Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
So he would have to go. “All right. I hope you’re telling me the truth.”
“I won’t ever lie to you again, my love. I’ll see you soon.”
The line dropped and the car door closed and the car took off.
Kyle felt cold metal click around one wrist and simply offered up the other. It went against his every instinct. He wanted to fight, wanted to get out of this car and burn the world around him.
But too many he loved could get caught in those flames.
There are some games that reward aggression. They can be fun. We like to call them fuck-your-buddy games. But my favorites are cooperative games. I like playing something where the whole team has to rely on each other. You have to trust that the people on your team have your back. Isn’t that kind of what makes life worthwhile?
MaeBe had said those words that first night when they’d sat in his uncle’s office drinking his secret Scotch. He hadn’t understood the appeal of board games, but then he’d pretty much been thinking Monopoly. She’d explained it to him in a way he’d understood, a way that had made him want to see the world through her eyes.
“You seem pretty comfortable for a kidnapping victim,” the man driving the car said. “I guess the crazy bitch was right. She said you were actually her fiancé and you had cold feet.”
The man sped down the road.
“Not at all.” He sat back. Patience would win this game. Sometimes the hardest thing to do was wait for your turn. “She’s absolutely kidnapping me and using my fifteen-year-old cousin to keep me compliant. It’s okay. My girlfriend is going to kill her.”
And his uncle and aunt would take care of the rest of them.
Kyle sat back and waited, perfectly secure that MaeBe would come for him.
* * * *
“Where the hell did Kyle go?” Ian was stalking down the hall when MaeBe walked out of the women’s locker room. He had a whole group behind him, including Alex McKay.
“He’s in the security office.” Wade Rycroft walked beside Ian.
“Julia has Kala.” She’d thrown a T-shirt over her corset and pulled on the pajama pants she’d intended to change into at the end of the night before she and Kyle walked upstairs to go to bed.
“So I’ve been told.” Ian stopped and looked back at the locker room door. “Does my wife know? Never mind. She knows.”
The door had slammed open, and Charlotte Taggart strode out. She’d changed. She wore black pants and a black pullover sweater. She’d gone with flats instead of her normal heels and her strawberry blonde hair was in a bun on her head. She walked out, checking her semiautomatic.
“Is Chelsea on this? She needs to check all the security cameras between our house and Alex and Eve’s.” Charlotte’s voice was tight, her face expressionless. “And we need to figure out how they’re planning to get her out of the state. We need to figure out where she is right now.”
She had to be terrified, but it was obvious Charlotte was going to hold it together. They all had to hold it together.
“According to all our intel, Julia was in London. Now we think she’s heading to DC,” MaeBe explained. “DC is the best bet for where they’ll take her. From everything I know about Julia, she’ll be hands on when it comes to her plans. Joseph was right about the fact that Julia was coming for someone. We made the mistake of thinking it would be me or Kyle. We’ve known for a while she was watching Kyle’s siblings. We didn’t realize she was watching the rest of the family, too.”
“Well, she wouldn’t have learned much about the rest of my kids,” Charlotte replied in a monotone. “Clearly Kala had some secrets she was keeping.”
“She was being a teenaged girl,” Tag argued under his breath. “She didn’t think she was going to get kidnapped.”
“Well, then we raised her wrong,” Charlotte shot back.
“She’s going to want either Kyle or me. I have to suspect she’s going to use Kala to get one of us to come in willingly.” MaeBe walked with them toward the lobby. “I promise I will get her out. I’ll do whatever it takes. If I can negotiate a trade, I will.”
“It’s not going to come to that because I’m going to find Julia Ennis and take her head and put it over my fireplace,” Charlotte said with a nasty twist of her lips.
“She’s been wanting to redecorate.” Ian had moved close, putting a hand on his wife’s waist and leaning over to whisper to her.
Whatever he said had Charlotte nodding and seeming to relax slightly.
MaeBe moved into the lobby, her heart pounding in her chest. She wouldn’t be able to breathe until she saw him, knew he was okay. Not that any of them were okay.