Page 15 of Stolen

I wondered how she’d react if she woke still chained to the bed.

Would her courage remain? Or would she resort back into silence like everyone else?

I didn’t know why, but I hoped she would surprise me.

Stepping out, I locked the door behind me and made my way down to check on Jared’s pathetic ass. He was still in the medical room with Sid. Lucky for him, Sid was close by to take care of his wounds. Before I turned the corner, I sent a text to one of my guards to have them put the little redhead back in her cage. Even though she was still chained to the bed, I didn’t want her waking up and trying anything.

When I came to the examining room, I leaned against the doorframe and watched as Sid finished stitching Jared while he groaned and complained like a whiny little bitch.

When Sid was done, he turned around to acknowledge me.

“He’ll be fine,” he said nonchalantly, setting his bloody tools in the sink. “One more centimeter, though, and it would have pierced his intestines. He’ll just need to take it easy for a while to let the wound heal.”

“Thanks, Sid,” I said and moved out of the way so he could exit the room.

I looked over at Jared, who slowly sat up, grunting and wincing while he clutched the side of his gut.

“What happened?” I asked sternly, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Bitch is crazy,” he said, shaking his head. “I cut her ties so Sid could examine her, and she just…attacked. It happened so fast, I barely remember.”

I took a few more steps into the room while Jared stood from the table, sidestepping me just a little bit. He knew I was pissed. “And you think that’s an acceptable excuse?” I asked. “She almost made it to the elevator. You’re lucky I was there to intervene.”

“She never would have made it past the perimeter.”

“Yes, because those guards are competent!” I seethed, taking a step toward him.

We had three guards who manned the roof, watching for any potential threats or girls trying to escape the compound. If anyone fled, they were shot on sight. No one had ever escaped the warehouse before, and Jared’s incompetence was not about to change that.

Jared stayed silent as I stared him down. “Now, where did you find this girl?”

He shrugged like the dumbshit he was. “I met her at a bar in Detroit. She seemed like an easy target.”

“And how much research did you do before taking her? How many days did you wait and watch?”

“I put the order for the team to take her the following night. Quinn watched her get in her car. We searched her license plate and found out she was a student at some law school downtown. We got her schedule and picked her up after class, loading her on the plane with the rest of the girls. I didn’t want to wait and risk the chance of losing a really profitable target.”

“And what a fuckup that turned out to be,” I menaced.

“What are you talking about? We have her just fine—”

“She’s a goddamn mixed martial artist, you idiot!” I roared, shoving him into the wall and keeping my forearm against his throat. “She’s the complete opposite of the type you’re supposed to be hunting. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass she’s going to be? No, you wouldn’t know that because you didn’t do the research like you’re supposed to. Instead, your fuck-up of a team left behind a shot-to-shit car, bullet shells, and most likely unknown witnesses. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I don’t know, sir. She pissed me off. The little ungrateful bitch had it coming,” he croaked.

“What, because she wouldn’t accept the cheap-ass drink you probably tried to buy her?”

“Something like that,” he groaned.

I released him and took a step back.

“So, because you couldn’t stand to have your ego wounded, you decided you’d fuck with my business and create a liability in the process?”

“Look, I’m sorr—”

“I don’t want your goddamn apology! I want you to fucking follow orders!” My rage had exceeded its limit, and I punched the stupid son of a bitch right where he’d been stabbed. He screeched in pain and curled into himself, sliding down the wall until his ass hit the floor. I crouched real low to get in his face. “You ever do anything to jeopardize my business again, and I’ll fucking kill you, you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” he panted, finally looking up to meet me eye to eye. Maybe there was a man in there somewhere, after all.