Eric walks around, but suddenly stops. His eyes come up to meet mine.
“Do you love me Carnie?”
That simple question only requires a yes or no answer but I sit here in stunned silence. I’ve never been a person to say I love someone without truly meaning it, but I’m about to lie to him and probably hurt Viking in the process.
“Yes.”
I say it with all of the strength I can muster. I can see Viking swallow hard with his throat bobbing. My heart clenches with the lie I just told. Eric watches me. He’s not saying a word. It’s intense. Way too intense. The room is thick with tension and the air is heavy.
“Can I go to the bathroom Eric?” I ask needing an exit.
I need away from the heat that’s rolling off Viking in waves. I need away from Eric who is still looking at me.
Slowly Eric nods his head and motions for me to stand. I shove myself up and walk toward him. He grabs me in his arms and kisses me roughly. I fight the urge to throw up and swallow it back down. When he breaks the kiss he pulls my head to his chest.
“We’ll make this work,” he whispers against me.
I can hear the rapid beat of his heart against my ribs. He reaches into his pocket as he pushes me back and pulls out a knife. He cuts the zip tie and shoves me in the direction of the bathroom. I hurry and close the door behind me. I turn on the water and open a drawer to grab one of his razor blades. My heart is thudding in my ears. I really hope I’m doing the right thing here. I slip the razor into my back pocket, flush the toilet, and open the door. I’m startled to see Eric standing there smirking at me. My heart is beating overtime. I’m fearful he knows I took a razor or that he just knows I did something. What if he checks? What if he finds it on me?
“Arms behind your back,” he says with a smile.
“I thought we were okay Eric?” I ask softly as I bat my eyelashes at him. He chuckles in return.
“We are. I still don’t trust you or him though,” he says nodding over his shoulder to Viking.
“It’s okay. I understand. So, what’s next?” I ask sweetly as he zips a tie pulling my hands back together.
In my head I’m praying to god that he doesn’t find the razor in my pocket. Eric leads me back to the couch and shoves me down while I stare up at him.
“We’re waiting. I told you that my guys are out picking up a little ransom and then they’ll be back,” he says as surely as he can.
Viking chuckles and says, “Ransom? Tell me you didn’t ask my club for money to get me back?”
I almost laugh at that thought, but I can see by the look in Eric’s eyes that is exactly what he did.
“They’ll pay for you Viking. You’re the fucking president.” Viking chuckles, but it quickly turns into full blown laughter. Eric moves closer to us and slams the butt of his gun against Viking’s eye.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Eric can’t you just call them and tell them to hurry?” I interrupt their little bitch fight. It’s almost funny that Viking told me not to mess with him, but he’s doing exactly that.
“It’s not that easy Carnie. We have a system.”
He takes a step back and runs his hand through his hair. He turns to the two idiots that stayed with him and whispers something to them. I take that as my chance and scoot closer to Viking. I lean forward and Viking’s eyes stay on me the whole time. I keep watching Eric as I maneuver my fingers into the back pocket of my jeans. Very slowly I slip the blade free. I nick my finger as I pull it out. I wince, but keep my eyes on Eric. I shift and move my ass closer to Viking.
“Now isn’t the time for that darlin’,” he whispers under his breath.
I throw my head around to look at him before I jerk my head toward my back. He nods as if he understands me. I look back toward Eric and I’m happy to see that he’s still talking to his friends. Viking’s finger skims across mine. Heat races through my body just from