Forbidden Attraction: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  I was freaked out with the way he was talking and the demands he was making. He sounded as though he had been drinking, and I feared he was going to lose his cool on her and do something to her. I worried that he had done something already.

  From the sounds of Liz’s voice, she was very scared, but she didn’t sound like she was hurt. She was terrified, but I hoped that he had kept his hands off her. I would kill him if I got the chance, but I wasn’t going to do anything that might put her in further danger.

  “What did he say?” David demanded. “Where’s my sister?”

  “Where’s Liz?” Cassie demanded at the same time. “When are we going to get her back?”

  “I’ve got to go get money,” I replied. “He didn’t tell me where she is; he only told me where to meet him. He made it clear that we aren’t to bring any cops or anything like that along, just cash.”

  “Well we’re going to call the cops, aren’t we?” Cassie asked. “We’ve got to.”

  “We can’t. I’m not going to risk him doing something to her,” I informed her. “He made it very clear before he hung up the phone that if we don’t do things his way, then he’s going to make sure we never see her again.”

  “That’s bullshit, right?” David asked. I could hear the fear in his voice. “He’s not going to do anything to her; we’ve got to call the cops.”

  “Do you really want to play with fire in that way?” I asked. “He’s already kidnapped her, don’t you think he’s capable of doing worse if he doesn’t get his way? I’m not willing to gamble with Liz’s life. If he says no cops, then no fucking cops.”

  David sat down, and I could see the fear in his face. He wanted to do the right thing for his sister, but he hadn’t dealt with anything even remotely like this before. This wasn’t some bad cop show on tv. This was real, and if they really did do something to Liz, she would be gone forever. I couldn’t, wouldn’t risk that, and I knew that David wouldn’t either. It was his fear talking, and I understood that all too well.

  I was terrified too. Terrified that I would lose Liz before I had the chance to tell her how I really felt. Before I had the chance to tell her that I loved her, that I always had loved her, and I wanted something real with her. Her and our child.

  “How much money do they want?” Cassie asked. “We’ve got to get it to them so we can get Liz.”

  “Seventy-five thousand,” I said with a sigh. “In cash, by this afternoon.”

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “You’ve got the money, right? You told him that you were going to get it to him today.”

  “I know I said that, and yes, I have the money,” I replied. “But I don’t have it in cash on me. I have to go to the bank, and it’s Sunday.”

  I let my words sink in. We had all been so worried about Liz and how we were going to track her down, we hadn’t been thinking about what day it was. None of the banks would be open, and there wasn’t an ATM in the city that would have that kind of money. If I was going to get cash, I was going to have to wait until the next day.

  But the guy had given me a deadline, and I didn’t see any way around it. I couldn’t risk angering the guy by asking for more time, and I wouldn’t let Liz spend a minute longer than she had to in his captivity.

  “Come on; we’ve got to think of something!” David said. “This is Liz we’re talking about! Are we really going to let her sit wherever she is for another day?”

  “I don’t see what choice we have,” I sank down into a chair and buried my face in my hands. I was doing everything I could think of, but no one I knew would have that sort of money lying around in cash. The only way I was going to get it would be to go to the bank.

  The next day.

  “Well, if you aren’t there by three, aren’t they going to do something to her?” Cassie’s voice was tight with fear, and I sighed. I had to call the guy back. I had to talk to him and tell him what was going on. He had to be reasonable. After all, he was going to be getting his money, and I wasn’t going to be bringing the police.

  If he worked with me, then I would be able to give him what he wanted. But that was only if he worked with me. I sighed and picked up my phone.

  “What are you doing?” Cassie asked.

  “I’m going to call the fucker back and tell him that we need more time. I can’t get the money, and that’s a plain and simple fact. If we are going to get Liz back, we’re going to have to talk to him,” I said. I knew no one was happy with the plan, but I felt trapped.

  Neither of them was able to give me any real idea of what we could do, so the only thing that was left was to call and ask for another day. I could get the money to him right when the banks opened the next morning, but I didn’t have the option to do that right now.

  I called the number back he’d called me from and was relieved that it hadn’t been disconnected.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I need to talk to you,” I said.

  “Clearly,” he replied. “I’m hoping for your sake there isn’t going to be an issue with getting me the money. I was serious when I told you what I would do to this girl. I’m not in the mood to fuck around.”

  My hand was shaking. I was so pissed off, and I wanted to reach through the phone and grab the guy by the throat.

  “It’s Sunday,” I said. “I can’t get you the money in cash today; the banks are closed.”

  He let out his breath, and I cringed. I hoped he wasn’t going to take this out on Liz. It wasn’t her fault that he hadn’t called me until today, or that he had taken her on the weekend.

  “If you can give me twenty-four more hours, then I can get you the money as soon as possible in the morning, but you’re going to have to understand that I can’t get it to you tonight, and I’m working my ass off trying,” I explained. There was silence on the other end of the line, and for a moment, I wondered if he had disconnected the phone.

  But then, he let out his breath again.

  “Look,” he said, “I’m a nice guy, and since I’m trying to be understanding for your situation, I will give you another day to get me the money. But you are going to be charged interest on the deal now. Like I said, you know how business works, and I’m trying to be a good businessman.”

  “How much interest?” I asked. My heart pounded in my chest, and I hoped to God he was going to give me a manageable number. I was terrified he was going to ask for more than I could get. It was common knowledge that I had a lot of money, and I hoped he wasn’t going to take advantage of that fact any more than he already had.

  “Ten percent,” he said. “Cash like the rest of it, and I mean it when I say no cops. Do not tell anyone what you are doing; do not make any mention of this whatsoever. I don’t care how you do it, but you better get me that cash tomorrow, with the added interest.”

  “Done,” I said. “You keep your hands off her, and you leave her alone. She didn’t do anything to you, and you’re going to get your money. You said that you are a good businessman, then I better get what I’m paying for in the best condition I can.”

  He laughed and hung up the phone, leaving me with the same uneasy feeling. Once again, David and Cassie were right in my face as soon as I hung up, demanding to know what was going on with Liz.

  “He’s going to give us another day, but we’re going to have to get that money to him as soon as possible,” I told them. “He added on more money for the added time, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

  “We just need to know where she is, and we could go get her ourselves,” David said with a shake of his head. I didn’t reply. My PI was on the call, trying to trace where the number had come from, but that had taken days before. There wasn’t enough time now.

  We would just have to sit tight and wait, hoping and praying they weren’t hurting Liz in any way. I was doing my best to get her out of there as soon as possible, but I hated to think of what she might be going through in the meantime. I promised her I would take care of her, and I hated mys
elf for letting this happen.

  I should have known better, but I didn’t, and now her life was in danger. I didn’t know what they were going to do to her, or if he was even going to make good on his word and let her go after he got the money.

  All I knew was that it was my fault, and I had to figure out how to fix it now. I felt worse for Liz than I’d ever felt in my life, and I prayed to God she was going to come out of this alright.

  And, if she did have a baby growing in her belly, there was a way that was going to work out alright, too. I’d never been so terrified of losing someone before, and I knew I would fight like a lion to get through this now.

  There was no other option.

  Chapter 29

  Liz

  I laid on the bed, trying not to think about how terrible my situation truly was. I thought I was going to be getting out the day before, but Rico came back in and told me that Nick had to ask for an extension on the timeframe. He seemed to get a lot of joy out of seeing the pain I was in emotionally, and though I tried to hide it, he tied me to the bed and told me that it was to make sure I didn’t try to get out that night.

  Of course, if I were able to get out, I would have figured it out by then, but there was no way out. I was stuck there, and I had to just wait it out for Nick to come rescue me.

  I kept telling myself he was coming. He wasn’t going to let these men get away with this. He was going to give them their money, and he was going to get me out of here. He was going to take me home, and I wouldn’t have to deal with this trauma anymore.

  I felt miserable. I had had to relieve myself in a bucket and had thrown up in the same one when the ammonia smell had gotten to me. It was nearly more than I could take. I needed to keep calm and try not to stress for the sake of the baby, but I was running out of courage.

  I had learned that Rico seemed to get off on the fact that I was afraid of him, so I did my best not to show any fear. But I was terrified. I wasn’t sure where he got the gun or when, but shortly after he tied me to the bed, he was back with a pistol in his hand.

  “You know what this is?” he asked. I looked over toward him but said nothing. I was sure he could see the fear in my eyes, but I was trying to put on as brave a face as possible.

  “This is your reason to stay quiet and do as I say,” he continued. “And it’s going to be your fiancé’s reason not to try to pull a fast one on me. I think I made it clear to him that I wasn’t going to put up with any of his bullshit, but you never know when you’re dealing with people if they are going to listen to you.”

  There were tears in my eyes, and I looked away, but Rico squatted down by the bed and forced me to look him in the eye. “I don’t have anything personal against you; you should know that. In fact, I should be thanking you. I knew when I saw you that night you were going to turn out to be my ticket out of here. I tried to work and make an honest living, but no one is going to pay me enough to get out of the debt I’m in. I need money to survive in this world, and I’m going to get it one way or another,” he said with a shrug. “You don’t know what I’m talking about. You probably went to college and grew up in a middle class, white picket fence house with perfect Sunday dinners. You don’t know what it’s like to go without in life,” he shook his head.

  I wanted to tell him how wrong he was, and that there were many times in my life when I had to go without what I wanted to get what I needed. My parents weren’t poor, but they weren’t rich either. My dad had been laid off when I was in grade school, and things had been tight. And I’d had to make my own sacrifices as we got older, and I went through a lot to get through college.

  I even went through a lot to get the job that I had with Nick. Sure, he might be a friend and but he had made it clear that he had given me the job because he thought I was the best.

  I’d worked damn hard to get what I had in my life, and I was proud of all of my accomplishments. I wasn’t some rich girl who had everything handed to me in my life. And I didn’t agree with just taking from people, either.

  “Did you know that I applied for your job, Miss Robertson? Did you know that? I was supposed to be the brand manager. I was supposed to have the office with the view and get to make big decisions. But no. I didn’t have tits and nice juicy dick-sucking lips like you. I didn’t spread my legs for the boss man, so I was passed over. For you,” he breathed his foul breath in my face.

  I was truly pissed now as it all made sense. It wasn’t simply about getting at Nick’s money; this guy had a personal vendetta against me.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get the job. But I didn’t get it unfairly. I worked hard to get that position. It had nothing to do with anything sexual. I didn’t sleep my way into a job, I assure you. If I got the job over you, I was more qualified.”

  Rico looked at me and cocked his head to the side. “You’re awfully ballsy for a woman tied to a bed with a gun to her head.”

  I shook my head and forced myself to stare him in the eyes. “I guess I am. But I’ve worked damn hard to get where I am, and I’m not going to let anyone diminish my accomplishments but insinuating that I’m a whore. Not even an asshole with a gun to my head,” I said, sounding braver than I felt. I knew I was playing with fire, but I couldn’t help myself.

  The longer I was there, the sicker I was growing of this guy’s shit. But I quickly realized that I’d made a mistake in taunting him.

  Rico stood up and pulled the hammer back on the gun. “You know what, maybe I will kill you anyway,” he sneered.

  Hot tears pricked the backs of my eyes as the fear rushed back to the surface.

  He didn’t have to threaten me again. I knew he would come in and shoot me if he didn’t think he was going to get away with the ransom money. I prayed to God Nick would have taken the threat seriously, and that David wasn’t going to do something stupid like bring the cops.

  He was a lot more likely to do something like that, I felt. Or Cassie. Any one of them might make the call and try to bring in people who better knew what they were doing, but I hoped that they would keep their wits about them and get the money.

  I sighed when the door closed. I knew it was the hormones that were running through me, but I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I had managed to keep it together while Rico was in the room threatening me, but when I was alone, all the stress and tension of the situation came rushing back to me.

  There was a part of me that felt so stupid for going out that night with Cassie. Nick had texted me that night, and he had made it clear that he wanted me to go out with him. He wanted to spend the time with me, but I had been feeling smothered by our arrangement and refused.

  I’d wanted to go out and have a good time. But, if he and I had been spending time together, I knew he would have taken me to a restaurant or somewhere nice. We wouldn’t have been at that club for fear he was going to end up the victim of paparazzi.

  If only I hadn’t gone there myself, and he hadn’t ever seen me out with Cassie. Of course, she had done her part to protect me as best as she could, but it was enough to plant the seed in his mind that I would be his ticket out of his shitty life.

  Perhaps all those times he was stalking me and taking pictures he had the chance, but he was going to drag it out as long as possible before he made his move. I got the impression Rico was the kind of guy who thrived on attention.

  If he was holding a grudge against Nick all this time, there was clearly something going on in his mind that he needed help for. What kind of man would kidnap an innocent woman right off the street and demand money for her release merely because he didn’t get hired for a job?

  “A psychopath, that’s who,” I muttered to myself. I didn’t dare make any noise they might hear in the other room, and I wasn’t sure how easy it was to hear what was going on where I was. The last thing I wanted to do was piss Rico off. I just wanted him to get his money, so I could get out of there.

  I was sure I had to go to the hospital. He had likely given me a concussio
n when he knocked me out the other day, and I had to make sure I was healthy for this baby. As I thought about my baby, fresh tears pooled in my eyes. I had to make sure that he or she was okay. Though I had only known about their existence for a short period of time, I already felt protective of them. I would never let anyone hurt my baby if I could help it.

  They had just started their life on this planet, and here I was, tied to a bed and wondering if I was going to survive to see that afternoon. Time was passing slowly, and I was terrified of what was going to happen if Rico didn’t get his cash on time.

  He didn’t seem to have any hesitation in pulling the trigger. I hoped he was all talk, but I worried that he wasn’t. Though his record hadn’t shown violence before, it also hadn’t shown kidnapping. He had clearly escalated his behavior to get what he wanted.

  And he was sure he wasn’t going to get caught if he did something to me. He could make me disappear, he made that clear multiple times, and I did not doubt in my mind he actually would.

  I stiffened when the door opened once more. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do to me, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good. For all I knew, the deadline had passed, and Nick hadn’t made it. Perhaps this was the end of my life, and he was going to put a bullet in my head right now.

  But Rico said nothing as he walked over to the bed. He had something in his hand; he clamped over my mouth, and I suddenly realized it was a rag drenched in chloroform. I tried to hold my breath, but he just laughed and kept his hand in place.

  I couldn’t hold my breath forever, and as soon as I let out the air and took another, I was hit with the wave of the chemical. The edges of my vision went black, and my limbs started to feel heavy. I tried to fight to keep myself awake, terrified of what Rico would do to me when I was unconscious.