Seduced by a Dangerous Man (20 page)

Corbin jammed two of his thick fingers into my mouth. I tasted myself on him. “Suck on me, baby. It’ll help you stay quiet.”

I sucked him desperately, chasing his fingers with my mouth, wanting more. While it didn’t stop me from moaning, at least I didn’t scream out when he slammed in deep, pummeling me hard for thirty wet, skin-slapping, ass-jiggling seconds. I was practically dizzy by the time he slowly eased back into a normal tempo.

He took his fingers from my mouth, substituting the broad side of his belt. It tasted… expensive.
 

The creak of the belt was strangely sexy. Corbin gathered both sides just at the back of my head, held it there. I felt like a horse being ridden by a demanding master.
 

“Come again,” he said, those talented fingers slipping between my legs. His balls slapped my pussy with each of his increasingly frantic thrusts.
 

I came for him, arching, sweating, my eyes squeezing shut then going wide open. My kinky, sexy boyfriend made sure it was a good orgasm, too, the kind that made my legs go all wobbly.

He leaned over me, grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser. When he pulled out, he used the towels to catch the mess. It was very appreciated.

While I cleaned up—and yes, I washed my hands as per the sign—Corbin leaned against the wall and watched. He hadn’t put his belt back on. It dangled loosely from his fingers.

“You go out first,” he said when I was presentable.
 

I opened the door, saw the coast was clear, and darted out. Surprisingly, no one looked at me accusingly. I wouldn’t have cared if they had.

After checking on my tables, I brought out Corbin’s food. He wasn’t back yet, and as I placed the oven-baked sandwich on the table, he walked up. “I’m going to need that to go,” he said. He threw a twenty on the table.
 

I blinked up at him. “You just got here.”

He held up a finger and reached into his hoodie pocket, pulled out a phone. A new phone, I noticed. It was thinner and lighter than anything I’d seen.
 

He nodded, looking satisfied, and returned it to his pocket.

“You’re coming, too,” he said.

I shook my head firmly. “I’ve got over two hours left. I can’t just walk out.”

“Trust me, Audrey, you don’t want to miss what’s about to happen.”

I looked around. It wasn’t too busy, but if I left, we would be woefully shorthanded. “I can’t leave Janet in a bind,” I said. “You’ll have to go shopping or whatever without me.” One of the Britneys was walking by with a to-go container, and I asked her for it. She took one look at Corbin and turned it over.

I put in his sandwich and fries and handed it to him.

He shrugged. “I tried. Don’t be mad later.” He settled his sunglasses on his nose. “You realize that the grand prize in life doesn’t go to the girl who is best behaved?” he said lightly.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll give me some of your points,” I said, turning my face toward his to accept his kiss. He pulled out a few more bills and tossed them onto the table.

I watched him walk away, feeling very regretful indeed. The man had such a nice ass. Designer jeans were made with men like him in mind.

Sighing, I turned to pick up the money so I could pay at the register. I laughed at the tip. Of course it was ridiculously large.
 

Corbin had only been gone a few minutes when I got a text from Rob.
Call me.

Cold sweat popped out all over my body. Rob knew I couldn’t call during my shift. It must be important.
Dad,
I thought, my chest tightening.

A quick glance revealed that Janet was way on the other side of the diner. I was close enough to the doors that I could pop out without being observed. Better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that… I slipped outside and hurried around the corner of the diner, my fingers already dialing.

“What’s going on?” I asked.
 

“I don’t know exactly,” he said. “I’m at the office. Henry was acting weird all morning. Jumpy. Butch told him to head out of town, but Henry said he’s got nothing to worry about. Well, a few minutes ago he got a phone call. He ran out of here so fast it made my head spin.”

“Um…”

“I asked Butch what’s going on. Didn’t think he’d answer, but he said, ‘Henry’s been naughty.’ That’s all he said, but the way he said it… Audrey, I think Henry is leaving, one way or another. Hold on.”

While I waited, I watched a woman and four rambunctious kids spill out of a minivan. “I want a milkshake,” a pink-clad girl said, loudly. I could tell by the tone of her voice that if she said it again, it would be a scream.
 

“Please not my table,” I whispered.
 

“You there?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s like a SWAT team assembling outside,” Rob said, excited. “Three cars. No one has gotten out. They’re waiting for orders or something, I guess. Oh, man, you should be here.”

“But Henry isn’t. There, I mean.”

“I’m sure he didn’t get far,” Rob said.

“Gotta go.” I hung up and ran back inside the diner. I saw Janet disappearing into the kitchen, and I hurried in after her.
 

“Janet, can I talk to you really fast?” I asked. Excitement had made me completely breathless. I took off my apron, emptied out my phone and my tips, and handed her the sad piece of black cloth. “I quit.”
 

Janet’s eyes went soft, disappointed. “Have you thought about seeing a therapist? I don’t want to step out of line, but I worry about you, your mood swings. You were depressed two weeks ago, then you were on top of the world, and now you seem erratic.”

There was no point in arguing with her. “That’s… really thoughtful,” I said. Poor Janet. She tried so hard, and she took her job really seriously. Someone had to be the mother hen to all the wayward folks who worked in the diner. A thrill ran through me as I glanced around the kitchen for what I knew was going to be the last time. And thank goodness for that.
 

“Take care of yourself, Audrey,” Janet said, her eyes misting. She caught my hand and squeezed it. Her rings cut into my fingers.
 

“I will,” I said, nodding as I walked through the door. It was true. I fully intended to take care of myself. Though it wouldn’t be hard. Not when I had help like Corbin.
 

But at the moment, Corbin was probably heading to Stroop Finders. Henry wouldn’t be there, but I knew exactly where he was heading… only a few minutes away from the diner.
 

When I reached Henry’s street, I took a chance and drove past his house. If he happened to be behind the wheel and he saw me, he might take off. But both his pickup and the company car were sitting in the driveway.

I parked behind him, blocking the driveway. The door to the car was open, I saw. As was his front door. He had probably just arrived and didn’t plan to stay long.

I fumbled open the glove box. Taser. Pepper spray. And zip tie handcuffs. I grabbed a fleece from the back seat, put it on and shoved the things I needed into the pockets. Then I ran toward the door.

As I neared the entrance, I could hear him banging around. I cautiously moved closer, took a peek inside. It sounded like he was upstairs.

I crept inside, closed the door quietly behind me and locked it. It wouldn’t keep him from getting out, but if he rushed past me, it would slow him down enough for me to catch up.

I headed up the stairs, pepper spray in hand. Just as I neared the top, Henry screamed, making my blood go cold.

There was a thunderous crash that shook the floor.
 

It was hard to guess if he was alone or if he was fighting with someone. I continued up.
 

The noise was coming from the office. I was very tempted to stand in the doorway and spray until the container was empty, but I couldn’t… not if there was someone innocent in there.

Of course, innocent people probably didn’t hang out with Henry.
 

I took a deep breath. Gripping the pepper spray tighter, I stepped in front of the office. It was just Henry. He had pulled the desk away, tipping it, and the safe yawned empty. Both his hands were fisted in his short hair.

“You!” he roared. There was madness in his eyes. Panic. He was terrified. “What did you do with it?”

For a moment, I stayed frozen in place, unsure of myself in the face of Henry’s fury. It had been months since I’d physically tangled with anyone.

Except for Zachary.
 

Corbin had worried that the outcome of that night would make me less likely to defend myself in the future. He’d given me quite a lecture.
 

The hesitation vanished, my years of experience kicked in, and my arm swung up. I depressed the button as Henry reached the doorway. Instead of the hiss of pepper spray, there was silence.
 

My legs were already pedaling backward as Henry advanced. “Got that from your car?” he asked, sneering. “You think I was gonna let a little bitch like you run around with working pepper spray? Taser me.” He held his arms out. “Make my day.”

I hurled the pepper spray at his head. He slid a little to the side, dodging it easily.
 

I followed it up with the Taser, which glanced off his temple. A gash opened, spilling copious amounts of blood. Head wounds bled like that, and I didn’t think he was truly hurt.

“Fucking bitch,” he said, holding his hand to his forehead. He was forcing me down the hall. I knew there wasn’t much farther I could go before I was trapped, and I regretted not having sprinted for the stairs.

“You broke into my safe, didn’t you?” he asked.

I nodded.
 

“All I want is my passport,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. Hell, Audrey, you and I… we used to be friends. I’ll even tell you where some of my money is. I won’t have time to pick it up anyway. There’s probably close to ninety grand in a location not far from here. All cash, and it’s yours. Where’s my passport?”

“I’d feel a lot more comfortable if you stopped walking toward me.”

He stopped. I did mental gymnastics, but I couldn’t think of a place to lure him that would give me the advantage.
 

I needed backup… and no one knew where I was. It wasn’t the first time I’d been in such a situation. Corbin was going to be furious when he found out. Eventually the guys who were at the office would come to the house, but it could be ten, fifteen minutes.
 

In which case, the best strategy was to stall for time.

“Money first,” I said.
 

“Passports first.”

“Remember that I know your aliases. If you screw me on the money, I’ll make a few phone calls.”

Henry’s face went pale. “What’s to stop you from doing that anyway?”

Crap
. I shouldn’t have said it. It had been a bluff. Too good of one.

“You’ll just have to trust me,” I said. “Your stuff is at my place.” And because I couldn’t help myself, I added, “Under my mattress.”

Henry apparently didn’t get the joke, but that was fine. “Let’s go,” he said.
 

“You first.”

We stared at each other, then Henry lunged forward. I darted to the side, Henry’s fingers trailing down my arm.
 

I sprinted down the hallway.
 

Pivoted on a dime.
 

Flew down the stairs.

I veered away from the front door at the last second, remembering I’d locked it.
Stupid.
 

There was a sharp crack, then an explosion of plaster.
 

Gun.

Henry had a gun.
 

And he wanted to kill me.

Oh, God.
 

Then I heard vehicles outside. Several of them. Backup, but it was too late. I would be dead before they got in.

I ran into the kitchen, dove under the table. The large empty box full of bubble wrap that had been in the living room was now lying on its side next to the trash can. I was small enough that I might mostly fit inside.

I crawled at cheetah speed across the floor and pushed as much of my body as I could into the box and angled what wouldn’t fit away from the entrance. I was more exposed than I liked, but the box was in the corner. This was my best chance. It would be the last place he checked, if he checked at all, and maybe the police would be inside before then.
 

I could hear Henry, just barely, over the roar of blood in my ears.

He was peeling back the shades in the dining room. They rattled as he let them fall back into place.
 

I saw him between the flaps of the box as he walked into the kitchen, and I stayed very still. Maybe I was in shadow, almost invisible. As long as I didn’t move, he wouldn’t notice me. I had no idea if it was true, but thinking it helped me stay calm.
 

Henry strode to the back door and checked it. Then he rattled the bolted basement door. I cursed myself. I should have opened that one. Then I could have trapped him in there, or at the very least, gotten away.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

This was the price of lack of planning. I was out of practice, in over my head. The only thing between me and Henry was a cardboard box.

Henry’s legs turned around. “I know you’re in here,” he crooned. “But it’s your lucky day. I need you alive, bitch. You in that cute little skirt? The perfect hostage.”

There was pounding on the front door, the back door.

“I have a hostage,” Henry yelled, so loud that it hurt my ears.
 

Whoever was pounding the back door stopped.
 

“You come in here, I’ll blow her brains out,” Henry screamed. “I got nothing to lose.” He sounded like he meant it.

I squeezed my eyes closed. Then I opened them again. I wasn’t going to sit there and let fate decide what happened.

And I wasn’t going to give Henry what he wanted, either, wasn’t going to let him pull me out of the house, a gun to my temple. I wasn’t going to trust a sniper to set me free.