The Merger

by Loni Ree

  “Aiden’s on his way to get you, so fucking be ready.” Then the phone goes dead. I’m standing there staring at the phone in my hand for a few seconds until the gravity of the situation hits me, and I take off running for my bedroom to get dressed.

  After throwing on my clothes, I pace the living room until Aiden storms in the door fifteen minutes later.

  “What happened to Madison?” I need to know.

  “Let’s get to the estate where I know we are safe, and I’ll explain everything on the way.” He grabs my hand, and we rush to out a waiting car where a couple of guards are waiting to drive us to Lukas’ estate.

  After making sure we are safe and on our way to the estate, Aiden turns to me. “Madison told her bodyguard she was meeting Lukas for dinner at Sterling-Ryan, but after he dropped her off in the basement garage, someone kidnapped her before she made it into the elevator.”

  “Shit, Lukas must be dying. Poor Madison,” I say through the tears falling down my face.

  “Yeah, I was fucking worried about you, and I couldn’t watch Lukas fall apart anymore. I told him you’d be better off at the estate, not at Sterling.” As he drops his chin to his chest and closes his eyes, I lay my head on his shoulder and silently weep.

  Because Marta is so unpredictable, Drew is worried she may attempt to capture another family member, which is why he sent two security guards with Aiden to pick me up and take me to the estate. We are at the estate for several hours before we get word that Madison has been rescued and is in the hospital.

  Another shock comes when we find out that Marta’s unknown accomplice is actually Max, Lukas’ best friend. Lukas is devastated, and our family mourns the loss of a family member. Max is now on the run with Marta, and they have stolen several million dollars of Lukas’ money.

  Lukas announces that Madison is expecting twins, and our family is forced to wait overnight, panicking about their wellbeing, before we are finally told Madison and her babies are going to be okay. Throughout the night, I see Drew a couple of times, and I try to ignore the way he makes me feel.

  After going home alone, I’m forced to face the next week, which sucks. My emotions are all over the place. I miss Madison like crazy. Having her here helps so much. I feel so alone; Aiden is insane with his workload at Steele Co. now that Max is gone. Mr. Whiskers is the only soul who listens to me right now. After a particularly bad day, I let my assistant know I'm heading home for the day and go straight to my apartment to open a new bottle of wine.

  I have a message from Gramps George the next morning, so I return his call. My luck goes from bad to worse; he’s having me represent Sterling-Ryan at some charity banquet. I try to use the excuse that it’s too late to find a date, but he has already arranged for Bradley to accompany me. After hanging up the phone, I bang my head on my desk a few times.

  At least I have the perfect dress to wear. It’s one-of-a-kind, and when it came in last month, I bought it before anyone else could even see it. The dress is strapless, has a nude underlay covered with a pale pink embroidered lace, and there are small, pale pink crystals sewn into the lace. As I move, the dress literally sparkles. If I'm going to be miserable, at least I will look good while I'm suffering.

  Two nights before the banquet, Gramps George invites me to dinner. When I get to the restaurant, I'm shocked to see Bradley sitting at the table with him. I sit at the table and wait for him to talk. He looks at us one at a time and then says, “I know you're both wondering why I asked you here tonight. I have spent a lot of time thinking, and with everything that has happened with Madison and Lukas and all the other risks to our families, I am asking the two of you to reconsider your engagement and marriage. There are obviously strong feelings between the two of you. Those feelings will strengthen and grow over time.”

  Bradley and I sit and stare at each other, shocked into silence. Bradley is the first one to speak. “Mr. Ryan, I have no idea how Annie feels, but we are barely friends right now. You have completely caught me off guard with your suggestion."

  I look at Bradley. “I have to agree. Especially with all the problems with Drew, an arranged marriage is crazy."

  I’m getting up to leave the table when Gramps George takes my hand and pleads, “Annie, please take a few days to think about what I've said before you refuse, for me.” He then looks at Bradley and requests that Bradley do the same. He knows we can't refuse him anything, so we agree, and we all finish dinner without discussing his idea again.

  The evening of the banquet, I prepare myself for the night ahead. After calling Bradley and begging him not to start shit with his uncle, he reluctantly agrees, and I pray for a peaceful event.

  The ballroom is packed when we arrive, and I hope we can avoid Drew all night. I turn around to walk to the bathroom and see Drew by the bar talking to Garrett. His eyes narrow, and he moves to intercept me.

  “Why are you here with my fucking nephew?” he demands as I’m walking past, but I ignore his question and keep moving.

  When I feel a hand on my arm, I turn to blast him but find Bradley holding me. “We are together. Fuck off,” he tells Drew and pulls me toward our table.

  Turning back as we walk away, I see the rage on Drew’s face and pray he doesn’t cause a scene. Every time Drew tries to approach me, Bradley takes me to the dance floor or introduces me to someone new. By the end of the night, the constant back and forth has exhausted me.

  “Thank God this night is over,” I whine as we sit in the back of the car on the ride back to my apartment.

  “You know your grandfather isn’t going to let the idea of a marriage between us drop,” he reminds me, and I look over at him and raise my eyebrows.

  “I don’t care. I’m tired of the games and the lies and all the shit. I don’t want to pretend anymore, and the only reason you are interested in me is to get revenge on Drew. I’m tired of being pulled around in some barbaric game of male egos. I am not going to lie and say we’re considering marriage. Thanks for helping me avoid Drew tonight, but I’m thinking about returning to California permanently. I’m trying to hire management to run La Femme because I need to get away from here,” I explain to Bradley.

  He looks shocked for a minute before he looks over at me and says, “I hope you find what you are looking for. My uncle is an idiot.”

  “Yeah, too bad.” I lean over and give him a small kiss on the cheek.

  He walks me to my apartment door and gives me a kiss on the top of my head before he turns and walks away. Before he turns the corner, he calls back to me, “Keep in touch, if for no other reason than to piss Drew off.” Then he winks and walks around the corner.

  Drew

  While sitting at home pissed at the world, Brayden’s name flashes across the screen of my phone and I answer. “What do you need?”

  “Be quiet, I’m putting you on speaker.”

  Huh?

  “Okay, Marta, you claim to have kidnapped my wife, but I have no proof until you let me talk to her.”

  "I'll do even better, Lukas. Give me a few minutes, and I'll send you a video of your precious sweetheart. You know my love of videos. It should prove to you, I do in fact have possession of your darling, little wife. I’ll get back to you when I have my demands ready. Trace her cell phone all you want. I have a friend who's very tech savvy. He transferred the Sim information from her phone to another phone. I’ll save you the trouble; it’s in a trashcan two blocks from Sterling–Ryan. Don’t fucking doubt how serious I am. The video I'm sending is not a fake like my last gift. Look for your video and wait for my call. Bye-bye, sweetie pie.” Her vulgar kissing sounds turn my stomach.

  "Fuck, Lukas, does the bitch really have Madison? Where was Madison's fucking bodyguard?" My grip on my phone threatens to crack the metal.

  "When she came home, she ran upstairs, changed clothes, and came down to leave. She told me Roger was going to drop her off at Sterling–Ryan to meet Lukas for dinner.” Brayden sounds far away before Lukas cuts in.

&nbs
p; “I’m waiting for the video to come through, but Brayden said Madison left here earlier to meet me for dinner. Why the fuck would she think that? I have no idea. I’d sent her a text earlier before our meeting at Sterling–Ryan to let her know I would be home late again tonight because of the Marta shit. No telling how Marta convinced her that I wanted to meet her. I'm going to watch the video when I get it and see if it looks real. You call Max, Bradley, Thomas, and the security team and let's get to Sterling-Ryan. I'm freaking the fuck out, Drew. We haven't told anyone yet, but Madison's pregnant with twins. That fucking lunatic claims to have my pregnant wife. I'm going to lose my goddamn mind.”

  My heart drops, but this is my business. Turning off my emotions, I take charge of the situation. “Brayden, you, Wyatt, and Lukas look at the video and send me a copy of it. I’ll get on these calls. The rest of the family needs to be protected, and I’ll tell Blake to stay home with Lucy and the baby, just in case. Then, let's get to Sterling–Ryan, as soon as possible. Lukas, make sure to have Brayden's phone ready to record, in case she calls back before you get to Sterling–Ryan so you have a record of all of her demands. Be sure to get as much information as you can. Hopefully, we can get there before she calls. Call Roger and have him meet us so we can find out exactly what he saw when he dropped her off. Lukas, I know how emotional you are right now, but you have to pull yourself together and stay as calm as possible. We will figure out a way to get her back.”

  After getting to Sterling-Ryan, I find the situation is even crazier than I first thought. Marta’s demands are insane. She wants to trade Madison for Max, Lukas’ best friend, and five million dollars. The money I get, but why trade a helpless woman for a large man who can defend himself? It leaves me scratching my head, but Lukas and Max agree to the exchange to get Madison back.

  If my mind wasn’t so fucked up over Annie, I would have figured this shit out before Lukas lost five million dollars. Max was the accomplice. That’s why the dumb cunt always stayed a little ahead of us when we were investigating her. Max was feeding her inside info, and we walked right into her trap. I take full responsibility; I should have realized there was a reason she would want to make such a stupid trade, but my mind is fucked-up over Annie.

  Trying to piece together the evidence of Max’s betrayal and track Max and Marta down is going to be a full-time job for DRS for quite a while. The morning has been a shit show, and I'm ready to fire every motherfucker who works for me. They keep fucking up even the simplest of jobs. This morning, I had a meeting with Jessica and senior management and informed them we would only be taking absolutely critical jobs until further notice.

  Last night, I had to watch my fucking nephew paw my woman. I held my temper at the banquet, but I plan on paying him a visit after work to remind him who Annie loves. This shit has gone on long enough. I’m having fucking nightmares every night, and I can’t take the constant pain anymore.

  Just when I think things can't get any worse, I walk into Lukas Ryan’s office for a meeting to discover Lukas, Aiden, and Bradley discussing the fact that George Ryan is pushing the possibility of a marriage between Bradley and Annie again.

  I interrupt them, demanding, “Why the fuck are you going over this again? You and Annie already decided marriage between the two of you is not happening. Annie has made it clear she does not want to marry you. You fucking know she is in love with me.”

  Bradley, the little fucker, turns and gives me an arrogant smirk and replies, “Actually, I’m sure I can help her forget your old ass in no time.” Losing fucking control, I charge the little fucker, but Lukas steps between us and grabs me around the waist.

  “Stop this shit right now. Bradley, get your ass back to Steele Co. and get to work.” Bradley looks at me and smirks. He gives me a sarcastic salute before he walks out the door, and Lukas barely holds me back.

  “I already told you to get over this shit. He only says that shit to get under your skin. You know he doesn’t want Annie,” Lukas assures me after Bradley leaves.

  “I’m never going to get over this shit. I want Annie back. If she wants to get married, I’ll fucking marry her,” I yell at him, and Aiden laughs behind me.

  “I think you are telling the wrong fucking person you want to get married. You should be telling my twin sister before she moves to California.” The motherfucker has some nerve. I turn and glare at Aiden.

  “Fuck you. What are you talking about?” I ask the fucker.

  “Annie is tired of the back and forth and all the drama you’re causing. She’s moving to California to live with Nikolas. Congratulations, you managed to get her completely out of your life.” He holds his glass up to me, and I start to advance on him before Lukas stops me.

  “You touch Aiden, and you’ll really fuck up your chances with Annie, dumbass,” he tells me.

  “Goddamn it, I am so tired of all of you assholes.” I flip both of the bastards off as I slam out of his office.

  Lukas Ryan

  “You can come out of the bathroom now,” I call to my interfering grandfather.

  Gramps George strolls out of my office bathroom with a sly grin on his face. “I told you my plan would work. We didn’t even have to fake an engagement to get him to blow up.” He laughs.

  “This all could have gone terribly wrong. If you’d miscalculated, Annie might have married Bradley,” I remind him.

  “Never. I knew that boy would wake the fuck up at some point. I just needed to give him a little push. Jealousy over his nephew was the perfect push,” Gramps George insists as he sits on my sofa and props his feet up on the table. “Now, we need to get the rest of your brothers' taken care of,” he states and points at Aiden.

  I groan. “Fuck me.”

  “No shit, fuck us all,” Aiden agrees.

  31

  Annie

  I have a meeting across town with a realtor in fifteen minutes about renting out my apartment, and while rushing out my office door, I run right into a huge, pissed off, immovable object.

  “What are you doing here?” Panting, I squeeze my way around Drew to get out the door.

  “I’m gonna talk to you,” he states while taking hold of my arm and dragging me back into my office door, but I resist and pull my arm from his grasp.

  “Stop, I’m late for an appointment across town. I don’t have time to deal with you right now.” Rushing around him, I keep walking out the back door toward my car. When I reach my car, a large arm wraps around my waist and lifts me in the air. Before I can respond, he throws me over his shoulder, and shock paralyzes me.

  Finally coming to my senses when we reach his car, I stammer, “Wait, what are you doing? You can’t kidnap me.”

  He opens his passenger door and gently places me in the car, then leans over and hooks the seat belt. After he closes the door, the lock engages, and I watch as he walks around the front of the car and gets into the driver's seat. “Have you lost your mind? You work with the police. You know kidnapping is a crime. Hello, are you going to talk to me?”

  He drives until we get to the highway, ignoring me. Once we reach the road, he picks up my hand from my lap and kisses my knuckles, and I think he has lost his mind.

  “Drew, you are really scaring me. Please say something,” I plead with him.

  “Not a thing to say. Talking doesn’t get us anywhere. I love you, and you love me. You want to get married, and I have decided I want to get married. Getting married is the only way I’m going to get control of this situation, so we are going to fucking go get married.”

  My brain can’t catch up with the back and forth. I hear him say he loves me, and I sit there in shock.

  “Wait, you can’t kidnap me and take me to get married.”

  He pulls over at the first exit and stops in a parking lot to look over at me. “Please have mercy on me. I fucking love you. Fucking forgive me. If you want to get married, let’s go get married right now. If you want to get knocked up, I’ll marry you and knock you up tonight. Just tell me wh
at the fuck to do. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. Every time I close my eyes, I picture that slimy bastard touching you. Please, tell me how to make this better. Fuck.” He lays his head back against the car seat and my heart melts.

  Reaching over to run my fingers down his face, I tell him, “I’ve missed you so much. Please don’t mess with me. If you aren’t serious, don’t lie and say you are.” He leans his forehead against mine, and relief shines in his eyes.

  “Thank God. I’m going to take you to my place now and show you how serious I am.” My missed appointment with the realtor floats through my mind as I listen to him. Jerking away from him, I grab my purse off the floor.

  “Oh, shit, I need to call my realtor and tell her I’m not coming.” After frantically searching for my phone, I call her and make up an excuse. I arrange to meet her the next day to talk about my plans.

  “We have a lot to talk about. Maybe you should move in with me. Hell, I still want to marry you. Let her lease out your apartment, and you can move in with me,” Drew insists after I end my call.

  Turning, I stare at him. “Whoa, you’re moving at warp speed. I want to take it slower this time and get to know each other first.”

  He hesitantly agrees, and we decide to start out slowly with a few regular dates. We choose to go on our first “date” on Friday, and I equally anticipate and dread it.

  When Friday comes, anxiety overtakes me. Because Drew has turned into Jekyll and Hyde so many times in the past, I am cautious about trusting his sincerity.

  Dressed and waiting way too early, my nerves are getting the best of me. I can’t hold Mr. Whiskers for comfort since I don’t want cat hair on my little black dress, so I pace up and down my hallway until I hear the buzzer signal Drew’s arrival. When I open my door, he blushes as he hands me flowers. I thank him for the flowers then arrange them in a vase, and we leave.