Page 8 of Unhinged Cravings
Riley let out a complaint until I silenced it with a finger. “How long can you and Raines stay?” I hated having to involve them, but my instinct told me if Emerson was desperate enough to attempt kidnapping Riley again and leave the man his men thought was me alive, then this was big.
“We can stay a few more days.”
“Good.” I disconnected, my mind piecing things together. A botched kidnapping was not like my brother. The Omens were strict, calculating, and cold. When they struck, they struck hard, annihilating families and hitting them where they were most vulnerable. But this had been sloppy. As had the instances involving Mason’s girl and Tyson’s wife. Sloppy was not something my brother did.
“What’s wrong, boss?” Den asked, and my gut twisted at what I was about to tell him. Riley shifted next to me. I was about to destroy Den with the news of Ava’s kidnapping and obliterate Riley’s happy ending to a wedding that had been fraught with wrong turns. First, moving it forward and not giving her the Christmas wedding she’d wanted, then further moves when Tyson was shot, leaving the party early without goodbyes, and now this. It made me want to turn the clock back and start over, to undo the mistakes, but as I’d learned with past mistakes, there was no going back. No matter how much regret they caused.
Chapter Six
AVA
Nausea sat in my stomach, threatening to spill. There were so many things I needed to process about the last few hours. How had I gone from hands groping my body to blood splatters and dead men? I sat on the side of the enormous fourposter bed, thinking this room was too extravagant to be a prison. The furniture was a dark mahogany and included a large dresser and two nightstands. The cool mint color gave a strange calm to the overwhelming sense of doom that sat in my chest. Even the matching bedding gave a false sense of tranquility.
I didn’t know who these guys were, other than their leader was Greyson Tides’ brother and he seemed unhinged. The brain matter in my hair made that apparent. Thinking about it had my skin crawling, and I made my way to the bathroom. I desperately needed a shower and maybe it shouldn’t have been my priority given I was a prisoner in a madman’s house with two dead men not far from my room, but the idea of chunks of brain in my hair and on my back made it my priority. Plus, I did my best thinking in the shower.
Looking around the bathroom, I spotted all the necessities: soap, shampoo, towels, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb. Hehad expected to kidnap Riley. I picked up a bar of floral soap, my nose crinkling at the potent smell. Had this all been for her? It seemed strange to give her or me amenities and such a fancy prison.
The walk-in shower was large enough to fit three people, the shower head like something I imagined they had in five-star hotels. Stripping, I grabbed a less smelly bar of soap from the counter and some shampoo and conditioner with a vanilla scent. The water was luxurious when I stepped under it, and I let it calm the nerves in my muscles. Only with my hair and body completely drenched did I let reality enter my mind. Doing so threatened to undo everything I was—steadfast, smart, quirky, bold. I took risks, looked fear in the eyes and laughed, went to haunted Halloween rides just to laugh at the actor chasing me down with a rubber hatchet. I walked home from work at night armed with years of self-defense training and a can of pepper spray, head held high and shoulders back.
Nothing had scared me in years. Until today. I hadn’t let it show, too proud to let that man see me tremble, but I had been terrified. He shot those two men within seconds and with no remorse. What would he do to me?
I washed my face, forcing myself not to think about it. My uncle would find me. Riley would insist on it and Greyson would do it for my uncle and for her. But what would happen to me until then? This man was a mafia boss. I knew little about the business except what Riley and Uncle Den had told me, but I knew enough from observing Greyson to know this guy was the boss. From the way he carried himself, to the rolled sleeves of his white button down and his tattooed arms. And he was Greyson’s brother. One who had some kind of grudge against Riley’s new husband. Enough to kidnap his wife…or attempt to.
The water warmed my face as I tried to think of a way out. I could try to fight my way out, but they had guns, and I didn’t know the first thing about shooting a gun. They hadtaken my phone and locked me in this room. Turning the water off, I dried myself with the softest towel I’d ever felt. I peeked at the tag, wondering how many paychecks something like this would cost me. Bartending didn’t pay enough. I knew that for sure. Once I wrapped it around me, I headed into the room, finding clothes in the drawers. Once again, it astonished me that there were so many things here, as if he had planned this out and wanted Riley to be as comfortable as possible.
I dug around, looking for something to fit me. These clothes had likely been bought with Riley in mind. She was tall and thin. While I was only about two inches shorter than her, I had significantly more curves. She also dressed differently from me, and they had shopped with that in mind. No T-shirts, no ripped jeans, no tank tops.
I picked out a pair of jeans and looked at the tag. There were four pairs, and these were close enough to my size. Rummaging through the shirts, I found a gray V-neck T-shirt that would suffice. The top drawer of the dresser held a variety of underwear and bras. There was something icky about that, but I brushed it off and found a pair of undies that barely fit. They were clearly for someone with less ass and ended up looking like a thong on me. The bras were all too small, fit for Riley and not my C cups. It wouldn’t be the first time I went braless, but usually I did so with purpose. There was no chance of hooking up with a hot guy here and thus no purpose in flaunting my breasts.
The room had one window, and I studied it, wondering why this hadn’t been my first thought instead of showering. But I never thought the way others did or followed the norm. I tried to open the window, pushing at it, but someone had painted it shut and there was no movement. I contemplated breaking the glass, but I was certain guards stood outside my door and would hear it. No matter how I continued to pry at the window, it didn’t budge more than a miniscule amount. When my hands grew tired, Icased the rest of the room, then crawled into the bed. The stress of the night caught up with me and my eyes closed within no time.
The soundof the door opening drew me from sleep. I blinked at the bright sunlight that flooded the room.
“Boss wants you to join him for breakfast.”
I rubbed my eyes, then looked at the man. His suit stretched under his bulging muscles, large veins protruded on his neck, giving it a square look. He had light brown hair with some strands that shone blonde, and his skin was tan. The sun hit his green eyes, making them almost gemlike. He would have been attractive but for the intense grimace.
“Tell him I’m not joining him.” I flopped my head back down and turned over.
“He’s not gonna like that answer and you won’t like his response.”
“I’m sure I won’t, but seeing as I’m his prisoner, I don’t want to eat with him.”
An unexpected chuckle had me glancing back at him.
“Can’t wait to see his reaction when I tell him that.”
He left, and I heard the door lock behind him. I used the bathroom, then snuggled back into the bed and pulled the blanket up. The sound of the door slamming open interrupted my attempt to go back to sleep. Heavy footsteps followed, and I opened my eyes. My captor lurched over me, his jaw so tense I wondered if it would dislocate.
“Did you not understand my reply?” I said, closing my eyes again. A thought crossed my mind that maybe I shouldn’t antagonize a man who could kill me with his bare hands.
“Did you not understand that my request did not give you an option for a reply?”
I peeked an eye open. “That completely defies the definition of the word request.”
His teeth made a grinding noise before he ripped the blanket off me and picked me up. I was over his shoulder, my head hanging upside down, questioning what had just happened before I could think.
“Put me down,” I said, kicking my legs. He held them tighter. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
