Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
About a million questions were running through my brain, but I didn’t ask any of them. The last thing I wanted was to draw the men’s attention to me while they were focused on Jason. Unfortunately, being quiet didn’t prevent that from happening because he proved to be as big of a jerk as I thought he was.
Pointing at me, he cried, “I’m not the one who can help you find Sabrina, she is!”
The guy holding my arm finally let go, but only to line up with the other two directly across from me. The bigger one was in the middle, and he growled, “Where is she?”
“Sabrina?” I squeaked, shaking my head. “I don’t know.”
He jerked his thumb toward Jason. “That’s not what he told us. Said you’re the person who’s closest to her, and the way we asked, he was highly motivated to tell the truth. So you’re the only lead we got since we wasted the past four weeks tracking his pathetic ass down, only to find he doesn’t have what the boss sent us looking for.”
“And the guy we work for? We can’t go back to him empty-handed,” the grabby guy explained.
The third one nodded. “Which means we’re highly motivated to get your friend’s location outta you. The hard way or the easy way. The choice is up to you.”
“Roommate,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
The big guy’s brows drew together. “What?”
“Sabrina isn’t really my friend. She was my roommate, that’s it,” I explained with a wince, mentally kicking myself for correcting the description of who Sabrina was to me. Considering the current situation, it didn’t really matter. They seemed desperate to find her, and Jason had tossed me to the wolves to save his own butt.
“I don’t care if she’s your sister, best friend, roommate, or mortal enemy.” The big guy took a step closer. I moved back but bumped into the wall behind me, and his lips curved into a satisfied sneer. “You’re gonna help us find her, or I’m gonna be forced to do something I don’t enjoy—beat the shit out of a woman.”
My gaze darted toward Jason, which made the guy who’d tugged on my arm laugh. “Don’t worry, he’ll get his ass kicked either way. Maybe worse, depending on if that bitch still has what she stole from him or not.”
“But you already—”
Jason’s complaint broke off when the third man boxed the back of his head. “Shut the fuck up, or we’re gonna use you to show Courtney how hard we can hit.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised by his use of my name since Jason knew me, but it threw me off even more.
“Repeatedly,” the biggest one growled before turning his attention back to me. “You get that we’re serious about finding Sabrina?”
My mind was reeling, but I nodded and gulped down the giant lump in my throat. “Yes.”
“Good,” he grunted as the other two dragged Jason toward the door. “The bitch isn’t answering any of his calls, but you better hope like hell she’ll answer for you. We’ll be back in forty-eight hours, and I expect you to have some answers by then.”
Two days was nothing, especially when I already knew that Sabrina wasn’t taking my calls either. I had no hope of finding her in such a short time, which only gave me one option to get out of this mess.
Glancing over his shoulder as he neared the door, he warned, “And don’t try anything stupid, like going to the cops. We got eyes and ears everywhere, so we’d know that you tried to fuck us over like your roommate. Then our next visit would be a hell of a lot less friendly.”
The plan that had been forming in my brain flew out the window with his threat. Calling the police and getting the wrong person wasn’t worth the risk.
When the door finally shut behind them, I slumped against the hard surface, tears filling my eyes. I could’ve used a stiff drink after that scary encounter, but I was only twenty, so I couldn’t go out and buy one. And we didn’t have anything in the apartment because Sabrina drank her alcohol as quickly as she bought it.
If I made it out of this disaster, I needed to be much more careful when it came to picking my next roommate. Or maybe I would look for a weekend job so I could afford the apartment on my own. Anything would be better than going through something like this again. Assuming I survived the mess Sabrina had left behind.
2
COURTNEY
Iwas exhausted the following morning when I went to work. After spending most of the night searching every inch of Sabrina’s room and our shared space, I only managed to get about three hours of sleep. Getting up and ready for a day at the bank was rough, but I didn’t call out sick because I needed to be there to put my new plan into motion.