by LP Lovell
Something hits me in the side of the head, and then everything goes black.
When I come to, I’m lying on my side and my head is pounding like a jackhammer. The hum beneath me tells me I’m in a car. I try to sit up, but my hands are bound behind my back. There’s also a gag in my mouth, but, on the bright side, I’m not dead. Yet. I lose track of time, but eventually the car rolls to a stop and the engine cuts off.
The boot opens and Rich grabs my arm, pulling me out. He pushes me forward and shoves my bound wrists. My shoulders scream in protest, but I say nothing.
He walks me to the front door of what looks like a normal house. It’s not too big, not too small, but I notice that there are no other houses near it. He marches me up the steps to the front door and knocks three times, and then the door opens. The guy standing on the other side is almost as wide as he is tall. His eyes trace over me, landing on my face and focusing on the gag. His brow furrows, and his eyes dart from me back up to Rich. “The fuck?”
“Kid wouldn’t pay. Threw her to me as collateral,” Rich chuckles.
I watch a slow, sick smirk crawl over the man’s face, but he continues to block the doorway. “Collateral, huh? See how the boss feels about that. He does love women, so…” He moves away from the door.
There’s something about the way he’s smiling that makes me think I’m missing out on some private joke.
Rich drags me into the house. There’s a haze of cigarette smoke that seems to linger in the air. The house is dark, with dim lighting everywhere. I hear the murmur of several men talking, then the rumble of their laughter coming from somewhere inside the house. He pushes me down a narrow hallway. All I can hear is my pulse hammering in my ears and my quickening breath. There’s a dark wooden door at the end of this long hallway. That’s where he’s taking me. I panic. What if this boss guy is worse than Rich here? What if he plans to kill me? Or rape me? This is not happening! I will not be a victim, a statistic. In a last-ditch attempt to escape, I throw my weight back against Rich, knocking him off balance and into the wall behind us.
“Goddamn it!” he growls as I make a break for it.
I stumble down the hallway toward the door. I know I’m going the wrong way, but it’s away from Rich.
He storms after me. I hesitate at the end of the hall, unsure of which way to go. I run toward the only open area there is, but I’m not fast enough because he grabs my wrist, twisting it as he spins me around. Screaming in pain, I stomp on his foot and kick him in the shin.
“If you try to kick me one more time I’ll yank that pretty hair right outta your skull, sweet cheeks. Got it?” he shouts, his cigarette breath blowing over my face. He drags me back to the door and opens it, shoving me down the steps.
When we get to the bottom, I try to yank my arm from his grasp, and he rams me up against the wall, winding my arms behind my back.
“Stop fighting me!”
I groan and he twists harder, straining both of my bound wrists and my already aching shoulders.
Rich drags me in front of him, shoving me through the door at the end of the corridor with such force that I fall forward, my knees crashing into the wooden floor boards. Pain shoots through my joints.
“Ah, fuck,” Rich mumbles behind me.
I grit my teeth as my entire body aches.
“What the fuck?” a deep voice rumbles over a high-pitched moan.
I lift my head slightly and peer through my tangled hair at the source of the sound. There’s a large desk in front of me, and bent over it is a naked, red-haired woman, her chest pressed against the wood. Standing behind her is the biggest bloody guy I’ve ever seen, and he’s pointing a gun at my head. I squeeze my eyes shut as panic threatens to overtake me. At least it will be quick. I wait, and nothing happens. When I open them again, he’s lowering the gun. My eyes fix onto his broad chest, which is bare, the defined muscles straining as he yanks up the fly of his jeans and shoves his gun into the waistband.
I feel a blush creep over my cheeks. I’m not a prude, but equally, I do not want to see two total strangers naked. This is so not what I pictured when Rich was dragging me down that hallway.
“Get out,” the big guy snaps at the girl as he gathers her clothes. She huffs and takes the clothes from him. He smacks her arse. “I’ll finish with you later.” I want to scream at her to fucking help me. I’m bound and gagged and yet she’s glaring at me like I just interrupted her fun. News flash, sweetheart, I’d rather not be here.
“You know, your job really is a pain in the ass,” she remarks.
Am I the only person in this room who finds this hideously uncomfortable?
“Go to work, Crystal, I’d hate to fire my favorite girl for being late anyway.” She shrugs and walks out of the room, completely naked, swaying her hips as she goes. I feel like I just walked into a madhouse.
“The kid couldn’t pay. She’s a deposit,” Rich says casually.
“You took a person”—he points at me—“as collateral?” His voice is a low rumble. The room suddenly feels too small. I can feel his anger like a living thing. My skin breaks out in goose bumps, and I tremble as a very real fear kicks in. “Get out! I’ll deal with you later.” His voice is calm, but not in a good way. More like the calm before a storm.
Wordlessly, he leaves, and the door clicks shut with a heavy finality.
I’m alone with this guy, the boss. This can’t possibly bode well for me. I slowly lift my eyes to find him looking at me. Our eyes lock, and I feel like I’m staring into utter emptiness.
He’s undeniably beautiful, his eyes the oddest shade of green, his face something you would see in the pages of a magazine. His body is bulky and cut, honed for a purpose. His skin is a map of ink work, winding down both arms and across his chest. He’s the kind of guy you would stop in the street just to stare at, but would not want to meet in a dark alley. His beauty is overshadowed by a coldness that seeps from him, an air of danger that seems to cling to him. Everything about him screams dangerous. And I’m now bound and gagged, and locked in a room with him
Wrong
Read Wrong for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.