Make Me, Sir

breast. Squeezing.

“No!” With a growl she couldn’t control, she slapped his hand away and slugged him square in the nose. The crunch of shattering cartilage made her stomach clench, and his high-pitched yell reverberated back from her nightmares.

He grabbed his face, and blood gushed through his fingers.

She raised her fists, despite the bile burning her throat. “Go, Rhodes. Leave now.”

Eyes crazy, he backed away. Before he’d gone ten feet, she slammed the car door and fled across the parking lot, easing up only when an engine revved.

Car tires screeched on the pavement as he drove out of the lot.

As her heart hammered in her chest with lingering adrenaline, she tried to laugh. He’d left.

I broke his nose.

Trying not to remember the ghastly noise it had made, she snorted. Dickhead shouldn’t have provoked a woman with a broken heart.

Her mood flattened into dismal again.

As she walked to her building, a small car pulled up at the fire lane, blocking her path. The car shut off, and a short blonde jumped out.

Z’s sub, Jessica. The blonde’s face was drawn, her hands clenched as she glared at Gabi.

Jesus, what is this? Pick on Gabi night?

Maganti shook his head. Jesus, what is this? Screw up Cesar’s night?

What was it going to take to grab this cunt? Last night, fucking cops all over the place; now, some chick wanting to do a smackdown.

He needed to get this bitch tonight. Now. Get lost, blondie, so I can do my job.

As he watched from the shadows, the little blonde said in a hard voice to his target, “I want to talk with you. How long has he been seeing you?”

“What? Who?”

“Z.”

The redhead rolled her eyes. “If you and Z are having problems, it has nothing to do with me. Go talk to him.”

Wait, wait, wait. Maganti stiffened, losing track of the conversation. The curvy blonde had been on his list. He’d done a background check and crossed her off because she had a lover. But if she’d fought with her fuck buddy, she could go right back on the menu. If a chick’s dude screwed around on her, no one wondered why she up and disappeared.

He looked at her and saw dollar signs.

His target scowled and started to walk away, but the bulldog blonde grabbed her arm. “I need answers. Please.”

The redhead gave a long-suffering sigh. “God, you’re stubborn. Fine. Let’s go upstairs and talk. It’s really not what you think.”

“Sure it’s not.”

The redhead leaned forward and whispered something in the blonde’s ear, making her jerk back and stare. “No way.”

“Way. We’ll discuss it in my apartment.”

An okay night changed into a fucking great night when they both headed toward the stairs at the center of the building.

As they entered the thruway, Maganti pulled his backup Taser and waited until they’d turned to climb the steps. He moved out far enough to get a clear line of fire and shot one and the other. Pow, pow. It only took a minute to pull the prongs out of their bodies and heave the women into the box-a little tangled, but what the hell-and secure the box to the handcart. He backed his van up, pushed the handcart up the ramp, and was on his way.

Now this was a fucking fine haul.

* * *

Gabi woke, head pounding, stomach wrenching with nausea. Her mouth felt as if she’d licked up beach sand, and her foggy brain seemed to think she’d spent the night drinking. Only…she hadn’t, right?

She tried to sit up, realized she lay on a metal floor-not her bed. Something rattled when she moved her arms. Restrained? Was she still at the club? She raised her head carefully so it wouldn’t fall off. She wore handcuffs. A two-feet chain strung through the cuffs was padlocked to a bolt in the gray metal wall.

The world spun dizzily as she wiggled to a sitting position. She swallowed hard. Am I at the Shadowlands? No sounds. Not Marcus’s place. She’d left him at the club. So why the bondage?

She’d driven back to her apartment. Right. And she’d punched Dickhead? She flexed her fingers, gritting her teeth at the soreness in her right knuckles. That part wasn’t a dream. Then…Jessica’d arrived, and they’d started to climb the steps. A man in the shadows. Pain. Gabi tensed, remembering the horrible pain, how every muscle had shrieked in agony. Then…

Here. She turned her head. Jessica lay beside her. Unconscious. Handcuffed.

They weren’t at the club. Not playing, not a scene. No no no. A scream tried to escape, couldn’t get past the constriction in her throat. The nausea, the headache, the grogginess…drugged.

The horrible realization came from deep inside and slammed into her brain. Kidnapped. Thompson hadn’t caught the perp.

I’ve been kidnapped. With Jessica. Terror rose in her, as inescapable as waves breaking on the rocks, swamping her thoughts until the room itself turned red. Cold.

I’ve got to get out of here. She jerked on the bolt, and it held her implacably. No. Oh God, please. She rattled and yanked the chain. Let go, dammit, let go! Pulled over and over, until the metal handcuffs ripped her skin.

Pain. The increasing pain pushed her beyond her panic. Panting, she slumped against the cold wall. What was she doing?

I panicked. She shook her head, forced her breathing to slow. Don’t do that again, Gabi. As she stared at the blood trickling down her wrists, terror waited on the edges of her mind, pushing against her control.

Using all her willpower, she turned her attention away from the restraints.

Where are we? Gray walls, gray floor. Metal. Not a room. A cargo van. It stank of sweat and fear and sickness. And sex. She pushed farther back against the wall, pulling her legs in, curling into a ball.

The only light came from a small mesh window in a door between the cargo part and the cab section. The cargo area held a cooler, a porta-potty, and a big corrugated box for a washing machine with a handcart leaning on it. Nothing within reach.

Her chest started to tighten, but Jessica groaned.

A minute later, the blonde raised her head, squinting against the light. “What happened?”

“We’ve been kidnapped.”

“Excuse me?”

Do better, Gabi. “Sorry. At my apartment, I think somebody Tasered us and drugged us. We’re chained up.” Gabi listened. No traffic noises, no people shouting or laughing or talking.

The chains jangled as Gabi rubbed her aching head. “No one knows where we are-or even that he’s got us.” The FBI thought they’d caught the perp. How long before anyone called Gabi? Oh dear God. Fear spiraled outward. No rescue. No hope. Her hands closed into fists as she fought for control.

“Easy, girlfriend, easy.” Jessica slid closer.

Not alone. She had someone depending on her. I can’t lose it. “Sorry,” Gabi whispered. Heart hammering, she mentally edged back from the chasm. After a second, she turned and leaned against the wall of the van, facing the other woman. “We’re kind of in trouble.”