His Nasty Virgin

VIVIAN

They shoved me into the walk-in freezer and slammed the door. I was surrounded by blackness. Unable to make out my surroundings, I bumped into multiple plastic storage crates and produce shelves as I felt around aimlessly in an attempt to gather my bearings. It was no use. I couldn’t see anything at all.

It wasn’t long before I started to shiver furiously. The chill bit through the thin fabric of my shirt and pants, seeping into my skin and bones. My teeth chattered. My lips chapped. The tips of my fingers and toes started to throb from the cold. I needed to find a way out of here before I froze to death.

Or before the cartel could drag me to some undisclosed location and do much worse.

The sound of someone sniffing reached my ears. I followed the sound forward until I bumped into something.

Or rather, someone.

“Ow!” Molly cried. “Don’t s-step on m-me.”

I crouched down, reaching out blindly. “Oh, my God,

Molly! Is that you?”

“V-Vivian?” she gasped. Her voice was faint. Exhausted. “W-what are y-you doing h-here?”

I wrapped my arms around her as best I could. It was clear she’d been locked inside the freezer for much longer than I had. Hypothermia was suddenly a very real and dangerous threat to us both. Hopefully, we’d be able to generate enough body heat to keep us warm.

“I came to rescue you,” I said, hugging her tight. “Are you hurt?”

“N-no. They m-manhandled me, but they n-never hurt me. McCloud is-”

“I know. He’s working with them.”

“N-no. He made sure they didn’t hurt me.”

“Save your strength,” I told her. “Don’t waste your energy. We’re going to find a way out of here, I promise.”

“They kept me in a basement somewhere,” Molly grumbled. “I was so s-scared, Viv.”

I held her close to my chest, alarmed by how frigid her skin was. There was no telling how long she’d been held captive in here. The cold metal floor was doing a good job of sapping what little heat we could generate. I needed to figure out a way to keep warm and fast.

I reached to my right and bumped against what felt like a cardboard box. Perfect. I ripped it apart, dumping its contents onto the floor.

“W-what are y-you doing?” Molly asked, shivering.

“H-here,” I said, placing the material beside her. “Sit on this. We need to minimize contact with m-metal to stay as warm as possible. The heat will s-sap right out of us otherwise.” I was starting to shiver badly.

“Oh, s-so smart,” she replied, sounding loopy.

I found more boxes and dumped their contents as well. I fashioned a makeshift tent of sorts, covering Molly’s body as best I could. It wasn’t ideal, but at least her body heat wouldn’t escape as quickly.

“Where d-did you learn how to d-do this?” she asked.

“I’ve been w-watching a lot of nature documentaries lately.”

Molly curled her nose like it was the most preposterous thing she’d ever heard. I took this as a good sign. If she still had the energy to be her usual sassy self, then she was fairing a great deal better than I first thought.

Once I was sure Molly was covered, I stood up and aimlessly felt around for… anything. Possible items I could use as a weapon if someone came to drag us away. Maybe a light. Some sort of emergency lock release. Surely these things weren’t built without some kind of failsafe, right? What if some poor chef found themselves stuck in here like us? There had to be a way out of here.

I found a light switch on one of the furthest walls. Flicking it on turned out to be a mistake because now I knew there was no escaping this place.

The walk-in freezer must have been modified and had no emergency release. The door looked reinforced, only operational from the outside. Worse still were the traces of old blood on the floor from whatever poor victim was here before us.

My stomach lurched. I almost threw up.

“Okay,” I mumbled to myself. “Okay, okay, okay. This is fine.”

Molly frowned. “F-fine? How is any of this f-fine?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“Jesse. He’ll c-come find us.”

“Who the hell is J-Jesse?”

“It’s a long story,” I said through chattering teeth. “My bodyguard. And my… boyfriend, I guess? Except not really.

And I’m, uh… I’m pregnant.”

Molly’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“Like I said. Long story.”

“Well, hot damn. Mazel tov, I g-guess?”

“You have surprisingly few questions.”

“Too c-cold. Tell me l-later.”

I nodded. “Fair enough.”

I inspected the nearest shelf. It was portable, set on four wheels for easy maneuvering. I yanked hard on one of its support poles, hoping to pull it loose and use it to knock a few heads if the cartel was stupid enough to try me a second time.

I was filled with a renewed protectiveness. Knowing both Molly and the baby were in my care, I was ready to throw hands with the next person who walked through the freezer door.

Outside, I heard a ruckus. The sound was muffled but undeniable. Sirens. A whole squad, if I had to venture a guess. I could hear movement, the shuffling of feet, and frantic shouting. Were the police coming for us? Did they know I was here?

Lance was likely awake by now, which meant that he’d know I was missing. He’d have no choice but to report my disappearance to Jesse. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach flipped. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I was certain he was coming for me.

I managed to break the support pole free from the shelf. I wielded it like a bat, prepared to swing. I took a deep breath and waited, ready to pounce at the slightest hint of movement. My heart was pounding harder and harder as the chaos outside devolved into outright havoc. I didn’t know what was going on.

All I knew was that I was going to get all three of us the fuck out of there.