Bet On Me

by Mia Hoddell

  How did I not notice that? I glanced across at Ryder, wondering when he had bound me. I presumed I’d been free the last time I awoke, but then again I wasn’t able to move.

  The speed of the car began to decrease. An orange light flashed out of the window nearest to me as Ryder indicated and switched lanes. Pulling off the motorway—at least I assumed it was a motorway—he slowed the car as he drove along a stretch of winding road before bright white light from a building lit up the darkness in front of us.

  Hope started to flare within me. Warm and comforting, it overpowered every other feeling. I tried to dampen it—not allowing myself to dream—but desperation to get away from Ryder fuelled it. If I came across one person they could help alert the authorities.

  Pulling into the car park, Ryder stopped the engine. He cut the headlights so only the light from the service station surrounded us, yet he refused to look at me … just sat there staring at the building with his hands clutched on the steering wheel.

  I glanced from him to the door handle, then around the car park.

  Only a few cars filled the mass of empty spaces.

  I looked from my hands, to my feet, to the handle once more. It wasn’t worth the risk. If I had any hope of escaping I needed people around otherwise I wouldn’t get far. I had to talk myself into it because all of my instincts told me to get out of the car even with my bound limbs.

  Finally, Ryder turned to me, the movement causing my stomach to churn.

  “Here’s how this is going to go.” His voice remained calm and held a deadly undertone. The implied threat he felt no need to speak filled his words and involuntarily I shrank back against the door. I didn’t want to share the same space or air as him.

  “I’m going to cut you free and we’re going to walk inside. I will escort you to the toilets and then we’re going to pick up some food. At all times you will keep your gaze lowered. You will not speak or make any kind of contact with anyone. You will make no attempt to escape unless you want to remain sedated for the rest of the journey.”

  My bottom lip quivered.

  I wanted to run.

  I had to at least try, surely.

  I couldn’t allow him to take me now I had control back over my body.

  “Do you understand?”

  I nodded. I needed the cables cut and that would only happen if I appeared to play along.

  When he slipped a flip knife from inside his jacket and flicked the blade out so the light danced on the metal I gasped. Flinching back against the door with wide eyes, my back hit the plastic interior, and a line of sweat formed on my forehead. Ryder leaned over the centre console, holding the blade out in front of him. I had nowhere to go.

  I held my breath when he took hold of my wrists.

  One wrong move and he could kill me.

  As if sensing my thoughts, Ryder trailed the cool metal over the inside of my wrist. The blade traced up my arm and then back down, following the line of my vein until Ryder paused over my pulse point and looked up at me with a sadistic smile. I gulped, only focused on the quick thumping of blood pounding in my skull and through my wrists.

  Ryder slid the knife under the cable tie slowly, making sure I felt every inch of the blade. When he pulled up, the cruel edges of the plastic cut into my skin even more and caused me to wince. The knife abruptly cut through my bonds and the tie fell into my lap.

  I rubbed my wrist, trying to ease the pain and rub away the red marks.

  “Pull your sleeves down and make sure they stay that way,” he ordered and I complied within seconds as he reached down to my feet. “Once I’ve cut this you will stay in the car until I meet you at your door. Understand?”

  I nodded again, not able to form a single word.

  “This knife stays on me at all times. Remember that.” He cut the tie at my ankles, my feet falling on to their sides when they were no longer held together. I rotated them a few times to ease the stiffness while I waited for Ryder to meet me at the door.

  Soon he pulled it open sharply and thrust his hand out in front of him for me to take. I spun round on the seat, easing my legs out of the car, and ignored his hand. My legs shook under the full weight of my body as I stood, forcing me to clutch on to the roof of the car for support while I gained my balance.

  Satisfied I wasn’t going to fall face first on to the gritty tarmac, I pressed off the car hesitantly. I only managed one step when Ryder threw his arm around my shoulders. He draped it casually, his hand hovering over my left breast like a boyfriend would. When I recoiled his hold tightened. Crushing me against him, the power in his arm frightened me. I could feel his muscles tensing with his grip and I sensed he wasn’t even using his whole strength.

  “Did you really think I would just let you go?”

  A wave of sickness crashed down upon me because, naively, I thought he would at least let me walk by myself. My plan hadn’t accounted for him touching me or holding me so close.

  Swallowing hard, I ignored the smugness in his voice and we entered the service station. To no surprise the place was almost deserted, and when I caught a glimpse of a clock it was near one in the morning. Some shops had metal barriers pulled down in the front so that only the fast food or coffee counters remained open.

  Ryder guided me towards the toilets and paused outside of the door to the women’s. He glanced over his shoulder, and satisfied with what he found, pushed the door open and led us both inside. Checking the stalls, when he found no one inside any of them he waved me into one.

  As soon as I shut the door in his face I took a deep breath and held it for a second then expelled it heavily. I collapsed against the wall and tilted my head back.

  How am I meant to get out of this?

  I could see Ryder’s shadow moving on the other side of the door, so I quickly patted down my pockets for anything. However, my thoughts were only confirmed when I found them empty. Of course he removed my phone, purse, and passport.

  I decided I was probably pushing my luck with how much time I had left. With nothing to do from inside the toilets, and no escape route, I needed to make sure I stayed on Ryder’s good side to buy myself time to find a better opportunity.

  As quickly as I could, I made use of the facilities and with a puff of air I unlocked the door. Ryder had propped himself up against the sink, his arms folded across his chest. The dark pits of his eyes and the scar on his cheek made it hard to focus on him for long. I dropped my gaze to the sink as I washed and dried my hands, and the second they were dry Ryder snatched hold of one to lead me back out into the main part of the building.

  To anyone watching us it would look like we were a couple. Outwardly, nothing seemed amiss, but his grip held a restrained tension as we made our way towards the food counter.

  Ryder stooped so he could speak into my ear without anyone overhearing—although there was no one around to hear.

  “Remember what I said.” His scent swept over me, sending a disgusted shiver down my spine as the smell of smoke clouded around me. I never realised such a simple gesture could feel so intimate from one person and could revolt me from another. Unlike when Cole did the same thing and made me want to melt into him, Ryder’s voice conjured the urge to throw up and flee faster than a cat that’d been shown a bath.

  We reached the counter and without even asking me what I wanted Ryder ordered in perfect French.

  Does everyone know French but me? I thought, and then realised he’d given me a clue as to where we were. Well, he narrowed my location down to a country—damn the free movement around Europe. Ryder would have been detained long ago if there were border checks in the European Union, yet at least there was one to cross into the UK if that was where he planned to take me.

  Funnily enough, the man behind the counter replied in English, so maybe Ryder’s French wasn’t as good as I first thought. I couldn’t help but glance up as the server placed two large containers of fries on the counter. Our eyes connected while Ryder became distracted by fishing i
nside his pocket for some cash.

  Sensing my opportunity, I focused my attention on the man and mouthed the word ‘help’. I flicked my eyes towards Ryder and mouthed the word again.

  The employee’s brow lowered in confusion. His gaze darted between the two of us but he did nothing. Checking Ryder was still occupied, I mouthed the word again. I made sure to move my lips slowly, hoping he’d be able to read my plea.

  “Are you okay?” he asked in concern, and all of the blood drained out of my body. My spine stiffened and bile rose in my throat. Ryder immediately returned his attention to us once more. His stare burned into the side of my head as if in warning not to say anything.

  Below the counter he reached for his jean pocket where I knew he placed the knife upon exiting the car.

  My palms started to sweat and I twisted my fingers together in front of me. My mind raced at the thought of what he planned to do if I gave the wrong answer.

  Swallowing hard, I gave the man behind the counter a weak smile. “I’m fine.” I tried to keep the tremble from my words, though they shook to make my statement unconvincing.

  “Are you sure? You’re pale.”

  Ryder’s arm wound around my waist, his hand buried underneath my coat. Something hard and sharp grazed the area just above my hip. To anyone watching us it would look like he was holding me. They wouldn’t see the knife or know of the unspoken threat to pretend everything was normal.

  “You get car sick, don’t you, babe?” He squeezed me into him, a seemingly harmless gesture to everyone else when in reality it pushed the knife further into me, pricking the skin so that even the slightest extra pressure would break it. I nodded compliantly. “We’ve been on the road for a while and her medication is wearing off.” He directed his words at the man behind the counter with a smile and grabbed the food quickly.

  Not giving the server a chance to question us any further, Ryder passed me the food, swung me around, and led me over to the exit.

  Tears welled up in my eyes. My one chance was over even if my legs still itched to break out into a run. I doubted Ryder would slip up or let me out of his sight again. I doubted he’d even stop the car. However, I didn’t know where we were. There was hardly anyone around, and the knife still jabbed me in the side, threatening to cut me in an instant. As if all of that wasn’t enough, my legs still hadn’t totally recovered from the drug he injected me with, especially the thigh he stabbed the needle into. A dull ache radiated over that leg, almost like a bruise.

  I didn’t want to, yet waiting the situation out seemed like the only option. If I could remain conscious then I had a small chance of figuring something out, but if I ran he’d catch and sedate me. If that happened it would take even longer for my body to begin working again.

  “Get in,” Ryder snapped. I hadn’t noticed he’d opened the passenger’s door and stood waiting for me to move.

  With one final hesitant look around, I slid into the passenger’s seat and he slammed the door behind me.

  I could run now, I thought as he rounded the car. My hand even twitched towards the handle, but I called it back.

  He pulled the driver’s door open and when he slid in beside me I expected to be bound again. I already had an argument formed in case, and I wasn’t above begging, but Ryder only started the engine. His fists clenched around the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened and his lips narrowed into a thin, tight line.

  The smell of salted chips filled the car. At one time they would have had my mouth watering, and it would have been hard for me to resist. Now, locked in a car with someone I deemed a madman, all of my appetite vanished.

  Tension and anger rolled off of him in palpable waves as he drove, sickening me further. I kept waiting for him to pull back on to the motorway and for light to once again appear, yet he stayed on the darkened, winding roads.

  For ten minutes he kept up a steady speed until he pulled over into a rest stop. He kept the engine running and swivelled to study me. Without a word he snatched the fries from my hand and began to eat. I found myself quieting my breathing, not wanting to give him any excuse to explode.

  His movements were precise and deliberate. He kept one eye on me the whole time, but he had nothing to worry about. Fear had me paralysed on the seat.

  “Eat,” he commanded abruptly once he finished his own box. Despite not wanting them, my hand moved of its own accord. Dipping into my own box of chips, I pulled one out and brought it to my lips. As soon as the salty, fatty taste coated my tongue I retched. Bile rose at the back of my throat and I gagged, forcing myself to swallow.

  “Don’t you dare be sick in this car, bitch.”

  With a shaky breath I calmed myself and Ryder snatched the second tub of fries up. He devoured them as quickly as the first container, and as soon as he finished he replaced his hands on the wheel, put the car into gear, and set off again.

  “When we get to the ferry I’m going to give you your passport. You will pass through customs without a word and without raising suspicions. If you give anything away I won’t hesitate to cut that pretty little neck of yours.”

  I shivered and cowered into the door.

  “I may go to prison, but you won’t live so think wisely before trying to go for help.”

  He was insane. While I already knew it, his words only confirmed the point. Of course he could have been bluffing, though by the twisted and sick expression gracing his face to crease the scar above his lip he looked like he meant every word. It also appeared like he’d gain immense pleasure out of it.

  “I won’t try anything,” I whispered. For now I needed to play it safe. If we were heading back to England then I hoped I’d have more luck on home soil.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Cole

  I was going crazy.

  Having no option other than to take Levi’s advice I shut myself in my hotel room. However, with nothing to do but wait, I quickly began pacing the length of the room.

  Every minute I glanced at the clock. Sometimes not even a minute had passed between glances.

  I was desperate.

  Desperate for answers, desperate for action, and desperate to get Alaya back in my arms where I knew she was safe. I needed to feel her soft skin against mine. Until I had her in front of me where I could kiss and caress her, nothing could calm me.

  When my phone burst to life on the bed, I dived for it Superman style, almost knocking it to the floor as I overshot the mattress. Seizing it in one hand, Alaya’s name flashed at me and I couldn’t press answer fast enough. With a shaking hand, I lifted the speaker to my ear.

  “Cole?” Her voice sounded fragile … broken. I’d never heard her speak so quietly and her tone held no life. My chest cracked open at the sound, guilt and responsibility for her pain seizing my body.

  “I’m here, Gingernut.” I choked on the words and repressed my anger for her benefit. She had the right to lose it, but I needed to be her strength for once.

  “Crowley said if you aren’t back in the UK by ten a.m. tomorrow then … then I’m …then they’re going to—” Murmurs and scraping came from the other end of the phone as if someone was taking the mobile off her. For a second it all went quiet, then another voice came on the end of the line.

  “The last flight out leaves in an hour. I’ve booked you on it and a car will pick you up from Heathrow. You will get into the back, tie your wrists together with the cable tie you’ll find there, and you will be alone. Don’t contact the police or your buddy; I will know if you do. I don’t want to harm your girl, Arnold. She’s innocent in all of this, but I will.”

  Crowley’s voice and the use of my old surname sent a shiver skating over my spine. It refused to leave me as floods of memories returned.

  “I’ll be there.” There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind. I couldn’t keep running and allow Alaya to suffer for my mistakes.

  The line went dead and the knock on my door had me shooting off the bed. I consciously calmed my shallow breaths and
the thundering beats of my heart, glanced up at the clock to take note of the time, and opened the door.

  Levi stood there, his bag hanging off one shoulder and his laptop under his arm. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes, tousled hair as if he’d run his hand through it too many times, and it looked like he’d aged twenty years in the space of one flight. He stepped into the room with a nod of his head, dumping his bag by the door as he moved to set up the laptop on the desk.

  I didn’t buy Crowley’s threat not to go to Levi. The police maybe, since Crowley had a few contacts on the inside, yet Levi knew the good from the bad. Either way, using him was a risk I needed to take. I couldn’t pull anything off without him. He’d been researching Crowley’s organisation since he joined the force, and gathered so much intel on who worked for him that I trusted he would be able to form a team to have my back. The only problem I faced was convincing him to let me go in on my own to begin with. I couldn’t risk Alaya’s life by sending in a team without being there first no matter what Levi said.

  She remained the priority, not me.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Cole

  Just like Crowley instructed, a man holding my old surname waited for me at the arrivals point in Heathrow airport. The second our eyes met he turned and disappeared into the crowd. I followed him wordlessly, resisting the urge to scan the area for Levi’s buddy he swore would be watching. We decided Levi proved too recognisable and we didn’t want to spook Crowley by having him on the same flight back. It meant he left on the first train out after we locked down our plan so he would be ready in the UK when I arrived.

  I hated he wasn’t next to me, talking me through everything. While I never usually admitted I needed help, I was fighting for Alaya this time which meant I needed the best guys surrounding me. Levi was the best out there.

  I strode out to the waiting bays where the man climbed into a small, nondescript hatchback with tinted windows. As I approached the car, I kept my gait confident and ran through the plan once more in my head.