For the Save (Playing for Keeps #4) (15 page)

“Ben never should have told you my name. That was always his problem. He didn’t think before he acted.”

His words angered me. It was like he was rubbing what Ben did in my face. Yes, my brother was impulsive, but it wasn’t something to joke about. Not now. Not after what he did.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

My stomach rolled as he moved closer to me. He lowered himself onto the couch next to me, and sat so close I could feel his breath on my face. I backed up, my spine ramming into the side of the couch. “I’ve been trying to get Kevin to pay off your brother’s debt, but now you can. It seems more fitting anyway.”

“H-his debt?”

Candyman lifted his arm, his fingertip touching my chin. I flinched, shuddered. “He owed me a lot of money before he died. And, as I explained to him when he was alive, there are many ways to pay up. Not all of them are monetary.” His grin grew larger, and my insides churned.
What the hell was he talking about?
His gaze lowered to my chest. On instinct, I hugged myself. But he grabbed my wrists, peeling my arms from my body. “Don’t hide the goods, princess.”

He couldn’t be serious.
I hopped off the couch and stepped away from him. Glancing over at the front door, I saw the shadow of Rover in the curtains of the front window.
Shit.
He was standing guard. I’d never get out of here. “I’m not paying off my brother’s debt. I didn’t even know about it.”

“It doesn’t matter to me whether you knew or not. You’re here. Your brother owes me money.” He shrugged, standing. “It’s a simple solution.” His hands closed around my arms, and he yanked me to him so forcefully I bit down on my lip. A small yelp escaped, but I closed my mouth swiftly. If I had any hope of surviving this, I couldn’t let him see me afraid. I had to be strong. “Maybe if he had brought you to me sooner, he’d still be alive.”

I glared. “Did you kill him?”

He cackled. “No, I didn’t kill him. He offed himself, the coward.” His lips neared my ear. “But I would’ve killed him.” A chill ran up my spine. Hot breath puffed against my skin. I writhed in his grip. “Just so you know, the more you fight, the more turned on I get.” Bile rose in my throat. “So go for it. Kick and scream. I’ll enjoy every minute of it.” His tongue darted out of his mouth, and swept over my ear. I suppressed a scream. But when the bottom of my shirt lifted and his hands touched my bare stomach, I couldn’t take it anymore. No way was I letting this happen. The scream left my mouth and I shoved him back.

“Yeah, baby.” He growled. “I like that fire.” Then he pounced, wrapping his arms around my middle and drawing me to him. His mouth clamped over mine, but I bit down hard until my teeth pierced his bottom lip. The metal taste of blood filled my mouth. “Fiesty. I love it.”

I couldn’t win with this guy. As his hands raked up my spine, I felt some of the fight withering inside of me. He had a guard outside of the door, he liked when I fought back, and he was clearly stronger than me. How was I going to get myself out of this situation? When his mouth moved down to my neck and his fingers fumbled with the button of my jeans, the reality of the situation crashed into me.

He was going to rape me to collect on my brother’s debt. The one my brother possibly killed himself to get out of.

Sawyer

Cursing myself repeatedly, I drove as fast as I could to Kevin’s house. I never should’ve left her alone tonight. When I dropped her off I could feel that nagging in my gut, and deep down I knew something was going to happen. But what possessed her to return to Kevin’s? And why hadn’t she called me before going over there?

As I careened through the quiet suburban streets, I prayed she was okay. Glancing down at my phone, I saw that she still wasn’t returning my texts. My palms filled with moisture, my mouth went dry. I saw Addie’s car parked along the curb when I pulled onto Kevin’s street. It gave me momentary hope. But when I drove up in front of the house, she was nowhere in sight. Lights were on inside, so I headed toward the front door.

Something bad is happening.
The words from Addie’s text flew through my mind.

I felt like I was
that
guy in the movie. The one who walked right into danger like an idiot. But I didn’t care. I’d do anything, risk anything to help Addie. I’d almost reached the door when I noticed something in the grass. Was it a person? I moved forward as the heap moaned and stirred.

“Kevin?” I bent over him. When he rolled in my direction, I winced.

Dear god, someone had beat the living shit out of him.

He was holding his middle, horrific sounds coming out of his mouth. Blood covered his face. He needed medical attention now. But first I needed answers. It’s not that I wasn’t sympathetic. I was. But at that point I didn’t know if Kevin was on Addie’s side or not. Hell, I didn’t even know where Addie was.

“Kevin?” I waved my hand in front of his face. “Kevin? Can you hear me?”

He nodded, but barely. Then he cringed as if the motion caused him pain.

“Where is Addie?”

“They…took…her.” It was clear that he was struggling here. I felt bad for the guy, but I needed more information. Especially now that I knew someone had taken Addie. I sure as hell hoped it wasn’t the same guys that did this to Kevin.

“Who took her?”

“Candyman,” he said.

“What?” Who was Candyman?

Kevin grunted.

“Where did they take her, Kevin?” When he didn’t respond, I pulled out my phone. “Tell me where she is and I’ll call you an ambulance.” It was a dirty move, but I was running out of patience. I had no idea how long Addie had been gone or what the Candyman was doing to her. “The guys who did this to you? Are they the ones who took Addie?”

Once again he nodded. Sort of. Then winced in pain. The information caused bile to rise in my throat. I had to get to her.

“Where?” I spoke through gritted teeth. “Where is she?”

“I know where he lives. Maybe they took her there.” He fought to breathe.

“’What’s the address?”

As he rattled off an unfamiliar address, I typed it into my phone. Then I dialed 911. After giving them Kevin’s information, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to add in what he’d told me about Addie. “Also, a girl is missing. He said the same men that beat him up took her. Called him the Candyman.” After relaying the address Kevin gave me, I hung up the phone. I had to be honest, the 911 operator didn’t seem like she took my information about Addie too seriously, which I guess made sense. She’d only been missing less than an hour, and I was taking the word of a grown man who called other guys by nicknames like Candyman.

“The ambulance is on its way. Hang in there. I gotta go find Addie.” I felt a twinge of remorse about leaving Kevin in his condition. But I knew if I waited for the ambulance I might find Addie in this condition. No, this couldn’t wait. I had to get to her now.

I only prayed that Kevin’s address would lead me to her and not on some wild goose chase. I wasn’t sure Addie would survive much longer.

Addie

When his mouth came near mine, I turned my head away. No way was I letting this guy kiss me. But then his hand grabbed my face, squeezing hard on my cheeks. My face went numb, all tingly and prickly. Forcefully, he turned my head to face him again. Glancing down, I caught sight of the gun tucked in his pants, and panic took root in my stomach. Feeling defeated, I squeezed my eyes closed. I may not have been able to stop this, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to watch.

Hot, stinky breath met my lips. When his mouth covered mine, scuffling and loud voices sounded from outside the door. Felix’s head snapped toward the sounds. I blew out a breath as he released my face. The front door popped open.

My jaw dropped when Sawyer stepped inside.

“Sawyer,” I cried out.

“You better step away from her now!” Sawyer shouted at Felix while walking steadily in my direction.

Felix stepped between us, an amused smile on his face. “I’m assuming by this whole knight in shining armor act that you’re Addison’s boyfriend.” His smile faded. “How did you find me?”

Sawyer didn’t say a word, just pressed his mouth into a tight line. “It doesn’t matter. Let her go.”

“It was that idiot Kevin, wasn’t it? Damn, I always knew it was a mistake to get that kid involved. We should’ve killed him when we had the chance.”

My insides coiled. They had almost killed him. They would have if I hadn’t jumped out of the bushes. I prayed he was all right.

“Forget about Kevin. Give Addison to me,” Sawyer persisted.

“Or you’ll what? Tell the principal on me?” Felix laughed as if he was getting great amusement out of Sawyer.

Anger and the hint of a challenge flashed in Sawyer’s eyes. “I’m only warning you once.” He took a large step in our direction.

In one swift movement, Felix yanked out his gun and held it out toward Sawyer. “Rover!” He shouted.

Sawyer had lost some of his bravado, but not all. “Oh, is that the big guy outside? Yeah, he’s sort of taking a nap right now. One my fist demanded he take.”

I was impressed. Rover was a big guy. But then again, I’d seen Sawyer in action on the football field. I knew he was strong. Still, he was no match for Felix’s gun. And I could see by the way his face paled that he knew it. He’d seen what damage a gun could do. I felt so bad for pulling him into this mess. It was the last thing he needed. Still, a selfish part of me was so glad he was here.

“You think you’re gonna come in here and play hero, don’t you?” Felix poked Sawyer in the chest with his gun. “Son, I’ll splatter your brains all over this place.”

It was the wrong thing to say. I could practically see the images taking over Sawyer’s mind. He was picturing Ryan. I was sure of it.

While Sawyer was trying to cope with his demons, it gave Rover the chance to wake up. He walked into the room, a little dazed, but on his feet. Before I could warn Sawyer, Rover slammed his elbow into Sawyer’s back, and he fell to the ground like a limp rag doll.

Sawyer

My back felt stiff and sore when I awoke. I tried to lift my arms, but something was restraining them. My eyes fluttered open, and it took a minute to adjust to the dim lighting. I was sitting on a hard chair, my arms tied behind my back. Addie sat across from me, tied up as well
. Crap.
I had come here to save her, and now they had us both.

“Look at who finally decided to join us.” The man who I could only assume was Candyman stood in front of me, rubbing his palms together. I noted that he had scratches on his face that weren’t there before. I glanced over at Addie and saw a slight bruise on her cheek. I was proud of her for fighting back. But I wanted to kill the sick bastard who laid his hands on her. Anger coursing through me, I fought against my restraints. Candyman chuckled. “You two are so cute to think you can fight me.” He pivoted on his heels and walked toward Addie. My defenses went on high alert. I sat up straighter, the ropes around my wrists pulling. “Before you rudely interrupted us, your girlfriend here was paying off her brother’s debt.”

My whole body went hot the minute his hand touched her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’ll see.” His hand cupped her face, his fingers stroking her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, but a tear still escaped.

Oh, hell no.

I had a rush of adrenaline, and moved so forcefully I dragged my chair forward. Too bad I was still attached to it. “I’ll pay off the debt! Don’t touch her again.”

“Sorry, but you’re not really my type,” Candyman said to me. His hand slid down her neck and he moved in close, covering her mouth with his.

“Get the hell off of her now.” I fought with all I had, but I couldn’t get loose. “You sick son of a bitch, don’t you dare touch her again.” My head snapped back. Someone had struck me. Pain shot through my face, and I blinked. My vision was blurred, but I made out the image of a man standing next to me.
Rover. Where had he come from?

“Didn’t your mom teach you manners?” Candyman asked. “When you’re a guest in someone’s home, it’s impolite to call them names.”

This was good. I’d keep him talking. I’d distract him from Addie. “Didn’t anyone teach you it’s impolite to take what’s not yours? Must be pretty sad that you have to force girls to be with you.” Another hit to my face. Stars filled my vision.

“Keep talking, lover boy, but that’s not going to stop me. Your girlfriend will pay off her brother’s debt tonight, and you’ll get to watch the whole thing.”

“You will not lay another hand on her or I’ll kill you!” I shouted, writhing in my chair.

“Ah, ah, ah. Threats will not be tolerated.”

This time it was in my stomach. It was so hard it knocked the wind out of me. Before I could even suck in a breath, another one came hard and fast.

“No! Stop! Okay. I’ll do whatever you want,” Addie spoke with desperation.

I couldn’t catch my breath. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t tell her no. I didn’t need her defending me. I was here to defend her. When I took in my surroundings, I could see why she was confused about our roles at this point.

“I don’t need your permission, princess,” Candyman growled.

When I finally regained my bearings, I saw his hand slip under her shirt. Hot and cold flashes ripped up and down my spine. The thought of another guy touching Addie was bad enough, but a guy touching her against her will made me see red.

“I swear to god you better remove your damn hand!” This time when I attempted to wrench my hands free I felt one of my wrists pop. Oh, crap. I hoped it wasn’t broken. Another hit to my face rendered me useless for a moment.

“You don’t learn, do you? When my boss tells you to shut up, you listen,” Rover said.

I would’ve spit in his face, but I couldn’t feel my mouth. As I was trying to regain my focus, I heard a car pull up in the driveway. Red and blue lights illuminated the windows.

“Shit, it’s the cops,” Rover stated the obvious.

“You little whore. You called the cops,” Candyman said to Addie.

“No, it wasn’t her,” I hollered out, afraid he would hurt her again.

Felix turned toward me, but not before the door was kicked in. I sighed with relief as cops swarmed the room. I rested my battered head against the back of the chair. My eyes met Addie’s. She threw me a weak smile. I could tell she was relived as well. But there was also something else in her eyes. A darkness that wasn’t there before. A darkness that I’d spent months clearing out.

Tonight had put it right back in place.