\[Nadia’s POV\]
“Why are you doing this?”
The question leaves Ben, the leader of the bounty hunters that I hired,'s lips while I examine my nails. I didn’t understand why he was even asking this since all he needed to worry about was doing what I said.
“That’s my business,” I shrug, getting up and giving a stretch. “Anyway, your men should be back soon with the pest, right? Shall we get into place?"
Why was I doing this? I was doing this to prove a point. That bitch could think that Rosco was under her spell all she wanted, but when he saw both of us in trouble and had to make a choice, he would realize who truly mattered. It was simply a matter of making him realize it.
“Come along,” I say, motioning for Ben to come with me. “You have to help me get ready.”
When I found this guy in the bar, I fully expected him to refuse what I was asking, but to my surprise, he and his men were more than willing. I guess it was because of the promise of my body once this was completed—not like I planned on giving it to them, but that was what they could believe. Once Rosco saved me from this and left the bitch behind, she would be more than enough compensation in my place.
“Before that,” he growls, coming up behind me and running his hands around me. “I’d like to help you with something else.”
His disgusting face is close to my ear as he speaks, and his hands travel dangerously close to things that he shouldn’t be touching, but if I wanted him to continue to cooperate, I had to play this game, and for now I was willing to do anything.
Letting a slow smile begin to spread on my face, I reach my arms up and around his neck and press my body against his.
“After,” I purr, turning and pressing my lips against his hungry ones. “That was the agreement, no?”
“Right, right,” he huffs, nipping at my neck. “Then come on so we can get this show on the road.”
Nodding, I untangle myself from Ben’s grasp and move forward, making my way through the abandoned warehouse that we are in until we reach the room where things would get interesting.
Taking a seat in the middle of the room, I wait for Ben to grab a rope and then tie it around me. Once it is in place, he wraps some cloth around my head, covering my lips, so that I look like I am being held hostage.
When he finishes, he steps back and takes in his handy work with a look of hunger forming on his face.
"Fuck, you look gorgeous like that,” he growls, not bothering to hide the desire that is beginning to build. “Are you sure we can’t just..."
“Ben!”
Saved by the lackeys, I think inwardly as the voice echoes around us before a man and woman appear carrying the bitch who is unconscious.
“We’ve got her,” the woman announces, hefting the bitch forward so that she goes crashing to the ground. “Now pay up.”
“Not until everything is complete,” Ben counters. “Have you got her phone?”
“Yeah,” the man responds, pulling the bitch's phone from his pocket. “Here ya go.”
“Then let the games begin.”
\[Rosco’s POV\]
I pull up in front of the Grishan and stare at it in annoyance. Why the hell this fucking gm wasn’t capable of doing his job was beyond me, but he was making me break my promise not even twenty-four hours after making it.
Feeling my frustration flare, I hop out and head inside, where the man in question is waiting for me with a look of unease on his face.
“Rosco!” He says, moving forward and wrapping sweaty hands around mine. “Thank you for coming on such short notice; I know that it must be inconvenient.”
“Then why are you doing it?” I counter, shaking him off. “I should fire your ass on the spot, but due to protocol, you will be suspended for a month with no pay.”
“A month!” He gasps, his eyes growing wide. “But I have a family to support! How could you possibly..."
“How could you fuck up your own ledgers so badly?” I counter. “Take me to accounting so I can try to get them straightened. And I expect you to be gone by the time I finish.”
Paling, he nods and begins to move, leading me further into the building until we reach our destination. Once I take a seat and begin to go through the documents in front of me, he scurries away like the rat he is.
For the next hour, I busy myself trying to unscramble all the numbers the man has managed to fuck up. By the time I finish, I feel like my head is going to explode. Never in my life have I met such an incompetent bastard.
Standing, I give a stretch as I begin to strongly consider replacing the man and just saying fuck it, but before I get the chance to really settle on anything, my phone begins to ring.
“Hello? This is Rosco,” I sigh, answering without bothering to check who is calling.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end answers. It isn’t anyone I recognize, and it makes me immediately go on alert as I pull my phone away and take in Charlie’s name. “Are you a friend of the owner of this phone?”
“I am,” I respond, feeling a strong sense of foreboding. “Who the hell is this? Where is Charlie?”
“We’re with Scranton PD,” the person on the other end explains. “We found your friend, but he..."
“He what?” I growl, immediately knowing that something must be wrong for the police to be calling. “Spit it out!”
“He’s dead.” The person responds slowly. “He was in a head-on collision,” he continues. “Are you able to come down to the station and answer some questions?"
“Answer questions?” I repeat. “Why the fuck do you need me to do that?”
I didn’t know why, but something about this left me with a strong fear that it was somehow related to Denali, and if I was right, then whoever did this to Charlie did it to get to Denali.
“We don’t have anyone else to contact, like family,” the person explains.
“That’s because his parents died young." I sigh.
Fuck, all I wanted to do was rush to the hospital and make sure that Denali was okay, but I couldn’t abandon Charlie either. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And before I can even determine what to do, my phone buzzes, and when I pull it away, I see a text from Denali.
Holding my breath, I open it to find a picture of her tied up in the middle of a room along with Nadia.
"Dammit!" I growl, bringing the phone to my ear once more. "I'll give you a number to call in regards to Charlie," I hiss. "I've got somewhere else to be."