“Good idea,” Big rumbled, and shifted so he straddled her, still holding her hands pinned to the bed. “You wanna get the tape so I don’t get my face clawed off?”

Cade plucked the duct tape from the floor where Cockney had dropped it and peeled off a length, the thick sound ripping at her nerves. He deftly wrapped her wrists together, ignoring her muffled pleas. She might have been a mannequin for all the attention he paid her.

With her hands effectively bound, he moved to her feet, winding the tape around her shins just above her ankles. It tugged at her skin, pulling and pinching, adding a hint of pain to the fear.

Cade moved off the bed and passed the tape to Tex. “Here, hold on to this. I’ve got zip ties downstairs, but we may need more of it.”

Zip ties? Oh, God.

Cade glanced at Big. “Can you handle her, or do you need help?”

“I’ve got her,” Big assured him, then turned back to Olivia. She knew he was looking at her, but she couldn’t see his eyes. It threw her off, disoriented her, and panic built once again as he lowered his face to within inches of hers.

“If you give me any trouble,” he said, the soft, southern cadence of the words made hard by the ice in his tone, “I will fuck you up in ways you cannot even begin to comprehend. Starting with that sweet pussy I smell.”

She shrank back into the pillow, trying to put as much distance between them as she could. He followed her down, filling her nostrils with the scent of plastic and a hint of spicy cologne. The combination turned her stomach, and she fought back a wave of nausea.

“I will hurt you in ways you can’t imagine,” he went on, so much menace in the softly spoken words that she lost her breath. “Then I’ll do it some more. I will create holes in your body where there were none and I’ll fuck them so hard you’ll wish you were dead. One hint of a struggle from you on this trip down the stairs, and you’re done for.

“Nod if you understand me,” he said, and she obeyed without hesitation.

“That’s a good little bitch,” he mocked, and pushed off the bed. He bent, grabbing her wrists and pulling her up, then put his shoulder to her belly and hoisted her up.

“Ready,” he said, and walked through the door.

Olivia tried not to touch him on the trip down the stairs, but he was walking fast, and she was bouncing around so much she felt motion sick. She didn’t want to throw up with duct tape over her mouth, so she grabbed on to the waist of his jeans to steady herself.