by Alaska Jones
I shoot a scowl her way and leave, checking both doors before I unlock the apartment door. My black Jeep greets me with stale air and leather seats that are too warm for my liking. The summer heat has kicked in even though it’s still spring on the calendar.
Not wasting a second, I drop my things on the passenger seat and pull out of the tiny, overgrown parking lot. Twenty minutes and a dozen pissed off drivers later, I arrive to Club Velvet and immediately spy Charlie in the parking lot. Of course, Jenna has already called him about Hunt, and even now, he’s on the phone with someone. As I wait, the earpiece clicks again, making me blink in surprise.
“Jenna? Charlie told me everything, are you okay??” an unfamiliar female voice fills my ears.
“Tina! Did he tell you that I’m about to leave town, and you’re going with me?”
“I don’t understand a thing. He gave me a week off and said I should stay in. What’s going on?”
“Wait a sec. I gotta get dressed.”
Get dressed? I listen to some distant noises, wondering what she’s getting dressed for. Meanwhile, Charlie and his men get into the Range Rover and leave. Tires squeal as I race after them, grimacing at my clumsiness. He’s got four men with him. Something’s about to go down, and here I am, distracted by Jenna’s phone conversation.
“Okay, I’m back. Long story short, Anthony got in trouble and ran off. The guy that’s been sent after him is keeping me locked in his apartment, but I’m about to get out. I have to leave and lie low for a few months. Please, please tell me you’re coming with me.”
I shake my head as anger builds in my veins. Foolish girl! At least, Charlie’s route is taking me back in home’s direction.
“Wait, how are you going to get out? Has he hurt you?”
“No, he’s okay, but I can’t stay here.”
“Okay??” Tina exclaims incredulously. “How can someone who kidnaps and kills people be okay?”
“Jesus, Tina, it’s a long story. He’s just doing his jo- ”
“WHAT? Girl, you got some serious Stockholm syndrome there! Are you sure you’re okay?”
I roll my eyes, taking a right turn at the last moment, just as Charlie’s car disappears around the corner. Stockholm syndrome, my ass.
“Yes. Charlie’s got someone waiting for my call. I just need to give them something so they can find me.”
I hit the breaks when the Range Rover pulls up by a small Mexican restaurant. There’s a loud screech in my earpiece, and to my horror, I realize it’s the sound of the opening window. No, no, no…
“Jenna?”
“Wait a minute, I need to look out the window.”
“How long does it take to look out the window?”
I sit up straight. If I leave now, I might miss my chance to finish the damn job and get out of town tonight. If I stay, Jenna might give away my hideout or worse, fall out the window. With her luck, I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Crap, I can’t see anything. There’s a billboard just behind the corner, but I can’t see that far.”
“Are you sure there’s no other way?”
“No. There’s the door, but if I break anything and don’t get out, he’ll see it and I’ll be in trouble.”
I barely register her words, torn between staying and leaving. On the one hand, I already know the place, and it’s not like I’m going to see what happens inside. On the other, anything could happen, and I have to be here.
I let out an angry growl and start the engine, when suddenly, the Range Rover leaves. What the hell? I try to recall if I missed anything because I was distracted, but no, no one has come out of the car! Either it’s not where Charlie was headed yet, or…
I floor the gas pedal and turn the car around, heading home. It’s Hunt. My plan has worked, and the meeting has been called off because of the info that Jenna leaked to Charlie. My instinct was right: he’s still in town. I allow myself a smug grin, wiped off by Jenna’s voice,
“Okay, I’ve got an idea. Hang on a sec. I found something that could help me get farther out without falling out the window.”
“J, are you insane? Stop that immediately and find another way!” Tina’s words mirror my thoughts, and I take a shortcut, speeding up.
“Rela-a-a-x…” Jenna drawls as another squeak sounds in the background. “And start packing.”
Two minutes, I think, running a red at a deserted intersection. All the frustration, all the anger that has been bottled up inside me suddenly rises to the surface, and I know exactly who I’m taking it out on. Maybe she deserves it, maybe not. Right now, I don’t care.
“Okay, wish me luck,” Jenna says as I come to a screeching stop by the porch.
“Somehow, I doubt it’s gonna help.”
Thirty seconds, I count in my head, jumping out of the car and dashing up the stairs.
“Oh, it’s helping already. I see something…”
Catching my breath after running up six flights of stairs, I unlock the apartment door, but pause at the last moment. Whatever she’s doing in there, she’s in control, and if I scare her, she’ll only have a few seconds. It’s enough for me to get in and grab her. But if she hears me now, I might be too late.
I slip inside without a sound, then do the same with the bedroom door. She’s sitting on the windowsill, still holding the damn phone to her ear with one hand while the other is wrapped in my leather belt, tied to the window handle.
“I see it! It’s a pink billboard, and there’s- ” she breaks off, turning to look right at me, as if she somehow felt I was there. “Shit!”
I freeze and hold up my hands to show her that it’s alright, but it’s too late.
The belt is out of her hand, and she’s falling.
Chapter 14
Jenna
It happens too quickly for me to understand what went wrong. One second, I’m struggling to regain my balance; the other, I’m falling over backwards; and the next, something grabs my jeans belt and yanks at it with so much force, I practically fly back inside.
I suck in a terrified breath, wrapping my arms around what turns out to be Cage’s neck, and realize it’s his hand that’s clutching my belt. My ankles lock around his waist, and he wraps his arm around me so tightly, I can barely breathe, but I so don’t care.
“Thank God…” I breathe out, burying my face in the crook of his neck.
His hair is soft against my skin, and he smells of soap and aftershave and man, and I can’t get enough. Time slows down as I freeze in his arms, too caught up in the moment to move or to admit to myself that I love the way his steel-hard body feels against mine. With my fingers tangled in his hair, I hold on tightly, wishing I could stay like this forever.
Until he untangles himself from my grasp and dumps me on the bed.
“You just have a death wish, don’t you?” he growls out, leaning over me. “I leave for half an hour, and here you are, swinging out the window like some…”
I never find out what he was going to say, because he lets out another frustrated growl and stomps off to the wardrobe, raking through it like a maniac. I see a rope in his hand and lunge for the door.
“Oh, don’t even think about it!” he snarls, grabbing me with one arm and pinning me to the bed. Before I can get away, he flops down on top of me, making me gasp for air under his crushing weight.
“Get off me, you animal!” I yell at him, struggling to get out, but he only presses down harder. Fighting him is pointless, so I grasp the rope instead, not letting him wrap it around my wrists. “The hell you doing?? Just get off me, and we’ll talk!”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” In a single move, he makes some tricky knot and wraps the rope around the iron headboard, pulling both my hands up over my head. “I tried treating you nicely, but you don’t seem to appreciate it.”
I curse and kick him in the back, only to have my knee pinned to the bed.
“And if there’s an animal here, it’s you. Who else would climb out the window with a belt in thei
r hand?” He leans down, speaking in a low voice mere inches away. “That’s right, keep fighting me. You’re only giving me an excuse to hurt you, and I really, really need one right now.”
“If that’s what you’re trying to do,” I hiss in his face, “go ahead. I’d rather see how ugly you really are than end up disappointed again.”
“I’m trying to save your life here, and all you have to do is sit tight while I do all the work, but no-o-o…”
“All the work??” I cut him off, annoyed. “You mean killing people? Wow, you must be real proud of yourself!” He moves back to sit on my knees when I try to kick him again. Now, I’m completely helpless.
“I haven’t killed anyone yet, but I’m this close to it right now,” he gestures in my face and draws back to tie up my feet.
“You lock me in here and expect me to be fine with it?! I don’t even know you!”
“You know I saved your life! What else do you need??”
“I need proof that you know what you’re doing! I need to know why you’re so sure you can find a way out of this!” The words spill out before I can stop them, and I realize that I do want to trust him, and maybe I already trust him more than the people I’ve known for years. But I would never admit it out loud.
Seconds tick by in silence as he stares down at me, struggling to breathe through his anger.
“Well, I can’t help you with that, sweetheart…” He puts on a blank face, turning his attention to the rope on my ankles. I feel so defeated, I don’t even care.
“Are you sure?” I offer meekly.
“What, you want a list of people I successfully killed? Or my plan, so you can blab about it to someone? Sorry, not gonna happen.”
I drop it, stretching hopelessly on the bed. At least, he hasn’t tied my feet to it, so I can move a little.
“What now? You gonna keep me tied up?”
“No, I’m gonna make sure you don’t fall out the window again.” He walks out for a moment and returns with a toolbox. My eyes widen when I see him take out a hammer and start nailing the window shut.
“Oh, come on! I need fresh air!”
“You’ll have plenty of it soon.”
I turn away with a martyred groan, trying to ignore the noise and him taking away my last chance to escape. Before he showed up, I was just about to tell Tina that the pink billboard was a Maybelline ad. Now, I doubt it’s enough information for them to find me, and with the window closed, I won’t even be able to call for help when Cage is not here.
I sigh, turning back to see him leave again. “Hey! I thought you were going to untie me!”
“Not yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? If you want to punish me, just bring me another bowl of that crappy oatmeal and be done with it!”
“It’s not about punishing you. There are still plenty of stupid things you could do in here, so I’m gonna make sure I can see what you’re up to all the time.”
“What?” I exclaim, utterly confused now.
He comes back in to pick up the phone that I dropped. That’s another subject we’re going to fight about, and I cringe, imagining him going through the call history.
“What’s this?” he asks in a strange voice, and I open one eye to find him staring at the empty bowl on the nightstand.
“Um… It’s a bowl?”
“Why is it empty? I know you didn’t eat your breakfast.” Realization dawns on his face, and he turns to the window. “You’ve been throwing out the food??”
I shrug, not understanding why he’s so surprised. “You’ve been putting sleeping pills in it. Call it even?” His eyes narrow, and I know he doesn’t appreciate the humor. “In the past week, I’ve been assaulted, nearly killed, and kidnapped. Don’t you think that having to eat your cooking is just a tad too much?”
I feign an apologetic grimace, enjoying his hurt expression too much to care about the consequences. He’s a good cook, but seeing him storm out of the room like a pissed-off boy is the highlight of my week.
A second later, he comes back in and points his long finger at me. “My cooking is fine. It’s you that’s fucked up!”
“Okay… That’s enough interaction for one day. Bye-bye.”
I roll over onto my side and hear the door bang as he leaves. As much as I enjoy getting back at him for once, I feel so bitter, it’s eating at me from the inside. I blew it all. Plan A, plan B, whatever hopes I had, all gone. He’ll never trust me again, and I’m now forced to trust this shady, probably deranged creature with my life.
I’m fucked, I groan and squeeze my eyes shut, begging for sleep to come and take me away from this place.
Chapter 15
Cage
I swallow the last piece of the chicken sandwich that I’ve been trying to lay my hands on since the moment I woke up, and frown at the grid door that I left in the hallway.
It’s been half an hour since I got home, and all I’ve been doing is avoiding the work so I don’t wake up the Vixen in my bedroom and get into another fight. The last one has drained all my energy, and the pleasant morning seems so far away now. I did untie her without waking her up, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go right now.
I sigh and finish the coffee, searching for the toolbox with my eyes. It’s past noon, and there’s still plenty of work for me to do, including a ride to Club Velvet because that’s where Charlie’s going to be tonight. After what happened with Jenna, I’ll need another source of information.
I grab the drill and head to the bedroom. Two minutes into the grid installation, she’s up and spitting accusations. “The hell is this?” She blinks at me sleepily, keeping a safe distance of a few feet, with me wielding a drill and all.
“Your new grid door.” I put on a calm face, ignoring her angry tone.
“So now I don’t have my freedom and privacy?”
“You have the bathroom,” I say with a shrug.
“Yeah, that you have a key to!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, have I ever barged in on you naked?” I smirk at her scarlet cheeks as she glowers at me. “On the upside, with this,” I point my finger at the grid, “you can see me walking by naked anytime you want. Just ask.”
“Screw you.” She turns her back to me and goes to sit on the bed, so theatrically offended, I have to restrain myself from laughing. “I’m hungry, so fix me something for lunch before you finish this,” she waves her hand at the doorway, turning on the TV.
I shake my head. “No can do. Was going to get groceries today, but then someone decided to jump out my window.”
“Yeah, about that…” I pause, hearing her suspicious tone. Shit. “How come you got here just in time?” I turn on the drill and pretend not to hear her. While I search for an explanation, she saves my sorry ass and comes up with one herself. “And please, don’t tell me there’s a camera somewhere in here.”
I keep my face blank as I put down the drill and screws, cross the room, and take off the wall clock. She watches me walk out of the room, mouth open, and a few long seconds pass before I hear her furious scream,
“C-a-g-e!!”
I shake with laughter in the kitchen while she rages on about something she made up herself.
“Is that the only one?” she speaks through her teeth when I return.
“What?” I put on an innocent face.
“Camera, you pig!”
“Maybe…” I lift the door that I had taken off before installing the grid, and head to the balcony. “Maybe not…”
This sets off another string of curses, which I listen to with a malicious kind of joy. After everything that’s gone wrong in the past few days, the relief I feel from a healthy chuckle is liberating. I can’t wipe the silly grin off my face as I look for the last bottle of beer in the fridge, while Jenna goes on and on,
“…and saving my life does not equal owning me! When I get out, I’m going to find you and make you pay for all this, and trust me- ”
“Hey, you want a yogurt?” I c
ut into her furious tirade. For a few seconds, it’s quiet.
“Is it Greek?” she replies at last, her anger forgotten.
“Yep.” I grab a spoon and walk back to the bedroom, feeling like a zoo visitor at a wild cat’s cage. “Don’t bite my hand off, or this will be the last yogurt you get from me.”
She ignores my jab and snatches the container, casually scratching my hand. I choose not to notice her glowering at me from across the room as I get back to work.
Fifteen minutes later, everything’s set. I yank at the grid a few times to test it, but it’s solid. If anything happens here, it might actually be good for Jenna’s safety.
I cast a covert glance at her, seeing that she’s still staring at me through slitted eyes. Leaving her on her own when she’s so pissed seems like a terrible idea. That’s when I remember that she still doesn’t know about the phone, and I can kill two birds with one stone: keep using her as a source of information and keep an eye (or an ear) on her while I’m out.
She follows me with her eyes as I come in and take the phone out of my jeans pocket, handing it to her. Eyebrows raised, she takes it and stares up at me.
“I guess you’ve already told your friends all about this. If it makes you feel better, you can keep in touch with them. I don’t suppose they know how to trace a phone call, do they? But if I find out that you’re using it against me, you will regret it. Understood?”
Her gaze meets mine, and she gives a slow nod.
“I’m going to the store. You’ve got plenty of time to clean up in here before supper.” I point my eyes at the overturned chair, lamp, and everything else that we knocked over in our fight.
“Fine.” She sounds stiff, but not angry anymore, and I leave thinking that she doesn’t seem to be in the mood for more escape attempts.
Of course, the moment I walk out the door, she calls Tina. After a healthy amount of whining, she remembers about the billboard, and I bring the car to a rough stop just outside the parking lot when I hear her next words,
