I stared out the window, watching him walk over to Porter and Shawn. This was my chance. Fumbling to uncover my phone from underneath me, I enclosed my fingers over the device and hit speaker. “Grayson? Are you there?”Please be there, please!
From the other side of the speaker, I heard someone wrestling with the phone and then a deep voice said, “Josie? Are you okay?”
“Grayson.” I sighed, double checking that Carter was still talking with asshole one and two. “I’m fine, for now. But Carter has me tied up in the back of his car.”
“We’re on our way. Hold on. We’ll be there soon,” he promised, and I was desperate to believe they would save me.
Carter was strutting back to the car. “I gotta go. Grayson, hurry.” I quickly hit the end button and tossed the phone to the floor, covering it with my foot.
My car door opened, and I scrambled across the seat, putting as much distance between us and his grabbing hands. “Don’t be difficult, sis. You really don’t want me to crawl in there with you.”
Hell no, I didn’t.
I couldn’t avoid him, not for long, and that proved to be true when Shawn appeared on the other side. Carter’s fingers attached themselves to my ankles, and he yanked me out of the car.
My nerves were a jangled mess, and yet, I fought him, doing anything I could to break free. It was futile. Porter was right there, followed moments later by Shawn. Even if I managed to get away, I wouldn’t be able to outrun all three of them, but it was against my nature to just give in. I couldn’t. Not when I knew Grayson and the others were on their way.
I just had to hold on to that thought.
Except… something occurred to me. How the fuck did Grayson know where I was? He said he was on his way.
I told myself not to think about the how. The Elite would find a way. They were the fucking Elite. The impossible was what they did.
Carter dragged me to the front of his SUV. Headlights beamed over the parking lot as he shoved my up against the grill, pinning me to the car with his body. “Shh,” he cooed, putting a hand to my lips. “Calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Now what?” I asked sarcastically. “You got me here. What’s the plan?”
He ran a finger along my jawline before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture was gentle, almost loving. “We wait. And in the meantime…” He grabbed the cloak and whipped it over my head, tossing it to Porter. His eyes dipped to the V in my shirt. “If you try anything, there will be a penalty.”
I gagged. “You need help.”
His finger traced down the column of my neck to my shoulder. “Don’t we all. Welcome to the upper class, Josie.”
I lifted my chin despite the tears that were threatening to spill. “If my hands weren’t tied together, I’d deck you.”
Shawn, Carter, and Porter all laughed. “She has such spirit,” Porter said, his eyes skimming over my body. “Such a shame to have to break it. You really do look like her, Josie.”
“You guys are idiots,” I spat. I had to keep them talking, keep them busy.
Carter grabbed my jaw in his hand, and I cried out from the pain of his fingers. “Shawn, is everything in place?” he asked, Carter’s eyes never leaving my face.
“Yeah. We’re set to go,” Shawn replied. “These bastards are going to get what’s coming to them.”
“Damn time too,” Porter agreed. “I’m so sick of seeing their smug faces, thinking they own us.”
Carter released my face, but the imprint of his fingers lingered. “Are you going to tell me why I’m here?” The bright lights from his headlights made it nearly impossible to see in the dark beyond the lighted beams. Time seemed to crawl while I waited for the Elite—assuming they found me.
“Get into position and stay out of sight. You know the signal,” Carter instructed assholes one and two.
They both nodded and jumped back into the truck, taking off into the night. I watched the taillights of Shawn’s car disappear behind a building, leaving me alone with my unhinged stepbrother. I almost wished they hadn’t left.
My mind whirled. Was this some form a retaliation against the Elite? Carter hated being made a fool of, which the Elite had done the night they kicked his ass. “Do you want your ribs broken again?” I hissed through my teeth.
Carter’s fingers dug into my arms. “If it means getting rid of them then it will be worth the price. Besides…” Carter fished into his back pocket and produced something slim and shiny. He flicked his wrist, and a wicked blade popped out. “I particularly like pain.”
True fear hit me in the gut, immobilizing me for a few dreadful moments as I just stared at the blade too close to my face. Would he hurt me? Did he plan to hurt Brock? Or the rest of the guys? Panic spiraled inside of me. “Do you mean to kill them? You’re insane. You’ll go to jail, Carter,” I managed to say, but my voice trembled over the words.
Carter let a soft laugh. “No. As much as I would like to see them dead, I’m going to do to them what they’ve been trying to do to me for over a year.”