What the fuck am I going to do with three dresses?

I wrenched the car door open and whacked my head getting in. I borrowed the car from a friend who drove the higher profile clients from the airport to my door. They didn’t want attention drawn to their rehab so they knew to come to me. I didn’t want attention drawn to me, either.

I knew he’d have the perfect car to keep her hidden in the back seat, but he was probably laughing at just the thought of me in that tiny car. Slamming the door shut, I gripped the steering wheel and sat in silence, practicing my breathing. I could deal with the headache from banging my head getting in. It was the idiot I’d become when meeting Laney Mosley that was pissing me off. I was acting as if I’d never spoken to a woman before.

She was nothing like her father. I thought I would’ve had an easy job of taking a spoiled brat I didn’t give two shits if I hurt while doing it. She was different. She was going to be changed after, and not the way he intended. She was going to be jaded and hurt.

I gripped the wheel tighter. I don’t give a fuck what this is going to do to her. Why should I? She’s a paid job. Now, get back there and do it.

I looked at the steering wheel and imagined her straddling my lap like she was with her fiancé earlier. I rubbed my face to stop myself from envisioning it. All it would do was get me hard and frustrated.

I took a deep breath and pulled the car up to the curb with the driver’s side directly in front of the door. It was parking on the wrong side of the street, but that was nothing compared to other laws I was going to break.

Before I reached the door, she had come out with all three dresses wrapped and ready to go. I took them from her and looked back to the door.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were in a hurry. Did you need something else?”

“No, but I could’ve come in for them.”

She waved off my comment. “No worries. However, you paid a couple hundred too much.” She folded the money and placed it in my hand along with the receipt. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

I looked back to my car and to her. “Actually, could you hang these up on the hooks in the back? I’ve already banged my head a couple of times. I’d like to try to avoid a concussion today.”

She smiled. “Of course.” She looked at the car and back to me. “It does seem to be a little small.” She looked at the car again. “How many times do you get pulled over for the windows? I thought they weren’t supposed to be that dark.”

I handed her one dress after she opened the car door. “The front windows are clear, so I don’t get stopped at all. I think they think I’m a chauffeur for some celebrity. Everyone tries to look inside when I pull up next to them.”

“It looks like your hook on this side is broken.”

“Oh, yeah. I got a little impatient with the hanger the last time and ripped it off. They should all fit on the hook on the other side.” I hoped there was a hook on that side. “Scoot in and I’ll hand them to you.”

I watched as she got in and shook my head. It was too easy. She was more trusting than her father. That was for sure. The fight would begin once I shut her in the back seat, but she’d be fighting herself. I’d already raised the glass between the seats so she couldn’t crawl out the front.

“So, you’re not a chauffeur?” She held her hand out for another dress.

“No.” I handed her the dress. “I had a driver, but I got tired of constantly telling him what to do or where to go. I figured it would be easier and faster if I drove myself.”

She poked her head out. “That makes sense. I can’t stand to have people do much for me, either.” She held her hand out for the third dress. “Almost done.”

I smiled. “I really appreciate you making this easy for me.”

“Of course. It’s no trouble to hang them up, but maybe you should have your sister take them down so you don’t break the other hook.” She winked and backed into the car to place the third dress.

I shut the car door and walked back into the shop. I needed to pick up her stuff and lock the door behind us. If I did my job, she was going to lose her fiancé. She didn’t need to get her store ripped off in the process.

I walked back out to the car and tossed her bag with her keys and phone into the front seat. She was banging on the window to the door. She knew she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

* * *

The door shut behind me and I grabbed the door in front of me, but it wouldn’t open. It had to be a mistake. I turned and tried the door he shut, but that wouldn’t open, either. I balled my fists and pounded as hard as I could on the window.

“Let me out!” No matter how hard I hit the window or how loud I yelled, it was silence around me. A few moments later, I felt the car move as if he sat in the driver’s seat. I moved to the glass separating us and pounded on that. “Let me out now!”

The car started and he drove away, but he didn’t speed. He took his time, knowing that no one suspected him of a kidnapping since I got into the car on my own.

I looked around the back seat. I needed to remain calm and check my surroundings. I needed to find a weapon. Anything that could buy me a little time to get away from him once he opened that door.

My pulse raced, and it became harder to breathe. At first I worried he pumped some type of gas into the back seat, but I knew it was my adrenaline and panic at the situation making me feel lightheaded.

I wanted to cry, but I needed to be smarter than that. I needed to get out of the mess I walked into, and then I could cry. I would cry for days if I wanted to, but at that moment, I needed to keep my head.

The back seat was empty besides the dresses and me. It was impossible to kill someone with sequins even though many people claimed they’d die if they were forced to wear them. I looked at the hangers. They were my only hope.

I broke the plastic end off two of them and practiced jabbing behind the seats so he couldn’t see me. Even though I couldn’t see him or where we were going, I knew he had to be watching me. He could take a good, long look because he’d never see me again once that car stopped.

I sat up and looked around. It stopped sooner than I had anticipated. He was a lot taller than me, so I needed to figure out how to get up high enough to jab him in the face. I’d aim for his eyes to blind him. Poking him in the arm wasn’t going to do anything. I needed to hurt him in the most physical way possible. If I blinded him, I could keep away from him. His eyes were beautiful, but my freedom was more important.

I felt him get out of the car and I held on to the hangers, waiting for the door to open. I sat on the edge of the seat waiting for my chance to leap out and attack him. Only, he never came.

The car was off, he had gotten out, and I was alone. I sat back, still gripping the hangers, and waited for my chance to take him on.

* * *

I had no idea how long I’d been in the car, but it was too long. I wasn’t sure what his game was, but I was tired of playing. I’d curled up on my side, knowing I’d never get any sleep but needing to rest. I needed to pee, too, but I wasn’t allowing that to happen in the back seat.

I held my breath for a brief moment when the car moved. I lay still when the door opened and allowed him to reach in and pull on my ankle to get me closer to him. His hand easily wrapped around my ankle, causing my nerves to spike for what I was about to do. I wasn’t even close to six feet tall, and he towered over it. I wasn’t sure I would be able to do what I needed to, but I knew I at least had to try.

He pulled me to the edge of the seat and let my legs dangle over onto the pavement when he stuck his head in to reach me further. I sat up and jabbed both sides of his face with the broken hangers. I missed his eyes, but not by much. I didn’t care if the blood dripped onto my skirt. I only cared about getting out of his grasp.

I drew my knees in close to my chest and kicked him with everything I had to get him out of the car. He was too busy trying to grab my wrists to notice what my legs were doing, and it sent him backward.

“You fucking bitch!”

I jumped out of the car and ran to the back. I couldn’t figure out how to open the garage door. I kept glancing at him and looking around, trying to find any way out. The only door I could see was the door that led into what I assumed was his home. If I got in there, I’d never survive.

“You won’t find it.” He kept touching his face where I’d hit him and looked at his fingers. Maybe he’d never bled before. Maybe it was a new concept for him. Or maybe it was because a scrawny little girl got the best of him.

“You won’t find what you’re looking for by doing this, either. Just let me go and save yourself more pain.”

He laughed. “You’re probably right about that, but I can’t let you go.” He stopped laughing and walked toward me.

I circled the car. I couldn’t let him get ahold of me. “What do you want with me?”

“I’ll explain it inside.”

I scoffed. “Explain it? As if I have a choice to be here. As if there’s some simple reason for kidnapping me.” I choked back a sob. “You’re going to rape and kill me! I don’t need that explained to me!”

He stopped. “If I were that type of person, I would’ve taken you by force at your shop.”

“Boutique.” I wasn’t sure why I corrected him, but it was an automatic response when my father or Bryce called it a shop. It was more than a shop to me.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a fucking boutique.” I couldn’t keep the hysteria out of my voice. My one and only plan had failed, and I was unsure what my future held. My hands shook, my breathing was ragged, and tunnel vision started to take over. My only hope was that my family could find and identify my body when it was over.

* * *

I shook my head as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. She was resourceful. I’d give her that. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain the cuts. It really wasn’t anyone’s business but my own, but I’d be asked. They were hard to ignore.

If she got a bruise falling to the cement when she passed out, that was on her. I turned and watched her as she slept. The handcuffs may have been a little excessive, but I didn’t want her to find something else to hurt me with, and I knew she’d do it the first chance she got.

The plan was to let her chill for a couple of days and explain everything if her father didn’t come asking for her, but I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. She’d demand I let her go, and while I didn’t want to babysit longer than I had to, I couldn’t afford to go to prison on a kidnapping charge, either.

I needed time to figure out what I was going to do. I couldn’t ask Tim. He was furious I’d agreed to do it. He didn’t see that maniac in the corner of my office rubbing one out. I rubbed my face and groaned. I’d forgotten the cuts. She was lucky I wasn’t into retaliation or her face would look just like mine.

I stood up straight when she stirred. She raised her hands to her head where she smacked the garage floor and realized she had the cuffs on. I was next to her side of the bed before she sat up, but doubled over when she took both fists and punched me in the balls.

“Fuck.” I landed on top of her and pinned her body underneath mine while I caught my breath. “Stop hurting me. I’m not hurting you, but I will if you keep it up.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“I’m sure you do, but fucking behave yourself.” I slid my hand between us and grabbed the cuffs so she couldn’t hit me again.

“Watch your hands.”

I did cop a cheap feel when I went in for the cuffs, but she deserved it. Until then, I’d never laid a finger on her. I moved my face directly in front of hers. “Watch your hands, and I’ll watch mine. The next time you hurt me, I won’t be so gentlemanly about it. Is that clear?”

She nodded, but I didn’t believe she meant it. I sighed and got up, pulling her by the cuffs. “Don’t bother looking for anything to hurt me with in here. The only things you have are toilet paper, hand soap, and a hand towel.” I shoved her into the bathroom.

“Hey.” She turned and held up the cuffs. “Aren’t you going to remove these?”

“No.” I pulled the door shut. I’d have to remove them at some point, but she needed to deal with it for now.

“Fucker!”

“Is that an invitation? I’d really like to show you how a real man fucks his woman.”

“Keep dreaming, asshole.”

I smiled but stopped when my face stung. I needed to take care of the cuts, but she needed to be settled first.

I sat in the chair across the room and waited for her to come out. I had taken everything out after the hanger incident. She wasn’t going to get the best of me again. I’d underestimated her, but never again. I would be on guard at all times where she was concerned. Given who her father was, I should’ve been on guard from the beginning.