Page 54 of Perfect Match
I listen carefully before answering. “There’s a low grinding from some sort of machine, but it doesn’t seem to be coming from this building, just nearby. I think this might be an old warehouse, but I’m not sure. It’s hard to move because my hands and feet are tied with zip ties.”
Gio’s voice growls threateningly in the background. “I’m going to kill the fucker who’s done this.”
“Gio?” My voice wobbles, threatening to crack and shatter into a million pieces along with my heart.
“Yes, bella, I’m here. So are Charli, Tony, and Sadie. We’re going to find you, soon. Tony is trying to trace the call right now.” His voice is reassuring and so clear that he could be lying beside me on this putrid mattress.
“Gio, I need to tell you something.” I don’t care that the others can hear; this may be my only chance to say this. “I was going to call you tonight when I got home. I wanted to tell you that …” I force the lump in my throat back down. “… we should be together. But then the guy grabbed me …” My voice hitches on a sob. “Gio, I’m scared that my life reel of memories doesn’t have enough of us in it.”
“I know, sweetheart, and we’ll fix that when I find you.” His voice is gruff. “But first you need to help us by answering Ryan’s questions.”
A soft sob in the background that I know has come from Charli rips my heart in two, and a fresh wave of tears rolls down my face, spilling onto the mattress.
“Tori, tell me about the guy who grabbed you.” Ryan’s voice is strong and calm, and I cling to it.
I force my mind to remember through the fog that still clouds my memory. “He grabbed me from behind, pinning my arms down like he knew I’d fight back if he didn’t. He was big, maybe a few inches taller than you, like six foot four or five. And he was strong; his arms were like a vise. He drugged me, so my head’s a bit foggy.”
“I’ve got it.” The announcement seems to have come from Tony.
But Ryan continues his questions undeterred. “So only one guy?” His calm, steady voice again captures my attention.
“It was only one guy who grabbed me.”
“Do you think you know him?”
“No. I’ve no idea who or why they’d want to kidnap me. Do you …” The sound of men’s voices coming closer stops me midsentence. “Fuck, someone’s coming. There are two of them. I have to go.”
“We’re on our way. Stay strong.”
“I love you,” Charli croaks the last words I hear before I disconnect. I’m all thumbs trying to get my phone secured again in my waistband as the scrape of a metal bolt sliding comes from the doorway.
Another shove and the phone is safely tucked back into my leggings.
It’s just in time, as light floods across the bathroom floor from the hallway. The brightness momentarily blinding me.
“You're awake. Good, that will make this easier,” the big dude says, striding over to me. The other guy hovers in the open doorway.
What are they planning that needs me to be awake? Please, God, don’t let it be rape.
My heart pounds against my ribcage like it wants to escape and hide far away.
“Get up,” he growls, and the words are muffled in the thick balaclava he’s wearing over his head so only two black bulbous eyes and thick snarling lips are visible. I make my body go limp and heavy. My chances are much better here on the ground than trying to stand when my feet are restrained.
“I said get the fuck up.”
“You’ll have to undo my feet if you want me to move.”
He looks back to the guy in the doorway as if seeking his permission. That man is slighter than the brute standing over me, and even though his face is covered by a balaclava too, I can tell his features are fairer. He doesn’t respond; instead, he enters the room for the first time, then pulls a boxcutter knife from his hoodie pocket and slices easily through the plastic binding at my ankles. The job done, he returns to his post.
“Why am I here?” I ask, my head turning back to the big guy, the only one seemingly willing to speak.
“I guess you messed with the wrong guy.”
What the hell does that mean? The only guy I’ve had any interactions with in New York has been Gio, and I know he’s not behind this. Unless this is some sort of blackmail attempt.
“Gio and I aren’t seeing each other anymore if you’re trying to exhort money from him.”
“Who the fuck is Gio?” the big guy asks, turning to the weedy one for the answer. He just shakes his head and shrugs. The faint ring of an old-style landline can be heard in the distance, and the guy in the doorway turns and disappears.
