Alex turned the screen to black and put the phone down. “The cop who just left, his name is Officer Hart. I need you to work with him. He thinks he can find Ashley.”
Colin and Nathan stepped aside for him as they exchanged questioning looks. “Where are you going?” asked Nathan.
Alex stopped when he reached the door and turned to look at his brothers...well, he supposed at this point, they were both his brothers. “You two need to find her and bring her back. You’re my Plan A.”
Colin’s face hardened and Alex knew he understood, but Nathan wasn’t ready for that conclusion. “Fine, we’ll bring her back,” said Nathan. “You can stay and help us.”
“No. Because I’m going to be Plan B.”
“What are we doing here?” Geoff paced back and forth.
The cop leaned against the doorframe to the old abandoned factory they were holed away in, and Ashley’s already dim hopes for her future became dimmer.
This wasn’t the kind of place you took someone before apologizing profusely and letting them go. Her hands were still bound in front of her with an oversized white zip tie. She kept on wiggling her wrists, but the thing was so tight that no matter how she repositioned herself, the hard plastic didn’t seem to give.
Looking around the old abandoned building, there were probably hundreds of things she could use to free herself, but Geoff hadn’t taken his eyes off her since the second he’d pulled her inside. And considering the way the cop was looking at Geoff, something was happening. Something neither of them would like.
“I’m sure you’re hungry, but we’ll have to wait just a while longer before we can get some breakfast, honey.”
Ashley couldn’t even muster up the energy to be surprised at the crazy words. “I’m not hungry,” she said carefully. She was over the anger. Some part of the fear had even faded over the past few hours. They hadn’t killed her yet, which meant they had plans for her. And if she found out what that plan was, maybe there was something she could do to stop them...
“It’s cold,” she lied. “Why can’t we go back—” She swallowed and forced herself to finish the sentence. “Back home?” If Geoff wanted to live in a fantasy world where they were together, she might have to play along. But only until she got what she needed from him.
Unfortunately, he rushed to her side to run his hands up and down along her back. She tried to suppress her shudder, fearing he would mistake her fear for shivering. “I’m sorry, sweetie. This will be over soon enough. And once we get back home, things will be better. I promise.”
“Better?” She couldn’t stop herself from looking at the tight ties around her wrists, but this wasn’t new. Geoff was the master of failed promises. Ashley remembered it so clearly. Nadia would be fighting with him for hours on end about his controlling nature. He’d always say it was going to get better. And then when it wasn’t better, he’d blame her for it. If she was more trustworthy, he wouldn’t have to follow her. If her friends were better, he wouldn’t have to cut her off from them. If she was a better wife, he wouldn’t treat her so badly.
There was no such thing as better with Geoff. It was only counting the minutes until he was pissed off again and found another way to hurt you.
Maybe this time he really won. He had her at his mercy, and she knew he had something horrible planned for Alex. The worst part was that she knew Alex loved her. If Geoff threatened her in any way, Alex would do what he said. He wouldn’t care whether he got killed in the process. He would do it for her.
Ashley had spent so long trying to be strong and trying to become a woman who could handle the shit that life threw at her. But not even the woman in the mirror was strong enough to survive if anything happened to Alex.
“Alex will be looking for me,” she said carefully, not trying to sound confrontational. “Let me tell him I’m okay. That way we can go home, and he won’t bother us.”
“Funny. I already told you, Alex isn’t going to be a problem any longer.”
Ashley’s heart sunk. That was what she was worried about.
“Would you stop talking to her?” The cop had introduced himself as Officer Thore, but in the car, Geoff had referred to him as Duffer. Ashley preferred to think of him as bastard, but she decided to keep that thought to herself.
“She’s just a little confused,” said Geoff.
The cop rolled his eyes. “She’s playing you. You need to step away from her before she cracks you over the head and kills you.”
Ashley glanced around her. Was there something she could hit Geoff with that she missed?
“You don’t understand,” said Geoff. “Ashley loves me. After the death of her mother, things got...muddled. But it’s better now. Once Alex is out of the way, she’ll see things more clearly.”
The cop tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at Geoff, and Ashley had a feeling it was the first time he truly understood how disturbed the man was. Though he hadn’t been this bad a week ago. He’d always been a controlling bastard, but the level of his delusions seemed to ramp up. She always knew deep down that he was dangerous and a little delusional, but this seemed to be a different level.
Ashley didn’t have time to truly psychoanalyze him, though. At the moment, she had two immediate threats: the cop and the psycho. The main difference between them was that the cop wanted her dead now.
Which made him the immediate threat. Ashley went against every protective instinct she had and leaned into Geoff. This time she couldn’t suppress her shudder. She turned to face him and met his eyes. “He scares me. Please don’t let him hurt me. You’re going to keep me safe, right?”
Nathan jumped up. “This is ridiculous. I’m going after him.”
Before he could even get to the door, Colin grabbed his arm and pushed him back toward the table. “Alex wanted us to find her.”
“Alex can barely tell up from down right now. He’s half insane. If we let him do what he’s trying to do, he’s going to end up dead.”
“If you stop him, and she ends up dead, what do you think is going to happen to him then?”
Nathan shrugged. “I don’t know. He’ll get over it. He’ll survive. That’s what we do. We’re survivors. We go through all the shit that life and fate and family can throw at us and we survive.”
Colin’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t move out of the way. “Sometimes surviving is no way to live. I know that if I were in his place, and it was Jean’s life on the table, I would be doing the exact same thing.”
“Well, I guess that shows that I’m the only one of us who can still use my brain,” said Nathan. “I told him Ashley was bad. I told him, and he didn’t listen. She’s the reason for this, and she’s going to get him killed. I should’ve just written her a big-ass check when I first realized what she was trying to do.”
“Even if she is just in it for the money, Alex isn’t,” snapped Colin. “This is real for him. He can’t just walk away.”
The crazed look in Colin’s eyes told Nathan that he was personalizing this way too much. He had to stop thinking like a dumbass in love and start thinking like the former mercenary that he was.
How in the hell was Nathan the only sane one? So Ashley died. Big deal. People die every day, and he never batted an eyelash. Alex was a fucking Ferrell. He had money and looks and power. Girls would throw panties at his feet as he walked by, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t he let this one go?
“So you can’t think of one person you would die for?” asked Colin.
“Of course I can. I can think of four people. Jean, Robert, Logan, and Alex. I don’t need any more than that.”
Colin glanced to the door and back at Nathan. “I know the feeling. If anyone is used to being alone, it’s me. Just try, for one second, put yourself in Alex’s place. To care so much about someone that nothing, not even family, could get in your way. And that’s why we have to stay here and find Ashley.”
Nathan was just about to tell Colin exactly how stupid that was when a face popped i
nto his mind. He hadn’t allowed himself to picture her in years. Ever since her family warned him away. If he thought they had a chance, would he have risked everything to have her?
Hart pushed open the door to the conference room. “I found the guy. Let’s go.”
Colin and Nathan ran out of the room to follow Hart. Nathan glanced between the two of them, but they both seemed pretty damn determined to get Ashley. “We’re going right now? We’re not waiting for backup?”
They reached the elevator bay, and as soon as Hart pushed the button, one of the doors opened. “I didn’t get this information on the up-and-up,” said Hart. “I called in a noise disturbance, so a patrol should be in the area.”
“So what does that mean we’re doing?” asked Nathan.
Hart pushed the button for the lobby floor. “That means it’s up to us to get there to cause a disturbance.”
Half an hour from Geoff
The text message was simple and short, but it filled Alex with relief. He ran a hand over his face to clear away his nervous sweat. Half an hour. That was workable. He just needed to make sure he didn’t do anything to jeopardize Ashley’s life in the next half an hour.
Gallagher had only sent him one message since he’d gotten his newly reactivated phone back. A time and a location. Gallagher might be batshit crazy, but he planned the attack well. It was during the time of night when Alex was cut off from all resources. During a time in his life where he and his family were barely speaking to one another.
Alex was sure that if the meeting weren’t at night, his family or the police or his lawyers would have convinced him to let law enforcement handle it. But there was no time now. Ashley had been taken just two hours ago. This would be over in minutes. He couldn’t give the FBI or the NYPD or any other agency time to get in place. The FBI had been tracking down Gallagher for weeks with no luck. At this point, he didn’t care what happened to Gallagher. As long as he had Ashley, he would be happy.
Even if he wasn’t there with her.
But if he got the message from Nathan that Ashley was free, all bets were off. He was supposed to meet Gallagher in ten minutes, but he needed more time. He tried to call the number that had text him, but no one answered. Instead, he tried texting back. Morning traffic, he said. I can’t get there in ten minutes.
After an agonizing minute, he finally got a response. I hope you been keeping up on your cardio.
“I think Gallagher is overreacting. We can go,” said Geoff as he set a “comforting” arm on Ashley’s back. Ever since she’d started her dirty game of playing Geoff against Duffer, she’d had to be content with his hands on her.
Just for a little bit longer, she told herself. Just until she was free.
“He’s been evading the FBI for weeks now. I think he has some idea about how to avoid getting caught by the cops.”
Okay. This was where she was really going to test how far she could get Geoff to go. “Why do you need to hide from the police?” she asked innocently. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
The cop narrowed his eyes at her and she knew he saw right through her act. But that was a problem for later. Right now, she just needed to make sure Geoff believed she was safe.
“She’s right,” said Geoff. “As long as Ashley isn’t calling the cops, what’s the big deal? We’re together and that’s all that matters.”
The cop scoffed. “You dumb fuck. She’s playing you.”
To keep Geoff from seeing her expression, she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead into Geoff’s suit. She didn’t want to be this close and didn’t even want to smell him. The very concept caused an anger to course through her. Her hands balled into fists, but she held them close to herself so Geoff wouldn’t see. “I think he’s going to kill me,” she said into Geoff’s suit.
He patted her back softly. “No, no,” he said. “You’re with me now. No one else is ever going to hurt you. I protect what’s mine.”
Oh God. A mixture of nausea and fear bubbled up, and she choked back a sob. Keep pushing. Keep on pressing those buttons. Get Geoff and the cop distracted and then she could make her move. “He’s going to kill me, and I can’t fight back and I can’t run, and what if he hurts you too?”
He pulled back to look down at her and she hoped with everything inside her that he saw those tears in her eyes and didn’t realize he was causing them.
“Hold on, baby.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small Swiss army knife. She sucked in a breath as the blade shot out, and then held it as he started to cut through the zip tie. Holy shit. It was working. He was going to cut her loose. She felt as if her chances of getting out were so much higher now.
Except it was still all hundred and twenty pounds of her against two full grown guys. One who was probably legally insane and the other who she was pretty sure was going to kill them both any second now. She was all alone, and unless she found a weapon, there was no way she could take on two guys.
Theoretically, if she could get to the water, she could duck under a nearby dock and hide, but in order to get to the dirty bay alongside the shipping yards, she’d have to pass over one large gravel bed. Basically, she’d be running with a target on her back.
If she was going to run, she’d need the keys to the cop’s car, and she wasn’t about to ask for them. But Geoff could ask for her.
“You’re not seriously untying her!” shouted the cop as he pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and started for them.
Ashley slid around Geoff’s body, keeping in contact with him even as she placed him between her and the angry cop.
“I told you she’s not going to be a problem,” said Geoff with the arrogance that had probably served him well in the business world. But not tonight.
“I know she’s not going to be a problem. Because we’re going to make sure she’s not a problem by tying her the fuck up.”
Ashley scanned the room for anything she could pick up to use against the men. Now that her hands were free, she had a few options. A cinderblock, part of a two-by-four, a few pieces of old furniture that she might be able to pick up. Nothing close by. If she was going to get to any of them, she was going to need a distraction.
As she weighed her options, a flash of movement in one of the windows caught her attention. Someone was outside. Was it Alex? Did he find her? Damn it. She was fine risking her life, but if she had to put Alex in danger, she didn’t know what she would do.
“You were brought here to drive us and to get her out of the building. That was it,” said Geoff as the cop got closer.
No. He was brought there to kill them. Ashley knew it deep in her bones, and the dark, determined way he looked at both her and Geoff told her exactly how real the threat was.
“I’m also going to make sure I don’t end up behind bars. Do you have any idea how many pissed-off people there are upstate who would love to share a cell with me? So I’m going to be as cautious as I need to be.”
“You don’t have to be cautious. You got Ashley out of a bad situation. She’s grateful. Tell him, Ashley.”
Ashley took the chance to take a slow step back while she nodded fervently. “I’m so grateful.” She wanted to say more, but those simple words felt like sandpaper coming out of her throat.
“Damn it, Cameron, you need to watch her.”
“He’s going to kill me,” said Ashley, taking advantage of her fear and letting her voice quiver. All the while, she took another step back.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” insisted Geoff.
“I want to hear him say it.” She met the cop’s eyes as she took another step back. Now she was so close to the pile of wood. A piece of two-by-four couldn’t stop a bullet, but it was damn well better than her just sitting around and waiting for that bullet to hit.
“Get over here right now,” said the cop.
“See,” said Ashley. “He won’t say it because it’s true. He’s going to kill me and then he’s going to kill you. We’re just passing
time until he decides he’s done with us.”
The cop shook his head and finally pulled out his gun. “Bitch, you talk too much.”
She’d miscalculated and pushed him too far. There was nothing to hide behind, but Ashley dove to the side, determined to at least give him a moving target. The bang of the gun going off echoed in the large space, and it seemed to happen at the same time her side slammed into the dirty concrete floor. The shock of the fall sent a wave of pain through her, and it took a few long seconds for her to realize that she wasn’t actually shot.
She scrambled over toward the broken two-by-fours and grabbed a plank of wood before she turned to see why there hadn’t been any more gunshots. Geoff and the cop were both struggling for the gun. At the same time, the back door to the building pushed open and two men entered with guns drawn. One was in uniform and the other was...Colin?
“Hold it!” shouted the new cop.
Hopefully he wasn’t friends with Duffer.
“Are you happy now!” shouted Duffer. “Your bitch called backup.”
Ashley could in no way take credit for the new arrivals, but she wasn’t about to bring that up. She stood, still grasping the three-foot section of wood close to her chest.
A third person entered the warehouse behind the new cop and Colin. Ashley squinted, but she was just able to make out the features. Nathan?
“It’s over. Ashley is coming with us. You should consider your next actions very carefully because they will affect the rest of your life.” Nathan sounded calm, cool, and collected as he walked around Colin and the new cop. He still left them an open shot, but he was also leaving himself vulnerable too. Something Ashley never thought he’d do in order to save her life.
Duffer waved his gun around between Ashley, Geoff, and this new group of men. The struggle was clear on his face.
Ashley was trying to catch her breath while making no sound at all. If she made a sound, Duffer might look at her and would remember how angry he was at her. But if he didn’t shoot her, he could shoot one of her brothers-in-law, and that wasn’t a good option either. If Nathan was going to risk everything for her, shouldn’t she do the same?
Restless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series, #4) Page 15