Page 78 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

I steel myself and speak as calmly as I can. “Alexander, this must be a misunderstanding. If you bring me home, I won’t tell anyone what happened. Let’s just talk about this.”

He drags another chair across the concrete floor. The grind of the metal reverberates across the room. “No mistake, Blake. You have two choices. Would you like to hear them?”

I need to keep him talking for as long as I can so I nod, keeping my gaze trained on his cold blue eyes.

“Mind you, these choices are special… I’ve always had something of a soft spot for you, Blake. Losing your mother and brother so close together… What a pity. Then again, sorrow looks good on you.” I don’t realize I’ve looked down until he’s reaching to tip my chin up with the barrel of his gun. “Such sad, beautiful eyes… I could get good money for a girl like you. The men I work for have a taste for the broken ones. But you…” He strokes my cheek with the gun. “You’re not quite there yet, but you will be soon.”

“Please,” I beg. “I-I’ll be with you. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted? I’m sorry I turned you down, it’s just I had a boyfriend and I?—”

A menacing chuckle leaves his lips. “It’s too late for that, doll. Now your choices: you come with me—after I kill your little boyfriends, of course—and you make me a lot of money.”

“Why do you want them? What have they done to you to deserve this? You’re a shipping heir, not some kind of mobster.”

Again, that laugh echoes through the room. “You’re entertaining, Blake. I’ve needed a laugh since I put a bullet between that old woman’s eyes.”

Mrs. Langston.Oh, God.

“Since we’re having a nice chat, I’ll tell you. Your boyfriends killed my best men, had the nerve to come into my club unannounced and shoot them dead. My cousin, Peter, was among them. I cannot let that go.”

Pieces of the puzzle form in my mind. The night Jasper got shot, they were here… or wherever it happened. It was Alexander and his men. Do they think he’s the one that kidnapped Bailey? I never would have imagined that, not in a million years, but now everything I thought I knew is caving in on itself.

“I’m sorry for your loss, but please, more death isn’t the answer.” If I can plead with him, maybe get him to see reason, there could be a chance, however small.

“Ready for choice number two? Choice one, if you remember, is coming with me. Choice two is I kill you while your boyfriends watch.” He sighs and pulls a hand through his closely cut blond hair. “Now that would be a real shame. Like I said, you’ll make me good money. Maybe I’m tired. I don’t have it in me to fight you the whole way, so you must come willingly. What will it be, Blake?”

He averts his gaze for a moment as his phone vibrates. I watch his expression as he reads. Whatever message he received changes his face from an annoyed grimace to a gleeful smile.

“Hold that thought. We’re about to have an audience.” He stands, gripping his gun tightly. My pulse roars in my ears. I have no idea who will walk through that door, but I can’t bear it if Damon or the guys get hurt or worse.

The door swings open and Brennan takes in the room—me tied to a chair with blood smeared up my arms, his best friend holding a gun at the ready. It hits me in that moment. We’re at one of MechExpresses warehouses.

“Alex, why the fuck is my sister tied to a chair?” Brennan approaches slowly, his hands out in front of him.

“Unfortunately, good buddy, she got herself caught up in a mess. That’s what happens to whores who fuck criminals. Think of it as a two for one deal. I get to piss you and her boyfriends off in one go.”

Brennan’s eyes are wide as he looks me over. “Bee, are you okay?”

I nod, and let loose a sob from somewhere in my chest. Brennan must be as shocked as I am… This has been his best friend for the last ten years. The man who got him the job that changed his life. Introduced him to his long-term girlfriend. I can’t imagine the pain he must be feeling. Why would Alex do this to us?

“Let’s go in the other room and talk. I’m sure we can come to an agreement,” Brennan says, his voice steady and hands held open in an appeasing gesture.

“Too late for that. The boyfriends are on their way. Lukas just spotted them on the cameras.” He turns to me. “You should pick smarter criminals, Blake. Someone more like your brother.”

“Alex,” Brennan warns. “Come on, let’s be reasonable.”

Criminal? What is he talking about?

“Brennan?” I ask, barely able to look at him.

Alex laughs, pacing the length of the room. “She has no idea, does she? Oh, this is gold. Thank you, Brennan, for the entertainment of the night.” Alexander sits across from me again, as giddy as a kid at a party. “You think Brennan is going to save you? What’s that nickname he calls you again?” He scratches his chin. “Little Bee. That’s it. Little Bee, would you like to know what your big brother does for a living?”

Brennan steps closer until Alex pulls out his gun and aims it at his head. “What will Ivan think? Come on, this doesn’t have to go down right now,” Brennan pleads.

Alex ignores him, bringing his attention back to me. “Big brother trafficks women and children. Don’t you, Brennan? Go on, tell Little Bee how you drug them. How you take them from their homes or find them on the streets. Sometimes, he gets extra bonuses for the fresh ones… pretty college girls or teens walking home from school. So young and pure. You have no idea how much money people pay for a piece of them.”

“That’s enough!” Brennan yells. “Stop being a dick and tell me what you want so we can all go home.”

“You already used up your favors for Mischa the Whore. She almost gave us away, spreading her legs for anyone with a pulse. Now don’t make me tie you up too.”

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