Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series) (17 page)

Volunteer

I find myself where I’ve been
frequenting multiple hours of each day over the last two weeks: sitting on the
strangely comfortable maroon leather furniture of Mark’s office while Mark and
Leo tend to business.  Leo rarely lets me out of his sight and never leaves me alone
with Mark, and for good reason.

It’s discomforting to see him act so
naturally with Mark, to go back to “business as usual” despite what Mark’s done
not just to him but
also
to me.  It’s impossible to
ignore the constant silent threat that Mark still poses to us both.

We’re in a holding pattern, an unspoken
truce among the three of us.  Leo begged me from day one
in this place
to bite my tongue and keep quiet around Mark.  He didn’t want to
stir the hornet’s nest, and honestly, I was sick of being stung.  I’ve been
happy to rest and recover over these two weeks, reading my way through the
books on Mark’s bookshelf while he works with Leo to plan and scheme.

Long live the
business
.

I’ve become
quite
adept at drowning out their conversations when I’m stuck in Mark’s
office with them, but today they’re both a little more animated than usual. 
Frankly, Mark is angry today, more so than I’ve ever seen him since my arrival
at this place, and I worry about what that could mean.  I’d rather the big boss
man who has the power to end my life be in a good mood
instead of
yelling and throwing things across his office.

A lamp hits the wall and immediately
grabs my attention from the book I’m reading.

“He’s been waiting, just itching to get
in on my territory, and in just the few weeks I’m distracted with
her
,”
Mark
says, glaring in my direction with disgust, “he manages to move
in.  I’ll fucking kill him.”

“We can’t get Ruiz.  He’s
untouchable.”  Leo’s sitting casually on the front of Mark’s large desk running
his knuckles under his chin, deep in thought.  The hint of an idea brightens
his eyes as he turns to Mark.  “We can destroy him from the ground up.  We need
to get his distributors.”

“I like your thinking, son.”  I still
cringe at hearing Mark call Leo this.  “Not sure how the fuck you plan to pull
that one off
, though
.”

“I just need to get someone in his
office, one of our new guys he wouldn’t recognize.  Phillips, maybe.”  Leo hops
down from the desk and turns around to face Mark directly.  “Ruiz is
old-school
and
very particular about keeping his most sensitive
information close to him.  You’ve seen that little black book he carries.  It’s
not just for
hookers
.  I have a hunch that book would
be a gold mine of information about his operation.”

The anger visibly dissipates from
Mark’s face and is replaced with utmost joy at Leo’s suggestion.  “You make a
good point.  He’s inseparable from that book.  He may be a horny fuck, but there
has to be more to that book than his means to procuring pleasures from the
opposite sex.”  Mark gives me a look
,
and I feel
myself shiver from even the hint of his gaze.  The optimism suddenly fades from
Mark’s voice as he looks away
to put
the fallen items
on his desk
back
into perfect placement.  “Still not
sure how you plan to get Phillips out of there with the man’s most coveted
object.  Shall he just ask politely
before he leaves
?”

Leo looks annoyed at Mark’s defiant
show of sarcasm.  “We’ll figure something out.  Maybe we just need to catch him
at the right time.  Let me look int
o
–
”

“I can help,” I offer feebly.  I clear
my throat and speak a little louder and with more confidence this time.  “I can
go along as a distraction.  You said he likes women?  I’ll keep his attention
while Phillips steals the book.”

“Absolutely not.”
 
Leo’s voice is firm.
 
This is clearly not
up for discussion in his mind, but it looks like I’ve piqued Mark’s interest.

“This could work,” he says, the wheels
clearly turning in his head the longer he thinks about it.  “You would make a
lovely distraction.  We’d have
to
dress you up in
something nice to highlight those beautiful breasts and legs of yours.”

Leo
is
suddenly at Mark’s side
,
grasping him by
the shirt and pulling them together so their faces are only inches apart.
 
“You will not send her out there,”
he
growls.  “She doesn’t do this for a living, remember?  She’s just
a kid.”

Mark isn’t backing down
,
but neither is Leo.  Our temporary truce has apparently come to an
end as Leo holds him there.

I stand up from the couch in earnest. 
I’m not interested in seeing Mark take any of this out on Leo given that it was
my stupid idea.  “Guys, please.  I can do this.  Should be easy.”

It doesn’t take long for Leo to realize
he’s fighting with the wrong person.  He lets go of Mark and
quickly
makes his way around the desk to me, pulling me down with him to
the couch and speaking to me in whispers.  “You can’t do this.  I won’t let
you.  It’s dangerous, don’t you see?  He’ll touch you.  He could do horrible
things to you.  He could
even
kill you.”

“I need to do this, Leo.  I need to
prove myself,” I say quietly.  “Being useful around here is the key to
survival, right?”

“There are so many bad things that
could happen.”  Leo’s no longer arguing with me angrily
.  He’s
genuinely concerned.  “I’d have to keep an eye on you.”  Leo
thinks for a moment, stands back up, and turns to Mark.  “Only if I go with
her.  I’d want to be with her at all times.”

Mark bursts out into laughter.  “You
truly believe I would let the two of you walk out of here together?  She’ll go,
and you’ll stay here.  Phillips will take care of her.  If he doesn’t, he’ll
have the likes of you to deal with when he gets back.”

Leo turns to me, worry and concern
written all over his face.  The pain I’ve been trying to work out of his
features is even more pronounced now.

I nod to Mark.  The deal is done.

Mark smiles
mischievously
.  “We have a volunteer, then.”

My heart skips a beat when he says it.

I’ve really done it.  I’ve volunteered
myself to dangle my body like a piece of meat in front of a hungry beast.

Leo might just kill me first.

“We’ll be back,”
Leo
says through gritted teeth to Mark as he grabs my arm and yanks me
from the couch.

Once we’re through the door and further
down the hallway, Leo turns me around against the wall, pushing both of my
shoulders into
its
hard surface.
 
“What were you thinking?  Jesus Christ, Morgan.  As if I don’t have
enough to worry about with you already.”

“You need to stop worrying.”  I try to
keep my voice calm
,
but my frustration is reaching a
boiling point.

“I need to take care of you.  It
naturally means I worry.”  He grasps my hands in his and pulls them to his chest,
placing them close to his heart.  I can feel it racing within him.

I lean forward on
the tips of my
toes
to kiss Leo softly.  He tastes perfect.  He’s safety and
love and warmth, and I need to do whatever I have to in order to protect him
and m
yself
.  I want Mark to need me for more than
keeping Leo in check.  If I can make myself useful
,
he
won’t want to hurt me or kill me or separate me from Leo.  If I can have a part
to play to increase my chances of survival
,
I will
embrace it and live it to get us where I want us to be.

My hands sneak their way from Leo’s
grasp to encircle his back.  “Please trust me.  I’ll be safe.  Phillips will be
there.  He won’t let them hurt me.  We’ll get the book and get the hell out.”

“You have no idea what could possibly
happen, do you?  He treats women like things, Morgan.  They’re objects to him,
toys to be possessed and played with then thrown away.  He won’t hesitate to go
as far as he wants and expects if you give him a chance
to
look at you
and touch you
.”

I can tell there’s more to what he’s
trying to convey.  He won’t say it
, though
, so I say
it for him.  “You’re afraid he’ll fuck me.”

“Yes.  Of course I am.  Who in this
business wouldn’t want to fuck you?”  I flinch a little at the sharpness
of
his tone.  His voice softens slightly.  “Sorry, I
didn’t
mean it like that.”

“It’s okay.  I get it, but you’re just going
to have to trust me.  I can handle this,” I reassure him.

There’s a moment of unease between us
until Leo pulls me into a tight and desperate hug.  He pulls back
a
little
to kiss the side of my cheek.  “You have to be
careful.  That’s the only way I can let you do this.  You have to promise me
you won’t do anything stupid.”

“No stupid things.  Got it.”

“The moment you have even the slightest
feeling that it’s getting out of hand, get the hell out.  Don’t give him a
chance to go too far.”

“Leo.”  I raise my voice slightly,
trying to force him to believe me.  “I promise I’ll be careful.”

Leo sighs and pulls back from me
completely, taking a moment to run his fingers through my loose strands of
hair.  “Mark won’t let you go out like this.  What do you think about the color
red?”

Transformation

For years I’ve wanted to dye my hair,
and every time I asked my parents about it the answer was no.  There were always
convenient excuses: I was too young, it was too expensive, colored hair is too
hard to maintain.  I just wanted something different, something to liven up my
dark
blond hair color and brighten up my life.

As I stand in front of the mirror and stare
at the auburn waves of hair flowing down the sides of my head to just below my
shoulders
,
I realize how fully I have left my old life
behind.  My face is done up completely with makeup
.  M
y
eye
lashes
are
long, curled,
and thick with mascara and my eyelids
are
painted
perfectly with eyeliner and dark eye shadow.

My gaze drifts to the strappy black
dress that barely
contains
my cleavage in the push-up
bra I’m wearing underneath.  The fabric of the dress sticks tightly against my
skin, forming to every curve of my waist and hips.  The bottom of it hits
mid-thigh, leaving my legs exposed all the way down to the shiny black pumps
that give me a
few
extra inches in height.

This entire look is something my dad never
would have allowed.  Ever.

My transformation is complete.  I’m no
longer the dull
,
lifeless teen under my parents’ wings. 
I’m now a vibrant, beautiful woman taking fate into my own hands.  Though I’m
still trapped, I’m somehow blossoming, a suppressed inner part of me emerging a
more prominent force than I ever realized.

This is the new me.

A set of hands sneak their way around
my waist, their touch curious and gentle and completely lacking the hungry
desire that my appearance is meant to
stimulate
.  Leo
holds my back firmly to his chest as he rubs his chin into my shoulder.

I let him hold me for a moment
and
close my eyes, absorbing whatever strength and compassion
I can from him to help me get through what I’ve volunteered myself to do.  Leo
doesn’t see it.  My need to be successful in this endeavor is completely lost
on him, but he’s letting me do it anyway.

I don’t have to do this, but in a way I
do.  This is the life
I’ve
chosen, and I’m going to
make the best of it for me and for Leo.

“You look
incredible
,” Leo breathes out.  I can hear the
hint of
lust in his voice.  He maneuvers around my hair to work his lips
against my neck
,
softly and subtly, teasing me even
more each time.  I think my
new
look is finally
getting to him.

“You have a thing for redheads?” I
tease.

“Just one,” Leo replies, kissing my neck
harder and nibbling lightly at the skin.  I wonder if he’ll take this further
and try to get me out of these clothes, but he
stops
and pulls away from me instead.

I’m not quite ready to be disconnected
from him, so I take his hands in mine.  “I’ll be okay.  You know that, right?”

The sadness and worry that has plagued
Leo’s face since the moment I volunteered for this assignment is back again in
full force.  “This could end badly in so many ways.”

“But it won’t.  I won’t let it.”  I
lean forward, pressing my lips into Leo’s, trying to kiss away his concern
,
even if only for a moment.  My body is aching to stay and give in
to my own desires with Leo, but I reluctantly withdraw from him and look away
instead.  “We should go.  They’ll be waiting for us.”

The walk out of our shared apartment
and down the staircases and hallways to Mark’s office is long and quiet.  It’s
reminiscent of my last day at the prison, when I felt like I was being led to
my execution, except this time I’m the one leading the way to my potential doom.

The moment we walk into the office
,
the room silences around us.  The discussion between Mark and
Phillips seems a distant memory as they both turn and stare at me, not hiding
the fact that they’re looking me up and down with hungry eyes.  Leo notices it,
too, stepping in front of me to block me from their view.

“She’s ready,” he says from his
defensive position.

“She’s fucking gorgeous is what she
is,” I hear Phillips say.  My cheeks heat up almost instantly.

It takes only two long strides for Leo
to be directly in front of Phillips, the guy not much older than Leo but not coming
even close to Leo’s height and build.  Phillips cowers a bit from Leo’s
advance.

“You will watch her and take care of
her,” Leo hisses.  “If I hear that you’ve touched her inappropriately even in
the slightest, I will destroy you.  Do you understand?”

Phillips quickly nods.  He’s scared
shitless.  “You got it.”

Leo holds his ground there, driving his
message in just a little further before turning to Mark.  “He knows the plan?”

Mark smiles as he stands up from his
chair.  “He knows what to do.  Is our little whore ready for this?”

“Fuck you,” I say under my breath, but
I know Leo heard me.

“Excuse me, dear.  What did you say?”

“I said–”

“She said she’s ready,” Leo interjects,
giving me a stern look.

“Splendid,” Mark responds with a smug
expression.  I want to walk over there and smack it off his face, but I don’t
react.  He pulls something out of his desk drawer, a handful of black cloth
that he offers to Leo.  “You’ll want to do the honors, I assume?”

It takes a moment for my brain to
register Mark’s intentions.  My heart
rate picks up a little, though I’m not sure whether it’s caused by
the thought that I’m going to be blindfolded going into this or
by
the fact that I’m about to
interact with
the outside world for the first time in over a month.  I’m anxious and excited
and terrified all at the same time, the emotions tearing me in every direction.

Leo takes the cloth from Mark, which is
actually in two separate pieces, and approaches me reluctantly.  He takes my
head in his hands, the cloth soft against my cheek as he cups the sides of my
face and kisses the tiny bit of sensitive skin next to the corner of each of my
eyes.  His leans forward into me, our foreheads touching while he holds me
there, taking us away from the room and our company and my impending departure
on this crazy mission for just a few moments.

This is only temporary
, I tell myself. 
You can do this
.

“You’ll see me again soon,” Leo says,
kissing my lips
briefly
before pulling back.

He gives me a subtle smile
,
and I return it with my own.  I try to etch his face into my
memory
just as he brings the dark cloth over my eyes and ties it
behind my head.  He squeezes both
of
my hands tightly
before securing them with the other piece of cloth behind my back.

I hear Mark and Phillips walking ahead
of us out into the hallway as Leo escorts me by the arm to follow them.  It’s
strange to be in this position again, bringing me right back to the feelings
of
vulnerability and fear
that overwhelmed me at the prison.  My
entire being’s desire to be free is screaming at me to do something, to tak
e
action.

I don’t know why
,
but I’m concentrating on memorizing the direction we’re going, the
turns we’re making,
and
the doors we have to go
through,
taking in
every identifying sound and smell I
can get my senses on.  I don’t know that I could ever find my way through the
building to this exit on my own again, but I like to think that I could.  I
like to think that someday I can escape with Leo and be free.

One final door opens and we’re back in
the large echoing space again, clearly a garage of some kind.  I hear the car
doors opening and closing in front of us as we approach.  Leo grasps my
shoulder to stop me and helps me find my way into the vehicle.  He buckles my
seatbelt and lets his hand rest on my thigh.

“Please be careful,”
he
says softly.

He withdraws his hand from me
. 
T
he moment the car door closes
,
I
instantly miss his presence.

This was such a bad idea.

I hear someone readjusting in the
driver’s seat before the front door closes and locks us in with the silence. 
It’s deafening and terrifying, suffocating me in the seat where I’m blind and
helpless to fight it.

Just breathe
, Morgan
.  Leo’s words from back at the prison fill my thoughts and bring
me comfort.

And so I breathe, inhaling and exhaling
as Phillips starts the car to deliver me into the mouth of disaster.