Free Around: Wrapped Around You by Evelyn Adams

make her pale skin red. Unlike when mustache had his hands on her, there was nothing sexual in the head guy’s touch. He was straight forward, matter of fact, unemotional. In some ways that made it worse. It seemed like he could slit your throat without feeling anything. The detachment made him scarier.
    God, who was she kidding? The entire experience was terrifying.
    She hadn’t seen any sign of Caleb and unless she thought of something soon or Eric showed up, she was probably going to die in this place. She hugged her arms tighter around her body and surveyed the room, looking for anything she could use to save herself.
    An abandoned desk, the chair she was sitting in and a broken tray stand. Nothing that would help. At least they hadn’t tied her again. She’d gotten the feeling back in her hands but she still bore the marks on her wrists from the zip ties. Holding her shirt together with one hand, she started to go through the desk drawers, praying for an abandoned letter opener or something.
    Except for a scrap of paper and an old receipt, the drawers were empty. She didn’t have a pen or anything to write with, but she wanted to leave Eric a message. If something happened to her, she wanted him to at least know that she’d been there.
    Careful of the tender spots on her wrist, she grabbed one of the jeweled fish and tugged until the jump ring gave way, and she was holding the tiny thing in her hand. Her bracelet was starting to look like a mouth with missing teeth, but if he found the fish, he might at least know that she never stopped thinking of him. As far as Hansel and Gretel plans went it was pretty weak, but it was the best she could manage.
    She slid open the top center drawer and pushed the fish in the corner – hopefully far enough back that someone would have to be looking for it and not so far back it would be missed if Jackson’s guys searched the room. She’d just closed the drawer when she heard the key rattle in the lock. She hurried to sit down, trying not to call attention to what she been doing. The door opened, and someone shoved Caleb into the room, locking the door behind him. Forgetting her ruined shirt and everything else for a moment, she threw herself into her brother’s arms.
    “Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?” she asked, pulling back to look at him.
    “Jesus, Julie,” he said, looking down at her appalled. “What the hell happened to you?”
    She glanced from his face to her torn shirt and back. “I’m okay. It looks worse than it is. It’s you I’m worried about. I heard them beating you.” She put her hand on his cheek. He had a couple of day’s growth on his chin, and the stubble was turning into a beard. She searched his dark eyes, so much like her own and smiled. Aside from the beard and dirty hair, he didn’t look as bad as she expected. His face was unmarked – no cuts or bruises – which meant the damage must have been to his body.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, letting go of his ribs. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    He hunched over almost as an afterthought. “I’m okay. It wasn’t that bad. I’m just sorry I got you into this mess.”
    “Who are these people, Caleb?”
    “Balducci – the head guy,” he said when she looked confused. “Started out as a client. I did a few small jobs for him. Nothing too illegal. Don’t look at me like that.” He shook his head.
    The gesture reminded her of all the times she’d told him to be careful or double check something, and he’d ignore her, leaving her to clean up the mess afterwards. It made her furious. As charming as he was, he managed to fuck up everything. She tamped down her anger. It wouldn’t help her get them out of here.
    “Go on.” She’d give herself the option to kill him later after she was sure this Balducci couldn’t do it.
    “The money was good, and he was pleased with my work. He asked me to do more complicated jobs.”
    “Why didn’t I know anything about this?” Julie