Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I nodded because I couldn’t speak. Now I was truly terrified. Calloway was in his office on the other side of the floor. Unless he happened to be in the break room or speaking to someone on the main floor, he would never know I was being taken.
“Good.” He pushed me out of the office door and kept the gun hidden inside his jacket. “Make a sound, and I’m gonna shoot you right here.” He pressed the gun farther into me. “And you can bleed out and die right here on the floor. So let’s go.”
He walked me down the hallway, keeping me close to his body as we passed the doors on either side. I was hoping to cross paths with someone from the office—anyone. But everyone was either at lunch or inside their offices.
My heart wouldn’t stop racing.
Calloway wouldn’t know I was missing until the end of the workday when he noticed my purse still on my desk with my phone inside. He was smart and would put two and two together quickly, but I would be long gone by then.
Fuck.
Hank got me inside the elevator and hit the button for the lobby.
I stopped my body from shaking and tried to remain calm. The only way I was getting out of this was if I figured out a plan. I needed to find an escape route. I needed to do whatever it took to get away without getting a bullet inside me.
And I couldn’t let Hank touch me.
The elevator ride to the bottom floor was quick, not buying me any time to figure out my next move. I’d hoped people would join us inside the elevator. Maybe I could have silently communicated to them that I was in danger, that I was being kidnapped.
But I didn’t have any such luck.
The doors opened, and we walked through the lobby, passing workers dressed in suits and dresses. I tried to make eye contact with someone, but everyone was too busy on their phones.
No.
Hank got me through the door and pulled me to a black car up ahead. A driver was in the front seat, but the back was completely tinted. Hank got the back door open. “Get in.”
I had no idea where he was taking me, but wherever it was, it wasn’t good. Ignoring the gun, I remained on the sidewalk and tried not to hyperventilate. If I got into that car, I had a feeling I would never escape.
Hank pressed his lips to my ear. “You think I won’t shoot you? Because I will. And I’ll still fuck you anyway.” He shoved me inside the car, and I fell across the backseat. He pushed my legs away then moved to the seat beside me.
The driver didn’t wait for us to get our safety belts on. He immediately pulled away from the curb and joined the swarm of other cars stuck in Manhattan traffic. Hank rested his arm on his leg with the gun still trained on me.
Shit, what was I going to do?
19
Calloway
Isabella kept her gun trained on me as she glanced at her phone. She was obviously waiting for some kind of signal that whatever plan was set in motion had officially come to an end.
I couldn’t sit here any longer, not when Rome was in danger. I had no idea how Isabella constructed this ridiculous plan or how she convinced anyone to help her, but I had to put an end to it now. “Isabella, you don’t want to do this.”
“You have no idea what I want.”
“Making Rome go away isn’t going to get me back.” I had to keep my voice steady, even though I was terrified inside. I wasn’t scared of being shot. I was scared of something terrible happening to the woman I loved.
“She ruined everything. She ruined us.”
“We were going to end eventually anyway.”
“You don’t know that.” The gun began to shake, tears bubbling in her eyes.
“I do know that. And it had nothing to do with you, Isabella. There’s nothing wrong with you.” I slowly rose to a stand, my hands raised. “You’re perfect just the way you are. It was nothing personal.”
The gun shook harder. “Sit down.”
“No.” I held my ground. “You aren’t going to shoot me.” I slowly walked around the desk, my eyes trained on her the entire time.
“You bet your ass, I will.”
“No, you won’t. You wanna know why?” I made it around the desk, and I was still in one piece. “Because you love me, Isabella. Would you really shoot the man you love?” That was a cheap shot, but I didn’t have time to be noble. Every moment I was still in that office was putting Rome’s life further in danger.
Isabella used her other hand to hold the gun up, the weight of her decision suddenly growing heavy. Tears emerged from the corners of her eyes, small and reflective of the fluorescent lights. “I can’t have you, so it doesn’t matter.”