Chapter 28- Nicole

He raises his hand and I snap my eyes shut, waiting for the assault. Is it a gun? Will he hit me?

And then I feel it. Light, feathery, like air. His touch. His thumb strokes my lower lip and my eyes flip open. So do my lips. A breath escapes them. His hand goes lower, down my neck, stroking. My eyes bore holes into his yet all he has is that unreadable expression on his face. 

His fingers draw circles over my front, on the part of my turtle neck that covers my collar. Yet I don't know why I feel him so prominently through my clothes. 

“Will you speak now or do you want your brother to know how deeply you moan when I kiss you?” His ever-dark gaze is on me as he whispers, searching my face for something. “You know I don't give a fuck.”

His gaze is searching for something. For surrender, like the one that other night. And I know this is just so messed up. I'm just realizing that we're now down to sexual blackmail.

I don't even let him test out his theory. Because I need to escape these people; this man. 

And so I grab the phone from Javi and call out to José.

“Nicole, did they hurt you?” My brother asks.

“No, no. But I don't want to be here. Please get me out of here.” My voice is thick. 

“You'll be fine. I'll get you out.”

“What about you?” I ask him. If he decides to cooperate, I'm not sure these people will let him go with only returning their stolen property.

“I'll be fine,” José says.

Javi grins and Roman's face is plastic.

“Why didn't you tell me?” I whisper. I don't even have the energy to judge him; to be mad. 

“I'm really sorry you're involved in all of this, Nicole. I'll make it all better very soon, okay?”

They were right after all. He doesn't deny it. In fact, all his words leading up to this point had been an affirmation. I don't know how being family with someone that would lie about something this huge makes me feel, but I push it to the back of my mind. 

All I want is to go home. Get far away from these people. 

“Please get me out of here.” As the last word is out of my mouth, Javi takes the phone- my own phone- to talk to José.

“You've spoken with her. You know what we want,” he says. “Don’t waste our time. We won't be this merciful forever. You have two hours.”

José finds that unreasonable. “I'm not in the country.”

“Then you'd better start to head here now. You have six. “

Javi hangs up.

Silence wraps around us all. 

I sit quietly, ruminating on how I just drew José to his doom. And I can't help thinking about how this is all my fault even though I barely knew what was going on in the first place. Did I make it easy for them to capture me? 

Maybe I shouldn't have gone to King's Park last night. I stepped right into a trap. But given all the information these people have on me and my brother, they could have as well abducted me from home. 

“You're right. He totally loves his sister.” Javi turns to Roman then, slipping my phone in his pocket. 

“She is adorable.” Roman's gaze is on me. 

His cousin lets out a grin. “Sure she is. And what, you two have started kissing?”

“The relationship is at least a few days old.” Roman slips his phone out of his pocket and checks the time. 

“Freaking not!” I snap in the most annoyed voice I can muster, swearing for the occasion.

Javi laughs. “I think I will like her as a sister-in-law.” He turns to Roman. “Need to get a couple hours of sleep before we have to move. I'll brief the don on the mission so far.”

Javi leaves the room and I'm alone with Roman. There are three other men in the room of course, but they could as well not exist. Something tells me that no one could save me from Roman within the walls of this place even if they wanted to. What a crippling realization. 

Roman taps his index finger on the table as he watches me. There is a silver ring on that finger and along his hand, up to the point where the sleeves of his shirt bunch up at the elbows, cords of muscle and vein crisscross his tanned skin. I see the tattoos covering the back of his palm and hand, and  as scary as they look, I just focus on them because it's easier than meeting his gaze.

"You lost your bow," he murmurs.

I subconsciously raise my hand to my hair and remember that I had pinned a bow to it before. Why it would still be there despite how disheveled my hair is, and the life-threatening experience I just went through, is what baffles me. But apparently, Roman is annoyed that it is gone. 

"You planned to kidnap me," I state, finally raising my gaze to him; finally brave enough. "It didn't matter if I came to see you at King's Park. You were going to come for me anyway. Why did you first ask me to come see you?"

His lips curve the fraction of an inch as his jaw twitches. "I wanted to play with you."

I don't know what is more disturbing than that. 

I stare at him, dumbfounded. "Do I look like a toy?" I snap. 

He grins but doesn't say anything. I try not to focus on the movement of his lips. 

I am boiling in my own rage when he turns to me and says: "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

I don't even know what to make of this. But one thing is for sure: I am livid.

"I won't taste a thing," I snap at him. 

"That is not the question."

"Leave me alone. I am not hungry." 

He lets out a sigh. "Nicole... These lies."

He crosses the space between us to sit beside me on the table and goosebumps cover my skin. My heart is thumping. 

His jaw is set, and his countenance is hard. "Baby, don't fucking test me. If you say you're eating nothing, then nobody fucking gives you anything without my permission. It's your choice." His voice is a snarl. 

Yet all that leaves my mouth is: “Don't call me baby, creep.”