Page 87 of Deserving Lara
“What the hell ever. It doesn’t matter.Youdon’t matter. You’re a means to an end, and that end will be a lot sweeter formethan it will be for you and your boyfriend.”
“Please,” she begged. She wasn’t above begging if it would help. Would keep her away from Carter Grant. “Please leave us here.”
“Nope. Not happening. I’ve got a sweet payday waiting for me.” Ricky crouched down two feet in front of Lara, studying her with a smirk. “I can see why Carter’s so obsessed with you. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, slender…you’re a wet dream, sweetheart. Which I heard is his kink.” Ricky laughed at his own joke. “Let go, Lara. It’ll make what happens next all the more easier if you’re unconscious.”
“Carter’s not gonna give you any money. He doesn’t leave loose ends. He killed the last guy who delivered me to him…what makes you any different?” It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open, and she had a feeling her words were slurred, but she couldn’t give up. Both her and Owl’s lives were on the line.
“You should be more worried about yourself than me, sweetheart,” Ricky said.
Lara blinked, and it took more than a few seconds to force her eyes open again. The drugs in her bloodstream were doing what they were made to do. “You won’t get away with this,” she repeated feebly.
“I already have. The only wrench in my plans is boy-o here. Carter isn’t going to be happy when he joins the party, but as I said before, I can’t leave him here to be discovered. Doesn’t matter. I’m sure he’ll be fish food not too long after we land.”
“Where’re we going?” Lara managed to ask.
Ricky leaned in and palmed the back of Lara’s head and lowered her almost gently to the floor. She felt boneless, completely unable to fight back. The unscrupulous man hovered—then leaned down andlickedher, from the corner of her lips, up her cheek, stopping beside her eye. Lara desperately wanted to wipe his touch away, get rid of the slimy feel of his saliva on her skin. But she couldn’t move. Her limbs felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds.
“To Carter’s brand-new island. He lives there all by himself. No servants, no neighbors. He wanted to make sure you couldn’t run away this time.”
Lara whimpered. At least she thought she did. She didn’t hear any sound escape her mouth.
“It won’t be hard to throw your boyfriend’s body into the ocean. The sharks will take care of him,” Ricky said. Then he stood suddenly, and he looked like the devil himself as he stood over her and Owl.
“And your friend? He’s as good as gone too.”
“Where?” Lara whispered with the last of her strength.
“Sold. That wasn’t part of Carter’s plan, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Got a pretty penny for him. I met a guy…real asshole. Loves money almost as much as I do. And he needed a man. Didn’t say why, and I didn’t ask, but I’m guessing he doesn’t want him as a guest at a tea party. And my bank account got a lot fatter thanks tothattransaction.” Then Ricky glared at Owl. “Fuck. Can’t believe that asshole left him here for me to deal with!”
That was the last thing Lara heard before the drugs overwhelmed her.
* * *
Ricky ran an arm across his brow and swore under his breath. The boyfriend was heavier than he looked and it wasn’t easy getting him into the helicopter. He didn’t bother strapping him in, simply got him up and on the floor of the back seat. He didn’t care about the broad either, but he knew Carter did. And if he delivered her with any bruises, or if it looked as if he hadn’t taken great care with her, he’d pay the price.
He’d strapped her into the front seat and even went so far as to put a set of headphones over her ears. Time was running out, and he needed to get going before people started showing up at the small airport. Though, he took a moment to run a greedy hand over Lara’s tits, squeezing and groping.
She reallywaspretty. It was a shame he wasn’t able to take her for a spin before he delivered her. Ricky wouldn’t have cared that she was unconscious, pussy was pussy, and he preferred that his women didn’t fight when he took them. But Grant was expecting his property to be delivered without a mark on her…and Ricky liked to make his marks.
Slamming the passenger door, Ricky ran around to the front of the chopper and picked up the handle of the platform dolly the helicopter sat on. He took one more look around the hangar, making sure nothing seemed amiss. He’d put the three suitcases into the chopper, picked up the pieces of the cell phone he’d taken from Lara—that she’d been dumb enough to think he’d let her use—and had packed the papers from the sale of the chopper.
The money The Refuge had sent to purchase the helicopter was already in his account, and along with the money Grant was paying him—and what he’d gotten from Jason Feldman, the man who’d bought Jack “Stone” Wickett—he was more than set.
He’d fly his packages to the island, get the rest of his money, then take off, flying south across the border. He’d sell the chopper once he got to Mexico, maybe to a cartel; those assholes had plenty of money and would probably love having a helicopter in their arsenal. Then he’d spend the rest of his life drinking, fucking, and enjoying the shit-ton of money he’d accumulated, most of it thanks to this single job.
In a few hours, it would be done. He wouldn’t think about the woman sitting next to him and what she was about to go through. Or the unconscious man in the back. They weren’t his problem. Ricky Norman only cared about money. And he was about to have more than he could ever spend. Retirement was only one delivery away.
Satisfied with himself, Ricky pushed the helicopter out of the hangar, removed the dolly from underneath, and rolled it back into the building. Then he closed the bay door, climbed into the chopper, put a pair of headphones over his ears, and smiled as he started the process to get into the air. The sooner he delivered the broad to Grant, the sooner he could get the hell out of the country.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Ryan paced back and forth next to her Ford Explorer. She bit her thumbnail as she argued with herself about what she should do. Doing what wasrightwould mean exposing herself. Revealing who she really was. And that was the last thing she wanted. She loved her job here at The Refuge, and she had no doubt that speaking up would mean losing it.
Not only that, but she’d lose the best friends she’d ever had. The people who lived and worked here had embraced her. Had treated her like she was family…and not a freak. Someone to be wary of. Ryan had done her best to protect her new friends from afar, but this was…
She needed help.
Taking a deep breath, and ignoring the nausea in her belly, Ryan jogged toward the main lodge. Brick and the others were having a staff meeting. Jess, Carly, and Ryan were supposed to be there a little later to give them an update on the housekeeping. That was one thing Ryan loved about working here, the men who owned the place welcomed everyone’s input. They were genuinely interested in how every part of the operation was running, and that meant hearing straight from the people who worked there.
