STALKED AND STOLEN

Chapter 12

“Please! Do not put that on me. Please. I’m begging you.”

Tommy closed his eyes for a quick second, then knelt down in front of me like he was talking to a toddler.y eyes flicked between him and Jay, who was lacing the van with a phone to his ear.

“Boss, we’re outside the house now. All set? Yeah,” Jay said.

“It’s just until we get inside and then I’ll take it off again. Deep breaths.”

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. He slipped it over my head and face, and I instantly felt hot. He then scooped me up into a fireman’s carry and I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging on for dear life. I didn’t like not being able to see. I didn’t like not knowing what was happening. We walked for just a few moments, I heard the crunch of shoes on gravel, then the squeak of what I guessed was a door opening. Then the slam of it being shut.

“Whoa. You aren’t in your masks!” A man said. It was a new voice, I knew u hadn’t heard him before. I wondered if this was The Boss. “So this is her, ay?” he said.

“Let’s just get this done,” Tommy said.

“Come on, I want a look at her.”

Tommy put me down and I reluctantly let go of him. He then quickly slipped the bag of my head and I was blinded by the light in the room. When my vision slowly returned I saw that I was in a kitchen. My rues scanned over old pine cabinets and a cooker that looked like it was from the 1930’s. It smelled clean, though, and wasn’t dirty.

“Well looky, looky,” the new man said. He stepped in front of me and the smell of smoke and beer assaulted my nostrils. He had a mask on, but had the same hazel eyes as Jay.

“Little Willy Walker”s offspring in the flesh.” He brought his hand up my face and flicked the end of my nose. It hurt, and my hand instinctively went to protect it.

“My dad’s name is Bill,” I said.

“Whoa, she speaks too!” He laughed and looked at Tommy and Jay. Jay walked past us, disinterested, and opened up the fridge. The man then grabbed my face and shoved me against the wall. “Something to say, Princess?”

“We aren’t here for that, Pete. Get off her,” Tommy said. My heart beat faster and my hands shook. “Seriously. Off. I’ll take her in the room.”

Pete’s eyes were wide and furious, he looked at me like I was prey and he wanted to play with me before he ate me. It knocked me sick. He reluctantly pulled back and let go of me. Tommy turned me around and led me to a door opposite us. Inside was a single bed with floral covers, and a rocking chair. The windows had been papered over and a red carpet covered the floor. He took me over to the bed and pulled a metal pair of handcuffs from under the pillow. He attached one side to the radiator behind the bed, and held his hand out for mine.

“I have to put these on you.”

I did as I was told. I felt violated and so angry my jaw ached. Anger wasn’t an emotion I’d felt a lot of before in my life, but it boiled in me like a kettle. I held out my hand and stared at him, but he seemed to ignore my daggers. He snapped the cold metal onto my wrist and backed away.

“So it really was about money? Why didn’t you just say that and I could have got you money,” I said. I sat on the bed and he took a seat in the chair facing.

“You know what I told you, about going to prison and my lawyers finally won my appeal?”

I nodded.

“Those lawyers cost money. A lot of money. My nanna spent all her savings and sold her house to pay for those lawyers. Now it’s my turn to look after her.”