“No. No.”
He turns to the kidnappers and barks more orders before leaving with his bodyguards.
The younger guy places the tape back on my mouth while I protest, shaking my head violently side to side.
“Not so young, are you?” He grins at me. “Though I don’t fuck older bitches, for you I’ll make an exception.”
All the blood drains from my face and my body trembles as terror I’ve never felt ever in my life hits me hard.
The older man says something to the young kidnapper, cocking his head toward me. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but their loud voices tell me they’re arguing about something.
The younger man turns to me, a pissed-off look on his face. “My friend tells me not to touch you until we know how you’re related to that bastard.”
I mentally thank the older kidnapper, but my relief is short-lived.
“But nobody said anything about watching. While I wait for more instructions from the boss, I can enjoy watching you.” He retrieves a knife from his back pocket and hovers it close to my neck, causing me to shiver.
My heartbeat takes off like a shot when he places the knife on my neck.
“Don’t move or it might prick your skin.” At his words, I gulp down my breaths to stay quiet and still. But even then, he pushes the tip into my skin, making a small cut.
Tears race down my face, not because of the pain but because of worry that it might be too late before I’m rescued from this hell.
He brings the knife closer to his face and I can already feel the warm blood dripping down my neck. “I also like blood, that’s why I like them young.”
When he licks the knife tip, a sour taste fills my mouth, my throat, and I think I’m gonna puke, but he doesn’t stop.
The creep uses the knife to tear the front of my silk blouse in half, exposing me to his lecherous gaze. I look down in panic to check that I’m wearing a padded bra. The key chain hiding underneath is my only hope.
He then brings the knife to my jeans and makes a cut lengthwise from the ankle to my waistband, and the scrap of material hangs under my butt.
Stepping back, he takes a large gulp from his liquor bottle. “Now I wait before I can fully enjoy you.”
18
KEITH
I enter my office after meeting with the police chief and Connor, my boss and owner of Kings Security. They congratulated me on how the police has managed to raid five different locations based on my team’s intel and rescue the girls before they became victims of this gang. But I know this is far from over. We did manage to save the girls but are nowhere close to catching these guys. We only know they have some Russian ties. But how deep is still unknown.
I lean back in my chair before glancing toward the Advil bottle sitting on my desk. I can’t recall how long it’s been since I last touched it.
Since Clementine moved in, my brain screams.
My house now has a weird normalcy, where the tenant roams around my living room and kitchen as if it’s part of her rented place. And speaking about rented place, I have less hope of seeing the rent money, given her nonexistent finance-management capabilities.
Thinking about her, I remember a few days back when she attempted to make pasta for dinner. How can someone mess up boiling pasta? But somehow, she managed to do just that. In the end, we ordered Thai.
I’m not sure if we’re saving or wasting more money since she has taken it upon herself to try cooking a few times at home. And by home, I don’t mean her loft. She is blatantly using my kitchen, insisting she has to repay me for all the free food she’s eaten. Eventually, I end up ordering food for everyone and cleaning the mess she leaves behind.
“What’s up with you these days?” Lukas asks from where he’s sitting in front of me.
Fuck! When did he arrive?
“What do you mean?” I busy myself in turning my computer on.
“You’re no longer a man holding his head, gulping down Advil. You are like…a changed man, smiling more often.”
“So, never seen a smiling man? It’s no unicorn.” I’m about to say more when my gaze lands on the subject of the top unread email. The ground beneath my feet disappears.