“What the hell… Are you in on this too, Phillips? How much they paying you? Because I’ll double it.” And then I’ll rip off your fuckin’ nuts with my bare hands.
A pair of legs came into view, then hands slipped beneath his arms and he was hauled to his feet.
Chad, arms folded across his chest, nodded his approval and murmured to Cooper Davis who stood beside him.
Coop eyed Sam’s restraints dubiously. “Are you sure they’ll hold him?”
“Should do. I tested ’em myself,” Andy replied from one side of Sam, Scott bracketing his other side.
“You sons of bitches,” Sam spat out. “Where’s Rosie? If you have harmed one hair of her head…”
“Calm down. Rosie’s fine,” Chad said. “You’ll see her in a little while-you got here faster than we expected. But first we want to talk with you.”
Sam struggled against his restraints to no avail. “I want to see her for myself. Make sure she’s okay.”
Cooper made noise in the back of his throat. “I hate to point this out, Sam, but you’re not in a position to make demands.” He glanced at Andy and Scott. “Bring him up to my suite. No point in giving the members any more to gossip about.”
It took three of them to wrestle him into the elevator and down the hall to Cooper’s private suite. He managed to elbow Andy in the chin once, and Scott took a blow to his chest, but they still managed to clip a chain to his handcuffs. That chain was then fastened to a block and tackle attached to a hook in the ceiling and his hands were hauled over his head until his feet barely touched the ground.
Goddamn. He forced himself to relax. As Andy and Scott flanked the door, Chad and Cooper had positioned themselves on the opposite side of the room.
Hmm. That was interesting. The curtains were open on either side of the mirrored window leading to Cooper’s private room. Was Rosie in there? Watching? But was she there voluntarily? Was she in on whatever scheme they had planned? Or were they holding her hostage too?
His fingers curled around the chain as he wondered if the entire affair with her had been orchestrated. If she’d been playing some sort of game with him.
For what purpose? Blackmail?
Sam let his entire weight transfer to the block and tackle unit overhead. When it creaked, all eyes trained on the hook in the ceiling. Good, there was a slight possibility of freedom there. Maybe a couple good tugs and he could get free.
“Relax, Sam. We just want to talk,” Cooper said.
“So talk.” And while they talked, he’d plan his escape. Because sure as shootin’ there was no way he was gonna be found in another guy’s suite trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
In the adjoining room, watching Sam through the one-way mirror between them, Rosie spoke over her shoulder to Mark Rodriguez.
“Why do they have to tie him up like that? Why can’t they just tie him to a chair? Let him have some dignity?”
“A chair wouldn’t hold him,” Mark said. “And from what I’ve heard, Sam broke through several restraints during his training. Thalia says this is the only thing strong enough. Plus she says she trained him this way. So she’s hoping his training will kick in and he’ll listen to her.” He chuckled. “Besides, it’s fitting considering what he did to me last summer.”
Rosie pulled herself away from the unfolding drama and focused on Mark. “Last summer? What exactly did he do to you?”
He cleared his throat, his smile dimming as he shot her a sideways glance. “He tied me up. Amongst other things. Said it was the only way he could make his point. But he had way too much fun doing it.”
“Are you sure your part in this is completely altruistic? Or are you exacting a little revenge?”
“As satisfying as the payback is, Rosie, Sam needs to let go of his guilt. He loves you but the stubborn ass is fighting it. If this is the only way to get him to realize that, he deserves whatever Thalia does to him.”
She couldn’t deny Sam had been an ass lately. But did the means justify the end? She paced the room twice before facing Mark again. “How do you know he loves me? Did he tell you?” Because he hadn’t said anything to her.
“He’s not said it in so many words, no. Sam’s the type who thinks actions speak louder than words,” Mark allowed. “But we talk every week. Last night in fact. When he says your name, I can hear it in his voice. It changes somehow.” He tilted his head toward the mirror where Sam was straining against his bonds again. “Plus you’d have to be blind not to see it.”
Then someone had put a leather hood over her eyes.
“You don’t see it, do you?” Mark said quietly. “Sam’s not worried about what they’ll do to him, or why. He’s only worried about you. You’re all he’s asked about since he arrived. You’re the reason he’s here.”
Maybe. But he’d also gone out of his way to put distance between them over the past week. Even though she’d moved out, he was staying late at the office, even falling asleep at his desk from what Kris had told her.
It had taken Thalia, and Chad, to open her eyes about why he’d been pushing her away. It wasn’t that he was ticked off that he was being stalked and that she’d put herself in harms’ way the way he’d claimed. It wasn’t a fear of commitment like she’d thought it might be. He felt guilty about falling in love with someone other than Jill.
And now they were trying to convince him-while he was bound and forced to listen-to let go of that love? Could you force someone to do that?
Tying Sam up couldn’t be the way to convince him. If someone did that to her, she’d dig in her heels and stop listening, convinced she was right and they were wrong. Unable to think in any more depth, she shook her head. “So how come you waited eight years before trying so unselfishly to help him.”
A frown flickered over his face. “I didn’t realize he was still mourning Jill. I thought he’d let go of it years ago. But then Thalia realized what was going on, especially when Sam asked Rosie to move out. That’s when we knew we had to take action.”
“Action.” Rosie snorted. “Why couldn’t you have just phoned him and told him to get therapy?”
He snorted in response. “Come on, Rosie, you know Sam as well as I do. Or at least you should if what Chad says about you is true. Can you see Sam voluntarily going to a therapist?”
No, she couldn’t. He’d have to be bound and gagged and… Oh, right. Except for the gag, that’s exactly what they’d done. “Then why couldn’t you have just… I don’t know, told me right from the start that it was a scheme?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, as if he was considering whether to tell her the truth. “We had to make sure that you wanted Sam as much as he wanted you. And that you were with him for the right reasons.”
Her lips firmed. “You mean that I wasn’t after his money.”
Mark nodded. “There is that.”
Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Rosie returned to her position of spectator.
“Just bring Rosie out here. I don’t have time for whatever game you’re playing.”
“Don’t you understand, Sam?” Thalia asked. “It’s not a game.”
Sam’s voice was flat when he replied, “Why don’t you tell me, Thalia? Get this damned charade over with but let me make sure that Rosie’s okay.”
Wait a minute. If Chad and Thalia were his stalkers…what the hell was this about if not revenge? Why were Cooper and Scott and Andy just standing around helping them?
“You want to tell me what the hell’s going on here, Chad? Scott found the undoctored photos on your computer.”
“Jesus, Sam, you got some of the highest scores in Quantico, and you haven’t figured it out yet?” Chad rolled his eyes. “It’s all been a set up, Sam. All of it. There’s never been a stalker. There’s been no threat. And Scott found the photos there because I told him where to look so you’d come running to us.”
What the fuck? “Is it money you’re after? Or do you think I owe you part of Hauberk? What is it, Chad, because frankly I haven’t got a clue what this is about if not revenge?”
“Oh, Sam.” Thalia wheeled over to him and put her hand on his thigh. “It’s never been about revenge. It’s been about you getting on with your life.”
