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 br**sts 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.”
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 br**sts 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.”
