Page 39 of Trapped

“Come on.”I tried to keep my voice even.“You’re talking rubbish and we both know it.Of course I’m getting out of here.Untie me and give me back the mobile your guys swiped from me, and I’ll consider showing you leniency.”

My patronizing tone was a bit of a long shot, especially when I was the one bound to a chair, but it was worth an attempt.If there was any chance that Hawkins wasn’t experiencing a psychotic break and might be playable, then I had to exploit it.

“Yeah, sure.I’m just going to let you go after all this effort.”He gestured around the grim, windowless room.“Surely, you’re smarter than this, Baron?”

“So, what’s your plan?”

My heart raced faster at the question, the fact that I had to ask a greater admission of my plight than I cared to acknowledge.If Hawkins had genuine ill intent in mind, then the more I could get out of him in the comparatively cool and calm environment we found ourselves in, the better.Years of training lurched into action in my mind, my gaze flitting to his face to try and understand if his threats had substance.

“Now, why would I tell you that, old man?”Eyes shining, the bastard lowered toward me.“The only thing I’m prepared to share is that you have no agency in this place.Not that you were ever much of a fucking boss!”

“What?”I stared at him blankly, unable to accept what I was hearing.I’d worked my backside off to be a good manager, offering him more training than anyone else on my many teams, yet still, the small, scornful toad had thrown it back in my face.

Rising to his full height, he shoved his hands into his pockets.“Oh, there is one other thing.”

The anger burning in my veins meant I barely had the inclination to respond, but if the wanker was about to leave, I reasoned it might be one of my final chances to garner his attention.

“What?”The word was little more than a snarl.

“Thanks for lending me your phone.”He grinned, revealing a row of wonky teeth.“You’ve given me a whole new avenue to explore.”

Sirens flashed in my head at the odd disclosure of information.Why would he have told me something like that when he’d been so reluctant to share anything before?

“That’s my property,” I reminded him.“You have no right to seize it or keep me here like this.”I lifted my hands as far as the bondage allowed, elaborating my point.

“Yeah.”His brows knitted fleetingly.“I thought about that, and I do have an answer…” Lifting one finger to his lips, he tapped at his mouth in a theatrical display of contemplation.“Ah, yes, that was it...I don’t give a rat’s ass, Baron!”

“You fucker!”The fury barreled out of me, collecting in my clenched fists.“What are you playing at?”

“It’s been good chatting with you.”Sniggering, he turned.“But you know how it is… places to be and people to see…”

“Hawkins!”I hollered, watching in slow motion as he reached the door.

Instinctively, I knew what was going to happen next, as though it was a scene from an awful movie I’d seen one too many times before.As he hesitated, I realized that I had.I was only the latest man in a long line of poor fools to be held in soundproof boxes like the one encasing me.I knew what went on in those cells because I’d signed the authorization for more than one similar interrogation.

Pausing by the door, he glanced back, that same conceited smile etched onto his insufferable face.

“Don’t do this,” I urged him between gritted teeth.“Whatever it is you want, we can talk, and I’ll—”

“You’ll do nothing.”He cut me off, his gaze narrowing.“You’ve done quite enough, Baron.From now on, you’ll stay right where I put you and do as you’re fucking told.”

Yanking open the door, he swept out of the room, but not before he clicked the light switch back to its original position.The light was extinguished in one fell swoop, casting the cell I was stuck inside back into dejected darkness.

Staring ahead of me, I tried to recall how long ago the encounter with Hawkins had been.Time was impossible to measure without a clock or any natural light.

“At least an hour ago…” I decided at length, although what good the conclusion did me, I didn’t know.

Hawkins hadn’t been back, and if truth be told, I had a horrible feeling he’d left whatever compound I was being held in.I didn’t know where he was, but the snarky, bold, and sarcastic mood he was in didn’t bode well for whoever he encountered next.

Chapter Sixteen

Intensification

Eli

Dragged out of the chopper, my thoughts were in freefall.Where were we?How was Erin?If only I could catch sight of her, I’d be able to gauge how she was.I needed that guidance, to know how she was coping and what—beyond the obvious—she needed from me.Trapped in the confines of the hood, though, there was no hope of seeing her expressive eyes, and as my weary body bounced off the ground, I could only hope she wasn’t subject to my brutal mode of travel.

“Take her to my office.”

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