by Dee Garcia
“Get naked,” she said in a domineering tone, sashaying her sweet little ass down the narrow hallway that lead to the master. “I'll be waiting.”
“Yes ma’am.” I chuckled, quickly trailing into the living area to turn on the lights.
Nothing happened when I flipped the switch though.
What the hell?
I tried again, flipping it on and off several times but still nothing happened.
Suddenly I was jerked backward into the dark and a thick cloth was shoved in my face followed by a strong arm curling firmly around my neck.
I struggled against my assailant but they tightened their hold around me and pressed the cloth further into my face. Hazel, I thought to myself in panic as my mind began to fog. I could barely breathe, feeling weaker and weaker by the second, my body slumping in a heap against my captor.
Darkness.
“He's awake.” A woman's voice said from somewhere nearby.
I lifted my head and groaned, still feeling some of the effects from whatever had been used to put me out. My eyes struggled focus around the room even as the sound of footsteps approaching grew louder.
It was light enough for me to see I was in an empty warehouse but dark enough that I couldn't make out who was lurking in the shadows.
“Good evening, Mr. Carr.” Said the same feminine voice.
Peering around me, I searched for this greeting source until a small figure stepped into the light, freezing me in shock. Not that I could move, really, I was bound to a fucking chair.
“Lexi?”
She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. “That’s me.”
“What do you want?” I asked in confusion.
“The same thing my partner wants. Oh, and my title. I want my fucking title back too.”
Hazel.
Renewed fear consumed me in an instant and I struggled against my restraints in attempt to break free. “Where’s Hazel?”
Lexi laughed. “She's in one piece. Not to worry, handsome. We got her pretty good, however, I do suspect she'll be waking up any minute now.”
My heart hammered at an alarming rate, my chest rising and falling with each breath as though I'd just run five miles. Panic surged through my veins, churning my stomach with a heavy dose of unease.
“Where is she?” I gritted out.
“In the bathroom of your suite,” uttered a voice I knew all too well.
I snapped my head toward the sound and sure enough, there he was, stalking toward me with a satisfied smile etched on his pretty boy face.
“So nice to see you again, Mr. Carr.”
“What do you want, Jason?” I growled, leering at him as he stopped a foot away from me.
“The question is, Mr. Carr, what don't I want?” His smile widened. “If we’re being honest, I want it all, but I'll narrow it down for that tiny little mind of yours to better understand.”
Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the Glock he always carried when on the job and dragged the cool tip along my jaw to my chin, forcing me to meet his stare.
“Your girl, for one. Well, I used to. I don't particularly care for the little bitch anymore. Hot piece of ass she is though, huh? Pretty face, great tits, nice figure”—he shut his eyes and groaned exaggeratedly—“I can't tell you how many times I got off to thoughts of her naked, in my bed…”
I jerked forward with a snarl, the chair screeching through my momentary lapse of judgment.
Jason threw his head back and laughed, the diabolical sound echoing off the walls of the room. Then the gun was roughly pushed against my throat.
“Easy there, tiger. Save your energy.”
“What. Do. You. Want. Jason.” I enunciated every word of my question just as my phone began blaring in my pocket.
Jason glanced at Lexi who stepped forward without hesitation and sauntered to where I sat.
“I'm not trying to feel you up, I promise.” She cooed, patting me down until she felt the vibration coming from my right pocket. Swiftly fishing it out, she handed it to Jason.
“Oh, well look at that.” He chuckled, shaking my phone in his hand. “Right on time too. Now I can spare myself from having to repeat the same thing to the both of you.”
Accepting the call, he lifted the phone to his ear. “What can I do for you, Miss Perry?”
A momentary sense of relief washed over me knowing Hazel was indeed okay but it melted away when I realized she was more than likely losing her damn mind.
Jason listened intently, that devious grin slithering across his face again. “The one and only.”
Apparently Hazel’s response was comical because he laughed. “Knox is bit”—his eyes flickered to my restrained form—“tied up at the moment. Can I take a message?”
He listened and laughed again, more like howled, taking the few steps toward me and holding out the phone just inches away. “Well go ahead. You're on speaker.”
“I’m okay, baby.” I said in the steadiest voice I could manage.
Hazel gasped. “Knox…”
“I'm okay, I promise.”
“Jason I swear to God if you hurt him, I’ll…”
“You'll what?” He asked darkly. “Kill me? If you want your precious man to live another day I suggest you choose your next words wisely, Lioness.”
The line went silent. That he was threatening my life didn't scare me in the slightest. I was much more worried of what was running through Hazel’s mind.
“Please don't hurt him,” she whimpered. “I'll do anything you want.”
“Ding, ding, ding… That happens to be the correct answer!”
“What do you want?”
“Your fucking money, that's what.” Jason snapped.
“Money? That's what this is all about?”
“Didn't I tell you everything was about money? But no, you didn't listen to a word I said, and then you fucking screwed me. For three years I watched over your ungrateful ass and you discarded me like I was no one, so now, I'm going to screw you.” His voice carried through the room, dripping with hate and resentment.
“J-Jason, I'm sorry but you left me no choice.”
“No choice?” He scoffed. “You had plenty of choices, one of them being to stick with me, but you never gave me the time of day.”
“I-I…” Hazel stammered.
“Yeah, yeah, at a total loss for words. Cut the shit. You know damn well how I felt about you. Anyway, moving on,” he said in a lighter tone. “Shall we talk numbers?”
“How much?” She asked.
“How much is sitting pretty in that bank account of yours?”
The sound of frantic clicking could be heard through line.
“Just under one mil.”
My eyes widened. What the amount was didn't matter to me, it was just shocking to hear.
“Perfect. I want it all.”
“You can have it,” she said without hesitation. “Just please don't hurt him.”
“I can’t promise you anything because well, I might get bored awaiting your arrival. We’re in one of the warehouses on Harbor Island. Bring your checkbook.”
A door clicked shut. “I’m leaving now.”
“Oh, and Hazel?” His voice was severely quiet. “No funny business. Come alone.”
And then he ended the call.
They drugged me again. After tossing my phone on the floor without care, Jason pistol-whipped the side of my head and Lexi promptly sidled up behind me with the rancid cloth. I was out in seconds and when I finally came to, my head was pounding in protest.
My eyebrow stung too and I could feel a warm trickle running down the side of my face. Turning my head slowly, I found Jason and Lexi seated several feet away, whispering softly to one another while they enjoyed a drink as though holding someone against their will was a casual occurrence.
“Don’t hurt him.” Hazel’s voice carried through the room suddenly, bringing their hushed conversation to an end. Jason snapped his eyes toward the sound, a Cheshir
e Cat grin splitting his smug face in two.
“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up.” He said, setting the glass down on the table and rising to his feet.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Don't hurt him.”
“Depending on how well you cooperate, I'll see what I can do.”
“I can't write out of full amount but I can do 50k. I'll get you the rest tomorrow, I swear.”
He appeared to be considering her offer, rubbing a hand over his chin. “I'll agree, on one condition.”
“Name it, it’s yours.”
“You fight, right here.”
“Fight who? You?”
“No,” Lexi corrected, rising to her feet. “Me.”
“Lexi?” Hazel asked incredulously.
“What? You really didn't see me sitting there?” She came to stand beside Jason.
“No, actually, I didn't. I was a little too preoccupied with the fact that my boyfriend is being held hostage by my former bodyguard.”
“You should be grateful he's a hostage rather than a dead body.” Jason said as he cocked back the slide on the Glock and pointed it toward me. “I can change that though.”
Hazel gasped. “Jason, please don’t. Please.” She begged.
The desperation in her voice roiled my insides in a vicious knot and ran every drop of my blood ice cold. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and chase away her fear.
I could only imagine what dark, unforesaken thoughts had been running through her mind since waking up in that bathroom, let alone the ones plaguing her now as she watched Jason point the gun to my chair-bound form.
Moments later, Hazel was at my side. She took one look at me and paled, fresh tears welling in her eyes. Then she did something I never would have allowed if I wasn’t fucking restrained. She stepped in front of me, placing herself between me and gun.
“Hazel,” I gritted out, shifting in my seat.
She peeked over her shoulder and shook her head.
“I have a question.” Her voice was steadier than I expected.
“Go on.” Jason hedged.
“What does me fighting Lexi now have to do with any of this?”
Lexi made her way around Jason and came toe to toe with Hazel. “Nothing. But he asked for my help to put you two down, so I agreed, only if he gave me a percentage and I got to fight you outside the cage. No ref, no audience, just me and you.”
“And the purpose of that would be?’
“To show you who that title belongs to.” Lexi snarled, inching her face closer to Hazel. “And hopefully to break you enough that come Friday, you’ll submit and hand it over.”
Hazel scoffed unfazed. “I’ll never submit. You want the title, then come get it.”
“Remember, Hazel,” Jason interjected. “I will only agree to that 50k if you fight Miss Panterra right now.”
Once again he sounded so condescending, I wanted to rip his eyeballs out. With their attention honed in on Hazel, I tried wiggling my wrists free but the rope was bound much too tight. It rubbed against my skin painfully which was obviously done with purpose.
“If I do this, you promise to set him free once I sign?”
Jason hummed in agreement. “Indeed, however, you won't be free to go. You can both make yourselves comfortable here until morning. Once I have the remainder of what you owe me, then you can walk.”
Hazel peeked over her shoulder once more and I shook my head, hoping she'd see what an awful idea this was. It had to be some sort of a trap.
“Fine.” She conceded, turning away from me. “One five minute round, then I sign, and then you let him go.”
Jason holstered the gun and reached inside his jacket to retrieved his phone, dropping down into one of the two chairs. “Well, what are you two waiting for? Get on with it.”
“Hazel, don't.” I tried again as she tossed her hair up in a bun and shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. When our stares collided, that feral gleam in her eyes was already there.
Nothing I said or did would have the power to talk her down. Her mind was firmly set and she was moving forward with her decision whether I liked it or not.
Coming to stand in between my legs, she leaned forward and cupped my face gently, her eyebrows knitting together. “This is gonna get ugly”—a thumb brushed over my cheek—“close your eyes and pretend we’re somewhere else, just the two of us. Maybe the beach or a cabin somewhere in the mountains.”
“You can't do this.” I implored her. “It has to be a trap.”
A pained expression flashed across her face. “I have to,” she said simply before leaving me with a tender kiss and retreating away to an open space in the room.
“Are you ready, ladies?” Jason asked amused.
Hazel brought her arms up, Lexi following her lead, and when they nodded in unison, Jason tapped the screen of his phone.
“The clock is ticking...”
Lexi wasted absolutely no time and rushed toward Hazel with a cocky grin. If I had the ability to clap at her stupidity, I would have.
Sure enough, as Lexi approached, Hazel swung out with an arm so quick, clocking Lexi right in the jaw. She stumbled backward, stunned from the blow, allowing Hazel a moment to pounce and trap her in a headlock, slamming her down onto the concrete.
Lexi howled and I was positive blood was about to start pooling around her head with how hard Hazel had thrown her down but somehow, she was still conscious.
That lasted for maybe fifteen more seconds because Hazel mounted her and threw down three forceful punches that most definitely knocked her out then.
Jason abruptly rose to his feet and began clapping like some deranged lunatic, whipping Hazel’s head in his direction. Her lip curled in a snarl as she watched him with that predatory stare.
Neither Jason nor I were expecting what she did next. With a growl, she was on her feet, barreling toward him in a full sprint. He dodged her assault though and spun her around with an arm curled around her neck, reaching for the gun at his waist.
Lifting it to her temple, he growled, “Try that shit again and I won't hesitate to pull the trigger.”
The chair screeched as I surged forward, panic and desperation seizing me the minute I saw the gun leave the holster.
“DON’T!” I roared.
The images that flitted through my mind were enough to make me go insane. I wrestled anxiously against my restraints once more, praying to God I could somehow free myself, but to no avail.
Amidst my frantic trepidation, I almost didn't see the metal bat that came out of the darkness and nailed the side of Jason’s head. His grip around Hazel’s neck slipped away and he toppled to the floor, revealing a very satisfied Emmanuel.
Thank Christ.
Hazel spun around and sucked in surprised breath, throwing her arms around the giant's neck.
“I told you not to come in, Manny.” She scolded him softly.
“How could I not, baby girl? Somehow I knew you'd be outnumbered.” He countered, wrapping her up in a tight hold. “Should I dial emergency?”
Lexi groaned from not so far away, reminding us of her presence.
“No.” Hazel said firmly, pulling away from Emmanuel. “Her and I have unfinished business.”
“And him?” He asked in reference to an immobile Jason.
“We’ll figure something out.”
Emmanuel nodded and glanced over to where I sat. “Let's get you out of these before dipshit wakes up, shall we?”
I chuckled, nodding. “Thanks man.”
He undid the bindings, first around my arms, then my ankles. His massive hand came down on my shoulder as I stood on shaky feet, my head spinning for a brief moment. A gurgled, painful yelp set me straight, both Manny and I turning to the sound.
Hazel was dragging Lexi, by her hair, across the room where she hoisted her up by her shirt and pinned her against the wall.
“You're lucky I have no desire to spend my life in prison,
otherwise I would point that gun straight to your head and blow it off.” Hazel gritted out. “So here's how this is going work. I'm going to let you walk out of here and you're going to keep your mouth shut. If you run to the cops, I'll let them listen to the recording on my phone, which in turn will screw up your master plan to play the victim. You got that?”
Lexi nodded, a stream of crimson pouring down from her nose and mouth.
Hazel pushed her further into the wall. “Oh, and, what you experienced tonight…that was only a mere fraction of the hell I’m going to unleash on you in that cage Friday night. I promise you're going to wish I had killed you.”
A chill coursed through me at the severity of Hazel’s tone. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d ever hear something so murderous come out of her mouth. It was frightening yet I found myself admiring her bravery.
She was scared, I knew she was, but her instinct to survive and protect what was hers was far greater than any fear could ever trump. And I was hers, much in the same way that she was mine. Had the roles been reversed I would’ve done the same without hesitation.
I think it was then I realized I was madly in love with Hazel Perry…
As though she sensed my stare, she turned to me, eyes wild, chest heaving. She shoved Lexi away and advanced toward me, moving a little quicker with every few steps until finally she collided into me and wound her arms around my middle. I crushed her against me, breathing a true sigh of relief.
“I hate to be the one to break this up but Fremont is about to wake up any minute now. We should go.” That was Emmanuel.
Hazel and I turned to see Jason’s limp body bound to the chair I'd been sitting in not long ago.
“I'll come back for him but I want you two out of here before that. C’mon.” He said, bending down to pick up the bat he'd used on Jason.
The three of us took off for the exit in silence. Hazel death-gripped my hand like I'd disappear before her very eyes as we followed closely behind Manny.
“You're not going to…” She trailed off, but we all knew what she was insinuating.
Manny shook his head as we descended several flights of stairs with only a cell phone light illuminating the way. “No, Hazel. I'm not going to kill him, but I can assure you he’ll never try anything like that again.”
