Half an hour later, I sat in front of the muted TV, cupping a mug in my hands and downing hot chocolate like it was my only means of subsistence.

My cell phone sat on the glass coffee table in front of me, and I stared at it. The screen was black. It hadn’t rung once, and Bryan still wasn’t home. My stomach crawled with fear, then settled again, then crawled, then settled.

“Everything’s fine,” I said. “God damn, stop worrying about this shit.” I set down the mug and picked up the phone, shaking my head, trying but failing to focus on the TV instead, and the Pirates of Caribbean I’d switched on—because why not?

“Shoot.” I unlocked my phone and tapped through to the #dateme app. There weren’t any notifications, and the conversation from this morning marked the last correspondence between Bryan and me.

I typed out a message. “Thinking of you. Is everything OK? There’s something I have to talk to you about, and I’m kind of worried. Just to let you know.” I sent it and rolled my eyes. That was such a dumb text. How was he supposed to respond to that?

He couldn’t drop everything and skedaddle on home just because I was freaked. “Grow some ovaries, girl.” But still, I gripped the phone in my hands.

I couldn’t watch anymore damn TV, so I pushed off from the sofa and walked out into the hall, up the stairs. Maybe, things would be clearer in the morning, when Bryan was back.

A crash shattered my thoughts, followed by the shrieking wail of the alarm.

Fear resurged in my stomach. I gripped the bannister, listening hard.

Voices sounded from the kitchen, a man laughing. Another talking loudly. A conversation. A relaxed conversation over the sound of the alarm.

They’re here. They’re coming! Run!

I unglued my feet from the bottom step and rushed up them, sliding my hand up the balustrade to keep myself upright and moving. My hands and feet prickled, spots appeared in front of my eyes, but I kept on, taking in deep breaths.

Don’t panic. Keep moving. Go. Carly.

I skidded to the right on the landing and sprinted down the hall, toward Carly’s room.

“There she is!” A man yelled behind me, down below, and my mind screamed the danger. I pumped my arms back and forth and rushed into Carly’s room, slapped the door shut behind me and turned the key in the lock.

“Riley?” Carly sat up in bed, blinking blearily at me. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, sweetie. Remember how we played pirates the other day? Remember that?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I need you to play a different game, now, OK?” I scanned the room, ran toward the window and peered out. There wasn’t a chance we could get out. It was too high off the ground, no roofing to jump onto. We were trapped in here.

“OK. Why’s the alarm going off?”

“Don’t worry about that now, honey. I need you to listen to me carefully, because this is a really important game, OK? You need to hide in the closet. Pretend you’re hiding from me. Hide and go seek?”

“Yeah?” Carly slipped out of bed in her pretty pink PJ pants and shirt, clutching her teddy bear to her little chest.

“Yeah. And no matter what noises you hear, you don’t come out, OK? Promise me.”

“Riley, what’s going on? I’m scared.”

I rushed over to her, as the sound of footsteps thundered down the hall outside the room. I took her by the arms, hugged her quick then walked her over to her closet door. “No, honey, don’t be scared. It’s just a game, OK? Nothing to be afraid of. Inside, now. And remember, don’t come out. Don’t make a noise, and don’t open the closet door. Promise me, Carly. Promise me.”

“I promise.” I bustled her into the closet, blew her a quick kiss, then shut the door, tight. No lock on this one, but it would have to do. Quickly, I ran to the bedroom window and opened it, wide.

A bang thundered against the door, and I dragged my cellphone out, made to dial 911.

Another bang and the doors hinges whined, the wood creaked. There wasn’t time. I couldn’t call them.

I shoved my cell into my pants, lower, lower, until it was totally hidden from view. Not comfortable, but then, what the fuck did I care? My pulse thundered against my throat, and I squeezed my fists shut. “Go away,” I yelled.

Another bang, and the door flew open, crashing inward and rebounding off the bedroom wall. It slammed into the hand of Marcus himself.

“Hello there, gorgeous,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from cussing him out. Carly didn’t need to hear that.

“What’s wrong?” Marcus asked. “You lost your tongue since the last time you saw me? Did your boyfriend rip if off and take it with him?”

“Shut up,” I snapped.

“Ah, there is it,” he said. “There’s that fire I love so much.” He rolled his hand over his hair, greasing it back. “Johnny, get in here.”

A squirrel of a man entered. He was skin-and-bones, two buck teeth, and beady eyes, searching the room.

“Where’s the kid?” Marcus asked, the alarm still screaming in the background.

“Gone,” I replied, lifting my chin. “I let her out of the window.” I stood in front of it, pretending to guard it. They couldn’t know there was no ledge beneath it, no roof to climb onto. Perhaps, if I could fake it long enough, they’d only get me. And then the cops would come and save Carly. Bryan would come back from work and I would be the only collateral damage.

“Bullshit,” Marcus said. “Johnny check under the bed.”

The rat of a man lowered himself to the ground and peered under the frill of Carly’s bed. “Nothin’,” he said, spitting the word out. “Maybe she did let her out the window, boss.”

Marcus stared at me, shaking his head slowly, piercing me with the gaze that was now sharkish, not what it had been when we’d first met. There was nothing of the guy I’d known in there. Nothing. I didn’t understand him. Who he’d become. How he could do this, whatever this was.

“What do you want?” I asked. “Huh, Marcus? What is it you want? Me? I’m standing right here. Why don’t you damn well put your money where your mouth is and abduct me like you planned all along.”

“Is that what you think I planned?” Marcus chuckled. “Really? You think I’m that boring? Oh, honey, I’ve got much better plans for you.”

“What are you waiting for?” I asked, raising my chin.

Marcus cocked his head to one side, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t believe her,” he said. “Check the closet.”

Johnny lumbered up from the floor and made for the closet. My heart squeezed. I couldn’t let this happen. Couldn’t stand that I’d brought this upon Bryan and Carly.

“Stop,” I snapped.

But Johnny kept going.

I dashed forward and grabbed his arm, dragged on it, digging my fingers in. “Stop!”

“Crazy bitch.” Johnny lifted his elbow and rammed me backward. I flopped down on the carpet in Carly’s room, but immediately rose again, went after the rat.

Arms closed around my waist, and Marcus lifted me and held me. I kicked the thin-air, growling and squirming. “Let go of me! Leave her alone!”

Johnny wrenched the door open, revealing Carly, who sat in the far corner of her closet, her eyes wide, as she clutched the teddy to her face.

“Leave her alone! Take me instead. Just take me!”

“Hey, little girl,” Johnny said, creepy as hell. “Hey there. Come on, now, you can come out. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

“Carly, run!” I screeched.

But Carly didn’t budge, she stayed frozen in place, her gaze flicking first from Johnny, then to me, then past me to Marcus, the fucking asshole. I kicked back again and struck something. He squeezed tighter. “Do that again, honey, and you’re going to give the little girl a show she won’t forget. Ask yourself the question, just how much blood does the human body contain?”

I quit struggling, and Marcus lowered me to the ground, but held me still, laughing against my neck, his fetid breath curling my toes.

“Come on, girl,” Johnny said, and reached out a hand. Carly lashed out, swatting at it, but he caught her arm and hauled her out by it. He held her up and showed her to Marcus. “This must be the one,” he said.

“No shit, Johnny,” Marcus replied. “Tie them up, load them up, and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“Bastards,” I hissed.

“Now, now.” Marcus stroked my head, like I was a pet dog, not a human being. “If you don’t do as we want you to do, you know what will happen. If you just play along, nobody has to be hurt. Yet.”

“What do you want?” I asked. “Money?”

“No, honey. I don’t want money. I have enough money to buy out your lowlife boyfriend. This is personal.”

Johnny produced a length of rope and set to binding Carly’s hands and legs first. “We gonna let her keep the teddy bear?” he asked, lifting it and walking it along the floor, smiling like a loon.

“Don’t be a dipshit, Johnny.”

The goon tied my legs and arms, next. Finally, three other men entered and lifted us from the ground, carried us out of Carly’s room and down the hall, the stairs, out while the alarm still blared, while the cops still didn’t show up.

They loaded us into the back of a truck, first me, then Carly, with enough courtesy to sit us upright, rather than throwing us in.

That could only mean they wanted us unharmed for some reason. It had nothing to do with their integrity as bikers or anything else. There was a purpose to all of this. I just couldn’t figure it out yet.

Marcus stood at the back of the truck grinning broadly. “All right now, you girls keep it down back here, and we won’t have any trouble.”

In the distance, sirens rang out. Approaching cop cruisers, maybe even an ambulance. I opened my mouth to yell, but Marcus lifted a finger to his lips. “Remember what I told you, gorgeous. One sound and…” he trailed off, laughed, then slapped the doors of the truck shut, plunging both of us into darkness.

The engine started, and the truck rumbled beneath us. We jerked forward and I slid a foot backward.

Carly let out a whimper.

“Carly, honey, come here, if you can.” I shifted to one side in the darkness feeling for her. My shoulder bumped against hers, and she let out another soft cry. “OK, honey, it’s going to be OK.” Even though it was so damn far from being OK, it wasn’t even funny. It was fucking terrifying. But I couldn’t show that. Could not let Carly see that I was afraid. “Lean your head on my shoulder. I promise, I’m going to look after you, OK?”

“Who are they?” she whispered.

“They’re bad men,” I replied, truthfully. We were way past the point of games, now. “Very bad men. But I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, OK. We have to be brave, now. Both of us. We have to be brave and smart.”

“OK,” she whispered.

Already, a plan had formulated in my mind. All it would take would be freeing my hands, but the line they’d bound us with was tight. No way I could get a hand free, and biting through was out of the question.

“Just hold on,” I said. “I’m right here with you.” Me and my unborn child too.