Chapter 9

 

Kiley wished her friends could stay longer, but they had husbands and fiancés and jobs. She swore she would text them every day and let them know what was going on with her and Charlie. Shannon said she would mail out wedding invitations and to keep an eye out for that. She informed them all they were stuck as bridesmaids, too, so there was no getting out of being there. Before they left, they took her out shopping along the Riverwalk, and Kiley found herself back in the boutique she had visited with Charlie.

The woman recognized her when she walked in, and before she could say anything, Shannon whispered in her ear. The woman’s face flushed and a hand rose to her chest as she replied, “I think I can assist in that department.”

“In what department?” Kiley had asked, baffled, glowering at her friend. “What did you say?”

“I was simply passing along a message from Charlie as well as adding a little something more to, ah…amuse you both.”

Charlie had handed Shannon his card and informed the women Kiley needed some more clothes. Wearing the same outfits for months wouldn’t do. Kiley came home with three more bags of clothes and a bag full of slinky, lacey lingerie. All of it was black and red and a few of the pieces she wasn’t sure she would be able to get into without help again, but they hadn’t let her say no.

There was something she’d wanted to do and asked Charlie if he could take her to the local clinic the day her friends left.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked worriedly. “You do live with a doctor.”

“I feel fine. This is something of a more personal nature. Please?”

He frowned but said he would drive her to the clinic down the road. “When you’re finished, text me. There’s a café about three blocks down. I’ll pick you up and we can go to lunch.”

“I don’t mind walking. It’s only three blocks.”

He hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“I have to overcome my fear of being out in the city alone eventually, right? Besides, I haven’t seen or heard from any of those bastards. It’s three blocks and it’s the middle of the lunch rush on a Monday. There are plenty of people around,” she said. “I’ll be fine. Promise.”

He’d dropped her off at the clinic an hour ago, and she waited patiently to get her blood test results back. If she was really going to be with Charlie and dress in all that damn lingerie her friends made her get, she wanted to enjoy him to the fullest and vice versa.

“Ms. Innis?” the doctor said, returning to the small exam room. “Your bloodwork will be tested, and we should have the results for you within the next day or two. But as of this moment, you appear to be in perfect health.”

“Perfect, thanks,” she said and hopped off the table.

“Of course. Have a wonderful rest of the day,” she said and held open the door for Kiley to leave. She stepped outside the clinic and breathed in the fresh air. Fall was arriving quickly, and though it was Texas, the air still changed. She texted Charlie to let him know she was leaving the clinic and would see him soon.

He texted her back, double checking she didn’t want a ride, but she told him she was fine. It was one o’clock and the sidewalks were filled with people on their lunchbreaks or tourists visiting the city. She strolled along, her fingers crossed that her blood test came back clear. Up ahead of her, a black SUV parked alongside the curb and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Kiley froze, trying to push her way out of the throng of people and duck into the nearest store, but someone grabbed her wrist hard enough to break it. She winced and opened her mouth to scream, but something small and round pressed into her lower back.

“Get in, or I kill you and five people standing nearest you, got it?”

“What do you want?” she snapped, recognizing the voice belonging to the bearded man from the alley. “I don’t have anything. You took it all!”

“Ask your boyfriend. Now walk.”

Kiley tripped over her feet, but the man didn’t let her fall. She glanced around, looking for a way out, but he wouldn’t hurt only her if she ran. The door of the SUV opened and he forced her to climb inside. The three other men were there, too. The man with the gun climbed in behind her and told the driver to get going. Kiley waited, her hands shaking, until they were away from the sidewalk when she decided she wouldn’t go down without a fight. They might have hurt her and terrorized her before, but not this time. She wouldn’t make the second time easy. With a yell, she rammed her purse as hard as she could into the man’s gut. He gasped and she reached for the gun, not sure what she would do with it, but grabbed hold and threw his arms towards the window.

“Grab her, man,” he hollered. “You bitch.”

Kiley scratched and dug into his hands until she drew blood, but the man on the other side of her wrapped an arm around her throat, yanking her backwards. She gasped, digging at his arm, but he held fast. Her vision blurred and blackened. One of them said something, but there was cotton in her ears. She couldn’t hear and her body weakened.

The arm vanished and she sucked in air with relief until he whacked her over the head.

***

“I told you not to hit her so hard, man,” a voice grumbled. “If you killed her, I’m going to rip your throat out. We need her alive.”

Kiley frowned. Who was talking? “Charlie?” she rasped, wincing when her throat hurt. “Where…what happened?” She yelped when someone grabbed her hair and lifted her head harshly. “You! Let me go.”

The men from the alley—the men after Ned—stood around her. She was tied to a chair in the middle of a large warehouse. Fear gripped her thinking of all the times Ned hurt people who disobeyed him, but these guys didn’t work for Ned and this was not his warehouse. Not that it gave her reason to relax. The bearded man held the gun, resting it lazily on his lap.

“You were supposed to deliver a message to your boyfriend,” he reminded her.

“I haven’t seen him,” she explained, and the man holding her hair tugged harder. “Ouch! Goddamn it, I’m telling the truth, you fuckers. Get off.”

“She certainly has more fight than the last time,” the one behind her muttered.

“Yes, she does.” The bearded man crouched before her. “You will take your cell, call your boyfriend, and tell him to bring us the money he owes us for stealing our drugs. If you don’t, or if I smell a rat, my boys won’t carve up your leg. This time,” he mused, trailing the gun muzzle down her face as she flinched away, “you won’t be so pretty to look at anymore.”

Her hands were untied, and the one holding her hair released her. “How much?” she asked roughly as they handed over her cell. Who was she going to call? She no longer had Ned’s number. Not like he would pay to get her out of this mess, anyway.

“One million.”

Her jaw dropped. She had nothing so it couldn’t come from her. “And if he doesn’t have it?”

“He’ll have it or he’ll find pieces of you for the next few weeks.”

She started to unlock the screen, but he pressed the gun under her chin and she froze. “Call the cops instead, and you will scream until you can’t scream anymore. We want our money and then you can go.”

“And you’ll leave me alone?” she asked, her voice trembling. “You won’t come after me again?”

“We have no reason to unless your boyfriend fucks with us again.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she seethed and spat in his face. He raised his hand with the gun to hit her, and she braced for it, cursing her big mouth.

He winked and lowered his hand. “Definitely more fight than last time. Stay away from him and we’ll stay away from you. How does that sound?”

“Peachy.” She stared at her cell. There was only one person she knew with that kind of money.

***

Charlie paced down the sidewalk in front of the café. It’d been over an hour since Kiley texted him. She should’ve been there by now. He texted her a few times, but she didn’t respond and he was ready to jump on his bike to go find her when his cell rang.

“Kiley? Where the hell are you?’

“Ned, I need you to listen to me,” she said quickly.

“Ned? Kiley, it’s Charlie.”

“I know it’s a bad time,” she said louder, and Charlie’s heart thudded painfully behind his ribs. “I need you to listen to me very closely. Are you listening?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening. Where are you?” He started walking back to the café to call the cops.

“You need to come to this address,” she said and rattled it off. “I need you to bring one million dollars and no cops. No cops at all, do you understand me?”

Charlie stopped short of the door. “Seriously?”

“If you mess this up, they will hurt me, Ned, more than before. Please do what they want so they’ll leave me alone for good.”

Charlie pinched his nose. “One million, warehouse, no cops. Jesus, Kiley, are you okay?”

“For now.”

“Is it the guys from the alley?”

“Yes, that’s right. They said you didn’t get the message the first time.”

“Well, I’ve got it now. I’ll be there in an hour.”

He heard her repeat the words to whoever held her captive and a gruff response answered her, but he didn’t catch the words. “Kiley?”

“They said that’s fine.” There was a click and she was gone.

“Fuck,” he growled and raced to his bike. He had plenty of money, but these bastards had kidnapped her. He should call the cops. He should give them the address so they could go with him and save her while locking them up, but if he brought the cops… if he got her killed… no. He had to do this on his own.

He hurried to the bank, standing impatiently in line as he waited for an open teller.

“Yes, sir, how can I help you today?” the woman asked.

“I need to make a hefty withdrawal,” he informed her and whispered the amount.

Her eyes widened. “That is quite a large sum of money, sir,” the woman replied, and he shifted on his feet as she stared at him. “I’ll have to get permission from the manager.”

“Fine, fine,” he said trying to flash a charming smile, but the minutes ticked by and each one meant Kiley was closer to being hurt, or worse. The woman picked up the phone by her desk and spoke into it quietly. “If he can hurry, please,” Charlie insisted.

The woman’s eyes narrowed, and inwardly, he groaned. She set the phone down and they waited for a man in a stuffy suit to walk over. He immediately recognized Charlie. “Ah, Dr. Devons, how are you today?”

“Fine, Billy, just fine. Trying to make a withdrawal.”

“I hear. That is a large sum of money. Do you mind if I ask what it’s for?”

Charlie wracked his mind for a lie and finally came up with, “Mid-life crisis. Taking a trip across the states and what not.”

“I see, and you’re using all cash?”

“I’m more comfortable with cash.” Charlie glanced at the clock again, ready to jump across the counter and take the money, but Bill nodded and told the teller to get him what was requested. “Thanks, Bill. I’ll send you a postcard.”

Bill nodded and walked away, and the teller counted out the stacks of bills for Charlie. She tucked them into two large envelopes and slid a form across for him to sign. “Thank you, sir,” she barely got out before Charlie scooped up the money and was out the doors.

He arranged the money and tucked the envelopes in his saddle bag on his bike. He sped through the city like a madman, checking his watch every few minutes. He still had time, but he was pushing it. There weren’t many warehouses in the city, but when he drove down the street she’d told him, he wondered if this wasn’t a trap meant for Ned and he was about to take that asshole’s place. Not that it mattered. If Kiley was in trouble, he wouldn’t leave her to the wolves. He said he would keep her safe and that was exactly what he intended to do.

No matter the cost.

He parked his bike outside the warehouse with a large number 56 painted on the side. There was a door close by. Not seeing another, he banged hard on it. When no one answered, he cursed and walked inside. He waited to be shot or attacked, but nothing happened. A single light shone, guiding him through shelves filled with crates and boxes. He heard men speaking. He heard Kiley’s voice followed by the sound of slap. She yelped in pain, and Charlie took off at a sprint.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” he yelled as he came around the end of a row of shelves. Kiley was tied to a chair and four men surrounded her—four very large men with guns and knives out in the open for him to see.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man with the beard snapped. “Kill him.”

“Wait!” Kiley screamed at the same time Charlie did. “He’s got the money. He’s paying you.”

“He’s not Ned,” the man complained.

“No, he’s not, but I told you, Ned is not my boyfriend anymore.”

“So who is this?”

“I’m her new boyfriend,” Charlie replied, and Kiley sagged in relief. “And I’m getting her out of here. You want your money? Here, one million.” He tossed the bag to the ground at their feet. “Now let her go.”

The man motioned for another to pick it up and look through it. Charlie kept his eyes on Kiley’s, asking her without words if she was hurt. Besides the red mark on her cheek, he saw no new bruises or cuts. She sucked in her bottom lip as the goon stood.

“All here from what I can tell.”

The man scratched his beard with the muzzle of his gun, eyeing Charlie closely. “You in love with this bitch or something?”

“Something like that,” Charlie snapped. “And don’t insult her again. She’s no longer involved with Ned.”

“All right, then,” the men said as they chortled at him. “No need to get your panties in a twist.”

He reached down and untied Kiley. When she tried to run, he snatched her arm and held her back. “You swore you would let me go once you got your money,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Is he a new player we need to be worried about?”

“No, he’s a doctor. He’s not part of this shithole world of yours.”

“I have to be certain. I’ll be sure Ned gets the news you’ve moved up in the world.” He sniggered as he let her go, and she sprinted into Charlie’s open arms. “Get out of here, both of you—and you, sir, a pleasure doing business with you.”

Charlie glowered at them, but he was no fighter and he had no gun. He turned and ran with Kiley through the warehouse to his bike. Neither said a word as they hopped on and he drove them through the city, back to the penthouse. She shook like a leaf during the ride upstairs, and the moment they were safely inside the penthouse, they embraced, kissing fiercely. He needed to know she was unharmed. They shoved at each other’s clothes in a mad rush to feel skin on skin. The adrenaline pumping through his veins wouldn’t make this an easy go, but Kiley was far from gentle with him in return.

Their clothes hit the floor and he backed her to the couch. She spun around in his arms, and his shaft rubbed between her thighs as he kissed her neck. She moaned with want, and he was desperate to hear her cry out and know she really was there with him. He reached quickly for his wallet and withdrew a condom, covering himself quickly. He spread her legs wider and thrust within her silken sheath. They groaned and shuddered together as she stretched for him, holding him firmly in her grasp.

“Charlie,” she gasped, pressing her ass further into the cradle of his hips.

He gripped her breasts in his hands as he drove into her. She was his, not Ned’s, not those assholes from the alley. His, and no one would hurt her again. He couldn’t tell her with words how he felt, but he did with his actions, with his hard cock filling her to the fullest, with the kisses he planted on her neck and shoulders. He pulled out when he grew close and dragged her around to the front of the couch. He sat down so she could straddle him, rejoining their coupling as he kissed her hotly.

She shoved her hands through his shaggy hair, riding him harder than she had before. He swelled inside her, plundering her as she cried out for him. He took her hard and fast, racing to her climax and his with a fury. He bellowed as he came, filling her with his warmth, and she collapsed on his shoulder, sucking in air.

“Thank you for saving my ass again,” she said when she straightened, still straddling his lap.

He kissed her, holding her face. “I wasn’t about to lose you.”

“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into this—and the money. I have no idea how I’ll pay you back, but I will somehow.”

“No, no, you didn’t, and no, you won’t. I chose to be in your life, Kiley, and I’m not going to abandon you. But promise you’ll add not getting kidnapped to the list of things you won’t do?”

She kissed him. “I promise. Now that they have their money, they should leave me alone.”

He sighed, fiddling with a strand of her hair. “Will you do something for me?” She nodded and he cringed as he asked, “Go to the police tomorrow. You have to report this. They can’t get away with this shit.”

She buried her face in his shoulder and he hugged her. “I know.”

“I’ll go with you. Tomorrow?”

She grunted but nodded. “Tomorrow.”

“And you swear they didn’t hurt you?”

She sat up and kissed him. “No, only a slap, but after what happened the last time, I can deal with a slap. I’ll have to make this up to you somehow.”

“No, you won’t.” He almost told her then, but the day had been long and dropping what could be a potentially large bombshell could either make the night better or ruin it. “How about a bath? And then bed. Tomorrow will be a shitty day.”

“Yeah, but you’re right,” she said reluctantly. “I should’ve told them the truth when you found me the first time.”

“You were a different person then.”

“Same person,” she muttered as she stood from the couch. “Same coward.”

“You are not a coward. What happened when they kidnapped you?” The words tasted bitter in his mouth, and he grabbed the couch cushion in anger. He should’ve been there.

“They came up to me on the street. The bearded one… he had a gun,” she whispered, her eyes seeing the situation again. He stood to hold her as she went on. “He said if I didn’t go with him, he’d shoot me and the five people nearest me. So I waited until we got in the car and tried to fight back. I tried to get the gun, but they knocked me out.”

“You fought back,” he told her. “And you let them take you so no one else would get hurt. That doesn’t sound like a coward to me.” She looked ready to argue, but he kissed her before she could start. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up, and then we’re spending the rest of the day in bed.”

They walked down the hall hand in hand and stood by the tub as he turned the water on.

“Was everything all right at the clinic?” he asked, nearly forgetting why she’d been out on the street in the first place.

Her cheeks flushed and she grinned. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”

She was up to something, but he didn’t push. She’d had a rough enough day as it was.