Page 37 of Dancing With Doubt

“Fucking hell!” He shouted, anger fueling the sound of his voice. “Let me out of here, dickhead!”

There was no answer, just the sound of the rushing waves somewhere outside.

Looked like it was up to Kai to work this out then, he decided and went to sit down in a back corner. He didn’t want to be up front in case the guy came at him with a weapon. He’d probably have one if he came back.

The good news was, Lincoln was still alive. Which meant whoever had taken him wanted him alive. This was probably about money, ransom. Nathan’s face came to mind and Lincoln decided that if he ever got out of this, he would smash that prick’s face in and end the man so that he’d never be a problem again, for him or Roxie.

He wasn’t worried, the fact that he was still alive told him all he needed to know. Whoever it was either wanted information or money. Lincoln would stall for time if it was information, giving Kai time to find him. If it was money, he’d arrange it all himself, once the guy showed up to make the deal.

The asshole would show up eventually, Lincoln knew that much.

He looked down at his wrist, wanting to check the time, but his watch was gone. What a fucking petty thief, he thought, his rage only growing as he brooded there in the darkness. It had to be Nathan, anybody else would have left the watch.

His headache was easing, but his eyes were burning for sleep. He tried to stay awake, to keep his eyes open, because he didn’t want the man to open that shutter without him knowing the guy was coming. When he found himself nodding off, he’d force himself up the wall and to his feet. Eventually, he grew too tired to get up again, and he waited there, trapped in the darkness.

Why hadn’t Kai come already, he wondered, knowing hours must have passed. Maybe he was outside, waiting on whoever had dumped him here to show up. Yeah, that made sense, Lincoln decided. It would do no good to rescue him without knowing exactly who it was that took him in the first place. He wanted to know so he could beat the guy’s face to a pulp. Good plan, Kai.

With his head back against the wall, Lincoln tried to keep himself awake. That became uncomfortable soon enough and he slid down on his back. He’d hear whoever was coming, these places usually had gravel outside, and he’d be able to get back up on his feet then.

Lincoln tried to think of things that would fuel his anger, keep him awake, but he’d been knocked out with some kind of drug, and it was late. Which only made him laugh, who knew chloroform was still a thing? He thought that shit was only used in old movies and books. Still, it was a good tactic for someone on their own facing off with a superior adversary they wanted to kidnap.

His thoughts were getting loopier, the longer he was locked up in that dark room. For some reason, a memory of his mother came to him, long before the other kids came along. She was in the living room, crying in the semi-darkness, sprawled out on the couch with a picture in her hands. Lincoln had been too small to know why his mommy was crying, but he was old enough to know she wouldn’t want him to go to her. Even if the urge to make her stop crying was overwhelming him.

It must have been his dad, or maybe someone else, he decided as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out. He jerked awake when he realized he was dreaming.

“Got to stay awake.” He said, but he noticed his speech was slurred. It had been a long day for him, one he’d expected to end in bed with Roxie. Being kidnapped hadn’t been part of the plan at all and he needed sleep now.

“No time for sleep. Got to stay awake.”

He tried to get up from the floor, but he was exhausted. He did manage to sit up, his back against the wall. Roxie, he told himself, think of Roxie. Her smile and laugh, the way she looked at him in utter delight when she saw the ring and the bangle he’d bought for her. He knew he should have given her her mother’s watch back, but he’d forgotten all about that thing until now.

It was ugly to him, a gaudy display of wealth, but he could see why it had caught Roxie’s eyes when she was a teenager. It was sparkly, shiny, and everything that he knew would catch a teenage girl’s eyes. He’d put it in his safe and forgotten about it. He’d give it back to her when he got out of this mess, he decided. It was her mother’s so he couldn’t sell it off to replace the money he’d lost. Besides, Roxie was worth every penny.

His smile was crooked, but he couldn’t see that in the dark. All he knew was that making her happy made him happy. And she’d be very unhappy if he didn’t get out of this mess alive. He had another go at trying to free his hands and wondered if a trick he’d seen online would work. It took some fiddling around with fingers that were still kind of numb, but he eventually managed to tie his shoestrings the way he wanted and started to work his feet against the rope. Friction had worked in that video, but it had worked on a zip tie. The rope wasn’t budging.

“Fuck!”

The shout echoed around the empty room, but he didn’t care. Pissed off all over again, he redid his shoestrings properly and tried to think of a way to free himself. Nothing came to mind. And even if he got his hands free, what then? The lock was still on the outside of the building and as far as he knew, there was nothing in the room that he could use to force the door open.

Momentarily defeated, he leaned back against the wall and rested. When he felt himself snore softly, he forced his eyes open and leaned forward. Nope, no sleeping. Roxie needs you to go back home in one piece. Come on. Wake up.

He was about to force himself to stand up again when he heard the scrape of gravel beneath tires. A sound like a car engine soon reached his ears. He was about to find out who’d taken him. And who he was going to have to kill for daring to do it.