Between the gag and the blindfold—which they’d only haphazardly removed once we reached the cold, dirty building they’d dumped me in—I was having a difficult time calming my breathing enough to obtain sufficient air. Panic didn’t begin to explain what I felt.

The man I could only see partially through the half-assed blindfold stroked my hair. “Hey, pretty girl, it’s okay. Breathe in and out slow, okay? We ain’t gonna hurt you.”

If only I could believe him. His touch nearly drove me to the brink of what I could handle, ratcheting my fear up to ten. If only I could blank out like Damian said I sometimes did when he approached me from behind. That would be better than feeling this creep’s fingers run through my hair, making my skin crawl. His stale breath caressed my cheek every time he spoke. I wanted to puke up the coffee I drank all those hours ago. His smell was terrible, but if I vomited I was afraid I’d drown behind the gag so I held it back.

“Damn, girl!” His hand moved from my hair to my shoulder. “You’re shiverin’. Are ya cold?”

I shook my head, curling up and trying to make myself as small as possible. Unfortunately, he simply moved closer, pulling me to him and hugging me.

“Don’t worry, princess. I’ll keep ya warm.”

“She’s not cold, dumbass. You probably disgust her,” said a voice across the room. I could only assume he was the leader. It was the voice I’d heard taunting Damian before they’d put the phone on speaker and took my gag off earlier. “I hate to admit that Prince Pussy could be right but take her gag off. She’s probably really having a hard time breathing.”

Suddenly, the fabric was yanked away. Despite the stale stink coming from my seating partner, I sucked in several deep breaths, thankful to at least not feel as though I would suffocate, no matter how bad the smell was.

Just as suddenly as before, the rest of the blindfold yanked upward, pulling my hair and ripping some out, but finally allowing me to take a good look at my new prison.

They must have taken me to a closed-down business. The room we sat in boasted grime-covered windows facing into an abandoned factory. A rickety desk and single office chair, stuffing coming out the sides, was directly in front of me. A man sprawled out in the chair, his large frame seeming to take up more of the room than was physically possible.

“So, you’re the princess, huh?” He let out a sneer as his voice instantly told me this was the man who’d talked to Damian on the phone. “I’m Rider. The man there trying to protect you from me is Tony.” His eyes shifted to two guys sitting on an old couch along the other wall. “These two don’t matter. They’re my backup muscle, but they won’t touch ya.”

I had no clue why he told me their names, but it didn’t really matter. “Why did you take me?”

“’Cause Prince Pussy loves you, the stupid bastard.”

That must be their name from Damian. While I had no clue why these guys had targeted Damian, I had heard Rider’s demands. I had no clue if Damian could get his hands on that much money so quickly, but I was certain there would be no way to get ‘Snake’—whoever that was—out of trouble with the law. I was probably on my own.

I forced myself to laugh. “You think that bastard’s actually going to come for me? Don’t make me laugh.”

Rider’s eyes narrowed. “Whadda ya mean?”

“He doesn’t love me. We barely know each other. He literally picked me from a catalogue of women and married me the night we met. We’ve barely spoken the last couple months. He doesn’t actually care about me. You’re wasting your time.”

Okay, that was mostly true, so hopefully I told the lie smoothly enough that these jerks believed me. Damian and I had talked constantly that first month, enough so that he said he loved me, enough so I believed that I had probably fallen in love with him. Not talking over the last month was entirely my fault. All I could do now was figure out how to get out of this situation so that I could spend the rest of my life making up for that mistake.

“If we’re wasting our time,” Rider said, “how about I just kill you now?”

Talk about my plan backfiring! I flashed my sweetest smile, even though my palms slickened with sweat. “Kill me? You want to join your friend in prison? Am I really worth that?”

Tony’s hand once again went to my head, cradling me against him and stroking my hair. “Ya can’t kill her, Rider. I don’t care if you’re leader now with Snake gone. I want her for myself if the prince doesn’t pay up.”

Even though his smell and touch disgusted me, I forced myself to look at Tony, smiling again. “Such a strong man, you are. Think you can handle me, though? Damian certainly can’t. I need a real man.”

If he felt my trembling, hopefully he attributed it to excitement and not fear and repulsion.

“Oh, yeah. I can handle you all night, baby.”

I chuckled. “You’d have to untie my hands to find out for sure. I’m not the kind to just let a man have his way. I like to be on top.”

Thank goodness I’d become a bit aggressive with Damian last time. This wasn’t normal for me, but at least I had a reference point. Damian loved me, so he hadn’t wanted to let me have my way, hadn’t wanted to just have sex where we hurt each other. Still, I could tell he had wanted me. That knowledge gave me confidence that a regular guy wanting to screw me could be turned on with my act.

“No untying her,” Rider said, voice gruff. “She’s playing you Tony. There’s no way this little princess wants to have sex with any of us. She’s lying about Damian, too. That guy is head over heels for her. He’ll do what it takes to meet our demands.”

Well, damn. If only Rider had the same level of brains as Tony. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be fooled so easily. Trying to play it off as though he was wrong, I smiled his direction. “Now, now, Rider. You don’t know anything about me. Why don’t we get to know each other before you say I’m a liar? Maybe there’s enough of me to go around.”

“Sure, I totally believe you want us all, lying bitch. Tony, get away from her.” Rider let out a growl, jerking his chin to the opposite corner where Tony was obviously supposed to go.

“But she’s cold,” Tony protested, arms again tightening around my back and pulling me to him. “This concrete is freezing. You didn’t even get her a chair.”

“You pansy. Get away from her now!” Rider was apparently not in the mood to take insubordination from his men. From the top of the old desk, he grabbed a ratty blanket, one which seemed to have more holes than fabric. He tossed it on me. “This’ll be enough. If the princess is uncomfortable, Prince Pussy will work faster. We’ll call him later and let her tell him how bad it is here.”

With a sigh, I allowed Tony to place the blanket around me before he backed away to the other side of the room. At least I didn’t have to worry about being molested. It was unfortunate that Rider was too smart to be seduced and let his guard down. Things would be easier if I could get away on my own. For now, I’d have to be patient and wait for an opportunity.

The light quality in the outside section of the factory started to change. The sun was rising. At least I’d no longer be in the dark. They’d removed the blindfold and gag. Things were better than they’d been for a while. I only wished I knew how my mom was doing. Rider might not care, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Rider?”

He grunted, eyes shifting to meet mine.

“I know it probably doesn’t matter to you, but I’ve been at the hospital all night. My mom got hurt and was in surgery. I don’t know if she pulled through or anything about that. Is there any way you could call—”

“Nope.” He cut me off, not even waiting for me to finish my request. “I don’t give a shit about some old woman slipping off the top step of a bus.”

“What?” I stared at him, mouth gaping. “I never said anything about how she was hurt.”

The two men only there for muscle snickered.

I turned my gaze on them, furious. “Did you do that to her? Did you push her?”

“So what if I did, bitch?” The darker-haired one said. “It’s your man’s fault. If the bastard would’ve paid up two days ago like Rider told him, your mom would be fine now. Blame him.”

Tony’s quickly nodding head pulled my attention to his side of the room. “It’s true, Isabelle. Damian’s to blame for all your troubles.”

Wondering if I should continue the farce that he and I were nothing more than a contract marriage, I didn’t respond immediately.

“We should show her!” Tony said, suddenly, flashing a beaming smile at Rider. “There’s nothing to do here for fun. If ya won’t let me have her yet, let her entertain us.”

I scrunched my face in confusion, and my heart pounded even harder despite my desire to keep calm. “Entertain you how?”

Rider laughed, sounding more sinister than any man had a right to sound. “Good point. My phone has a projector function. Let’s show the video on the wall. The bitch can see just what kind of man she’s been living with all this time. This’ll be fun.”

DAMIAN

“I don’t care what it takes.” I stared at my parents across their breakfast table. James had broken every speed limit to get us there before my parents left for the day. “You have to help me save her!”

My father snorted. “I don’t see why this is my problem. I can’t ask the governor to pardon a murderer just because you can’t keep yourself out of trouble.”

James glanced at me from his place along the wall with the other servants, then stepped forward. “George, for once in your life, do the right thing by your son.”

Dad’s mouth dropped open, and he turned to glare at James. “How dare you speak to me like that? I paid your salary for years before Damian started making his own money. You’d treat me that way? You’re fired.”

Mom’s mouth fell open in a small O of surprise but, as usual, she didn’t say anything against my father’s tyranny.

For my part, I barked out a bitter laugh. “You can’t fire him. Even if I couldn’t pay, James would help me. He’s my friend, my only real family besides Bella.”

That got my father’s attention. His glare shifted to me. “You ungrateful little shit! I’ve supported you your whole goddamned life, and this is how you act?”

“You provided money in the past but not emotional support,” I said, keeping my voice level. “That’s all I’m asking for now. Money to pay the ransom, and you get me a meeting with the governor. I’ll talk him into helping somehow, but I can’t even get an audience with him today without you reaching out. No one will talk to me in his office. They said I have to fill out paperwork and all this bullshit for a meeting. I don’t have time... Bella doesn’t have time!”

James walked to my side, placing a calming hand on my shoulder before taking the chair next to mine. “Perhaps it’s time to tell them the truth about eight years ago?”

Mom frowned, even though that was something she never did—of course she couldn’t frown, it would cause wrinkles. “Eight years ago? Isn’t that around the time you decided to follow in your father’s footsteps and do what he wanted from you instead of continuing to pursue art?”

Not certain I wanted to tell them the truth, I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my head as exhaustion from the night without sleep and my new worry about Bella drained me. “It’s also the year I disappeared for a month, remember?”

Mom and Dad exchanged glances, both looking bewildered. Dad finally rested his gaze on me. “So, this so-called truth of the past has something to do with that month?”

“I joined a gang,” I said, deciding this was the only way to get my father to help. James was right. The man wouldn’t lift a finger to save Bella or care anything about my happiness. I had to show him how not helping Bella was a threat to his own image and future. “I stayed with them for a month. In order to join as a full member, I had to help pull off a big job. We decided to rob and kill a girl who was walking to the bank with a bank bag in hand.”

“Wait!” Mom held up a hand, frowning even deeper. “Are you talking about that girl in Queens who was robbed and had her throat slit?”

I nodded, a bit surprised. “How do you know about her?”

“You were always searching articles about her when you came home, looking them up on-line, watching the news. I was curious what had you so interested, so I looked into it.”

Well, it seemed my mom paid more attention than I’d given her credit for. “I’m the one who cut that girl,” I said, staring at my hands as I clasped them so tightly they turned white. “I nearly killed her for such a small bit of money, all to join a gang, just to make Dad finally notice me and pay attention to the dreams I had for myself!”

“You’re blaming this on me?” Dad gasped in a few short breaths, face red with rage. “How could you do something like that? Why would you?”

“Because I was stupid, okay? I was so dumb!” I shook my head, meeting his gaze without breaking eye contact no matter how much I shook on the inside. “I hated the way I was always supposed to be perfect. You guys let Georgia do whatever she wanted, but I couldn’t play piano or paint. You said that was a useless pastime that a politician’s son couldn’t participate in. I just wanted to be free!”

James patted me again, silently giving me comfort in knowing there was one person who had always watched over me, wanting the best for my future.

“That’s not the worst of it,” I continued. “That girl was Bella. When I went to find a bride, I found her by chance. I didn’t even recognize her at first. She’s changed so much. She’s so afraid now. Not fearless like she’d been that night, refusing to give me the money. She’s afraid of everything, but especially the dark. It’s all my fault.”

Unable to help myself, a couple hot tears splashed down my cheeks. I’d ruined her. Now, she was in danger again, all because I refused to give Rider the money he’d demanded.

My dad cleared his throat, a troubled look on his face, probably uncomfortable that I let myself show any weakness. “I still don’t see how this is a problem I should take care of.”

An exasperated sigh ripped from James. “Are you stupid?” He shot to his feet, apparently unable to play any portion of the dutiful servant any longer. “Besides the fact that any parent should want to help their kid out, especially when their daughter-in-law’s life is on the line, there’s another reason you can’t just treat it like it has nothing to do with you.”

Dad’s lip curled, but he didn’t tell James to shut up like I expected. “I don’t need parenting advice from a damn driver. What the hell do you mean there’s another reason?”

“The gang videoed that crime,” James said, continuing to pat my shoulder and lend me strength. “They’ve threatened to release it to the press and on social media if we don’t meet their demands. Can you imagine what that will do to your career, your legacy?”

Dad glowered and Mom gasped, both clearly unable to come up with a reply.

“Call the governor,” James said, voice strong and offering no chance for argument. “Call your bank and get the money ready. It’s not like Damian can’t pay you back in a few days. However, if you decide not to help, we have no other choices. Damian has decided he’ll go public before the gang can do it.”

“What?” Dad’s glare snapped back to me. “What does he mean you’ll go public?”

The few tears that had escaped me were long gone, and I gazed at my parents with a strong resolve. “If there’s no other way to save Bella, I’ll go to the police. I’ll confess to the crime from before, tell them everything I know about the gang, and help them rescue her. I’ll use the news outlets to get people looking for her. I’ll offer a reward and get everyone in the state talking about this—wanting to save Bella because she’d already suffered enough at the hands of the rotten Grogan family. I don’t care what happens to me as long as she’s rescued. I love Bella, and I’ll save her.”

Mom’s face paled and Dad’s went even redder. However, he stood from the table. “I’ll call the governor.”