Chapter Twenty
Ryder
“Ryder! Ryder!” the crowd chanted. I walked out onto the stage, guitar in hand. Sitting on a stool placed in the center of the stage, I began to sing.
“Shut it!” A hard kick to the ribs sent me back to reality. I coughed, tasting blood at the back of my throat. Shit, when had I fallen asleep? I still hadn’t successfully gotten Layla’s phone. Looking over at the table, I saw it was gone. Mine was probably in a river somewhere.
“Rise and shine.” The man who had kicked me chuckled. He was a new guy. Phone guy was nowhere to be seen. He probably had to work.
“Pleasant way to wake someone up. You should run a bed and breakfast,” I said with a wry smile. He didn’t seem amused. My shoulders, arms, and back were stiff from being in the position I was in all night.
The man cracked a toothy smile. His teeth were yellow and discolored. A few looked grounded down. “Smartass. Now I know why Layla picked you.”
“Picked me?” I asked. My mouth was dry. I didn’t exactly think asking for water was captive protocol so I kept my needs silent.
“You poor bastard. Layla played you. That’s her specialty. She used to be one of Devin’s top sellers. She can get anyone hooked. She get you to try anything? Or did she just scam you out of a few free meals?”
“Try anything? You mean drugs? Hell no, she didn’t!” The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind that she might try to push anything on me. She never did. “Can you at least tell me if…” I couldn’t say the words.
He laughed. “She’s still kickin’. Good luck getting that bitch to die. She’s, what, one hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet? But I’ve seen her do enough ice to kill two men easy.”
“Ice?” I asked, confused.
“Coke,” he answered with a smirk.
“C-cocaine?”
He laughed. “You knew she was a drug user, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but she said she used heroin.”
He laughed again. “God, you are clueless.”
I scoffed. “Sorry for being a law-abiding citizen of my community.”
“What, you think we all weren’t at one point? Sure, most of us were still children, but still.”
I sighed. At least she was alive. “So, about letting me go…”
“You’re funny.” His blue eyes glinted with sick pleasure as he yanked on the chain and I was lifted off the ground once again.
The pain was immediate. I grunted, determined not to cry out in pain again. It was embarrassing and I couldn’t be Layla’s hero if all I did was act like a cry baby. Of course, I was already caught. Some hero I was turning out to be.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” he said as he yanked down further on the chain. My shoulders were screaming. I was surprised they were still attached and I wasn’t sure how long they were going to stay that way.
Eventually, after he realized I wasn’t going to scream, he let my feet touch the ground again. I gratefully exhaled. He left the room when a disembodied voice called to him from the stairs. Breakfast was ready.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the day before. I also really needed to use the bathroom. Dammit, why couldn’t they have tied me up near a toilet? But even that wouldn’t have been much help with my hands tied.
As if hearing my thoughts, Kirsten’s blonde head popped out from around the corner. I hadn’t heard her come down the stairs. “Hey pretty boy,”
I smirked. “What are you doing down here? Don’t you know breakfast is ready?”
She carried a chair over and hopped up, untying my hands with nimble fingers. “Thought you could use a bathroom break. Hurry, there’s one over by the fridge.”
“Thanks!” I said, jogging over to the small bathroom and using it quickly.
Kristen chuckled. “Fly’s open.”
I zipped up my jeans. “Sorry, was in kind of a hurry.” I raised an eyebrow. “You have a black eye and bruises on your shoulders. A-are those fingerprints?” I couldn’t stand seeing a woman hurt. Just looking at her made my blood boil. I wanted to beat the crap out of whoever hurt her.
“It’s nothing. The usual.” Kristen looked at the floor for a second. The momentary sadness was replaced with indifference a second later. She met my eyes. “Sorry, it’s not like someone to notice. It’s not like it’s uncommon in this part of town, really.”
“Well, I don’t see it too often. If I did, I’d be in jail. No man should ever put his hands on a woman. Ever.” I coughed. My throat was a desert.
She tossed me a plastic water bottle. “You sound like you need a drink.”
“When we get out of here, I’d be happy to buy you one. It’s really the least I could do.” I chugged the water and handed the now half-empty bottle back to her.
“You and Layla get out of here,” she corrected. “After all, that’s who you came to save, right?”
“Well, yeah, but now that I know you’re here, I can rescue one more. Are there any others? I can save them too.”
A sad smile danced on her lips, almost like she thought I was a naive child. Layla had given me that look more than once. “Where do they make guys like you, Casanova? Cuz we could use a lot more of you.” She stood back up on the chair. “Now get over here.”
My eyes widened. “You’re tying me up again?”
She rolled her eyes. “They’re all in the kitchen eating breakfast. It’s not like I can hide you under my shirt and walk out the front door. I’ll come back when the boys leave. They usually leave around noon to go smoke their remaining brain cells away at Oliver’s every Friday so, if they’re sticking to their regular schedule, I’ll be down by one to let you out. No one but me knows you’re down here right now so the boys won’t be suspicious. I’ve been too loyal to Devin’s face for him to ever suspect I’d go behind his back, even though I’ve been doing it for years. I can play him like a fiddle. Don’t worry.”
Stretching one final time, I lifted my arms above my head and allowed her to tie me up. She seemed more than a little surprised I was trusting her so easily. The rational part of my brain was too.
“Thank you so much, Kristen.”
She placed the chair back and smiled at me. “Layla really cares for you. That’s quite a feat. I’ve known her for two years and have never known her to say one nice thing about a boy. You’re the first. Hopefully I’m making the right choice by saving you. Layla is pretty much my only friend, and someone I’ve seen get screwed over by every guy she’s ever known.”
“I won’t hurt her.” I said firmly. The words not intentionally hung invisible in the air. They were like twin daggers pressing against my heart. My illness was unpredictable. To top it off, I’d skipped two doses of meds. The first, my nightly dose, I’d skipped intentionally out of anger for what had happened at the bar. My morning dose, well, I somehow doubted my captors would have my exact prescription. But, then again, who knew? I was dealing with drug dealers.
“Good. I don’t know why I trust you, but I do. Maybe because Layla does. Anyway, like I said, I’ll be down here the first chance I get. Everyone thinks I’m upstairs sleeping in my room. I should be. Wasn’t kidding when I said I was tired…”
“Get some sleep. I’ll be right here,” I joked.
She smiled. “Good to know, pretty boy.” She started walking in the direction of the stairs.
“Kristen, I’ll get you all out. I promise.”
She turned back with that sad smile on her face. “Be careful. Promises are heavy affairs in this house.”