“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 your 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.

“Kaden—”

“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 your 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.

“Good, I’m glad we understand each other.” Turning toward the door, he gave his parting threat. “I’ll be waiting on my money, Kaden.” He was gone several seconds before Alec rushed out the door, his cell phone in his hand.

“It’s all right; he’s gone.” Kaden’s reassuring voice had Sawyer trying to stop her hysterical tears. When she didn’t stop, Kaden lifted her up and carried her back into the bathroom, located in the bedroom they had come from.

Turning on the water, he wet a cloth and handed it to her. After several minutes, she managed to get herself under control. Leaning against the sink, her head lowered as she tried to think of what to do next.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” His husky voice drew her back to the present.

“Yes, thanks.”

He went out the door, closing it behind him. It was that infinitesimal action that had her finally realizing that she was safe.

Sawyer came out of the bathroom thinking that she was never going to take that privilege for granted again. If her mother were still alive, she would point out that the danger she had been in was her own fault, and how it could have been prevented if she had been smart enough not to trust anyone.

Her mother had always been afraid every time Sawyer had left home, whether it was to go to school or outside to play. You have to be careful, she would tell her over and over. She could just hear her saying I told you so in her mind.

Sawyer went back into the other room, and heard one of the men talking to Kaden.

“What in the hell are we going to do with them?”

“Sin, give me a minute to think,” Kaden snapped.

“This is going to blow up all over the tabloids,” the one Kaden had called R.J. said, pacing the room.

“Shut up, R.J. This is all your fucking fault,” Alec said, taking the phone away from his mouth long enough to make the statement before turning his back to the room and continuing his conversation.

The group of women she had been brought in with were huddled together on one of the couches, watching the men anxiously, waiting to see what the men were going to do. None of them took the incentive to save themselves. Sawyer was sure it had been beaten out of them.

Fuck that. Sawyer knew exactly what she was going to do.

“Give me a phone,” Sawyer said, walking further into the room.

Everyone turned to her.

“Who are you going to call?” Kaden and R.J. both spoke at the same time.

“The police,” Sawyer stated, holding out her hand.

“Did you not hear what he said?” one of the men said as he rose from the couch. “He has Ax.”

“Sin,” Kaden warned before turning to look directly at her. “What’s your name?”

“Sawyer,” she supplied her name reluctantly. “Sawyer Bennett.”

“Sawyer, before we call anyone, we’re going to figure out our best options for everyone’s safety.”

“Our only option is to call the police,” she protested.

“Do you think your friend, Vida, would agree?” At his words, Sawyer remained silent. She needed a phone to call Vida to warn her to hide. “I need to call her to warn her.”

Kaden pulled a phone out of his pocket. “What’s her number?”

Sawyer’s mouth dropped open. Deciding it was better to call Vida first then argue with Kaden and the others later, she gave him the number. He let it ring several minutes before disconnecting the call.

“She didn’t answer,” Kaden said unnecessarily.

Sawyer’s mind went into panic mode for her friend’s safety. She started for the door only to be stopped by Kaden and Alec, who hurriedly finished his conversation.

“Listen to me, Sawyer,” Alec started.

“G—g—get out of m—my way!” Sawyer screamed, trying to get by the two men preventing her from leaving. When the dark haired man named Sin and the other men in the room also moved to block her path, she knew it was useless. “I can’t believe that you’re stopping me from getting help,” Sawyer said in frustration. “Your friend is in danger, too. Don’t you care?”

“Yes. That’s why we need to decide what to do before we make a move. Rushing and calling the police might get him killed,” Kaden tried to reason with her, but it was his next words that had her actually listening.

“It wasn’t the police who found you, Sawyer. It was me, and the fact that Alec was smart enough to realize something wasn’t right. Do you think that your disappearance was reported to the police? Did they come in rushing to save you? No. We are trying to protect them,” he pointed to the women huddled on the couch, “as well as you. We’re concerned for our friend’s safety as you are for Vida’s. We have resources that would be effective if you would just listen and give us an opportunity to get situated.”

Kaden’s hard voice brought her to the decision that she would listen for now, then find a way to call for help later. She would let them think she was giving in if it would give her time to get away.

“I’ve called in my security team, which would have already been here if R.J. hadn’t held them up downstairs in the lobby.”

“They had to be checked out,” R.J. said stubbornly.

“You dumb fuck, if you hadn’t done that, they would have been up here before Redman and his men showed up.” Alec took a deep breath. “A couple of my men were on the police force, another is a computer expert, and three of them are special ops. My team is able to deal with Redman and get Ax back, but I can’t keep getting diverted by you and the others.” He looked at Kaden.

“Do what you have to do. I trust your judgment,” Kaden told Alec.

“How am I not surprised?” Sawyer said sarcastically. “The p—problem is for some reason you guys are more concerned with keeping this quiet than getting p—professional help. Who are you anyway?” Sawyer studied the men in the room, not recognizing any of them. She didn’t think they were sports figures. The men in the room looked fit and muscular, but they weren’t wide or tall enough for basketball or football players.

The man sitting on the couch, who up to this point had remained silent, looked at her as if she were an alien. “We’re Mouth2Mouth. Haven’t you heard of us?” He pointed to Kaden. “That’s Kaden Cross.”

Sawyer searched her memory and could find no memory of the group or of Kaden’s name. That wasn’t unusual; her mother hadn’t let her listen to music while she was growing up, and even after she had finished high school, her mother had guilt tripped her into remaining home until she had been murdered one day coming home from work.

“I’m D-mon.” He pointed to the dark haired man leaning against the wall. “That’s Sin. R.J. is our tour manager. Ax was the one Redman took.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve never heard of you. I’m not into music much.” Sawyer could tell her lack of recognition didn’t hurt their egos when they were all studying her as if she would suddenly recognize them.

She saw Kaden’s mouth twitch in amusement at her last sentence. All the room stared at her in dismay. Even the other women looked at her in pity. She and Vida lived a quiet life; neither of them had been into partying. Vida spent all her free time studying, while her own time had been spent working to support her friend so she could finish her degree.