Page 24 of Trapped

Jasper comes out of the bathroom just as I’ve reached his unmasked partner. I stare at him and cock my gun at the back of Prince Uncharming’s head.

“Move and I’ll shoot,” I say to Jasper, whose hands lift in surrender.

“Who the fuck are you, and what do you want from me?” I say and tremble when the man before me lets out a small laugh—a laugh that causes a small tremble of fear to rise in me. He slowly steps and turns around to face me. I don’t recognize it at first, but then I see it. The eyes. The eyes that are now etched into the face that has been haunting me for years. A cruel smile forms on his lips, and my hands shake at the sight of him. I drop the gun.No.Not him.Anyone but him. My whole body trembles, and my head turns left to right in protest at the man standing in front of me.

“Hello, wifey.”

The ketamine Thalia was drugged with is no match for the sight of me. I watch as her face pales. When her knees buckle, I rush to her before her body crashes into my embrace. I grab the weapon she dropped, the one she was hellbent on threatening me with, and throw it to Jasper.

“Take this.”

Jasper moves to grab the gun, and I shake Thalia. She looks so vulnerable in this state. Her long lashes gracefully sweep over her closed eyelids. I rub my thumb across her bottom lip, eager to press my mouth to hers. I lightly tap her face.

“Thalia.” She stiffens at the sound of my voice. Her conscious state returns, and she pushes herself back away from me.

“Quieta, mija.” She looks around, and her hand rushes to her thigh. I put my hands up in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Much. I’m not going to hurt her much, at least not until I figure out what the hell she had been planning to do withourproperty. She lunges straight for me, and I grab her hands before theystrike. Every profanity she can spit out is flying from her lips in both English and Spanish. I laugh as she struggles to free herself. Mother nature joins the fight, and the aircraft begins to sway. Thalia closes her eyes at the jolting sensation. I reach toward her, but her leg flies at me instead. I grab it and drag her toward me.

“Hijo de tu perra madre!Let me go right now!” I stand up, fighting the shaking movements of the aircraft, and pull her up. Her legs shake as she attempts to free herself again. I squeeze her wrists tighter and use my other hand to grab her hair. She cries out, and I slam her back to my chest.

“Quieta.You have two options when this plane lands. I can carry you out calm and alive, or you can continue to fight me, and I will carry out your lifeless corpse.”

I bind her wrists together in my tight grip before securing them together with handcuffs. She continues with her creative insults in a murmur, but she doesn’t fight me. I press harder into her and wrap my hands around her mouth. The fight in her only causes an erection to build from the confines of my pants. She tenses when she feels my hard cock on her back.

“Shut your mouth or I will do it for you,” I growl into her ear, but she’s not giving up. She bites down on my palm and kicks back, searching for that sensitive spot. I push her forward and she falls to her knees. I move to the front of her and grab her hair.

“Well, this looks familiar.”

“FUCK YOU!” she screams. Jasper, who has been watching the whole struggle, rubs at his temples and lets out a weary sigh. He reaches behind the bar, then throws me a roll of duct tape.

I tighten my grip on Thalia’s hair and force her face toward mine. Tears pool behind her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. Her brown eyes stare back at me. The small flecks of red aroundher pupils look like tiny fires. Blazing and ready to set anything—no, not anything, me—on fire.

“We have about twenty minutes left before we get into Tamaulipas.” I cut off a piece of duct tape and cover her mouth. I push her into her seat, and she screams through the tape. Jasper’s amused face watches me as I make my way to the bar to fill up a glass before taking my seat beside Thalia.

“Stop looking at my wife, or I’ll spill your brains on the bar.” Jasper lets out another sigh, then takes his seat in front of us as the turbulence picks up. Exhausted from her attempts, and still tired from the ketamine, Thalia lays her head against the window and closes her eyes.

I have little time to enjoy the peace and quiet before the plane prepares for landing. Thalia sits up straight and squeezes her eyes shut. I rip off the duct tape, and she sucks in a breath.

“Breathe.” I look into her eyes, but she turns away from me. She takes deep breaths until the plane stops. She doesn’t fight me when we step off the plane, and she doesn’t say a single word. Jasper puts our bags in the truck bed, then heads back up to the plane.

“You sure you’ll be alright, Jefe?” His eye is black from where Thalia assaulted him. Sad fucker. I couldn’t imagine what he’d look like if she wasn’t drugged.

“It will be an adventure.”

Thalia stands by the truck, barefoot, handcuffed, and with a beautiful scowl on her face. I ignore the looks she shoots at me.I will break you.I open the passenger door, and her eyes narrow on the old truck—a 1970s Chevy. It’s one of my favorite gifts my father gave me, second to the gift that stands in front of me with her lips pursed.

“If you’re broke and need money, just say that.” I laugh at her comment and shove her into the passenger seat. I move to the driver’s seat and start the engine.

“‘Thank you’ must not be a part of your vocabulary,” I reply.

She slides to the far side of the seat, desperate to put distance between us.

The truck remains silent for the first twenty minutes. Her head is propped on the window as she watches the road in front of us. The anger that radiates off her isn’t hot like I expected. No. It’s ice fucking cold. Her pride keeps her from looking at me or saying anything.

“Do you have any questions for me?” I look over at her. Her hands are still bound behind her. The dress she wears stops mid-thigh, and I take in her long tan legs. A diamond anklet shines on her left leg. Her toes are polished a bright red that matches the color of her long nails. Nails she had attempted to claw my eyes out with earlier.

“We can talk later,” I say after she doesn’t reply. She shakes her head, then turns toward me, that ice cold expression piercing me.

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