Page 85 of Belonging to Them
“I’ve already checked this room, a thousand times,” Tommy says.“There’s no way out.The desk isn’t high enough to reach the windows.And even if it was, I don’t know what’s on the other side.The drop might break a leg, which would be fine if it was just me, but no way are you jumping from them, Gianna.Not with the baby.Fuck, I’m so sorry?—”
“Enough with the apologies,” I say.“We don’t have time for those right now.We have to figure out how to escape.”
Tommy shakes his head.“It’s pointless, is what I’m saying.I’ve been here for I don’t even know how many days now, and they have me pissing in a bucket while I can’t remember a password I never had.”
“They’re keeping you for a password?”I ask.
“Password or ransom, whichever comes first.”He laughs bitterly.“And nobody wanted to pay the ransom, it seems.Well, they lost their patience, I guess.”
And so he’s just sat here, waiting for rescue or…or death, it seems.I look at the door we just came through.The hinges are on the other side, I guess—there’s no way to get at them from in here.
“Then they found out who you are,” Tommy continues.“I just wanted to give them the fucking safety deposit box, whatever was in it.Get them off my fucking back.Then they realized who you are, who your boyfriends are.”
Unbelievable…this whole nightmare is unbelievable.
“Now they want more money.”Tommy’s blue eyes are full of apologies.“I don’t know if we’ll get out of here if your boyfriends don’t pay up.I’m so fucking sorry, for all of this.I was the biggest dumbass.”
I don’t know how to respond.Can I even forgive him for this?Do I want to?Not really.But I’m too frightened to be angry right now.
Gianna moans and cries out.
“Babe,” Tommy says, holding her hand.“Would it be better to sit down?”
Tears leak from her eyes and she takes great, heaving breaths.My heart squeezes painfully in my chest—I hate that she’s in pain and I wish I could do something for her.After a long moment, she nods at Tommy.“Yeah, I think I’ll sit.”
He helps her to the floor, ignoring his damaged leg while he moves around, getting her situated.
“I think I’m going to have this baby in here,” she says.“I’m scared, Tom.”
“I know, baby,” he says, “but you’re so strong, okay?You can do this.”
She shakes her head.“No, no, no.I can’t do this.I’m so tired.”
“Rest between your contractions,” I tell her.I don’t know where the idea comes from, maybe I saw it in a show or something.Maybe it’s common sense, or maybe it’s the exact wrong thing to do, I don’t know.
Gianna nods.Tommy takes off his sweatshirt and bunches it into a makeshift pillow.
“Thank you,” Gianna says.“Thank you both.If…if something happens to me, take care of the baby.”
“Nothing bad is going to happen to you, but yes, of course we’ll take care of the baby,” I say.
As Gianna’s eyes close, Tommy looks over at me and widens his eyes in awhat the fuck do we do?expression.I can only shrug.I have no idea.
I reach up to my collar and touch the necklace Kingston and Sebastian gave me.I wish they were here, but I believe, with my whole heart, they’re doing everything in their power to find me.I’m sure by now they know that I’m missing.
“Those thugs who brought you here, they hit you,” Tommy says quietly.
“I fought them over getting in the car, until they threatened Gianna.”
“I can’t believe you two met,” he says.
“Yeah, well, I can’t believe a lot of shit that’s happened in the past few weeks.”I move to the door and jiggle the handle.Unsurprisingly, it’s locked.Even if it weren’t, there’s the padlock on the other side to contend with.
“You probably have a lot of questions for me,” Tommy says.
I laugh quietly.“Not really.I’ve pieced most of it together, I think.Huge debts from underground gambling, you got your girl pregnant.You faked your kidnapping to get money out of my boyfriends, then the kidnapping actually happened.Bartering away our secret inheritance—thanks for hiding that from me, too, by the way—didn’t work because you couldn’t access it, and so more ransom demands.”
“I said I’m sorry,” he says.“What more do you want?”
