I uncurl from the stool, and she takes a step back, her guards hovering at the door. When I get closer, she wards me off with one hand. “Stop, or I will have them taser you. It would be unfortunate since I’d do the same to dear Rose for the trouble of forcing me to wait.”
I give her a seductive look. A mask I’d perfected from being society’s pretty playboy. It has brought many a woman and man to their knees. And they always spill their secrets. It’s usually a matter of whether they took my cock into their mouths before or after. “You want me, I know you do. I won’t submit willingly, not in a million years, but maybe, you can win me over in time.”
“How?” she breathes. I take one more experimental step forward, about to reach for her, when the guards are suddenly there, dragging me back.
I fight them and stare her down. “I guess you’ll never find out now.”
She pulls a syringe from her robe pocket. “Submit, come willingly, and I’ll make sure Rose doesn’t end up mutilated in a dumpster.”
Fuck. She wants to do it. Killing Rose would be a power trip for her. With one shot, she’d eliminate her competition for me and also a competitor for power once Rose comes into her own as a Barone. She wants nothing more than for me to give her an excuse. I’m good at reading people, and she is counting the seconds.
I shake the guards off, and she waves them away. Then with a sneer meant only for her, I hold out my arm to take the syringe. She passes it to the guard to administer, and in a minute, I feel its effects merge with whatever is already in my system. The world is swimming in and out of focus when I feel hands on me.
I lash out until my body grows loose and languid, not allowing me to do much more than stumble along the hallway they drag me down. In the room, I smell the cloying disgusting scent of the council bitch’s perfume. It’s a smell that lingers and haunts me.
I cough, choking on it, as they tie me to the bed. So I guess this will be just like last time. Only, this time, she has one big-ass bargaining chip to keep me compliant.
If she succeeds, and I don’t see how she won’t, I hope Adrian puts me out of my misery when it’s over. There’s no coming back this time.
30
ROSE
I wake with a blistering headache in a dark room that smells of dust and bleach. That can’t be a good sign. The bed is hard, and the bedding material is scratchy and rustles as I carefully sit up. Where the hell am I?
Definitely not in the Chicago penthouse, nor do I think I am in Adrian and Valentina’s home? Adrian wouldn’t need to abduct us to get us to come with him.
My money is on the council bitch who is obsessed with Kai. A part of me is happy I might learn the story there, but I’m also dreading it. If it was something that shook Kai, of all people, it can’t be a good thing. A woebegone ex looking to make amends or something. If only.
I carefully ease off the bed to stand. I’m not as wobbly as I was before, but my feet are bare. At least I’m still wearing the same jeans and T-shirt I’d put on before Kai’s and my argument.
Is this my fault? Did my call to Valentina set this in motion? Maybe they bugged the phone lines to pinpoint where we were located. That seems pretty low-tech, but I can’t think of another reason Kai would be so angry with me for making a call, nor that these goons grabbed us such a short time later.
My head pounds, and this is not the time to try to rationalize this mess. Not when every step makes me want to pitch forward and puke.
I rub my temples and survey the door. It’s probably locked, but it never hurts to try in a situation like this. With a long inhale, I reach out and turn the doorknob. It opens easily since apparently someone left it unlocked. Maybe luck is on my side today.
I step into the dark hallway and check both ends. Nothing.
There isn’t one of those you are here in the underground lair maps on the wall, so I pick a direction and jog the long length of the hall.
The corner bends to the left, and I run straight into a hulking guard, complete with night baton and gun strapped to his side. Perfect. Fate can go fuck itself.
He snatches me by the arm and drags me alongside him. “Perfect timing. The mistress wants a word with you.”
“The mistress? Are we in some kind of kink den?”
He frowns down at me like I’m an idiot and walks faster so I am almost stumbling to keep up. All the while, my feet are freezing on the painted concrete floors. If they are going to kidnap people, they could at least get a nice runner.
When we stop outside a door, I eye his holster and very carefully unclip the side of it. When he doesn’t call me out immediately, I sigh, relieved. If I manage to get his gun, great. If not, maybe someone else can grab it and save us from this SAW wannabe hellhole.
He shoves me through the door first, and I glance around, immediately hunting for a weapon. At least until I see the bed, covered in black silk bedding, with Kai tied up at the four posters. His tan skin looks pale against all that black, and as I move closer, I see he’s naked. Naked and completely hard.
I rush to the bedside and try to get the knots loose, but they are tight, and it’s useless. There aren’t any weapons I can see, and I don’t have anything on me. I face the guard. “Let him go. What are you doing to him?”
His lip curls up in disgust. “Not me who’s fucking him. He’s for the mistress.”
The fuck he is. Anger steamrolls my fear, and I glare as I return to the bedside to see if I can wake him up. Nothing. Not even a gentle slap to the face is enough to bring him around. “What the hell is going on here?”