Tainted (3 page)

Chapter Four

Sawyer woke carefully, turning her head slowly on the pillow. The cloudiness that had affected her brain was gone, but her thought process still felt slow. She looked around the same hotel room she had found herself in last night. Sunlight was trying to filter through the dark curtains.

“She’s awake.” Her head turned toward the men
, who she felt move to the side of the bed. She hadn’t been able to see them clearly last night, though she could remember the dark haired one had been called Kaden and the blond one Alec.

“
W—
where am I?” Her dry throat barely let the words pass through her cracked lips.

“You’re in my hotel room. Rick Redman brought you and several other women to our suite last night. Do you remember?” The one named Kaden spoke first.

Sawyer nodded her head, putting a hand to her head when it set off a pounding pain in her temple. She licked her lips, trying to get the pain back under control. “
I—I—
need to get out of here before he gets back.” She tried to rise up, but her pounding temple was the least of her problems when her stomach began heaving.

“She’s going to vomit.” Kaden’s voice was grim as he lifted her
and carried her to the bathroom.

Setting her bare feet on the cool floor
, she fell to her knees beside the toilet that thankfully seemed clean, before emptying her already empty stomach. Dry heaves racked her body as both men silently watched. When she finally finished, Kaden handed her a glass of cool liquid, which tasted like ginger ale and calmed her churning stomach. A wet cloth was then put in her hand to wash her face. She sucked in a calming breath as she handed the cloth back.

Sawyer tried to get to her feet and found a hand gently lifting her
as she caught a glance at herself in the mirror. Her naturally pale skin was parchment white, and her eyes were huge, staring back in fright, when she saw both men were watching her reaction. Turning back to the men, she knew she needed their help. She could only pray they would listen.

“
I—
I
n—n—
need to get out of here before Rick comes back for us,” she repeated her earlier request, trying to get the words passed her lips, though she was too upset to be frustrated by her usual stutter.

“Don’t worry about Redman
,” Kaden said.

Sawyer threw him a disbelieving look. The stranger didn’t have a clue who he was dealing with.

“The rest of the women are in the other room, and we’re going to see they get home safely.”

Sawyer trembled
as she stared at the two men. The taller one was lean with hair that was short but full. He was wearing jeans and a thin t-shirt. His looks were such that they would make any woman pause and take a second glance. He had an air of sensuality that she had only seen a few times in her life.

The blond
, while not as tall, was more muscular with unruly hair. He was wearing dark jeans with a dark t-shirt and a leather jacket. Neither of these men were aware of the quicksand they were stepping into, and she couldn’t stop them if she wanted to save herself.

A cold chill struck her, raising goose
bumps on her barely-covered flesh. Gazing down at herself, she saw that she was wearing a revealing black dress that came to the tops of her thighs with tiny straps and a revealing slit between her breasts. A thin, golden chain barely held the material together.

“Let me see if I can find you something warmer.” Kaden went in search for something
, while Alec helped her out of the bathroom to sit in a chair in the bedroom. Sawyer gratefully sank down on the elegant chair, while she watched Kaden pull a zippered hoodie from a large, black bag.

“I’m afraid this is all I have
,” he apologized.

Sawyer took it from his hand
, putting the warm material on her chilled body. His scent clung to the fleece material, somehow reassuring her that she was finally out of her nightmare.

“
Y—
you have to call the police,” Sawyer urged. “Now. Before Rick gets back.”

Both men stared at her in surprise
before both of their expressions turned grim.

“What’s going on?” Alec asked
, bending down before her.

Sawyer ran a hand through her tangled hair
, wincing as she unintentionally pulled at the tangled mess. “He kidnapped me.” She saw both men staring at each other.

“We’ll call the police of course, but do you know how you ended up here?” Alec
asked, sympathy in his eyes.

Sawyer nodded
, finally becoming warm. “They sent me here because the other women were too badly hurt.” She paused before continuing, “I’ve never seen the women who are in the other room before, but I’m sure they’re like the others and have no choice. They drugged me before Rick showed up to bring me here.”

Sawyer’s fuzzy mind
finally began to connect the dots; her eyes darkened in fear as she carefully studied the two men. She leaped off the chair, knocking Alec down, trying to reach the door, however, an arm around her waist caught her, bringing her back against his hard body. Her back pressed against his chest as she struggled against his firm hold.

“Settle down
. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re trying to help you,” Kaden said, placing her back in the chair.

“Then call the police
!” Sawyer yelled at them.

“All right.” Alec pulled out his phone
, preparing to make the call, when the bedroom door slammed open and a man with wild eyes came rushing into the room.

“There she is
. She needs to go. Redman started freaking out when he didn’t see her. He’s here to pick her and the other women up. He’s pulled a gun on Ax.” Alec ran from the room, leaving the others behind.

“Lock the door
,” Kaden ordered as he followed closely behind Alec.

Sawyer jumped up
, frantically looking for a phone. Seeing one on the nightstand by the bed, she ran to it and lifted the receiver. The man who had come in warning Kaden and Alec, jerked it away, ripping the cord out of the wall.

“You’re not calling the press. The whole reason I hired you sluts was so that they wouldn’t become involved.”

“Are you crazy?” Sawyer screamed at him. “I was calling the police.” She saw the man pale as he pushed her toward the doorway.

“You’re not calling anyone until I find out what’s going on here. If anyone is going to call the cops
, it’s going to be me.” He dragged her struggling body down the hallway toward the large room everyone was gathered in, facing Redman. He came to an abrupt stop when he saw what was going on in the tension-filled room.

Sawyer didn’t have to tell the man he had fucked up
. It was obvious when they entered to find Rick standing with a gun to a man’s head and two other men standing in the doorway with guns pointed at the group of people standing there.

“It’s about fucking time
, Sawyer. We were waiting on you.” Rick gave her his smarmy smile, which made Sawyer’s weak stomach want to throw up the small amount of ginger ale she had drunk. “Let’s go.” He motioned for the women, who all moved toward Rick.

“These women aren’t going anywhere with you, Redman. I’ve already told you that.”

“You don’t have a choice, Kaden. These are my bitches to do with as I want. Now move before I lose what patience I have left, and you have to audition for a new guitarist.”

Sawyer weakly braced her hand on the wall beside her
, afraid she was going to pass out.

“Put the guns away
. You’re not going to shoot. We both know that there are cameras all over the hotel.” Kaden kept talking to Rick as if he wasn’t frightened for his friend, while Sawyer just wanted to run screaming from the evil man.

“I’ll be long gone, and you and all you
r buddies will be dead.” Rick shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ll have to disappear, and it sure as shit won’t be the last.” Rick gave a grin that had her blood turning cold. He was telling them this wouldn’t be the first time he had killed, and his casual shrug left no doubt he was telling the truth.

“There is no need to go to these extremes. We can come to an agreement that will make us both happy
,” Kaden countered, immediately getting Rick’s attention.

“Like what?”

“You want to make money off these women? Then sell them to me,” Kaden said.

Sawyer couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Was he just trying to pacify Rick so that the guns would be put away or was he serious?

Rick’s greedy eyes went over the five women trembling in terror and withdrawal from the drugs that had been pumped into them. “Four hundred thousand.”

“Deal. We’ll transfer the money into your account first thing in the morning.” Kaden didn’t haggle over the price of the abused women.

“I’m afraid I can’t take your word for it, Kaden.” Turning, Rick shoved the man he was holding at gunpoint to the two men standing in the doorway. They took him, disappearing. Kaden took a step toward the now empty doorway.

“Back off
. He’ll be fine for a day until I get my money in the morning. I’ll even feed him breakfast before I bring him back.” Rick’s mocking voice had Sawyer cringing.

What had she ever seen in the man
—other than his good looks—that had drawn her attention while she was waitressing in an upscale restaurant? He had charmed her into giving him her address and going out on a date after just a few meetings. She felt as if he had somehow tainted her by even having been briefly acquainted with him.

“I don’t suppose I have to tell you that our transaction should remain private? Any of these bitches open their mouths to the cops
, my boss won’t be happy.”

“I’ll make sure no one opens their mouth
,” Kaden replied to his threat.

“You do that
. That money you’ll be placing in my account will make sure I have enough to disappear on. My boss won’t be happy to move his operation, but you’ll be the one left to deal with him.” Rick pointed the gun toward Sawyer. “Let’s go.”

Sawyer’s full bladder almost emptied on her as the gun turned toward her.

Kaden moved to stand in front of the gun pointed at her. “She’s not going anywhere. She’s part of the deal.” Kaden’s angry voice gave Sawyer hope.

“No
. My life wouldn’t be worth shit if I come back without her. The boss has plans for her.”

“What plans?” Kaden didn’t move
, blocking Sawyer from Rick’s sight.

“How the fuck do I know? He
doesn’t exactly tell me his business. Move it, Sawyer.”

“If she’s not for sale, how about a rental?” Kaden bargained.

Rick’s avarice made him pause.

“How about
one hundred thousand a month until I return her?” Sawyer couldn’t believe the sum of money Kaden was discussing as if it was nothing. Even the man that had dragged her from the bedroom tried to interrupt.

“Kade
n—
”

“Shut up
, R.J.,” he snapped, and surprisingly the man didn’t argue.

“Now that might be a deal my boss could live with.” Taking a cell phone out of his pocket
, he dialed a number while keeping the gun trained on the occupants of the room.

Sawyer looked around the expensive hotel room
, seeing two other men who were sitting tensely on the couch. Both seemed more angry than scared. Sawyer could only shake her head at their stupidity. They still didn’t grasp who they were dealing with, thinking that their money was going to buy them out of this situation. It would, but only temporarily. Besides, it remained to be seen if it was even going to save her butt.

Her attention was brought back to Rick when he disconnected the call.
“It’s your lucky day, Kaden. My boss is in a good mood with the money I made him today.” The gun was now pointed in Sawyer’s direction. “He said to give you a message, Sawyer.” Taking a step to the side, Rick made sure she had a clear view of him and the gun. “He said that if you had any thought about running or calling the police that Vida would be your replacement.”

Fear struck her heart. “Don’t you dare touch Vida.” Sawyer moved toward him
, but Kaden caught her by the waist, pulling her against his side.

“Then keep you
r fucking mouth closed. I will personally break in that sweet thing if you don’t.” The gleam in his eyes said he was already thinking about the damage he would inflict on her friend.

Sawyer began crying
; she couldn’t hold it back any longer. The fear that her friend, who was more like a sister, could be hurt because of her mistake was more than she could handle.

“As for you
, bitches, I know you will keep your mouths closed because you know what will happen if he becomes angry.” The frightened women all shook their heads.
They were just as frightened as she was
, Sawyer thought. Plus they had been on the drugs longer, and now it would be leaving their bodies in a state of painful withdrawals.