Club Alpha: BDSM Romance Boxed Set

by Amy Valenti

  Sophie felt around the rest of the walls, looking for a weak point, but there was absolutely nothing. She looked around the room. There was a small chair in one corner, a trash can in another, and the mattress on which Sophie had been sleeping. That was all. Sophie realized there was nothing here that could help her escape. Oh my God, I’m going to die here she realized, the pounding in her head getting louder. Sophie lay down on the mattress and started to cry. I wish Alex were here to rescue me she thought to herself as tears soaked the stained mattress, before Sophie finally succumbed to exhaustion and pain and fell back asleep.

  Sophie had no idea how long she’d slept, but when she woke up once more the stream of sunlight coming through the window was fading, giving her even less light than before. She felt a little bit better now, her headache was going and her nausea was gone. Still, Sophie got up cautiously before making her way back to the sealed door. She tried to hit it once more, but it still wouldn’t budge, despite her added strength. Sighing, Sophie resigned herself to the fact that she was trapped. She suddenly thought to check her pockets for her phone, but it had been taken by whoever attacked her.

  Suddenly, a new fear rose into her. What’s going to happen when whoever attacked me comes back? Sophie asked herself, suddenly terrified. I don’t even know who it is. Is it some lunatic that just saw me on the street? Oh God, I wonder what’s going to happen to me.

  Just as she had those thoughts, Sophie heard some noises outside the door. Footsteps? Maybe. She didn’t know what to do, and at the last second she ran back to the mattress and pretended to be asleep, just as she heard a lock being undone outside the door, and the door creaking open.

  There were two voices, Sophie didn’t dare open her eyes, but neither of them paid her any attention, obviously believing her to be asleep.

  “Hey at least the boss is paying for this take out” one of them said as the aroma of Chinese food made its way to Sophie’s nostrils. She suddenly realized she was famished, she had no idea how long it’d been since she’d eaten last. Still, she resisted, keeping perfectly still so as to not let her captors know she was awake.

  “How long do we gotta take care of this bitch for anyway?” the other one asked through a mouthful of food.

  “I dunno. He said we gotta keep her safe for another three days, then the boss says we can do what we wanna with ‘er, thats all I know.”

  “Who the hell is she, anyway?”

  “Dunno, some rich dude’s broad. Whatever, we’re each getting 100k for like 5 days work so I’m not asking no questions.”

  Sophie did some mental math. It must have been two days since she’d been kidnapped. Why hasn’t anyone come to get me? Is anyone coming to get me?

  The men then changed the topic while Sophie lay in fear on her mattress. What are they going to do to me when the three days is up?

  Finally, one of them got up. “Whatever, this chick ain’t movin, Donny. She’s a sleeper, that’s for sure. I mean, I know the dude said keep her safe, but what if I just take five minutes and...”

  “Don’t even think about it. I’m not gonna risk not gettin’ paid just ‘cuz you can’t keep it in yer pants” the one named Donny replied.

  Sophie could feel her heart pounding through her chest at the man’s words. Maybe pretending to be asleep wasn’t the safest thing.

  “Bitch broke my nose and you’re sayin’ I can’t even take a piece for me?”

  “Not till the five days are up. You shouldn’t have let some fucking chick break your nose, ya pussy. Still man, I’m gonna make sure she’s not dead or anything” Donny continued, moving to Sophie. She tried to keep her breathing steady as she felt him standing over her, his hot breath on her face as he moved his fingers to her neck and felt her pulse.

  “Well, she still got a pulse, and that’s good enough for me” he continued, standing up. “She’ll be fine here, we’ll leave her the food in the corner, she’ll eventually wake up and find it, and we can go hang out at Nicky’s bar, I hear Natasha’s back from her trip to Russia and you know she’s always wantin’ some whenever she gets back to the States.”

  “Sounds good man, sounds good” the other one said, and thirty seconds later they were locking the door on the other side.

  Sophie opened her eyes and lay still for another five, maybe ten minutes. She wasn’t sure how long it was, as she’d completely lost track of the time, but she gave the men time to leave and come back in case they’d forgotten something or changed their minds.

  When she finally got up, Sophie stumbled around until she found the Chinese food they’d left. A takeaway box with a plastic fork in a wrapper was plenty for ravenous Sophie, who didn’t care enough to notice exactly what she was eating for the first three bites.

  Her initial hunger being satiated, Sophie began to enjoy the fried rice and Kung Pao chicken. A good old Chinese staple, she thought to herself. Suddenly she knocked over something plastic behind her. A bottle of water, which Sophie was equally thankful for.

  Fifteen minutes later, she’d finished her food and water, and had no idea what to do. It was dark out now, and Sophie knew she only had three days to go before whoever had paid these men to kidnap her no longer cared about her fate. I wonder if that means there was a ransom involved. If so, it obviously hasn’t been paid. Sophie thought about Alex and wondered if he even knew she’d been kidnapped. After all, he’d be in Germany by now, trying to land a client worth millions to his company.

  Sophie was mentally and physically exhausted. She could feel a bruise on the back of her head where she’d been hit, wincing as she gently brushed her hand across it. There was a bruise there for sure, and she wondered if she needed medical attention.

  For the next two days Sophie got more and more anxious. The men came by once or twice a day with food and water, and Sophie always pretended to be asleep. She didn’t learn any more about who had hired the men to kidnap her, and she could tell they were getting more and more excited about the prospect of being able to do whatever they wanted with her the next day. Sophie shivered at the thought. A few times, she’d tried banging on the door, tried to break it down, she even tried ripping the wood blocking up the window, in the hopes of getting someone on the street to help her, but none of that worked. She was definitely trapped.

  As Sophie watched the sun go down on that fourth day, she started to cry once more. She hadn’t cried once since that first day, she had told herself she wouldn’t, but as the last bits of daylight faded away, Sophie knew it was too late. She wasn’t going to be rescued, and when the sun came up the next day, her kidnapper would no longer care about keeping her safe. Surely Alex is going to come. I know he will. Sophie couldn’t help but keep that small hope alive in her. She knew her boss would come and save her, he just had to.

  Suddenly, Sophie heard a sound coming from outside. I hope they haven’t come early she thought, trembling. Rather than go to her mattress, Sophie curled up into a little ball in the corner of the room. She wanted to die, right here, right now, rather than go through what these men were going to do to her.

  It took a while, much longer than normal before Sophie heard the footsteps just outside the door. Maybe they’re drunk and couldn’t make it up the stairs normally. She forced the thought from her head as the footsteps stopped outside the door. She waited for the familiar sound of metal on metal as they unlocked the door, but nothing.

  All of a sudden, Sophie heard a familiar voice call her name. “Sophie? Sophie, are you in there?”

  Sophie knew that voice better than any on the planet. It was Alex Carey’s voice. He came, he’d finally come to save her. “Yes Sir, I’m in here!” she cried. The sound came out so much weaker than she was used to, a symptom of not having spoken in days. She tried again. “I’m in here!! I’m in the room” she yelled as loud as she could, bounding up towards the door.

  “Sophie, this door is locked. I want you to get as far away from it as possible. Understand?”

  “Yes Sir” she answered,
going back to her corner. Five seconds later, she heard a thud. The door didn’t budge. Another ten seconds, another thud, and this time the entire wooden door came crashing down, her boss along with it.

  Sophie dove to her knees and helped him up, wrapping her arms around him as hard as she could. “Oh I’m so, so glad you came. Thank you for coming” she cried into his shoulder, tears pouring down her face.

  Alex held her close to him, enveloping her in his arms as they sat there together on the floor. “I’m so glad you’re safe, I was afraid I’d lost you forever. Oh I’m so glad you’re alright Sophie” he exclaimed as he held her close. “I won’t let them come back, I won’t let them hurt you again my sweet” he whispered, stroking her hair. She let out a small cry as he moved his hand over her bruise.

  “I’m so sorry Sophie, I forgot you might have injuries.” Alex pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance, which arrived five minutes later. “Thanks for coming. Thank you for saving me” Sophie told him as the paramedics loaded her onto the stretcher, then carried her down to the main floor and into the ambulance, with Alex riding along.

  He held her hand the entire way there, never once letting her go. The pain in his eyes was evident, and while Sophie was treated by the paramedics, she spent the entire time looking at this man, who had saved her. Suddenly, she spoke. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Germany?”

  Alex squeezed her eyes, and if she didn’t know better, she would have thought she could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. “Of course not” he told her, his voice suddenly a bit hoarse. “I couldn’t leave, not with you missing.”

  Sophie smiled. “Thank you. I knew you’d come.” The paramedic then told her he was going to give her a sedative, and she fell asleep looking at the man who had rescued her.

  * * *

  When Sophie woke up once more she was in a hospital bed. The room was gorgeous, completely private, with a big screen TV, beautiful wallpaper, and a private bathroom to the side. Sophie noticed none of these extravagances, however, as she was solely focused on the man sitting in the chair next to her, still holding her hand.

  “Welcome back to the world, Sophie” he whispered softly when he saw her wake up.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “You’re at the hospital. You’re safe now.” Suddenly the events of the last few days came flooding back to her, and she remembered why she was here.

  “You saved me. You rescued me. They were going to come for me in a few hours.”

  Alex nodded. “I know. I was afraid I hadn’t gotten to you in time, and I’m so thankful that you were fine.”

  “What happened? Who kidnapped me? How did you find me?”

  Alex stroked her hair. “Those are all questions that I will answer for you once you’re given a clean bill of health by the doctors. But you don’t need to worry, I’ve taken care of absolutely everything.”

  Sophie smiled. “I knew you’d come. Deep down in my heart I knew you’d come and save me.”

  “Of course I did. You’re the most precious thing in my life Sophie, I realized that when you didn’t come back from the dry cleaners. When it was obvious you were gone, and there were reports of someone being attacked in the park, I had a choice to make. I could stay in New York to find you, or I could go to Frankfurt and meet with the client who would increase my profits by at least a few million a year. And you know, in the end, I didn’t even have to think about it.”

  Sophie had never felt so loved before in her life. She blushed, and muttered an embarrassed thank you at Alex, who told her it wasn’t needed. “Finding you was what I wanted. All this time, my entire life, I worked on my business. I was young when I started, and to get where I am now I had to practically ignore women. It helped that I had never been captivated by one like you. You made me realize, Sophie, that there is a world outside of business. You made me realize that even someone like me can fall in love.”

  Sophie reached over and put both her hands on his. “You’re a wonderful person, Sir. Of course you can fall in love. I just never thought it would be with someone like me.”

  Alex leaned over and kissed her gently on the mouth. They broke apart a minute later however, to the sound of the door opening, and an elderly doctor in a white lab coat, introducing herself as Doctor Schultz, entered the room.

  “Hello Sophie, I’m glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

  “Alright, thank you, I guess.”

  She nodded. “Excellent. There are police officers who will want to speak with you, who want to hear what happened to you. Do you want to speak with them once I’ve finished here with you?”

  Hearing that she would have to tell her story took Sophie aback, but she knew she was able to do it. “Yes, that’s fine, thank you” she replied.

  “Now, I’ve got your test results back. We did a CT scan, some X-Rays as well as a blood test and some other work. You’ve suffered a concussion, thanks to a hit on the head, so we’re going to be keeping you here for a few days. Other than that, you seen physically more or less fine, no broken bones and the blood work showed nothing that would concern us. So basically, we’re going to be keeping you for observation until Thursday, then you’ll be free to go. We’ll also be recommending that you follow up with a GP for your concussion, and if symptoms get worse, we absolutely recommend that you come back to see us.”

  Sophie and Alex thanked the Doctor before she took her leave. “Do you want me to be here when the cops come in and ask their questions?” Alex asked her, and Sophie nodded. “Yes please. I feel so much better when you’re here.” Alex nodded and grabbed her hand once more.

  The interview with the police officers took a while, but they were kind and allowed Sophie to take her time answering. She told them about walking back through the park, how out of nowhere she was attacked, how she fought back and everything she heard when she was being held in that room.

  “You certainly did a number on the one you punched, Marcel O’Leary. We arrested him, and his pal Donny, and when we got him the medical attention he obviously needed we confirmed that you did in fact break his nose.”

  Sophie smiled slightly at the fact. At least he didn’t get away pain free. “So you’ve arrested them?”

  “Yup. Marcel left his DNA all over the pavement, and it took a few days to get the tests done, but they came back this afternoon. He almost immediately flipped on Donny and gave him away, so we were able to arrest him as well.”

  Sophie leaned back into her bed. The cops wished her well and took their leave. Sophie turned to Alex. “How did you find me?”

  “It’s a long story Sophie, I’ll tell you another time. I think it’s about time you have another rest” he told her. “What are you going to do?” Sophie asked, scared that he would leave.

  “I’ll be right here. I’ve slept in enough airport lounges in my day, a chair in a hospital room is nothing.”

  Sophie smiled as she drifted back off to sleep.

  When she woke up the next day, Alex was sleeping soundly in the chair next to her. I love him so much she realized as she watched him, his chest slowly moving up and down in rhythm with his breathing.

  For three days Alex Carey never left Sophie’s side. He spent a lot of the day on his phone, composing emails, subtly making phone calls when the nurses weren’t around to scold him, and generally working on his business, but he still refused to leave Sophie’s side. After two days she implored him to take a few hours and go deal with things at the office, but still he refused. He made sure Sophie had everything she wanted and took excellent care of her until finally she was discharged.

  The limo was waiting for them outside. Sophie felt free for the first time in ages, and she watched with wonder as the familiar sights of the city flew by.

  “Sophie, I’ve decided I want to take you on vacation” Alex told her as they went back to the apartment they pretty much shared now. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

  Sophie thought f
or a minute. “I’ve always wanted to go to Italy” she dreamed, thinking of the dolce vita and the Mediterranean.

  “Done. I’ll even organize it myself, as my assistant has to rest” he told her. Sophie had never felt so touched by anything in her life as she did by Alex’s caring actions towards her now. “But you can’t take any time off, you’ve already done so much for me” she implored, but he simply shook his head.

  “Nonsense, what you need now is rest and relaxation. We’re going to Italy for a week, and you’re going to relax.”

  Sophie couldn’t help but smile. She fell asleep in his arms that night, knowing she was about to go on the trip of a lifetime.

  The next day they got up and got ready for the flight to Rome. Alex packed both of their suitcases, insisting that Sophie do nothing strenuous because of her concussion. Instead she had an omelette prepared by his chef and watched a bit of TV, trying to catch up on the last few days. Three hours later they were in the air, jetting their way to the other side of the Atlantic.

  They landed in Rome in the evening, giving them enough time for a late dinner, especially in Italy when restaurants were often open until midnight or later. Their driver had been instructed to drop off their bags at the hotel which Alex had booked, and he knew exactly where he wanted to take Sophie, a small, family owned place off a side street in Trastevere, a quaint old corner of Rome. Sophie looked in awe at everything she saw. She had never been outside of the United States, except for the trip to the Bahamas she’d taken with Alex a few months earlier, although that was completely business oriented. She had never been to Europe, and it was everything she could possibly imagine.

  They entered the restaurant, a dimly lit, small, cozy place with tables placed quite close to each other, the aromas of red wine and meat combining in a beautiful combination that made Sophie’s mouth water. The old wooden beams were visible in the ceiling, couples were having romantic meals and families were celebrating loudly on the other side. Sophie had never been anywhere like this before, and the atmosphere was incredible. A waiter led them to a private table near the back of the restaurant, and Sophie picked up the menu, without realizing it was entirely in Italian, a language of which she spoke nothing.