“Stop calling me that,” Lauren snapped. “My name is Lauren and my boss, Mel Hadner, sent me to that warehouse. That’s all I know. She called me on my cell while I was at the restaurant to tell me Brent had some kind of emergency. She was busy and ordered me to show the property instead. I didn’t want to but it’s my job. I was the last hired and you know that saying. Last hired, first fired. I need to keep my job so I left the restaurant and here we are.”

His lips twisted into a mean grimace. “You just showed your ability to lie. You said you didn’t date. Were you eating alone?”

“I was having dinner with a friend.”

“I see. Do you call men you share sex with your friends? How long have you and Bill been friendly?” A strange, animalistic noise came from him. “Stop lying. You are Bill’s type of female. We interviewed many of the ones he used to share sex with.” He bent a little, drew closer, and those dark glasses just made him look evil. “We’re not easily fooled. He is not a male you wish to protect since he is not one who would protect you. He’s free and you are not. You seem intelligent. This is only hurting you.”

“I was having dinner with my friend Amanda. Don’t twist my words and stop accusing me of screwing that loser. He isn’t my type. I’ll say it again. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole!” She pushed back in her chair and glared at his sunglasses, resisting the urge to scream from the frustration.

“We won’t release you until we have Bill. That is a promise.”

She believed him and anger turned to fear all over again. They were going to hold her hostage until they had her coworker. It was beyond shocking. “You can’t do that. Please? I just want to go home. If this is about money, how much does he owe? I’ll try to pay it. Whatever it takes but please, let me go!”

The man drew closer. Lauren felt fear but he suddenly spun away.

“I can’t,” he snarled.

She swallowed but the blond took his place. The guy crouched near her chair. “You are now willing to pay his debts but you aren’t sleeping with him? You are bad at lying.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m scared, you won’t believe the truth, and I’ll do anything you want if you just let me go.”

“He doesn’t owe us money.”

Lauren lost the last bit of hope. These guys were criminals and would probably kill her. She stared at the guy, trying to convey her sincerity. “You have it wrong. The only thing I did was answer my phone when my boss called me to show a property. That’s it. I don’t care if you want to beat on Brent. I’m sure he deserves it, he’s a jerk, but I’m innocent in this.”

“You were having dinner with Brent? Just tell us the truth if you want out of here.”

“Do you want me to lie? I will. I was having dinner with my friend Amanda but I’ll say anything you want if it makes you happy enough to release me.”

The man took a deep breath. “I see.”

“You believe me now, right? I am not sleeping with Brent.”

The man moved quicker than she thought a person could. Lauren didn’t even have time to gasp before his hands gripped her waist, he flipped her and her back slammed on top of the table. The handcuffs pulled painfully on her wrists, which were hooked above her head now.

Her heart hammered and pure terror tore through her as he leaned over her. His weight caused the table to tip until her head was higher than her feet as his fingers gripped her jaw. He kept her pinned with one hand on her waist and a snarl came from deep within his throat. It mimicked the sound from a vicious dog.

“I’m done playing nice. Hurting a female isn’t something I wish to do but I will. Did you see the drain in the floor? It is there to clean up blood easier.”

“Shadow.” The dark-haired one gripped his shoulder. “I can smell her fear over that horrible perfume even. Back off. You made your point and are going too far with your attempt to make her comply. Let’s give her time to let the situation sink in. We could all use a break.”

The blond released her. “I made certain I didn’t cause her any harm.”

The hands tore away from her body and both men left the room. The door slammed loudly, the twist of a bolt being thrown unmistakable, and she stared at the yellow light hanging above her head as the metal table chilled her body through her clothes.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. They were going to kill her and they wouldn’t believe anything she said. Brent must owe money to the mob or something. Those guys had a room for torturing people and it was designed to make their kills easier to clean up.

She tried to twist to get off the table but it was useless. The edges of the table had those horrible ridges, probably to keep blood from spilling off the sides of it, and gravity held her in place from her body being hung by her wrists. Lauren stared down at her feet and saw that drain from her position with the table tilted upright.

The door suddenly opened. She gasped, turned her head and stared at the bald man who entered. With the bright lights, she got a very good look at his features and they still looked strange. Something wasn’t quite right with his prominent, wide cheekbones and those blue eyes of his were just as icy cold as she remembered. He still wore the uniform but his weapons were gone as well. He crossed his arms over a broad chest, displayed some seriously thick biceps stretching the shirt he wore, and gave a smile that could have frozen hell.