in a revolting show of power. I wanted to scream, yell, and throw the phone, but I couldn’t. Gin was there, somewhere, being manhandled by men I could only assume were Blaine’s goons.
The motherfucker had gone after my best friend.
It hadn’t occurred to me that he’d kidnap her. I stared in horror as the man put a beefy hand around her jugular, mimicking the hand placement of snapping one’s neck.
“Mia!” Gin cried, and I crouched low, the space around me turning black. The sun was gone. The garden disappeared. It was only me, the darkness, and the moment where I watched my best friend cry out in fear for her life.
“Say it, bitch!” The goon’s hands tightened around her head and neck.
Ginelle coughed and gagged and nodded. “Mia, uh, dinner at seven…tonight. You know the place. If you call the cops, they’ll…” Her voice cracked and the man shook her violently. More blood trickled from her nose and into her mouth. She licked it away and cried out when he yanked her hair tight in his fist. “They’ll k-kill m-me if you tell anyone.” As the screen started to pan back, Ginelle whispered. “Not your fault. I love you, Mia.”
The screen went black, and the ping of an incoming text jolted me into action. I clicked on it.
To: Mia Saunders
From: Blaine Douchebag Pintero
She’s a sweet little doll. My friend likes her a lot. 7:00 sharp. Be there.
As if possessed, I typed my response in record speed and clicked send without reading it.
T o : Blaine Douchebag Pintero
From: Mia Saunders
I’ll be there. Please, please don’t hurt her.
Before I could wipe the snot and tears from my face, he responded and my heart sank.
T o : Mia Saunders
From: Blaine Douchebag Pintero
Don’t defy me again or I’ll let him have her. Dress to impress. We have plans.
M y ass hit the ground , and my tailbone smarted when it banged against the concrete. The pain was nothing compared to the ache in my heart and the vile acid burning a hole through my stomach lining. Blaine and his goons had Ginelle. Terrorists had Wes. Pops was in a coma. Life had become a twisted action thriller movie. I was the unsuspecting character with few resources and I was emotionally jacked up.
There was no other option but for me to follow Blaine’s demands. He wanted to meet at what he called “our place,” and I’d meet him there. Such a twisted douchebag.
The place he referred to was Luna Rosa, an Italian restaurant he’d taken me to on our very first date. We sat outside on the patio that faced Lake Las Vegas. White twinkle lights wrapped on the palm trees had given his skin an ethereal glow. Back then I was completely enamored with Blaine. Six-foot-four, a few years my senior, with dark hair that looked perfect against a crisp navy-blue suit. He could have been a model with his svelte body and bone structure. His unique green and yellow eyes were one thing that always worked in his favor. He could mesmerize the panties off any girl in a heartbeat with a single glance.
Blaine had definitely gotten under my skin the very first time I’d served him a drink at the casino I was working at years ago. That night, he’d come in, ordered three fingers of whiskey, and watched me for a full twenty minutes while I worked and he sipped his drink. It was the beginning of the end. His eyes were glued to my ass, my tits, and everything in between, making me feel hot, bothered, and desired in a way I’d missed since Benny’d up and disappeared, only to find out he’d actually ditched me to save his own ass.
I delivered Blaine’s check, and he tipped me a cool hundred dollars and left the bar without a word or a look in my direction. At the time, I’d shrugged it off, figuring he must not have been as into me as I’d thought since he hadn’t asked me out. I guess I was just a nice distraction from the sports and news playing up on the screens in the bar. I gave it little thought, more thankful for the extra hundred that would
The motherfucker had gone after my best friend.
It hadn’t occurred to me that he’d kidnap her. I stared in horror as the man put a beefy hand around her jugular, mimicking the hand placement of snapping one’s neck.
“Mia!” Gin cried, and I crouched low, the space around me turning black. The sun was gone. The garden disappeared. It was only me, the darkness, and the moment where I watched my best friend cry out in fear for her life.
“Say it, bitch!” The goon’s hands tightened around her head and neck.
Ginelle coughed and gagged and nodded. “Mia, uh, dinner at seven…tonight. You know the place. If you call the cops, they’ll…” Her voice cracked and the man shook her violently. More blood trickled from her nose and into her mouth. She licked it away and cried out when he yanked her hair tight in his fist. “They’ll k-kill m-me if you tell anyone.” As the screen started to pan back, Ginelle whispered. “Not your fault. I love you, Mia.”
The screen went black, and the ping of an incoming text jolted me into action. I clicked on it.
To: Mia Saunders
From: Blaine Douchebag Pintero
She’s a sweet little doll. My friend likes her a lot. 7:00 sharp. Be there.
As if possessed, I typed my response in record speed and clicked send without reading it.
T o : Blaine Douchebag Pintero
From: Mia Saunders
I’ll be there. Please, please don’t hurt her.
Before I could wipe the snot and tears from my face, he responded and my heart sank.
T o : Mia Saunders
From: Blaine Douchebag Pintero
Don’t defy me again or I’ll let him have her. Dress to impress. We have plans.
M y ass hit the ground , and my tailbone smarted when it banged against the concrete. The pain was nothing compared to the ache in my heart and the vile acid burning a hole through my stomach lining. Blaine and his goons had Ginelle. Terrorists had Wes. Pops was in a coma. Life had become a twisted action thriller movie. I was the unsuspecting character with few resources and I was emotionally jacked up.
There was no other option but for me to follow Blaine’s demands. He wanted to meet at what he called “our place,” and I’d meet him there. Such a twisted douchebag.
The place he referred to was Luna Rosa, an Italian restaurant he’d taken me to on our very first date. We sat outside on the patio that faced Lake Las Vegas. White twinkle lights wrapped on the palm trees had given his skin an ethereal glow. Back then I was completely enamored with Blaine. Six-foot-four, a few years my senior, with dark hair that looked perfect against a crisp navy-blue suit. He could have been a model with his svelte body and bone structure. His unique green and yellow eyes were one thing that always worked in his favor. He could mesmerize the panties off any girl in a heartbeat with a single glance.
Blaine had definitely gotten under my skin the very first time I’d served him a drink at the casino I was working at years ago. That night, he’d come in, ordered three fingers of whiskey, and watched me for a full twenty minutes while I worked and he sipped his drink. It was the beginning of the end. His eyes were glued to my ass, my tits, and everything in between, making me feel hot, bothered, and desired in a way I’d missed since Benny’d up and disappeared, only to find out he’d actually ditched me to save his own ass.
I delivered Blaine’s check, and he tipped me a cool hundred dollars and left the bar without a word or a look in my direction. At the time, I’d shrugged it off, figuring he must not have been as into me as I’d thought since he hadn’t asked me out. I guess I was just a nice distraction from the sports and news playing up on the screens in the bar. I gave it little thought, more thankful for the extra hundred that would
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