Brooke pressed her ear to the door. It was crazy enough that she was eavesdropping in the hall, but she couldn’t back out now. They were talking about her. She was sure of it. The sounds were muffled, but she could hear enough of the conversation to know all hell was about to break loose. Her hell. The louder the voices were, the more she realized they didn’t care if she overheard them. They didn’t whisper. They didn’t use code words. They were clear and specific.

The fear shot down her spine with every syllable they spoke. They didn’t care about her at all. When had they?

She shook her head in disbelief when she finally realized what was happening on the other side of the door. The two men talking mentioned her as if she were some kind of bargaining tool. She pressed her ear closer to the door, straining to make out what her cousin Niall said.

He had never respected her. Never treated her as an equal in the family, even though they were the same age. Once he became the head of the McIntosh family he forgot all the years they had grown up together. He didn’t remember Christmases or birthdays. He forgot their mothers were sisters. None of it mattered to him.

“She needs to be delivered this morning,” he stated. “As soon as possible.”

No. No, he couldn’t do this. How was this happening? Who in the hell did he think he was? This wasn’t Ireland in the 1800s. She was a grown woman living in Denver. She had rights he couldn’t begin to understand.

“When will she be ready?” the other man asked her cousin. He had shown up this morning. She’d never seen him before, but knew she’d never forget him. He was enormous and unfriendly.

“You can take her now,” Niall responded. “The sooner I get this debt paid, the better.”

Brooke paused in shock. Did he just say that? Did he actually speak about her as a form of currency? She balled her fists at her side ready to pummel him. She wanted to give him a black eye and a bloody lip. He deserved both and a swift kick to the balls.

“I told her to wait for our meeting to be over. She should be in the hallway. Why don’t you pick her up on the way out?” he suggested to the brute.

Shit. Punching Niall was one thing. Taking on the freakishly strong stranger was something else. The panic almost paralyzed her. She looked for a place to hide. There wasn’t enough time to make it to her car. The hall closet was her only option.

She whipped open the door and pushed the winter coats aside. She huddled in the back of the closet, stilling her breath. She inhaled the scent of heavy cologne. It had seeped into her cousin’s wool coats. She turned her head toward the wall so she wouldn’t gag from the odor.

Maybe if she squeezed her eyes tighter the heavy footsteps she heard would keep walking. This was insane. She shouldn’t be hiding in a closet. But Niall had promised her to the thug in his office and she knew logic didn’t apply when it came to the family business. The footsteps grew increasingly louder.

Niall had turned a once reputable business into something she no longer recognized. Her parents, aunts, and uncles would be horrified if they knew what kind of man he had become. He was trashing their good name.

“Where is she?” the man barked.

Niall was only feet away from the closet. “I told her to wait here. She’s in the house. The alarm is on, so I know she didn’t leave. She’s here somewhere. I’ll check upstairs.”

“If you back out, Niall my clients are going to fuck you over. Big time.”

“Calm down. I’m not about to back out. I want my debt to be zero with Star. She’s here. I’ll find her. You can take her with you. Just calm the fuck down and look for her. Will you?”

Brooke’s chest hurt from keeping the air in her lungs. They were burning like they were on fire. God, this was a nightmare. She looked through the crack where the door met the floor. Her view was blocked by a shadow.

Oh shit. He was there. Right there.

The door flew open. The light hit her between the eyes as a pair of rough hands grabbed her shoulders and yanked her to her feet.

“Hey!” she screamed, trying to wiggle free. The heels on her boots gave her a disadvantage, not to mention this guy was a giant. She teetered on her feet, desperate to get some kind of leverage against him.

“Got her!” the man yelled up the stairs. “Looks like you’re off the hook, Mac.”

“Let me go.” Brooke pushed off his chest, but it was like a wall of granite. “Get your hands off me.”

“Not going to happen,” he seethed. “You’re coming with me. I have orders to deliver you.”

“Deliver me where?” She knew what kind of men Niall gambled with. The men who invested in his shady business ventures. Nothing good could come from this. If he had promised her to one of those men she may never be the same again.

Niall ran down the stairs. “Come on, Brooke. You were hiding? You were never good at the game when we were kids. Silly pretty good.”

She glared at him. “I heard what you were talking about. I’m not going with him.” She looked at her captor. “You have no right, Niall. You are way overstepping your authority.”

He looked past her at the man who held her. “She’s yours now. You’ll deliver her today?”

He nodded. “I’ll take her immediately. It’s going to be a few hours though. They’re out of town now.”

“A few hours? Where?” She tried to stomp her feet. “Where are you taking me. Niall!”

“Good.” Her cousin looked satisfied. “I want my debt paid. I don’t need him breathing down my neck. I want this over quickly.”

“I’m standing right here, Niall. Don’t talk like I’m not in the room. You can’t do this.” She continued to struggle, no matter how useless it was to fight the man responsible for finding her. “I’m not your property. Or his. I’m certainly not something you can barter.”

Niall walked to the door that led to the basement, continuing to ignore Brooke’s protests. “You can take her out back. Less eyes on you. Especially if she keeps that up,” he explained.

“Good,” he grunted. Brooke doubted he had much of a vocabulary. “I prefer quiet exits.”

“There is no way I’m going anywhere with this asshole.” Brooke dug her heels against the hardwoods, but it only made it easier for the man to slide her toward the door.

“Come on, the bosses are waiting.” In a single lunge, the man swung her on to his shoulder and dangled her as if she weighed the same as a bag of sugar. “It’s going to be a long ride if you keep this up, sweetheart.”

She kicked harder, her feet ramming into his chest. She beat her fists into his back. Nothing fazed him. He was like a steel wall. Nothing moved him.

“Niall! Don’t do this!” She jerked her head forward to grab his attention. “Niall! Don’t let this happen.”

“It’s already done, cuz.”

She spat in his direction. “Where am I going?”

He scratched the back of his head. “Out of the city. That’s all I know. Enjoy your vacation.”

“Niall!”

The last thing she saw as she descended into the McIntosh family basement was the smirk on her cousin’s face. The image burned into her memory. She would never forget this moment. She’d never forgive him. And one day, he’d know the mistake he had made.