A life she wasn’t ready to give up. One that seemed to be getting better.
Images of Ray flashed behind her eyes. His strong confidence, she could use some of that right now. She hoped he would be proud of the bit of strength she found to help him out of this, to sacrifice herself for the one she cared about the most.
She let her mind continue to wander with thoughts of him when her captors turned toward the door and ran out of the room.
Her heart dropped. She knew why they had left. The men they sent on her scavenger hunt had returned.
She could hear quiet whispers in the next room as Matchstick and Stevie were informed of her deceit. Of course, they had found nothing, and this infuriated her kidnappers.
The two men they had sent on her hunt burst back into the room, causing her feet to dance, trying to keep from falling off of the ice block underneath her. It was as if time slowed. Their heavy footsteps echoed, secondary only to the roar of her heartbeat in her ears.
Matchstick punched the door frame as hard as he could as he followed the men into the room. Little Stevie walked around them all from the back of the pack and up to her with rage radiating off of him.
“I think we’d like an explanation,” he said.
“For what?” She tried to play dumb as she felt her hands start shaking. She was running out of ideas, which meant she was out of time.
“For what? Oh, now she’s going to act like she doesn’t know she sent us on a wild goose chase for nothing.” He turned back to Matchstick as he spoke.
Matchstick stepped toward her and Stevie. “I will try and be a reasonable man here, as you are not really the one we want, so we’re giving you a chance to explain. Hopefully, you will accept that chance and do the right thing.”
“The right thing? There is no right thing to do here. You’re asking me to give up someone. If I do what you’re asking me to do, I give him up, and he dies. You can’t tell me that is the right thing to do. It is the selfish thing to do, harming someone to save myself.” Her fear was starting to shine through as tears welled in her eyes at the thought of her death.
“We didn’t say the right thing and the selfish thing weren’t going to be the same thing, darlin’.”
“Well, maybe not. But I’m not selfish. You can do what you want to me. I choose to protect him the way he has stepped up and protected me. Loyalty means something to me. I can’t help you.”
Her eyes dropped at the thought of that being her last sentence and her not seeing Ray one last time.
Stevie stepped up in front of her face again, stopping when he was close enough that she could feel his heated breath on her skin. He glared into her eyes for a few moments until the anger he had been holding in finally broke free.
With great force, he kicked the ice block that held her up out from underneath her. The block made a large thud as it slammed against the wall behind her, breaking pieces off.
Her hands flew up around her neck as the scratchy noose squeezed. She tried to call for help but the breath wouldn’t come. She knew she was going to die, the only thing she prayed for was that Ray would be safe.
Chapter21
Ray
The club was dark and mostly quiet. Ray pulled up on a side street near the back delivery entrance and was relieved to see that the place had barely any lights on, and there was nobody coming or going.
Either the place was the most boring strip club in town, or the guys had purposefully emptied it out to deal with Augusta.
If she’s even here.
She was. He had to believe that. He didn’t have time to search the city, and he had no other leads. If she wasn’t here, he’d lose her, and Ray couldn’t stand that. He didn’t even think he could survive it.
So much for letting it go. I guess you can’t talk yourself out of love, no matter how good the argument is.
Finally you are on the same page with me. Now let me out so I can find her.
He was shocked to hear the wordloverolling around in his brain, but he was feeling something deeper than he’d ever experienced and that every moment apart from Augusta was like torture.
I’ve never known love, any kind of love. I don’t know what it feels like. This could be it.
This IS it fool. She loves us and we love her.
That worried him even more. Instead of making him strong like all those sad love stories said, he felt incredibly weak. His entire world had narrowed to one all-encompassing, vital factor. Augusta. If she was well, so was he. If she wasn’t, he never would be all right, ever again.