His Hostage

by Riley, Alexa

  His Hostage

  Alexa Riley

  Contents

  HEA on the go

  His Hostage

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Sheltered

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Stalk the Author

  Copyright © 2018 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to riley_alexa@aol.com

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations

  Photo By: Sara Eirew Photography

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  His Hostage

  by Alexa Riley

  Jules is running from her old life and the man who wants to lock her up and abuse her. She’s finally escaped, but she’s run right into another mountain of trouble. She agrees to do one last job for her new boss and then she’s out. But once again she’s caught in the middle when she’s taken hostage by a hot stranger named Cooper.

  Cooper is robbing from the rich to give back to his community and make the town he grew up in a safer place. He and his band of brothers are stealing every dime from the local mob, but when it’s time to grab the bag, he gets more than he bargained for.

  Warning: If being held against your will with this hot alpha is a crime, then lock me up! These two get cozy while on the run and burn up the road. Grab it now and lock it down… We promise you won’t be disappointed.

  Chapter One

  Jules

  What have I gotten myself into? I watch as the money goes through the machine and each stack of hundreds is counted; there has to be millions here. A man I’ve seen a few times around the office pulls the stack from the machine when it’s finished and puts it with the others in a black bag.

  So much for thinking I’m leaving a bad man behind, because I just walked right into another. Now I’m standing in the middle of something that doesn't feel right. This isn't a casino where you need machines to count money, it’s a warehouse that makes ink. I found it all fascinating when I first started working here because I had no idea there were millions of colors that could be made. Now it’s millions of dollars I’m staring at and it’s not fascinating at all. In fact, I want as far away from this money as I can get. I didn't want trouble, I wanted normal. Is that too much to ask for?

  “Here’s the address.” My eyes move from the money to my boss, Monte. He’s old enough to be my grandfather, but he looks harmless. I should have known this job was too good to be true. “And this is the key to the safety deposit box.”

  When he hired me, I felt safe for a moment, but I trusted too quickly and I’m going to get burned. Once again, it’s me being naïve. I thought Monte was a simple, hard-working man running a company he started on his own years ago. I just assumed he was the one taking a chance on me since I told him my secret. I explained that I have to keep my real name hidden so Warren wouldn’t be able to find me. No wonder Monte was so willing to pay me under the table and help me get on my feet. He’s using me just like Warren did.

  I take the paper from his hand and I don’t recognize the address, but to be fair I don't know much about the city I chose to live in. I just booked a one-way ticket on a bus out of Chicago and I picked the first big little city I saw. It’s big enough that I could blend in but not so big that I would feel overwhelmed.

  “You won't go getting any ideas, will you?” he asks, and I look up at him. “Wouldn't want anyone to find out you're here.” He adds in the reminder that he knows I’m hiding.

  Warren will never stop looking for me. He’s crazy and the police were no help when I filed multiple restraining orders against him. He has too much money and can do anything he wants. He thinks he has the right to take what he wants even if it’s by force. I had no choice but to disappear, and even though I wasn’t walking away from much it still sucked. I was thinking things were starting to take a turn, but this isn’t the direction I was hoping for.

  I swallow hard. “No ideas. I just want to do my job.” I have an idea, but it isn't going to be stealing money from Monte. I already have one man looking for me and I don't need another. I also don't need to get tangled up in whatever mess this is.

  There’s a reason Monte isn't taking this money in. If it were legal he’d be doing it himself. Why would he trust the girl he hired only weeks ago to handle God knows how much money? Two giant bags are being filled right in front of me and I’m wondering just how big safety deposit boxes are anyway because there’s no way this will all fit inside one.

  “That’s real good, Jules.” He smiles at me and he looks like the man who gave me the job.

  I thought an office job in a warehouse would be easy. I would do my nine to five and be done each day. I went from being the assistant to a man who ran a multi-million-dollar company to filing paperwork and answering phones. I should be able to do this job with my eyes closed, but there’s so much more to this position than I thought possible.

  His right-hand man, Joe, sets the bags in front of me and I pull out my cell phone to see if I can try and find the bank from the address.

  “Use this.” Monte hands me a phone. “I can track you and you can drop the phone in the trash after you’ve done the deposit.”

  “Okay.” I take the phone from his hand and get a little freaked out. Things are getting really weird now because why do I need a disposable phone?

  “You come straight back here when you’re done.”

  I nod even though there’s no way I’m coming back here. I’m doing what he asks and then I’m getting the hell out of Dodge as quickly as I can. This money might be going into the bank, but it’s not a deposit. This cash is going in there to be hidden. Maybe I’m overthinking all of this, but I’m trusting my gut this time. My gut is telling me to run not only because of what’s happening today but because of what this could mean for my future. He used what I told him against me and I know he’ll do it again and again to get me to do his dirty work. He has me under his finger and I’m not staying here. My fear of Warren is bigger than Monte, so him using that fear against me will get me to run faster than anything.

  “Be careful. Little girls go missing every day,” Monte adds, and my eyes shoot to his. He’s smiling like he didn’t just threaten to kill me.

  No one would know if I wen
t missing and the thought hits me hard and fast. Monte knows that he’s the only person who would notice. Some people around the warehouse might ask where I went, but he could tell them I quit. No one would be the wiser and I would just be gone.

  I fight back the tears that want to break free because I’m scared of what might happen. I swallow the lump that’s forming in my throat as I think about Warren still out there wanting to find me. He wouldn’t kill me, but he’d keep me as his toy to do whatever it was he wanted. Men like him and Monte enjoy seeing fear in others’ eyes and tears are even better. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction and I square my shoulders to give myself strength.

  This is all a reminder of how alone I really am and that’s what has me wanting to cry. I’ve felt more alone these past few months than I ever have before. I’ve always been alone, but this is different now because I was forced into it. It’s a product of growing up with a mom who was never home. I never knew where she went or when she would come back. Then one day she didn’t.

  It took me over three weeks to finally come to terms with it and I never filed a missing persons report. I was scared I’d get taken away, so I kept on paying the bills, which I’d been doing since I was thirteen and got my first job at a convenience store. From there I worked odd jobs until I landed in the mailroom of Warren’s company.

  I worked hard to move up quickly. When I look back I don’t know if it was because I did a good job or if it was because Warren had taken notice of me. I went from a nobody in the mailroom to his assistant. I told myself it was because I worked hard, but the reality is it was too fast to have been anything other than his decision.

  Like Monte, he hadn’t told me all the details of what the job entailed. If I had known me being on my back was going to be part of the deal I would have quit the first day.

  I jerk back from my thoughts when the bags of money hit the floor, ready to go. “I’ll walk you out,” Joe says, wheeling them out. I follow him as he lifts them into one of the company’s vans before shutting the doors.

  “I like you, Jules. Be smart like Monte said and don’t get any ideas. I don’t want to pack you inside of a suitcase next.” He winks at me before he turns and goes back into the warehouse.

  Joe always made me wary, but I didn’t think he was capable of something so dark. Holy hell.

  I see Monte watching me with his phone in his hand and he nods for me to get moving. My hands shake as I get into the van and I close my eyes as I try to pull it together. I look down to my purse with my keys in it. I’ll go to the bank and drop the money. Then I’ll get out of here as fast as I can. I need to be quick because I want as much time as I can to get myself out of the city before they realize I’m not coming back. I need to go by my tiny studio to grab the stash of money I have hidden away. It isn’t much, but I need all I can get. I’m not touching this money because I don’t want to give them a reason to come looking for me.

  At least that’s what I pray.

  Chapter Two

  Cooper

  “We’re in position, Coop,” Track says in my ear and I give the signal that we’re good to go.

  I look around and see that the bank parking lot is normal for evening as they get ready to close. Track and Jonas are sitting in an unmarked sedan across the street in a mechanic’s lot. There are so many cars over there and the one they’re in blends so well I have to look hard to see them. Behind me, Levi and Walsh are sitting inside the diner having a cup of coffee in a booth at the window. They’ve got a perfect view of anyone coming or going and will be able to give us a heads-up if there’s a problem.

  The five of us are a band of brothers that grew up together. I wouldn’t say we were the worst kids on the block, but we weren’t choir boys either. This is our hometown and we know every inch of it like the backs of our hands. I was best man in Track’s wedding, and Walsh’s little girl is my goddaughter. Jonas and I have matching tattoos, and Levi is like the annoying little brother I pick on all the time but won’t let anyone else talk shit to. To say we’re tight is an understatement and I trust these guys with my life. Good thing, too, because they’re going to be on the line shortly.

  “If you go inside get me a lollipop,” Walsh says over our intercom and I shake my head. “What? They give those out to the kids. Why not the adults too?”

  “Define ‘adult,’” Jonas chimes in, and I laugh.

  “How’s the view?” I ask, trying to get everyone back on task. I know the tension is tight right now and they’re looking for a way to cut it, but we need to stay sharp.

  “Easy breezy.” Levi’s voice comes in cool and ready and I know we all are.

  “Heads up, I see a van rolling in.” Track flashes his lights once just as a van passes in front of him.

  The vehicle has the logo we’re looking for, but I don’t recognize the driver. “It’s not Joe,” I say and realize Monte must have changed the plan and gotten someone else to do the drop for him.

  I can’t make out who it is as the van turns the corner and circles into the parking lot. It’s facing away from me, but Levi and Walsh should have a good look at it.

  “Give me something,” I call out as I try to be patient.

  “It’s a girl,” I hear Walsh say and Levi confirms.

  “Shit.” I curse because I don’t know any female that works for Monte and we need this drop to be clean as fuck.

  We’re here today to take back what Monte has stolen from our town. A few years ago Monte and his gang showed up with a big development the city invested in. But it turns out he ended up using it as a front to funnel in his cash from illegal gambling and drug shipments he brought with him. The city couldn’t prove anything or get enough evidence to go for a conviction because Monte was slick and kept his nose clean. A couple of people that worked for him went down and for the most part he operated a legitimate business with his ink company. But no one could ever get what went on behind the scenes to stick, and we’re tired of it.

  He’s brought this plague into our city and we’re looking to correct what he’s done by taking the money he’s made on the blood of our friends and neighbors and give it back to the city. We want to take control of the chaos he’s caused.

  We know what he’s capable of even if he’s got this town snowed, and we’re ready to expose him for what he truly is. He’s taken the life out of where we grew up and we’ve watched crime take over. It’s time to put a stop to it and this is where it begins.

  “Relax, Coop. We stick to the plan.” I look out my window to Walsh in the diner and he nods at me.

  “Right,” I agree as I pull down my balaclava. “But I’m going in silent.”

  There are protests in my ear as I put the gun I was going to use on Joe in the glove box and grab the knife off the seat next to me. I step out of the black SUV and make my way to the van, gripping it. There’s still a sheath on it because I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s only meant to intimidate the person doing the drop and I’m not prepared to point a gun at someone in broad daylight.

  As I walk slowly I see the woman get out of the van and go to the side to open the sliding door. When she steps out I’m struck by how small she is and how young she looks. Her blonde hair is braided over one shoulder and she’s wearing a pencil skirt and heels. She’s dressed like she works in an office and not Monte’s warehouse. For a second I wonder if we’ve got the wrong van, but then I catch sight of the two large bags in the back.

  I speed up my steps until I’m right behind her and place the knife at her waist as I pull her tight against me.

  “Don’t move or I’ll cut you in half,” I growl deep, holding the covered knife to her stomach.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” she whispers, and I’m surprised she’s not shouting. “Let me just walk away. You can have the money, I don’t care, but let me leave here.”

  Her words stun me and I don’t know how to reply. She’s all but limp in my arms and now I’m wondering why in the fuck Monte sent this woman to make th
e drop if she’s so eager to give it up. Is this a setup?

  “Eyes all around,” I say into my intercom and the guys all check in with the perimeter clear.

  “What?” Now she’s the one that’s confused.

  “Who sent you to make this drop?” Something isn’t right and I need to know now.

  “Speed it up, Coop,” Jonas says, and I see his light flash from across the street.

  I look at the van and then decide to make a split-second decision. “Grab the bags.”

  “I don’t think I can lift them.” Her voice is shaky and it’s then I realize how small she is against me and she’s not lying.

  “Take the one on the right.” I keep one hand around her waist as I grab a bag and she takes the other. I watch as she struggles to lift it, but she manages to get it out of the van and I slide the door closed. “You’re coming with me.”

  “Coop, this is not part of the plan. Dump the girl,” Walsh says, and I ignore him.

  “Cooper, listen to him. This isn’t part of the deal.” I can hear fear in Track’s voice, but I don’t respond.

  “I’m trusting my gut right now, and it’s telling me to get her and get the fuck out of here,” I say, opening the car door and shoving the money into it and her after. “Meet at the spot in an hour.”

  Those are the last words I say before I end the communication and get into the driver's seat. I set the locks on the door just as she tries to open them, and pull out of the parking lot slowly. I don’t want to bring any attention to me or give people a reason to remember my vehicle. I know where the bank cameras are placed on the outside of the building and so far we’ve avoided all of them.