Page 117 of Hot for Hostage

“Good. Go wait out in the hallway.”

While Zain got into place beside me, I eyed the laptop. A little rectangle in the corner of the screen showed Zain fussing with his hair, Fessy hiding in the corner, and me sitting half-naked and tied to a chair.

Turned out, I’d been right about not wanting to know what my hair looked like.

“You keep your mouth shut and let us do all the talking,” Zain warned me while straightening his sleeves. “Understood?”

Like the good girl Davian claimed I was, I pressed my lips together and nodded obediently. Whatever got me out of here alive.

“Bro, wait.” Fessy waved a hand in my direction. “It’s a video call. We can’t join with her shirt ripped like that.”

I glanced down at my exposed cleavage, silently agreeing. It wasn’t anything Davian hadn’t seen before, but I didn’t usually make a habit of publicly prancing around in my underwear.

Or lack thereof.

Zain mumbled a few choice words under his breath and looked over the room. He zeroed in on the futon and snapped his fingers. “Grab that blanket. Hurry.”

I watched in horror as Fessy grabbed a nasty tattered brown blanket and shook off the rusty nails that’d been on top before limping over to me.

But I didn’t want that horror show anywhere near my delicate skin. “Wait, maybe there’s a clean shirt I could borrow instead?—”

“Remember the duct tape,” he hissed, and I snapped my mouth shut again.

Fessy draped the blanket over my front just in time for the laptop to ding, and it couldn’t have been a closer call if he’d tried.

Because Davian’s handsome face had popped up on the screen—stealing all our attention and making me forget all about the itchy blanket when his glacial gaze collided with mine.

I gulped.

He didnotlook happy.

mine

. . .

Davian

My hit list had grown exponentially as the day progressed. My father. Vince. And now, the Ali brothers.

Vince had given me a few unnecessary warnings to remain calm while we’d set up the safe house’s computer equipment. Now, he sat across from me at the old desk with a scowl and a phone to his ear, still trying to get ahold of Nasir.

But it must be amateur hour in Zain’s slice of the city, because he and Fessy looked like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar when I joined the video call.

I didn’t allow my gaze to linger on where Sadie sat, but she didn’t seem too upset.

Fessy scrambled off to stand in a corner, while Zain straightened next to Sadie. “Reed.”

I cocked a brow and waited for him to continue.

A lengthy, awkward pause settled in before he lifted his chin. “Well, I see you were smart enough to join the call. Good.”

He had no idea what he was doing.

“Can we pick up the pace here, Ali?” I leaned back in my chair and checked my watch, knowing it would piss him off more than anything. “I’ve got other things to do. You interrupted my schedule and demanded I join. I joined. Let’s move it along.”

His dark eyes flashed, but he didn’t take the bait.

“Didn’t think you’d be in such a hurry,” he said instead, gesturing toward Sadie. “Not even going to check in on your girl here? Say something to her?”

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