Page 106 of Fragile

I snorted. “I suppose being kidnapped and tied to a fucking chair does that to a person.” I also didn’t usually swear but it was a day unlike any other; one of many firsts—and lasts, hopefully.

“Language. You’re much too pretty to swear.”

Even though there was something animalistic about him; feral, I managed to bite out, “Screw you.”

I watched as he rolled his shoulders and then shoved his phone back into the pocket of the jeans he wore. His bulky arms were then placed on the top of the backrest of the chair and he stared at me with an intense expression. “My informers were wrong, you’re stronger than you look. You have fire in your belly and I like it. Nothing is worse than someone who begs for their life too quickly. Bores the shit out of me.” I felt like grunting, men always say they like a strong woman until they meet one. Wait a minute. Did that mean I was strong?

My confidence was growing so I added, “So, you take women hostage regularly?”

“What can I say? It’s one of my many kinks,” he replied with a grin.

My mind was now processing everything he said. “As well as bullying young girls?”

“I haven’t bullied you—yet.”

“I don’t mean me. I mean the girl at the restaurant,” I panted, the sharpness of the cable ties had now broken my skin.

His brow furrowed. Under usual circumstances, I would have seen him as extremely handsome but right then, all I saw was that darkness surrounding him. He was nothing more than a thug in a fancy shirt, the whiteness so crisp against his tanned skin.

“From earlier? You mean Ava?”

The horror of it all swept over me and I didn’t reply, as reminding me of her real name surely wasn’t a good move. Yes, Ava, that was it.

Shit, it suddenly felt like the walls were closing in around me. My breathing was now so heavy I was surprised he couldn’t hear it. His presence now had an added ‘mess with me and I’ll slaughter your entire family’ vibe.

Pushing my silence away, I nodded my head to confirm that’s who I meant.

“Yes, she seemed sweet and you were horrible to her.”

The man dashed a hand across his jaw and then released a bark of a laugh. “Sweet? Ava Cawthorne and sweet, don’t share the same fucking planet darling,” he chuckled, banging a hand against his thigh, genuinely amused.

My voice climbed in panic, “Where is she? Have you hurt her?”

He looked vaguely insulted as he considered my question but after a beat or two, his eyes narrowed. “If I were you, I’d care more about myself right now than a fucking stranger.”

I swallowed, willing my queasy stomach to settle and then raised my chin, giving him a look that said I wasn’t scared of his threats. “Girls stick together.”

“Be that as it may. But believe me, Ava isn’t worth your worry. She’s a backstabbing little bitch who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. In fact—.” He stopped mid-sentence, his attention drawn to his phone. “Sean, look lively and cover the entrance. He’s probably armed. Lester, go bring the little brat here,” he ordered. Pushing to his feet, his repertoire of the girl Ava never came to fruition.

After a beat or two, he gave me a stern look. “As I was saying, Ava is spoiled and vain, the queen of that Tiktok shit,” he threw at me as an afterthought.

I shook the hair back from my face and watched as the tall lanky man who thankfully hadn’t felt me up to get my phone walked over to one of the large black cars. After pausing for a minute, he then opened the passenger door. The faint sound of rock music poured out.

“Your brother wants to see you,” I heard him say. I squinted my eyes as I surveyed the scene. Brother? Parts of the puzzle started to piece together. Of course, Ava had explained that Kai was her stepbrother at the restaurant.

Kai withdrew his phone again. “He’s just triggered zone two, Sean. Be ready, I want no fuck ups.”

“I’m on it,” a voice said from the shadows, ‘Sean’ apparently. The only way you knew someone was there was due to the tip of whatever he was smoking lighting up when he took a drag.

“Err, Boss,” the other guy by the car shouted which brought Kai’s head back around. “I won’t repeat what she said but it’s a no, pretty much,” Lester said, looking mortified.

“Drag her the fuck out, Lester,” Kai bellowed, his face twisting in annoyance. He shook his head toward me with a God give me strength expression.

I held my breath as I watched ‘Lester’ move forward with caution and into the back of the car before he shimmied back and held up his hands in surrender. I saw the telltale handle of a gun beneath his jacket and my heart skipped a beat. I imagined they were all armed.

“Easy,” Lester said as if trying to placate the girl in the car, who would hopefully be the girl from the restaurant. And then her words snapped in my head, something about me being OK and how hard it would be. My hopes of help nosedived; she was in on it.

“Don’t touch me you pig,” I heard her yell.

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