Saturday morning."Our informant just got off duty," Jared relayed to Vince as they walked across the construction site together. Construction was one of Vince's legitimate businesses, creating the opportunity for his offices to remain mobile.Jared was on the phone with the corrections officer they'd bribed into giving Enrico the message. It'd been a risky move to involve one of the prison guards, something they'd hoped to avoid. In the end they'd had no choice, they had to have a backup. Despite their bullying tactics, the nurse just wasn't coming through for them.Jared and Vince had poured through their intel on individual guards and found one with a couple of weaknesses. Some serious gambling debts and steep alimony payments. Unable to make ends meet, he'd nearly tripped over himself to accept their bribe.Jared grunted into the phone, speaking rarely, just listening to their corrections 'friend.' Vince didn't like the man and how easily he'd fallen in line. No loyalty. It
Jenna ran for all she was worth, which wasn't fast enough. She really needed to work out more often. The guards on either side of her were barely breathing hard as they made their way toward the yard with sirens blaring in their ears. She'd just hung her purse in a locker and tied her running shoes when the alarm went off. She'd immediately followed protocol, locked herself in the staff room and called down to the main desk to relay her position. They'd called back within two minutes to let her know there was a medical emergency and she was needed in the yard. Thirty seconds later two guards showed up to escort her."Gang yard," one of the guards yelled over the earsplitting siren.She nodded her understanding. Of course there was an injury in the gang yard, they were rarely anywhere else. The prison had struggled in separating gang from non-gang prisoners, so they'd finally cut the yard in half with a high fence. They'd even had to take away the weight benches and weights from the
Jenna nearly sobbed with relief when she arrived home to find her door locked and her lights working. She flew through the tiny house grabbing whatever essentials her hysterical mind could think of and throwing them in a bag. She knew he would come for her. She could feel him stalking closer, hear his promise to enslave her echoing through her brain.Oh god, why hadn't she just done what he'd wanted and given Enrico the message? It'd just been a date and a time. Saturday at noon. The exact time Steve Buffalo had died. An event that had taken place without her cooperation. She knew that she couldn't be complicit in whatever they were planning, just as she knew now, in her heart, that her conscience was clear. Only her damn conscience was going to get her raped and killed.For a split second she thought about going to the police, of reporting the incident to the prison. She didn't want the burden of knowing who killed Steve Buffalo. But it was her word against theirs and pissing off
"Your bird's flown."Vince looked up from where he was shrugging into his leather jacket. He was about to head over to Jenna's house and collect on her debt. Avery Larson, one of his security men, strode into Vince's office. Avery's presence was bad news since he was supposed to be sitting on her house. Vince sent him over the minute Jenna got off work."Apparently she left work early and flew the coop before we could get there," he said gruffly. "Sorry boss. This was my bad.""Not your fault," Vince snapped, not in the mood to soothe his guy's feelings right now. "I should've put someone on the house from the beginning."Vince wanted to punch something. Of course she'd run. She knew he would be gunning for her. He'd as much as promised he'd come after her if she didn't deliver his message. What she didn't know was his intentions had changed. He wasn't planning on using her up and throwing her away anymore, he was going to keep her."GPS on the car?" he grunted, pulling his p
Jenna felt sick. She felt like a prostitute and she hadn't even done anything yet. Even though she was sleeping in an entirely different room from Zach, she was still lying in a bed that belonged to him and wearing a silk nightie that he bought for her. Which was creepy as hell considering she hadn't lived in the house for years. He kept all of her things exactly the way she left them. Even her toiletries had remained untouched on her makeup table. And the man accused her of having mental health issues.She despised having to accept his charity. Charity that was bought with dirty money, given to him by rich clients that needed a smooth-talking lawyer to buy people off. She wished it had been his slimy business dealings that had finally driven her out of his home. No, it had been the mistress he'd taken up with as she'd struggled alone with postpartum depression after Lola's birth. Afraid that people would talk, he hadn't allowed her to seek medical help for her condition. She'd slipp
How many times could a woman go into shock in one week? Jenna wondered as she sat between Vince and Jared in a big black truck. Surreptitiously she reached under Lola's sleeping form and checked her own pulse. Strong but fast. Her breathing was too rapid. She was probably having a panic attack. She couldn't stop thinking about Vince's threat to make her a slave, use her up and throw her away.She glanced at him under her eyelashes and caught him staring at her with a frown on his face. He was sitting on her right, while Jared was driving the truck. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her poor brain wouldn't stop trying to decipher the word slave. He meant housecleaner, right? He was going to make her clean his floors and toilets and wash his clothes until she was all used up?Of course that's what he means, Jenna. Because he kisses all of his housecleaners. God, I'm an idiot."Why's she blonde?" Vince interrupted her thoughts.She looked at him sharply.He reached over and flicked th
Jenna woke slowly, savouring the feeling of knowing she'd just had her first good night's sleep in over a year. Without opening her eyes she stretched, her arms sliding against smooth soft sheets. She shoved a hand under her pillow and rolled onto her side, preparing to go back to sleep.Then she remembered where she fell asleep the night before. In the bed of her captor, Vincent Corey. Well, maybe not his bed exactly, but one belonging to him. And her daughter was there, which is why Jenna slept so well. She was used to lying awake late into the night worrying over her ongoing custody battle with Zach, or stressing about understaffing and bad conditions at the prison. She opened her eyes and sat up, scanning the room for Lola.When she didn't see her daughter she slid out of the bed, reached for her wrap and hurried out of the room. She wasn't overly worried though. For some reason she felt safe in Vince's home. Though she was angry with him for essentially kidnapping her and her
Jenna was most definitely not in love. Who could possibly love this overbearing, autocratic, pigheaded asshole who was blocking her way? Luckily Lola was playing in another room and not able to hear the fireworks that were about to take place.Jenna gritted her teeth and repeated the request he had just denied without a second thought. "Vince, I very much appreciate all of your help with Lola, but I need to get back home. I have laundry to do, dishes to wash, a life to get back to. I have to work the night shift tonight! I can't just move in with you."He crossed his arms over his chest and simply stood staring down at her, literally blocking the front door. She tried not to stare at the way his biceps popped out. Jenna was standing with Lola's bag and she was still wearing her borrowed T-shirt. She was beginning to feel self-conscious running around in so little. Though Vince didn't seem to mind, and it was a little empowering to have his eyes on her all the time they were in the