He was rock solid. If our clothes were gone, he would’ve been inside of me, but as it was, he just held me—face to face, every inch of our bodies pressed against each other. He moved his legs out, positioning my legs wider so I couldn’t kick.

“Stop. Fucking. Fighting!” he yelled in my face.

“Stop. Hurting. My. Friends!” I spat back.

His eyes bulged.

Sexual desire pulsated through us. It was heavy in the elevator, and it was alarming, dangerous, but there was more. There was real anger, because if I’d had a choice between fucking him or slicing that knife in his throat, I would’ve taken the knife in a heartbeat.

But I also wanted to fuck him.

My God, I was twisted.

Tasting my own disgust once again, I turned my head away and closed my eyes. I willed that animal lust out of me, but it wasn’t going away. It was hot and heavy and pulsing, and I bit back a moan.

Just then, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. I opened my eyes.

Standing in the entryway, with four guards around him and guns pointed at him, Blade stared back at us.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Are you fucking him?” Blade hissed.

We were sitting in the middle of the van. Guards surrounded us. The woman was in front of us, sitting with her head down and shoulders hunched forward. Her hands were in her lap as if they were tied, but I knew they weren’t. Blade’s weren’t either. That was a liberty given to them.

I refused to glance over at Kai, who sat near me, his back against the side of the van beside his men. He almost looked like one of the guards—dressed the same, the same stony expression on his face.

“No. And we can talk later.”

Blade glared at Kai. “Really? You sure about that?” He raised his voice. The words were for me. The attitude for Kai.

I couldn’t stop myself. I looked over. Kai was ignoring Blade, his gaze focused solely on me.

I swallowed over a lump.

This wasn’t going to end well, but having said that, no one had died. Yet.

I motioned to the woman in front of Blade. “Who is she?”

He shot me a look. “No one.”

I frowned. She wasn’t no one, but he gave me a second meaningful look and ooh now he wanted to wait till later to talk. I rolled my eyes. Fine. I’d grown accustomed to riding long hours in silence.

But this time we only rode an hour and a half before the van pulled onto a gravel road, then paused. The door to a large warehouse opened, and we drove inside. The warehouse door closed at the same time the van door opened. Three guards were there to greet us.

Kai got out first, going off with one of his men, their heads bent together.

The guards got out, and one by one, we were led out after.

Blade was taken to a corner, with four men guarding him.

They took me to a different corner, on the completely opposite side of the warehouse. Four guards also stood by me. The woman was left in the middle of the floor, with four guards taking point around her in a square. Someone pulled the van around to face toward the door, probably for a quick getaway if necessary.

Then we waited.

Minutes ticked by.

My body ached. The adrenaline from the hotel, then the nerves and the fighting in the elevator—it was all hitting me. I was thirsty. My stomach cramped from hunger, and I struggled to keep my head up.

One of the men must’ve noticed, because a guard brought over a blanket and bottle of water. He left them at my side, along with a second blanket folded up to use as a pillow. I felt guilty because they didn’t offer the same luxury to Blade or the woman, but it was a battle to keep my head from resting there.

The minutes kept trickling by, and I gave up the fight.

I fell asleep.

? ? ?

“Are you sure?”

A male voice was near my head.

A second male voice, “Yes. It’s the same woman.”

“She was with Riley’s friend.”

Not a question, a statement of fact. It was Kai talking, and he sounded confused.

I tried opening my eyes. I wanted to ask who he was talking about and then— Darkness.

? ? ?

“I don’t know anything!”

That was Blade.

I bolted upright, my heart pounding in my chest.

He was surrounded by Kai and more guards. I only had one with me now.

Seeing me awake, he cleared his throat. “She’s up.”

Kai immediately turned for me, coming back. He strode around the woman, whose head hung almost to the ground. Her hands were behind her back, but still not tied up. Her legs were crisscrossed in front.

Her position looked painful.

Kai ignored her. He knelt before me, looking me over. “You’re okay?”

My chest clenched. I was his prisoner. He shouldn’t talk to me with that amount of concern.

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

He studied my face before nodding, and he stood up. “Come on.” He took my arm, helping me stand. He picked up my water bottle and the two blankets and took me over to the van. He opened the back door.

A bed had been made there, and there was another water bottle and some crackers waiting.

“You can rest here while we get some answers.”

Blade glared at me from across the room, but it wasn’t as heated as earlier.