Page 4

Chapter 4

April

My mouth feels like it’s lined with an old coffee filter and my head is pounding an insane drum beat.

I haven’t felt this awful since my twenty-first birthday.

But I swore of ever drinking again after Mom died.

Living with Dad as an adult, I realize now why she crawled inside the bottle.

Which is where it smells like I am.

One eye manages to peel open far enough to see the hazy outline of a small room.

No wonder it stinks, there’s piles of empty beer cans against the wall closest to me.

I don’t remember going to a party.

Just the gas station.

My car.

The cute country boy—

Oh fuck.

Fear rockets through me making my heart pound in my ears. When I try to sit up, my wrist is locked in place.

Not good.

What the hell is going to happen to me?

I use my free hand to pat my pockets, in the slim chance that I have my phone.

Empty, as expected.

I have to get out of here.

When I tug on my bound arm, the handcuffs rattle against the metal frame making a hollow clang that fills the small space.

Shit.

A dark haired head with crooked teeth appears through the gap in the door. “Well, hi. Finally decided to wake up?”

It isn’t the same man from the station.

What the hell is going on?

He shifts into the room, revealing his stained clothes and bringing the overpowering smell of body odor.

“Not a talker? Want some water?” He offers a bottle as he edges closer.

I’d rather drink my own pee than trust anything he has.

“No? Don’t worry, you will eventually.” His yellow grin is uneven around his disjointed teeth.

What kind of hillbilly rathole did I end up in?

“Who are you?” I say hoarsely. Damn it, I really could use a drink.

Liquor is starting to sound like a better option.

“Oh, you can speak.” His eyes widen when he leans against the particle board wall. “I’m Doug, you met my brother Davey.” He jerks a thumb behind him.

Davey must be the cute one.

They’re both still terrifying assholes.

“Why am I here?” I hate to ask the question. But there’s a part of me that knows that as long as he’s talking, he isn’t doing anything else.

“It’s your own fault.” His tongue runs over his cracked lower lip. “We were just there to pick up some extra cash and supplies when you came in.” Fuck. They were robbing the place?

“Shut up, Doug!” Another deep voice calls from behind the wall.

That must be the country boy.

Except he doesn’t seem quite as charming now. Like admitting to theft is less than kidnapping.

“So, I was an afterthought? You know you can just let me go. I don’t care that you took some snacks.” I don’t know if there’s much hope trying to reason with him.

I have to try.

“More like a bonus.” Doug’s eyes squint. “We gotta be stuck up here for a few weeks while we finish a job.”

Weeks.

“Doug?” I try to keep my voice calm when all I really want to do is scream. “My dad is a lawyer. I bet if you called him, you could get money? He’s totally loaded.”

Do I think he’d pay? Probably not. But at least then he’d know I was captured and being held against my will.

Dealing with his psycho wife doesn’t sound so bad all of the sudden.

“I gotta ask Davey.” His palm works down over his crotch and he readjusts himself before he leaves.

This isn’t looking good.

What the fuck do I do?

Frantically, I try to look for anything I can use as a weapon or a key.

Nothing. Unless I want to try and hold them off with a dented aluminum can and a sheet.

With a loud thump, the handle of the door bounces off the wall when Davey pushes into the tiny room. He pushes his hat back onto his head, revealing the same dark hair that Doug has.

“Tell me about how much money I can get from him.” His wiry arms cross over his chest.

“He is a partner in his firm. His house is huge. I bet ten or twenty thousand right off, easy.” I have no idea how much Dad makes.

The way his wife spends it, he’s probably into the millions.

Davey’s lip curls as his eyes boldly drop to my chest. “Pretty girl like you, blond, big ol’ titties, and that tight little ass?” His arms drop to lean forward, pinching a lock of my hair between his rough fingers. “Nah. I’d say you’re worth a lot more than that. Maybe in a few weeks when I’m done with you.”

A knot forms in my gut. I fight my chin from trembling at his touch. “When you’re done with your job?” I don’t think Davey is quite as easy to work as his brother.

By the glint of lust in his gaze, I’d say he’s very one track minded.

“Yep. Then you’ll be here all alone.” His thumb works down my jaw to tilt my face up.

Damn fucking tears falling down my cheeks.

He leans over close enough to smell the beer on his breath. “Believe me, it gets mighty cold up in these mountains. You’ll be wishing I was here to keep you warm at night.”

Mustering every drop of saliva in the desert of my mouth, I spit at him.

Stars split in my vision when he backhands me. The sting hits a moment later with the taste of blood exploding into my mouth.

His teeth grit before his fingers knot into my long hair, forcing my head back painfully.

“Wanna play like that?” He stares down, the brown of his eyes almost black in the shadows. “You’re lucky, ya know? I learned my lesson from my last stint.” He frees his hand, ripping some of the short hairs out on the back of my neck when he does.

“How to charm a girl? Because I think you failed that class, asshole.” I know I shouldn’t, I’m in no position to sass.

But I’m not going to cower.

“Nah.” He lets the word out in a long sigh as he digs into his pockets.

When he unfurls the string of condoms, a chill runs through me and all of my limbs go numb.

“I learned that DNA can fuck me over, even if I know for sure no one will ever find you.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Hey, Dougie?” He doesn’t waver in his stare when he calls into the other room.

“Yea?” Doug appears in the door.

This room doesn’t have enough space for all three of us and oxygen, because I feel like I’m suffocating.

Maybe that would be better, to just be unconscious.

“I want you to get that other handcuff from the table. We’re gonna have a little fun with our new friend.” Davey reaches over his head to grab the collar of his shirt, revealing a scarred chest.

They look old, like pock marks all over his body.

“See that?” He glances down. “You’re lucky I don’t smoke. This is what happens when you don’t mind.”

Jesus. Cigarette burns?

What kind of hellish cycle did I fall into?

“Got ‘em.” Doug dangles the silver links from his finger with a wide grin plastered on his uneven mouth.

Davey steps back, unbuttoning the top of his jeans. “Get her other wrist fastened. You can have a turn when I’m done.”