Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
How had she not known that he was a bad guy? He’d never said an impolite word or looked at her speculatively or lewdly. In fact, it had seemed that her appearance hadn’t made any impact on him. Zara had loved feeling at ease with him.
That worked out well for you, didn’t it?
Kicking herself for not detecting Mark’s evil plans, she stopped struggling and lowered her head as the two men came into view so she could listen to their conversation. It sounded like this was not the first time Mark had delivered a woman to these men. They berated him for only bringing one tonight until Mark stepped closer to her, grabbed a handful of her hair, and yanked her head back to reveal her face. Instantly, the tone changed.
“Is she a virgin?”
“How would I know? She didn’t go out with anyone that I knew about, but those guys at Danger Bluff were very protective. I’m sure one of them was screwing her. I mean, come on…” Mark let his voice trail off to insinuate that she could have been having sex with all six.
“They’re going to come after me. You don’t want to keep me here,” Zara said to them with false bravado.
“You won’t be here long, but thanks for the warning,” the man with whom Mark had negotiated assured her.
When Mark laughed, her heart sank. It would take the guys time to figure out how Mark had gotten her out of Danger Bluff. If only she’d been able to leave them a clue. The Littles would have told the guys that Mark had abducted her, but that wouldn’t get them very far.
Zara breathed out a heavy breath. Thank goodness he had locked them in the dryer instead of hurting them. They hadn’t wanted to climb inside, but Mark had held Zara’s arm painfully and threatened to break it. Celeste and Sadie had maneuvered their way slowly into the industrial-sized tub, trying to buy as much time as possible. No one had really been sure whether Mark would turn on the dryer or not. At least he hadn’t injured her friends.
“They will find me—and both of you. Be smart. Just let me go,” Zara said.
“I’ll take the risk for a huge reward. Now, shut up, or I’ll gag you,” the stranger ordered.
Zara looked at Mark, hoping he’d get her silent message. Surely, he wouldn’t want to take on the team. Mark shook his and laughed as he turned his back to her. There was no mistaking that he didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for endangering her. He pulled out his phone and checked something. “The money’s in my account. Thank you. I’ll be in touch when I get to my next employer.”
“Who knew the laundry rooms of hotels would be a treasure trove? Where did you find her?” the stranger asked as he walked Mark out of the room.
“We all have to have our secrets,” Mark answered.
Zara rested her head against the cold metal of the pipes. She wasn’t the first woman Mark had turned over. Who was she kidding? Not turned over. Sold. Mark had sold her. Feeling sick, Zara closed her eyes and hoped with all her energy that Kestrel would be able to find her.
Time drifted by. Locked in the room without windows, Zara had no idea if it had been four hours or a day. Her stomach growled angrily, and she needed to use the restroom.
When she felt like she was going to wet her pants, Zara called out. “Can you hear me? I need to use the toilet.”
Silence answered her.
She tried again. “Help! Can anyone hear me?”
Nothing.
Finally, her body lost its battle. Trapped in urine-soaked jeans on the concrete floor, Zara battled despair. Maybe the team had given up on her. Maybe they hadn’t even tried to find her. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to escape into sleep.
“Get up!” A rough hand grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
One foot had fallen asleep in her weird position, and Zara would have fallen if he hadn’t stabilized her with an increasingly painful grip.
“Ouch. I’m trying. My foot’s asleep.” As she tried to balance, she noted that another man had joined them.
“You smell.” Her captor frowned at Zara.
Instantly, Zara felt her face heat with embarrassment and knew she was blushing. How dare he! “If you’d gotten off your ass and let me use the toilet, I wouldn’t smell.”
“A bucket of water will solve our problem. Tyler! Get some water to clean Her Majesty,” he mocked.
The other man turned without saying a word and left the room. When he returned about five minutes later, the man still held Zara in place on her feet. She wanted to kick him hard but knew that wouldn’t free her hands from the pipe. The only result would be him hurting her at least twice as much as she bruised him.