Chapter 21 (Mandy)

This couldn’t be happening. Just when I thought I would be saved by my lover, things got even worse. Now he was unconscious, and I was being carted off by the very family I had tried to expose.

If I had only let the matter go, none of this would have happened. I would still be working at the station, living my normal life. Instead, I ignored direct orders from my boss and  here I was, in a very bad situation.

Fuck.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get away from the men that carried me into the back of a van. I did everything I could to remain calm. Maybe, if I just held my tongue, I could survive long enough for Jasper to save me.

who was I kidding? I’d probably never see him again. I shuddered just thinking about the killer look that had flashed across Keith’s eyes, holding that knife, charging toward Jasper. He wasn’t going to hold back. Jasper was going to die… because of me.

The thought was enough to make me sick.

“Fuck!” One of the men shouted when it got on his shoe. “You disgusting bitch.” Before I knew what was happening, he pistol-whipped me.

My world blurred for a moment as my brain collided with the side of my skull.

I groaned in pain.

“Clean up this mess.” Keith’s voice broke me from my daze. “I don’t want to stick around here any longer than we need to. The billionaire is bound to wake up at any moment.”

“Why’d you keep him alive?” One of the men asked.

I held my breath. Jasper was alive. I could barely believe it.

“Because it makes things a lot more interesting. Trust me. We’re going to have one hell of a time.” He laughed his cruel laugh before jumping into the driver’s seat.

His two men fastened my chair in place before joining him in the front.

I did everything I could to keep from getting sick again but with the jostling of the van, it was extremely difficult.

Please, be okay. I thought, closing my eyes and picturing Jasper. Don’t come after me. Just get yourself to safety. I prayed that he would just let me go but deep down, I knew he wouldn’t.

He felt what I felt.

An attraction so strong that we were both willing to sacrifice ourselves for the well being of the other.

We were in love.

the ways things were playing out, I didn’t know if we were ever going to act on that love or if this would be my last day on Earth.

***

To my surprise, Keith brought me back to Jasper’s cabinet.

What was going on? What was he planning?

He jumped into the back of the van and smiled down at me. “Welcome home.” He mocked, cutting away my bindings. “Now, you be a good girl, or I won’t hesitate to shoot every part of your body until you beg me for mercy.” Already, he had a gun pressed to my lips.

I gulped.

“Kiss it.”

I tried to plead with him using my eyes, but he just continued to look at me with that cold expression of his. This man was heartless and there was no way to change that.

Not willing to risk my chances, I kissed the tip of his gun.

He smiled. “We might just get along after all.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “See, I can be a nice, reasonable guy when I want to be – when people don’t piss me off.”

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, bottom lip quivering. I was trying my hardest to remains strong throughout this ordeal, but things were looking bleak. It was becoming difficult to remain optimistic when Keith seemed to have the upper hand.

“Because you know too much.”

“I don’t know anything. The investigation against your family has been going at a snail’s pace. They haven’t figured anything out yet.”

“Do you honestly think I believe that.” His ground his teeth, jaw flexing with anger. “I don’t like it when people lie to me, Mandy.”

“I’m not lying.”

He grabbed me by the throat. “I’m done listening to you. One more peep and I’ll cut out your tongue. Got it.”

Timidly, I nodded. He had become even more of a monster. When I broke up with him, he was just an asshole but now he was a downright maniac.

“Anyway, we’ve wasted enough time with chitchat. Let’s get going. Everyone is waiting for us.”

“Everyone?” 

“Why the Hitchcocks, of course. You were so interested in our family business, I thought I would do you a favor and show you exactly what we like to do.” He grinned wildly. “I don’t think you’re going to like it.” He leaned down and nibbled my ear. “ I think you best behave or things are going to be a lot worse for you.”

With shaking legs, I managed to get on my feet. I couldn’t even imagine what waited for me inside. No doubt, every member of that family wanted to see me dead.

“Oh, and since I’m such a nice guy… here.” He shrugged off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders. “I wouldn’t want you to make the wrong impression, walking in with nothing but your underwear on.”

I blush in embarrassment. “Please. Don’t make me do this. I won’t bother you or anyone from your family ever again.”

“Oh, you already had your chance, Mandy. It’s too late now.”

“Please… Keith. You can’t do this.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mandy. You’re the reason I am doing this.” He pointed to a fresh tattoo on his right bicep. “You see, I wasn’t always a part of the family business. I thought it was crooked and evil but after we broke up, my life fell to shit. I didn’t know what to do. My family helped pick up the pieces. My father was the one who gave me this tattoo. I’m now his formal heir.  welcome to the family business, babe.”