High Stakes: A Dark Romance

by Roxy Sinclaire

  “Ben’s orders,” he replied.

  “Is Ben here?”

  “No.”

  “Then what do you think about letting me have full use of my body, then?”

  He thought about it for a few seconds. “I don’t know, Amanda.”

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Run, for starters. Try to kill me?”

  “I think you know I’m not capable of that. I’ll promise to be on my best behavior while we’re here alone. The second anyone else arrives, you can put me in a straightjacket for all I care. Just let me feel human again.”

  His face was strained, as if he were deeply conflicted over such a simple decision.

  “Let me think about it for a moment. Go sit on the bed, and I’ll bring you breakfast in a little bit.”

  Annoyed, but not really surprised, I went back to the room and sat on the bed. I wasn’t sure if Josh’s feelings of affection for me were all manufactured, but if there was any chance that he liked me for more than a payday, I would do everything in my power to use that to my advantage.

  The problem was, I wasn’t good at manipulating people. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I could be convinced to do just about anything, and when it came to getting what I wanted, I always put others first. But, I knew if I wanted to get out in one piece, I had to try something to appeal to my captor.

  After I amused myself by counting the bricks on the wall for the hundredth time, Josh entered the room with two plates of bacon, eggs, and toast.

  “I’m not that fat,” I said, eyeing both plates.

  “One’s for me,” he answered, setting the plates on the bed like a picnic. “I thought I’d join you.”

  “Not like I have a choice,” I scoffed.

  “I thought about it,” he said, reaching into his pocket and digging out a small key, “and if you promise not to fight me, I’m going to take these off.”

  My face lit up. “I promise.”

  He gently took my hands into his and turned the tiny silver key in the lock. The handcuffs sprang open and I rubbed the red marks around my wrists.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You shouldn’t be thanking me for anything,” he responded glumly. “I think we need to talk.”

  “Yeah, I think you owe me a better explanation.”

  “I want to get you out of here,” he said as I dug into my breakfast. “It’s complicated, though. In some ways, I’m just as trapped as you are.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “I’ve been fighting this plan since the very second Ben mentioned it. Reese isn’t happy about this either, but once Ben makes a decision, there’s no getting in his way. He’s always held up his end of things in the past, but he’s pretty scary when he doesn’t get his way. We’ve learned that it’s just easier to give him whatever he wants. Lately, Reese and I have felt like we can’t trust him anymore. We’re working on a plan to get you out of here as soon as possible so we can flee the country and leave Ben behind.”

  My mouth hung open. “If you think Ben is dangerous, am I in danger?”

  He gritted his teeth. “I don’t think so, but you never know with Ben. I’m going to do anything in my power to protect you. Do you trust me?”

  How did he expect me to possibly answer that question? He lied about his identity, kept me away from my friends, and then helped kidnap me. On the other hand, he seemed worried, and I didn’t think he was faking that.

  “I don’t know, Josh.”

  “You’re right,” he said, punching himself in the leg. “How could I be so stupid?”

  “Hey,” I shouted. “I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to get out of this mess. If your plan seems solid, I might go along with it.”

  “Really?” he asked, his eyes widening.

  “I just want to get out of here.”

  He nodded solemnly.

  As we ate, I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble growing past his jaw line. His perfectly coiffed hair was dirty and disheveled. He still looked incredibly sexy, but now he looked more real.

  “Tell me about yourself,” I said, setting my fork on my empty plate.

  He looked up. “What?”

  “I’ve told you a lot about me. You told me about Josh from London. I know absolutely nothing about you. I think you owe me that much.”

  “My name is Joshua Mitchell. I’m twenty-seven years old. I grew up in rural Georgia.”

  He stated his facts like he was introducing himself to a new class on the first day of school. The words seemed foreign to him, as if he never let anyone know the real Josh.

  “I was raised by my dad in a trailer park. My mom left us when I was ten. My dad was a terrible drunk and my parents fought all the time. I suspect my mom was a pretty heavy drug user, because I remember her leaving the trailer for long periods of time and coming home an absolute mess.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said. I couldn’t even imagine how awful that would be.

  “I don’t think my dad really wanted me, but at least he gave me a place to stay and some food to eat. When I graduated from high school, my dad told me to get out of the house. I was eighteen, and he had no obligation to take care of me anymore. Not like he did,” he added. “I basically raised myself from the age of fourteen on.”

  “Is that when you came out here?” I asked, feeling a little guilty for being so fascinated by his horrific upbringing.

  “No, I tried to work where I grew up, but my parents had a pretty bad reputation around town. No one trusted the Mitchell boy with anything of importance. I worked as a dishwasher and a mechanic, and I even washed cars for a time before I couldn’t take it any longer. I was bored and I wanted more excitement. I was a good kid, but I had been treated like a criminal because of the shadow my parents had cast over me.”

  Josh took a long sip from his water bottle before offering it to me. I took it from his hands and drank.

  “So, as a twenty-two-year-old who had hardly left his hometown, I bought a one-way ticket to Las Vegas with the money I had been saving for years. I got the idea to come here from Ben. We were in the same crowd in high school. He came out here and started working at bars, and I thought that sounded more glamorous than washing cars in rural Georgia. I crashed at Ben and Reese’s apartment until we saved enough to move into our new place.”

  “So how did you get into the business of scamming rich people?”

  He looked down at the bed. “Again, that was one of Ben’s brilliant ideas. He grew up rich, but he got into a lot of trouble as a kid. Eventually, his parents kicked him out of the house and cut him off. I don’t know if it’s because he wasn’t smart enough or just kind of lazy, but he wanted to get rich quickly. He gambled the little money he had and lost it all. Then, Ben and Reese started small, like pickpocketing and that sort of thing. Eventually, he discovered that if you tell little lies to people who aren’t too attached to their money, they’d give it up pretty easily.”

  “Like me?” I asked, feeling a little sick.

  He shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah, kind of. Let me put it this way—if you had a thousand dollars in cash and you lost it, would it ruin your life?”

  I chuckled. “Of course not.”

  “See, for someone like me, that could set me way back. I would be late on rent and could be evicted. If I can’t find another place to go, I’d be homeless. If I had to sell my car to be able to eat, then I’d lose my job. You see where I’m going with this?”

  I nodded. I never really thought that money was such a big deal.

  “I was struggling to pay the bills as a bartender. I owed Ben some money, and going along with his scheme was the easiest way to pay him back. Then, I collected far more money scamming people than I made honestly. It turned into a full-time gig. By the time I met you, I had almost saved enough to get out of the business for good.”

  “Because you felt bad?”

  “Honestly, no,” he said. “I just knew that I shouldn’t have to do t
hat kind of stuff for money. I wanted more from life. I didn’t care if I stole from people. Well,” he said, looking up at me, “until I met you.”

  “Oh, and I’m supposed to believe that I was the one to make you rethink your whole life?” I snorted.

  “In a way, yes. You were the first person here that I actually felt a connection with.”

  “Why me? There are a million beautiful women here at any given time, and in all the years you’ve been here, I’m the first?”

  “You’re one of the few genuinely good people I’ve ever met. You’re sweet and cool, and you care about other people. So many people, including myself from time to time, can be so self-centered and fake. You’re not like that, even though you could be if you wanted to.”

  “I don’t know if I would describe myself that way,” I said. “I’m boring, quiet, and forgettable. I’m a complete doormat.”

  “You aren’t,” he said. “I think you’re amazing. I don’t see how other people don’t get that.”

  I felt my cheeks getting warm. I wasn’t used to being complimented by anyone, especially not a sexy man.

  “I just wish we didn’t have to meet this way,” he said. “Under any other circumstances, I think you would have liked me.”

  “I don’t dislike you,” I said hesitantly.

  He gave a hearty chuckle. “I tried to steal money from you and ended up abducting you. You have every right to hate my guts.”

  I knew this, yet I didn’t hate him. He had a tough life and was just doing what he needed to do to get ahead. It was a foreign concept to me, but I could understand where he was coming from.

  This didn’t change the fact that I was mad at him for being the one to take my virginity. I didn’t care if my first time wasn’t special, but at least I thought I’d know the person I was sleeping with. The Josh I had sex with seemed like an illusion now.

  I couldn’t believe that in those few short days, I had pictured myself in a relationship with him. I had envisioned myself on a plane to London, ready to surprise him. I imagined bringing him home to meet my friends and family. I knew it was silly, but not as ridiculous as the thought that the man I desired so badly just wanted to steal my money. He hurt me, and I wasn’t ready to forgive him for that.

  “So,” I said coldly, “when we had sex, were you getting off to the prospect of a few thousand dollars in your pocket?”

  “What?” he asked. “No. It wasn’t like that at all.”

  “Then what was it like?” I didn’t believe him. Why would someone who looked like Josh have sex with someone who looked like me?

  “Look,” he said, staring me straight in the eye, “if I wanted your money, I wouldn’t have to have sex with you to get it. I certainly wouldn’t have done it as many times as we did. I enjoyed every single second of it. That’s not a lie.”

  “I don’t know if I buy that.”

  He looked around the room as if he were looking for answers. “I don’t know how I could possibly prove anything to you at this point, but I’m telling you, what happened between us in bed was pretty magical. Don’t you feel the same way?”

  The truth was, I did. But, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he’d absolutely rocked my world.

  “I don’t know what to feel,” I said.

  He nodded. “I suppose that’s fair.”

  It was strange, sitting on that bed, having a normal conversation with Josh. I felt like I was getting to know him for the second time around. Everything seemed so normal that for a few seconds, I forgot that I was still in yesterday’s clothes, eating breakfast inside a shack. I felt like a girl getting to know a guy on a first date. It felt strangely nice, and it was a shame that it could never last.

  Chapter 15―Joshua

  Sitting on the bed with Amanda, I had the sudden urge to lean over and kiss her. I fought myself, knowing how incredibly inappropriate that would be. I had mistreated this poor girl enough. I didn’t want to confuse her any more, just for my personal satisfaction.

  But the thought of pressing my lips against hers set my mind ablaze. I couldn’t get enough of her body. Even after getting a little roughed up, she still looked amazing in her dress. Her hair and makeup were a little slept in, but it made me think of what she would look like, waking up next to her after a wild night out.

  As much as I wanted the ransom money to come through quickly, I knew that meant my time with Amanda was limited. I felt like I had made a real connection with her, and I had made it so I could never have a chance of seeing her again.

  I cleared our empty plates and took them to the kitchen to wash them. Amanda followed me out into the other room.

  “Oh,” I stuttered. “I don’t think you should be out here.”

  “I’m not going to do anything,” she said. “I just need to stretch my legs. That room is so small.”

  I did a mental checklist of everything in the apartment she could use as a weapon against me. Apart from the forks and butter knives, I figured it was fairly safe. If she did try to ambush me, I could definitely outmuscle her. Still, I didn’t get the impression that she would try to fight me.

  She walked the small stretch from the bedroom to the bathroom door, and then back again.

  “Do my parents know that I’m missing?” she asked quietly.

  “Yes,” I replied, rinsing the dishes and drying them with a shake. “I think your mom answered the phone this morning.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I’m not sure. Not much. I think she was pretty surprised.”

  “Oh,” she mumbled, dropping her body onto the couch.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ll get you out of here.”

  She stared at the wall for a moment before deeply sighing. “Is there anything to do in this place? I’ll go mad if I have to stare at the white walls all day.”

  “I found a few old magazines in the drawer. I doubt it’s anything you’d want to look at, though.”

  She opened the drawer to see for herself. “Ugh.” She recoiled. “You’re right.”

  Amanda wandered around the tiny home, looking through every cupboard and closet. The place was pretty well cleaned out.

  She opened the drawer underneath the bathroom sink and let out a small laugh.

  “What is it?”

  She walked out, holding a thick book. “Some anthology of classic literature or something. I think it’s poetry. I wouldn’t expect something like that in here.”

  I chuckled. “Me neither.”

  She took the book back to the couch and sat down, cracking the book open. We spend the next hour in silence, with me cleaning up the house and Amanda reading her book. We were practically the picture of domestic bliss, if that involved a kidnapping and a bunker in the desert.

  My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I nearly shouted from being so startled. These days, phone calls meant that there were serious problems or major developments in the plan. I sprinted outside, letting the front door slam behind me.

  “Reese, what’s going on?” I asked, hoping for some good news.

  “Weird stuff, man.”

  I interrupted him. “Have Amanda’s parents paid yet?”

  “Not yet. I’ve been checking the account every thirty minutes.

  “Shit. I hoped they’d just send it immediately. I bet that means they’re working with the cops.”

  “That would explain the next thing I have to tell you,” Reese said. “Abi said that she was watching the house this morning while I was away. Apparently, a cop came to the house in an unmarked police car and Ben let him in. She said they were in there for almost an hour before he left with a big grin on his face. She said he shook hands with Ben like they were old pals.”

  “If he wasn’t in uniform, then how does Abi know that he was a cop? He could be a bookie or a drug dealer for all we know.”

  “She said the guy’s a regular customer. A real slimy character.”

  “What are you saying, Reese?” I wa
sn’t in the mood for wild theories or speculation.

  “Something’s not right. I don’t know why he’s made a deal with a cop, but if he isn’t telling us, you know something’s up.”

  “Do you think he’ll sell us out?” I asked.

  “Not sure. But I don’t want to take that risk. How important is Ben’s friendship to you?”

  I thought for a second before answering. Ben had helped me out by giving me a place to crash back in the beginning, but he was also the one who roped me into this lifestyle. We hung out on occasion because we were roommates, but lately, he had become more aloof.

  “Honestly, I’d put my safety way ahead of his,” I said. “If he’s not telling us something, we need to get out as soon as possible.”

  “Agreed. How are things going on your end with Amanda?”

  “I’m working on it. She’s obviously mad at me, but I’m almost positive she’d point the blame at Ben if I told her to. I explained everything, and she understands the situation we’re in.”

  “Good. I’ve cleaned our rooms and have bags packed in my car so we can leave at any moment. Should I go ahead and set up our new account in case the money comes in?”

  I took a deep breath, not wanting to be the one to make the final call. I had no choice, though. Ben was making me extremely nervous.

  “Go ahead,” I replied. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “The second the plan gets sent into motion, you’re stuck. There’s no backing out of this. Are you okay with the fact that we may have to hide out in Cambodia or somewhere like that for a while?”

  “Anywhere but here, man.”

  “Try to get into contact with Ben. I’ll call you the moment I have more information.”

  “All right,” I said wearily.

  I immediately called Ben next, hoping that what Reese told me wasn’t true.

  “Josh, what’s the problem?” he asked when he answered the phone.

  “No problem here. I was just wondering if you had any updates.”

  “Not a thing. Hopefully, that girl’s stupid parents know what’s good for them and pay up soon. I’ll give them another day, and then we might have to make a video to send to them.”