Chapter 36

"I don't know what you're talking about." Claudia tried to make her voice sound normal as she was steered toward the front entrance of the gambling club she had foolishly allowed herself to be dragged to.
Cool air washed over her heated skin when they stepped out of the club and into the dark night. She shivered and blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden darkness. The man that held her arm in a vice grip, Tyson King, ignored her words completely. He looked around impatiently, his sharp eyes taking in the traffic on the street, and then dragged her toward a car parked at the curb.
Another man, not as big as Tyson but just as frightening, opened the door to the car. This guy had a brutal, chilling look about him that made Claudia shiver. He looked like he ate babies for breakfast, women for lunch and Navy Seals for supper. There was no way she was getting in the car with these people. Claudia tried to pull away from Tyson, digging her heels against the pavement. Tyson stopped abruptly and looked down at her.
"Get in the car, Claudia," he said calmly, as though he weren't essentially kidnapping her.
A sudden thought sent spears of terror through her body. What if he was taking her to Dante, or worse, Franco Delgado? Both men had reason to want her dead. She had no idea what Tyson King's connections might be, but she suspected his reach was far. The way he spoke of ‘protection' made her think he knew at least part of her past.
"Please," she said, looking up into his dark, forbidding face. "Just leave me here, I can find my own way home. I promise, I'll go straight there and not return to this club ever again." She would go straight home, grab some essentials and then get the first flight out of here.
Tyson's gravelly laugh dashed her hopes of an easy escape. "You need to get in the car, beautiful. I'm not letting you go."
His words sounded so final. He put more pressure on her arm, pushing her toward the open door of the car. In a desperate attempt to break his hold, Claudia threw her elbow back into his hard stomach and then wrenched her body sideways, away from the open door. Tyson's breath whooshed out at the impact, but his grip didn't slacken in the least, nor did he move an inch when she threw herself away from him. All Claudia managed to accomplish was to knock herself off balance. If he hadn't been holding her so tightly she would have hit the pavement hard. Instead, only her hand and the tips of her long blond hair grazed the ground.
With a grunt of annoyance, Tyson hauled her upright, then bodily picked her up as though she weighed no more than a child. Before Claudia could even think to struggle, the other man placed a hand on her head to protect her from the doorframe while Tyson shoved her through the door and climbed in the car behind her.
As the doors slammed shut, Claudia let out a scream of fear, which was immediately cut off by Tyson's giant hand against her mouth. She began to struggle, reaching for the latch on the other door closest to her. He held her tightly against his huge body as the car pulled away from the curb and sped from the club.
Claudia's struggles began to calm. Tyson's hold was unbreakable and all she was managing to do was wiggle her body all over his chest and lap. Her chest heaved with fear and exertion. His scent, mint combined with a hint of cigar, enveloped her. Lightheadedness blurred her vision from his heavy hand cutting off most of her air supply and her body gradually relaxed into limpness.
"Will you scream if I move my hand?" his husky voice whispered in her ear.
Claudia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears that sprang to her eyes at bay. She shook her head slightly in his tight hold. He eased the pressure as though to test her and then removed his hand completely when she didn't scream. Her back was to his chest and his thick arm was wrapped around her middle. The bottom of her dress had hiked up a few very important inches in her struggle to be free. The result was a wealth of pale skin and long legs sprawled out over his knees. With her arms trapped at her sides, she couldn't attempt to pull the skirt back down to a decent length. She tried squirming a little, hoping she might be able to loosen his hold in the roomy back seat so she could crawl off his lap.
The only noticeable effect her fidgeting had on him was the huge erection she felt growing against her backside. She froze, her breathing becoming shallow as a new fear sprang to her mind. He had been staring at her with such intensity in the club. Did he want her in that way? These men could do anything to her. The only people she knew in the city were Anya and her boss at the café. The small Russian woman was still a mystery to her, and her boss knew so little about her she likely wouldn't have the first clue where to look if Claudia disappeared. Not one other person in the world knew she existed here.
The three men in the car looked like hardened criminals to her eyes. She had no doubt each one of them had engaged in heinous acts prior to kidnapping her, especially the one that had touched her head. The aura of violence surrounding him was so intense that she was sure people gave him a wide berth when he was out in public. An imaginary band tightened around her chest, constricting her breathing. How did she manage to get herself into these messes?
"Breathe, Claudia," Tyson's voice rumbled in her ear again, his breath stirring the hair against her temple.
Claudia shivered, but nonetheless tried to get more air into her starved lungs. Something about his calm voice reassured her that she wasn't about to become a statistic of random violence. Even if she were in trouble, she would need a clear head to fight her way out if a chance for escape presented itself.
His movements swift and sure, Tyson shifted her off his lap and into the seat next to him. When his hands reached for the skirt of her dress, Claudia's much smaller hands flew to his wrists automatically and pulled uselessly. He only tugged the skirt down a few precious inches, surprising her. He placed the small clutch purse she had been carrying with her in her lap and then reached around her to pull a seatbelt across her upper body and engage the latch. He did the same with his own belt then turned to face her.
The whites of his eyes were the only part of his face she could make out clearly in the darkness. They were firmly fixed on her.
"The door lock is engaged on the inside, don't bother trying to open that door until it's released," he said.