Page 3 of His Captive

“Yes, Yes. Thank you. That’s very kind.” Relief allows me to breathe again, perhaps the guy isn’t as bad as gossip portrays him out to be.

“You have a desirable body, Lysetta, and an essence about you I predict would be…popular,” his palm slides a little further up the inside of my leg.

“I’m sure you could work the debt off in no time.”

Repulsed, my hand slams to cover his, and despite its trembling, manages to hold him firm.

“Sir, that is not how I intend to pay you back.” I attempt to make my voice sound as confident as possible, my stomach rolling at the thought of what he might have planned for me.

“I will find you your money, but not like that.”

Sorrento chuckles, moving his hand from beneath mine and smoothing it through his hair.

“May I ask what you find so amusing?” I stretch my skirt as far over my legs as it will reach.

“Nothing, but you should know that they all start out the same as you. All determined and proud.” His eyes prowl over me slowly. “We shall see,” he sneers.

“Mr. Sorrento, rest assured that I will find a legitimate way to repay you, you can rely on my word.”

He surprises me when he lunges toward me, his hand snaking around my throat and forcing me back against the headrest of my seat. Panic chokes me aided by the strained fingers that are bruising my skin.

“You don’t want to fuck with me, Miss Carlson,” he warns. “You can rest assured, that if I don’t see my money, I will come up with suitable ways for you to make repayment. Do I make myself clear?”

“My body isn’t for sale,” I tell him bravely, despite the crumbling wreck I am internally. He might as well kill me now because there is no way I would sell myself.

“You say that as if you’ve got a choice,” he snarls, releasing me, then instantly converting back to the calm and composed man I’d first met. Reaching across me he taps his knuckles firmly against the door.

“You will be hearing from me, Miss Carlson,” he promises. The door opens, and I scurry out, landing on to the icy sidewalk.

His driver doesn’t make eye contact this time, and I drag myself up and start to run without looking back.

When I’m back to the safety of my apartment, I lock the door behind me, sitting with my back against it, while I try to take in everything that has just happened. I’m overwhelmed, confused, scared and worse of all, I’m alone.

But I don’t cry…

One

LYSETTA

All my concentration goes into drawing my next breath, I try thinking about something else. Anything that might distract me from what I’m about to do.

"Everyone's clear 'bout what they're doing, right?" Rick turns around in the driver's seat, his eyes homing in on me in particular. I nod back at him, while a chorus of unenthusiastic hums and grunts fill the back of the catering van where I wait with these strange group of misfits.

There are five of us in total, not one of us anything alike. I’m the only female in a group that includes a stocky guy, who looks as though he could do some serious damage. The kid sat beside him, who can't be older than eighteen, and the middle-aged man next to me, who looks as nervous as I feel.

Then there’s Rick, who for some reason has hated me from the moment we met. Rick likes to think he’s an organ grinder, though I suspect that in reality, he’s just a merciless monkey like the rest of us.

Despite our differences, everyone in this van have one crucial thing in common. All of us owe Ivan Sorrento in one way or another.

Therefore, all of us need this plan to go off without a hitch.

"Oi. Polly-fuckin'-Anna, you hearin’ what I’m sayin’?” Rick pipes up again.

“Yes,” I answer. My eyes lifting up from my trembling hands to catch his rolling at me.

Middle-aged guy waits until Rick turns back around before placing his hand over mine in an attempt to steady it.

“It’s gonna be ok, you got the easy job.” He winks. “Just keep a lookout, and cause a distraction if we need you to, you’re gonna be great.”

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