A needle is shoved into my arm and it burns so bad. What are they doing to me? I don’t have time to think of anything more as I doze off into a drug induced slumber. I can barely feel my body being lifted from the trunk.
The scariest feeling is being awake but not. I can’t hear or see anything but I know I am conscious. I keep trying to open my eyes but they won’t cooperate. I try to open my mouth to scream but my lips won’t budge. I am left with nothing but my thoughts and fear of what is to become of me. Am I dreaming… am I even alive. Did they kill me and I am now just floating and drifting aimlessly in limbo?
How long have I been like this? Am I alone? Will I ever see those I love ever again? Is this truly how it is going to end? I can’t accept these thoughts as true. Open your eyes, damn it. I want to cry but the tears don’t fall. I feel disconnected from my body. My thoughts turn to Kline. Does he know I’m gone? He has always been my rock, my other half. I must be dead.
And Tiffany, what’s to come of her? They have me— no had me there is no longer any use for her is there? Did my best friend live? Will all of my secrets be known? Will I ever get to tell her about Parker and of my feelings for Royce? Royce… my heart hurts. I love him more than I ever could have imagined loving another person. I can’t wrap my head around the thought that he can be the one behind this. He did say that he worked for the Garretti brothers. Did he screw up and lure me in to cover his own ass? No… the man I know and love, he wouldn’t do that…he wouldn’t.
**
Splash… “Rise and shine sunshine,” the acidic voices calls to me. Splash… I awaken from the haze… Jake is dunking my head in a bucket of water. “O-okay,” I sputter the words and choke up the water that has entered my nose.
Before I am able to get a grip on myself and take in my surroundings Jake is dunking my head into the icy water once more. A towel is placed on my head and my face is dried. I try to kick out my feet and end up on the hard floor, my feet are still bound and so are my wrists. That did not go the way it played out in my head. “Why are you doing this Jake?” He doesn’t answer me. He simply picks me up off the floor and sits me in a chair and secures me to it by placing bungee cords around my waist. My wrists feel raw and chaffed. My ankles don’t feel too bad the rope is touching my pants and not my skin.
“Jake!” I scream his name as he leaves me alone. The only thing in the room with me is my chair and the bucket of water. I feel like I have been here before. Then the memory hits me. I haven’t been in this particular room before, but I know now I am in a storage unit. The light that hangs overhead is a lantern. The floor is concrete and the walls are metal. Looking at the floor I see stains that look like rust, but something tells me they aren’t from rust but from blood. Tears prick my eyes and I hope to God those stains aren’t from Tiffany.
Minutes pass by and those minutes turn to hours. I must have drifted back to sleep because I am awakened again by my head being dunked into icy water. “St-op,” I choke the word out. “I-I will do whatever you want, please just tell me why you are doing this! Royce is your friend, why would you double cross him?” My throat is burning and dry.
My pleas are met by laughter from Brad. “Do you even hear yourself Brandi? Think about it…why does anyone do anything?” He pauses. “Money, of course.” And I don’t have any. Brad uncaps a bottled water, “Here tilt your head. Drink.” Graciously I accept the water, my lips are dry and my tongue feels coated.
“Where is Tiffany?”
“Your friend is fine. You should be worried about yourself.” With those words he is gone and I am left alone with my thoughts. And he is right I am no good to anyone in this chair. I need to find a way out of this. But how? My options are pretty limited. There isn’t a weapon handy and these ropes and cords aren’t going to cut themselves. All I can do is what I have always done—daydream that I will be rescued by a white knight.
**
“You came for me,” I whisper to my white knight.
“Of course I came for you. I told you to call me when you were ready to grow up. I wasn’t expecting a call for ransom though.”
“Ransom? You paid to save me. Why? You barely know me?” I look at Parker questioningly not that I’m not happy to see him, but I was sure I would be dreaming of Royce coming in with guns blazing to rescue me. Though I suppose it would make sense to dream of the handsome millionaire swooping in to save the day with his money bags. This is his doing. I get a bad feeling that he planned this whole thing. Did he think if he rescued me I would feel indebted to him and my panties would melt off? Does he think I am just going to willingly ride off into the sunset with him?
“Are you injured? Did they hurt you?”
“The only thing wounded is my heart and my pride.”
“Good, I’m going to get you out of here, and then you can explain to me what in the hell is going on.” The room goes black and my white knight has vanished.
**
When I come to I am no longer tied to a chair but lying in a bed. “What the? Where am-?” I start to ask, but Parker tells me to sleep. I don’t understand why I am with Parker. Was I not dreaming about him rescuing me? Did he save me? My muscles ache and I feel so weak.
“You need your rest, we’ll talk soon.” Parker kisses my forehead and once more I am sleeping.
**
I’m not sure what time it is when I awake or where I am but one thing is clear— I was not dreaming about Parker being my savior. I am in a luxurious bedroom. The bed I am lying in is bigger than my entire apartment. Is there such a thing as a custom double king bed, because I am pretty sure that’s what this one is. On the night table to my left are a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. The bottle is sealed letting me know that it is safe to consume the pills. When did I change clothes? I wonder as I look down at the white silk negligee I am dressed in. Looking at my wrist it is safe to say I have been unbound for a few days. The raw chaffed skin has started to heal and has been treated. I peel back the bandages to find my skin a healthy pink.
Getting up from the bed I do a once over trying to find a phone. I need to call Kline and find out what in the hell is going on.
No phone, so I try the door. There has to be a phone here somewhere. To my astonishment the door is locked. Am I a prisoner here? Pounding my fists against the door I scream for someone —anyone to answer my cries for help, but no one comes.
There is a set of French doors that seem to lead to a terrace. I try to open them but they seem to be locked from the outside. What is going on? Did I imagine Parker? Have the Garretti brothers decided to keep me in luxury. Is this where Tiffany was kept? Royce said she was very comfortable.
My head hurts… there are too many thoughts and memories coming to the surface at the same time—all of them demanding my attention. I pop the cap on the bottle of pain medication and peel the foil back before tossing two pills down my throat. Chasing the pills with the water reminds my stomach how hungry I am. When was the last time I ate?
Frustrated and starving I begin combing the room for anything of use but I keep coming up empty handed. Finally, there is a knock on the door and a click of the lock. Parker enters the room. “You’re awake.” It’s more of a statement than a question.
“I want to call my brother I want to go home.”