Page 47

TWENTY-FOUR

AUDREY

“COULD THIS DAY get any fucking worse?” Becca rants as she grabs one of the pads I brought over and carries it into the bathroom, leaving the door open. “Like I didn’t have enough problems, now I’ve got to deal with cramps and clots on top of everything else.”

I cringe because I’ve been there. I think every woman has. “Have you ever thought about having an IUD put in?”

“For what? It’s not like I’m having sex,” Becca yells from the bathroom. “And that’s bullshit too.”

“It doesn’t only keep you from getting pregnant. If you get the one that has hormones, it will also get rid of your period.”

I don’t point out that’s what I have, because I don’t want to rub my lack of periods in her face right now. She might try to murder me, and Maddox has worked so hard to keep me alive.

Becca groans, then the toilet flushes and she comes sulking out.

“I should have made Owen get me pain medicine when he was out today. I’ve been a little distracted and wasn’t paying attention to what day it was, so I totally forgot this was coming.

” She’s gone from yelling to sounding like she might cry in the span of only a few seconds.

“I bet the front desk has pain medicine.” I wrinkle my nose. “There might also be ten million teenagers in the lobby, but it would be worth it if you could get rid of your cramps.”

“And my wine hangover headache.” Becca stands there for a minute, shoulders slumped, looking miserable. “Yeah. Let’s go see if the front desk has pain medicine.”

“I think that’s probably a good idea.” I hook one arm around her shoulders and lead Becca out into the hallway. “Once we get you a little more comfortable, I’ll talk to Maddox and we can go out and get you whatever you need.”

I’m sure he’ll be okay holding off on round two once he hears how miserable Becca is. Actually, I’m sure he’d be fine holding off on round two even if Becca wasn’t miserable. If I simply wanted to go out for a snack, Maddox wouldn’t bat an eye.

Because he’s amazing.

So amazing, that a few minutes ago he let me tie him up and do whatever I wanted to him. I didn’t really expect to like it as much as I did, but I could get addicted to having a man like him completely at my mercy.

Maybe not completely—Maddox is probably never completely at anyone’s mercy—but still.

“I know we didn’t meet under the best circumstances.” Becca rests her head on my shoulder as we walk. “But I’m really glad you’re here.” Her already somber expression turns sad. “All my old friends have gotten married and started having kids. I’m the only single one left, and it’s really lonely.”

Now I feel like a jerk, because I’ve been blissfully planning my move to Nashville without even thinking about where Becca’s going to end up. “Maybe once your sister’s back, you’ll need a change of scenery and you can move to Nashville with me.”

Becca doesn’t immediately reject the idea. “Maybe.” She rubs her lips together, eyes peeking my direction. “But Memphis isn’t all bad. I’m sure I could find reasons to stay.”

I’m no rocket scientist, but I’m betting the reason she’s thinking of is six feet tall with bulging muscles, dark hair, and a slightly unruly beard.

“Either way, I know things are all going to work out.” I give her shoulders a squeeze as we enter the elevator. “For both of us.”

Becca stares into the corner as we lower toward the ground floor. She tips her head, eyes squinting. “How many people a year do you think Alaskan Security is responsible for eliminating?”

“I don’t have a clue.” I’m not sure I want to know either.

I don’t think it would upset me, but it would make me think of how dangerous Maddox’s job is. I know he loves it, so I would never ask him to stop. But I also don’t want to worry myself to death while he’s gone.

“That would be interesting to find out.” Becca zones out for a minute, her eyes snapping back into focus as the elevator doors open. “Maybe I’ll ask Luca later.”

“Luca?” I know I didn’t read that whole restaurant interaction wrong. “I thought you were into Butch.”

Becca’s brows come together as we step out into the lobby. “Will asking Luca a question make him think I’m into him?”

“I mean.” I’d noticed Becca was pretty blunt, but maybe she’s also a little oblivious. “It’s pretty obvious Luca was hoping to eventually spend some more time getting to know you.”

“Why would he want to get to know me better?” Becca asks, seeming surprised.

“Why wouldn’t he?” I focus on my new friend. “You’re smart and successful and determined.” I motion at her small frame. “And built really freaking well.”

Becca frowns down at her body like she’s never considered its appearance. “Interesting.” She purses her lips as she stops and turns to face me. “Maybe later you could help me go shopping and pick out some clothes.” Her eyes move over my outfit. “Ones that are a little…”

I’ve only seen Becca in oversized sweatshirts and baggy jeans—plus the pajamas I loaned her that she’s currently wearing—but I also saw the way she was looking at Butch earlier, so I make an educated guess about what she’s going for. “Sexier?”

Becca points at me. “That.”

I smile, perking up a little now that I have something new to do while I’m stuck here in Memphis. “We can look around online when you’re feeling better. I bet we can find lots of stuff that will fit your style and just elevate things a little.”

Becca’s still pointing at me, but now her finger’s wagging around. I wait, expecting her to say whatever’s on her mind, but her mouth just hangs open. When her eyes widen behind her glasses, I take a closer look at her finger. She’s not actually pointing at me.

She’s pointing behind me.

I turn just as a big, scary-looking man comes barreling at me. Something hard jams into my ribs as he leans into my ear. “Be a good girl and stay quiet or your friend’s nerdy little brain is going to end up all over the place.”

I roll my eyes to the side and see a matching scary man has Becca in his hold.

“Leave her alone.” I say it quietly. “She didn’t do anything.” I’m bluffing. Becca has definitely done things—especially if it’s Trevor behind this—but maybe this guy doesn’t know that.

“I think your ex-husband will beg to differ.” The man holding my arm in an iron grip confirms my suspicion as he twists me in the direction of the back entrance. “He’s going to be real fucking happy to see both of you little pains the ass at the same time.”

I can almost feel the bruises blooming over my skin as I’m led outside and shoved in a waiting SUV. Becca’s practically tossed in behind me, then we’re wedged between the guys who grabbed us.

The man driving pulls away as soon as we’re in and I close my eyes as they put more and more distance between me and Maddox. I’m not going to cry. I won’t give these assholes the satisfaction, and I don’t want to upset Becca.

I peek her way, uncertain what I’m going to find. I know she seems tough, but acting tough and being tough are two different things.

It appears Becca might be both, because she’s got an unimpressed look on her face as her eyes move from man to man. After a few minutes, she asks the one who grabbed her, “What kind of gun is that?”

The man next to her seems confused by her question. “Why? You don’t know shit about guns.”

Becca shrugs. “Just curious.” She leans forward a little. “You guys keep your car really clean.” This time she directs her question to the guy next to me. “How often do you have to vacuum it?”

The guy next to me ignores her.

She’s undaunted and continues looking around. “How many miles per gallon does this get? Is it a hybrid?”

The guy driving spins to glare Becca’s way before gesturing at the men who abducted us. “Can one of you shut her up?”

“Fine.” Becca lifts her chin. “I was just curious. I like knowing things.”

I’m not sure what she hoped to gain by engaging criminals in small talk, but Becca’s almost bored reaction to this whole thing is actually helping me not freak all the way out.

But now that it’s quiet, I can feel the panic starting to creep in, so I lean her way and ask, “How’s your period? Is there a lot coming out?”

“Feels like it.” She shifts around. “Probably gonna start leaking everywhere soon.”

The man on her side tries to scoot away, but there’s nowhere for him to go.

“It’s too bad we don’t have any extra pads with us.” I wrinkle my nose. “Soon it’s going to be everywhere.”

Now even the man next to me is leaning away. I’ve never been happier about society’s fucked-up patriarchal ways. They’ve fucked women over for so long, but are about to come in handy. Because I’m gonna use them against these twats.

“Unless you want a huge mess on your hands —” I start.

“Literally,” Becca pipes up. Making me think she and I are working out very similar plans in our heads.

The two of us together can’t fight these guys. They outweigh us by hundreds of pounds, so even though we can obviously out-think them by a whole lot, brute strength will be hard to overcome. That means we’ve got to work smarter, not harder.

And it would be smart to stall.

“You should probably stop at a drugstore and get us some more products.”

I doubt they’ll be willing to take us inside, so one of these dumb asses will have to try to pick out a feminine hygiene product.

I’m willing to bet not a single one of them can even identify a tampon, let alone locate it in a store.

If I’m lucky, they’re not the kind of guys who would ask someone to help them find it either.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” The guy behind the wheel seems to be our biggest problem. I’m not sure if he’s smarter than the other two guys, or just more high-strung, but he’s starting to annoy me.

“Oop.” Becca sits up straighter in her seat. “That last clot was a big one.”

I could swear the dude beside me gags.

“For the love of God, stop at the next store.” The guy next to Becca has already had enough. “It’ll take me two minutes to get her some pads to cram up in there.”