Page 52 of Cruel Charming Psychos (Necessary Evils 2)

In the three hours it took to get back to the Hamptons, I don’t think I averted my eyes from the fat old man that picked me up. He reeked of cigarettes and light beer, and if it wasn’t for the hefty sum of cash I offered him, I’m almost certain I would have ended up chopped up into little pieces and stored in a crate in the back.

By the grace of the gods I don’t believe in, I safely arrived in the Hamptons. He dropped me off down by the beach where I hailed a cab that dropped me off ten blocks from my eventual destination. I couldn’t risk being dropped off too close to where Emily is being held so I could maintain reasonable doubt in case anything should happen.

I make sure nobody is watching as I open the front door to the bar that’s closed. The interior is dark with not a light on in sight except for the neon-lit ‘EXIT’ sign above the door that leads out onto the pier. I make my way towards the back and through the kitchen where there’s a door that leads to the basement. I inhale a sharp breath before pulling open the door and peeking downstairs.

It's even darker than upstairs, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I make my way carefully down the steps, holding onto the railing as I go. When I reach the landing at the bottom, there’s another door just ahead, where a tiny sliver of light pools out underneath the cracks. I brace myself and knock on the door with the back of my knuckle, knowing full-well it’d be a terrible idea to barge inside.

I wait for a brief moment before knocking again.

The door swings open and a man dressed in all black with a ski mask steps outside, bracing the door open with one foot. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“There’s been a change of plans,” I say flatly.

He rips the mask off his head and tilts his head. “And what is this change of plans?”

“I’m calling this whole thing off.”

His lips hitch into a smirk that just barely manages to be seen through the darkness of the shadows. He follows it up with a malevolent chuckle before grabbing me by the shirt collar and dragging me inside. The door slams behind me as I’m thrown up against it. “You’re not calling the shots here, pretty boy.”

I glance over to Emily, who is tied to a chair with her hands behind her back. A blindfold covers her eyes while a bright light shines onto her from above. I look back to Ethan, the man I hired off the internet. He’s not as rugged as I believed him to be. Instead, he looks younger and refreshed, but muscular. There’s another man to the left of me, watching with a gun drawn to his side.

Ethan leans in close, whispering into my ear. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want your sister knowing that you’re involved with this, so why don’t you tell me why you’re actually here?”

“I told you,” I grind out. “I’m putting a stop to this.”

“And I’m telling you that it’s much too late for that. We’ve already sent your father the first video and we’re about to work on the second. So, if you’re not here to help then you need to get the fuck out of my sight.”

Addison was right. The entire plan is stupid and now I’m afraid, I’m in too deep. “She’s just a kid. She doesn’t deserve this.”

“The last time I checked she was an adult and she’s not actually in any danger, so why don’t you help me understand what made you go soft in the last few hours?”

“You can see how fucked up this is, can’t you?” I point over to Emily. “She’s terrified and for what? To get something from my father that might not even mean anything? I made her a promise to protect her, to get her out of this place. I can’t go back on that promise.”

“It’s too late for that.” He shoves me against the door once more before breaking away. He points to the other man and snaps his fingers.

The man steps away from the wall and flips a switch that causes another light to flood the room from the side, almost blinding me. He closes the distance between himself and Emily, points the gun to her head and cocks it.

Emily squirms in the chair and lets out a blood-curdling scream. “Please, stop. I did what you asked! I promise if you let me go that my father will pay you whatever you want and I won’t say a word.”

“Your daddy is running out of time, princess,” Ethan says. “So, I think it’s time we send him another video because if Daddy doesn’t pay soon, I’m going to start cutting off your fingers.”

“Enough!” I scream as I race towards Emily. I rip the blindfold from her head and move to the back of the chair to begin untying her.

“Nick?” She questions, almost in disbelief. Her voice is ragged and sharp, breathless too. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you out of here.”

“No, you’re not,” Ethan seethes as he aims the gun squarely at my head. “Back away from the girl before you force me to do something stupid.”

I rise up slowly, raising my hands above my head. “What the fuck are you doing man? This isn’t what I signed up for.”

“What you signed up for was to leverage your sister as bait to get something from your father. What I signed up for is a payday. Neither of us have gotten what we signed up for, so the plan is still on.”

“What is he talking about Nick?” Emily cranes her head as far back as she can. “Answer me, Nick!”

I have bigger fish to fry right now than to admit to my little sister that I had her kidnapped to get back at our father. There is a gun to my head, after all. I’ll put out one fire first and then try and salvage my relationship with her after. With my hands still held over my head, I maneuver around Emily so that I’m standing between her and Ethan.

“This has gone too far,” I say. “I’m going to take my sister out of here and we’re all going to walk away from this with clean hands.”

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