She focused on his face, taking in the high cheekbones, square jawline. She guessed he had an abundance of testosterone from how masculine his features were. His voice reminded her of gravel—deep, rough, and gritty. Her gaze lowered to the gun gripped within his right hand and couldn’t look away from the scary thing. She would do anything they said just to survive the nightmare she’d fallen into.
“Who? Mr. Herbert? I don’t know. I was looking for him,” she managed to whisper. She hoped he’d heard her. “Please. I want to go now.”
Silence stretched and she finally tore her focus off the gun to look up at his face. His full lips were twisted downward and lines had appeared at the edges of them. She noticed his odd-looking nose for the first time. It wasn’t exactly flat but it had a smashed look as if he’d taken a few too many hits to the face.
“He goes by the name of Brent Thort. Where the hell is he? I won’t ask nicely again.”
Surprised, Lauren knew her mouth dropped open. “You’re looking for Brent?”
She glanced at the blond and the other scary guy. She didn’t like Brent but these men were seriously armed and dangerous. Her coworker was a loudmouthed, sexist jerk. He made a point of being offensive to all women with his crude remarks but she suddenly had a hunch that he had a gambling problem. Were these two men bill collectors from some illegal bookie? The color drained from her face. Or maybe Brent was into drugs. He did drive a really nice car and bragged about all the women he nailed. Any woman who purposely slept with him had to be paid to do so. He was good-looking but it was only skin deep in his case.
It explained why Lauren was trapped inside a warehouse with thugs. They’d been expecting Brent. She studied the terrifying man in front of her and could totally see him being the hired muscle of the worst type of criminal. Oh crap! I showed up instead of Brent. Some of the terror eased but not much. They’ll have to let me go, she hoped, now that they realized their trap had caught someone innocent instead.
“Some emergency came up. My boss called me to show the property instead of Brent.” She was proud her voice sounded more normal. “Can I go now? Obviously you aren’t interested in buying the building, right?”
The blond’s mouth tightened into a firm line. His hand slowly lifted to his ear to touch his earlobe. “Say again. I didn’t get that. There’s interference from the steel in here in some parts.”
The dark-haired man moved forward and Lauren squeezed tighter against the door. All of her terror returned when she focused on him. The men could almost be twins in sheer size. They were both towering above her, wide shouldered, and muscular. She couldn’t see his eyes either through the dark glasses but she sensed that he stared at her too. She didn’t try to make eye contact since it was pointless. Her gaze dropped to the concrete floor while she started to pray. Please have them let me go. Please God.
“Lauren Henderson.”
Lauren’s gaze snapped up to the dark-haired one who’d said her name. He turned his head to glance at the other man. He shrugged.
“My com was fine. Lauren Henderson is her name. She works at the same company as our target.”
The blond turned his head and Lauren stared up at the black sunglasses. She swallowed again and nodded. “I do work with Brent but I don’t know him well.”
The fact that they were calling Brent a target didn’t bode well for her or her coworker. Her knees shook almost as much as her hands. Target means they are probably hired hit men. Jesus! What in the hell is Brent into?
“She is his girlfriend.” The dark-haired one had a deep voice too but his didn’t sound like gravel.
“I’m not dating that creep. I swear. I’m not dating anyone.” She had to convince them or they might decide to hurt her instead of Brent. “I don’t even like him. He’s a dick.”
Two pairs of sunglasses were aimed in her direction and she felt them watching her. She quickly got the impression they weren’t buying it when both of them frowned. Seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness.
“Let’s be rational, okay?” She forced air into her lungs. “Look at me. Do you know Brent? He’s into skinny, tall women. That’s not me. He goes to bars all the time but I don’t even drink.”
She knew she was babbling but didn’t care. She didn’t want them to break her legs as a warning to a boyfriend she didn’t even have. “I don’t even like the guy. He’s rude and we don’t get along. He came into work last week showing pictures on his cell phone of women’s bare asses and he said some mean things when I told him I didn’t appreciate it. I don’t like the guy and he doesn’t like me. I am not,” she almost yelled the words now, “his girlfriend or his friend! I’m just the idiot who answered her phone when her boss called and actually got my ass down here to show this property.” She closed her mouth.
“They are sleeping together.” It was the dark-haired one. “We do know Bill.” His mouth twisted into a grin and white teeth flashed.
The blond nodded. “Yes. We do.”
“I’m not sleeping with him.” Lauren was shocked. “Hello? Didn’t you hear me? I’m not his type and he’s sure as hell not mine!” It took her seconds to realize they’d called Brent by another name but they probably went after a lot of targets. It had been a slip. She wasn’t about to point out the error to them either. “I have standards.”
“Bill’s type has breasts and you have those.” The blond sounded amused.
“I haven’t slept with anyone in a long time. Trust me,” Lauren stammered in a rush. “I wouldn’t sleep with that jerk. He is a man slut and a total pig. I am not dating anyone and haven’t in almost a year. I really am serious. I don’t like Brent, Bill, or whatever his name is.”
The dark-haired one’s smile died. “Almost a year, huh? Now I know you’re lying.”
She shook her head. “That’s the truth. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole and we don’t like each other. We don’t even talk unless it’s to argue. I don’t know what you want with him and I don’t care. Can I please go now? Please? If you think I’d warn him or something, I wouldn’t. I swear. You can have him. Take him please. He’s a jerk who I’m sure deserves to have his legs broken or whatever you need to do to get your money. Sometimes I wish I could hurt him so have at it. Please can I go now?”
The blond bit his lip. “Who do you think we are?”
Her heart pounded as she stared up into the dark sunglasses. “Bill collectors?”
The other one laughed. “You think we’re…” He laughed harder. He turned his head toward the blond man. “She thinks we’re hired muscle, as in those films we’ve watched.”
The blond grinned. “I wouldn’t mind breaking Bill’s bones. He does owe a lot to us.”
The dark-haired man nodded. “I’d do it for free.”
Lauren pushed harder on the door at her back but it didn’t budge. “Can I please, please go now? We all agree that Brent is a piece of shit. Think of me as a cheerleader. Go team, and beat him up! Give him an F, I, S, T.”
Two pairs of sunglasses swung her way and their grins faded. The dark-haired man moved. “No.” He reached for Lauren. “You’re coming with us.”
She saw a gloved hand reach for her arm and lunged forward. She shoved at the blond, surprised him by the attack, and pushed with all her might. The man stumbled back and Lauren dashed away to run toward the containers. Once she made it behind one, she kicked off her heels and reached down to grab them. She straightened just as the blond nearly slammed into her when he rounded the corner.
Fear made her spin away and flee again until she nearly collided with the dark-haired one who came from the other side of the container. Their bodies missed touching each other by mere inches. A shriek of terror came out of her mouth.
On instinct, Lauren threw one of her high heels at the man’s face. It afforded her the benefit of dodging his hands, which he had to use to shield his face. She ran for the back of the warehouse, fisted her keys in one hand and her remaining shoe in the other.
; “Leave me alone!” she yelled.
The sight of a back door urged her to sprint faster. Hope flared that she might make it out of the warehouse alive but heavy breathing sounded right on her ass. One of them was gaining on her fast. She screamed, terrified, and ignored the cold concrete floor that hurt her bare feet.
She didn’t slow, knew it was a luxury she couldn’t afford, and dropped the items in her hands. She really hoped the thug tripped on them. Her open palms slammed hard into the door, hoping that hitting the bar latch would force it open when her body barreled against it too. Pain exploded through her chest and the side of her face when the thing didn’t budge. She could suddenly sympathize with a bug hitting a windshield since she felt she’d just survived the rough impact of being in flight and hitting a solid object.
Two large hands gripped her upper arms and she managed to suck in enough air to let loose a shriek. She still gripped the bar handle and shook it with all her terrified strength. The door didn’t budge and she found herself still trapped. She twisted, tried to get away from the hands. He refused to let her go and she glanced up to see it was the dark-haired one who had her. Her foot kicked out frantically, trying to nail him in the shin.
“Stop it.” He snarled the words, a scary sound that just made her freak out more.
Lauren kicked again but missed. The man could move quickly and dodged her foot with ease. She did brush the material of his pants though with her toes. He hissed out a curse before he spun Lauren back around to face the door and pushed her against the wall next to it hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.
One of his hands left her arm and fisted into the bun at the back of her head. He released her arm and that hand pushed hard against her back, pinning her tightly against the wall. She struggled but he was too strong.
“Freeze,” he demanded. “Before you are injured. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Lauren stopped struggling when it became apparent that each movement brought her pain. Her breasts felt smashed and it was really uncomfortable. Tears blinded her from the pain of her hair being pulled. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her ragged breathing. The firm hold on her hair eased until it wasn’t painful any longer but she still couldn’t turn her head.
“Where is Brent?”
“I don’t know. I keep telling you that. I just work with the guy.”
The dark-haired man sighed. “You lie.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You just said you haven’t dated in a year. That was a lie.”
She wanted to glare at him but she couldn’t turn her head without him ripping out hair in the process. “That wasn’t a lie. I haven’t been in a relationship in that long.”
“You just share sex with men? How many times have you allowed Bill to touch you?”
“You mean Brent? I have never slept with him! I don’t do that stuff. I’m telling the truth. You can call my boss. She might know where Brent is. I’ll give you her number. Her name is—”
“Stop,” he ordered, cutting her off. “Obviously you aren’t going to give him up easily. We’ll have to change your mind.”
The door next to them opened. Hope leapt inside Lauren that help had arrived but one glance at who entered just made her fear notch higher. The bald man was dressed exactly like the other men who’d confronted her. He kept the door open as he frowned, met her stare, and his icy-cold blue eyes narrowed.
He didn’t wear sunglasses but she suddenly wished he did. She’d never seen eyes like his before. The shape of them was strange and they were chilling, with no emotion. A shudder ran down her spine. His stare seemed to grow even colder, leaving her shaken, until he shifted his gaze to the big thug behind her. It broke the spell and she glanced at his face. It was strange too but she didn’t have time to really study him to discover what was wrong with it.
“We need to leave now. Our escorts are nervous about this and have threatened to place calls. Wrap her up and let’s move.”
She closed her eyes again. Wrap me up? As in kill me and leave my body rolled inside a carpet? She wanted to scream, maybe cry, but she sure didn’t want to die. The hand fisted at her back, grabbing the material of her shirt. He used it to haul her away from the door and force her to move. He kept hold of her hair too, a double insult, and she knew she couldn’t get away from her captor.
“Walk through the doorway and don’t fight me. I would hate to harm you but I will if you don’t follow orders. You’ll walk or I’ll have to hit you, knock you out, and carry you.”
They were taking her somewhere and she couldn’t escape. The thug holding her was huge, a real freak of muscle. She would have fought to be free of his hold on her shirt but grabbing her bun had been sheer genius.
“Please?” Lauren wasn’t above begging.
“Silence.” He lowered his voice as he leaned in to put his lips closer to her ear. “No harm will befall you if you just cooperate. You have my word.”
The word of a hired killer. Yeah. That’s comforting. She managed to refrain from snorting, afraid he’d pull her hair just for the hell of it. He wasn’t going to let her go regardless of what she said.
The back parking lot was dimmer than the front. There were fewer lights set farther away but it was easy to make out the large, black, unmarked commercial van parked ten feet from the door. The side door was open, she was led to it and her hair was finally released.
“Get in.”
She climbed into the back of the van, not seeing another choice, and he kept hold of her until he’d angled her toward the back. She couldn’t see much without interior lights but didn’t try to escape. He stayed too close, his fist kept a firm grip on her shirt, and she collapsed to her butt when he seemed happy with where she’d stopped.
The front passenger door opened. She glanced that way and spotted the dark head of a driver wearing a black cap. The bald man climbed into the passenger seat. He turned to stare at the two guys wearing sunglasses.
“Close the door and let’s go. He sent someone in his place but we’ll get answers from her.”
I don’t know anything! Lauren kept her lips sealed though. They obviously weren’t going to believe her. She really hated Brent now.
“We’ll send a team to his condo.” The blond sighed. “It’s all we can do. Someone had to have tipped him off. He wasn’t sure though since he sent her.”
The dark-haired man still gripping her said, “That or he wanted us to get rid of her for him.” He paused. “Female, you wouldn’t happen to be recently pregnant, would you?”
Shocked, Lauren turned her head. She couldn’t see him now that the doors had closed but she knew where he was. “No. I keep telling you, I’ve never slept with Brent, I mean Bill, or whatever you want to call him. Never.”
“Let’s return,” the dark-haired man rumbled. “We’ll get her to talk once we’re back at headquarters.” He paused. “Tell Brass that she’s our only lead.”
Dread and terror filled Lauren.
Chapter Two
Lauren figured they were going to kill her. It would explain the room she sat in, chained by her wrists to a big table that looked more like something found in a morgue. The entire thing could tilt, it had a rim along three sides and a big drain, which was centered over another drain in the concrete floor. The walls were equally grim with the dungeon décor of dull gray bricks. The only splash of color came from the yellowed light that ran the length of the room about eight feet above her head. They were underground, backing her theory that it very well could be a morgue.
The blond shifted where he stood against the wall. Sunglasses still hid his eyes but she knew he wasn’t happy since he hadn’t stopped frowning after she’d been led into the room.
“How long have you been sleeping with Bill?”
She’d left fear behind and moved right into feeling pure frustration. “I keep telling you that I’ve never slept with my coworker. You can call him any name you want but if you’re talking about Brent Thort, the real
estate agent, I’ve never touched him.”
“Where is he?”
She took a deep breath, really wishing the blond would stop asking the same questions over and over. He was the only one who’d spoken to her since they’d brought her into the room. Hours must have passed and she yawned.
“I don’t know.” Her voice rose. “I really don’t. The answer isn’t going to change, no matter how many times you ask me the same questions. I have told you at least a hundred times that I am not sleeping with him. I have never even gone on a date with him and I only see his face at work. Call my boss, I say again, and ask her. She has to know where he lives. It would be in his employee files.” Anger stirred, at Mel, who’d sent her into this nightmare. “Go kidnap her!”
He sighed. “What has he told you?”
“Nothing. I don’t talk to the jerk! I’m tired, hungry, and I want to go home. I don’t know where he is but I’d tell you if I did. Trust me. We aren’t friends. We’ve hardly said two civil words to each other since I started working there three months ago. I avoid him, okay? He’s loud and rude. Crude. He tells offensive jokes at the office, which is very unprofessional.”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her temper was borderline explosive. Why wouldn’t they listen to her? “He goes to a lot of bars and brags about all the women he picks up. He’s also recently made a habit of taking inappropriate cell phone photos of the women he dates and shows them around the office. That’s all I know about the guy. I swear I’m telling you the truth.”
The dark-haired man pushed away from the corner where he’d been standing quietly since she’d been handcuffed to the table. He frowned as he moved closer. His weapons and belt were gone but it didn’t make him appear any less dangerous. He paused near her.
“It could get really ugly if you don’t stop protecting your boyfriend. He obviously doesn’t care about what happens to you or he wouldn’t have sent you in his place. He must have suspected it was a trap since he didn’t go there.” He paused. “He sent you alone without his protection, knowing something was wrong. Do you understand that, female?”