The Score (Massey Security Duet Book 2)

by S. Nelson

  Copyright © 2019 S. Nelson

  Editor—Hot Tree Editing

  Cover Design—CT Cover Creations

  Formatting—Champagne Book Design

  Proofreader—Allusion Graphics

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the publisher’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  The Score/ S.Nelson.—1st edition

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Epilogue

  Note to Reader

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also by S. Nelson

  Also Available

  I dedicate this book to those who had the courage to ask for help. And for those who haven’t yet… set yourself free and reach out.

  * * *

  Cara

  There was only so much fear and anxiety a person could handle before numbness wielded a protective shield over the human psyche. Unfortunately, dread continued to slice away at every thought I had, pricking every cell in my body until I was left as nothing more than a shell of the woman I often portrayed to the world.

  From the moment I’d been taken, I racked my brain trying to figure out who hired my kidnappers. I couldn’t help but wonder if I knew the person pulling the strings? Was it a man or a woman? If provoked, I knew just how ruthless a woman could be in order to get what she wanted. Hell, I’d been that woman a time or two in my life. But if it was indeed a man, had I met him before? Had I slept with him?

  I’d made my share of enemies over the years. None I thought would go so far as to send menacing threats to my father, though. And even if they had, I never suspected they’d follow through and abduct me or my sister, Emily.

  Or did the circumstance simply boil down to the fact I was just an innocent bystander in the twisted game of revenge?

  Innocent. Hmph… it’d be the first time in a long time. The concept was laughable. Although, right then, I couldn’t find a speck of amusement for the predicament I found myself in.

  “This couldn’t have gone better.” Purposeful strides brought Ford closer, and even though his hands flexed into tight fists, his expression was relaxed. Cocky, even. The glimmer in his eyes spoke of secrets and revelations.

  The two men who had taken me rushed forward and grabbed me, one on each side. The force of their touch wasn’t lethal but strong. I tested their grip by jerking back and then side to side, trying to somehow break free. But it was no use. There was no way I’d be able to get away. Maybe if there was only one of them to contend with, I’d have some sort of hope, but not with the two of them restraining me and Ford standing in my way.

  Ford’s gaze drifted to my eyes and then my mouth, and while desire for him had coursed through my veins two hours prior, everything had changed. Being the object of his scrutiny, eyeing me up like I was the top trophy in some fucking game made me bristle with apprehension.

  My body trembled when he reached out to run his finger along my collarbone, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he toyed with me.

  Ford Massey had been hired to protect me from this very same thing. Me being taken. He’d chastised me repeatedly when I’d ditched him in the past, relentless in his warning of how unsafe it was for me to be anywhere without him.

  But there he was in front of me. The one who had orchestrated everything, first by sending the veiled threats to my dad, causing him and my mom to worry about the welfare of their children, then by having me taken against my will.

  As the pads of his fingers elicited goose bumps to break out over my skin, a thought popped into my head. Scratch that. Many thoughts poured in as my eyes glued to his.

  Was Owen part of the threat, or would he be as surprised as the rest of us? If Owen was in on the deed, had he taken Emily? If so, where were they?

  I couldn’t have misread the interactions between my sister and Ford’s brother. They appeared to share a sincere connection, whispering when they thought no one else was around. Laughing and appearing to enjoy the other’s company. I could admit I’d been jealous of their exchanges, wishing from time to time that Ford and I could share something similar.

  The only time I’d witnessed Owen upset with Emily was at the strip joint. I’d convinced her to shut her phone off when we ditched them back at the club, and while she was hesitant at first, she’d relented. I came to find out later that night that she’d turned her cell back on, which was how they were able to track and find us.

  Even though I realized my efforts would be futile, I struggled to break free from the bastards holding on to me once again. I attempted to throw myself backward, hoping the jolt would cause them to loosen their grip.

  But nothing happened.

  My body never moved.

  Instead, their fingers dug deeper into my flesh.

  And because I needed to keep trying to get away, I tried another tactic. My feet weren’t restrained, so I’d use them as best as I could. I raised my foot and angled my body slightly toward the man on my left, the one with the tattoo covering the side of his neck. With all my strength, I brought my foot down hard on top of his and waited to see if the impact would be enough of a distraction for him to relax his hold on me.

  “Christ!” He jostled me a bit before shifting his foot away from me. “You’re lucky I’m wearing these boots, woman.” Clearly, he was startled but I didn’t injure him. The man on my right, his buddy with the scar that ran from his jawline to his temple, straightened his posture and locked his grasp tighter, essentially immobilizing me.

  The whole time Ford’s eyes, his beautiful, captivating, treacherous, and deceitful eyes, roved over me carefully. I had no idea what ran through his mind and while I was curious—about so many things—I wasn’t about to ask.

  I cursed myself for not taking the self-defense class Emily had begged me to a
few months prior. I bet I would’ve learned some karate-type shit that could’ve helped me get away.

  “You can stop trying to escape, Cara. It’s pointless.” I wanted to strike his shin with the tip of my shoe, but that would get me nowhere, and because I wasn’t sure what Ford would do to me in retaliation, I dismissed the thought as quickly as it had entered my brain.

  “Why are you doing this?” I couldn’t fathom what his reasoning was behind threatening my family. What grudge did he hold against my dad? Or was it all just a ploy to get to me? Nothing made sense, and the longer I stood there without answers, the more I was susceptible to concocting outlandish stories.

  “Because.”

  “Because isn’t an answer.” The response was often what my parents said to me whenever I tried using that one-word reply.

  “Do you love your sister? Your parents? Your friends? Hell, do you love anyone other than yourself?” Ford’s hands disappeared inside his pants pockets right before he thrust his shoulders back slightly. He glanced briefly at the other two men before finally resting his attention back on me. “Well, do you?”

  “Of course, I do.” I hated that my emotions had suddenly got the better of me, the glassiness of my eyes becoming too much for me to suppress. Tears coursed down my cheeks before I could stop them, my breathing hitching every few seconds as I tried to calm down.

  “I don’t think you do.”

  My body went lax in the men’s hold, but they held me upright. Defeat overtook me. I didn’t understand the meaning behind Ford’s questions, but it was my experience that when the captor started asking random inquiries, shit was about to go down. Okay, maybe it wasn’t from my personal experience, but that’s the stuff that always happened in the movies.

  Fear of the unknown started to unravel whatever calm I’d been able to hold on to up until that point, and trust me, it wasn’t much.

  “Are we good here?” The guy with the tattoo directed his question at Ford. “Because I think you’re dangerously close to that line, man.”

  What the hell was he talking about? What line? Was Ford planning on killing me? Was that the line the guy was talking about?

  For as much as I berated myself for showing any kind of weakness, my will to appear strong was shoved to the side when the tears came faster, my breathing choppier than moments ago.

  “Yeah, I think he’s right,” the other man added, his fingers easing up a bit on my arm.

  “A few more minutes for good measure,” Ford responded, tilting his head to the side before he was on me, his hands replacing those of his buddies. The switch seemed orchestrated, like a dance they’d practiced many times before. Maybe they had. Maybe it was their job to kidnap people, and they were so used to it that they could predict each other’s movements.

  “Wh… what are you go… going to do to me?” I stammered, tasting my tears as they passed over my lips.

  “I’m going to give you back to Cal and Hunter and let them do whatever they want. How does that sound?”

  I looked at both men and noticed the uneasiness in their stare. They glanced at one another briefly before looking back to Ford, the tattooed one shifting his weight from foot to foot while the scarred one knit his brows and bit his bottom lip.

  My heart slammed so hard against my chest, I swore the thrum of the muscled organ could be heard for miles around. Heat engulfed me and spread throughout my body, and I feared I’d pass out right then and there if I continued to fail at gathering myself. Although, the feat was much easier said than done, the look of determination in Ford’s eyes pushing me toward crumbling instead of standing tall.

  “I thought for sure you’d be cursing me up and down and trying to claw my eyes out. There was no way I’d ever have thought you’d become a mess.” Directly after Ford spoke the words, he squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds before sighing.

  I gave up trying to figure out what would happen next because it was useless. I needed to save whatever energy I had left and try and either figure out how to convince him to let me go or to try and devise a plan of escape. Both options seemed impossible, however.

  What he said hit home. Why wasn’t I trying to attack him? Why wasn’t I struggling more? Why the hell was I breaking down? Where was the woman who was as tough as nails? The one who didn’t take shit from anyone, spoke her mind, and did whatever the hell she wanted?

  She was gone.

  That bitch abandoned me as soon as I’d seen Ford walk through that door.

  “Is it not enough you’ve taken me, but you have to humiliate me on top of it?” My tears had slowed, but I was a long way off from composed.

  “I’m not trying to humiliate you, Cara. It’s just an observation.”

  He finally released me, and while my inner voice shouted at me to run for the door, which was still open, I stood frozen in place, reprimanding myself for not drawing on the fleck of courage I had deep down and trying to change my circumstance.

  Ford ran his fingers through his dark hair, and if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was going to step to the side and allow me to leave. He pulled in a deep breath, then released it slowly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he questioned his actions. If he regretted them.

  “What are you going to do?’ I asked.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Let me go,” I answered truthfully.

  “Not until I’m done.” He looked to his coconspirators once more before advancing closer. “I have to know you get it.” He may as well have been speaking in another language for the amount of sense he made.

  Out of my peripheral, I saw the other two men step to the side and farther away from Ford and me. Odd behavior for men who had just been an active part in a crime.

  “I don’t understand.” My tears had finally dried up, but I hated that my voice was softer than I tried to project.

  “You were warned over and over. You should’ve listened to me after the first time you ditched me, or even after the second. But no, you had to be defiant and do it again. See where that got you?” He rubbed the back of his neck, his hand lingering there before dropping his arm to his side. “You would’ve been safer with me next to you.”

  Gone were the tears.

  Gone was the trepidation I’d felt, unsure of my imminent future.

  Gone was all logic of circumstance.

  Utter confusion took over.

  Listening to Ford ramble on like a crazy person and spinning his words in an effort to disable any rational thought, set fire to my anger.

  “What the hell are you talking about? YOU took me!” I shouted, grabbing clumps of my hair and allowing the slight sting of pain to center me. For as much as I wanted to physically lash out at Ford, I wasn’t sure how our encounter would progress, so I kept my hands to myself.

  He was talking in circles, and I couldn’t keep up with the psychological torture.

  He pointed toward the other two men. “They took you, but on my wishes.”

  “Your wishes?”

  “Yes, I set this all up.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I know you orchestrated my kidnapping. But why? What did my father ever do to you?”

  He swung his arms behind his back and held them in place, pacing in short spans while he glanced over at me every few seconds.

  “Cara, you’re not getting it.” He shook his head. “I’m not behind the threats to your family. I set up you being taken because you wouldn’t listen to me about how unsafe it was to ditch me.” He pointed back and forth between the two other people in the room. “Cal and Hunter work with me and Owen. They’re part of our security firm.” The blank stare on my face prompted him to continue. “You’re not in real danger. This time.”

  A wave of emotion crashed over me after finally allowing his words to sink in. From confusion to relief to embarrassment to rage. I settled on the last one because it was the one that would give me what I most wanted. What I needed.

  Release.

  Ther
e wasn’t much space between us, but it felt like a mile. My feet propelled me forward until I was close enough to reach out and touch him. Or punch him. Or knee him in the fucking balls. I couldn’t decide.

  “So, let me get this right. You set up this whole thing? You had these two,” I said, hoisting my thumb over my shoulder, “wait until I walked out of Blush, then take me and throw me into the back of their van? Then you allowed them to scare the shit out of me by keeping me locked in this goddamn room with not so much as a heads-up as to what was going on?”

  “That would’ve defea—”

  “Shut up!” My breaths picked up in intensity while I glared at him and continued my tirade. “Then you walked in here and acted like you were the one responsible for sending the notes to my father? Making me think that my life could possibly end?” Unshed tears briefly clouded my vision. “You made me think Emily was in danger.” That wasn’t a question. Fear my sister would be harmed sliced at my soul, and remembering the terror I felt for her safety pushed my fury to another level.

  I never allowed him to answer before I clenched my fist and swung my arm directly at his face. He saw it coming, though, because he ducked at the last second, his reflexes on point. Before I could try again, he grabbed both my arms, spun me around, and pulled me against his chest, wrapping me in a reverse bear hug.

  “Calm down,” he growled in my ear, the rasp of his tone and the warmth of his breath knocking me off-kilter.

  Despite being furious that Ford went to such great lengths with his stunt, I had to admit I was relieved my life wasn’t truly in danger.

  * * *

  Ford

  “Why don’t you guys take off?” While holding Cara tightly in my arms, I looked to Cal and Hunter. I appreciated their help but needed to be alone with her for this next part. I didn’t need anyone trying to convince me to calm down or be careful not to cross any lines.

  Where I failed with my sister, Julia, was that I didn’t push her. I didn’t scare her enough into making her see that her actions had consequences, not only for herself but for those of us who loved and cared for her.