Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series) by A.T. Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

your life for you.”
    “I don’t want to die,” I say nervously,
my honesty from earlier still pouring out of me.
    “Who said I was going to kill you?”
Mark whispers with a malevolent smile.  “I have even
better plans for you , my dear, you just wait and see.”
    I don’t know whether to be thrilled or
terrified at this revelation.  What can be better for him than my death?
    Mark pats my knee, my body
automatically flinching at his touch.  “You’ve done well, Morgan.”  He stands
up in a towering stance over me.  “We need food and water.  Someone get th e girl some sustenance,” he calls out behind him.
    I find myself strangely grateful to the
man, though the moment is short-lived.  He touches my hair again, running his
fingers through it as he peeks down the cleavage showing from my shirt where he
touched me before.
    As hungry as I am, I’ve suddenly lost
my appetite.

6
     
    Hopeless
     
    The last few hours have been the
calmest and least painful of my stay here so far, though the awkwardness and
embarrassment I’ve experienced have hit their highest levels.  I was allowed to
eat peanut butter on crackers and drink one bottle of water, except that my
hands were still tied behind the chair the entire time.
    I was introduced to another of Mark’s
men, a middle-aged man they call Quinn, who took great
pleasure in feeding me bites of cracker with peanut butter spread across them. 
He was clearly aroused by this opportunity to hand - feed
a bound eighteen-year-old girl, though it only make the thought of food even
more revolting to me.
    I had to go through with it, though. 
My body was broken and weak.  I got some rest last night , but I needed nourishment to replenish my mental and physical energy.
    So I let him do it.  I let the tall,
crazy-haired man get off on feeding me crackers and tipping a water bottle to
my lips, sometimes teasing me with it and pulling it away just as I pursed my
lips open to drink from it.  I was so relieved to finish the bottle and eat all
the crackers, mostly because there was no longer a reason for Quinn to be
within breathing distance of me.
    I couldn’t help noticing something
strange during the whole ordeal.  In the moments I had when Quinn prepared the
next bite for me, I’d glance back at Leo still sitting by himself in the corner
of the room.  A range of emotions played out on his face the entire time Quinn
fed me: concern, indifference, anger, frustration.  In the end, I amounted it
to what I could only think was jealousy.
    He was upset that someone else was
sharing such an intimate experience with me, even if the intimacy was only
one-sided.
    Leo calmed down significantly after Quinn
left the room for “a break .”   I think the whole room
knew exactly where he was going.  The thought of it continues to make me ill.
    Not long after that, Leo left the room
with Mark, and I haven’t seen either of them since.  I’ve tried to remain still
and silent, observing what I can from the other men as they talk and move about
the room and in and out of the hallway.
    I gather that they are taking shifts
guarding the building, so in reality I have no idea how many men are truly here
because I don’t know how big the building is or how many people Mark has
guarding the place at one time.  More than a few new faces have walked through
the door in the time I’ve been sitting here, each one getting a good look at me
when they walk in as if they’ve never seen a woman before.
    I hate being on display for them as they
practically salivate over my body, but it allows me valuable time to observe
their communications.  In the opportunities I’ve had to listen in on their
conversations, I’ve tried to focus on each of their words, hoping to pick up
anything that could give me a clue a bout where we are
or even what state we’re in.
    The door opens, and I’m both relieved
and terrified to see Leo and Mark enter the room.  Mark’s face is serious, his
movements