Moments: A BWWM Short Story Collection

X. Prince Charming (Pt. 2 of 2)

A ragged cough escaped my lips, and I opened my eyes to a florescent glare overhead. By the hard surface against my back, I knew I was lying on cold concrete, and the fact I was horizontal meant I'd been removed from my wheelchair.

"Hey, she's up." said a deep voice.

Adrenaline spiked through me as I remembered what had happened, but I didn't have the strength to fight off the strong arms that gripped me no matter how much I struggled. I screamed for help, only for a rough hand to clamp over my mouth.

"Do that again and I'll remove your tongue, we don't have to return you whole."

The two men pulled me down a cramped hall into storage room, where a dozen men waited around a table. They were all standing except one, a Caucasian man with a tacky beige jacket and dated aviator shades. He took a long drag from his cigarette as the men forced me down in the opposite chair, his tan moustache rising as he eyed me.

"Yeah, you're definitely worth 4K." he whispered in a gravelly voice before turning to the men beside him. "What about her escort, he gonna say anything?"

"No, sir." Kev said as Jared nodded. "Adam ain't going anywhere soon."

A round of whispers went up at Adam's name, and Aviators's eyebrows shot up.

"Adam? Our Adam? Heh, small world, huh?" he said, taking another drag from his cigarette before grinding it out on the table and motioning to the men behind him. "Get Cougar squad to pick him up and be back here within the hour. In fact, send Tiger too, I don't want to take any chances with him. Do whatever you have to do to keep him quiet, but I want him alive; have to make an example of him."

Half of the men peeled off the wall and exited the room, but that still left far too many to fight against. Not that I could fight them... or even run away. Aviators leaned back and stared at me silently, and after two minutes I couldn't take it anymore.

"Look... my parents aren't as rich as you think! My dad had to take out a big mortgage for the house, and business hasn't been good lately, so if you just- ah!"

One of the men who'd picked me up slapped me across the face, then leaned down to hiss menacingly in my ear.

"Don't you give me that trash, you rich whore! You south siders pulled out of town when the recession hit and left us to pick up the pieces! You don't get to play little miss victim because you don't know what real hardship is like!"

"Hey, easy with the prize, Walker!" Jared said. "You can't rough her up!"

"Huh?!" Walker said as he stood up again. "You should be the one smacking her around, your family lost everything when those rich jackoffs abandoned us!"

"We're here for money, not revenge. Punch a wall if you need therapy." Kev said.

I cautiously lifted my head, unsure if the ringing in my ears was making me hear things. It almost sounded like Jared and Kev were angry about me being hurt.

"I'm going to have to go with these two, Walker." Aviators said. "If her folks pay up, then we ship her back no harm done. But if they don't get the money in time..."

He trailed off, but by the sinister laughter Walker and the other man gave, the other option couldn't be good. My eyes darted between Jared and Kev, but they ignored me in favor of looking at the floor as Aviators stood up.

"Well, it won't be pretty, I can say that much. That's why we need to get your parent's contact info so we can arrange our little deal, princess... if you don't mind."