Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
The pastures and farmland flew by in a haze. He couldn’t concentrate on anything except Olivia.
He should never have left her. Not for a second.
This was his fault, and whatever she was currently enduring was his fault, too. Would she even want to look at him again when he’d failed her?
“Keane, this is not your fault,” Gabe said quietly.
“Why would he think this is his fault?” Garrett asked. “We just said one of us should escort her, not that we would never take our eyes off her.”
“But we should have,” Keane said. “Gabe is reading my mind.”
“No, I know how I would feel, but I would be wrong,” Gabe replied. “It was public in the middle of the day. You ran back to grab something. No one could have known the store manager was in on it.”
“I stood there and talked to Deputy Morgan for minutes that could have saved Olivia.” He’d thought about this from the moment it happened. Those minutes could have saved Olivia.
“Or they would have knocked you out, too, and had far more time to do whatever they want,” Garrett reasoned. “They were going to take her one way or another. If you fought, you might have been killed, and I assure you that’s not what our woman wants. Please don’t let this set you back, Master. If you’re sitting there thinking Olivia won’t want you anymore, you’re wrong.”
“Why wouldn’t she…” Miranda began and then frowned. “You think she’ll blame you? That’s not the Livie I know.”
“The Livie I know is thinking everyone is a moron and trying to figure out where her kidnapping will land on The Hideout kidnapping bracket,” Gigi explained.
“What?” Garrett asked as Gabe turned down a single-lane road.
“Hey, a lot of members get kidnapped,” Gabe said like it was a normal thing. “Daisy O’Donnell’s been kidnapped a couple of times. I heard Devi’s giving her a run, though.”
“I don’t think it should count if she got kidnapped by the guy she’s engaged to,” Miranda added. “Everyone on the board disagrees with me. I’m going to call a vote. Is that a helicopter?”
The sound was unmistakable. A deep, low thud that seemed to be everywhere all at once.
“They’re right on time.” Gabe brought the SUV to a stop and started to get out. He had to yell over the sound of the chopper landing. “The house is past those trees. I hope we’re not too close.”
“They know what they’re doing,” Gigi promised as Keane got out and held the door for the young women.
He felt his heart thud in his chest as the helicopter landed in the clearing and a massive man hopped out like taking a chopper flight was no big deal. He was followed by three more big dudes who were covered in weapons and a petite woman who immediately took charge.
“Landon, make sure everything gets moved to the SUV.” The woman stepped up and held out a hand. She was dressed in fatigues, a dark T-shirt, and boots, her hair up in a neat bun. “Hey, I’m Tessa Hawthorne. This is my boss, Ian Taggart, and the guys.”
Keane shook her hand. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” Taggart said. “All my friends’ kids get kidnapped at one point in time or another. Honestly, Olivia’s overdue. Ah, look, you brought chaos with you. Hello, Gigi. How’s your family?”
The big guy had a stunning smile for Gigi and greeted Miranda as well, asking about her family while the chopper’s blades started to wind down and the men and woman he brought with him got to work.
“You must be the new guys,” Taggart said. “Good luck. Livie is hell on wheels. At least she used to be. If you two can bring that back, it would be good. I’ve missed her wild side. She was the kid who made everyone want to use birth control forever. I found her in my air ducts once when her parents came in for a consultation. She got through my security. I like her.”
“How are we going to do this?” Keane asked.
“Well, as quickly as possible because I happen to know Jack is on his way, and I don’t want to deal with freaked-out parents,” Taggart admitted. “I’ve been the freaked-out parent. I wouldn’t want to deal with me. Jack is going to act like he’s the first person to ever have his daughter kidnapped. Like that hasn’t happened to all of us. I’m three for three.”
“Tag, I found the location,” Tessa said. “Brad is trying to get the heat detector working. It only takes a couple of minutes and then we’ll know how many we’re dealing with.”
“If you see a guy with real stupid hair, he’s definitely a bad guy,” Garrett said. “You know the kind that looks messy, but the dude spent three hours making it look that way?”