Chapter 8 - Brooke

I came around as Luca was jostling me out of the car. I wanted to fight, but I could barely keep my eyes open. My whole body still felt like my blood had been replaced with cement. I groggily looked around as he dragged me along. We were in some kind of parking garage, and he was laughing at me, chiding me that I’d had way too much to drink.

This perked me up a bit. Who was he putting on this show for? If I could get their attention, maybe… but no one was around as far as I could tell. The crazy actor was just speaking to hear his own voice, or maybe there were security cameras he was playing up to.

I made a weak attempt to break free, but it was too late, and the elevator doors slid closed with both of us inside. I focused on the number he hit, and we started going up. My stomach lurched at the sudden, swift movement, and I sank to the floor in a slump.

Luca only chuckled and yanked me back upright, holding tight to my elbow to keep me from swaying. I gathered all my strength in that short trip, and when he pulled me out of the elevator, I used every last bit of it to fight going through the apartment doorway ahead of us.

“I’ll scream the roof off,” I said, hating how my words came out slurred. “Everyone will hear.” That was my hope, at least, but his laugh burst that bubble.

“Go ahead,” he said, punching in a code to the door. “Take a look around. This is the only apartment on this floor and I paid plenty to make sure it’s soundproof.”

What was left of my grip on my fear disintegrated, and terror began to run rampant through my body. The only good thing about it was that the adrenaline helped me wake up a little, and some of the cobwebs cleared.

I’d been in some unpleasant, even dangerous, situations in the past, but I felt real fear for my life when he shoved me through the door and tossed me onto a couch. The place looked like a model showroom; everything was bland and inoffensive but nice and respectable. That somehow made it scarier, a stark contrast to the madness emanating off of Luca, with his cold, dead eyes appraising me.

So much for fighting, I could barely stand, and there was nowhere to run to anyway, so I pulled out the only card I had up my sleeve.

“If you hurt me, you’re going to be in real trouble,” I blurted, closing my eyes against his mocking look.

“Oh, really?” he asked. How could I have ever thought his voice was rich and dreamy?

“I’m basically related to the mob,” I said. It was kind of true. Jenna and I were practically sisters. “You know how they treat people who mess with their family.”

Oh God, even I didn’t believe myself. I’d never cut it as an actor, but I still hoped my vague threat might bring him back to his senses, if he had any.

“Are you referring to Max?” He found this hilarious, leaning over me where I cowered on the couch, fighting to stay conscious. “Max Fokin only wants you because I want you. That’s the kind of person he is.” His breath was hot as he got right up in my face, sliding his hand around my neck. “And I mean to have you first.”

I was so horrified that I leaned over and retched, depositing that fancy dinner all over the nondescript beige carpet.

With a roar of anger, he grabbed me by the back of my dress and hauled me across the room and down a hall. I somehow had my cute little clutch looped around my wrist, and I surreptitiously fumbled with the button closure to get my phone out as I stumbled along, still dry heaving from disgust and whatever drug he’d put in that bottle of water.

I managed to slip it into my palm and silently thanked my boss at the boutique for insisting on snapping up every dress that had pockets. I slid it in just as he pushed me into the bathroom, snatched away my purse, and tossed it behind him. He crowded into the powder room with me, yanking on my hair. I lost my balance and crashed to my knees, where he slammed my head toward the toilet.

“If you’re going to be sick, do it in here, and hurry up and get it over with.” He looked at me with disdain but also a sick hunger, as if even he hated what he was about to do but also couldn’t wait to get started.

My burst of adrenaline was draining away. Throwing up had weakened me, and now that I was no longer standing, I felt myself slipping back into the void. Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to face the man, I’d worshiped like the hero I’d thought him to be, and who now made me want to puke all over again.

“You can’t do this,” I said. “This isn’t who you are.” All I wanted was to put my head down on the fuzzy rug under my knees and slip away from this nightmare.

He got the most evil look in his eyes I’d ever seen and leered down at me. “I can do whatever I want,” he said, making my heart sink. “But you’re right. It’ll be much more fun when you’re wide awake. I’d like to see what kind of a fight you’ll put up. It always makes the victory so much sweeter.”

I was full of hate and rage when he dragged me out of the bathroom and into a bedroom, impotently throwing myself at the door as soon as I heard the lock click on the other side. His laughter echoed down the hallway, and I slid to the floor, my heart pounding and my head swimming.

Think, get it together, stay awake, and do something. Remembering my phone, I pulled it out and desperately tried to bring the screen into focus. Everything was hazy, and the room seemed to spin. I had a deep-seated distrust of the police due to nothing good ever coming from a visit from them when I was younger. Nine times out of ten it meant I was about to head to a new family that might be worse than the one I was in.

Luca was rich, famous, and beloved by everyone, including me, until a few hours ago. The chances a police officer would take my drugged-up word over Luca’s seemed way too small to risk it. Messaging Jenna would mean revealing my fib and I already wanted to die of shame for falling for Luca’s pretty face and fake persona. But was that really something to be concerned about in this situation?

I wasn’t at full capacity and was fading fast. I barely took an aspirin when I had a headache, and whatever Luca had drugged me with wasn’t playing well with my system. The last message on my phone was from Max, and I honed in on that picture he’d sent. I’d been so happy and carefree. It seemed like a lot longer than two days ago.

Max’s warning and what Luca had said about Max only wanting me because he did were getting jumbled up in my mind, and both of them could jump in a lake for all I cared at that moment. Still, if I got through to Jenna, what would a pregnant woman do? She’d tell her husband, who’d call his brother for backup, and I’d end up with Max knowing anyway. A big giant mess, all thanks to me. Might as well go straight to the source and spare my best friend the worry.

I tapped out a message to him, not even sure what I was sending, but hating every second of being so helpless, especially toward him. In my cloudy mind, Max was no better than his perverted movie star buddy, but my options were severely limited, and my ability to remain awake was running out fast.