Chapter Nineteen
I tried hard to make sense of what was happening. Why did Coyote and his men want me? Was he just trying to hurt Dylan? But that didn’t make sense, since Dylan and I had just figured out last night what we meant to each other. I couldn’t say for sure, but I had the sick feeling this had something to do with my father.
We rode into the hills well into the night, not stopping until we made it to an abandoned warehouse. By the time we got there, I'd pretty much figured out they weren't going to kill me so I had some of my spunk back.
"A warehouse. How original. No one will find us here," I quipped.
Coyote stopped walking, clearly surprised by my sudden sarcasm, but not amused by it in the least. He looked at me for a long moment before his hand snapped forward and he slapped me across the face so hard I stumbled back, shocked by the unexpected contact.
He yanked me closer, grabbed a set of handcuffs off his belt, and slapped them on me easily, not replying to my sarcastic remark. They led me into the warehouse and we walked straight back before Coyote pushed me up against a wall and grabbed his gun, pointing it right at me.
"I'm not going to run. Where do you think I'm going to go? You don't have to point that fucking thing at me," I snapped, spitting out a mouthful of blood from the slap.
"I know you aren't going to run, but I like watching you squirm," he said with a grin. "You don't like the gun and that's exactly why I'm pointing it at you."
I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right so I closed my mouth tightly for a moment, deciding I should do something useful with my time, like figure out how to get out of here.
"Staging a kidnapping is impressive and all, but couldn't you have picked a better victim? Like a senator's daughter or something?" I asked.
Coyote glanced up and cocked a brow. "We wanted you."
"But why?” I asked. “Who the fuck am I?”
He hummed, clearly think through his answer. "Your daddy owes us money and we figured the only way to recoup our losses was to get our hands on you."
I snorted and shook my head. "You're barking up the wrong tree, pal. My dad doesn't give a shit about me. He's not going to put up my ransom."
Coyote grinned at me "Oh, we know that. We know that all too well. We went and saw your dear old dad. We only had to break three fingers before he told us where you were. How do you think we knew where to come looking?”
My heart sank into my stomach at the news, but I tried not to let it show. I looked away and swallowed thickly. “If you aren’t planning a ransom, how the hell do you think you’re going to get money from me?”
Coyote grinned wickedly and leaned in closer, watching me carefully, taking in the look of fear on my face. I knew there was no hiding it anymore. “Men all over the world would pay a pretty penny to fuck a gorgeous American girl like yourself. The way I see it, it’s the only fair trade I can possibly make. There's no other way to get our money back from your dad,” he said, licking his lips as he looked me up and down.
The look in his eyes made my skin crawl and I whimpered, backing away from him, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. He grabbed my collar and yanked me closer. I yelped as my shirt slid up and the rough concrete wall scratched my back, leaving angry, pulsating red marks behind.
“You’re worth more than you think gorgeous,” he purred. “We’re going to take you to some nice Russian men and they’re going to put you in a storage container with a bunch of other pretty, naked girls. Then they’re going to sail you across the ocean and sell you to someone who will put you to work in a brothel. You’ll work and work until you’re used up and then they’ll either put a bullet in your head or put you to work in a sweatshop.”
He was grinning at me now and I was doing my best to stay strong, but I knew I was shivering and I knew my bottom lip was shaking. I was scared and there was no way around it. I was fucking terrified.
“I figure they’ll be more than willing to pay about a quarter of a million for you. Maybe a little more,” he smirked and ran his fingers along my cheek. “You’re so young and supple.”
A sudden rage lit up inside of me. My fate was sealed no matter what I did and I knew Coyote wouldn’t kill me. I was worth too much alive. You couldn’t sell a corpse into sex slavery. As he caressed my cheek I turned my head and sunk my teeth into his hand. He yowled in pain and yanked his hand away, holding the bleeding appendage and staring at it in shock.
I spit out the blood that had coated my teeth and tongue when I bit into the soft flesh, glaring at him with a certain determination. “I’m not going to make this easy for you,” I whispered between gritted teeth.
“You little cunt!” he reached out and grabbed me, his meaty hands wrapping around my throat.
I gasped as I was lifted off the ground, my airway suddenly closed off completely in his strong grasp. My eyes rolled back and I whimpered as I felt my vision starting to fade. My sight was reduced to a narrow tunnel and blood rushed into my ears. I could hear my own heartbeat as I gasped uselessly for breath. There was no air getting to my lungs and they were starting to burn with a desperation I’d never felt before.
The world began to slip from my grasp, but even as I thought I was dying, there was only really one thought going through my head. Dying would be better than being sold into slavery. This seemed like a more tolerable end.