Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Don’t borrow trouble, I tell myself. But the worry lingers.
I swing my legs off the chaise. “I promised Asher I’d meet him in the suite before lunch. He’s turbo-paranoid after the note.”
Melanie sits up, knotting her sarong. “You want me to walk back with you?”
I shake my head. “Stay and enjoy the sun. I’ll text when I’m safe and locked behind Fort Knox.”
“Deal.” She leans over, hugs me tight. “And, Char?”
“Yeah?”
“You deserve whatever good this man brings you. Don’t sabotage it.”
Emotion clogs my throat. I squeeze her hand, then slip into flip-flops and head for the path that winds past tropical planters and up to the main building.
The stone path is hot beneath my soles, cicadas buzzing in the landscaping. A pair of toddlers toddle past with floaties bigger than their heads; a staff member wheels a linen cart toward the spa. Ordinary resort bustle. I breathe slower, letting the sun bake worries from my skin. In ten minutes I’ll be in the suite, Asher’s curt but comforting voice lecturing me about situational awareness.
I round a stand of flowering hibiscus and the pool noise dims behind me. Up ahead, the service alley between two wings provides a shady shortcut. I hesitate—Asher’s voice in my head (No side corridors)—but the main lobby entrance is packed with conference attendees right now. The alley saves five whole minutes.
I check my phone, and there’s no new texts. I step into the shade.
The shift from bright sunlight to cool shadow is instant relief—until I sense movement behind me. Footsteps, quick and muffled. I turn, expecting a staff member.
Wade.
He emerges from the hibiscus gap in a slate polo and aviators, his smile venomous. “Charlotte.”
My heart rabbit-kicks. “What do you want?”
“To talk. Without your watchdog.”
I back up two steps. “Not interested.” I thumb my phone awake, ready to dial Asher.
Too late. Wade lunges. His grip clamps my wrist, phone tumbling, skittering across concrete. I suck in a scream as his other hand covers my mouth. I try to fight, but it’s no use.
“Easy,” he hisses, steering me deeper into the alley where a black van idles. The passenger door slides open, and a driver in a ball cap nods. Panic claws my lungs. I twist, and try to bite Wade’s palm. He curses but hauls me up as one of my flip-flops slaps to the ground.
“Let me go!” I manage as the cloth falls. My shout echoes off the stucco walls—too far for anyone to hear. I rake my nails down his forearm, and he shoves me toward the van. Pain flashes in my shoulder as I collide with the metal door.
Inside smells of disinfectant and stale cologne. I quickly glance around, noticing the bench seats, and no windows. Wade climbs in after me, slams the door, and the driver hits the gas as the tires spit gravel. I’m thrown sideways. Ow. I scramble upright as we lurch onto the service road skirting the resort.
Wade yanks zip-ties from his pocket. “Hands.”
“Go to hell.” I kick his shin. He grabs my ankle as agony shoots up my calf, and I yelp. In seconds my wrists are cinched, the plastic biting into my skin. “I hate you.”
He sinks onto the bench opposite, straightening his polo like we’re in a board meeting. “You should have accepted my proposal, Charlotte. Now we’ll do this the hard way.”
Terror hardens into anger. “Kidnapping? Really? Do you think my family won’t notice I’m missing?”
“Of course they will.” He steeples his fingers, his eyes cold. “That’s the point. They’ll pay handsomely to keep their princess safe. And once they pay, they’ll owe me—one signature is all it takes to merge Lane Holdings into Sinclair Group.”
“You’re delusional.” My voice cracks on a bitter laugh.
He shrugs. “So I’ve been told.”
I shift, testing the ties. They’re too tight to slip out. My heartbeat thunders in my ears. “Asher will come for me.”
A muscle jumps in his jaw. “Your pet mercenary can’t protect you forever.” He reaches over, brushes some hair from my cheek, and I flinch. “But maybe, if you cooperate, no one gets hurt.”
“You’ll never get away with this.”
He just smiles. “We’ll see.” he nods at the driver. “Let’s get to the lake house before anyone realizes she’s missing.”
I swallow bile. I’ve been to this lake house many times throughout the years. It’s secluded. Private. No cell service. Asher won’t have a trail unless someone saw the van leave.
I picture Asher’s steady eyes, his quiet vow: No one touches her on my watch. If anyone can track me, it’s him. I just have to stay alive long enough for him to get there.
I lift my chin, fixing Wade with the calmest glare I can muster. “You’ve already lost.”
He laughs softly. “Darling, the game hasn’t even started.”
The van accelerates onto the highway, the resort disappearing in the rear window slit. Sunlight flickers, strobe-like, through tree lines, and with every mile I feel the tether to safety stretching thinner. Still, I hold onto Asher’s phantom presence—his hand at the small of my back, the taste of last night’s kiss—and whisper a silent message into the rushing wind: