“It’s not enough.” Ben sighed.
“What do you mean? It’s basically unlimited money for at least a month.”
“The thing is, I’ve gotten into a bit of trouble, and I need a lot of money to make things right.”
“The gambling again?” I groaned.
“Yeah. Our account has dried up. Plus, I owe some guys a fairly sizable sum, and if I don’t pay up, they’ll come after all of us.”
“Why all of us?”
“They know our game, and they don’t care who they take the money from.”
“I don’t know what you think I’m going to do about this. I can’t blackmail this girl—she’s squeaky clean. I’m also not going to ruin her life with a sex tape either. Let’s take as much as we can without getting noticed and be done with it.”
“We’re going to go bigger,” he said, as if he had already decided it a long time ago. “Reese and I were talking, and we decided that we’re going to kidnap her and hold her for ransom.”
I stood in stunned silence. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“That’s dark, man, even for you,” I said in a low voice.
“It’s not a joke. It’s an order.”
“No,” I said, pacing around the kitchen. “It’s not going to happen. I’ll have no part in it.”
“You don’t really have a choice.” He frowned. “First, because I’m letting you live here and take part in my operation. Also, because the bookie’s henchmen know exactly who you are, and they will come after you.”
“What are they going to do to me?”
He shook his head. “At the best, they’ll take everything you have. At the worst, they’ll rough you up pretty badly. I don’t know if they would kill us, but they would certainly do whatever they needed to do to scare us into giving them the money.”
“How could you lose so much money?” I hissed. “We were set for quite some time. This job with Amanda would have been everything we could possibly need right now.”
“What’s done is done.” He sighed. “We have to move on. If it makes you feel any better, I’m only going to take large enough of a cut to handle my losses. You and Reese can split whatever else we get.”
“Wow, great, thanks,” I sneered. “I’ll use that money to pay for a lawyer when we get caught.”
“We’re not going to get caught.”
“How do you figure?”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” he said. “We’re going to ask for a lot of money, but not too much. That way, the family will hand it over immediately, without hesitation. Half a million would take care of us without drawing too much of a police presence. The second that money hits our account, we let her go. She can go on all the talk shows and get the attention she so badly needs, and we’ll go back to our regular gig.”
“You’re forgetting the fact that she knows what I look like. The second she’s free, the police will be coming after me.”
“We’ll be wearing masks,” he said, like it was obvious. “You’ll drop your stupid accent, and she’ll be none the wiser.”
“And how is this going to go down?”
“Abi said she’ll help us, but we need you on board too. You’ll tell her to meet you somewhere in a remote location. Abi will steal her purse, leaving her without money or her phone. Then, when the scene is clear, we’ll swoop in and put her in the car. Then, we’ll go out to the desert and hole up in a little shack out there.”
“Where did you manage to find a shack in the desert?” I asked exasperatedly.
“One of Abi’s regular clients told her all about it. His buddy abandoned the place after being institutionalized for the paranoia and psychosis that made him decide to build that bunker in the first place. Abi got him drunk, and he told her exactly where it was. He probably didn’t even remember telling her anything.”
“Why is Abi so invested in this plan? She’s never done any jobs with us.”
“I don’t think she wants to strip forever, Josh. Would you? I assume she wants Reese to make enough so she won’t have to dance at the club seven days out of the week.”
“I don’t like this,” I said, pacing again. “I think this is a terrible idea. Amanda’s a nice girl. She doesn’t deserve this.”
“Ooh,” Ben squealed. “Are you in love with her?”
I felt my face burn. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I always thought it was chicks who became attached after they fucked a dude.”
“I don’t have feelings for her,” I argued. “I just think we’re reaching a whole new low. I don’t want to do this shit anymore.”
“Help me kidnap Amanda Halls, and you’ll never have to again.”
I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t want to hurt Amanda, but I knew there was no way we could ever have a relationship together. We could collect our money, and I could leave the crew forever. Also, if they were going to kidnap her anyway, I wanted to be there to make sure nothing bad happened to her. I couldn’t live with myself if she got hurt somehow.
“Fine.” I sighed. “Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it.”
“Excellent,” Ben said, clapping me on the back. “I knew you’d come around.”
I couldn’t help but think about poor Amanda, sleeping soundly in my bedroom. For all she knew, she was taking a short nap before going out on the town with a guy she was really into.
Part of me wished she didn’t like me so much. I could tell by the way she looked at me that she wanted more than just a one-night stand. It probably didn’t help that the way I looked at her wasn’t completely a ruse. I didn’t know what I would do if something bad happened to her. I just hoped that she would be okay after the kidnapping.
Who was I kidding, though? It would be foolish to expect her to walk away from this experience without some psychological issues. I wanted to make sure that she knew that we were just doing it for her parents’ money and that we wouldn’t hurt her.
“Promise me something,” I said to Ben. “Promise me that Amanda is safe and taken care of at all times. She’s got to walk out of this without a scratch.”
“If Mommy and Daddy pay us promptly,” he said, “that shouldn’t be an issue.”
I glared at Ben. “If I’m going to be involved, I have to hear you promise that we won’t hurt her.”
He rolled his eyes. “I promise.”
“When is this all going down? You know that she might only be in the city until the end of the week, right?”
“I think we should do this tomorrow night. Do you think you can keep her busy and out of the apartment until then? I want her to be a little tired and disoriented. We’ll need the house for planning and gathering supplies.”
“I can do that,” I said, thinking about all the things she wanted to do with me in Vegas. At the very least, maybe I could show her a good time before having a part in ruining her life.
“Good. I’ll keep you updated as our plan comes together more. I’m glad you’re on our side.”
I gave a noncommittal nod as he walked back up to his room. I wasn’t happy with this plan, but I knew I had no other choice but to go along with it. I just hoped that we could all walk away from this unscathed.
Chapter 8―Amanda
When I woke up from my nap, I was a little disoriented. It was as if I had forgotten all about the morning’s drama. Once I woke up, I felt like my mind was a little clearer somehow. I had a little more energy, and I was ready to go outside and explore.
“Hey,” I said to Josh, my voice a little scratchy from sleep. “What do you want to do today?”
“Oh, good, you’re awake.” He smiled.
“Are your friends here?” I asked, feeling weird about staying in their house without even knowing them.
“They just left for work. Ben actually asked me to do him a favor today, and I thought you’d like to come along.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“His boss is out of town and needs someone to water h
is plants and house sit. Since he’s busy, I told him that I could take care of it.”
“Okay,” I replied. “That shouldn’t take long.”
“It’s a really nice house with a fancy pool. I figured we could take our swimsuits and hang out there for a bit. Ben was told that it was fine for him to hang out there.”
“Nice. It’s probably nicer than the pool at the hotel.”
“Definitely. We can pick up something for lunch and then head over there.”
I grabbed my tote and packed my sunbathing gear and a change of clothes for the evening. I picked up my wallet and counted the cash I had left. I wanted to treat Josh to a special dinner at some point before I left. I hoped he wasn’t the type who was too proud to accept expensive things. I knew he grew up rather poor, so I wanted to give him everything I could.
On the drive there, we discussed plans for the rest of the day. We figured we could take it easy for the rest of the afternoon, then have a nice dinner and try our luck at the casinos. I wasn’t much for gambling, but Josh said he was pretty good at a few games but never wanted to put down the cash in the first place.
We worked out a compromise that I could supply the money and he would help me multiply it. I thought this was a perfectly fair deal. If we ended up losing a little, it wasn’t a problem. I didn’t want to blow my inheritance, but I could spare a few thousand to play around. I was trying to be more daring and spontaneous, and gambling was part of the fun.
The house was a lot further away than I imagined it would be. I felt like we drove for almost an hour before pulling up to a beautiful home. It wasn’t as big as my house, but it was still pretty large.
Josh punched the numbers into the door lock and it opened, revealing a completely renovated home.
“What does Ben do for work?” I asked. “His boss must make a lot of money.”
“I think he works with computers,” he said after thinking for a moment.
“He works with computers and he’s out late?”
“Ben also tends bar on the side,” he added. “Shall we put our swimsuits on?”
We stripped down right in the middle of the kitchen and changed. Josh searched around the kitchen for two glasses and raided the fridge and cupboards for something to fill them with.
“Are you sure we can take their drinks?” I asked. “Those are some pretty expensive liquors.”
“I feel weird about it too,” he said bashfully. “Ben said that it’s perfectly fine, and he even encouraged me to help myself since I was helping him out.”
“Well, I guess if Ben says it’s all right, then I don’t have a problem with it.”
I still felt bad about taking a stranger’s expensive booze, but I tried not to think too much about it. I felt a little weirded out by the whole situation. I get that Josh was trying to be nice and do his friend a favor, but if we wanted to, we could just rent out a suite at a resort and swim in our own private pool.
It was nice that he didn’t expect me to pay for everything, though. I had a few friends in the past who would get annoyed with me when I didn’t automatically offer to pay for their things when we were out together. Some people just didn’t seem to understand that I wanted friends, not charity cases.
“What do you want to do for supper?” Josh asked, sliding into the pool.
“What do you like?” I asked, spreading a layer of sunscreen on my face.
“Everything.”
“Leave the dinner plans to me,” I said. “I’ll take care of this one.”
“You paid last time,” he whined. “Are you sure you don’t want me to treat you?”
“I won’t hear of it,” I said. “If you want, you can repay me with our winnings from the casino tonight. Are you feeling lucky?”
“I don’t know.” He grinned. “I did start my morning in bed with you.”
“I have a feeling that’s how today is going to end, too,” I flirted.
“That would make me the luckiest man.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sun and sipping cocktails. I already didn’t want to leave Josh when I was due to go home this morning, but this made me want to stay for even longer. I wondered how long we could live like this, laughing and talking. We could be as handsy with each other as we wanted—there was no one around to see us.
While he was inside the house, I got on my phone and searched for restaurants. The highest-rated one I could find was on the top floor of a skyscraper. The website looked romantic, so I went ahead and placed a reservation for two at seven. Then, we were in walking distance of just about any major casino we wanted to try. It would be the perfect ending to the perfect day.
Around five, we were starting to feel a little sleepy from being in the sun all day, so we went back inside the air-conditioned house and got dressed for dinner. I put on one of my favorite white lace dresses, and he put on a collared shirt and slacks.
“Have you ever thought about getting into modeling?” I asked.
“Aw, you’re so kind,” he said, finger combing his hair in front of the mirror.
“No, I really mean it. I think if you submitted your headshot to a modeling agency, they would definitely sign you. You know, if that’s something you would be into.”
“I’ve honestly never given it much thought. I suppose that would be a little more exciting than my boring job.”
“You could move to New York or LA and then we could see each other from time to time. I guess I could move at any time too. There’s no reason I have to stay in Texas.”
“Are you saying that you want to move in together?” he asked slyly.
I blushed. “No, I guess I don’t know what I’m saying. I suppose I mean that we’re still young and have options in life. That’s all.”
I felt so stupid for saying anything in the first place. I had known this guy for a day, yet I was already hinting at the fact that I would move to be closer to him. It was true, though. If Josh gave me a good reason to pack up everything and move halfway across the globe to be with him, I probably would.
On our way to dinner, we passed one of those little twenty-four-hour wedding chapels, the kind where people go when they want to piss off their parents. My friends and I had always joked about getting married in Vegas, but of course, they all went on to have $50.000 weddings.
As I watched a tattooed couple exit the chapel with giant grins, I couldn’t help but wonder what the divorce rate for people who got married on a whim like that was. I believed in love at first sight, but I didn’t know if I believed in spontaneous commitments.
Josh must have noticed me staring out the window and asked, “Would you ever do something like that?”
“Not a chance. My parents would kill me.”
“So if I got down on one knee and proposed to you right now, on the condition that we had to get married straight away, you would turn me down?”
I laughed, but I did let the image hang out in my head for a while.
“You’re crazy,” I said.
“You’re even wearing a pretty white dress,” he noted. “We could just get married and run away together and never look back.”
I knew he was joking, but part of me wished he wasn’t. The thought of never having to return to my old life was rather enticing. It meant that I’d never have to feel obligated to obey my parents’ wishes. I could start a career, and I wouldn’t have to be bossed around by my friends. I could just wake up every morning next to one of the sexiest men I had ever seen.
“Do you propose marriage to every girl you take home?” I joked. “If so, that’s kind of sad.”
We laughed, pulling up to the parking garage.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this restaurant before,” he said, looking confused.
“I read it’s really lovely,” I said, walking toward the building’s entrance. I really hoped he liked it. Otherwise, it would look like I was tossing a lot of money around for no reason.
When the elevator reached the top fl
oor, the host escorted us to the special table I reserved.
“Enjoy your meal,” he said, handing the two of us menus.
We were sitting next to a wide window that gave a spectacular view of the city. The streets glowed with neon pinks and yellows as we watched tiny ant-size specks mill about the streets.
“This is incredible,” Josh said, unable to take his eyes away from the window.
“Yeah, it really is.”
He reached for my hand across the table and looked me straight in the eyes.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what I’ve done to be fortunate enough to cross paths with you.”
These words made my throat clench up, and I was afraid I’d get too emotional if I spoke. Instead, I just leaned across the table and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Well,” I said, breaking the silence, “we should probably order something filling. We have a big night ahead of us, and you need the right fuel to win us some money.”
He smiled and looked through the menu. I watched him, wondering what I had done to be lucky enough to meet him. These types of questions could never be answered, and I knew that it was best to just appreciate him without asking why.
Chapter 9―Joshua
Amanda laughed every time I made mention of taking our relationship to the next level, but I sort of wished she would just agree with me. I didn’t necessarily want to get married right away or anything, but I just wanted to get the hell out of Vegas, and Amanda could be my ticket out.
And who knows? Maybe if we had a chance to be together without a plot to hold her ransom, then maybe our lust for each other could grow into something more. Maybe we could take things slow in a villa in Bali or somewhere, hiding from the rest of the world.
I still had a bad feeling about what we were going to do with Amanda. If we got caught, I didn’t have the money for a good lawyer, and I’m sure all of my other crimes would come out. I would probably be sitting in a cell for the rest of my young life.
High Stakes: A Dark Romance Page 5