Chapter 161
Chapter 161
Consciousness returned to Keira in waves, each one bringing with it a fresh surge of pain behind her eyelids. She wasn’t instantly aware. Whatever they had used to knock her out was effective.
The floor beneath her was cold and hard. Her head throbbed. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton.
“Alexei,” she mumbled, the events before her blackout rushing back in fragmented pieces.
She forced her eyes open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light. She was in some kind of storage room, concrete floors, metal shelving stacked with boxes, a single window high on the wall letting in a sliver of moonlight. Her once–beautiful crimson dress was torn at the hem and smeared with dirt.
“Glad to see you rejoining the living.”
Alexei’s voice came from her left. She turned her head to find him propped against the wall near some shelving only a few feet away, his tuxedo jacket gone, white shirt stained with blood from a nasty gash at his temple. His hands were bound like hers, but he seemed alert, his eyes clear despite the injury. His head must be hurting like hell.
“Are you okay?” She shuffled toward him, wincing as her bare feet scraped against the rough concrete. Why had they taken her shoes? Or had they fallen off?
“I’ve been better.” His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. “You?”
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” She looked around the room, searching for exits. One metal door presumably locked. The only high
window, unreachable without something to stand on. She could see the window had bars on it, so even if they could reach the window, they
couldn’t get out. But they could call out for help.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Some kind of warehouse by the docks, judging by the smell and the shipping containers I glimpsed when they brought us in.” His eyes never
left her face. “You’ve been out for about forty minutes.”
“The men that took us?”
“I injured one. I heard them talking. They dumped us in here and left.”
Keira’s stomach dropped. “Did they say what they want?”
“Money, I assume. Ransom. It’s usually money.” His voice was oddly calm, almost clinical. “Though no one’s made demands yet.”
She scooted closer until they were side by side, her shoulder pressed against his. The contact helped her racing heart, grounding her in reality when panic threatened to take over.
“This is real, isn’t it?” she whispered. “We’re actually being held hostage. I can’t even hope this is a nightmare.”
“I’m afraid it’s very real.” His eyes softened as he looked at her. “I’m sorry, Keira. You shouldn’t be here. This is my fault.”
“How exactly is this your fault? Did you call up some kidnappers and say, ‘Hey, could you grab me and my assistant tonight? We’ve got nothing better to do.“”
A small smile tugged at his lips despite the gravity of their situation. “There it is. I was worried they’d drugged the fight out of you.”
“Never.”
1/3
Chapter 161
“I shouldn’t have sent the bodyguards away.”
Keira gave him a level look. “Did you see the guns those guys were carrying? I would say you saved your people’s lives.” She held up her bound hands. “Can you get these off?”
“Been working on mine.” He shifted, showing his own restraints, which were frayed where he’d been sawing them against a sharp edge of metal shelving. “Almost there.”
“Good. Because I’m not planning to die in a warehouse wearing a designer dress or this young, I want to be really old when I die.”
Alexei’s expression grew serious. “No one’s dying tonight.”
“You’re bleeding,” she said softly, noticing fresh blood trickling from his temple.
“Head wounds. They always look worse than they are.” He sounded like one of those action heroes from a blockbuster film. She could almost picture him tearing off part of his shirt to bandage the injury before continuing the fight. But she knew his head had to hurt.
So, she didn’t believe him, but arguing wouldn’t help. “What’s the plan, oh, fearless one, once you get free, of course?”
“Expendable,” she finished for him. She had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. And he was right; they didn’t need her.
Had they only snatched her to buy themselves escape time, preventing her from sounding the alarm? Screaming for help.
“No.” His eyes flashed with something fierce. “Never that. But they might not see your value. So, stay quiet, stay small, let them think you’re too terrified to be a threat.”
“I won’t need to act because I am terrified?”
Verify captcha to read the content
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: In Bed With Her Shithead Boss (By Ellie Wynters)