around her chatted and generally insulted each other, Sophia tried to watch out the window without looking as if she was watching out the window. She didn’t want to give anyone—Cameron included—a reason to think she was a threat. But if she had a chance to get away, she planned to take it, and knowing where she was would help.
They were still pretty far outside of DC when they turned into a residential area. Definitely not high-end, the houses were old, but pretty large. They were far enough apart that neighbors wouldn’t be forced to see what the other was doing unless they were deliberately trying to. All in all, probably a good location for people selling drugs or weapons or whatever else. Although it wasn’t too promising, maybe Sophia would be able to call for help when they parked and got out of the car, and someone would notice.
Their SUV pulled up to the house on the corner. Although the house was probably built in the 1960s, someone had obviously refurbished the garage door with a contemporary opener. The SUV pulled straight into the garage and the door shut quickly behind them.
Sophia bit back a sigh. So much for calling out to the neighbors for help.
Cameron’s scary, black look was back. And even though she hoped he might be a good guy, Sophia was frightened. Everyone got out of the car, but Sophia couldn’t force herself to move. She shrank back into the seat when Cameron reached for her.
“Get out here right now,” Cameron told her through gritted teeth.
She could hear the other men laughing in the doorway. Fin called out, “Regretting your decision already, Cam?”
“I’m not regretting anything, but someone else is about to.”
One of the other men whose name she didn’t know offered to come help Cam get her out of the vehicle, listing in very crude detail what he would do to her while he was assisting.
Cameron glared at Sophia through narrowed eyes for a moment before calling back over his shoulder, “Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea, Rick. Why don’t you come on in here?”
Sophia immediately scooted over to Cameron and out the car door. All the men doubled over in malicious laughter in the doorway. Cameron grabbed her arm and dragged her forcefully out of the garage past the men, and toward the back of the house into what obviously was his bedroom. Sophia could still hear the other gang members laughing.
Once inside, Cameron turned and locked the door. Then Sophia watched, standing in the middle of the room, as he went over and grabbed a wooden chair that was leaning against the far wall. He dragged the chair to the door and propped it under the doorknob—added defense against anyone entering.
Cameron turned from the door and walked slowly over to Sophia. He stopped only when he was just inches from her. He reached up and touched the split on her lip.
They both winced.
“I’m sorry for everything that happened today, and everything that’s going to happen tonight,” he told her softly. “But right now I’m going to need you to scream like you’re terrified out of your mind. Or else I’m going to have to force you to do it.”
Cameron wasn’t sure if this situation could get much worse, but the look Sophia gave him made him think it probably could.
“Wh-what?” she stammered, backing away from him.
“Scream.”
“Why?”
Cameron took a step toward her, closing the space between them again. “Look, Sophia, I don’t want to hurt you. I really don’t,” he whispered close to her ear. “But those creeps out there have to think that there is something pretty terrible going on in here.”
Sophia looked around the room frantically, as if trying to find a way to escape. A tear seeped from the corner of her eye.
Cameron grimaced. Unfortunately, tears weren’t going to cut it in this case. He had to prove to the men in the rest of the house that there was a reason he had brought Sophia here.
One she wouldn’t like.
Ultimately, the worse it seemed in here for her, the safer she would be from the other men.
“You have to scream. Yell. Call me names. Do something.”
But Sophia just shook her head, looking around the room, anywhere but at him. It was almost as if she was in shock. Which would be understandable.
“Need some help in there, Cam?” Somebody—it sounded like Rick—called out from the other side of the door.
Damn. “Everything’s just fine,” Cameron responded.
Cameron gripped Sophia’s arms—hard—and shook her. “C’mon, Soph. Work with me. If they think you like it, they’re going to want their chance.”
She still just looked at him mutely. It honestly seemed beyond her ability to make any sort of sound whatsoever.
“Damn it, Soph.” Cameron shook her again. “I need you to fight me like you did back at the warehouse. Before you knew it was me.”
Then it occurred to Cameron what he needed to do. She had fought him like a wildcat in the warehouse. Not because she thought he was such a bad guy, but because she seemed so claustrophobic.
In his training and work for both the US Army Rangers and then Omega Sector, Cameron had been taught how to use perps’ weaknesses against them. It was one of the reasons Cameron had excelled at undercover work—his ability to pinpoint fears of the enemy. And use those fears without mercy.
He never thought he’d be using that training and skill to manipulate the one woman he once thought he might spend the rest of his life with.
Cameron spun Sophia around and put his hand over her mouth as he had at the warehouse. She immediately tensed up and started struggling. When he didn’t release her after a few moments she began fighting in earnest.
Cameron, protecting his face as best he could from her clawing hands, dragged her over to where the lone dresser stood in the sparse room. She kicked at it, causing it to hit up against the wall.
He could hear laughter from the other rooms.
Cameron removed his hand from her mouth.
“Let me go!” Sophia yelled as soon as his hand was gone. Cameron released her for just a moment and she flung herself around to face him, breaths sawing in and out of her chest.
This wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t hear her if his hand was over her mouth, but she didn’t scream if it wasn’t. Cameron looked around. The room had a tiny walk-in closet. Maybe that would be small enough to terrify her.
Cameron steeled himself against the thought of Sophia’s terror. He stepped toward her and this time she did scream as he reached for her.
“No!”
His hand covered her mouth again. He could hear whistles and catcalls from outside the door.
“Just a couple more minutes, baby. Hang in there,” he whispered into Sophia’s ear as he dragged her toward the closet.
When Sophia realized where they were headed, she fought him harder than before. Panic took over. She got a good punch to his cheek before he could catch her arm. That was going to leave a mark. But he didn’t let it stop him.
He caught the door with his foot and pushed it open. The closet was practically empty, just a couple of his shirts hanging in it. It wasn’t big by any means, with barely enough room for two people, but it wasn’t tiny. Only someone who really struggled with tight spaces would have a problem being in it for a short amount of time.
Cameron dragged the struggling Sophia into the enclosed space, keeping her back to his chest. He pulled the door closed with one hand and released her mouth with his other.
Sophia