Page 58 of Sweet Dreams

Are you kidding me, she’s doing all this because Dad went to the cops on her dad and took her status away. You can’t tell that anything happened to her. She’s still living the high life. I think this is still all a ploy. I can’t trust anything Blaine says.

“Who destroyed my shop?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you that.”

“Then you can leave. I have nothing else to discuss.”

He steps forward. “That’s not going to work for me, you see. I can’t have you walking around town yapping that trap of yours. It’s bad enough that you have a restraining order on Mother, and that looks bad to her. I need you to disappear.”

Panic unfurls in my chest; disappear how? A noise from the kitchen draws my attention. When I turn, I find two other men standing by my island. “What the hell are you doing in my house?” That sounds like a reasonable thing to ask. Deep down, I know why they are here, the exact reason why Blaine won’t move away from the door. I take a long, deep breath and brace myself. Blaine, I can handle, but these two are huge compared to me. I’m not sure I can take them on.

I turn to Blaine and actfast. I knee him in the stomach, making him fall forward; I shove him to the side and reach for the deadbolt. I’m able to unlock it, but a hand grabs my hair before I can open the door. I scream in pain as I’m tossed to the floor. A large boot presses on my stomach until I can’t breathe. I claw at his calf, trying to loosen his pressure, but I fail. A hand with a cloth comes into view, and I wiggle my head out of the way.

“Fuck…you,” I manage to say.

“We were told not to touch you that way, or we would be tag teaming right now,” The big ass stepping on my chest says.

The one holding the cloth drops to his knees and presses it to my nose. I take a deep breath, and the world starts to get cloudy.

“We need to hurry and get her out of the house before anyone sees. Grab her; we can put her in my car,” I faintly hear Blaine speak.

My body is lifted as if it’s floating; my limbs hang. No matter how much I try to move them, nothing works. The asshat with the cloth places it back on my face, and my eyes close, leaving me in a world of darkness.

And so I sit tied to a chair in a dirty, disgusting place while men all around me chat like it’s a boy club. I take the time to look around and plan an escape route. I glare at the two dickheadsthat placed me in this situation, even though it’s my fault. Wherever Blaine is, he’s on my shit list. Why should I disappear just because your mommy didn’t get her way?

I’m beyond irritated, not even scared that I got kidnapped because it’s Holden, for fuck’s sake. Nothing ever happens here, and I’m not going to be a statistic. Call me jaded, but I’m not going down without a fight. I attempt to wiggle the ropes binding my wrists, but they only dig deeper into my skin, sending sharp fibres that make my toes curl.

I can’t give up; there isn’t anyone coming to my rescue. I rock back and forth, trying to tip the chair. It won’t be the smartest move, but I should at least be able to get my feet free. I’m getting the chair close to being on two legs when it’s jerked forward.

“Not the smartest move, princess. Either you stop, or we can finish the job for good.”

I glare at the one that placed the cloth on my face and mumble in the fabric that’s tied around my face. I yell at him, telling him I hate him and wish he would die.

He leans forward, gets in my face and laughs. “You can say whatever you want, but it won’t work. The boss will be here shortly so I suggest you be on your best behaviour.”

And I suggest you get out of my face. I jerk my head forward fast and hard, cracking my forehead into his nose. He hollers, holding his bloody nose.

“You cunt.” He slaps me across the face; the pain was so sharp blackness gnawed at the edges of my vision.

He’s at the top of my shit list, then Blaine. The massive shop door rolls open, and I try to get a clear look at who is outside, but from where I’m sitting, the wall blocks my view. The boy club eagerly greets whoever steps out of the car. When the mystery man does step into view, I damn near shit my pants.

Mr. Montgomery himself.

He glances at me, and one of the men whispers something to him. Mr. Montgomery’s eyebrow raises. He heads toward me; I swallow hard when he stops before me. His finger dips under the cloth, gliding along my cheek, pulling it free.

“Miss Moore, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Mayor, can’t say the same.”

He opens his mouth to answer, but chaos erupts. The Mayor whips around and stands behind me as the back door flings open, and Silas and a red-headed guy with a beard. The front has more going on as three guys storm in, including Hercules, an older guy and a bald guy covered in tattoos and an eye patch.

I turn back to Silas and watch him, trying to figure out how he got here. He stares at me in shock.

“Hey, Sunshine.” I smile at Silas because I have no idea what to do in this situation.

Ginger laughs and nudges Silas. “I like her already.”

“Can you not.” He punches Ginger in the arm. “Teagan, I’ll deal with you later.”