Desperate Desires (Mergers & Acquisitions #3)

Chapter 39-y

A week had passed since the night of the reception, and up until the very end, it had been the best night of my life.

I wasn’t angry with Ono for having to leave, hell, I wasn’t that shallow. And he made it up to me, afterwards, with a shared jacuzzi in the early hours of the morning before we packed up and went back home.

I had my work, preparing everything I needed for the new lab to keep me busy while Ono hunted the men behind the attacks.

Sammy and Jr. were regulars around the place, as were Gio, Flacco, and a couple of other additional guards Ono had hired from Sigma.

No one was allowed in the house when I was all alone, and that was fine with me.

Michaela had wanted to come by, but she was suffering from a terrible bout of morning sickness—which seriously should just be called all the fucking time sickness .

Yes, that was my professional medical opinion.

I’d already told Ono I needed to visit Micky. I had some herbal teas as well as some meds for her to try to ease her stomach issues, and he promised he would take me as soon as he had a moment.

Meanwhile, he was having a driver come by to pick up the stuff.

The doorbell rang, and I sighed, grabbing the remote and lowering Pasta Challenge , the competition cooking show I was currently addicted to.

It rang again.

“Coming,” I said, huffing to myself about the impatience of some folks.

I grabbed the cooler bag I’d carefully packed with everything Micky might need, slinging it over my shoulder as I glanced around the room one last time to make sure I didn’t forget anything.

My gaze fell to my house Crocs—the gloriously gaudy pair that had become my guilty pleasure.

They were a soft, shimmering gold with delicate little red roses painted across the soles, their charm completed by the quirky sports mode strap at the back.

A wedding gift from my hubby.

They weren’t just shoes. They were a reminder of Ono’s unwavering ability to know me better than I sometimes knew myself.

He’d had them made just for me and even wrapped them in a special box like they were a pair of designer heels. When he gifted them to me, it was with a sexy, lopsided grin, as though he was fully aware that I’d treasure their absurdity.

God, I missed him.

It had only been a few hours, but every minute apart felt like too long. I guess love really did stupid things to you.

Maybe that was why I didn’t notice how quiet it suddenly was outside the house.

With a silly smile tugging at my lips, I slid my feet into them, the familiar cushy comfort wrapping around me like a warm hug.

Then, with a steadying breath, I walked to the door, opening it without a care in the world.

And that was when I realized my mistake.

I stared down the barrel of the enormous gun pointed right at me, and felt my whole world spin out of control. I didn’t even look at my attacker. Fear spiked, and it was all I could do to breathe.

“Come quietly or you die.”

I didn’t want to die. But I didn’t want to go with him either. That moment of indecision cost me, though.

“I said, let’s go!”

The hulking man growled, then he swung the hand holding the gun and caught me in the side of the head.

I screamed and crumpled to the ground, vaguely aware of the man cursing as he dragged me off the floor and swung me over his shoulder. I felt one Croc slide off my foot as dizziness washed over me.

Then it all went black.