Page 40 of Trapped (Sheppard & Sons Investigations #6)

Ashley

“ S mile pretty for your boyfriend.” The driver said, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at the camera.

The gag prevented me from saying fuck you to the cameraman, but my eyes got the point across.

Click. Flash. The camera spat out a black square that would magically become a photo of me. The guy holding me let go with a laugh and grabbed it.

He shook it as it developed. “It’ll do.” He wrote on it with a black marker and put it in a box. He dug around a bit, and then added a note and a black rose.

Nodding to his buddy, he said, “You know what to do.”

I had questions, but because of the gag, I couldn’t ask. I stomped my foot to get his attention.

“The worm wants attention,” a random dude said.

Worm?

“Remove her gag, but don’t go far.”

After he, none too gently, removed the knotted cloth, I licked my lips.

“Who the hell are you?”

He laughed, sounding like a cartoon villain. All he needed was a long, curly mustache, and the image would be complete.

“I’m Alan Perpura.”

“Should that mean something to me?” I had a feeling I knew who he was, but I wanted to confirm.

“I suppose confessing to murder doesn’t make good pillow talk, so he probably hasn’t mentioned me.”

He had, but not by name. Shouldn't he be dead?

“Your boyfriend killed my brother.”

It was in self-defense, but this guy clearly had a different opinion.

“And he shot me.” He pointed at his chest. “If he were a better shot, I’d be dead.”

His statement confirmed my guess.

“If only.” Remembering the scars crisscrossing Nathan’s back, the burn marks on his stomach, and the scar on his face, I thought they got what they deserved. “The world would be a better place if he hadn’t missed your heart.”

I expected to get hit. Instead, he smiled. Somehow, it made him seem a lot scarier. “Gag her and take her to her room.”

“Can I go to the bathroom first?”

“Take her, but don’t let her out of your sight.”

“My bladder is shy, so you’ll need to wait outside,” I informed the guy holding the gag.

“Fine, but I should warn you. There are men with guns everywhere. They have orders to shoot you if you try to escape.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

The knotted fabric was shoved between my teeth before the same guy untied me from the chair. His vice grip on my upper arm was unnecessary, but I couldn’t complain.

Needing the bathroom wasn’t a lie; fear made my bladder overactive. I took the gag off for comfort while I used the outhouse they called a bathroom.

I ‘accidentally’ dropped my gag in the pit before I left.

Al was waiting when we walked back into the cabin. “Take her to the bedroom and chain her up.”

“Is this your cabin?” It’d be easy for SSI to find me if it was.

No, it wouldn’t. They don’t know who kidnapped me.

“And get her another gag.” His wide smile displayed his crooked yellow teeth.

“Really? It’s not like anyone can hear me scream.”

“I can hear you, and I don’t want to listen to your smart-ass mouth anymore.”

“Better than being a dumbass.” My comeback was lame, but I didn’t care.

His eyes roamed down and back up my body. “You’re hot, I’ll give you that, but annoying. What does Nathan see in you? Beyond a good fuck, that is.”

My first inclination was to say “I’m a great fuck”, but I was afraid they’d want to test the theory.

Instead, I clenched my teeth and glared at him, wishing I could shoot daggers out of my eyes. I’d shoot a million at him, cut him into tiny pieces. Hurt him and make him bleed like he did to Nathan.

“And here I thought you’d have a snappy comeback.”

“You’re not worth the energy.”

He slapped me. Not as hard as I would’ve expected, but it still stung my cheek. “You should probably remember who’s in charge.”

“What are you going to do to me?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I needed to.

“You? Nothing. You’re not worth the energy.” He threw my insult back at me. “You’re the bait. The worm I’m dangling in front of Nathan so I can get my revenge.”

“So you’ll just let me go after you get your sick revenge.”

His eyes roaming my body again turned my stomach sour. “I didn’t say that,” Al said as he nodded. Two hands reached around my head and shoved the gag back in my mouth.

In the bedroom, the guy cuffed me to a chain wrapped around an exposed beam in the wall.

After he closed the door, I tested the chain and the beam. No luck. I had neither the strength nor the skills needed to escape.

It didn’t matter. Even if I could escape the cabin, I wasn’t a capable-of-surviving-in-the-woods kind of girl. Especially not with night coming and a psychopath and his henchmen chasing me.

Idiot . I took out the gag and, afraid they’d use it again no matter where I put it, stuffed it in my pocket.

The cabin couldn’t be a residence. It didn’t have electricity or running water.

I regretted not wearing a watch, so I’d know how much time passed as I waited.

Trying not to panic. And failing.

Telling myself not to cry. And failing.

Thinking of ways I could be my own hero and escape. And failing.

They left me alone until it was time for dinner.

My stomach rumbled when Al brought me a sandwich and a bottle of water.

I ignored him as he set them down on the cot and moved out of reach.

He sat on the only other piece of furniture in the room, an old wooden chair that squeaked when he dropped his weight on it.

“What time is it?” I asked. The metal cuff on my wrist chafed my skin, so I rubbed it.

“Just after six. Why, you have a hot date?” He laughed.

I didn’t. Instead of celebrating my negative test result with Nathan, I was chained in a room and talking to a madman.

Don’t let him know you’re scared . I shrugged. “Just curious.”

“I know you’re hungry. Eat.”

My stupid stomach wouldn’t shut up, so there was no point in lying. But that didn’t mean I’d eat.

“We didn’t drug it, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stretched his legs out.

That’s when I saw it. The black rose tattoo on his forearm.

“Why would I trust you?” I asked.

“I told you. You’re not my target, so you’re safe.”

For now. He wasn’t subtle when he suggested I was fair game for his men once he’d exacted his revenge.

“What’d Nathan do to you, anyway?” I knew the answer, but wanted to keep him talking and maybe find a weakness I could exploit.

“He was a mole.” Al touched his right thumb to his index finger. “He brought the feds to my doorstep.” Thumb to middle finger. “He shot me.” Thumb to ring finger. “He killed my brother in cold blood.” Thumb to pinky.

“You mean in self-defense.”

Al leaned forward slowly, put his hands on his now bent knees, and glared at me. “He slit Tommy’s throat.”

He had to be fucking with me. Did he really think it was acceptable to torture Nathan for weeks and then label him the bad guy for fighting back?

It was foolish to argue, but I wanted to know what he’d say. “So you think it’s okay to torture someone, but not for them to defend themselves.”

This time he stood, closed the distance between us in two fast steps, and grabbed my face.

He squeezed my cheeks so hard that tears formed in my eyes.

“Nathan deserved what he got. He’s a liar.

A rat who tried to ruin our business.” He whipped my head to the side when he released my face.

“And he deserves what he’ll get for killing my brother. ”

Tears rolled down my face as I curled my lips between my front teeth. Anything I said would piss him off more, and I didn’t dare push him.

“Nothing smart to say?” He sneered.

I shook my head back and forth; the motion caused more tears to roll down my cheeks.

“About time. Eat your fucking dinner or go hungry until lover boy shows up.”

How long before Nathan finds me? Had Al left clues behind?

When will Nathan get the box? The one with my picture and a black rose. Al didn’t strike me as the patient type, so I’d bet he put the address in there.