8. Chapter 6

Ispent the day with Gemma and her con artist friend, and he confessed to everything. Jason is now helping him figure things out with the authorities so he doesn"t do a shit load of time for hustling my bestie. I"m back at my apartment getting more clothes for my sleepover with Jason tonight. Last night was a dream come true for me. It almost slipped out of me that I loved him. But it"s too soon, and I don"t want to rush things.

Suddenly, there"s a loud banging at the front door. A chill goes down my spine, and I just know that it's Bradley out there. I"m so glad Gemma stayed with Jason and Murphy and is not here right now. I don"t know what to do. My first instinct is to text Jason. He'll know what to do.

All I"m able to send is a quick 911 to him, and then the door bursts open. Did that asshole break my door down? I was almost out of the bedroom when I realized my innate fighter was not equipped with any defense against a big man like Bradley. But I"m no coward, either. So I"m not going to hide. I look out the doorframe and see him in my living room, thrashing and throwing things around.

"Amber! Stop hiding from me. I know you are in here. I saw you come in."

I stay silent, but I"m trembling.

"I lost your little private detective a while ago. Did you think you could get away with not giving me my money?"

"I"m not giving you anything!" I shout. Way to go, Amber. Poke the bear, why don"t you?

I hear a deranged kind of laughter come out of him. He"s really lost his mind.

"Actually, you"re going to give me double now what I asked just because you stayed away that extra week, and you've pissed me off with the damn PI."

I don"t know what to do so I lock myself in the bathroom. Before I know it, he"s banging on the door, and fear fills me. I look around for any weapon that I can use to defend myself, but I don"t find anything. I reach for my phone only to realize I left it on top of the bed. There"s no way for me to call Jason again or even the police.

Bradley starts ramming the door with what I assume is his shoulder, and the door is not cooperating. I back up against the wall and jump when he finally breaks open the door. I have no time to think when he rushes me and grabs me by the neck. He squeezes tight, and I struggle to breathe.

"Now listen, you bitch. I want my money. Where did you find that PI that is following me?"

I gasp and slap his hand so he will stop strangling me. He flexes his fingers again, pushing against my trachea, and then lets go just enough so I can answer him.

"A friend is helping me."

"You are going to regret doing that. At least you didn"t go to the cops."

No, I didn"t go to the cops, which was a shame. I should have never even entertained the idea of paying this piece of shit any money. But I was scared and made the wrong decisions. Right now, however, I needed to stall until Jason came. Please come, Jason.

"How much did you make on the tables in Vegas?" Brad snarls.

"I didn"t win anything. I got caught. Things are different now. They know how to spot cheaters."

"So you"ve had me waiting all this time for nothing? Damn you."

He slaps me on the cheek hard. My lower lip tears on impact, and I feel blood trickling down my chin. He grabs me by the hair and pulls me towards the bedroom. He pushes me on the bed and picks up my phone. Grabbing my hand, he uses my thumb to unlock the device.

"Let"s see who this friend is."

He"s pacing around my room, and I"m frozen in place, holding my bloody lip.

"Looks like your beau has some money. Maybe he"ll be willing to part with it to make sure you don"t come back in pieces."

"Bradley! What is wrong with you? Do you need money that badly?"

"Desperate times, Amber. Looks like you messaged him for help. Well, we won"t be here when he comes."

I see him type something into my phone and then drops it on the bed. He reaches for me, and I back away, but he"s not joking around, so he grabs my ankle and drags me to the edge of the bed. Then he grabs me by the neck again and drags me away like a goddamn caveman. This is pissing me off, but I don"t want to infuriate him any more than he already is.

When we are on the main floor of the building, he drags me to the back exit, and there"s a car double-parked there. He shoves me into the passenger seat, pulls out some zip ties, and ties my hands together. He pulls them tight so they hurt my wrists, and before I think to scream, he shuts me up with duct tape.

Dread fills me when we leave my neighborhood, away from the help I need. I now do something I haven"t done in years. I pray. After that, I take action. I struggle with my bonds and try to hurt him. It"s a risk because he"s driving, and we can get into an accident. But this way, I can get someone"s attention if that does happen.

"You stupid bitch! Stop struggling."

I continue my assault on him, and I see a glint of evil come into his eyes. Before I know it, he hits me on the head so hard that I see stars, and everything goes black.

So much for me saving myself.

I wake up in what looks like someone"s shitty basement. I"m sitting in a chair, and my arms and legs are tied to it with several zip ties. The circulation to my arms has already been affected. I realize my mouth is no longer taped shut, but it feels swollen. I look around me and only find old boxes and broken pieces of furniture down here.

"You"re awake." Someone says in my vicinity, but they are cloaked in darkness.

"Help me. He"s lost his mind. He"s kidnapped me."

"There"s nothing I can do to help you, lady."

I realize the voice is female as she comes out of the dark corner where she"s been hiding herself. She looks tired, scared, and very defeated.

"We can help one another. Do you have a phone I can use?" I ask.

"He took my phone a long time ago. Don"t have anyone to call, anyway."

"What about the police? What"s he done to you? How long have you been here?"

"I have to tell him you"re awake. Your friend wants proof you"re alive."

Jason!He knows. "Come on," I say, "my friend can help the both of us. There"s got to be a way we can get out of here."

She looks at me like I"m stupid and goes up the stairs silently. I hear her soft voice from where I am and realize getting her to help me will be harder than I thought. Heavy steps come towards the basement door, and the door opens. Bradley walks down with a weird smile on his face. He points his phone to my face.

"Bradley, this is crazy. You have to let me go."

"Do you want me to tape your mouth shut again, Amber? Cause I think I"ll be a lot happier if I do."

"Who is that woman with you?"

"Really? You want to make small talk now, Amber?"

"If you let me go, I won"t press charges."

"You know what I think? Your little beau is desperate to get you back. He"ll pay me what I"m asking for."

"I can try and find some money for you, Bradley."

"That"s no longer going to cut it. I owe a lot of money to some important people. I Googled your friend, and he"s a big-shot security guy. He"s worth millions. What I need is just a piece of the cake."

I try to swallow the bile that comes up in my mouth. Leave it to this asshole to go for the jugular. The problem is I don"t know what Jason plans to do. All I know is stuff from the movies, so I guess he"ll stall while he"s looking for wherever this shithole is. However this ends, I don"t want Bradley to get one cent of anyone"s money.

Bradley is fussing with his phone while my fingers grow numb. I look to see if the woman is around, but she seems to have stayed upstairs. I could really use an ally right now.

"Bradley, you have to let me go. I"m not above pleading.

"Loverboy seems to need more time to get my money. Do you think I should give it to him, or maybe I should give him an incentive?"

"Wha…"

I didn"t see the punch coming, but my eye immediately starts to swell and close. He smiles and takes a picture of me—sending it to Jason is my best guess. This man is insane. Either I never knew him well, or life has really done a job on him. Tears flow from my eyes, and they just make me angry that this man has me completely at his mercy.

My thoughts turn to Jason. I brought all of this to him. He doesn"t deserve it. But if there is one thing I know about him, it is that he is relentless when helping others. He"ll find me. I long to be in his warm, safe embrace, but I don"t want to dwell on that because I"ll start crying harder. I need to be patient, and I need to stop taunting Bradley. I"m not sure I"m capable of staying quiet, though.

"That got him angry," Bradley says, shaking his phone. "Hopefully, he"ll take me more seriously now."

He goes back upstairs and locks the door to the basement. I"m left alone, and I don"t know what will happen to me. I hope the woman from before returns so I can keep trying to convince her to help me. Clearly, she"s another victim of his abuse. Maybe I can convince her to fight him or, better yet, outsmart him.