Page 20 of Secured By the Buyer

So Jadeisin on this.

I take another small bite, choking it down. I need to buy some time and throw Jade off guard. “Was I in an accident or something? Should I be in the hospital?”

“Shit,” Jade mutters under his breath, concern etched on his features. “No, you’re not hurt like that. Just…take it easy, okay?”

“Then why can’t I remember?” I press on, putting on a show of touching the back of my head. “There’s no bump or anything. What happened to me?”

“Look, Milo…”

“Why can’t I remember what happened?” I kick off the covers to free my legs and gasp to sell my panic. “Is it hot in here? I can’t breathe.”

“Hey, calm down.” Jade slides off the bed and comes closer to comfort me. “Everything will be fine.”

Seeing my chance, I lunge forward, slamming the bread plate against the side of Jade’s head with all the strength I can muster. It doesn’t shatter, but it bounces off with a loud thunk, and Jade staggers back, dazed.

Adrenaline surges through me, and I ball up my fist, driving it into Jade’s stomach. When he doubles over with a pained gasp, I grab the comforter and throw it over his head, blinding him while I make my escape.

“You little shit!” Jade struggles within the voluminous material, his frantic movements tangling him up more.

Footsteps approach, drawn by the commotion. I dart through the archway and find myself in a sitting room. My heart hammers, panic sharpening my senses.

Two men appear from another room, their identical faces a match for the people who barged into the hotel room earlier and shot me.

Before I can dodge, one of them catches me in a bear hug from behind, his brawny arms crushing my ribs.

Fear rises, clawing at my throat. “Let go of me, you prick!”

The other one comes closer, and I kick out, aiming for his crotch.

He dodges, a delighted smile on his face. “Feisty. I approve.”

I slam my head backward into the first man’s chin, and the hold around me loosens enough for me to twist free. Anger surges within me, and I channel it into a swift punch to his balls.

With a satisfying groan of pain, he drops me.

His twin laughs at his misfortune. “Rookie mistake.”

My focus latches on to what has to be the entrance, and I dart for it, my pulse racing.

Still laughing, the man steps in front of it, blocking my escape. “Not that way.”

The other one recovers and lumbers toward me, arms spread out to catch me again. Swerving around him, I leap up on a coffee table, avoiding his grasp.

The only other route is the doorway they came from. An office? If I can’t find a window, I’ll barricade myself inside and call the police.

My feet hit the floor, and I race forward, only to slam into the broad chest of a third man as he steps into the opening. The impact knocks the breath out of me, and I reel backward before his arms imprison me.

I struggle as I’m scooped up off the ground, my limbs locked in place.

“Guard your balls!” the twin by the entrance calls out with a grin, but my mind barely registers his words.

“Let me go!” Panic spikes through me, and I thrash in my captor’s hold. “Let me go!”

“Shush, princess, everything will be okay,” my captor croons. “I’ve got you.”

The pet name triggers a flood of heat in my body, and my head jerks toward his, struggling to make senseof what’s happening. Tall and broad-shouldered, his reddish-brown hair falls across his forehead, shadowing his dark-brown eyes, and a clean-shaven jawline.

My focus drops to the sculpted curve of his lips, lips that whisper of familiarity even though I don’t recognize him.

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