Kept (Bound Book 1) Read online

  Bound Volume One:

  Kept

  By Leona Keyoko Pink & Timothy Terry

  Copyright 2015 Leona Keyoko Pink

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Sample of Head Star Academy

  Excerpt from Bound: Caged

  Other Books by Leona Keyoko Pink and Tim Terry

  Contact Us!

  Chapter One

  When Autumn Wrenal saw the sun, she knew she was up too late.

  It had been over two days since she’d been kidnapped. Her eyes were bloodshot and her body was stiff. Bound to a wooden chair in handcuffs, her wrists were bruised and bleeding. Slowly she drifted in and out of consciousness as she waited for the inevitable moment when she would have to go back. It was clear that the people that had taken her had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

  The man they had taken Autumn from was not one to make deals. These people were idiots if they thought they could just take her and expect him to give them what they wanted for her safe return. Cage Zisgani would sooner kill her himself than allow anyone to use him.

  As his whore, Autumn knew Cage could be a cruel and sadistic bastard. Head of a criminal organization, he had built an empire of fear and power. He took pleasure in causing pain, taking anything and everything he wanted by force. He cared little for human life.

  Autumn groaned as she let her head fall back. She wanted to sleep. She wanted them to give her more of the drug they'd been giving her these last few days. More than anything she wanted to pass out and dream. It was her only true escape since meeting Cage. Yet these people wanted her awake so she could talk to Cage. So they could prove she was alive and well.

  Autumn sighed deeply as she lifted her head once more. She leaned forward in an attempt to get comfortable. She looked around the room to see if anything had changed. They were in some sort of abandoned warehouse. There were pallets stacked haphazardly around her. Her chair was in the middle of the room near one of the building's support beams.

  The people that had taken her were sitting around the warehouse. Their conversations were pointless. An argument here or there, some discussion about what they would do once this job was done. But for the most part, like her, they were all waiting. Waiting for the inevitable.

  There were seven altogether, six men and one woman. From what Autumn had gathered these last few days their leader was a man named Graham. He was the mastermind behind all this. He called all the shots, and had gathered everyone together. Autumn still didn’t know what he wanted, but she was sure he wasn’t going to get it. He was a few feet away from her, leaning up against another one of the support beams. He had his eyes closed as he waited for his cell phone to ring. Autumn couldn’t be sure if he was sleeping or thinking.

  A few feet away from him, Jean, the only woman in the group, sat in a chair. She had a mask on but it only covered her eyes and nose. She was filing her nails as she waited for something to happen. Every so often she’d make a bubble with the gum she was chewing. When it popped it echoed through the room causing some of the others to flinch.

  Jean seemed to be Graham’s woman. A few times Autumn had seen them talking quietly to each other, and even witnessed them kiss between her drug doses. Autumn still didn’t know what they were giving her but it knocked her out cold and left her feeling groggy afterwards. Autumn groaned again as she tilted her head to the side. She looked around the room, wondering what the others were up to.

  A man named Mills was sitting at a large table set up with several monitors. He kept biting his nails every so often as he looked around nervously. He was supposed to be some sort of computer expert. Since coming here Autumn had only ever seen him staring at the screens that were connected to cameras around the warehouse. He smoked a lot and drank coffee. Dozens of cups were scatted around his desk. He twitched and rocked every so often. He looked like he hadn’t slept for days. Whenever Jean would pop her bubble gum he’d nearly jump out of his seat.

  Scutt was the closest to Autumn. He sat in a chair not far from her, cleaning his gun. He liked to talk a lot and there was hardly a moment when he didn't talk. A few times Autumn had caught him staring at her. Once, when she’d woken in the middle of the night, Scutt had been resting his hand on her inner thigh. He'd whispered into her ear that when all this was done he was going to fuck her before he blew her brains out. Autumn couldn’t be sure if he meant it or if he was just attempting to scare her.

  A few feet from Scutt, Giz was the quietest of the bunch. Autumn had only ever heard him say one or two words at a time. He had a lot of scars on his body and he seemed to like knives. He was sitting on a stack of pallets, polishing one. Next to him stood a man named Noz. He leaned up against the pallets as he let his head fall back. He was supposed to be a sniper, though Autumn had yet to see him with a gun. She often saw him reading a magazine or cleaning his teeth with a toothpick.

  The last man, Row, was the farthest away from Autumn. She had to squint her eyes to see him where he stood in the doorway of the warehouse. According to the others he was an expert in many fields. It was rare for Autumn to see him standing still. He was often moving around, either pacing or doing something important.

  After a few seconds Row looked at his watch and slowly came back inside. He walked up to Graham and said, “We should have given ourselves more time. Do you really think he can deliver in just two days? We have six hours until our flights leave and we still have to do the pickup. If he doesn’t call soon we’ll have to find another way out of the country.”

  Graham was quiet for a minute or two before he opened his eyes and sighed. “He’ll call. Relax, we left ourselves plenty of time. I even paid the pilots a few extra grand to wait a few hours if it's necessary. So cool your jets.”

  Autumn couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she overheard them. Did they really think Cage was going to give them what they wanted? Did they really think that they could just get away with this? It didn’t matter if they left the country, or even the planet for that matter. As long as they were alive, Autumn knew Cage would find them. He was like the devil when crossed, evil to the core. There was no good deal or trade you could make. You always lost when dealing with him. Always.

  Autumn had learned all this the hard way. Once she’d been in love with a doctor. Curtis Knyler. Once she’d had a life, a family, and friends. Yet Cage had taken it all away from her simply because he had seen her and wanted her. No matter how many times she had tried to escape, Cage had always dragged her back. He'd killed any and all who had tried to help her, teaching her that if she involved anyone else in their business she would be killing them.

  Autumn struggled with her handcuffs as she attempted to sit up in her chair. Her wrists surged with pain but it was nothing compared to what she had already been through. This was a vacation compared to being with Cage. She almost wished she'd get a few more days of this. They fed her and kept her drugged for the most part. Sometimes she'd dream so deeply it was like everything else had been a nightmare

  Graham saw Autumn was up and told Jean to take her to use the restroom. Jean didn’t look too thrilled about the order but she got to her feet. She acted tough as she spat out her gum. She roughly uncuffed Autumn before yanking her to her feet. She shoved Autumn forward
. Autumn nearly fell to the floor. She only just managed to stumble forward instead of falling. Once she'd regained her footing, Jean twisted one of her arms behind her back.

  She pushed Autumn all the way to the restroom. After Autumn finished, Jean let her stagger most of the way back to her chair before she shoved her again. This time Autumn couldn’t catch herself and fell on her hands and knees.

  Jean stood over her and laughed then. Autumn knew she was trying to pick a fight with her, but she didn’t fight back. Autumn just got up and sat back down in her chair. Jean sighed with disappointment at the lack of a response. She gave Autumn a dirty look as she cuffed her to the chair once more but Autumn just looked right through her.

  Autumn didn’t hold any grudges or ill will against these people. She knew they were already dead. The moment they'd attacked Cage’s driver and taken her, they had all chosen to die. She knew they were nothing but zombies now, walking around.

  Mills put out the cigarette he was smoking. He grabbed a needle with some of the drug in it and walked over to Autumn. He'd forgotten they were waiting on Cage’s call. He'd almost jabbed her with the needle before Graham yelled at him. “No! I told you we're expecting his call any minute! She needs to be awake, should he ask for proof of life. How many times do I have to tell you?!"

  “Ssssorry boss.” said Mills, walking back to his desk. He put the needle down before rubbing his eyes. He sipped what was left of his coffee.

  Jean stretched and yawned. She'd stayed up most of the night. When she bent down to stretch she whispered to Autumn, "You shouldn't get your hopes up. Your boyfriend doesn't know this yet, but I'm gonna slit your throat before I send you over to him."

  Autumn sighed, unimpressed by Jean’s newest attempt to get a reaction out of her. This was now the second time she’d been threatened and she was getting tired of it. Autumn rolled her eyes before she said, "Why wait, if that's what you want to do? You'd best do it now while you still have the chance."

  Jean pulled back. Her eyes widened with surprise at Autumn's words. For a second she just stared at her before she slapped Autumn across the face. "Stupid BITCH has a death wish!"

  "Don't we all." said Scutt, holstering his gun. He got to his feet before taking out a cigarette. He lit it, taking a puff before he said, “I mean, I hear this guy is supposed to be some sort of demon. When he kills you, you don't even hear him coming, like some fucking shadow of death."

  The other men looked at Scutt, shifting their weight a bit. Autumn could tell they were worried by what he said. Graham sighed, stepping away from the support beam he’d been leaning against. He walked into the middle of the group and said, “Come on now. Everyone just needs to relax. He's only human. You must remember we're in control here. We have what he wants, so we own him."

  "Don’t see why he wants this ho-bag." said Jean, sitting back down in her chair. She took out a knife from her boot and stared at Autumn as she played with it. "If you ask me, he has no taste."

  Graham’s cell phone rang and he took it out of his pocket. He checked the number and then let it ring a few more times before he finally answered it with a smug look on his face. Everyone in the room grew quiet, trying to listen in. "Hello. Why, yes. Did you get what we asked for?" asked Graham.

  There was a pause as everyone in the room waited. Graham smiled and said, "You did? Oh, splendid, splendid. I do hope it wasn't an inconvenience. I suppose you'll want to talk to her."

  Graham began to walk over to Autumn with the cell phone but paused a second later.

  Autumn turned her head away from Graham, knowing Cage wouldn't want to talk to her. Graham was a bit surprised as he looked at Autumn. He froze for a second before saying, "Oh, alright."

  Jean laughed when she realized what was happening and said, "Ahh, poor baby. He doesn't even want to talk to the stupid bitch."

  Graham continued the conversation. "Alright, so now for the next step, a time and location. I want you to-...what…what did you say?"

  Autumn closed her eyes. Scutt took a few steps towards Graham, whispering to him. "What is it? What's going on?"

  Graham seemed shocked for a moment. He muted his cell phone before he turned to Noz and Giz. "Noz, take some gear to the roof and set your sights."

  Noz raised an eyebrow but nodded before he bent down and picked up a black duffel bag at his feet. He quickly took the stairs to the roof. Jean got up from her chair, concerned now. "What is it, baby?"

  "This fucker is trying to mess with me. He says he's right outside, and he wants to make the trade right now."

  "BULLSHIT!” said Mills, shaking his head. He quickly looked at all of his monitors for any sign of movement. The only thing he saw was Noz climbing to the roof. "I got nothing on the cameras."

  Graham unmuted his cell phone and spoke gruffly. "Listen here, buddy! You think this is some kind of joke? If you're trying to be funny, you have no idea what I’m capable of. There are worse things that I can do to your bitch than death. I have five dicks that would love a taste. Now stop messing around! You want to make a deal or what?"

  "I wouldn't." said Autumn, turning to look at Graham. "He's just going to kill you."

  "Shut up!" said Scutt, taking his gun out. He hit Autumn with the butt of it, drawing some blood.

  Graham held his cell phone to his ear before dropping it to the floor a second later. Jean quickly asked, "Well what did he say?! What did he say?! Is he gonna give us the stuff or what?"

  Graham looked to the floor, unsettled. "I don’t know. He…he hung up."

  Autumn's eyes were glossy. She knew Cage was already here. He didn't mess around and he didn't play games. If he said he was here then he was here, and now it was just a matter of minutes until this all ended.

  Row looked to Giz. "Go have a look about, just to make sure the cameras aren't glitched."

  "They're not glitched! I do good work." Mills muttered.

  "Whatever.” said Row. “You’re barely half awake and your nerves are shit. Who knows what you’ve missed.”

  “I didn’t miss anything!” shouted Mills, standing up. He knocked several of his empty coffee cups to the floor.

  “Both of you shut up!” yelled Graham. “Giz, get your ass outside like Row said. And Mills, keep your damn eyes on the monitors. I want to know if anything changes.”

  Mills sat back down and Giz jumped off the pallets. He quickly left the room, running outside. Several minutes passed. Everyone was on edge.

  Noz finished setting his rifle up. His quick descent ladder was ready to deploy, if needed. He scanned the perimeter, but didn't spot anything with his scope. He muttered into his radio. "Everything is all clear out here."

  Graham waited for Giz to give him the all clear, but Giz didn’t say a word and he didn’t come back. After fifteen minutes they were beginning to wonder what was going on.

  "Oh man! Oh man! He's been gone too long. We're dead! We are so dead! What do we do now?" asked Scutt.

  Graham paced for several more minutes until Jean finally couldn't take it anymore. "Are you going to go out there and try to deal?"

  "What? No!" said Graham. He looked at her like she was crazy. “This…this is some sort of trick! Some sort of mind game! There is no way he is out there. How could he have possibly found this place? It has no connection to any of us. I randomly picked it. There is just no way!"

  Autumn could see he was too far gone to think logically. The panic and fear of his own death was slowly reaching out to him, blocking all of the rational moves he could have made. Now he just wanted to get away. No deals, no anything, his objectives lost for the one true importance of seeing another day.

  "Maybe she has a tracking device on her." suggested Row. He went over to some cases in the room, taking out a AK-47. He loaded it and made sure the safety was off before he went to the windows.

  "No! No! I checked all that." said Mills. "She didn't have any tracers or bugs."

  "Row, go check our exit route." said Graham.

  "What abo
ut the deal, baby?" asked Jean.

  "Fuck the deal, Jean!" said Scutt, looking around the room. "Can't you see what's going on here? We have more things to worry about than the fucking deal. If that son of a bitch is really out there..." Scutt didn't finish his sentence. He just shook his head.

  Graham looked to Row and shouted, "Go! Check it now!"

  Row nodded and went outside. Graham scrambled to keep control of his men and what little there was left to do in this situation. "Scutt, get her up. We're leaving."

  "Now? But he could be out there!" said Scutt.

  "Just get her ass up!" ordered Graham.

  Jean got the keys and uncuffed Autumn, who smiled at her as if to say, 'I told you so'. Jean swallowed hard. Putting her knife away, she readied a gun. Mills grabbed a laptop and said, "I can track movement on here. And I'll find us a quick path out."

  "Great. We'll be set if we can make it to the car." said Scutt, holding his gun to Autumn’s head.

  "The way through the back is clear. We can get to the car." said Row, coming back.

  The fact that he came back relieved the room. Graham let out a sigh as he said, "Right, let's go."

  They all moved out. Noz was still on the roof. He told them their path was clear. When they were only a few feet from their car Graham confidently said, "If you see anyone that isn’t us, shoot on sight. I will teach this fucker not to mess with me."

  Mills ran ahead of the group, rushing to the car. He quickly went to start it. As soon as he turned the key, the engine ignited. The group was only a few feet away when the car exploded. The blast sent them flying back and they fell to the ground. Debris and bits of Mills were everywhere on the ground as smoke and flames engulfed the car. Graham and the others frantically climbed to their feet.

  Jean screamed, "What the fuck! What the fuck!"

  Row shouted into his radio. "Noz! Noz, you got sights?!"

  "I think I got something. I think…" said Noz over the radio.

  All of a sudden there was a sizzle of static over the radio. Several pops went off in the distance as guns fired. Row called to Noz over his radio. “What happened! Did you get him? What happened?! Noz! Noz! ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!”