Ransom (Benson Security 4)

The kidnapper looked stunned for a second and then burst out laughing. “She thinks this is fake. She thinks we’re all acting,” he told his men, who laughed heartily too.

“Oh, señorita,” the guy said, “this is very much a real kidnapping. And as real kidnappers, we want our ransom.” He gave her a wide smile that didn’t touch his eyes.

There was silence for a second as Belinda processed his answer. “Gotcha, you can’t break character. I should have known. You’re professionals.”

“She still doesn’t believe me,” he told his men. “She thinks this is a game. I wonder if she’ll think my dick is real when I shove it into her.”

Beast clenched his fists to stop from lunging for the man. He obviously assumed his captives didn’t speak Spanish, or he didn’t care if they did. His eyes shot to Beast and he smirked, challenging him to do something about his plans. Beast clenched his teeth hard as he narrowed his eyes at the man. As far as Beast was concerned, his kidnapper was nothing more than a dead man walking.

The kidnapper held the phone out to Belinda. “Make the call,” he ordered her, his voice cold and flat.

Belinda took the phone. “And you promise that once you have the money, you’ll return us to our families?” She was back to acting.

“But of course.” He shrugged, as though he was a reasonable man.

“Unharmed?” She infused the word with trembling fear. If only it had been real caution Beast heard instead of the part she thought she was playing.

“I’m sure we won’t hurt her too much while we use her,” the kidnapper said to his men, who laughed again.

He turned back to her with a leering smile. “Of course you will be returned in one piece to your family. We are not monsters. We are businessmen.”

Yeah, even if he couldn’t speak Spanish, Beast wouldn’t have believed him.

“What do you want to do about her bodyguard?” one of the men asked.

The leader gave Beast a considering look. “We keep him for now. We can use him to get her to behave. But once his usefulness is over, get rid of him.”

Beast tensed. He’d known he was useless to the kidnappers. Now he knew his time was already running out.

“Should I get my father to handle John’s ransom too?” Belinda said, making the men still. “Or do you want John to speak to his partners at the studio himself?”

What the hell? Beast wanted to turn to her and shake some sense into her. He wasn’t a damn character in her delusional game. None of them were.

“Studio?” The leader eyed Beast.

“Oh, yes, studio. Unless it’s too expensive to call the States.” Belinda had obviously decided that her character should be dumb as dirt. Great. More fun for all.

“Oh, wait,” she said as she scooted forward, phone in hand. “That was your agent at the party, right? You could call him instead.” She beamed at him, clearly enjoying herself.

Beast stared at her. He couldn’t speak. There were actually no words in his head.

“Why would your bodyguard need an agent?” the leader said.

Belinda giggled, and Beast had to fight the urge to shake his head. What the hell was she doing? She was going to get them both killed.

“This isn’t my bodyguard,” she said. “This is John Favreau. He’s one of the best directors in Hollywood. He directed Iron Man. He’s known for his action movies, and he’s going to direct me in my next movie.” She lowered her voice as though she was imparting a national secret. “I’m playing the title role in a reboot of Supergirl. That’s why he was invited to my sister’s wedding.” She gave Beast a vapid but shaky smile—still playing her part of airheaded kidnap victim. “We’re practically best friends, seeing as we’ll be working together.”

The leader gave her a lecherous grin. “So pretty and yet you stupid,” he said.

Beast knew he radiated tense readiness. If their kidnappers bought that he was anything other than a caged animal waiting to pounce, then Belinda was a better actress than he’d given her credit for.

“A movie director?” Their kidnapper was, unsurprisingly, unconvinced.

Beast silently willed Belinda to shut her mouth and stop weaving stories that were going to get them both shot.

She didn’t. Instead, her eyes widened and she nodded. “Oh yes, he started in the business as a stuntman. That’s where the muscles come from; he’s known for his healthy movie sets. All of his casts are expected to work out and eat, like, salads and stuff.”

She’d lost the plot entirely now. B