Finding Trust (Centre Games) Read Free Page A

redhead who had settled on the edge of the crowd with a couple of guys. “Seven, six, five.” Minky still had a good twenty metres to cover when he realised she wasn’t going to make it to her friend before the countdown to midnight finished. Ahh shit , he thought. He really didn’t want a girl who looked like that in the middle of a boisterous New Year’s Eve crowd by herself. His animal instincts were beginning to act up again. He was feeling the familiar increase in pulse and heightened sense of awareness that always preceded danger.
    “Four, three, two.” He saw the dark head move in close to Minky and place a casual arm around her shoulder; her stance immediately stiffened. His gut tightened into a hard knot and he could smell her fear spike up through the crowd. “One. Happy New Year!” A huge cheer went up from the crowd. Champagne poppers exploded everywhere and party whistles filled the air with the din of a thousand sea birds. The smell of her fear intensified and spiraled towards him across the crowd. He kept his eyes focused and zeroed into the back of her head. He could not afford to lose sight of her.
    ***
    Rihanna’s nostrils filled with the reek of stale sweat and garlic—or was it curry? Yuck, it was gross. Her heart had lodged itself in her throat and her veins throbbed with the adrenaline of fear. The big man had placed his arm around her shoulders and then stuck something against her that she could only presume was a knife from the point tickling her right ribs as they moved through the crowd.
    “Keep your mouth shut. Keep moving and don’t make me use this,” the man growled into her ear. She caught another horrific blast of his breath. Rihanna hastily scanned her eyes left and right, looking for anyone who might notice she was in trouble. Her brain was frantically processing her options of potential escape. The crowd was hindering any options. Nobody noticed her being dragged from the crowd at knifepoint. They were all too close and focused on the music, the atmosphere, and one another. Amazing how she could be in a crowd but be so alone.
    Her fear seemed to have peaked at the “extreme” level. Be calm…think…you can get out of this, she kept telling herself. What she needed was room. She needed to think ahead and prepare for what opportunities of escape may present. Her mind whizzed. Her body shook with fear. The knife continued to prick her ribs every few paces, a very real reminder of the danger she was in.
    As the crowd roared with the welcoming of the New Year, Rihanna decided her plan. As they moved through the edge of the crowd, she would try to pull away. She needed room to be able to achieve this and the crowd simply did not provide the opportunity.
    They were almost at the edge of the crowd when he dragged painfully on her shoulder and barked into her ear, “Don’t try anything stupid or I’ll stick you hard, bitch.”
    Oh shit , things have definitely got worse and her fear level had just hit an all new high. Had she telegraphed her intentions?
    As they reached the edge of the crowd, the lead vocal said, “We’re gonna take a little break and let you all get a drink and maybe a New Year’s kiss.” Another loud roar went up from the crowd. Her mind was foggy to anything but the knife in her ribs and how she might get away. Just as they made their way through the last of the crowd, another man approached quickly from her left—her opportunity to get away had just been foiled for the immediate future. Her best hope was that one of her friends might have noticed her heading off with a couple of strangers and wander over to investigate.
    Shit, Shit, Shit. Jazz probably thought she was still making goo goo eyes with the lead guitar. How could she have been so stupid to get separated from her friends on a night like this? All because she was too focused on flirting with somebody she would never even meet. Stupid, Rihanna, stupid, she mentally chastised herself.
    ***
    He had