The Crime: Billionaire Love At First Sight (All In Series Book 3)

by Maggie Cole

  Mike turned and walked over to the computer. “You took what was mine. You’re never going to take anything of mine again. Say goodbye, Jack.”

  “No! What do you—”

  Jack’s voice abruptly stopped as Mike hit a button and disconnected them. The bidding screen popped back up.

  As I sobbed harder, Mike laughed hysterically.

  The bidders were enjoying the show. A $7 million figure popped up at the top of the screen. They were getting off from my fear, but I couldn’t stop weeping.

  He came and put the computer back on the bed next to me. “This stays here, or next time, you’ll get more than a slap, do you understand?”

  As more tears fell, I bit my lip.

  Mike walked out of the room. I laid there trapped. I sobbed, with my body in excruciating pain, and blood still dripping out of me.

  Then I heard it...a woman's voice. It sounded so familiar.

  Think, Maddie.

  New goosebumps popped up on my skin. I had just figured out who it was when she walked through the door.

  "I told you Jack Stevens wasn't a long-term strategy,” she sneered at me.

  My eyes went wide. What is Evelyn doing here?

  Mike walked in and started laughing again. "Seems you've made a lot of enemies while you've been whoring around."

  "Wh...What do you want, Evelyn?"

  She walked closer to the bed. I could smell the stench of her perfume. A dark, sinister smile appeared across her face. "To watch you suffer." She then took her hand and slapped me several times across the face, laughed, and left.

  The pain stung long after she left the room. Cold chills flew through my body, and a new round of tears and blood poured over my face.

  I prayed that Jack would rescue me before it was too late.

  * * *

  Jack

  The connection was gone. My Maddie was no longer on the screen. I clenched my fists and ground my teeth, then turned to see the horror on Tom’s and Collin’s faces.

  We were still in the car, on the way to the center, when I had received the FaceTime request.

  “Can you trace that?” I handed my phone up to the front of the car, where Piper and Creedie sat. As soon as Maddie had been abducted, they put a tap on my phone in case Duponte tried to contact me.

  Creedie was already on the phone. He shook his head. “The IP from wherever he called was blocked.”

  I punched the side of the car door. “Fuck.”

  I put my hands over my face, leaned my elbows on my knees, and watched the screen. Michael put the laptop in front of Maddie, to torture her and make her watch the vile bids that continued to increase.

  My Maddie was sobbing, and my heart broke again.

  Suddenly, I heard a woman's voice. My head about snapped off my neck. "That's Evelyn, the real estate agent I fired," I told Piper and Creedie.

  "Evelyn?" Tom questioned me.

  I nodded. "I know that's her."

  “How does she know Duponte?” Collin asked.

  My gut dropped. “I referred her to him when he was looking at apartments to move to New York.”

  "Why—"

  Tom stopped talking as Evelyn appeared on screen and started slapping Maddie hard.

  "That bitch," I seethed.

  Tom and Collin continued to watch the screen, saying nothing.

  Think, Jack. I tried to clear my mind. All I could see was Maddie, lying in a bed, in the outfit she picked out for me and roped to her headboard.

  “Oh my, God,” I sat up. “Turn the car around now!”

  “Jack, what is it?” Tom jerked his head toward me.

  “I know where she’s at! She’s in her apartment.”

  Piper glanced at me, over his shoulder. “Why do you think that?”

  “That was her headboard. She’s wearing an outfit she picked out for me. I’m telling you, he has her at her place.” I knew I wasn’t wrong about this.

  Creedie picked up the phone, “We need a SWAT team in a second location.”

  Hang on, Maddie, I thought. I’m coming, baby.

  It didn’t take us long to get there. We pulled up as the SWAT team pulled up to the curb.

  Inside the lobby, Piper put his hand on me. “Jack, you need to stay back and let us handle this.”

  “I’m going to kill that bastard and Evelyn too.”

  Creedie stepped in front of me. “Listen, Jack, once he’s in handcuffs, I’ll give you free rein on Michael, but right now, you need to worry about Maddie’s safety. Let us do our job.”

  Liv and Meg ran in. One of the guys must have messaged them.

  “Jack, listen to them. They know what they’re doing,” Liv instructed.

  “I want to kill them, too, Jack, but Liv is right.” Tom insisted.

  I pounded my fist on the front counter. “What would you do if it was Liv? I’m going in.”

  “Jack, you’re wasting time right now. Let them do their jobs for Maddie’s sake.” Collin put his hand on my shoulder.

  Agent Piper came up to me. “Stay back, Jack, or we will have to arrest you. Maddie is going to need you, and you can’t help her if you’re in jail.”

  “Come on, man, time is ticking,” Tom urged me.

  I wasn’t happy but realized I wasn’t going to win this battle. The SWAT team already cleared the coffee shop that was attached to Maddie’s lobby.

  “What are you waiting on then? Go get her.” I pointed to the agents.

  Piper pointed. “We cleared the route. We’re going up now.”

  As hard as it was, I stepped back. It was torture. Maddie was up there, and they were doing God knows what to her. I started to pace and rubbed my hands through my hair.

  The SWAT team filled the elevator. FBI agents took over the lobby, and their computers hooked into the security system of the building. One computer showed the SWAT team in the elevator, and they quickly switched the footage to her hallway. The other computer showed Maddie. She laid by herself on the bed, bare-breasted and crying. I wanted to turn away but couldn’t.

  Meg came up to me and put her hand on my arm. “She’s going to be all right.”

  I know it was meant to comfort and assure me, but all I could think was, would she?

  25

  Maddie

  The bidding quickly increased. It seemed like the higher the bidding, the faster the new bids came in.

  Jack, please save me, I kept repeating over and over in my mind, the memory of his horrified face replaying in my mind as an additional way to torture me.

  The timer blinked forty-five minutes on the computer screen. I closed my eyes and shuddered—some from the cold, mostly from fear.

  I tried to escape my restraints again. I wriggled my body and moved my arms and legs, but the ropes were too tight. My efforts only resulted in more blood on my body.

  Thirty-eight minutes now, $11 million and things so vile I don’t know if I would survive to be sold off to my next bidder. My heart raced so fast I thought I would have a heart attack—pain shot through my chest.

  There was a loud noise, and I heard Mike scream, “What the fuck?” and Evelyn’s high-pitched scream, then, “Get on the ground now,” over and over.

  Am I hallucinating?

  It was loud. Then it started to get quieter. It couldn’t have been long before my door opened, and men rushed in. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side as I trembled, not sure who they were or what they would do to me.

  “Maddie, are you okay?” I heard.

  My eyes closed tighter as I didn’t trust whoever it was.

  “Maddie, we aren’t going to hurt you.” The voice sounded familiar.

  Slowly, I turned to see Piper and Creedie. Not able to speak, I wept like a baby in relief.

  One of the SWAT team guys took their baton and smashed the camera that was in the ceiling.

  Creedie had grabbed the blanket that normally sat on my couch and covered me up. The other agents started to assess the ropes around my wrists and ankle
s.

  An agent with bright blue eyes gazed down at me. “Ma’am, we are going to take these off as soon as possible, but I have to take my time, so I don’t create more damage to your skin. It’s a very tight knot, and you are bleeding. There isn’t enough room to put a knife through and slice it, so it’s going to take a few minutes. Please try not to move.”

  I looked at Creedie, “Where’s Jack?” My voice was hoarse.

  “Downstairs, we wouldn’t let him come up. He should be up here shortly. I’m assuming after he lands a few good ones on Duponte.” Creedie beamed a sly grin at me.

  I wish he would beat the shit out of Evelyn too, went through my mind, but I knew Jack would never hit a woman. Regardless, I let out a small smile. It was something I thought I would never do again. The thought of Jack beating Mike to a bloody pulp made me feel a tad better.

  My wrist was freed. “Thank you,” I told the agent.

  “No problem, ma’am. You’re doing a great job. Keep this hand still now, please.”

  My freed hand ached, and my wrist was bloody and bruised.

  “The ambulance is already downstairs, and the paramedics should be up here soon to help,” Piper informed me.

  Exhausted and in pain, I closed my eyes for a moment but was grateful I had been found before anything else happened. Suddenly, I shuddered again at the thought of what the bidders wanted to do to me.

  “Find some more blankets.” Creedie pointed to another agent.

  Jack. I just need Jack.

  My second arm was placed on the bed. The agent working on the ropes moved to the other side of the bed and glanced down at me. “Ma’am, you’re doing great. I’m going to work on your ankles now.”

  "Thank you.”

  “Maddie!” I heard Jack scream.

  “Jack,” I cried out, rather gruff, as he rushed through the door, with blood all over his hand.

  Piper stepped in front of him and pointed to my ankle. “Don’t touch her. She’ll get hurt.”

  “Please, stop for a minute,” I said to the agent and cried once again. I wanted Jack. I didn’t care about my legs being free at that moment and only wanted to feel his strong arms around me.

  The agent stepped back. I heard Creedie say, “Let’s give them a minute.”

  Jack rushed over to me as everyone left the room.

  “Maddie!” He bawled, his chest heaved with emotion.

  “Just hold me, Jack.” I felt the safety of his arms.

  He kissed me and pushed my hair behind my ear.

  “I’m kind of disgusting right now.” My breath was shaky from all my crying.

  “Shhh.” He kissed me some more. “You’re the most beautiful girl. Nothing will ever change that.”

  A new river of tears flew off my face.

  I don’t know how long we held each other, but there was a knock on the door. Piper and Creedie came back in, along with the agent who cut the ropes off me.

  “We really need to get the remaining ropes off you. The paramedics are here too,” Creedie said.

  “Don’t leave me, Jack.” I grabbed him, and my heart started to beat out of my chest once more.

  Jack shook his head, “Don’t worry baby. I’m not leaving you.” He arranged his body so he sat behind me and held me. I leaned back into him, and melted into the familiar feeling of his body, as I tried to push the evil I experienced out of my mind.

  The paramedics came in and started to clean and bandage my wrists. They quickly cleaned the blood off Jack’s hand and gave him some wipes. He gently wiped the blood from my face, chin, neck, and breasts. I tried not to wince, but the bite mark on my breast was deep and already started to swell.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” Jack blinked back tears.

  “Shhh,” was all I could say.

  My right leg was set free, and the agent worked on my left leg. “Almost done, ma’am. You’re doing great.”

  He had kind eyes and I smiled at him.

  Liv and Meg ran through the door. “Maddie!”

  Piper put his hand up. “Don’t touch her. She can get hurt.” He pointed once again to my ankles.

  “Hey.”

  Tom and Collin voices were in the apartment, but they didn’t enter the bedroom.

  Jack pointed. “Liv, can you grab a sweatshirt and some pajama bottoms out of that drawer?”

  Liv went over and grabbed my clothes.

  My last leg was freed. “This ankle is worse than the other,” my attending agent told the paramedics.

  I looked at the agent and smiled. “Thank you for freeing me.”

  “Ma’am, I hope you have a quick recovery.”

  I thanked him again, and he left.

  The next few hours were a blur. I was taken to the ER, questioned by the FBI, and was exhausted.

  The FBI quickly discovered that Evelyn had been Mike’s real estate agent and that she had connections with the night security. She was the reason Mike was able to get me into my apartment.

  After Jack fired Evelyn, she researched me and discovered that Mike was my ex and the two started working together in revenge. And it didn’t take her long to flip on Mike in order to try and save her own ass.

  Jack sat by me the entire time, refusing to leave my side.

  “I want to go home.”

  “I know, babe.”

  The doctor came back in. “You have a concussion, but we’re concerned about internal bleeding. Your left ankle is growing redder and continuing to swell. You’re at risk for cellulitis and phlebitis.”

  “What does that mean?” Jack inquired.

  “It seems that the rope used on Ms. Burns has sea life on it. We are concerned about the bacteria that were on it, causing a cellulitis infection. The inflammation gives me concern for phlebitis. I’m going to order IVs of antibiotics and blood thinners.”

  “When can I go home?”

  The doctor reviewed his notes. “Ms. Burns, we need to have you under observation. If your symptoms get worse, we will need to take another course of action.”

  “Can we do the observation at home?” Jack wanted to know.

  The doctor sighed. “You would have to have round-the-clock nursing and pay for it out of pocket. It would cost thousands.”

  “Done,” Jack stated confidently.

  The doctor jerked his head, “Mr. Stevens, we aren’t talking about two thousand here.”

  Jack held up his hand. “Done.”

  The doctor nodded. "All right. You will have to set it up on your own. We can give you a list of places at the nurse's station.” He left the room.

  “Jack, you don’t...” Jack’s lips were quickly on mine. “Shh. It’s decided, don’t argue with me. We are going home.”

  He picked up his phone. “Tom, you guys bored out there?”

  Silence and then a brief laugh. “Can you go to the nurse's station and arrange for private care at my place? Maddie is going to need observation, and we need to get her out of here and back home.”

  Silence. “Thanks, man.”

  Jack came and sat next to the bed and stroked my cheek. “I’m so sorry. I should have gotten to you sooner, Maddie.”

  My eyes widened. “Jack, you didn’t know! It’s not your fault.”

  “I should’ve realized where you were when I saw your outfit.”

  “No, Jack. You couldn’t have. The only thing that matters is you rescued me in time.” A wave of chills ran back through me, as a flashback of the computer screen flashed through my mind.

  “What he did to you—”

  “Jack, he bit my breast. I’m sorry you saw that. It could have been worse.” I tried to downplay what happened.

  Jack closed his eyes. When he opened them, he admitted, “I saw the auction, Maddie.”

  At first, I was confused. Then, a bad feeling began to climb through me. “But how?”

  “The FBI found it. Collin guessed the password. I saw...” Jack stopped and closed his eyes.

  “You saw him stick his fingers in me and slap me
.” I winced.

  Jack's face heated with new rage. “I wanted to kill him, Maddie. I still do. And I want to kill Evelyn, too.”

  I grabbed Jack’s face in my hands. “Shh. It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay.”

  We didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “I don’t want you to lie to me, to hide from this, Maddie. What else did they do to you?”

  I pulled Jack's face to my forehead. “Besides slap me around? Nothing.”

  Jack was relieved, but also seemed as if he didn’t know whether he should believe me.

  “Honestly, Jack. I swear. I’m lucky because if you didn’t find me when you did, it was going to get really bad for me.”

  Jack closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you.” Fresh tears streamed down his face.

  “Shh. Jack, you couldn’t have.”

  “We should have had the bodyguards following you around inside work, not only standing outside the secured area.”

  I pulled him closer to me. “Jack, stop. This isn’t anyone’s fault. You aren’t responsible for what others do.”

  “It’s my job to protect you.”

  “It’s your job to love me. That’s all. You have saved me so many times from so much, and I love that about you. I love that you want to protect me at all costs, but it isn’t your job. You’re only job is to love me. You still love me, right?” I whispered, suddenly wondering if what Mike had done to me would be too much for him to get past.

  Jack pulled back and squinted at me. “Maddie, why would you ask me that?”

  I looked away. “Maybe you’re not going to be able to get past seeing Mike put his hands on me?”

  Jack picked up my head. “Maddie, don’t ever question my love for you. You have my heart, and it’s yours until you don’t want it anymore.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise. Just please, don’t ever give it back.”

  * * *

  The IVs kept me infection-free, and four days later, I was given the all-clear to no longer be under observation. It probably could have happened two days sooner, but Jack wouldn't take any chances.