“No, you can’t do this.”
Everything happens so fast. My captor throws a bag over my head before I can see him and ties my hands behind my back. I wiggle against the restraint, but it’s futile. I’m trapped in darkness, listening.
I’ve seen many movies where the captive can’t see anything while in the back of the car and they listen to sounds and pinpoint exactly where they are, so later they can tell someone, and everything ends happily ever after.
Well, those movies lie, because I hear nothing except the sounds of my rapid breaths against the burlap sack over my head. And the loud music playing inside the car. I’m sure all of New York can hear it. Hmm, maybe they’ve seen the same movies, and don’t want me to listen for anything?
Tears burn my throat, knowing Bishop has captured me and I won’t escape the torture he has in store for me. My plan with Sophia is down the drain. Her words rush back to me. How he’ll kidnap me, take me somewhere and torture me, and then kill me.
I cry harder, feeling weak in this moment. It would horrify Sophia that I’m giving up without trying to escape. If you want to be a badass, think like a badass. Just like in the movies, I shift my body and reach up behind me to make one more attempt to free myself. Oh, it works. My hand hits the handle of the door, and I grasp it, wondering if I could open the door and fall out. Tuck and roll. I have no idea how fast we’re going, or how much traffic is around, so hmm. I’d probably kill myself falling out into moving traffic.
Maybe when the car slows down, I can open the door and lean out.
A woman with a burlap sack over her head should raise suspicion.
I sit still, with my hand gripped so hard on the handle I swear it’ll leave a mark, waiting for an opportunity to escape.
Finally, the car slows, coming to a stop. I take a deep breath and yank on the handle. The door opens, and I fly out sideways, but a hand grips my arm, pulling me back inside the vehicle.
The man’s hard body presses against me as he slams the door shut.
“Jesus Christ, Mia,” he swears.
That voice. I’ve heard it before.
I know that voice but can’t place it.
When you’re in a life and death situation, remembering details about your life is hard. My fight-or-flight reflexes have kicked in, completely in fight mode, and I can’t think straight.
But I know this voice.
I try to harness my inner Sophia-badass and slam my foot into his leg.
“Goddammit, Mia,” he growls out. “Sit still. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“Ha,” I say, slamming my body against his. “Let me out.”
“Just calm down.” That voice.
I know it.
I remember it.
I stop, tears threatening to spill. “Sebastian?”
He rips off the burlap sack and I stare into the piercing blue eyes of Sebastian Cain, my father’s best friend.
Chapter 2
Sebastian
* * *
This feisty little minx has been harder to capture than I ever thought possible. I’ve known Mia since I went into business with her father a few years back and I never expected her to put up such a fight. Have to admit, I’m impressed.
You’re probably wondering why I’ve kidnapped my business partner’s daughter. Well, I assure you, it’s all part of my master plan. I need her help, and she needs mine.
“I’ll remove the restraints if you promise not to run,” I say to Mia, and then glance at my security driver, Jeremy. “Maybe you should try locking the doors?”
Jeremy clicks the automatic lock button and Mia’s brown eyes widen, then narrow.
“Are you working for Bishop?” she asks.
I shake my head, not wanting to tell her why I’ve kidnapped her. Not wanting to go into any of it yet.
It’s a mess. But with Mia’s help, I can clean it up, so everything can go back to how they were pre-kidnapping.
“Promise me you won’t try to scream, or run, or get away,” I say again to Mia.
“I promise.”
I remove her restraints, and she rubs at the raw skin of her hands and wrists. “Don’t look at me like I just killed your kitten.”
She glares at me. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Don’t test me, Mia.”
“Tell me what you’re doing. Tell me what you want from me.”
I sit back, staring out the window as Jeremy heads toward the executive airport for me to catch my flight. “I’ll tell you more in time.”
She pokes me in the chest. “Ow,” she says, when her finger bends against me. But then she’s back to poking me again, a little harder this time. “Tell me, Sebastian, now.”
I cross my arms over my chest and I swear I’ve caught her following the lines of my body. “All in good time.”