The Taken Series Read online

  “I am sorry about that. You weren’t a part of the plan. Jason wanted to take a souvenir home with us.” Tate sneered at Jason. I looked from Tate to Jason. He looked like maybe he hadn’t bathed for a couple of days. I knew one thing though; Jason was dangerous.

  “Tate, why did you take her? She is just one of our fans. Let her go. This is between us,” Roman said, finally coming to my defense.

  Thanks, buddy. Could have used it while he was choking the shit out of me.

  “I’d like to let her go, but unfortunately, she has seen two of our faces, and I don’t need her to give the cops descriptions of Roman Reed’s kidnappers.”

  I looked at this Tate guy, and I could tell he really did hate to involve me, but I was collateral damage at this point.

  “Tate, you asshole, just let us–” Roman started arguing.

  Tate put his gun to Roman’s throat and said, “Another word pretty boy and I’ll shoot. You know I’ll do it.”

  Roman immediately quieted.

  “Good. Now let’s see if you can rest those pipes for a while. We got a long ride ahead of us. Let’s be quiet until we’re at our destination.”

  I could tell Tate was rattled by the Jason episode in the backseat. I didn’t think Tate expected that kind of excitement. Well, that made two of us. A hand pulled my arm, sliding me back in place, sitting right beside Jason. This was bad, real bad.

  Chapter 3 - Beth

  We finally made it to our destination. Sometime before we arrived, Roman and I were blindfolded so we couldn’t see where we were going. I considered this to be a good sign because if they were going to kill us, why worry about what we saw?

  We were led into a house. Jason had a hold of me. I could tell because when they patted us down for possible weapons, Jason rubbed over my ass and my crotch. Fun fact number one: Jason was into me. Super. Fun fact number two: Jason was a psychopath. We turned a couple of corners and were led down into a basement. Once we were clear of the stairs, our blindfolds were removed.

  Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I found that we were in a half-finished basement where someone had started to convert it into a family room or a big bedroom. The really strange part was that steel bars enclosed an area in front of us like a jail cell. There was also a cell door that Tate put a key into and opened for us. It looked like a luxury jail cell. There was decent carpet on the floor, but once we walked in, there were no windows, no furniture, and one door that I hoped would lead to a bathroom.

  “Both of you step inside,” Tate commanded.

  Roman and I walked forward into the cell. All of this felt like a dream, a nightmare. But right now it wasn’t Roman Reed in front of me; he was just a regular guy. He could have been the Pope and I would have felt no different. We both walked to the middle of the room and turned around to face our captors.

  “Tate, how long are we going to be here?” I asked in my most timid voice, hoping he would take pity on me.

  “Awhile,” he said casually.

  “But there’s no furniture in here,” I stated the obvious, fanning out my arms.

  “Yeah, I am sorry about that. What’s your name?”

  “Beth Lowe.”

  “Beth, look I am sorry about this. I feel bad that you got mixed up in this. It was supposed to be him alone.” He sneered toward Roman.

  “What? You were going to lock me up in here with no furniture? How did you expect me to sleep?” Roman growled.

  “Floor,” Tate said. “But you lucked up. I had a bathroom installed when I started finishing the basement of this house.” His head gestured toward the door.

  “Well, aren’t I just fucking lucky,” Roman mumbled.

  “Beth, I will have the guys bring down the futon I have in my office. It’s decent to sleep on. It’s yours.” He looked intently at me.

  “Okay.” What else could I say? This guy was going to give me a bed, and there was no way I was going to dispute that.

  “What about me?” Roman shouted.

  I’d been wondering when he would show some emotion. He’d been really calm throughout this whole ordeal, but that was starting to change.

  “Floor!”

  “You’re an asshole, Tate! Always were. That’s one of the reasons you were kicked out of the band,” Roman barked out to Tate.

  What? He was in the band? Must have been before I became a fan.

  “Tate, she can stay in my room,” Jason whispered to Tate like a child asking permission.

  Please say no, please say no.

  Tate whirled on Jason. “Listen, here, you sick fuck! You are the reason she’s even involved. What did you think you were going to get out of this? Huh? Did you think I would be okay with you raping her and doing God knows what else your sick mind could come up with?”

  “If you had such a problem with me, why did you hire me?” Jason asked.

  “To help me with him! Only him! Not her. She is innocent. Shit, if you need to stick your dick somewhere, stick it up Roman’s ass, but if you touch her, I will beat the fuck out of you. You understand?” Tate wasn’t playing. Tate could kill Jason. Jason was skinny but Tate…hell, he was built. A muscled body and a handsome face, not that I was looking into dating a kidnapper, but facts were facts.

  Roman and I both shuddered at talk of rape. Sadly, I could imagine Jason raping Roman. Roman was a beautiful man. He was slender, but his muscles were defined. I knew he was a vegetarian from what I’d read about the band. Hell, he promoted the lifestyle, so he probably had zero body fat. Lately, Roman had let his hair get a little long, and I could easily understand Jason being attracted to that, but apparently Jason wasn’t because he looked at Tate with pure hatred in his eyes and stomped up the stairs like a petulant child.

  “Andrew, follow him upstairs. When he stops his temper tantrum, you guys bring down the futon out of my office. Then I want you to go into the garage and get the card table with the chairs. It’s bad enough that she had to go through this.”

  Tate shut the door to the cell, which was four feet from the bottom of the stairs. Andrew was halfway up the stairs when Tate turned to me.

  “Have you eaten tonight, Beth?”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Okay, I will bring some essentials like sheets, clothes, toilet paper, and anything else I can think of.”

  I nodded in thanks.

  “What! You don’t even have toilet paper in the bathroom? Was I supposed to wipe my ass with my hand? Why are you being so accommodating to her but not to me?” Roman yelled.

  “She didn’t screw me out of a fortune by kicking me out of the band.” And with that, Tate walked up the stairs and locked the door.

  Chapter 4 - Beth

  “Great!” Roman threw up his hands. “What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” He paced the cell.

  “Uh…Roman, I guess we haven’t really met, I’m–”

  “Beth. Yeah, got the memo about five minutes ago,” Roman said as he rolled his eyes. “You do know this isn’t a meet and greet. We are locked up in a fucking cell in a fucking basement!” he yelled as he shook the bars.

  Oh…Roman is an asshole. Wait, calm down! He is under a lot of pressure.

  Well, so are you! Argh!

  “Yeah, I kind of figured it out when I had the creepy guy choking me in the fucking car! All thanks to you, jack hole!”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He spun to face me.

  “Hum…let me see.” I put my hand up to my chin and started tapping my cheek with my finger as though I was thinking. “I paid $350.00 to meet your ass, and I get abducted because you pissed off an old buddy. A bandmate? What did he do, play the chord wrong?” I yelled the words, letting him know that I blamed him for this.

  “You need to shut the fuck up! You don’t know jack about my life!” he screamed at me while pointing his finger in my direction.

  “Uh…yeah I do,” I said patronizingly. “It’s in all the magazines. Anybody who is a fan of yours knows a little bit abou
t your life.”

  “All you chicks are stalkers. You buy magazines wanting to know more about me? Why? Is it because I’m “‘pretty?’” he asked condescendingly while air quoting the word pretty. He sneered at me in disgust as though he has argued this point before.

  “Just for the record, Calvin Klein model you are not. I fell in love with one of your songs, not your face.” Though I had to admit his face was beautiful. He had the most amazing green eyes I had ever seen, but I was telling the truth. I’d heard one of his songs and I had fallen so in love with it. Eventually, I watched the video. Then I saw him and I was a fan instantly.

  “Whatever, can you just…I don’t know, go sit in a corner and be quiet?”

  What the fuck did he just say to me?

  I was going to tell him to stick that idea up his ass, but I imagined he was just as freaked out as I was. I didn’t want to fight with him, but honestly my crush on the guy was decreasing by the second. I walked to the other side of the cell and pressed my back against the wall. I looked around the room. Tate had the room nearly finished. He’d hung the paneling, and the carpet was decent. The bars of the cell were an added touch. I wouldn’t have used them, but who was I to judge?

  What the hell am I thinking?

  This was all insane. Why would someone kidnap the lead singer of a rock group? People got kicked out of bands all the time, but they didn’t kidnap other band members. Normally, they would just go to court. I walked over to the door on the other side of the room and opened it. It was indeed a bathroom. It was standard, nothing luxurious, but at least it wasn’t a bucket. I turned on the faucet. I didn’t know why. Something to do maybe, to make sure there was water. There was. Now what to do?

  I walked back over to the wall and slid down, sitting on the carpet. I looked at Roman. He was pacing like a wild animal in a cage. Ha ha. Maybe that was exactly what he was…a wild animal. I was sure there weren’t that many differences between animals and musicians. I looked down at my hands. What was Joey doing right now? How upset was he? Did Eve get in touch with Eric? I was sure she did. How would Joey be feeling about all of this? Was he worried or was he at his dad’s house right now playing video games? Kids were resilient.

  “Go faster, Jason.”

  Jason and Andrew brought the futon down the stairs. Tate followed behind them with his hands full of supplies. By the time they were all in the space between the cell wall and the stairs—what would you call that…a foyer? Roman stood at the bars.

  “Tate, we need to talk, man. I’m sure we can work something out. You need to let me out of here.”

  Tate leveled his gun at Roman’s head. “You need to move back from the bars.”

  Roman moved away, and Tate unlocked the door with his other hand. Jason and Andrew brought the futon into the cell. They looked at me and put it against the wall I was leaning on. Then they walked out of the cell and went back up the stairs. Jason didn’t even look at me. Good. Andrew and Jason returned with Jason carrying a small table and Andrew carrying two chairs. Tate never took the gun off Roman and I never stood. There was no point. If I tried something, Tate would shoot Roman, and then Andrew and Jason could easily take me out.

  They brought the table and chairs into the cell and put them in the center of the room. Andrew went to Tate and took the gun. Ah, Andrew was second in charge. Can’t say I blamed Tate. Jason was a loose cannon and psychopathic. Tate walked into the cell and over to me. He squatted and handed me an assortment of items. Jason came up behind him with a sack and handed it to Tate, and, in turn, Tate then handed it to me. Again, Jason didn’t look at me.

  “Look, I am so sorry you are involved in this.” Tate shook his head in disgust. “Here are some towels, soap, toothpaste, you know, things to make this easier on you. I had to give you my tooth brush.” He gave me a soft smile. “I wasn’t expecting to need any of this so I raided my own bathroom.” He laughed to himself.

  “What about him?” I nodded my chin toward Roman. Tate was being nice to me and Roman wasn’t. I felt a bit defeated at the moment. Tate looked over at Roman and glared. Roman leaned against the opposite wall of the room. Andrew still had the gun pointed at him.

  “His teeth could fall out for all I care. He’s a selfish bastard, so he will probably use your stuff, whether you want him to or not. That is why I brought two chairs. I figured he would take the chair I brought for you and leave you the floor.”

  “I would just sit on the couch.” I gave a sad little smile.

  Tate laughed while shaking his head. “I guess I didn’t think about that. Tonight has not gone as expected.”

  “Yeah it hasn’t for me either. Tate, how long are we here for?”

  “I don’t know yet,” he answered.

  I looked at him. Boy, he was handsome, and if I wasn’t sitting in a cell right now in his basement, I could really learn to like this guy. He had short, dark hair and a handsome face. He wasn’t beautiful like Roman. He was handsome and rugged. I could easily imagine him cutting wood and then taking off his shirt all sweaty and…

  “I brought you one of my T-shirts to sleep in and the sheets to put on the futon. It folds out into a bed, and it’s actually pretty comfortable.” Tate stood up to his full height and turned around to face Roman.

  “You!” Tate pointed at Roman. “You can sleep on the floor. If she screams my name and I find you sleeping on that futon, I will kick your scrawny ass.” Tate turned and left the cell.

  Jason was gone, but Andrew still held the gun. When Tate shut the steel door, it clicked with a haunting, hollow sound. I was in a prison cell. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.

  “Beth, there are two light switches for the lights in the cell. One is over your shoulder and the other is at the top of the stairs. Just so you know we both have access to your lighting.” Tate looked at me again. All I could see was compassion in his eyes. “Try to get some rest, Beth. It’s been a long day. Oh and Roman…go fuck yourself.”

  I couldn’t help but snicker. I had two thoughts. One: I thought I was going crazy and suffering from shock. And two: at least I was Tate’s favorite.

  “Blow me!” Roman yelled back, but Tate was halfway up the stairs.

  “Sorry, I don’t think anyone will blow you for a long time, Roman.” Tate chuckled as he shut the door at the top of the stairs.

  Roman slid down the wall. Well, he tried, but he was wearing leather pants and a T-shirt. The leather kept catching on the wall, so finally he dropped down and leaned back. We were mirroring each other except I had a hand full of stuff. We sat like that for an hour until finally I got up. My back was stiff and I walked to the bathroom, carrying everything Tate had given me. I turned and locked the door.

  I didn’t really feel like showering, so I brushed my teeth and put on the T-shirt. It hung past my thighs. When I walked out of the bathroom, Roman stared at me, but I said nothing. I walked over to the futon and pushed it down flat. I put the sheets on the mattress. I found a king-size pillow in the bag, so I put the pillowcase on it and I walked to the wall and turned out the light. I climbed onto the bed and pulled the sheet over me and then I cried.

  Chapter 5 - Beth

  Morning came without any sunshine. How did I know this? Tate flipped on the light switch at the top of the stairs and walked down the steps with breakfast. Andrew followed behind.

  “Good morning,” Tate said with a smile on his face.

  Weird.

  “Roman, I see you liked the floor.”

  Oh, that’s where the smile came from.

  “What time is it?” I asked with my hands covering my eyes. The light was so bright that I didn’t feel like looking at my watch.

  “It is nine a.m. How did you sleep?” he asked while eyeing me in the bed.

  “Fine, where’s the daylight?” I asked.

  “Oh, I guess you won’t see much of that. This basement only had one window, and I boarded it up in case someone looked in. I couldn’t let anyone see this sight, now could I
?” Tate tilted his head toward the window on the other side of the basement.

  Even if it wasn’t boarded up, we wouldn’t get much sunlight. Not seeing the sun—there’s something scary about that, and I’m not even a huge fan of being out in the sun.

  Andrew opened the cell and Tate walked in. Andrew had a gun at the ready. Tate put down our breakfast tray on the little table.

  “Come on and sit down and eat.”

  I was torn between what to do. I was only wearing a T-shirt and underwear. No bra, no pants, but I didn’t want to piss off our kidnappers. Tate was sweet, but he’d also abducted us. I looked over at Roman. He didn’t look well. Sleeping on the floor wouldn’t have helped. I mean, he was forty-one. Though that wasn’t old, he could probably handle the floor a lot better when he was twenty.

  “Come on, now!” Tate barked out.

  Okay, that answered my internal question. I pushed down the blankets and got out of the bed. I tugged down the T-shirt as best as I could and walked over to the table. Roman was still trying to get off the floor. Wow, he looked bad. He was pale, sweating, and he looked as though he was in pain. I sat down and looked at the plates. My plate had scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast, with a tall glass of orange juice beside it. Roman’s plate was different. It had bacon, sausage patties, and sausage links, with a glass of tap water next to it.

  “What the fuck, Tate!” Roman growled. He picked up his plate and threw it against the wall. This was not going to be good. “I am a fucking vegetarian. You know that. Do you think you’re funny?”

  I looked over at Tate and he had a huge smile on his face. Yep, Tate thought that was funny.