Chapter 31

Would he come for her if he knew? Anastasia’s consciousness slipped away completely as she fell into darkness.

The car headed toward the city outskirts, finally stopping at an abandoned warehouse. The two men dragged her limp body inside. Ice-cold water crashed over her head, shocking Anastasia’s system back to awareness.

Her consciousness slowly returned. The ether left her head pounding like a jackhammer. She blinked her eyes open to find two masked men looming over her with cold, predatory stares.

Anastasia’s brow furrowed. Kidnapped. Great. She forced herself to think clearly. Every muscle in her body ached as she tried to move. Coarse rope bit into her wrists, binding her hands tight behind her back. Her ankles were tied too—she couldn’t budge an inch. The stale air reeked of mold and dampness, mixed with a sharp chemical smell that made her stomach turn.

“Who the hell are you people? Why’d you grab me? I’m broke,” Anastasia croaked, her voice raw.

Stay calm. Just stay calm.

The bald kidnapper let out a nasty laugh. “Cut the bullshit, sweetheart. We know damn well you’re sitting pretty on a fat stack of cash. You think we’re idiots?”

Anastasia’s pulse spiked. Only Jasper and Valeria knew about the money from her share sale, right? The payment had hit her account yesterday. Today she gets snatched. Talk about timing.

Anastasia pressed her lips together, putting on her most pitiful expression. “Look, you guys got bad intel. Check out what I’m wearing—this whole outfit’s worth maybe fifty bucks. I just got canned from my job. Do I look loaded to you?”

The two men shot each other a look. The second kidnapper—scarred face, missing teeth—whipped out a switchblade. The metal caught what little light filtered through the grimy windows as he moved it closer to her cheek.

“Don’t try to play us, bitch,” he snarled. “We did our fucking homework.”

“Whatever. Don’t believe me then. I got nothing anyway—just this worthless life.”

Anastasia’s heart hammered against her ribs, but she kept her eyes locked on his, refusing to back down. The men weren’t buying it. “What about family money?”

Anastasia let out a bitter laugh. “Family? My mom’s dead. My dad couldn’t give two shits about me.”

Baldy was losing patience. “Fuck this. We’re wasting time. If the bitch is broke, we’ll get our payment another way. Been too long since we had some fun.”

Scarface nodded, licking his lips as his eyes crawled over her. “Hell yeah. We ain’t had a piece of ass in months.” His gaze lingered on her neckline, drinking in the sight of her pale skin.

They’d been hired to snap some dirty pictures originally. But these two wanted to cash in extra. If this chick had no money, she’d pay with something else.

The blood drained from Anastasia’s face. Her whole body went cold. She hadn’t expected these animals to sink this low.

Keep it together, she told herself. Think. What’s your move here?

As they closed in, Anastasia suddenly softened her voice. “Wait. You keep me tied up like this, where’s the fun in that? Come on, untie me first.”

She was buying time now, praying Cassian would notice she’d vanished.

“What’s your game, you little slut?” Baldy snapped, instantly suspicious.

Anastasia widened her eyes innocently. “Guys, it’s two against one here. I’m a hundred-pound woman. You really think I’m gonna outrun you?”

Scarface grunted his agreement. “Boss, she’s got a point. Otherwise, she’ll just lay there like a dead fish.”

Baldy considered this, then moved to cut her restraints. Anastasia swallowed hard, her mind racing for ways to stall.

Please, Cassian, she thought desperately. Please figure out something’s wrong.