Michael raised the trunk and gazed at his ex-girlfriend’s unconscious body. Nia was blindfolded, her legs and ankles bloodied by the thick rope binding them. He had to play his cards right if he intended to get her out of this alive.
“You sure nobody saw you snatch her?” Michael asked Lee as the self-proclaimed pretty boy and wannabe gangster got out of his car.
“Positive.” Lee leaned over to admire himself in the mirror.
Michael swore that he would make things right with Nia, make her his wife—as soon as he could free her from her captors.
“Before Angelique kills sleeping beauty,” Lee said, “I’m gonna break her off some of what the women beg me for.” He gave a wicked sneer that set Michael’s nerves on edge.
Though his fists were aching to have a conversation with Lee’s face, Michael chomped down on his anger. Months of undercover work will go down the drain if I lose my cool.
“You’d better get in the car and go meet up with your sister like she told you to,” Michael warned. “People get antsy in this kind of deal.” He glanced at his watch. “Keep them waiting, and they’ll get cold feet. Then there won’t be a baby to sell. Angelique will be pissed if that happens.”
“Maaan, you think I’m scared of that chick?” Lee’s chest was stuck out like a rooster in a cockfight, but his voice sounded more like a hen with its neck on the chopping block. “My sister don’t run things. I do.”
The only thing Lee ran was his mouth. None of the informants Michael had encountered in ten years of undercover work divulged as much information as Lee belched out while bragging about his power, prowess, prosperity, and plans—none of which he possessed. Angelique was the brains behind everything they did.
Michael raised his hands in mock surrender. “Since you call the shots, how about I look after her”—he nodded toward Nia—“until you get back?”
Cursing under his breath, Lee motioned for Michael to remove Nia from his black 2018 Lexus RX.
Michael gathered her slender body in his arms.
Lee slammed the trunk, gave a two-finger wave, and sped off into the night.
Nia never flinched. Her breathing remained slow and steady as the door closed, shutting her off from the outside world.
Not knowing when Lee and Angelina would return, getting Nia out of that place was a priority. But concerns about Nia being unconscious for three hours trumped that. Michael carried her to his Cadillac CTS and gently laid her across the back seat.
Her natural beauty mesmerized him. Baby-soft coco skin. Eyebrows that framed her brown eyes like they were works of art. Thick black hair that created a halo around her face.
He placed a feather-light kiss on her lips. In a fairy tale, she would awaken with undying gratitude. But he feared that no magic kisses or potions could ever make her regard him favorably again.
He got the smelling salts from the first aid kit in the car. Getting in the driver’s seat, he turned toward her and waved the bottle several inches away from her nose.
She wrenched away from the acrid smell of ammonia. Convulsing with coughs, she thrashed around, probably hoping to free her hands, take the blindfold off, and make a run for it.
Putting a hand to her chest, he gently held her in place. The heartbeat that was faint as he held her against his chest a minute ago now pounded against his palm like a battering ram.
“Shhh,” he whispered.
Her head darted around to follow his hushed tone, then to take in other sounds in the space: a dog barking nearby; the hum of the furnace in the adjoining utility room; his ragged breathing as the fear of losing her to killers subsided.
Michael braced himself, knowing that once he said something, she would recognize him. “I’m going to take off your blindfold.”
She gasped, cringed, and craned her head toward the sound of his voice.
He untied the black bandana that covered her eyes and let it slip off.
Light spilling from the dome light over Nia’s head made her squint, but when she fully opened her eyes, she honed in on Michael’s face. Her expression transformed from bewilderment to horror, giving voice to everything she couldn’t vocalize.
Why did you do this to me?!
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