“What the hell’s going on?” I rubbed my temple, trying to clear my mind from the fog of too many glasses of wine.
Anstice shifted while staring down at her feet. “The . . . alarm.” I didn’t hear any alarm. “A silent alarm. The boys are checking it out. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
I noticed her hands intertwined in a rigid grip. “Don’t bullshit me, Anstice. What’s going on?”
Anstice bit her lower lip and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “It’s nothing. Keir’s just being overprotective.”
“Yeah, no shit, he always is, but that’s not what this is.” Anstice remained silent. “Fine, you’re not going to tell me . . . then I’ll find out for myself.” I strode to the front door, knowing full well Anstice would stop me before I opened it. We’d been best friends a long time and predicting one other’s actions was second nature.
“Danni.” Anstice stepped forward, grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop. “I . . . I can’t tell you. God, I want to. Please, you have to trust me.”
I gaped. “What the hell are you talking about? It’s me. Pinkie swears, remember? We’ve never had secrets from one another in our entire lives.” I yanked away from her. “Tell me.”
Anstice closed her eyes and, when she opened them again, I saw the tears in the rims. Shit, it was bad. Whatever she was hiding was big. Maybe Anstice had a stalker? Her ex-boyfriend, Richard? No, Richard was a coward. He wouldn’t be caught dead lurking around in the night; he’d send someone else to do his dirty work. Besides, he’d ruin his Armani suit.
“Anstice?”
The front door opened and Jedrik and Keir came in and stopped. God, why hadn’t I ever noticed how scary they looked? Tatted, muscled, tall, and definitely overbearing. They both appeared as if they could take down a swat team without even breathing hard.
Intimidating or not, I wanted answers. “What’s going on? Who’s outside?”
Keir’s scowl was like a feral wolf ready to pounce on its prey. I unconsciously took a step back, but kept my eyes fixated on him.
“A guy from my past has returned recently to the area,” Keir said. “He’s wanted by . . . police.”
“I knew it. You’re involved with drugs.” That was how he afforded this place. And the bastard was dragging Anstice down with him—over my dead body.
It took me two steps to reach Keir’s unmovable six-foot-four stature. I raised my fist, intent on popping him one right between his eyes. How dare he put my friend’s life at risk with shit like this.
My fist never made contact as Jedrik grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the stairs. “It’s not drugs, princess. Just some guy pissed at Keir.”
I tried to pull out of his shackled grip as he continued talking, but my mind had already shut him out. I remembered the steel clamped around my wrists, being unable to move—strapped to a—
The dead bolt clicked closed on the front door. I wrenched free of Jedrik and stumbled backward.
Manacles.
Click.
My wrists.
Click.
My ankles.
Click.
Oh, God, I’d been tied down. A table. Cold. So cold. I rubbed my wrists where the scars were still visible.
“Whoa, you okay, sugar?” Jedrik asked, coming toward me.
Sugar. That word. He’d called me that.
Bile rose as I continued to back away, arms outstretched to ward off Jedrik. I banged into the front door and felt behind me for the deadbolt. I cringed as it clicked again.
Anstice took a step toward me, but Keir pulled her back to his side.
I had to get the hell out of here. “I can’t . . . I have to . . . I can’t . . . breathe.” I turned and threw open the front door.
The fresh air cut into me like a bucket of ice water. I took three deep breaths before darting out into the frigid air.
I heard footsteps behind me and raced down the steps to my car. I tugged on the door handle, but it didn’t budge. It wouldn’t open. Christ, get me out of here. I used both hands, hauling on it.
“Shit.” I slammed my fist down on the roof.
The sound pulsated over and over, the click as it snapped around each wrist, each ankle. I’d been cold. Freezing. My back aching, spine digging into the table as a . . . God, why couldn’t I remember?
“I’m sober. I’ll drive you,” Jedrik said, coming up behind me, passing me my shoes.
I glanced down at my feet and realized I was standing barefoot in the light dusting of snow. I took the shoes and slipped them on.
“Always wanted to give a Mini Cooper a whirl. Dying to do the Italian Job thing.” He placed my coat around my shoulders, then walked around to the passenger side and opened the door.
“I . . . I . . . umm, yeah, that’d be good.” I gripped the edges of my coat closer to my body as I walked around the car and slid into the bucket seat.
We remained silent for the first five minutes with just the purr of the engine as Jedrik shifted gears. The panic eased and the puzzling memories drifted back into the black void of my mind.
“So, you ever do anything fun with this car?” Jedrik asked.
I stared out the windshield. “I drove through a park once to get out of a traffic jam.”
Jedrik’s brows rose. “Impressive.”
Silence.
I knew Jedrik was trying to give me space to catch my breath and I was realizing the guy wasn’t always a dick. His outward I-am-God’s-gift-to-women was a game, maybe it was his way to get attention?