“We are here on behalf of Delta,” the other one said, his voice the exact same. “And you have a minute and a half now.”

Pulling the sheet tighter around myself, I slipped off the side of the bed. Clothes were pooled on the floor, and without taking my eyes from the intruders, I scrambled around to grab a shirt and pair of black sweats.

“If you’re Delta, where is Beck?” I asked.

No response. Same expressionless faces. Carbon copies of each other, right down to the military-cut dark hair.

“One minute.”

Fuck.

I got the pants and shirt on without flashing them, and I was relieved that no one attacked or grabbed me while I was somewhat vulnerable. If anything, they appeared to be staying as far back as they could, and for the first time I did wonder if they might actually be working for Delta.

Still, I’d be an idiot to blindly go with anyone I didn’t know and trust.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I wished for a bra, but apparently this was as good as it was getting. At least I was no longer naked.

“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

“Time’s up,” Asshole one said.

Fear had my blood pumping through me, and I eyed the door, wondering if I had a chance of making it. Even if I used my Krav Maga moves, there were two of them, which would lower my odds of escaping.

“Ms. Jameson,” Asshole two said, holding a hand out to me. “Don’t fight us. We have strict instructions not to hurt you. You’ll be fine.”

“I—I don’t understand. Where are the guys? The Delta heirs? If this is company business, shouldn’t one of them be here?”

“We’re taking you to them,” Asshole two told me.

Believe them or run?

I sprinted for the door, which didn’t take either of them by surprise. They both moved in one smooth dive, wrapping their arms around me, and sliding me to the ground before I made it to safety. I swung out blindly, shouting abuse. They didn’t care though, one wrapped a hand around my face, and the other around my shoulders, lifting me like I weighed nothing. Together they carried me from the room, even as I tried to kick and scratch them.

They were skilled. Far more skilled than I would ever be, as they anticipated and avoided my every strike. By the time we ended up outside, I was exhausted, still recovering from the numerous injuries I’d sustained in the past… I didn’t even know how long. Ten days? Three weeks? A headache was back, pounding dully at the base of my skull.

I was placed into a black Escalade SUV, and the doors were shut and locked around me. There was a metal plate that separated the back seats from the front as well, like a police vehicle. When asshole one and two got in the front, I slammed my hands against the metal.

“What the fuck are you fuckers doing? Let me go. This is kidnapping and my family is important.”

Catherine Debitch had to be useful for something.

“Sit down and buckle yourself in. It’s a bit of a drive.”

I didn’t even know which asshole said that, and it really didn’t matter. The end result was the same. I was at the mercy of these two, and I would just have to wait and see where I ended up.

They turned away from civilization—and any hope of rescue—quickly. Taking me out into a back road, that led deeper and deeper into a thick forest. The darker the sky grew as the canopy thickened, the more dread settled in my stomach. I had a really bad feeling about what was going to happen next. This entire thing had a bad vibe to it. Really bad.

“Where are we going?” I asked for the tenth time. Again I got no answer.

Exhaustion pushed me into the seat, and I dropped my head back, closing my eyes as I tried to figure out what I could do to save myself from this situation. The car started to slow, and I was focused again, my gaze going to the window. The road was narrower, and just when I thought we’d reached the end of the trail, they rounded a large tree, and there was an open grassed area. It was such an odd sight after being in such densely packed trees that I blinked at it stupidly.

The car stopped, and a moment later, my door opened. I stared at asshole two. “I’m not getting out.”

He held a hand out, still so polite and expressionless. “We walk from here.”

“You’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?”

This was the perfect spot to kill someone. We were like an hour from any sort of civilization, in the middle of nowhere. If I was ever going to kill someone, this is exactly the sort of place I’d take them.

“We have orders not to harm you, Ms. Jameson.”

I realized then that they’d used my real surname from the start. It hadn’t registered before, but that had to mean they didn’t work for Catherine. She would have insisted on Deboise.

“Who in Delta do you work for?” I pressed.

For the first time his face expressed an emotion. The exact nature of the emotion I couldn’t tell, but I had a sneaking—and scary—suspicion that it was sympathy.

Which fucking terrified me.

“We work for Mr. Beckett.”

Beck’s dad?

Holy fuck.

Was this all a ploy to get me away from his son? Would he kill me though? I had no idea of the nature of Beck’s father, but his son was certainly ruthless enough when he wanted something. I imagined that he learned that from somewhere. And Beck had said his father used to hit his mother, which spoke of a violent, controlling nature.

The door behind me opened while I was contemplating these truths, and I almost tumbled back as arms wrapped around me. Again, just like from the Beckett estate, I was dragged out of the car and carried across the grassed area.

Fighting these two was futile, I already knew that, but I still had to try. I was at least making this difficult for them. They were going to earn every cent of their blood money. The grassed area was half a mile long at least, and it was meticulously maintained. I wasn’t walking myself, but it looked soft and thick, and I understood why they hadn’t driven across it. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to beautify this area.

A building came into sight, one which had been hidden back in the trees. I hadn’t noticed it at first, mostly because I was too busy trying to kick asshole two in the balls, but now I couldn’t unsee it. I had a terrible feeling this might be the last place I ever saw.

I was carried up to the wide front porch, and the pair held me in place, waiting for something.

“Aren’t you going to knock?” I said sarcastically.

What was with the dragging out the suspense thing? They were going to give me a heart attack and miss out on the fun of killing me. Mr. Beckett would be so upset.

The door swung silently open then, and chills raced along my skin as my breathing increased in time to my racing pulse. There was no one in the doorway, no sign that anyone was in the house at all.

“This is a bad idea, guys,” I said, wondering if maybe I was safer staying with them after all. “We should salt and burn this place before heading right back to the car.”

I had no idea what signal they had been waiting for, but whatever it was they were moving again. Through the creepy ghost door. Inside looked like a billionaire’s hunting lodge, and I was supremely relieved to not see any human heads mounted on the walls with all the deer and other animals. A fireplace was roaring in the center hearth, sending warmth across my skin. I hadn’t even realized how cold I was until my body started to tingle from the change in temperature. We crossed through that room and another large dining area. It had two massive antler chandeliers, and I fought the urge to scream.

This place was some sort of fucked up house of horrors, I knew it.

The door to the basement was open, and of course we walked right through it and down the stairs. Because all scary shit happens in the basement, right? It was dimly lit in this room, and it took more than a minute for my eyes to adjust. Asshole one and two dropped me in the middle of the dark room, and before I could say a word, or dick punch the both of them, they spun around and were back up the stairs. The door slamming behind them.

Gulping, I tried to control the panic spiraling inside of me. What the hell was down here with me? Why had they run like that?

How was I going to die?

“Deboise Successor,” an eerie whisper filled my ears. “You are called to prove your loyalty.”

What. The. Fuck?

This was actually a Delta thing? A huge part of me had thought the assholes were just kidding.