Troubled Temptations

CHAPTER FORTY

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Blake moves his gun away from my face and aims it at the two men standing in the back corner. His men follow his actions and now there are three guns pointed at our saviors.

"I own this place," Alexi simply states, "and these girls are my employees, so the question is what are you doing here?"

"Listen, old-timer, that's none of your fucking business, so you might as well just turn and leave, before it's too late for you," Blake barks in Alexi's direction.

"Blame, just calm the fuck down," Anthony responds, "this is getting out of hand."

A wave of instant relief washes over me, he's here. They are here, and we have a chance to escape the horrible future that Blake has planned for us.

I have no idea how Anthony found us, or how involved he is in this big plan, but I'm relieved that at least someone came here to save us.

"Oh...look who decided to get a say in this," Blake seems amused, but his gun never leaves its target when he says, "It's Mr. T himself." He has a wolfish grin on his face.

Anthony looks at him with contempt. He's not afraid of him. After all, they are working together. Are they still? This is the time to find out whether Anthony has something to do with everything that has been happening here. I need to know if he knows about Blake's baby factory.

"So lover-boy here told me that he wanted out. That he was done with us." Blake holds his gun in Anthony's direction but looks at me. Did Anthony make this decision because of me? For me? "And I think it has a lot to do with you," Blake says, answering my unasked question. Blake stares into my eyes and I can't look away, fear holding my gaze pinned on him. What the hell is he trying to tell me here? This is something I should be hearing from Anthony and not him.

"And while I can see what might have prompted him to do this, I'm a man with needs after all," he says and looks me up and down, licking his lips. "I'm just a little bit disappointed that I wasn't the one you chose to be your man."

"I'm not," I say out loud, regretting it instantly because my big mouth seems to be aggravating Blake beyond his self-control. I turn my face away expecting for another hard slap on my already sore cheek, but it never comes.

Instead, Blake grabs my chin rather roughly and smashes his lips on mine.

"Motherfucker!" Anthony yells from the other side of the room, and I can hear loud running steps getting closer.

I kick my foot into Blake's ankle, trying to get him away from me and he stumbles back immediately.

Click-pow!

A gunshot echoes through the restaurant, and then silence follows.

I shut my eyes, expecting the worst. Emily beside me is hyperventilating in an almost shrieking sound. But what I fear is the silence that stretches out between all of us.

"You little bitch!" Blake finally screams out loud, pointing his gun at me now. "You almost made me shoot one of my own!"

I look behind me where the two goons are and sure enough, there's a brand new hole in the wall right where one of them was standing.

I look back at Blake and notice from the corner of my eye that Alexi and Anthony have moved much closer to us.

"Listen!" Alexi's loud voice echoes through the dining area now. "If you need money, I'll give it to you. Just let the girls go!"

Blake bursts out laughing, saying "You old-timer don't even know what the fuck is happening here! I don't want your fucking money! That's not what this is about. You're so fucking oblivious that I really should just let you go. In fact, why don't you just return to the nursing home you rolled out of and leave this situation to the capable men!"

"Blame, this ends right here, right now!" Anthony growls at the man in charge of this situation. Why are Anthony and Alexi here together anyway? Do they know each other or is this just a coincidence? That's something I need to find out later because the scene unfolding before my eyes is simply surreal.

"Yeah, you wish," Blake interjects sarcastically. "But you see, the thing is," he continues laughing, "there's only one way out. You go six feet under." His laughter stops immediately and he's dead serious now. His moods are switching in a creepy way only a psychopathic murderer can pull off.

"We'll see about that," Anthony says sharply and in one quick move pulls out his gun from the back of his jeans waistband and points it in Blake's direction.

I sharply suck in the air around me that seems to thicken by the second. My head is spinning and it's hard for me to grasp the whole situation. My adrenaline has been pumping for at least the last half an hour and it's getting to me now. I'm getting an anxiety attack and I can't move.

I'm surprised that Anthony even has a gun. I knew about his lifestyle, but I never thought there would be guns involved.

This is the most intense minute of my life. I feel like everything around me is happening in slow motion, and to top it all off, I'm tied to a freaking chair. So if anyone decided to shoot me, I'd be an easy target. And the way I have been pushing Blake and provoking him, he might as well just do it.

Suddenly Blake bursts out laughing, but his gun is still pointing in my direction.

"So what are you going to do, lover-boy? Shoot me?" Blake hisses through laughter, "and then what? My men will kill both you and your bitch immediately!"

Anthony doesn't say anything, but he doesn't lower his gun either. This is a modern-day standoff, two men fighting, but for what? Anthony's freedom? Blake's secrets? Me?

"Or better yet, get rid of your sneaky ass, and have some fun with this fine honey." Blake moves his gun up and down in front of my whole body. I almost have to hold back a gag reaction to all of this. "How about you think about this, while I fill in your girl here what you've been up to," Blake says with a promising grin.

My head snaps in Anthony's direction, but he keeps staring at Blake. He doesn't say anything, keeping his cool demeanor, but his jaw tenses visibly. What did I miss? Is there some sort of secret between the guys that I should or shouldn't know?

"You see, honey," Blake turns to me now, but I can tell that his men hold Anthony and Alexi at gunpoint. That's why they are not making any moves and just stand there. "The day your boyfriend tried to reshape my face at Kelsey's," he slowly begins, placing the tip of his gun under my chin, tipping my head up, "I told him earlier that I wanted to snatch you for my project."

Anthony knew? All of this time he could have warned me, but he didn't. Why would he let this happen to me?

My eyes dart back to Anthony, but not one muscle in his face moves. He's not even looking at me. He's the ice-cold King of the Universe I've met too many times. I'm heartbroken, and I don't know where to go from here. My head drops to my chest because I can't take it anymore. I have to focus on the simplest task of breathing now.

"You really didn't know, did you?" Blake is getting a kick out of my misery. "Yeah, he knew all about my plan and he never told you, right? Except I never specified your purpose in the project." He tips my head up again using his gun.

I shake my head no, and feel how tears form in the corners of my eyes. The first one rolls down my cheek, and many others follow. I close my eyes. I don't want to give this nasty man the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

"Look at me," he demands, but I keep my eyes closed.

"You fucking look at me," he commands even sharper, but I ignore him. What's the worst thing he could do to me? I know he won't kill me because he needs me alive to torture Anthony.

I can feel Blake losing his edge, though. He's getting sloppier by the second. He can't stand it when people disobey him or don't do as he commands. It aggravates him and this is exactly the point where I want to push him, so he'll lose all of his self-control.