High Stakes: A Dark Romance

by Roxy Sinclaire

  Amanda gasped. This was dark, even by Ben’s standards. I wanted to comfort her so badly, but I knew that I could hardly give her a reassuring look without looking extremely suspicious.

  I needed to look at my phone to see if Reese or Abi had tried to get in contact with me. I couldn’t do it while Ben was watching me, though. I grabbed it from the couch, and without pressing a button, slipped it into my back pocket.

  “Let’s go,” he said, picking up a stack of blankets. “Tie her up.”

  I found the handcuffs by the side of her bed and loosely fastened them so she could wiggle out if necessary. I gently tied the silk scarf around her head, tight enough to stay up, but loose enough to be pulled off in an emergency. I slung my bag over my shoulder and took her by the hand. She looped her arm through mine as I guided her up the stairs and into the car.

  “One last thing I need to do before we go.” Ben grinned, grabbing a gas can from the back of the car.

  “What?” I asked, worried about what he was capable of.

  “Since she knows where we took her, we need to destroy any evidence. I’m torching the place.”

  “Can you do that? Doesn’t it belong to someone?”

  “Not anymore.”

  He shut the car door behind him and started pouring gasoline on what was once our hideout.

  “Shit,” I hissed once he was out of earshot. “This is not part of the plan.”

  I looked through my phone and saw a new message from Reese. All it said was that Abi was on her way home and that they’d come to the bunker once she arrived. I quickly updated him on the situation and then deleted all messages between us.

  “Abi’s on her way back, but I don’t know if that means she has the money or not,” I said quickly. “I told him we’d be back at the house soon.”

  “Ben scares the shit out of me,” she said, finding my hand.

  “Me too. I think something inside him snapped. He’s not usually this crazy.”

  “Money can make people do strange things,” she said. “I don’t think there are any limits to how crazy he’s going to get to get what he wants.”

  “I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  I squeezed her hand. I didn’t know if I could protect her against Ben and whoever else was now in on this job. All I knew was that I’d do anything in my power to get her out of here in one piece.

  “I promise to get you to Italy and help you build your life there.”

  “Our life,” she added.

  I echoed her. “Our life.”

  Chapter 20―Amanda

  I didn’t even realize until after we had already been driving for a while that my hidden note in the bunker had been destroyed. It was just another part of the plan that had gone up in flames.

  In the letter to the police, I had named Ben as the sole kidnapper. I said that I had spent a little extra time in the city with new friends and had gotten lost while trying to meet up with them. I wrote that Ben had lured me into his car after pretending to help me and had taken me to the underground home. Out of desperation, I told him that I could get him money if he released me immediately. Instead, he found out who my parents were and decided to hold me hostage until the ransom money came through.

  It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was false enough to protect Josh, Reese, and Abi in the event that they were tracked down to be questioned. Now I wouldn’t have my chance to pin this on Ben.

  I wasn’t even angry with anyone at this point. Even though I knew that I should be mad at Josh for luring me into their trap, and Reese and Abi for helping, I mostly felt sorry for them. They were in a bad situation that there was no easy way out of. I felt like they were good people who just got caught up in the wrong lifestyle.

  Ben wasn’t a good person, but I couldn’t even be mad at him because if it weren’t for his horrible schemes, I wouldn’t have ever met Josh. It was so crazy to think that if this whole thing wasn’t set up, I’d be back at my parents’ house, absolutely miserable. I would be helping Tanya prepare for the wedding I would never have and I’d have to deal with her diva tendencies.

  If I went home, I’d continue to live at my parents’ house and probably not work toward moving out. I would maybe search for jobs, but then give up when I felt discouraged about how underqualified I looked on paper. Instead, I’d let my parents continue to deposit money into my bank account while I dreamed of a better life.

  Meeting Josh changed the way I thought about my life. I knew I was capable of doing more, but I needed that push to get me started. I was forced out of my comfort zone and had gone through such an adventure. I knew that if I could survive being kidnapped and held hostage, then I could handle anything that life could possibly throw my way. I’d be unstoppable.

  When we got to the house, Ben pulled the car into the garage so the neighbors wouldn’t be able to see what was going on. If only Ben knew how attached I was to Josh, he would know that I wouldn’t dare draw attention to him.

  “Have you talked to Reese?” Ben asked.

  “Not recently. Why?” Josh responded innocently.

  “I told him to meet us here. He’s probably lost track of time, like always. I told him that he could bring Abi, too, but we’ll see if she shows up. I don’t know why she wanted a cut of this money. She strips so much that she probably has more money than I do.”

  “How long do you think we’ll be able to stay here?” Josh asked, trying to get some sense of what Ben was up to.

  “Take her upstairs,” he said. “I don’t want her to hear anything she isn’t supposed to hear.”

  He took me by the arm and led me upstairs and placed me in his bedroom. Reese had done a good job of cleaning up. It looked like no one had ever lived there.

  “I’m going to check on you in a bit. You can take the handcuffs and blindfold off if you need to, but if Ben comes in, put them back on.”

  “Let me know whatever Ben says. If I need to run, I could probably hop out the window and go.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” he said. “If you’re careful, you could probably listen from the top of the stairs.”

  Before he left the room, he kissed me. I wanted him to stay up here, maybe make out or fool around, but there was no time. He shut the door and went back downstairs.

  When I heard his footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs, I slid one hand out of the cuffs and crept toward the door. I pressed my ear against the wood, but I could only hear muffled voices. I slowly turned the doorknob and pulled it open just a crack. It was still quiet, but I was able to make out a few words here and there.

  “I think we need to make a plan if the money doesn’t come by tomorrow night,” Ben said. “I’m going to need you to make a video or something to send to her parents to scare them. Maybe even cut off a bit of her hair or something so they know we’re not messing around.”

  My stomach turned. First, it would be a few locks of hair. Next, it would be an ear or a finger. How far would Ben go if he had the chance?

  “I’m sure they’ll send the money soon,” Josh said reassuringly. “Reese only talked to them a little bit ago. They probably haven’t had the time to get the money cleared yet. Give it another day before you start getting nervous.”

  “We can’t wait too long,” Ben replied. “I’ve promised a lot of money to a few people. I need to be able to pay my debts.”

  “What debts?” Josh asked, but Ben didn’t get a chance to answer.

  “Reese,” Ben addressed the visitor. “Any update on the money?”

  “They promised me that it would be in the account tomorrow.”

  “That’s a relief. Let me know when it’s all there, and then we can dump the girl somewhere. I’ll be working tomorrow, so Josh will have to take her and ditch her somewhere far away from here. Think you can manage that?”

  “Yes,” Josh said.

  “How’s it going, Abi?” Josh asked casually.r />
  “Good,” she answered with the same tone.

  “How’s the job treating you?” he asked. I had a feeling he was asking in code.

  “Fine. The job is going pretty well.”

  “Why do you ask, Josh?” Ben interjected. “Thinking about joining the stripping game yourself?” He cackled at his own joke.

  “Just making polite conversation,” he said coolly.

  If I understood this conversation the way I assumed it was meant to be understood, that meant that Abi had made it back without any problems. I wondered if she had the money in cash or if it had been wired into Reese’s account.

  My heart started beating faster. If we had the money, there was no reason that we had to be here anymore. If we could find a way to get out of here without Ben noticing, we could leave immediately.

  “I’m starving,” Reese announced. “Should we go out for dinner to celebrate?”

  “We can’t all go,” Ben said. “Who wants to draw straws for babysitting our little hostage?”

  “I guess I’ll stay,” Josh said glumly. “I’ll just eat the stale chips out of the cupboard for supper. Have fun without me.”

  “What if Ben and I got takeout and brought it back here? Then we could all eat. Plus, we’re going to have to feed Amanda, too,” Reese said.

  “Perfect,” Ben said. “Josh will watch Amanda, and Abi will make sure that Josh doesn’t try to fuck her.”

  “Seriously?” Josh said.

  “Just joking. What do you guys want to eat?”

  “There’s a place a few miles away that has good sushi and ramen,” Abi suggested.

  “Do you want to pay for that?” Ben asked. “I’m not made of money.”

  “You did just get told that you’d have a million dollars in your bank account tomorrow, didn’t you?”

  Ben laughed. “You’re right. We could get caviar and champagne if we wanted to.”

  “Let’s save that for tomorrow night,” Josh said.

  I wasn’t sure if Ben would come upstairs before he left, so I silently closed the door and slipped my handcuffs and blindfold back on. Sitting back on Josh’s bed, I listened to voices mumbling and feet shuffling around downstairs.

  Suddenly, it was silent, apart from the sound of my breathing. I felt like I was left alone in the house. Then, I heard quick footsteps bounding up the stairs and the door opened with a bang. I jumped, holding my hands out in front of me for protection. I didn’t know if I needed to fear the person in the room.

  The blindfold was yanked off my head, revealing Abi and Josh.

  “We have at least fifteen minutes before they’ll be back. I tried to think of a restaurant that had a decent wait time,” Abi panted. “Let me tell you everything that’s happened.”

  “Did you talk to my mom?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she answered tersely. I gave her your letter, and she transferred the money into Reese’s account. It’s all there.”

  “So we can leave at any time?” I asked the two of them.

  “Theoretically, yes,” she said. “Does your hookup in LA have our passports ready?” she asked Josh.

  “All we need to do is go pick them up.”

  “Tonight, Reese and I can purchase plane tickets. I assume we’ll be able to fly out by tomorrow night. Did you decide where you wanted to go?”

  Josh and I looked at each other before answering in unison. “Rome.”

  “You’re going together?” Abi asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “I’m not going anywhere without her,” he said, taking my hand.

  She shook her head and laughed. “I think you guys are crazy, but Reese says it’s sweet. I suppose it can be both.”

  I was surprised to see Abi laughing. She always looked so stone-faced whenever I saw her.

  “What about you and Reese?” Josh asked.

  “Amsterdam,” she said with a smile.

  “That seems like a good fit,” he said.

  “I’m really happy you guys are getting out of here,” Abi said. “I know Reese is a good person, and I’m glad he won’t have to depend on crime to make it. Ben has been a terrible influence on him, and I just want him to be able to do what he loves.”

  Josh nodded. I could tell that he felt the same way.

  “Don’t worry about your parents,” she said to me. “Your mom seemed a little rattled, but I told her that you were doing well and that everything could be explained in your letter. I asked her to not share the contents of the letter with the police, so I hope whatever you wrote was persuasive.”

  “I think it was,” I said. “Thank you,” I added.

  “I should be thanking you,” she said. “Without you, we would be stuck in Vegas forever. And if you weren’t so cool about this whole thing, we’d probably be in prison. This whole situation has been a mess, but I really think that meeting you has changed our lives for the better.”

  “Strangely enough, I agree with you.”

  “I think we have everything sorted, then. We can leave here tomorrow afternoon and drive to Los Angeles for our new passports. Then, we’ll head to the airport, get on our flights, and leave this all behind us,” Josh said.

  Abi nodded. “We’d better go back downstairs before they get back.”

  After she left the room, Josh scooped me up and held me for a moment. I wanted to say something, but there was a lump in my throat.

  “I’ll bring you some food in a little bit,” he said, slipping my blindfold onto my forehead.

  Luckily, they left the room when they did, because just as Josh shut the bedroom door, I heard the garage door open.

  I had butterflies in my stomach, but this time it was from excitement. It was the same feeling I used to get waiting for Christmas when I was a child. I would just have to make it through the night, and then we would be free.

  Chapter 21―Joshua

  “When I leave for work tomorrow,” Ben said as we sat down to eat, “I’m going to take you to a car rental place. After you rent a car, drive outside the city limits and release Amanda. You can take her into a small town or leave her in the middle of the country. I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t let anyone see you. Ditch the car somewhere, and then get a cab back home. We’ll celebrate our victory, and a few friends of mine are going to help us deal with any possible consequences.”

  “Other people know about this?” Abi asked.

  “Don’t worry your pretty little face. I’ve already taken care of everything. Just get rid of the girl tomorrow, and we’ll all act like nothing ever happened. We’ll split up the money, and you can do whatever you want.”

  “How are we splitting it?” I asked. I know the question meant nothing to us in the long run, but I just needed to know that he was going to screw us over to make me feel like we had made the right choice.

  “We’ll discuss that when the money is in the account,” he said. Ben looked around to our sullen faces. “Lighten up, you guys. We’re about to be rich.”

  When we finished eating, I piled up the leftovers on a plate and brought it up to Amanda.

  “We’ll leave tomorrow,” I whispered, handing her the food, “as soon as Ben leaves for work. We’ll take a rental car, and Reese and Abi will meet us at my friend’s place.”

  “Everything’s going to work out, isn’t it?” she whispered back.

  “I really think so.”

  She leaned in for a kiss, and I returned a peck. She leaned in again, but I pulled back. I couldn’t be away for too long.

  “I have to go. I’ll come back up here when it’s time for us to go tomorrow.”

  “You’re not sleeping up here?”

  “I don’t think that would look good for us,” I said. “Besides, if Reese has cleaned everything, I don’t want to leave any trace of my DNA on the sheets. The walls are paper thin and there’s no way I can keep my hands off you.”

  This got her smiling again.

  “Fine. But I expect you to make it up to me the moment we get to Rome
.”

  I needed to leave the room before I couldn’t control myself any longer. The front of my jeans felt tight and constricting.

  “I’ll more than make it up to you.” I winked and turned to go back to the kitchen.

  “I figured you’d be up there for longer,” Ben sneered. “You going to have one last wild night with her? I can’t imagine she’s very good in the sack, but at least she’s got that tight virgin—”

  “No,” I interrupted him. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, but you know that isn’t what it’s like. I had to do a job, a job that you gave to me. I do whatever needs to be done.”

  “Easy, man, I’m just joking. I just think it’s funny to make fun of the fact that you had to bang someone like her for the money. I assure you, you’ll be well compensated for it.”

  “Can we just stop talking about her?” I said, dropping onto the couch.

  “Sure,” he said, sitting down next to me. He turned on the TV, but I wasn’t interested in watching anything.

  “Isn’t it strange that just a few years ago, you were just starting out here. I took you under my wing, and just look where you are now. You’ve come a long way, Joshua.”

  “I guess,” I said softly. We watched TV in silence. I wished that Reese and Abi would have stuck around to cut some of the awkward tension between Ben and me, but they scurried off to Reese’s room after dinner. I didn’t blame them, though. I would have done the same, given the option.

  “Well,” he said, getting up from the couch after a few hours of mindless staring. “I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  “We,” I muttered under my breath. Ben was going to hide away at work while I did all of his dirty work.

  “Let’s pick up the car at eight,” he said. “Then it’s just a waiting game.”

  “Goodnight,” I said, hoping he’d take the hint that I wanted to be alone.

  I burrowed into the cushions, trying to get some rest. I didn’t know when I’d be able to sleep next. I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety over the next twenty-four hours. Once I had my feet in Rome, I knew everything would be okay. It was just the process of getting there that would be tricky.