While he stood guard over us, the other gunman tied us up and blindfolded both of us. Once he’d finished, the man who held Ainsley and I at gunpoint barked one last set of orders at him.
“Get all of their shit, and put it in the van. Once the sun goes down, we’ll get out of here and deliver them.”
Deliver us?
14
Long Wait (Dorian)
I had a bit of a weather delay in Pocatello. After wrapping up a few business calls I decided to get in touch with Tempest and let her know I’d be running behind. I called her phone a couple of times, letting it go to the fourth or fifth ring before hanging up.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
Swiping my phone on again, I decided to try Ainsley instead.
Same goddamn thing.
“Where is everyone?”
As a last resort, I decided to call the estate. After I nearly hung up on the fourth ring, Oksana answered.
“Oksana, where is Tempest?”
“She not here.”
Frowning, I continued. “She’s not there? Where is she?”
“Um, Ainsley told me they go to Tempest’s old apartment. Why?”
I closed my eyes, hammering my head into the headrest. “They went to her old apartment? Are you sure?”
A bit of nervous energy crept into her tone. “Yes. Is everything okay?”
Biting my lip, I answered. “I really can’t say.”
With that, I hung up, banging my hand on the desk in front of me. “Fuck!”
Carly peeked her head around the corner. “Is everything okay, sir?”
Reaching out in front of me, I placed my palms flat on the table and stared at her. I had to calm down.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
A timid smile came to her face just before she ducked back around the corner.
God dammit, Dorian. Chill out.
Picking up my cell phone, I swiped it on and muttered, “Everything is fine, just make the call, Dorian.”
I dialed my head of security after locating his number. He answered after the first ring.
“Yes sir, Mr. Scott.”
I relaxed the tension in my shoulders. “Mark, did any of your men escort Tempest and Ainsley off the property today when they left?”
I still couldn’t believe I had to even ask this question. Ainsley should have known better. We still weren’t in the clear.
“Yes, sir. Devon and Robert went with them.”
It seemed like I hadn’t taken a fucking breath in five minutes. Hearing that helped, but only a little.
“Good,” I began, easing back into my chair. “Glad to hear that.”
“Is there a problem, sir?”
I glanced out the window and shook my head, wondering when the weather would finally clear.
“It’s um, it’s probably nothing but me being fucking paranoid. Do me a favor, Mark…”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want you to get in touch with your men right away. You need to be sure the scene at her apartment is secure. Is that clear?”
“Yes. Anything else, Mr. Scott?”
“No. Not right now. I’m on my way back to Vegas. I’ve got a bit of weather at my current location, but I should be there in a few hours. One way or another, I want you to track them down.”
Mark didn’t hesitate. “Right away, I’ll…”
“Hey, don’t alert them to the fact I’m asking questions,” I said, interrupting him. “This is just between the two of us. Just call me, and let me know when they’ve been located.”
“I will, sir.”
I flipped the cell phone on the desk in front of me. It rattled to a stop. Now wasn’t the time to blow my stack. Chances were everything was completely fine, but until I got the confirmation I needed I wasn’t going to do a whole lot of relaxing.
It was going to be a long few hours back to Vegas.
15
Into The Unknown (Tempest)
I don’t know how long we were in the back of that van. Time stands still when you can’t see anything. It seemed like a while though, long enough to get almost anywhere in Vegas. After a sudden stop, I heard the sound of the door grinding open, followed by a command.
“Okay bitches, let’s go.”
One of the men snatched me by the arm and dragged me out of the van, nearly causing me to trip and fall.
“Watch it!” I said. “I can’t see a thing!”
He tightened his grip on me, pulling me close to him with a violent tug. I was close enough to feel the heat from his body, the clamminess of his palm, and smell the horrific stench of his breath.
My skin crawled.
“Shut up,” he warned. “Just start walking. When I’m ready to take your blindfold off, I will.”
With that, we continued on. The entire time he held on to me while I struggled not to trip. I heard the sound of a large door opening. The next thing I felt, a cool rush of ice cold, air conditioned wind blew against my face.
“What is going on?” Ainsley asked, causing me to slow.
“Be quiet!” the man behind me yelled. “Say one more word, bitch. One more.”
“Keep going,” the man holding me snarled. “Don’t stop.”
The door slammed closed behind us, the sound echoing in every direction. Whatever we’d entered, the space was immense. I felt him reach around behind my head and untie the knot. The blindfold fell away from my eyes. Blinking myself back into awareness, I looked in every direction.
It looked to be a large warehouse. All around were racks and shelves filled with outlandish costumes, colorful wigs, and other performance gear. The gunman tucked the blindfold in his back pocket. I turned and looked to see Ainsley had hers removed as well.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“None of your fucking business,” the man who dragged me inside said. “Straight ahead. Get moving.”
The other man shoved Ainsley, nearly causing her to fall over. I stepped in front of her at the last instant, blocking her fall with my body. Snapping my head behind me, I yelled, “What the hell is wrong with you? We are tied up! We’re going! Okay?”
He didn’t bother to respond. I turn my attention to Ainsley again. “Are you okay?”
She was absolutely terrified. She didn’t say a word but did manage a nervous nod.
“Come on,” I whispered.
After a brief walk, we turned a corner. I’d gone around just ahead of Ainsley. Not far in front of me stood three men. Ainsley appeared to my left, stopping dead in her tracks.
“Keep walking, bitch,” warned one of the gunman.
Ainsley didn’t listen. She kept trying to back up, yanking against the restraints on her wrists.
“You idiots!” Ainsley screamed at the gunmen. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with! What the hell have you gotten yourselves into? He’ll never pay you! He’ll kill both of you!”
The gunmen holding on to her had heard enough.
“Shut up!” he yelled before pistol whipping her and knocking her out cold.
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed.
The other gunman rushed up to me. “Say another word and you’re next.”