by Rylon, Jayne
“I know.”
“So where is she now?”
Trent tried not to hyperventilate. “That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. The ICU just opened to visitors. And she’s not here.”
“Oh fuck. Something is wrong.”
In the background, Reed barked orders to Cooper to get Holly’s other best friend, Kari, on the phone. It wasn’t long before Andi was relaying the information Trent had shared with her and asking their mutual acquaintance the same questions.
“No luck, Trent. Kari doesn’t know either. We’re both blowing up Holly’s phone right now. She’s not answering us either.” Andi sounded like she might cry. “So she was pissed when she left. Did she call a cab?”
“I don’t know. I think she probably was more likely to just walk the mad off.” He cursed, too guilty to admit she might have been more hurt than angry. “She wouldn’t take any of us or even Moose with her. I think because she didn’t plan to come back. What if…”
“No. Don’t let your imagination run wild. We’re going to find her, Trent.” Andi didn’t seem as certain about that as he would have liked. “Cooper’s got Ford on the phone now.”
That was good. Ford and Kari’s other two guys were lawyers. Plus rich. If anyone could hunt someone down, it would be them. They had tons of resources and connections.
Trent looked at Owen and said, “Call the cops.”
Then he slid down the wall, crumpled into a heap at its base. He didn’t even realize he was praying until Lorenzo knelt beside him and joined in. Owen stood guard over them both, his phone to his ear as he related the situation to the police in a calm manner Trent could never have managed right then. Hospital staff skirted around them in silence, respectful of their suffering, even if they mistook the reason behind it.
What if he never got to tell Holly all the things he should have said the night before?
In that moment, he swore that if he got the chance, he’d be as brave as she had been and admit that while their agreement might have started out for money, he was in it for a hell of a lot more than that now.
For love.
Feeling useless, he bolted to his feet, nearly cracking his skull against Lorenzo’s in the process. “I can’t sit here. I’m going to her house to see if she’s there.”
Even though in his gut he already knew she was gone, he had to be sure.
“I’ll stay in case she comes back.” Owen clapped Trent on the shoulder.
Lorenzo looked between them.
“Go ahead.” Owen’s mouth pinched at the corners, making Trent aware it wasn’t only him freaking out. It wouldn’t only be him that suffered if… He couldn’t allow himself to imagine the possibilities or he’d crumble again. “It’s better if both of you look for Holly. The sooner we find her, the better.”
At least they agreed on that.
2
“Trent, you’re not going to like this,” Brady—one of Kari’s trio of lawyers—warned him as soon as he answered the phone two hours later. “And just so you know, everyone is here together, on speaker.”
“As long as Holly’s okay, it’s fine. Just tell me what you found out.” Trent held his breath as Lorenzo and Owen edged closer. They hadn’t left his side for a moment of the thirty minutes since he’d slunk back to the hospital, defeated and without any more information than he’d had when he’d left.
Together, he and Lorenzo had nearly banged Holly’s door down, gone to the police department to give them as much information as possible, checked with admissions at the hospital, scoured other medical facilities, and even contacted the home health aide they’d hired for Mrs. Hendricks, who’d confirmed that Holly hadn’t returned to her mother’s house the night before and—after using her key to verify—that she was still not there.
At least Trent was able to scrub the vision of Holly falling in the shower or having some other accident while alone in her home from his brain. That didn’t leave a lot of other positive scenarios, though. Owen and Lorenzo were as invested in her as he was. So he too hit the speaker button on his phone.
“As your attorneys of record, we just received an email addressed to you.” Ford cursed. “It’s about Holly. In fact, it’s a fucking ransom note.”
“A what?” Trent shouted as a ringing started in his ears and grew louder, threatening to drown out the rest of the world. Lorenzo braced him, or maybe supported himself against Trent. Either way, they held each other up as Owen turned and punched the wall. He didn’t seem to notice the blood welling on his battered knuckles.
“Someone nabbed her. They want half of your inheritance in exchange for her safe return.” Josh practically spat the information.
“They took her? Because of me? My father’s dirty money?” Trent thought he might pass out, so he bent in half and planted his palms on his knees. “I should have known better than to take it. It has never gotten me anything good. Only screwed things up worse.”
“What do you want us to do?” Ford asked.
“Give them anything they want. Just get her back.” Was that even really a question? Trent lifted his head to see if he was nuts, but Owen and Lorenzo were leveling similar bewildered glares at the phone Trent clutched.
“Look, Trent. It might not be that easy. We have Bronson here.” Brady was talking, but Trent was having a hard time listening. All he could think about was how scared Holly must be, if she was even still alive.
No, he couldn’t allow himself to imagine that she wasn’t or he’d lose it.
“Who?” he mumbled.
“He’s the head of our security team,” Ford explained. “He said you should never negotiate with these sorts of people.”
“I don’t give a fuck!” Trent bellowed. “We have to get her back. Now!”
“We will.” Unlike usual, Josh wasn’t joking around. “In fact, we already sent our jet to pick up a few guys who can help.”
“Who?” Trent hoped he said Superman. Because no one else was going to make him feel better. Holly was in harm’s way, and it was his damn fault. Holy fuck. If anything happened to her…
All because of his father’s fortune.
Trent never should have touched it. And now the only woman he’d ever loved was going to be the one to pay.
“Lucas used to work for the government, in a no-name agency. JRad is a tech genius for the OHPD who does consulting on the side. Jordan is the head of a private security firm specializing in black ops type shit, and Ransom, Sevan, and Levi work for him. They’ve all been in situations worse than this and survived.”
“Worse than this?” Trent was about to lose it. “That isn’t possible.”
“Put it this way, all of them have been through situations where lives of their spouses were at risk and managed to get them back. They understand what you’re going through both from a tactical and emotional perspective.”
“When will they arrive?” Owen asked when Trent was too overwhelmed to do it.
“Ninety minutes,” Brady responded for Team Lawyers. “That’s still well ahead of the deadline set by the blackmailers.”
“When will they give her back? Can we make it sooner?” Lorenzo nearly vibrated with tension from his place beside Trent and Owen.
“The meeting is set for two, but we’ll see what the experts say.” That seemed like an eternity from now. Trent needed a plan B. What if these guys weren’t as good as Ford thought? Or what if the assholes who’d stolen Holly didn’t play by the rules?
“Call the bank. Or whoever the fuck you have to. Get the cash, set it up. If your gang gets here in time to help, fine. But those bastards can have anything they want from me, so long as they release Holly unharmed.”
“I understand.” Ford was grim. “I can’t say I’d feel different if it was Kari in danger.”
“And after we have Holly back, we’ll have a chance to do our worst in return,” Bronson growled in the background.
Owen flexed his bloody fist and Lorenzo bared his teeth in a snarl that should ha
ve terrified Trent, yet somehow made him feel better, if only for a moment.
“What are you going to do about Holly’s mom?” Andi asked.
Lorenzo spoke up then. “Nothing. They sedated her when they realized she wasn’t going to remain calmly in bed while her daughter was missing. Hopefully, by the time the drugs wear off, this will be a bad memory.”
Trent squeezed his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Thank you for your help. I honestly don’t know what we’d do without you guys.”
“It was the least we could do. We feel somewhat responsible given our role in this. When you get her back, you have to tell Holly what’s between you has nothing to do with your dumbass contract anymore.” Cooper groaned. “Hell, we could see that night it was already more than an arranged marriage or we never would have done it.”
“You’re right.” Trent looked first at Owen, then Lorenzo. “It is. It was. It always has been. And as soon as I can, I’m going to make sure Holly understands that too.”
Lorenzo extended his fist, so Trent bumped it before Owen added his own.
They were in this together. All they needed now was for Holly to be returned safely and with her heart still open to theirs.
3
Holly writhed, twisting her wrists against the plastic zip ties holding them. Just a little more and…
Yes! She finally felt her arm, buzzing with pins and needles, slick with what she assumed was blood, slip from the restraint. She winced as she rotated her wrists and brought them around in front of her, things cracking and popping, as stiff as if she were eighty years old.
It was so dark that white spots like static fizzled in her vision as her body tried desperately to make out even a hint of her surroundings. It was no use. She’d probably been locked in the trunk of this thankfully new and clean-smelling car—probably rented—for at least an hour.
At first it had been all she could do to keep from having a panic attack as she crashed into the walls of the tiny space every time they took a corner at what seemed like break-neck speeds. She’d hit her head and lain there, dazed, for a while until she realized that they were no longer moving.
Muffled voices were followed by the thud of two car doors shutting. They’d left. Both of the men who’d captured her and were attempting to use her as a bargaining chip. Too bad they didn’t know Trent or how determined he was to spend his father’s inheritance on something that would make the world a better place. Accessible clean energy and efficient, low-cost batteries to store it would be something worth dying for, if it came to that.
No. Hell no. Holly refused to think those things.
Instead, she closed her eyes and pretended it was dark by choice as she took deep, measured breaths and imagined happy stuff, like Kari’s engagement party, giving Moose treats, and…okay, fine…her budding relationship with Trent, Owen, and Lorenzo.
What she wouldn’t give for a hug from one or all three of them right then.
She gritted her teeth. There would be plenty of time to figure things out between them after she escaped from the psychos holding her hostage. Because if nothing else, the careless disregard those assholes had shown for her made her realize that no matter what dumb shit had come out of Trent’s mouth the night before, he wasn’t like the barbarians who’d captured her.
He cared about more than just the money.
Even if he was too gun-shy to admit it, even to himself.
Holly gritted her teeth, determined to make it out of this mess so that she could tell Trent she wasn’t going to give up on him until he recognized the value of what they had. Owen or Lorenzo too. She wanted to get to know them better, to open her heart to them like she had her body.
But none of that could happen if she didn’t save herself first.
Fuck waiting for someone else to do it for her, for these men to get their shit together or for her friends to figure out something had gone horribly wrong and dispatch the cavalry, which she absolutely believed they would if they realized she was missing. Nope, she’d taken care of herself, and her mom, for years now despite the universe conspiring against them. She didn’t need help. She would make those assholes pay for stealing her and taking her away just when her mother needed her most.
Once she’d gotten herself good and mad, Holly used every bit of her fear as kindling to light a fire within herself. She prepared to fight.
Those bastards! How dare they treat her like this? She kicked the backseat as hard as she could, over and over, but nothing happened. So she used her fingers, which were regaining feeling, to search for some sort of lever. It took her minutes, too many considering she didn’t know when her abductors would return, to methodically search every inch of the fuzzy fabric lining the back of the seats and the area around them.
No luck. Weren’t cars these days supposed to have safety features? What the hell?
Holly groaned as she writhed, finally managing to turn herself over to face the rear of the trunk.
And that’s when she saw it.
A faint, slime-green square. It glowed in the dark as bright as the beam of a lighthouse slicing through a storm to her fully dilated eyes. It took some more wriggling, a smashed elbow, and a steady stream of curses, but Holly managed to maneuver herself so that she could nearly reach it.
Her fingertips brushed the lever.
She tried again, straining and forcing her poor hands to function. When she made contact, she tugged. The trunk popped open.
Holly nearly fainted at the wave of dizziness and relief that washed over her.
But what if the men who’d abducted her were waiting outside?
A wedge of sunlight blasted through the opening and stabbed her in the eyes. She scrunched them nearly closed and fumbled around until she half-crawled, half-tumbled from the trunk onto pavement. Holly grabbed the bumper to help lever herself mostly upright, her entire body screaming as she stretched.
Blind in the searing sun, she stumbled, her hands outstretched as if she were a zombie, moving as fast as she could toward the din of people and traffic in the distance. She scrambled although she had no idea where she was or where she was going. So long as it was the opposite direction from her captors, she was good with that.
Tripping over something, maybe a curb, she went down hard on one knee then shot to her feet, shouting, “Help! Someone, help me!”
Blinking rapidly, she tried to bring her surroundings into focus. Before she could, Holly crashed hard into a solid wall of man. She screamed and thrashed, refusing to allow them to take her back to the dark trunk. Next time she wouldn’t escape.
“I’ve got you!” Strong arms banded around her.
It was the smell of vanilla aftershave mixed with solder that made her pause right before she kneed him in the nuts. She croaked, “T-trent?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got you. I’m so sorry, Holly. Are you okay?”
Every single one of her bones dissolved. It was him. And only one thing made sense. If he knew where they’d be, that meant he’d come to buy her freedom. Even if it had required giving up his fortune and his dream. Because she’d seen his budget. If he gave the blackmailers what they’d told her they were going to demand from him—half of the big fat pile of gold his dad had left him—the remainder wasn’t enough to get where he wanted to go.
Holly’s vision cleared until she could make out the briefcase he had apparently dropped in order to catch her. It had cracked open, and wads of hundreds spilled from within.
“The money! Take it, Trent. Run. Before they get it and you.” She squirmed again. This time to save him, not herself.
Because that’s what love was about, wasn’t it?
Even after everything that had happened the day before, and the danger she’d been in, the most frequent thought she’d had during the endless night was about Trent and the position he’d be in if he had to choose between her and his fledgling company. The damage it would do to him either way would be devastating. Maybe, just maybe, they could fix
this.
Right then, a man with a prosthetic running hook bolted past her, far faster than she could have managed with both of her natural feet. He clutched a gun and shouted at someone to stop. Holly couldn’t see who he was yelling at because several other men surrounded her and Trent, Owen and Lorzeno among them, and shoved both of them to the ground over top of the cash.
Safe. Her body had survived. So had his fortune.
But what about their future together, and their hearts?
4
“Holly!” Trent bellowed, and careened toward her, dropping the briefcase full of money he’d intended to exchange for her freedom, so he could scoop her up sooner. He couldn’t believe she was right there. Within reach.
In that moment, the bullshit he’d tried to convince himself of when he’d watched her walk out of his home was proven false. Only having her in his arms was going to make him whole again. Fortunately, Holly seemed to agree. Or at least she preferred him to the monsters who’d attacked her. That was a pretty low bar, but he’d take it.
She flew to him and slammed into his chest. By the time his arms came around her, two more shadows fell over them: Lorenzo and Owen.
They bristled as they faced out, protecting them from anyone who might be following.
Lucas raced past, thundering toward the man with dark glasses and a ball cap, who’d been circling the drop spot Trent had been approaching, despite the advice of the specialty team Ford and his friends had mustered to get Holly back.
Trent hadn’t even known guys like that existed in real life. Super spies who’d seen more shit than he could imagine. He would be perfectly happy to return to his boring, everyday life after a glimpse at what they dealt with on the regular.
Next thing he knew, he was being shoved to the ground along with Holly. He blanketed her smaller body and felt Lorenzo and Owen do the same, sheltering them both as two other agents—Jordan and Ransom—stood back to back, booted feet spread, weapons drawn.