Jamie Begley - Tainted

“She’s not going to be happy about that,” D-mon said, nodding to the bedroom door.

“She might hate us, but she’ll be alive,” Kaden said grimly.

Kaden heated several of the premade meals for the men in the microwave. When it was done, he made a plate for Sawyer and picked up a beer and bottled water, taking everything to the bedroom at the back of the bus. It was his when they were on tour, but they had locked her up inside to keep her from distracting the driver while the bus was moving.

Alec unlocked the door for him before going to make himself a plate of food. Kaden went into the dark bedroom where he saw Sawyer curled up on the bed, still in the same clothes she had been wearing when he had found her in the hotel room. The hoodie had been thrown to the floor.

Kaden managed to set the food down on the desk before turning on the light.

“Why are you sitting here in the dark?”

She didn’t answer him; she merely laid her cheek down on her knees as she silently watched him. Kaden shoved his hands into his jean’s pockets, staring at the woman sitting on his bed.

“You’ll feel better if you take a shower and change your clothes.” Again he tried unsuccessfully to interact with the silent woman. His guilty conscience wouldn’t let him talk harshly with her, but it was going against his grain to pacify a woman who was ignoring him. Usually, he just told them what to do, and they jumped, wanting to make him happy. Even the few women he had been with after he had stepped out of the limelight had wanted to please him.

“You can’t escape if you don’t keep your strength up.” Her golden eyes stared at him before she angrily climbed off the bed, moving toward the desk and pulling the chair out. She then ignored him as she started to eat the food. Opening the water, she took a long drink.

Kaden was wary to say anything in case she would stop eating. Unable to prevent himself, though, he took a seat on the bottom edge of the bed. “How did Redman kidnap you?”

She swallowed a bite of food in her mouth before answering his question. “H—he came into the restaurant I was working at; several of the workers knew him. He asked me out a couple of times, but I turned him down. Then he offered me dinner at a five star restaurant I couldn’t afford, so finally I said y—yes.” Her lips twisted in self-disgust. “We left my apartment and that’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in that r—room with the women.

“I—I would have still been there if Redman hadn’t needed one more woman for you and your friends, and the other women were in too bad of shape, physically.”

The disgust she made no effort to hide had him getting to his feet. “We didn’t hire those women. Our tour manager screwed up, but neither me nor the guys in the band knew the women weren’t willing.”

“Oh, they were willing. The drugs Rick gave them made sure of that.”

Kaden winced at her words. “I know you’re angry, Sawyer, and I can’t blame you. I can only assure you we mean you no harm.” Standing up, seeing she was finished, he took her plate and the beer bottle she hadn’t touched. “The other women are safe, and as soon as Alec thinks it’s safe to release you, we will.”

“What about my friend, Vida?”

“She’s still not answering her phone,” Kaden lied. Alec had said that she was under King’s protection now, and the FBI thought that the women shouldn’t be able to talk. They didn’t want Vida running before they had a case against King. Both women were being used as pawns and Kaden had a feeling one or both of them were going to end up hurt.

Sawyer searched his eyes, but Kaden was an experienced liar and knew how to hide the truth from a woman. Going to the door, he opened it before her next words had him unexpectedly turning back.

“You’re lying.”

Her perceptive response had him startled. “Take a shower, Sawyer. Get changed.” He refused to acknowledge that he hadn’t told the whole truth.

“Go fuck yourself,” she said, throwing the half full water bottle at his head, which made him almost drop the plate and beer bottle he was holding.

Seeing the temper the woman was capable of, his dominant blood stirred, wanting to tame her; however, he forced down the desire, giving her a hard stare that more than one woman knew to be wary of. Kaden had never found pleasure in getting submission from someone naturally submissive. Instead, he thrived on the challenge of obtaining submission from a strong woman who gave in to his demands, wanting the pleasure he could give her.

“I’m trying to be a nice guy here, Sawyer. Under the circumstances, I can understand your anger, but if you use physical violence against me again, don’t expect me to stand still and take it without consequences.” Kaden let his words hang in the air as he went out the door, closing and locking it behind him.

Sawyer stood backstage in the VIP room. Kaden had let her out of the bus to watch the concert they were to perform. She didn’t even know which city they were in, since she the bus’s movements had lulled her to sleep last night.

The large room was filled with the band members as they waited to be called to the stage, Sawyer presumed. She had expected them to change their clothes for their performances, but they hadn’t, staying in their casual jeans and t-shirts instead.

The room was filled with different bottles of liquor, water and sodas, while food trays sat around as they each took their turn snacking on the vast array available to them. Sawyer, having worked in several restaurants that catered, knew the money that went into fixing the table with their smorgasbord of luxury items.

“Hungry?” Ax asked. Sawyer shook her head in response. He was the friendliest of the men. He was constantly trying to talk to her and give her reassurance that everything would be fine. She thought it was his own recent journey into Rick’s world that had him so sensitive to her situation.

Kaden, she had noticed, had taken a seat away from the others, getting up every so often to move around the room without talking to any of the other men.

“He goes into his own head right before a performance,” Ax said, taking a beer from the ice bucket. Sawyer’s eyes went to the television screen in the room where they could see the stage. A group was out there amping up the atmosphere until Mouth2Mouth was to take the stage.

“They’re pretty good. They’re new, but they’ll make it eventually, especially if they keep writing the songs the way their fans like.”

Sawyer nodded her head, listening to the soulful voice of the woman singing on the stage. She commanded the stage with her vitality and voice, drawing the crowd into a round of applause when her song ended.

“It’s time,” R.J. said from the doorway.

“Hell, yeah! Let’s do this,” Ax yelled, and Sawyer felt her lips twitch in a smile for the first time since Rick had kidnapped her.

The men filed out of the room, slapping each other on the back.

Kaden stopped in front of her. “Behave, Sawyer.” He didn’t wait for her to tell him to fuck off again. He simply left her with an infectious grin that she was hard-pressed not to return.

She was now the only one left in the room except for Alec, who remained by the door. “Relax, Sawyer. Enjoy the show.”

Frustrated, Sawyer took a seat on the expensive couch, watching as all of the men ran onto the stage, except for Kaden. Her eyes searched, but she didn’t see him. She did hear his voice, though. Soft, yet strong, he sang the words as the stage lights gradually lifted, finding him sitting on the corner of the stage with a guitar. His voice immediately drew her in and didn’t let go. He moved around the stage, commanding the audience’s attention as he played the guitar.

Sawyer swallowed. Jeez, the man had sex appeal in spades. You could actually feel the sexually suggestive song in your bones as if he was singing it just to her. Sawyer tried to draw herself out of the music, but couldn’t. Only when the song ended did she move her eyes away from the screen. He wasn’t finished, going from one song to the next flawlessly, but she didn’t allow herself to become trapped in the spell he was casting over his audience.

The band was the perfect foil for him. Each with their own talented skills, they had the audience divided as to who was the more talented. They blended their music and voices into songs that went from heart wrenching to full on rock, and had the audience dancing and singing along.

“He’s very good,” Sawyer reluctantly admitted.

“He’s more than good,” Alec replied. “He was world famous when he gave the business up five years ago. He has the talent to become a legend.”

Sawyer had to agree, watching him. “Why did he leave?” Doubtful that if he was as big as Alec said that he would willingly walk away.

Alec couldn’t hide his surprise. “You really don’t know?”

Sawyer shook her head.

“It made all the tabloids. He went into rehab for six months, and when he came out, he never returned to the stage. His backup singer, Jesse, took over. They’ve done well performing his songs, but nothing like the crowd out there now. Only half those seats had been sold until they heard that Kaden was returning; then they sold out.”

Kaden removed his t-shirt on the stage and Sawyer’s mouth almost dropped open. His body had several tattoos on his chest and back. She had seen the ones on his arms; those were hard to miss, but the ones that covered his chest and back rocked the sexuality of his movements on the stage up a few degrees. Even Sawyer felt her body react to his sensuality, and she’d told herself that she hated the man.

“He doesn’t seem the type to let anything control him.” Sawyer turned away from the screen, noticing Alec didn’t say anything.

“How did you meet Kaden?” Sawyer asked, going to the table to reach for one of the sparkling waters and one of the tiny sandwiches before going to the couch and nibbling on the sandwich.

“In rehab.”

She had thought that he had known Kaden from before. “It doesn’t bother you being around the band drinking?” Sawyer regretted her words as soon as they left her lips. She had never been insensitive or rude before her kidnapping. She forced herself to swallow the small bite of sandwich in her mouth. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

Alec studied her several seconds before he replied, “Alcohol wasn’t my problem. Kaden made it a condition of his return that no drugs were going to be permitted on this tour.”

“Alcohol must not have been Kaden’s weakness either then.”

“I don’t think Kaden has a weakness anymore,” Alec replied.

Sawyer picked up one of the magazines, ignoring the screen for the rest of the concert. She only looked up when she heard Kaden’s voice blend with a female voice. She reluctantly found herself watching as Kaden sang a song with the lead singer of the backup band. Her body constantly rubbed against his as they sang. Each time, the crowd got louder and louder.

“Did she tour with Kaden before he left?”

“No. From my understanding, they find a new band every tour,” Alec told her as he watched the two interact on the stage.

Sawyer turned her attention away, not wanting to watch the two together, without being sure why. She hated Kaden for not letting her contact the police or to warn Vida. Sawyer got up from the couch at the thought of her friend, becoming restless.

“How much longer?”

“They’re finishing up now.”

She half-listened and half-brooded as they did two more songs before leaving the stage. When they didn’t return to the room, she looked at Alec.

“Encore.” Just as he explained, the band returned for three more songs before finally giving their goodbyes to the applauding crowd.

The band returned to the VIP room; their energy bouncing off the walls. Alec took her arm, seating her in a chair, unobtrusively out of the way, as several fans were allowed in the room to take pictures with the band members.

Sawyer saw Kaden talking to a man with a recorder as she watched everyone in the room. Slowly realizing that it was the press, she started to rise out of her chair.

A hard hand on her shoulder pressed her back down into her seat. “Don’t, Sawyer. I’ll pack you out of here to the bus before you can say anything and Kaden will just tell everyone that you were overwhelmed coming so close to him.”

Sawyer bit her lip, debating her chance of success. She didn’t want to be trapped in the bus during the concerts they performed. She couldn’t escape from the secure bus. Her only chance was during these concerts. She was going to have to play it smart and lull them into a false sense of security. They had two more concerts this week; a better chance would surely become available.