The Criminal's Captive (Unpunished Book 1)(2)

More light illuminated the face of the man who was now crawling on top of her. He straddled her, putting some of his body weight on her but not enough to make it hard to breathe. His eyes were bright green, and they were dancing.

"Sweet, you'll have to be a good girl or this could get messy." His smile grew more crooked as he reached for her.

Tessa squirmed under him, but he gracefully wrapped something over her head. She was blindfolded in no time. The man grabbed her arms and swiftly tied her wrists together with a scratchy rope.

He let her arms rest on her stomach. Tessa stopped moving, frozen with more fear, as he reached up and ran a hand over her cheek. He traced her bottom lip with his finger, and a shiver went through her.

"Now, if you keep quiet I won't gag you. Deal?"

Tessa had no cards to play. She paused for a few seconds and then simply nodded. The man crawled off of her, and she was slightly relieved.

"Good girl. I knew you'd be a smart little thing."





Chapter Two


Levi watched their little captive on the van floor. She was taking short, shallow breaths. Her legs shook every so often, and he wished he had a blanket to put over her. A small grin played on his lips when she nervously lifted her bound hands to her blindfold but stopped before removing it from her face. She timidly put her hands back down on her stomach and took a shaky breath.

That's why I do this job. Levi held in a snort as he let his stare roll down her body. She was a cute little thing. Judging by her dad's looks, she must have gotten it from her mom.

Levi didn't do this for the money. Not that he refused it when it was time to get paid, but that wasn't why he kept himself in this life of crime. Money had long ago stopped having much meaning. No, he did this job because of moments like this and moments of excitement like grabbing this fragile one off the street.

Tessa, you are in for an adventure.

****

Tessa huffed out her held breath as her body bounced on the van floor. The vehicle turned a corner very slowly, and in a few minutes, they were parked. She tried to listen as carefully as possible for any clue as to where she was. She didn't hear much.

"All right. Let's get her upstairs and secured. I'm starving." The driver's voice made it clear he was a smoker.

The man who was crouched next to her lightly touched Tessa's leg. "Ok. I'll bring her up. Go unlock the door, and for Christ sakes, be quiet this time."

"Whatever." Tessa heard the driver exit the van with a slamming of the door.

"Idiot." The man next to her removed his hand from her leg, and she heard him slide toward the side door.

Tessa tensed her whole body as the door opened. She wondered briefly if she should make a break for it but quickly talked herself out of it. Her hands were tied, and she was blindfolded. This man had obviously outrun her earlier, so even if she managed to get past him now, and pull off her blindfold, how would she outrun him without a weapon to defend herself?

She listened as he climbed out of the van and prayed that she'd hear signs of others outside of the van. Maybe people talking or another car, but she heard nothing except the abductor. Suddenly, his hands grabbed her waist and hastily pulled her toward the door. Tessa gasped as the cold night air ran over her.

"Here we go, love. Now don't do anything stupid that would cause me to have to hurt you."

Tessa thought she heard a bit of humor in his tone.

She made no noises as he grabbed her arm, pulling her into a sitting position. He paused for several seconds, and Tessa wondered what he was doing. Was he just staring at her? She nervously flexed her fingers against each other.

Finally, he pulled her arms toward himself and twisted her body so her legs were hanging out of the van. In a quick movement, she was being picked up and flung over his shoulder. She tried to look out of the bottom of the blindfold but saw little. It was dark, and she only saw a bit of wet pavement.

The man twisted, and soon the loud bang of the van door closing rang out. Tessa held her breath as the man started to walk. A sudden rush of adrenaline hit her then, however. Without much thought, Tessa started to kick her legs violently, squirming against his shoulder.

His reaction wasn't what she expected. Tessa was waiting for him to scold her or maybe even hit her. He did neither. The man continued to carry her through the parking lot and even started to chuckle. After a few seconds, Tessa stilled on his shoulder. What's so funny? Was he that cocky?

"Love, it'll take an army to get you out of my hands. Just relax so you don't hurt yourself." He laughed again, and Tessa felt him start up some stairs.

His laughter was making her more uneasy, if that was even possible. She was fucked.





Chapter Three


"Hurry the hell up. Damn!" Sam, the driver, held the hotel room door open.

"Shut up." Levi pushed past him with his prize still on his shoulder. "Do you really need to be in such a hurry to add to that gut?"

Sam closed the door more softly than his attitude would predict. "Fuck you. Tie her up. I'm going to get food."

Levi turned back toward his partner, still holding the little cutie. "Get her some water."

"Fuck that!" Sam folded his arms over his too big for his body beer belly.

"You'll get her some water, or you'll have me to deal with when you get back." Levi narrowed his eyes on the other man but didn't expect any more arguments. Sam was a coward through and through.