Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“M-Michael?” She gasped for breath. Panic had her in its tight grasp and wasn’t letting go.
Michael smiled down at her, his eyes cold and calculating. Then something pricked her neck, and the world went black.
Liam answered his phone without paying much attention to who it was.
“Yeah?”
“Liam?”
He frowned, recognizing the voice but unable to place it.
“Yeah? Who is this?”
“It’s Jardin, Lottie’s brother.”
“Everything okay?”
“That’s what I hope you can tell me. Are you with Lottie?” he asked.
“No, but Nico is.”
“Well, Ace was just talking to Lottie, and he said some lady came in and interrupted their call.”
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know. Lottie ended the call. But before she did, she told him that she’d come home for Maxim’s birthday. They’d just been talking about Keir’s birthday.”
“Maybe she got confused.”
“Maybe.”
A strange feeling filled him.
Who could the woman be?
“But you need to check on her. And Liam? She better be fucking all right or it’s on your head.”
“Fuck.” He ended the call and was about to call Nico, when his phone vibrated.
Fuck.
“Grandfather, I don’t have time to chat—”
“There some reason why your girl would get into a car with your stepmother?”
He stilled.
A woman’s voice.
Fuck!
“What the hell? How would you know . . . I told you not to put guys on me.”
“I didn’t put anyone on you. I have someone watching the apartment. They just called me to tell me that your girl got into a town car with some old, well-dressed, pinched-looking bitch. I instantly knew that it was Eleanor. Your girl was pale, barely standing.”
“Fuck. She must have threatened her. She wouldn’t leave the apartment otherwise. Was Nico there?”
“No.”
“Is your guy following them?” he asked.
Don’t panic. You have to help her. You cannot panic.
“Yep.”
“Tell me where they end up.”
“Already on top of it, boyo.”
As he ended the call, another call came through.
“Nico? Are you all right?”
“Evan’s dead, and she’s gone! She’s not here! Liam, she’s not here!”
“Easy, calm down,” Liam reassured him, rushing toward his car. He kept an eye on his surroundings. No one was around. Although he didn’t quite trust the old man not to have someone on him.
“How can I calm down? Lottie’s gone and Evan is fucking dead. He was shot.”
“I know.”
“You know? How do you know?”
“Eleanor has her. Lottie was seen getting into a car with her. She must have shot Evan and threatened Lottie. She was talking to Ace at the time. I have to call them back. Also, the old man has a guy following them. I’m going to swing by and get you. Wait in the foyer of the building, I’ll call you when I’m close.”
“Okay. What about Evan?”
“I’ll call my grandfather. He’ll take care of it.”
Ending the call, he climbed in his car and sped toward his building. He called his grandfather first. He told him he’d send a clean-up crew. Then he called Jardin back.
“My stepmother has her,” he said. “We’re tracking her.”
“Through her necklace?” Jardin asked.
“What?”
“Her necklace has a GPS tracker. I checked with Regent, and she hasn’t hit the panic button in the locket. But the tracker will work.”
“Fuck.” Of course, it did. “Can you track her from there?”
“Yeah, well, Regent can.”
“Do it. I have someone following her. But just in case.”
“Find her, Liam.”
“I will. Don’t worry. And then I’m never letting her out of my sight again.”
23
Lottie woke up with the urge to vomit.
Rolling over, she purged everything in her stomach.
“Oh, God! That’s disgusting. Couldn’t you make it to the toilet? This is what you get from poor breeding.”
Confused, ill, and groggy, she stared around. It was so cold and dark. Fear filled her as the room spun.
“Wakey, wakey, Lottie,” a sing-song voice urged. “It’s time to chat.”
A heavy foot prodded her back and she groaned.
“Sit up, bitch,” the voice changed, growing nastier, more demanding.
She turned her head, gasping as she saw Michael looming over her.
What the fuck? What is he doing here?
“Why are we even bothering with her?” the feminine voice whined. “We should just get rid of Liam and voila, the money will be all ours.”
“Mother, how many times do I have to explain this? We can’t get rid of Liam. He’s got ties to the Irish mafia. His grandfather and uncles will come after us.”
She let out a huff of breath. “So? We’ll be long gone.”
“And how do we get Liam’s money if we’re not here?”
“It will all go to your father. He can send it to us.”
Wow. She was really dumb.
“Liam wouldn’t leave his money to his father,” Lottie said. “Stupid bitch.”
Slap!
Pain burst across her face, making her gasp.
“Mother, stop!” Michael complained as Lottie pulled herself up. She felt weak and out of it, Michael had obviously drugged her. But she didn’t want to be lying down with these people. She needed to be ready to run at any opportunity. Once she was sitting, she glanced around. They appeared to be in some concrete room. There were no windows and only one door.