HIS Choice: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 2) (25 page)

Megan couldn’t believe this. They were supposed to be safe. “How did you get
in here?”

“The manager owes us money.” Alex Childs, a Magic Shop enforcer, pointed a gun
at her.

She scanned the room. She’d never reach her gun before he could grab or shoot her. Where was Jesse? He must have seen Alex slip into
the room.

“Do not even think about fighting lady. I have no problem blowing out your kneecap.” His voice rang
with sincerity.

Her gut clenched. “What do you want
with me?”

Instead of answering her, he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. His gaze leaving her long enough to dial. “Hey. I need a favor. Can you have the Harrison house opened up right away? I’ll need a babysitter for a while too. I’ve got a special package.” He shoved his phone in his pocket. “Come on, pretty lady. You’re coming with me.” He waved his pistol toward
the door.

Where the hell
is Jesse?

The turmoil in her body, rapidly beating heart, racing pulse, sick stomach and weak legs almost pushed her to pass out. She was on her own until AJ returned and realized she was gone. Until then, she needed her strength and wits
about her.

After two deep breaths in and out, she swallowed the nearly choking lump in her throat. “Are you going to
kill me?”

She walked on unsteady legs out of the room, replaying his short conversation on the phone. He must be taking her somewhere to kill her, this Harrison place. Why would he need a babysitter? What exactly did he plan to do with her? The heartbeat she’d just calmed spiked.
Please, Lord,
not rape.

She assessed him. They stood about the same height. His short, curly black hair and baby face would fool anyone into believing he was harmless. Like the other enforcers, he had broad shoulders and toned arms. She’d never
overpower him.

“Where are we going?” She winced, hot tears fought to release themselves from behind her eyelids. She’d asked AJ that many times. It had almost become
a joke.

“You, pretty lady, is my bait to catch
that bastard.”

She knew he meant AJ. If they drew him out, they’d kill him and then her. She knew it might come to this, but she’d expected it at the end. She didn’t want to be the reason he died. He’d fought to keep her alive and now she’d be
his downfall.

“Cross the
street here.”

His words yanked her out of her thoughts. There had to be a chance to escape. She’d find it and take it. Keeping him from shooting her would be the challenge. She doubted he had AJ’s attitude toward killing someone. This brought her thoughts back to when he’d held her at gunpoint, kidnapping her. She smiled. That seemed a
lifetime ago.

“
Turn here.”

She looked around to get her bearings. She hadn’t been in this part of town where every building looked alike and the street signs were absent. If she escaped, she needed to get back to familiar streets, back
to AJ.

“Stop. We’
re here.”

Alex ushered her up the steps of a rundown house with bars covering the windows. Once her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she surveyed the home. A cheap round dining room table with four chairs, a worn couch and a faded chair were the only furniture. No end tables, coffee tables or anything else that made a place a home. It must be a hiding place. She’d have to
remember it.

He dragged a chair from the table and moved it to the center of the room. “Sit. By the way, there’s no need to scream here. Even if someone heard you, they know to mind their own business. They know who owns the house,” he
said proudly.

She hadn’t screamed on the street for the same reason. It would have been a waste of breath, not to mention he may have
shot her.”

A toilet flushed and then another man walked into the room. She bent her head back to see a dark-skinned giant, a rather thin one, probably in his late twenties. He looked her up and down and smiled. Her heart dropped to
her stomach.

The earlier thought that they might rape her returned. That would not be the last thing that happened to her before she died. Anger turned her blood to heat in her veins. She’d fight with every last breath in
her body.

“Hey, man,” the
giant said.

“You up for this?”
Alex asked.

“Piece
of cake.”

“Megan Rogers, this is Jermaine. He’s gonna make sure you stay put.” Alex turned to the giant. “Tie her to
the chair.”

Her new babysitter grinned. “With pleasure.” He picked up handcuffs and rope from the table. “Who
is she?”

“She’s my ticket to
AJ Hamilton.”

Jermaine pulled her arms painfully behind the back of the chair and cinched the handcuffs tight. Then he wrapped the rope around her body and the back of the chair. He made sure to brush
her breasts.

She glared at him. No way would this sick pervert get the best
of her.

“There we go. Not goin’ nowhere, are ya?” He turned. “Done.”

The writer in her wanted to correct Jermaine’s grammar. Slang drove
her nuts.

Alex moved toward her. “Where
is he?”

No way would she give AJ to them. Besides, she wasn’t sure exactly where he was at
the moment.

The enforcer backhanded her. Her head snapped sideways.
Holy hell that hurt!
She slowly turned her head back around and stared at him. Oh how she hated this man. She had to ignore the stinging pain and fight her watery eyes. Alex wanted to kill the man she cared deeply for. A man who’d come to matter in
her life.

“Where
is he?”

She remained stubbornly silent. Her clammy palms and heart thudding so loudly it almost deafened her were the only signs of her fear. She didn’t care if he backhanded her again. She would never give up AJ so he could
be murdered.

“Loyal thing, aren’t you? You must be fucking him. No woman would be that loyal if they weren’
t fucking.”

She continued to stare at him defiantly. If he’d been close enough she’d have spit in
his face.

“Well, if he’s as loyal to you as you are to him, he’ll come to us. He’ll believe that we’ll do an exchange and spare your life.” He laughed and backhanded
her again.

Something warm slid down her chin. Blood. She wanted to jump from the chair and beat the crap out of him. She hoped AJ really hurt him. She’d never been so blood-thirsty until the Magician ordered her death. She believed in justice, but had come to learn death was the only justice these
men understood.

He raked his eyes over her. “You’re one hot piece of ass. If you fuck as good as you look, he’ll come running for you. You can make it better on him if you tell us where to find him. I’m sure you’d hate for him to walk into our trap while trying to
rescue you.”

Trap? Oh God, AJ.
Be careful.

“Yes, we think he’ll try to rescue you. Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for him when he does. I’ll be the one to kill him. The Magician will
reward me.”

“Don’t
hurt him.”

“Oh, she does speak. How about you use that voice to tell me where
he is.”

She shrugged as best as she could with the ropes around her shoulders. “He left me where you found me so I can’t tell you where he is. You’re wasting your time. We’re over. I doubt he’ll come
for me.”

“I don’t know about that. He’s gone out of his way to help you so far, saving you from Joe, keeping you one step ahead of us. I’ll wager that he’ll come. He seems to have some protective streak when it comes
to you.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “You’re wrong. We had a fling. It’s over. He left. End of story. AJ won’
t come.”

“Well, pretty lady, you’d best hope
he does.”

She knew he’d come. He’d rescue her. If he didn’t step into
their trap.

Alex turned to Jermaine. “I’ve got to get the word out so I’m leaving her here with you for a while. She is not to
be harmed.”

Her
babysitter frowned.

After the two were alone, the giant pulled a handgun from the back of his pants and placed it in front of him on the worn dining room table. After turning a chair around, he straddled it, staring intently at her. Would he listen to Alex? The way he looked at her left no doubt he
wanted her.

“You sure
are pretty.”

She
looked away.

“I wouldn’t mind a piece
of ya.”

She snapped her head back in time to notice him licking his lips. She twisted her head away in disgust. All she had to do was survive until
AJ arrived.

She tried to block her baby-sitter from her mind. The red chair in the living room was worn and faded, but it looked more comfortable than the chair she was tied to, plus he couldn’t tie the rope so tight. She could escape. “May I sit in that chair instead?” She motioned her head in the direction of
the chair.

He turned around, looked at it and
then laughed.

Okay. That must be a no. It was worth a try. She’d try it with whoever watched
her next.

If only one person watched her at a time, they had to sleep at some point. If she could find a way out of the rope then she could escape. The cuffs could stay on. They’d prove a serious challenge but living would help her find
a way.

She attempted to shift her body. The rope was
too tight.

A thought occurred to her. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Maybe it had a window where she could escape. Why hadn’t she thought of
that before?

“Can’t
it wait?”

“No.” She crossed her legs, bouncing them like she couldn’t hold it. They stupidly hadn’t tied her legs. If she could loosen the ropes enough, she could use them to fight them off. Or something like that. She’d figure it out later. Right now glee slid down her spine. A chance to escape stood
before her.

He left his handgun on the table and untied her. With his hand holding her forearm tight, he shoved her down a hallway. “Here it is. Don’t try nothin’ funny.”

“I need my hands out of these cuffs. I can’t go with my hands behind
my back.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and then pulled a key from his pocket. “
Turn around.”

She had a chance. Could she overpower him? He didn’t have his weapon on him. That’s when she noticed the knife attached to his belt. Unless she could get that from him, she’d be in trouble. Not to mention he outweighed her by a good
100 pounds.

She rubbed her wrists. “
Thank you.”

Rushing into the grungy bathroom, she closed and locked the door. A strong urine smell knocked her back. She pinched her burning nose. Why couldn’t men aim in
the toilet?

She looked around. Dang it all to hell and back!
No window.

At least she could find a weapon of some sort. Maybe a razor blade to cut the ropes. Her hope skipped at the empty
medicine chest.

She took advantage of the bathroom break. Who knew when she’d have another one? There wasn’t even soap to wash her hands or towels to
dry them.

The rapping on the door startled her. “
Long enough.”

She could rush him. He wouldn’t be prepared for that. She opened the door and put everything she had into it. All she did was bounce off of him. He roughly grabbed
her arms.

“What the hell is wrong
with you?”

She let out an exasperated sigh of despair. This had possibly been her last chance before AJ walked into their trap while attempting to
rescue her.

He shoved her back to the chair and proceeded to cuff and tie
her up.

“How long are you going to keep me here?” Could she never shut off her need to ask questions? No. It calmed her, centered her. Something she needed. Besides, it’s not like it’d hurt any. They planned to kill her anyway. Maybe she’d learn something that could aid
in escape.

“Don’t know. You have to ask Alex. This is
his party.”

“So, Alex is your boss?” Could she create dissention amongst the ranks? If she did, she’d try to sway him to her side so he’d
release her.

He chuckled. “Naw. I’m just
helping out.”

“Why are you
helping him?”

Her babysitter studied her intently. “You’re that journalist aren’
t you?”

She nodded. “That’s me. What do you do for
Magic Shop?”

He leered at her. “None of
your business.”

“Have you ever met
the Magician?”

He shook his head. “Of course not. I’m not
important enough.”

“Doesn’t that bother you? Not knowing who you
work for?”

“I work for Jimmy. That’s who I work for. The rest are just names.”

Ah ha. Another dealer. “Jimmy let you off the street to watch me?”

He smiled. “You’re smart. Nah, Jimmy doesn’t know I’m here. Alex wouldn’t get to be in charge if
he did.”

So much for gaining his assistance. They would kill her after AJ exchanged himself for her. No, he’d rescue her, not give in. He’d know they lied about letting her live. She had to keep telling herself that. It didn’t stop her from trying to work the knot on the back of the chair. Dumbass tied it right by her hands making it easier
to grab.

* * * * *