Chapter 17

Igroan as the world swims back into focus, and I blink away the haze clouding my vision.

The throbbing in my head makes it hard to think, and panic surges through me as I remember being kidnapped.

They had driven for a while before stopping to open the trunk. The blinding return of light had disoriented me long enough for them to cover my nose and mouth with a bitter-smelling cloth.

After that, everything went dark.

When I try to lift a hand to my aching head, my arm refuses to move, and I realize rough ropes bind my wrists to a wooden chair.

Fear spikes through me, and my heart hammers, each beat echoing in my ears.

"Wha… Where am I?" I squint at my surroundings.

The dimly lit warehouse comes into focus. A metal grate in the floor sits under me, and bile rises as I consider why that would be necessary.

I look away from it to take in the rows of crates stacked along the walls and the grimy windows near the ceiling that let in daylight. I wasn't out for long. My nose itches, decay hanging in the damp air. The mustiness clings to my lungs with every frantic breath.

Terror tightens its icy grip on my throat.

What do they want from me? Why did they bring me here?

Panic and adrenaline shoot through me, and I struggle against the ropes to break free. My wrists burn, raw and red, as I twist them frantically, trying to loosen the tight knots. The chair creaks beneath me, but the legs are wedged into the grate, sticking it in place.

"Look who's awake," a voice drawls from somewhere behind me.

Gino emerges from the shadows, his bulky figure lumbering closer with each heavy step. The dim light illuminates his crooked nose and the cruel glint in his eyes, making him appear even more menacing than usual.

"Wh-what do you want?" My body trembles with fear. "My payment isn't due until the fifteenth. Why did you bring me here?"

"We are so far past your measly payments, kid." He stops in front of where I sit, towering over my smaller form. "We're on to bigger fish now."

"I promise I wasn't planning to run, Gino." My tongue sweeps over my dry lips, tasting chemicals from the knockout drug. "I'll get you your money. Just let me go."

Cruel amusement twists his features. "There was never any loan, Leo. Fuck, kids like you are so gullible."

My mouth drops open, the fog in my brain making it hard to focus. "What? But the gang…"

"They don't know you from the kid down the street." He grins at me, revealing blocky teeth stained brown. "We played you, and you fell for it."

The revelation leaves me lightheaded. All those months of starving, living in that shithole, and it was all a scam. "But…why? Why me? We've never even met."

"Are you sure about that?" Gino taps his chin. "Maybe you were an easy mark. One that's about to pay off big time."

"You've already taken all of my money." I search his face. "What more could you want from me?"

"Cut the act." Gino leans in close enough for the stale sweat on his clothes to reach me and waves my phone in front of my face. "We want Nolan Rockford's contact information."

Confusion fills me before I shake my head. "He's just my boss at the club. I don't have any way of reaching him outside of work."

"Bullshit!" He throws my phone against my chest, and it bounces onto my lap. "You've been with him for over a week!"

Fear pulses through me. "I'm not lying. He never gave it to me. But Tony works for Mr. Rockford. Get the number from him."

A bitter laugh comes from my right, and Tony steps around a stack of crates. "That pompous asshole only deals with his club managers through a middleman unless he's actually at Velvet Oasis, and he's not returning my calls."

"Then you know how it is." Desperation seeps into my voice. "I'm just a server. Why do you think I'd have a direct line to him when you don't?"

"Too bad for you, then." Gino crosses his arms over his chest. "We'll just have to find another way to gain Nolan's attention."

"Please." Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "I mean nothing to Mr. Rockford."

"Nice try." Gino grips my chin, malice in his beady eyes. "Bugrov told us how protective he was about you."

"After that, it wasn't hard to figure out whose Mark is on your nape." Tony rubs his hands together. "You're carrying the next generation of Rockford children, aren't you, Leo?"

The blood drains from my face. "No. I'm not pregnant."

"Stop lying!" Gino backhands me across the face, the force of the blow rocking my head to the side and blurring my vision. "Someone like Nolan Rockford wouldn't keep you close without a reason."

"The reason no longer matters." Desperation creeps into my voice and my eyes burn, but I refuse to cry. "We took a test today, and there's no baby. Why else would I come back to that shitty apartment?"

Gino grabs my aching face, and his dark eyes bore into mine, searching for deceit.

"Please…" I choke out through the pain. "I'm telling the truth."

"Fine, I believe you." Gino releases me and strides away.

Tony casts me a pitying look before he follows, and the bang of a door closing echoes through the room.

I slump forward, coughing and struggling to catch my breath.

The room grows colder as the hours tick by and shivers wrack my body. Gino may accept that I'm not pregnant, but that doesn't change their plan. If it did, he wouldn't have left me tied up here. He still intends to use me somehow, and I can't allow that to happen.

Even if Nolan doesn't love me, he's a good man, and he might try to save me. I can't let him put himself in danger on my behalf. I need to find a way out of this nightmare.

My muscles strain as I test my restraints for any signs of weakness. The rough ropes bite into my skin, but I ignore the stinging pain as I twist and pull, hoping to loosen them. But all my efforts are in vain, and the knots remain tight.

"Dammit!" Tears trickle down my cheeks, and my frustration mounts.

I scan the room for something—anything—that could help me escape. The warehouse is filled with crates and boxes, but nothing is within reach, and my heart sinks.

A scream of anger rips from me, and I strain as hard as I can against my ropes. Blood pounds in my head, and my muscles shriek in protest.

As fast as it came, the burst of energy vanishes, and I sag, my body limp. As I do, the left armrest wiggles slightly, and my breath catches with excitement.

Leaning over, I examine it and spot where the top piece I'm bound to had separated a little from the dowel that attaches it to the seat. The glue that holds it together must have been weakened.

Hope unfurls in my chest, and I focus on rocking the armrest back and forth, slowly but surely loosening it.

"Come on, come on." Sweat trickles down my temple, and my gaze jumps to where I last saw Gino and Tony.

Time is running out, but for the first time since my abduction, I allow myself to believe that escape is within my reach.

With every millimeter that the top piece separates from the dowel, my heart pounds harder. The joint continues to loosen, and my breaths come in rapid, shallow gasps. My skin breaks, blood slicking the wood, but I don't let up.

"Almost there…" The last bit of resistance gives way, and the armrest lifts at the front.

With frantic wiggles, I inch my arm down, the restriction on my wrists lessening as the loops of my restraints slide off.

Finally, I shake my hand free of the rope, the coils falling to the cement floor, and get to work on the knot that binds my other wrist.

"Hey!" Gino's voice booms across the warehouse, and cold fear shivers through me. He strides toward me, his face dark with fury. "What do you think you're doing?"

Before I can react, his fist collides with my cheek, sending a sharp pain shooting through my head.

I cry out, lifting my free hand to my face. I was so focused on freeing myself that I didn't hear them return.

"Be careful!" Tony snaps, stepping between us. "Omegas are fragile. If you keep smacking him around like that, you're going to damage him."

"That's just bullshit propaganda spread to trick Alphas into taking better care of them. I've hit him harder, and he always bounces back." Gino bends down and snatches the rope from the ground, then eyes the broken armrest. "Fucking cheap piece of crap."

"It doesn't matter." Tony strides to one of the crates and sets a hard plastic case on top of it. "He won't be on the chair for long, anyway."

Gino's eyes gleam. "No, he won't."

Nausea threatens to overwhelm me. "What are you planning to do?"

"You say you're not pregnant, and if that's true, you're not worth much to the Rockford family." Gino nods his head toward Tony. "So we're going to ensure our investment."

Fear knots in my stomach. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Ever heard of Inductrus?" Tony lifts a small vial, and the rose-colored liquid inside gleams in the light. "It induces Heat in Omegas. Once we inject this into you, your body will beg for an Alpha to breed you."

My eyes widen in horror. "You can't do that! It's dangerous!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, kid." Tony preps the drug. "We'll make sure you're knocked up before we ransom you back to the Rockfords."

"Please, don't do this." I claw at my bindings. "Nolan already knows I'm not pregnant. We took the test!"

"Sometimes tests give a false negative." Tony approaches me with the syringe. "You're still close enough to your last Heat for this pregnancy to be believable."

"No!" I swing wildly at Tony with my free arm.

He dodges backward with a scowl at Gino. "Restrain him. This has to go into the vein."

Gino grabs my flailing hand. "Stop fighting, or we'll knock you out, and you can come back to consciousness already being fucked."

I buck against his hold, slamming my head into his jaw before lunging forward and clamping my teeth on his ear. A copper taste fills my mouth, and I shake my head from side-to-side.

Tony drops the syringe to help Gino, who shouts and yanks at my hair to free himself.

He stumbles back, blood trickling from the wound. "You're going to regret that, you little bitch. You better hope the Rockford family pays your ransom, because if they don't, I'm going to enjoy wringing that scrawny neck of yours."