by Cynthia Eden
“I was drugged.” His breath heaved out. Hadn’t he and Blair been talking about this very thing the previous night? They’d thought that Keli Patrick had been drugged because she couldn’t remember anything about her abduction.
And if Linc had been drugged…
Fucking hell. Blair was drugged, too. Someone drugged her and took her.
“Sir.” Martin cleared his throat. “Recreational drugs are not supposed to be on the island. I’ll forget you said anything, but management does not allow—”
He grabbed Martin’s shirt-front and shoved him against the golf cart once more.
Martin’s eyes bulged. Martin stared at him with utter terror, and that didn’t make sense, either. Not if Cole was right about most of the staff being former military. Shouldn’t Martin be more confident? “Where did you put the champagne?”
“Th-there was only a little left. I poured it out and threw away the bottle.”
“Threw it away—where?”
“At the main building.”
“What about the chocolate?”
“I-I put it in the kitchen disposal. Ground it up.” He licked his lower lip. “Why?”
“Because I was drugged. Because my wife is missing. Because I think some bastard on this island took her.” Because he was about to lose his mind. “Because if I don’t find her, I will tear this place apart with my bare hands.”
Martin gulped.
“Get on your walkie-talkie. Get a search going. I want every inch of this island checked.” Fury and fear twisted through him. “I want my wife.”
Chapter Ten
The world was swaying. Rocking back and forth, and the movements were both oddly soothing and extremely nauseating.
Blair cracked open one eye. Groaned. “Linc, what in the hell is—”
The sound of her own voice jolted her to awareness.
Her voice was ragged. Hoarse. As if she’d been screaming for hours.
Wait, had she? Blair licked dry lips. She…thought she remembered calling out for someone. Calling for help?
Calling for…Linc?
Linc wasn’t with her because she wasn’t in the bungalow any longer. The bungalow didn’t rock back and forth. It didn’t sway constantly. You know what swayed?
A freaking boat.
Blair knew that she’d somehow gotten on one.
Her head turned as she tried to take stock of the situation. She was in a cabin. The small, interior cabin of a boat. She was currently on a white couch, one with leather cushions. There was a round table close by—one of those tables that was bolted to the floor in boats. There were small, open windows near the couch. Just a few inches wide and long. The windows let in the spray of ocean water and the warm, salty air.
She lifted her hands and shoved hair out of her eyes. Her hands were bound, tied together with thick rope. So were her ankles.
She wasn’t naked. That was something. She wore a big, blue shirt. One of the shirts that she’d seen the male employees at Turquoise Island wearing. Her feet were bare. And—
My fingers are bare, too.
Her pretend wedding ring was gone. The engagement ring, too. She’d had the rings before, though. Or at least, she thought she’d had them. Blair had a vague memory of using the sharp diamond on the engagement ring to…
Cut someone?
Blair had a quick flash of being thrown over a man’s back. She’d reached out and scraped her ring against him.
The image vanished.
Her breath sawed out. She’d been taken. She remembered falling asleep with Linc. But someone had abducted her during the night, and now she was…here.
She turned around and slithered her way to the window. Such a small window. Maybe about ten inches long. Five or six inches wide. It was covered by a mesh wiring that let the breeze brush inside.
She inhaled the fresh ocean air, hoping it would help to clear her head.
It looks like the bad guys took the bait. That had been the plan, after all. For them to get fixated on her.
But…
She hadn’t intended to wake up without a weapon and be tied hand and foot, in the cabin of some boat.
Time to improvise.
She knew Linc would find her. No way would her partner give up on her. But she wasn’t just going to be a sitting duck. Her gaze swept over the cabin once more. Step one—get out of the ropes. Once she was free, she’d be able to climb the ladder that led up to the deck. Then…
She’d take care of whoever was on the boat with her.
Yes, she could do this. She would do this. She’d survived far worse situations before and—
The cabin’s door opened. Sunlight spilled down inside. “Oh, wonderful. You’re up.”
***
“The entire island has been searched,” Cole said quietly as they stood outside of Linc’s bungalow. “There’s no sign of her.”
“Because some bastard fucking took her.” Rage threatened to choke him. Blair had been taken, right from his arms.
Cole stepped closer to him. “There’s going to be a ransom demand.”
“We don’t fucking know that.” He dragged a hand over his face. His fingers were shaking. Shit. He clenched them into a fist.
“There was a demand with the other two cases. That’s why we’re down here, remember? That’s why we—”
“No one was shot at before.” Linc kept his voice low even though Cole was the only person close by. “That changes things, don’t you think?”
Cole’s lips pressed together.
Linc took that as a yes. “If our cover is blown, if the abductor knew that Blair wasn’t who she was pretending to be, then she could be dead right now.” Just saying the words hurt. His heart felt as if it had been cut from his chest. He whirled and stared out at the ocean. At those waves that were getting rougher and rougher with each passing moment. The storm was coming closer. It hadn’t arrived at dawn, but had been delayed and would be arriving with fury in the middle of the day. “My money is on Eddie—Edward. He’s the one tied to her past. If anyone knew who she really was, it would be him.”
“Ah, yes, about that…”
Linc swung back around.
“The guy could have gotten chatty with his girlfriend and shared what he knows about Blair—or what he thought he knew.”
“Who the hell is his girlfriend?” He’d thought Edward was on the island alone.
“Caught him and Natasha in a hot and heavy scene last night.”
Shit. “They could be working together.” He stormed down the beach.
“Hey, hey, wait! Where are you going?”
Linc didn’t look back. He thought his destination was obvious. “To beat the truth out of him.”
Cole grabbed him. Tackled him in the sand.
Linc came up swinging, but Cole ducked back, avoiding the blow. “Stop!”
He didn’t want to stop. He wouldn’t stop. He’d go find Eddie and he’d beat the—
“God, this is why we need Blair. She calms your ass down.” Cole held up his hands. “We’re here to catch the kidnappers. If they stay true to form—”
They were already not true to form! They’d shot at him. No, no, I think the shot was at Blair.
“You’ll get a ransom demand,” Cole added grimly. “When you deliver the ransom, that’s when you’ll get Blair back.”
“I don’t have money here,” he snapped back. “A fucking storm is rolling in. I don’t have time to waste. Blair is out there, and she could be hurt. She could be—”
No, he would not say dead. Blair wasn’t dead. No way.
“Let’s go in the bungalow,” Cole urged him. “Let’s get your sat phone, and let’s call Eric. He’ll get together the money you need. Hell, it’s probably already on stand-by, along with a boat or seaplane or whatever else we need. Let’s brief him, and then we’ll figure out our next move.”
Was the guy fucking serious? “This is Blair.”
Cole grabbed his arm and hauled him back toward the bungalow. “Ye
s, and I get that you lose your mind when it’s about her, but we have to do this right. For her. So come inside and let’s talk to Eric. Let’s get weapons. Then we can kick the ass of anyone in our way, okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay. But he did need a weapon. Linc stalked back inside the bungalow. He grabbed the sat phone from the hiding spot, tossed it to Cole, and while Cole made the call, he— “Wait.”
Cole paused with the sat phone half-way to his ear.
Linc stared at the bed. At the covers that were still rumpled…
At the rings on Blair’s pillow. The wedding ring. The engagement ring.
The rings…with a small, rolled up piece of paper inside of them. Rolled up like an old-school map.
“I’m guessing that wasn’t here before.” Cole’s voice was wary.
No, the rings hadn’t been there. The last time he’d seen those rings, they’d been on Blair’s finger. He’d given them to her on the plane, and he’d thought—
Fuck, they look good on her. If only all of this was for real.
He swallowed and snatched the note out of the rings. He unrolled the paper. The words there had been neatly typed:
Five million dollars at midnight or she’s dead. Leave the money at the fountain and walk the fuck away. Tell anyone—bring in any authorities—and you’ll only get her body.
“That’s evidence, Linc. We need to be careful with it. Preserve it. There could be fingerprints on it or—”
He dropped the note to the bed. The rings lay on the pillow. The gold seemed dimmer, weaker. The diamond had lost some of its sparkle. Because it’s no longer against her skin.
He took the phone. Had Eric in his ear moments later. “Is the seaplane ready to go?” Because, yes, Eric did have a plane ready on a nearby island. Linc had known about that, even if Cole hadn’t.
“They took the bait?” Eric’s question was flat.
Linc flinched. She’s not bait. She’s everything. “Five million dollars.”
“Done,” Eric said at once. “It will be on the seaplane.” A pause. “Linc, you all right?”
All right? Hell, no. The plan had been to catch the kidnappers in the act. The goal had never been for Blair to be taken from him. “They drugged us both. Think they fucking laced the chocolate we were given to eat.”
“Who do you think did it?”
The drugs. “I’m about to go beat the shit out of someone—so I’ll have an answer for you as soon as I’m done.” He shoved the phone at Cole. “Take this call for me, will you? I’ve got something to do.”
Alarm flared in Cole’s eyes. “Linc? Dammit, Linc, wait!”
He was done waiting. He yanked on a shirt. Shoes. Because, yes, he’d searched the freaking island while barefoot. His control had been shattered. His mind still blunted from the drugs.
But now…
Now he was cold. Ice cold. Blair was his priority. Getting her back. Keeping her alive.
Because whoever had taken her—
Tell anyone—bring in any authorities—and you’ll only get her body.
If her abductor found out that he worked for Wilde, Blair would be dead.
That wasn’t going to happen. He ran down the beach. He could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Could smell the storm in the air.
Act like a husband who is terrified. Desperate.
Not hard. Not fucking hard at all.
He could see Eddie’s bungalow up ahead.
Behind him, Linc heard Cole shouting his name. Screw that. Linc bounded up the steps that would take him to Eddie. The door was locked, so he pounded his fists into it over and over, and—
Eddie yanked open the door. “What in the hell?”
He surged inside. He knew Cole had searched the bungalow—all of the bungalows had been checked on the island after Blair’s disappearance—but…
How thorough were the searches?
“Where is my wife?” Linc demanded.
“Sorry, buddy.” Eddie held up his hands. “She’s not here.”
“Don’t lie to me!” He bounded toward him. “You wouldn’t stay away. I saw you watching her at the restaurant last night! You caught her when she fell! You were interested in my wife, too interested, and now she’s missing and—”
“Wait. Hold up. Your wife is missing?” Eddie frowned. What could have been real worry danced in his eyes. “Since when?”
“Don’t play freaking innocent! The staff on this island searched your bungalow today and—”
“And I just got back because I was out running. I didn’t know about a search or any missing woman. Slow down. Tell me what’s happened.”
Was he supposed to buy the guy’s innocent act? Hell, no. “Blair has been gone since sometime in the middle of the freaking night. I just found a message on my bed telling me to pay five million dollars. Pay the money and don’t call in the authorities or she’d die.” He pointed a shaking finger at Eddie. “So if you took her, I’ll telling you, I’ll pay.”
Eddie’s face mottled. “I did not take—”
“I will pay you anything that you want. Don’t hurt her. Just bring her back to me.” His breath heaved in and out. “I’m going to see Natasha. I’ll get her to provide me with a way to contact my bank. I will get the money. Don’t hurt Blair.”
Eddie surged toward him even as Cole rushed into the bungalow. “Look, man,” Eddie barked at Linc. “I did not take your wife! And if she’s who I suspect she is, the woman is more than capable of taking care of herself—”
That was what he needed. Absolutely that. Linc had needed to get the guy to confess that he knew Blair’s real identity. “Who do you think she is?”
Eddie yanked a hand through his hair. “I hate to tell you this, but you might have been played for a fool. If she’s who I think, she’s no damsel in distress. She’s a thief. The best thief I’ve ever met. She fucking stole my heart and my painting, and she vanished from my life.”
Oh, that prick had not just said Blair stole his heart—
Linc pulled back his fist.
Cole grabbed his arm. Held tight. Stopped him from taking the swing.
“So maybe she’s doing the same thing to you.” Sympathy flashed in Eddie’s eyes. “I doubt she’s been kidnapped. She’s just working a scam on you. She’ll take your money and run, and you will never see her again.”
“No.” Linc shook his head. “You don’t know her like I do.”
“Keep telling yourself that, buddy. I get that the woman is sexy as fuck, but you can’t let blind lust lead you to—”
Cole let go of Linc’s arm. Linc punched Eddie. Once, twice. Two fast, hard hits that had Eddie stumbling back, then falling on his ass in an unconscious heap.
Cole stared at the fallen man, then at Linc. “Feel better?”
“I won’t feel better until I have Blair back.” Linc waved his hand to the left. “Tear this room apart. If there is anything here that links back to Blair, I want to know about it.”
Cole nodded. “And while I do that, you will be…?”
“With Natasha. I’m going to the main building. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to help me make arrangements to get the ransom money.” He’d act suitably shaken and desperate. That was his role. And it’s what I am. “I want to get eyes on all the staff members. If anyone is missing, I want to know about it.”
“You think someone is with Blair, right now.” Cole seemed to consider this.
“I think I wouldn’t leave my big prize all alone. The perp wants five million for her. You protect five million. You guard it.” Someone was missing. Someone was with Blair right then.
Someone was going to be in for a world of pain.
Chapter Eleven
“I need to get back to the island. If I’m not back soon, it will be suspicious.”
Blair tried to project just the right amount of fear as she stammered, “Wh-why are you doing this?”
“Because your husband is very wealthy, and he will pay a great deal of money to get you
back.”
“You…drugged me.”
“Did I?” The steps creaked as Blair’s abductor eased down the narrow stairs.
Come closer. Just a little closer. Too bad Blair wasn’t wearing her leaf weapon earrings. But she was still ready to fight.
“You did. And…” Blair studied her abductor. “You aren’t working alone.”
“Aren’t you the chatty one today?” A smile. “But no, I’m not working alone.”
This whole scene was wrong. “You’re letting me see your face,” Blair whispered. That was such a bad sign.
Her abductor’s smile stretched.
Blair’s heart squeezed. “You’re not going to let me go.”
“Actually, I am. But I’m not going to give you back to your husband.” A shrug. “He’ll pay five million. And then the next bidder will pay, too. Turns out, you’re in high demand.”
“What?” A second bidder hadn’t been part of any scenario that she’d run in her head. “What second bidder?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Her heart raced too quickly.
“The second bidder wants the pleasure of killing you.”
Wonderful, so it was a pleasure?
“The second bidder seems very angry with you. Seems to have all sorts of plans in place. So it doesn’t matter if you see my face. You won’t be living long enough to tell anyone about me.”
***
“I need a phone, now!” Linc blasted as he slammed his fist against Natasha’s desk. “My wife was kidnapped—fucking kidnapped—and I have to get her back! I have to—”
“Sir!” Natasha grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the nearby door marked STAFF. She hauled him inside and shut the door with a quick click. “I understand that you’re stressed, but you have to keep your voice down. In situations like this, you can’t panic.”
He gaped at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Situations like this? You act as if this has happened before!”
Her gaze cut away.
“Shit. This has happened before. This island is such a friggin’ pit of hell! Honeymoon heaven, my ass!”
Natasha cleared her throat. “I have a phone that you can use. Guests are not allowed phones, but we do have them here for high level staff members. You can call your bank. You can make arrangements for the money that you need—”