Chapter 5 Who Are You

When neither of the guys said anything, Ransom swirled around to look at them. He gave them a good warning glare.

"Now's your chance to speak," he said sternly.

Mateo was still and steady, but Ransom could sense that he was itching to say something. Manny stared at the ground. That told him enough, but he wanted to hear them admit it.

"It's a lot easier to talk when all of your teeth are still in your mouth," Ransom said flatly. He didn't like handling matters that way, but sometimes it was the only way to get a stubborn jack*ss like Manny to speak.

"It was Manny," Mateo said, finally cracking under the pressure. He was a smart kid. He knew who was the boss in the room. He knew he had to stand up for himself.

"You know that's not how we do things," Ransom said to him.

Manny gasped. "What? You're just going to believe him?"

Ransom shot daggers at Manny to shut him up. "He didn't have to say anything. I already knew. And since when did you think it was okay to rough someone up like this without my say so?"

Manny snapped his mouth shut and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry, sir," he muttered.

Ransom scoffed and waved his hand to dismiss them. He wanted a moment alone with the woman. "Get out. I'll deal with you in a minute."

Mateo faltered and a small, smug smile crept onto his face. "Take it easy on Manny later. The girl already got her payback."

Manny grunted and yanked the door open angrily. Mateo stifled a laugh.

When Ransom turned back to the woman, she was looking up at him with excited nervousness. He chuckled lightly and bent down at her feet. As he untied the rope around her wrists, her eyes stayed fixed on his face. He wasn't sure anyone had ever looked at him for such a long period of time before.

He had to go around the back of the chair to get out of her gaze before he became... bothered. She was making him want to stare back, maybe touch her along the chin or something. But he didn't do that. He wasn't supposed to do that.

Before Ransom let the rope fall, he said softly next to her ear, "Don't run off, 'kay?"

He heard her breath stutter a bit, and he couldn't help but smile. What was this? He had never met anyone like her before.

When the rope fell, she stayed still. She didn't even rub her wrists where the ropes had been tied. He walked around in front of her again and crossed his arms again. What was he going to do with her?

"Before I let you go, I have a few questions," he said.

She finally looked down and turned her face away.

"You're being awfully quiet. Are you always like that?" he asked her. He couldn't help but be intrigued by her. She looked so fiery and confident in her eyes, but she was composed, maybe shy, maybe just guarded. He didn't know yet.

***

Leena was suddenly very intimidated by this man. She found it difficult at first to tear her eyes off of him, but now that he was standing before her again with his large arms crossed over his chest and his firm eyes looking down at her... she wasn't sure what to do or say.

She shrugged. It wasn't that she was a shy person in general, though it was true she was standoffish and quiet in many social situations until her input was needed. It was more that she was confused about what was happening inside of her.

In her mind, she knew that this type of situation was not good. She had literally been kidnapped. She was talking to her kidnappers' boss. But her body was betraying her. At the sight of this dark, mighty man, she felt so small, inferior. Then the way he untied her wrists so gently... the way his voice sounded, husky and colored with amusement when he'd told her not to run away.... It all made her belly sink and quiver.

Then there was her heart. It was beating so fast, she felt like she had just hiked up a mountain or something. What was all of that about? She'd never felt that before.

"What's your name?" he asked.

Leena cleared her throat. "L-Leena. Leena Morris."

"Leena Morris... what do you do for a living?"

Ooh, she liked the way her name sounded coming out of his mouth. In her mind, she kicked herself for thinking these absurd things. She nearly missed his second question. "Uh, I'm a financial consultant for Greene Consulting Group."

The man narrowed his eyes at her as if he were trying to deduce whether she was telling the truth or not. He inspected her face and body from his spot a couple of feet away. She tried not to shift under his gaze, but he just made her feel... wiggly. It was both delightful and terrifying.

"Well, Miss Morris," he finally said. "I'm sorry for this whole ruse, but I can't let you go until I've questioned you thoroughly and done a background check on you to make sure you're not a threat to us."

Leena scoffed lightly. "I don't even know who you are," she said, dumbfounded. She was the one that was taken. She didn't want to be captured by that creepy, pugnacious man, Manny.

Ransom knelt down again and looked her in the eye. Once again, her body betrayed her. She gripped the arms of the chair with her hands, forgetting they were now free. She didn't feel threatened, but there was certainly something dangerous about this situation.

What she initially thought was a petty mugging and beating was apparently something more. But just what had she witnessed? Who were those guys?

Most importantly, who was this guy with the fierce, alluring eyes?

"Who... are you?" she asked.

The man smiled at her, a deep dimple appearing on his right cheek. "My name's Ransom."

Leena almost laughed. "Ransom?" she repeated. Ransom as in money demanded for the release of a hostage? That seemed kind of ironic, yet somehow it fit him. "What's your last name?"

Ransom let out a little huff of air, his grin deepening and making Leena's heart beat faster. "I can't tell you that just yet," he said. "If I told you I'd have to.... Well, you know how the saying goes."