailey should be hurt by his confession, but deep down she didn’t believe him. He didn’t want her money. She’d tried pushing it on him so he would leave town and leave Jenna and her alone. He’d refused. This was his stall tactic. Okay, she could run with that.
Vinnie bent over to tie Ethan’s hands to the chair when Ethan popped up and shouldered him. He managed to knock Vinnie back a few feet. The gun fell to the floor. Both dived for it. Each had their hand on it. They were wrestling with it. Bailey loosened the rope around her hands and broke free. She ran for the door. If she could just run to the nearest house maybe she could get help for Ethan. 70
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As she swung the door open a shot rang out behind her. Fear made her stop. She knew she should keep running. Run until she was safely away from this mobster. Run until she found the help they needed, but she couldn’t. She slowly turned around. She was afraid of what she was going to see. Please dear God, don’t let Ethan be shot. Ethan lay flat on the floor. She didn’t see any blood. Vinnie was kneeling over him.
“Don’t try anything like that again, Ethan. I’m trying to be nice here, but you’re making it difficult. I promise I’ll shoot her.”
He was pointing the gun at her.
“Okay, I give.” He held his hands up in the air. “You win, Vinnie. I’m at your mercy.”
“Get back here, Blondie,” Vinnie demanded.
Bailey did as she was told. She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t just run straight out the door. What was the likelihood he would have shot her? Probably slim to none, but there was a definite possibility that he would have shot Ethan. She didn’t want his blood on her hands.
He said he was trying to be nice. Did that mean he was going to let them go eventually? He said he’d been sent to kill Ethan no matter what. Him being nice didn’t make sense.
Bailey slumped into the chair and waited for Vinnie’s next move. Ethan rolled off the floor. His eyes pierced her and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him. He was safe—for now.
“What now, Vinnie?”
“I’m going to tie you up properly. If you try any funny business I swear I’ll shoot the girl in the forehead. I’ll make you watch while she begs for her life.”
“I told you already I’m not going to do anything foolish.”
Ohmigod! She couldn’t believe they were talking about her as if she weren’t here. Talking about killing her like it was no big deal. She couldn’t understand the life 71
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mobsters lived. Killing people with no remorse. She couldn’t kill a spider, let alone a person.
Vinnie tied her hands behind her back so tightly the ropes burned against her wrists.
She didn’t say a word. It was for her own good to keep her mouth shut. She just wished she knew what his plans were and if they’d make it out of this mess alive.
“Hands behind your back, Ethan.” His voice was suddenly raspy. Creepy. She wanted to turn around and see if Ethan was complying with Vinnie’s request, but she didn’t dare. The last thing she wanted was to piss him off any more than he already was.
“Good boy,” Vinnie said.
Yes, that meant he was behaving himself. Maybe they could get out of this alive with a little common sense.
“Look, Vinnie. I really need to know what we’re going to do here. Are you going to kill me like the boss said or are you just fucking with me?”
“Shut your mouth, Ethan.”
“Yeah, Ethan. Listen to your girlfriend and shut your fucking mouth.”
“I think it’s the least you could do. I mean I have a right to know if I’m going to live or die today.”
“And what gives you the right to know? I don’t think you deserve to know anything. Just know that I’m going to make your life a living hell.”
So he wasn’t going to kill them.
“Great. At least I know you aren’t going to listen to the boss.”
“What makes ya think I’m not going to listen?”
“You just said you were going to make my life a living hell. If you were going to kill me you wouldn’t tell me something like that.”
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“I think you really need to shut your mouth now. I’m getting sick of hearing your bullshit.”
Bailey had to agree. She really wished he’d shut his mouth. Vinnie paced the room after successfully tying them both snug to their chairs. Dawn was upon them and Bailey was exhausted. Her body ached. All she wanted to do was crawl into a nice comfy bed and sleep. Sleep and forget about this night or the past twenty-four hours. How had her life taken such a turn? Yesterday she was sitting on her couch writing an article about men and today she was tangled up in some mobster mess. It just didn’t make any sense.
She needed to get out of this safely. She needed to know she was going to live. No matter what Vinnie said, he could always turn on them in a heartbeat. If he came for the money, he might kill them afterward. Ethan remained quiet. Eerily quiet. Bailey couldn’t understand why he suddenly decided to shut his mouth. Was he awake? She wanted to lean back and rest her head against him. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep.
Suddenly she caught a glimpse of a movement outside. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach once again. Could this be someone the mob sent to make sure Vinnie did his job? Would this person finish it for him before they got the money?
Oh dear God, I don’t want to die.
She was about to cry out when she noticed another person and then another. She turned to see where Vinnie was and if he saw them too. He was sitting at the table with his back to the window. He seemed pretty distracted with his thoughts. Was it help outside? It had to be, right? Who else would be out there, in a group?
They were going to be rescued. They were going to be saved. But by whom? Who knew she was here and had sent help? Did it matter? The only thing that mattered at this point was someone was here to save them. They were going to make it out of this mess alive and in one piece.
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As if on cue men dressed from head to toe in black burst through the front and back doors. They came charging at Vinnie guns blazing, screaming for him to put his hands in the air.
Stunned was the only word she could use to describe the look on Vinnie’s face. This wasn’t in the plan. He hadn’t expected to be caught.
Bailey noticed some of the men had “FBI” written on their shirts and some “Police”. Holy shit, she couldn’t believe the FBI were in her family’s lake house an
d they were rescuing her from a dangerous mobster.
One of the men quickly untied them as they dragged Vinnie out the front door.
“Are you two all right?” he asked.
“We are now,” she said, rubbing her sore wrists. “I’m not sure how long we had before he decided to kill us.”
“We’ve been tailing him for a long time and then when we got a few calls from concerned residents we knew where to find you.”
Bailey wondered who the concerned residents were.
It didn’t take long to find out. Mr. Dooley, her father’s oldest and dearest friend, came walking through the door.
“I told you there were trespassers up here. I knew no one was supposed to be here.”
Bailey laughed. Leave it to Mr. Dooley to call the police. She never would have guessed he heard them pass by his place.
“Thank you, Mr. Dooley. I’m grateful for you calling the police. You saved our lives.”
“I knew when I saw two cars coming up the road they weren’t supposed to be here.”
“I’m so thankful you saw us. Who knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t.”
“Yes, thank you, sir.” Ethan extended a hand.
“Just doing my part to keep our woods safe.”
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“Well, you did a great job.”
“I second that,” Ethan said. He turned to Bailey. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.”
“I’m glad you’re safe too.”
He pulled her into an embrace. She held him tightly and for the first time realized just how scared she was. She started to tremble in his arms. Tears racked her body and she let them flow.
“I thought we were going to die.”
“I didn’t think Vinnie had it in him to kill us. He’s not that kind of guy. Yes, he would’ve taken the money and run, but he couldn’t kill me.”
“Oh thank God you guys are okay,” Jenna said, rushing through the door. Bailey removed herself from Ethan. “Jenna?”
“I was so scared,” she said, embracing them both. “I saw that creepy guy banging on your door and then he burst through. Once he was in your apartment I knew something was wrong. I pretended I didn’t know you and he just brushed by me, mumbling something about having to find them.”
“How did you know we were here?”
“There was only one place you could hide where no one else would know. So what is this all about anyway? I can’t believe the FBI is involved.”
“It’s a long story,” Ethan said.
“That’s an understatement.” Bailey chuckled, afraid she’d cry again.
“I’m just thankful they got to you in time.”
“Us too.”
Jenna removed herself from them and Ethan pulled Bailey into the safety of his arms. “I’m not letting you go.”
“What? What’s going on here?” Jenna asked.
“That’s another long story,” Ethan said. “We’ll tell you everything once we get back to the city.”
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“Excuse me, we have a few questions for you,” an FBI agent said. Bailey and Ethan nodded and told them they’d be willing to answer any questions they had.
Bailey felt Jenna’s eyes on them the whole time they were answering questions. She had a ton of them herself, Bailey was sure. Bailey knew Jenna wasn’t going to like the idea of her dating Ethan, but she wasn’t about to give him up. She’d just found him and if she were honest with herself she was in love with him. The fear of being at death’s door had given her the push she needed to see that she had true feelings for him. Feelings she intended to explore.
When the agents finished with the questioning, Bailey turned to Ethan and said,
“Let’s go home.”
“That’s the best offer I’ve heard in a long time.”
Jenna followed behind them, asking a ton of questions. Both Ethan and Bailey laughed. They had a lot of explaining to do, but first they needed sleep and then maybe a quickie. Nah, they needed more than a quickie. They needed the whole day in bed. 76
About the Author
From a very young age, Amber Skyze began making up stories—the only child syndrome. Had anyone asked her back then if she would write when she grew up, she’d have laughed. It wasn’t until raising children and reading all those romances that she decided, hey, I can write these. Then she discovered erotica and found her calling. This New York transplant now resides in Rhode Island with her husband (the inspiration behind her stories), three children—who force her to work a day job—and three dogs. She’s thrilled to join the authors of Ellora’s Cave.
Amber welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email
address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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