90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (25 page)

     “It’s something to do.” Laney shrugged.

     Baking was more-so Lydia and Aggie’s favorite thing to do, but sometimes Laney caught the baking bug and made things, too.  It wasn’t often, but it happened.

     “I like cheesecake.” Fiona turned around to peer at her, smiling widely.

     Her smile was a little creepy.

    
Be nice.
  Laney thought as she shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

     “Who’s this?”

     She turned her head upon hearing Fiona’s question and saw her staring at the picture on the fridge.  It was a recent photo of her, Lydia, and Jeb.  It had been taken on Christmas morning.

     It was one of Laney’s favorite memories.

     “That’s Lydia, and our brother, Jeb.”

     “He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Fiona giggled again, tracing her finger over his face.  “I bet he’s had loads of girlfriends, huh?”

     “Well, a few, I guess.”

    
Oh, that’s not creepy at all…

     “A few. Hm.  Seems like the type to have more than a few.”  She shrugged her shoulders and whirled around, giving her another toothy smile.  “I’ll need to see the bathroom, please.” She announced, moving stiffly down the hallway.  “And the bedrooms, too.  Did they see a lot of damage?”

     “Actually, no.” Laney followed her down the hallway and peered into her bedroom, watching as Fiona began rummaging through the top drawer of her dresser.

     “I beg your pardon, but is it necessary to go through my personal belongings?”

     “Not really, no.” Fiona’s sweet voice changed suddenly, and when she turned to face her, Laney’s heart sank.

     She was pointing a gun towards her.

     “I would appreciate if this went smoothly, Miss McIntosh.”

     Laney threw her hands up instinctively, her knees trembling.  “What are you doing?”

     “Don’t play stupid with me, dear.” Fiona yanked the glasses off her face and tossed them to the floor, her eyes cold and dark as she stared at her.  “You know exactly who I am, don’t you?”

    
Oh my God.

     Her knees threatened to give out on her as the realization of what was happening suddenly hit:

     
I am in serious trouble.

     “Hi, my name is actually Mia.  I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Laney.  I really do.” She stepped towards her, keeping the gun aimed at her.  “But Jeb just didn’t want to commit to me.  I’ll never understand.  I’m a great catch.”

     “I’m sure you are.” Laney’s voice trembled and she kept her hands up in the air.  It was no telling what this nutcase may try to do.

     “Word of advice, honey.” Mia frowned.  “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.  Now turn around.”

     “Please don’t hurt me.” Laney closed her eyes and slowly turned around, praying that this was just a dream.  It had to be a dream.  Nothing like this happened in real life, at least not to her.

     “Please don’t hurt me.” Mia mocked her.  “Maybe your brother should have thought about that before he hurt
me
.”

    
Oh, God. How am I going to get out of this?

     That was the last thought she had when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and the world went dark.

----------

Benji

     As he turned onto the street that led to Laney’s apartment, the sky suddenly broke open and a downpour of hellacious rain slammed down upon Prairie Town.

     “Were they even calling for rain today?” He wondered aloud, quickly turning on his windshield wipers and slowing down.  The rain pelting against his windshield made it almost impossible to see, especially with such crappy wipers, but he somehow managed to make it to the parking lot without crashing into anything.

     Thunder rumbled in the distance as he got out and ran to the double doors.  He shoved them open and stepped inside, listening as the rain pelted against the windows and the wind picked up.  Summer storms were insane; tornadoes were likely.

     He didn’t know if he was fond of that idea or not.

     Raking his fingers through his drenched hair and shaking off his shirt to the best of his ability, he made it to the elevator and pushed the button, waiting patiently for the damn thing—slow as snot—to make it to the ground floor.

    
I hope she’s as excited to see me, as I am to see her.

     Since things had started getting serious between them, Benji found it difficult to be away from Laney for long periods of time.  He thought about her all the time and he hoped she did the same.  All he wanted to do was make her happy.

     He stepped inside with a smile and pressed the button that would lead him to his waiting beauty.  He couldn’t wait to have her in his arms; to smell her perfume and hear her laugh.  God, he had it bad.

     As soon as the elevator dinged and stopped again, he was on their floor and bypassing his own apartment.  Why did it matter anyway?  Laney wasn’t in his living quarters. She was a few doors down.

     And she was waiting for him.

    
Not much longer, baby.

    
His mind was already reeling with things he could do to turn her day around.  In their short while together, he had learned a lot about Elaine McIntosh; how to make her laugh; how to make her blush; how to make her moan; and how to make the tears stop.

     No matter what was going on, he was confident he had the remedy.

     Just as Laney had promised, the door was open, but he couldn’t tell that the light was on.

     Weird.

     He glanced at his watch and frowned.

    
8:14.  Laney has to be here.  And the insurance lady, too.

     “Laney?” He called out as he stepped inside, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness  “Are you here, beautiful?”

     No response.

     He trudged through the water, about an inch deep, that covered the living room floor and reached out to turn on the light in the kitchen.  It was much bigger than the one in the living room.  What the hell was the architect thinking when building this place?

     The light had no sooner come on when he heard a loud thump.

     He paused and listened, eyes wandering down the dark hallway. 

     “Laney?”

     Aside from the light he’d just turned on, the rest of the apartment was dark.  Surely to God the girl hadn’t gone into her bedroom and fallen asleep?

    
Or maybe she’s just in there waiting for me.  Maybe the ‘insurance lady’ was just some ploy to get me over here.

     A sly grin slid across his lips as he carefully made his way towards her room, a million scenarios running through his mind.  If she was naked and waiting for him, so help him God…

     “Are you in here, beautiful?” He pushed open the bedroom door and turned on the light.

     The last thing he would have ever imagined was the scene before him.

     Laney was sitting on the floor with her hands tied behind her back and a piece of duct tape across her mouth.  Her eyes were wide and teary. 

     She released a muffled yell as he stepped closer.

     “Laney, baby.  What the hell?” He asked, quickly reaching out to peel the tape away from her lips.  “What happened?”

     “Behind you!” She shrieked.  “Watch out, Benji.”

     “Wh—?”

     “Put your hands up in the air and don’t fucking move.”

     He froze instantly, his eyes on Laney’s, and did as he was told.  Lifting his hands upwards, he swallowed hard and tried to communicate with Laney with his eyes.

    
It’s going to be okay.
  He wanted to say. 
I won’t let anything happen to you.

     But truth be told, he wasn’t sure he could make that promise.  Especially when the cold metal of a gun touched the back of his head.

Chapter 14

Laney

     Her head was simply to God killing her, but that pain didn’t hold a candle to the terror she felt as she watched Mia press her gun to the back of Benji’s head.

     He’d only been trying to help in usual, beautiful Benji fashion, and now they were both caught in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t wake up.

    
If only it was so easy.

     “Okay, lady. Just calm down.” Benji said, his voice unwavering as his eyes remained on Laney’s.  He very slowly lifted his hands into the air, much like she had earlier, and he stood.

     “You don’t get to give the orders around here.” Mia laughed, her eyes sparkling with wickedness.

     Laney had seen eyes like those before; the kind that shimmered with glee when a person was doing horrible things.

    
Devin.

     But not even he would ever stoop so low.  At least she didn’t think he would.  This was new to her, and holy hell it was frightening.

     She couldn’t prevent her legs from shaking.  Her entire body was trying to erupt in tiny convulsions of fear.  All she wanted to do was cry, and scream, and beg.  Why was Mia doing this?

    
Why is she doing it to me?

     “Now, you just sit right there, Mister Hero.” Mia eyed Benji as he sat down beside Laney and then she smirked.  “I must say this is a surprise.  I wasn’t expecting anyone else to show up for our little party, but the more the merrier.”

     “What do you want?” Benji asked through his teeth.

     His question earned him a kiss on the cheek with her fist—the one holding the gun.

     Laney cried out as his face flew towards her, and the angry gash on his cheek caused her blood to boil.

     “Don’t fucking touch him, you cow!”

    Mia pointed the gun at her and slowly pulled the hammer back, an eyebrow darting upwards.

     Laney nearly pissed her pants and released a soft gasp, her words caught in her throat.

     “If I were you, I’d keep my pretty little mouth shut.” Mia warned.  “I would sincerely hate for this gun to accidentally go off, wouldn’t you?”

     “Don’t.” Benji slurred, slowly lifted his head to stare at her.  He’d been knocked senseless—Laney was sure of it—yet he was still trying to protect her.  “She’s just scared, okay?”

     “And she should be.” Mia glared at him, but much to Laney’s relief, she lowered the gun to her side.  “I warned Jeb this would happen.  I told him that no one leaves me until I’m ready to let them go.  But, did he listen to me?  No.  So this is what happens.”

     “So you’re not new at this?” He asked, his voice hoarse.  “This is something you do with all of your boyfriends?”

     “No!” She shouted, lifting her gun into the air once more, ready to strike.

     Benji flinched and turned his head away from her, his eyes squeezed shut.

     “Don’t hurt him! Please!” Laney sobbed, sliding her body across his in an effort to shield him.  “We’ll do whatever you want.  Just…please.  Don’t hurt him.”

     “Aww.  That’s so sweet.” Mia pouted, batting her eyelashes.  “It’s so sweet, it’s disgusting.  Now,”—her smile disappeared—“I want you two to stay put and I mean it.  I’m not tying you up, Pretty Boy.  Not just yet.  I may need...other services from you.”

     Laney did
not
like the way she said that.  If that bitch so much as touched a hair on his head…

     “Oh, I love that dirty look you’re giving me, princess.” She cackled.  “You remind me of Jeb, you know?  He used to give me those looks, too.”

     “I wouldn’t know why.” Benji murmured.

     “I’m sorry, did you say something?” Mia placed a hand on her hip.

     “No.” Benji leaned back against the wall and sighed.  “Didn’t say anything.”

     “That’s what I thought.”

     They both watched as she eased down on the bed and kicked her shoes off, crossing one short leg over the other.  She let her hair down and then shook her head violently, groaning in pleasure.

    
She is definitely crazy.  Crazier than me.

     “I tell ya, it’s hard acting so nice and proper.” Mia moaned, fingers sliding through her blonde locks as she looked at them.  “And I honestly didn’t think you’d fall for my insurance act either, Laney.  Gullible much?”

     “It sounded legit at the time.” Laney said quietly, sniffling and blinking back tears.  “We’ve been waiting forever for that call, so kudos to you for making it sound real.”