Page 21 of Playing For Keeps
“They have an import and export business. My dad didn’t want to be a part of the dark side of that, but it was too lucrative for my uncle to give it up. He still has my dad at his mercy.”
“I’m not following, Aiden. Can you give me more specifics?”
“I don’t want to be an FBI agent.” Aiden spins his back to us and balls his hands into fists. “Everybody uses me. I only ever wanted to be a private investigator. How did I get pulled into this fucked-up shit?”
Seeing my best friend vulnerable and in so much pain guts me. My heart breaks for him, but something snags my attention.
His words start adding up in my head. His maleficent dad and uncle own an import/export business. His dad wanted to go clean with the company.
Aiden doesn’t want to be an FBI agent because everyone uses his power. That must mean his dad and his uncle have been making Aiden do something to cover up their indiscretions.
And now Hunter’s mom is involved. Why would she call Aiden? And why would he say she has his back against the wall?
My world shatters, and an emptiness hollows me out. I thought it was already a dire situation. With Aiden’s confession, I’m beginning to believe there’s no way out of this with Dori alive.
CHAPTER 6
DORI
I liftthe metal cuff and peek to see if my bracelet is still on. When I don't see it around my wrist, my heart sinks to the center of the earth. It’s gone. I have no way out of here.
“Now what?” I rest my head back against the cold brick wall.
“What do you mean?” the girl next to me asks.
“It’s nothing.” I take a minute to think.
The haze of the drugs is lifting, and now my nerves are firing off at odd times. One moment, I’m coherent and ready to take on my captors. The next, I’m stuck in a sea of quicksand that’s sure to take me under at any given moment.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus on the survival techniques Aiden has taught me over the years.
Aiden. He only brings my attention to Jami.
I miss you so much. Feel my love for you. Feel our connection and find me.
I try to bring my hands to my face, but the heavy weight of the chains stops me.
Why would Hunter’s mom take me when I’m not involved with him anymore? None of this makes sense.
I force myself to hold in my tears. This is not a time to be weak. This is a time for all my strength.
I lean closer to the material wall where the girl next to me resides. “What’s your name?”
Her chains rattle. A moment later, she whispers, “Sasha.”
“Hi, Sasha. I’m Dori.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six. My birthday is two months away.”
“You’re older than me.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
Why the hell would these people want a sixteen-year-old girl, unless they want her for…?
