28. A Very Dangerous Road Trip

Daddy Desmond had much nicer wheels than she did. She was especially a fan of his expensive sound system and how the vehicle linked almost instantaneously with her phone. Instead of listening to crappy broadcast radio, she got streaming music and a giant map on the dash screen to help her find her way to the coffee shop where she was supposed to break her date with Theo.

Dang. She really wished she'd invited him to her Daddies' house. It had been barely twenty minutes and she missed them already. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to hurt Theo like that. He was just too nice, and even though there wasn't any chemistry between them, he deserved better than to have a date broken in her new lovers' house.

Maybe, as usual, she was overthinking things. It was possible he wouldn't care if she broke their date, and she would just look weird. She shrugged inwardly and decided she didn't care. It wouldn't be the first time someone thought she was weird.

She found the coffee shop easily, and even managed to snag a parking spot only a few dozen yards from the entrance. Man, she was beginning to love Daddy Desmond's SUV. The bigger backup camera was nice for city parking.

After gathering her bag and phone, she popped the locks to get out, but before she could exit the SUV, someone opened the passenger side door and got in. Thinking she was being carjacked, she didn't dare waste her breath on screams or pleading that wouldn't help. Her heart pounding in her chest, she scrambled to open the driver's side door.

As nice as it was, no car was worth her life, and bad things happened to people who got carjacked.

Before she could make her escape, the carjacker grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked hard, pulling her back into her seat. She turned slowly and froze.

"Dr. Pappas? What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm taking what belongs to me." A sharp, metallic click filled the vehicle, and he smiled as he pointed a suppressed 9mm pistol at her face. With his free hand, he snatched her phone from the mount on the dash, then cracked his door open and threw it to the ground. "Start the car and drive, please."

Tania glanced around, praying for someone… anyone… to walk by, but even if they had, the SUV's windows were tinted, making it very difficult to see in. Maybe, if she was quick enough, she might be able to run before he got a shot off, but…

No. Just fuck no. He'd bullied her long enough and she was fucking done. She lifted her chin and stared him down. If she could hold her own against an actual Irish mob boss, she could certainly do it to the little prick in the passenger seat of her Daddy's SUV.

"Put the gun away and get out of my car. If you're very lucky, I won't press charges."

He laughed softly, but the sound jangled in her ears. Without warning, he backhanded her, catching her temple with the butt of his pistol. When she cried out, he slapped his hand over her mouth and put the muzzle of the pistol under her chin.

She closed her eyes, trying to will the pain from her head and the nausea from her belly as blood trickled down the side of her face. "I?—"

"I asked you to drive, Titania, and don't bother thinking your bodyguards will come after you." His dark brown eyes glittered spitefully, making her shiver. "If I'm forced to ask again, you won't like the next lesson on a young lady's proper behavior."

He was wrong. Her Daddies would come looking when she didn't text them. In fact, she doubted they'd wait much more than an hour before starting the hunt. Unfortunately, that would put her almost two full hours ahead of them if she started driving now.

Swallowing down her fear, Tania nodded, unable to bring herself to look at him again. Her hand shook as she stepped on the brake and pressed the starter button. "Where are we going?"

"Where are we going, sir," he prompted.

Bile filled her throat until she had to cough to clear it. "Where are we going, sir?"

He leaned close and muttered a soft curse. "Get on I-26, going north. It will be in your best interest if we have enough fuel to get to our destination, but I believe you owe me an apology for not having a full tank."

Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't fill up the tank to make it easier for you to kidnap me.

Christ. Pappas was off his rocker. And that made him even scarier than Killian O'Rourke.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop for gas, sir."

"Of course, you are. It was quite negligent." He turned in his seat and rested the gun on his knee, pointing it at her chest. "Now, as we both know you're a naughty girl who goes to sex clubs, I believe it's time to give you a new list of rules regarding your behavior."

When he paused, obviously waiting for a response, she said, "Yes, sir."

"Good girl. You're learning." She caught his smile out of the corner of her eye as she merged onto the expressway. "Now, regarding your master's program, I've taken the liberty of submitting your application to Dr. Ng. We'll start work together in the fall after I've had time to train you."

"Sir, may I ask who will pay for it?"

"You're a smart girl." He prodded her ribs with the pistol and chuckled. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Yes, sir."

That's right. Keep the crazy man happy and chatty. I don't have a spot on my bingo card for a gunshot wound.

God, she needed her Daddies. Letting out a slow breath, she blinked back a few tears before Dr. Pappas caught her crying. If she managed to get herself out of this mess, she'd never leave their sides again.

She couldn't allow herself to think she'd never see them again—especially since she hadn't told them how much she loved them.

Theo would just have to deal with having their date broken in front of witnesses. She didn't bother to ask where he was. He was probably safely, cluelessly in his dorm room. She should have known better than to trust a text without an actual phone call.

Dr. Pappas droned, filling her head with useless, contradictory, and frankly baffling rules until she lost interest and tuned him out in favor of finding a way out of her situation.

"Titania!" he snapped, just as she was about to floor the accelerator to pass a trooper in a desperate hope she'd get pulled over. "Quiz time."

"Sir?"

"How long did I say your hair should be?"

"I…" She tried to come up with the answer he wanted, but her voice stalled when he held the gun to her temple. He pressed it hard against the cut he'd given her, sending a vicious shard of pain into her face.

"To your lovely bottom, Titania. A young lady should never cut her hair." Slowly, he removed the pistol, then added, "Inattention will cost you dearly, my love. I suggest you focus."

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