Page 90 of Illicit Obsession

She looked at me.

“I’m sorry I got you caught up in this shit.”

“Jag, it wasn’t your fault. You had no idea Tiny was working with Psycho. You can’t go there. Save your energy. We’ll need it soon.”

Her stoic expression did little to reassure me. “If we don’t . . . I love you, baby. I’m so grateful to have found you again.”

“I love you too, Jag, but we’ll have more time together. I’ll be damned if we don’t walk out of here with our arms around each other.”

Wasn’t I supposed to keep her calm and protect her? I focused on the entrance, my brain running different escape scenarios.

* * *

I jerked myself awake when the door opened. Psycho was alone, which gave me a better view of him. A large red E on a sign over a door caught my attention. Psycho strolled over to us, holding bottled water in each hand.

“How did your face get messed up?” Ari asked.

“You sure are a polite one.” Psycho twisted the top off the bottle and held it to her lips, allowing her a few sips at a time. “Only a little or Tiny will be cleaning puke up.”

She took two drinks, then he replaced the lid.

“I figure we’re either not walking out of here alive, or you’re going to hold us hostage and put us to work like you did Jagger after the fire. In my opinion, no questions are off limits.”

Psycho gave me a drink, his expression void of any emotion. It didn’t surprise me. His nickname fit him well.

“I pissed the wrong people off. One of the kids Jag snagged for me got away after I had the money. They didn’t like it when I explained that it wasn’t my job to keep up with the kid after they were sold. Even though I had men guarding the temporary house we were in at the time, the son of bitch torched it with me inside.” Psycho laughed. “He wasn’t too happy to meet up with me a year later, but I was the last thing the fucker saw before I slit his throat.”

I suspected Ari regretted asking the question. Right after Psycho got what he deserved, Gunner found me and I escaped. This was the first time that I’d seen Psycho’s deformed face. It was fucked up for sure, but he was uglier on the inside.

Psycho set the bottles on the floor between our chairs. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us. The boss is coming in, then we’ll have our orders of what to do with you two. My vote is to cut our losses and kill you, but even I have someone I gotta ask first.”

Sweat glided down my temple. Gunner needed to hurry the fuck up. We were running out of time.

ChapterForty-Two

Ariana

Fear pulsed through my veins, sending my heart rate into overdrive. Psycho had left several hours ago, and I’d been hard at work.

“Jagger, can you see my hands?”

Jagger leaned back on the legs of his chair, frowning. “Yeah. Ari, you’re bleeding.”

“Good. How much? I’ve lost the feeling in my arms so I can’t tell. On the bright side, I can feel my shoulder and that’s what I need to move.” I groaned, moving my wrists against the ropes as best I could.

Jagger’s gaze narrowed. “Ari, your wrist is covered in blood, but I think you could slide out of the rope.” Excitement clung to his words.

“That’s the plan, baby. That’s the plan.” I gritted my teeth so hard, I feared breaking a molar. My hand wriggled free of the ropes with a quick jerk of my numb arm.

“Jesus, you did it.” Jagger’s expression was full of pride.

“Don’t get excited yet. Let’s hope no one checks on us for a while.” I winced from the sharp tingles in my limbs and wiggled my fingers. It took me some time, but I finally lifted my arms and set them on my lap. I grinned at Jagger. “I can move better now.” I wiped the blood on my black jeans. My wrists looked worse than they actually were. “Over the years with Peter, I was able to slip out of the ropes several times. The rope burn is brutal, but it works.”

“No one ever noticed your bruised and bandaged wrists? Not Teagan or the girls?”

“When you have a secret, you’ll go to great lengths to hide it. Peter liked to tie me up for sport in the winter and fall. If someone saw the marks, there was a chance I would expose him for the sick monster he was. He bought my clothes to handle that problem, including long-sleeved shirts and several windbreakers with elastic sleeves so they wouldn’t ride up. I was always cold, and no one thought twice about me wearing a jacket, even inside.”

“What about a shower or bath?”

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