Page 35 of A Captive Situation

A smothered laugh vibrated against my back. “Why do you think I have you turned that way?”

“I feel like an idiot. You put me in some sort of adult-sized swaddler, backward. Where did you get this? Are there stores for kidnappers? Kidnappers-R-Us?”

A smothered laugh reverberated behind me. He coughed over it. “Just quit bitching until you hear what I have to say. I’ll explain everything.”

I went still, not that I was moving much. It was completely useless. But the little struggling I was still trying, for my own mental sake, I halted. “You promise?Everything?”

“Yes.” He cleared the trees, and I saw there was a small road that he’d used, where some kind of cart was parked. Instead of untying me and letting me sit on the seat, he climbed up, sat sideways, and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He retucked me, pulling me tighter around him so I couldn’t move an inch.

I wanted to protest, but ... I felt kinda snug. Though, hanging down was annoying. I growled until the cart started up. That distracted me because holy shit, it was silent. Like, stealth silent and with no lights. He drove us back like that from his phone.

I was so frustrated.

I had no fighting chance against him. Not when he had toys like this.

“What kind of cop has access to tech like that? Aren’t you guys supposed to be poor?”

“Were you not paying attention when my cousin was bitching? Money is not an issue for my family. Any of us.”

He sighed. I felt it more than heard it, and after that, I got quiet, feeling just how seriously strong he was. There was no softness on his body. He was pure muscle. Feeling him, remembering that glimpse I got of him earlier when he’d changed clothes and a small section of his very flat stomach showed, I gulped, feeling itchy.

“Stop squirming. Just wait to hear me out. You know I was forced to take you.”

“Our definitions of force vary. What dictionary are you using? The criminal one?”

A slight snort sounded from him. “We’re almost back.”

Oh joy. Almost back to where he’d put me on a chair, tie me to it. It didn’t matter if it was reclined or not, I’d be tied down.

I didn’t think so. “Promise you won’t tie me up.” I tried to look at him, but the most I could see was the back of his shoulder.

He went still, his head turning toward me. “Promise you’ll hear me out.”

I let out a long, frustrated breath of air, but said, “Fine.”

“Fine,” he clipped out, just as annoyed.

We kept going in the complete dark. “How are you driving this thing? There’s no lights.”

He didn’t reply, only saying, “We’re almost back. I’ll make you food too.”

And with that, my stomach let loose a growl that could’ve scared off a grizzly bear. Normally I’d be mortified, but we were past that with the whole two dead guys and him kidnapping me. Plus, I’d peed in front of him.

When he pulled up to the house, he stowed the cart in a building, plugging it in. He kept me on his back. How strong was this guy? Seriously? I was a good hundred and forty pounds. I wasn’t some lightweight woman, but he was walking around as if I were a backpack that he was too lazy to drop.

I was getting a little sick from the different motions and all the ups and downs before he stepped out and hit another button on his phone. A big door closed, coming from the top like it was a garage door.

As we crossed to the house, I took in the scenery this time. I hadn’t been able to before.

He was right. We were surrounded by trees. Trees and trees and trees. A knot formed, thinking how stupid it had been of me to try, but I had to. That was lesson one of being kidnapped. You get a chance, you run.

We’d come up a smaller trail, but there was a driveway jutting out to my left side.

Which would be my right side if I was normal, and not upside-down.

Wait ... Did I have that wrong?

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