Page 2 of Daddy Brigadier

Without thinking, my finger instinctively moves to silence the call.

Ruby then phones three more times before I finally answer. “What’s up?”

“Lexi, I need help,” she cries, sounding desperate and upset.

“What’s going on?” My pace quickens, turning my walk into a run toward the car.

“I’m at a private party, and things are getting out of hand. Please come get me.” Men are yelling in the background—ones whose voices instill fear in me for Ruby.

“Send me your location.” A click follows. “Hello?” Silence greets me on the other end.

A minute later, her text comes through with a hotel name and room number.

Frantically, I try to call her back several times, but each time it goes straight to voicemail. Ruby’s urgent phone call doesn’t feel right. I quickly share the location with a friend. I’m going to need backup.

The hotel is located in a dangerous part of the city, and I park in the alley, slipping in the back door. It’s one of those places where paying in cash lets them avoid recording your name, so the front desk guy barely looks up from his newspaper as I walk past, climbing the stairs to the fourth floor.

I find the door locked and no one answers my knock. A maintenance man is working in a nearby room, so I slip him $200 to unlock the door. He’s grateful—and not even remotely interested in what I’m doing.

“If I’m not out in fifteen minutes, call the police.”

He looks momentarily taken aback and confused, then nods.

My hand slides into my pocket, feeling the cold metal of my pocketknife. I enter, switching on the light to see that the room is a wreck, filled with liquor bottles and scattered drugs everywhere. It’s quiet, and it appears no one is here. Casting the maintenance man one final glance, I close the door.

I enter the bathroom and immediately spot Ruby lying on the floor, bloodied and motionless. Checking for a pulse, I feel distinctly relieved to detect the faintest thumping in her wrist.

There’s a sudden noise, and I run back into the room, hoping it’s Robyn, who is supposed to meet me here.

My heart leaps into my throat, my hand clenching against my neck when I see that it’s not her.

“We’ve been waiting for you.” Simple words, carrying so much weight.

Two men are standing in the doorway, and my gaze shifts to the man looking north of fifty. The man’s hand wraps around the door handle, trapping me.

“Did you do this to her?” My eyes dart between them.

“We got bored waiting for you,” the younger man says as he takes a step closer, his blond hair and tanned skin perfectly matching the sharp, lopsided grin.

His gaze lingers on me like a stain. “I’m going to fuck the hell out of you.”

When he touches my arm with even the slightest contact as he moves behind me, I quickly elbow him right in the side of his abs, making him groan, “Fucking bitch!”

“Touch me, and I’ll kill you!” The words escape my lips before I can process them.

They both mock me with deep laughter, as if my threat were a joke.

Then the older man steps forward, making me instinctively back away until I’m pressed against the younger guy. The man behind me seizes my wrists, firmly pinning me against him, no doubt getting some perverse pleasure from it.

Struggling and flailing against his grip, I am desperate to break free, but he holds on tightly.

The older man reaches out to touch my face, and I instinctively lunge forward, my teeth snapping in an attempt to bite his finger.

He has no idea who he’s messing with.

“I like it when girls play rough.” He rakes his bottom lip through his teeth. “It makes my dick hard. Bet it makes him hard, too. You can feel it, can’t you?” He thrusts his hips to emphasize the revolting point, setting off the younger one, grinning wildly.

I don’t like the way he’s staring at me, his eyes flashing something menacing. “You’re fucking disgusting,” I say, spitting in his face.