Chapter 21
Charli
A loud noise has me startling awake and it takes me a moment to realise what the hell is going on.
I’m in some cold, concrete room with my hands and feet bound together. My head throbs and my wrist screams for medical attention.
Holy shit. How the hell did I get myself in this situation?
I want to scream out for help but with the duct tape covering my mouth, it’s useless. Besides, who is going to come? I’m sure the dickhead who put me here isn’t going to come down and help me out. My only saving grace is Xander but how the hell would he know where to find me? I have no doubt he will come but how long is it going to take? I mean, no one even knows ‘Pit Bulls’ real name.
I look around the room and… Holy Shit. Is that a fucking guard dog sitting by the door? And a big mother fucker at that.
The bastard growls at me as I make eye contact. My heart rate rises and fear settles in for the long haul. Of course, the dickhead put a fucking guard dog by the door. There isn’t even a window for me to escape through. Only a door which, no doubt, leads me straight to my captor, though it’s not like I’d be getting past this big fucker of a dog anytime soon. He looks just as lethal as ‘Pit Bull’ with those sharp teeth that I’m sure could tear through my skin in seconds.
Fuck, I’m scared. The tears begin streaming down my face. Why did I have to go and tell the guy he was chicken shit? Maybe he would have been kinder had I not provoked him. Maybe I’d sitting in a warm room with my hands and feet free. Maybe he would have let me go.
As the tears flow, so do the sobs which only pinpoint just how sore my ribs are. I notice the dog tilting his head curiously in my direction and I glance up at him, nervous as shit that I could be making a bad move but I see sympathy in his eyes. What the hell?
I awkwardly try to get myself up into a sitting position, keeping my eyes locked on the dog to make sure he stays on his side of the room. I bite down as hard as possible on my bottom lip, trying my hardest not to scream out at the pain the movement causes. It takes a while but I finally make it.
With my hands tied tightly behind my back and a shattered wrist, it makes it nearly impossible to lean back against the wall, so I turn to the side and try to make myself somewhat comfortable, after-all, when Xander comes for me, which I know he will. I need to be ready.
I take a look down at my body and try to take note of the injuries. My wrist and the bump on my head are the most obvious but my whole body is covered in scratches, bruises, and cuts making me wonder exactly how I got into this room. I doubt I was carried and by the grazes along my arms, I’d assume I was dragged.
I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain and think of Xander. The way he holds me in the night or the way I catch him looking at me when he thinks I’m busy. The sexy way he smirks when he’s teasing me and the way the words ‘I love you’ sound coming from those lips.
I repeat the thoughts over and over again, just waiting for it to be over.
Please, Xander. Hurry
The dog’s ears suddenly prick and he turns his head in the direction of the door with a growl. Clearly sensing that someone is coming. I just don’t know who.
The door flies open and suddenly some guy is standing right before me with a sick, twisted grin on his face as he palms his dick through his pants. Fuck. What is with the guys in this city all being perverted sick fucks? He takes one step towards me and suddenly the dog turns on him.
I stare, wide-eyed as the dog lowers himself down with his ass up in the air, ready to attack. What the hell? Is the dog protecting me? That couldn’t be right, I mean, he is their Guard dog, not mine.
The guy focuses his attention on the dog and I see the hesitation in his eyes. He wants me but he doesn’t want to take his chances against this beast of a dog. With a curse, he slowly backs his way out of the room and slams the door behind him. I hear a lock sliding into place and I let out a breath of relief. Holy shit. That was damn close.
The dog relaxes as he turns back around to face me. I give him a grateful look, also feeling like an idiot because come on, it’s a dog, as if he knows what a grateful look means but then he shocks me as he slowly approaches me, lays down beside me and places his giant head on my lap.
Wow. In that same instant, I feel like I have some sort of connection with this beast and the need to reach out and give him a scratch radiates through me but that will have to wait until Xander gets here and my hands are free.
I briefly wonder just how badly the dickheads in the other room have treated this poor dog for him to turn on them the way he did but one this I know for sure is that the second I get out of here, he is coming with me.
With my protection detail right by my side, I let my mind take me back to the sweet memories of Xander, hoping that will be enough to make the pain of this reality sink away into the background.