TORTURE ME_ The Bandits MC(34)

They rode the elevator, going up to the sixteenth floor. Apparently, Tommy’s family owned the whole level. Fucking rich people, Fiona thought.



Gage gently rapped on the door across from the elevator, looking as secure and confident as ever. Fiona tried to match his level of calm, even though she honestly expected more gunshots to ring over their heads.



But instead, the door swung open a second later. The kid had clearly been waiting on them. Tommy was dressed in bright neon pink shorts and a tie-dyed top, very out of place in his otherwise monochrome, minimalist apartment. “I’m Preston, Preston Gage,” Gage said, flipping his first and last names to disguise his identity. Fiona made a mental note of that, reminding herself to berate him for that later. It’d be incredibly easy to find him that way, just by Googling the two names together, but she figured that he probably couldn’t think of another name quickly enough to look natural.



“Nice to meet you, Mr. Gage,” the teenager said, tossing his head to flip some strands of messy brown hair out of his eyes. “And you?”



“That’s Fiona,” Gage answered for her, “my photographer.”



“Sweet,” Tommy said. “Well, step on in. I didn’t know you guys were doing a feature on the soccer team. Why? We’ve lost like the past three seasons.”



“The female soccer team,” Fiona said in a rush, the idea hitting her right away as they stepped inside the apartment. “We need a male soccer player’s perspective on their strengths and weaknesses.”



“Oh,” Tommy said, disappointment seeping into his voice. “Well, have a seat. You want something to drink? Water? Vodka?”



“I’ll take a martini if you’re taking orders,” Gage said with a laugh, clearly trying to sound as charming as possible.



As soon as Fiona sat down, two dogs came running out from one of the side rooms, pawing her legs and trying to climb up in her lap.



Fiona used to love dogs. She had family dogs as a kid, but after her kidnapping, they were ruined for her forever. Her captor had three or four big dogs. He’d bring them up to them to allow her to pet them. He’d even unshackle her hands and wrists so that she could reach forward and touch the dog. But then, the dog would growl at her and flinch backwards, preparing to fight. She remembered that even as a teenager, when she was still tied up in that basement, she used to think, We’re the same. That dog and me, we’re the same pathetic little beast. We’ll never get out of here. We’ll never be free.



Now, sitting in Tommy’s room with his big, fluffy dogs trying to climb up into her lap, all of that came back to her, hitting her straight in the heart. She gently pushed the dogs away from her body, letting them walk over to Gage instead.



Gage pulled out his notepad from his pocket and turned to an empty page. “So, who would you say is the strongest asset on the team?”



Tommy rolled his eyes up in the back of his head as he considered the question. “Mmm, probably Hailey Bennet,” he said a moment later, nodding up and down to himself.



“Really?” Gage said. “That’s interesting. Everyone else we interviewed said somebody else.”



Tommy’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “That’s weird. Hailey is the best. Who’d everybody else say?”



“Um, I don’t know. What was her name, Fiona? Oh, that’s right. Victoria Greenwood,” Gage said, petting the top of the two dogs’ heads.



Tommy was silent for a long moment, but Fiona saw his face fall. He suddenly looked about ten years younger, a little boy trapped in a corner, terrified, with nowhere to turn.



“What…what do you really want from me?” he whispered.



Gage pretended not to understand what he meant. “Just a few more questions, if that’s alright with you. I just wanted to get your insight on a few things.”



“No, I mean, why are you really here? You don’t care about the soccer team, do you?” Tommy asked.



Fiona looked at Gage, who turned and stared back at her. Together, they nodded, both simultaneously deciding to drop the act, at least in part. “We’re here because of Tori,” Fiona said, turning back to face Tommy. “We wanted to know if you could help us find her.”



“Why would I know anything about that?” Tommy asked, but his tone turned mean and angry as he got up from his chair. “I don’t even know her that well.”



“Mmm, I think we both know that’s not really true, Tommy,” Fiona said, uncrossing her legs and standing up to her full height, which was about an inch or two taller than Tommy’s. “I think you know what I’m talking about.”