He might torture her. Might rape her. There was no way this could end well. Wouldn’t it be better to stay where she was and die quickly? The logic of the situation didn’t matter. She couldn’t help holding onto the thin hope that she might survive the night if she complied with his demands. In spite of the warnings shouting through her brain, she hoisted herself over the piles of trash and clumsily climbed out of the dumpster.

She had to grip the brick wall to hold herself upright.

“Stand over there in the light.”

Faith wasn’t sure how she’d managed to run in three-inch heels, because now she could barely walk in them, wobbling as she did, a few feet to the left to obey his order.

“Please…”

“If you say please once more I’m clipping you.”

She shut her mouth.

“Tell me, baby… does the rug match the drapes?”

Out of the million horrible things he could have said, “does the rug match the drapes” wasn’t in the top thousand. “I’m sorry, w-what?”

“Are you deaf, honey? It’s a simple enough question. Are you a natural redhead?”

“Y-yes.”

“Show me.”

She turned to run again, but he was too fast. He pressed her against the wall and pulled her panties down while he shoved her skirt up and awkwardly aimed her body into the light. She thrashed and fought him. She expected he’d throw her down and violate her, but after he found proof of what she’d said, he covered her back up.

“You may be the luckiest dumb slut in the world.” His arm went around her throat, pressing, pushing her consciousness down a dark well until the world shrank to a tiny pinpoint of light, then blinked out of existence.

* * *

Faith didn’t expect to wake up. She especially didn’t expect to wake up unclothed in a bathtub of water, with her pursuer—now captor—sitting on the closed toilet lid, staring down at her. She struggled to cover herself.

“You don’t gotta worry about me. You’re not my type.” He motioned to some soap in a dish on the rim of the tub. “Clean yourself up. If you smell like a sewer, even Leo won’t have mercy on you.” He flipped open a cheap burner phone. “Pray this goes in your favor.”

His eyes didn’t waver from Faith as he dialed. The call connected, and his features softened, breaking out into a smile that made him almost attractive. If he hadn’t been trying to kill her, that is.

“Leo!” he said.

Faith took the soap from the dish, too scared not to do whatever he asked. She tried to ignore her nudity, focusing instead on the man’s conversation.

“… yeah, it’s been awhile. I’ve been busy. Listen, I have something here you might be interested in—think of it as an early Christmas present. Remember what you told me last time I was out there? That thing you’d have if it weren’t for your moral code?… I’m not suggesting that… Stop and listen for a goddamn minute, Leo. I had to fire one of my crew tonight. I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, but I’ve got someone doing cleanup now. There was a witness. She’s your type. Redhead. Slender. Big green eyes and full lips. I don’t know what it is with you and Irish bitches, but she’s perfect for you. You can have what you wanted. All you have to do is come collect her.”