Page 32 of Cowboy

“How did an asshole like him get a girl that pretty?” the driver asked, leering at her in the rear-view mirror.

“Don’t know and don’t care. I just care that he gives us what we deserve,” the one who’d pulled her from her apartment said.

She thought of him as Jerkface. The driver could be Butthead.

It took a moment to realize they were talking about Cowboy. What did he have to do with these two? And why did they want her? Had he done something to anger them? Or was it something else?

She hadn’t seen him as they had come out of the apartment building and she didn’t have her phone, as she’d left it in the kitchen. There was no way for him to find her.

The car made several turns and she soon lost track of where they were. She still had no clue where they’d taken her when they pulled the car into a building. The interior was dark until the driver, the man she thought of as Butthead, opened his car door. Not that the interior light of the car illuminated much. She thought about pushing open the door and making a run for it, but between being in a dark building and having no idea where the doors were and not knowing where in town she was, she decided it would be better to wait.

“Don’t even think about running,” Jerkface said, as if reading her mind. “We’re being nice to you so far. Make things too hard on us and we can get ugly.”

Ava didn’t know what to say to that, she wasn’t going to deny she’d been thinking about running. If she had a choice she wasn’t going to say anything. Why let them know how terrified she was? She wasn’t going to think about what he meant by ‘ugly’ either.

The last thing she wanted to do was to give them more power or leverage over her. Well, other than their having kidnapped her. She still didn’t know why they’d taken her. Surely there was a better target when it came to getting Cowboy’s attention. Why would you take a girl he’d been seeing only a week?

She wondered again why she was here.

A bright overhead light came on, making her wince as it stung her eyes.

“Get a move on,” Jerkface said from beside her.

She’d been hiding her eyes and hadn’t noticed Butthead opening the door beside her. Jerkface shoved at her until she slid out of the vehicle, then followed, so she had one man in front of her and another behind. There was only one direction she could go so she took a step toward the back of the car, trying to get enough space so neither stood in her personal space.

“Oh no you don’t.” Jerkface grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her again.

Ava clenched her teeth to keep from crying out, but didn’t say anything. He steered her to an office chair that had seen better days against one wall, then shoved her as they approached. The seat was torn and there was at least one missing wheel.

“Sit. If you’re good, I’ll leave you loose. If you move, we’ll tie you to it.”

She sat and was thankful she wasn’t on the floor or some filthy mattress as she watched the two of them move to the far side of what looked like a warehouse. There were a few crates stacked against one wall, the car they’d come in, and a lot of dust.

The two men talked, but they were far enough away she could only pick up a word here and there. She caught call, ransom, pay. She thought they were talking about Cowboy, or maybe Aaron? Had her brother pissed someone off by selling them a bad car? But why take her like this? There had to be legal protections in place for something like that. She didn’t think it was Aaron they were talking about and the only person she could think of it might be, was Cowboy. Or maybe they had the wrong person. What would happen to her if she wasn’t the person they’d meant to take?

Ava hoped someone would figure out where she was and do something to get her free. She eyed the men still across the huge room, then looked toward the door they’d driven in through. It was closed now and there was no way for her to get it open. Beside it was a regular-sized door. But what if it was locked? With the way they were taking turns keeping an eye on her, there was no way she’d make it out. There was another regular sized door on the far side of the building from where they’d come in, but where did it go?

She could try for either one, but now she was loose and at least mostly comfortable. She didn’t want to get tied to the chair, just in case something happened to distract them, and she got the chance to make a run for it.

23

Cowboy was ready to hit the rolling door at full speed, burst through it and take Ava back. It took both Miles and Caden blocking him and his bike from getting to the warehouse to get him to stop. Then all three, including Deke, who had arrived moments after he had, to talk some sense into him.

He didn’t care if it was the smart move. He wanted her back. Now.

He wanted to be sure they hadn’t hurt her.

Once they’d convinced him to stop and think things through, he parked his bike and stood in a pool of shadows beside Miles’ pickup about a quarter mile down the street from the warehouse where they’d taken Ava.

They exchanged ideas, Cowboy never taking his eyes off the door where they’d taken her.

“They’re not dumb enough to hurt her,” Deke said. “Not without making their demands first. They’ll give you a chance to give them what they want before they get too rough.”

“It’s the difference between their definition of too rough and mine that I’m worried about. Ava is sweet. She’s innocent. She’s not the kind of girl they spend time with.” He shook his head and glared at the warehouse, vowing they would pay for every mark they left on her.

They were still discussing the options when his phone rang. He wanted to pick it up and demand they give Ava back now, but that wouldn’t do any good.

Cowboy clenched his teeth and took a deep breath before picking up the call, putting it on speaker so the other men could hear what was being said.

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