Chapter 64 #2
“What are they planning to do to hi,?” Jared demanded.
“Oh, likely kill him.”
“They better not. I’ll find them and I’ll make their lives a living hell,” Jared swore.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you will. Hunt them down, blah blah, kill, blah, blah.”
“Is this a joke to you?” Jared asked quietly.
She knew that voice. Knew he was on the edge. And she also knew that the Fox didn’t really have any patience for people that annoyed or crossed him. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of Jared’s wrist, squeezing.
“Perhaps it is a joke,” the Fox said. “Since I have been dragged into something that isn’t any of my business. The only reason I didn’t tell Mr. Z that no, I have nothing to do with Jared Bartolli and don’t care what you do to his lover is because of Angie.”
Shit. Shit.
“Thanks so much for calling, Fox,” she said. “North means everything to me.”
There was silence.
“Like I said, I only agreed because of you. North must have told them that I was your friend and they’re worried about upsetting me by killing him. I said to hold tight. I can always tell them that we aren’t friends and to go ahead with killing North.”
“No!” she cried. “Please, Fox. Don’t. Please, I need him.”
Jared drew her close, lifting her onto his lap to hold her tight.
“I won’t for you,” the Fox told her. “Not for Bartolli. I asked for terms.”
“Terms?” she asked.
“For North’s release,” Jared told her. “What do they want?”
“They want ten million dollars wired to an off-shore account.”
She sucked in a breath. Ten million dollars? That was insane.
“Done,” Jared said as though they were talking about sofa change. “What else?”
“No retaliation. No coming after them, no mentioning them to anyone. And I mean anyone. Also they want my guarantee that I won’t retaliate.”
“Done,” Jared said more reluctantly.
“You will have to abide by that. They might be scared of me, but if you come after them, they will not hesitate to blow up your world. Take North. And forget this ever happened.”
She couldn’t believe all of this.
North was a sleeper assassin?
He’d been placed with Jared?
And then the organization that had “raised” him was ransoming him back because he was defective?
“I wasn’t sure you’d want him back after learning who he really is. How can you be certain that anything he told you is the truth?” the Fox asked.
“I know,” Jared replied. “I know that North was telling the truth. I know that he loves us. Because if he didn’t, he’d simply have given up. And he wouldn’t have disobeyed orders. Which I’m certain he did to keep us safe. And I know that I love him.”
“So do I, Fox,” she said.
“All right. I’ll arrange things.”
“I’ll also punish the hell out of him for keeping all of this from me,” Jared promised.
“Ahh, I find a good spanking along with some orgasm denial is a great way to induce obedience,” the Fox advised.
“Yes, so do I.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about them bonding over this topic. But all that really mattered was getting North home safe and sound.
After the call ended there was a knock on the door and Jared got up, returning with a bag.
“What’s in there?” she asked.
“You’ll find out in a minute,” he said, heading off into the attached bathroom. When he returned a few moments later, he was shaking a bottle.
A bottle with a nipple at one end and filled with white liquid.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“An adult-sized baby bottle. I mixed up a protein drink for you.”
“Where . . . where did that come from?” she asked in amazement as he sat next to her, then drew her onto his lap.
“Miles. He managed to get it from somewhere for me. Any objections?” he asked. “I just want to take care of you. And you never know, you might like this.”
Yeah, she just might.
“No objections,” she whispered.
“That’s my good girl.” He placed the nipple against her mouth and she parted her lips. It felt odd and awesome all at once. Settling in, her eyes fell closed as she sucked on the bottle.
A wave of exhaustion washed through her and she found herself relaxing further. It seemed this was just the thing she’d needed to help her sleep.
North didn’t know what was happening.
V had come in earlier with several men and drugged him. Now he seemed to be in the cargo area of a plane. He was still tied up. And his head was thumping from being drugged.
Were they going to take him somewhere else to kill him?
Or had the deal gone through?
Fuck.
Was the airplane losing altitude? It felt like it. His ears popped. Fuck, it was loud in here. Finally, the plane landed with a soft bump and taxied to a halt.
He didn’t know how long he lay there. The world around him was blurry. Days of no food and little water were catching up with him. His training had taught him to withstand a lot but it had been years since he’d put himself through anything like this.
And then the door to the cargo area was lifted and a man dressed in a shirt with long blond hair stepped on board. He’d never seen the man before in his life but he got a bad feeling about him. He stiffened, waiting for whatever was about to come.
I’m sorry, Jared.
I’m sorry, Angie.
“Well, aren’t you trussed up like a turkey?
I don’t like that I didn’t know who you are.
” The man grabbed his chin. “And I have decided I don’t want you around my Bunny and Pup.
However, Angie seems to want you back in one piece.
So I’m only doing this for her. But if you ever misstep again, I will come for you. ”
“You’re the Fox,” he whispered.
“Yes,” the Fox replied as he cut the ropes around his wrists and ankles. “Come on. I’ve got to get you out of here. There are people waiting for you.”
He helped him out into the sunshine. North squinted. But moving helped him shake off the effects of the drugs. The water and sandwich the Fox gave him once they reached a dark car helped even more.
They drove for a few minutes in silence then North turned to him. “Mr. Z?”
“Should be out of your life for good. All part of the ransom deal. Of course if you or Jared break your part of the agreement, all bets are off and I won’t be able to help you. All I will do is shield Angie from the fallout.”
“She’s the reason you saved me?”
“I used her to get what I wanted; it was only fair that I helped her now. But she’s the only one that I owed. Remember that. I will kill you if I have to. Even if The Collective is fucked up the way they use children.”
North nodded. He knew it.
The Fox pulled up into the middle of nowhere. “This is where you get out.”
North glanced around. There were just trees and hills as far as he could see. “Where are we?”
“Wyoming. Bartolli should be here soon.”
North nodded and undid his seatbelt before opening the door. Turning back, he nodded to the Fox. “I know you didn’t do it for me. But thank you.”
“Angie deserves to be happy after all the shit she’s been through. So don’t get yourself kidnapped again.”
As North stepped away, he took off and North sat down to wait.
She was so nervous.
What if he wasn’t there? What if something went wrong?
“Easy, baby,” Jared said soothingly. “Everything will be fine. The Fox said he dropped him off at the agreed spot. And Eli said he has eyes on him.”
Eli, Ammo, and Webb had gone ahead to the pick-up point to watch North and make sure that no one followed him there. That it wasn’t a trap.
Zander was driving her and Jared to the spot. Jared hadn’t wanted her to come, but there was no way she was being left behind.
“When we get there, you stay in the car,” Jared told her for the hundredth time. “You let me bring him to you. Understand?”
“I know. The plan hasn’t changed in the last five minutes,” she said.
“Yes, I’m beginning to think that you like the sound of your own voice, Bartolli,” Zander said.
“Like you wouldn’t be the same if it was Keira,” Jared said.
“No, I wouldn’t have been. Because I wouldn’t have allowed Keira to come. Angie should be back home. Where it’s safe.”
Angie tuned them out. She only wanted to concentrate on one person.
North.
He was all that mattered.
Finally, they pulled into a small clearing and there he was. She nearly raced out of the vehicle, but Jared placed his arm over her chest. “Stay. Put. Or you’re in big trouble.”
She nodded and he left. Taking off her seatbelt, she slid across to watch as Jared hugged him, saying something.
North nodded. He looked tired and weak.
What had they done to him?
Was he all right?
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Leaving the car, she raced toward them, ignoring Zander’s yell and Jared’s scolding, she threw herself at North.
There was a slight pull on her side, but nothing too bad. She was pretty much all healed up now.
He hugged her tight, rocking her from side to side. If he was trembling slightly, they both ignored it as he kissed her deeply.
“I love you so much, North. Don’t ever do this to me again. I can’t take it. You hear me?” She shook him.
“I love you too, Angel. And I’m sorry. So sorry. Do you forgive me for lying to you?”
“I don’t care about any of that. I just want you. I just want us.” The three of them joined into a hug and then she drew back to shake him again. “That doesn’t mean that I’m happy. How dare you get kidnapped!”
“Easy, Angie,” Jared said. “I don’t think he’s up for much of a scolding just yet.”
“Oh, is that all I’m getting?” North asked. “A scolding?”
“Hell, no, boy. You’ll be lucky if you can sit for a year,” Jared snarled. “And that’s just the punishment from me. Lying to me, putting yourself in danger, getting kidnapped. You’re in big trouble.”
To her shock, a small smile crossed North’s mouth.
“You’re . . . you’re smiling,” she whispered.
The smile disappeared but there was still a lightness to him. “I’m free. For the first time in my life, I’m free.”
“Uh, no you’re not,” she said. “You have the two of us, remember?”
“But that is being free. Because I’m free to choose,” North told her. “And I choose you, Angel.”
“I choose you too, although you need a new nickname for me.”
He gave her a questioning look.
“I’ll explain later.”
He turned to Jared. “And I choose you. I’ve always chosen you.”
“I choose you too,” Jared told him. “And I love you. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to sit comfortably for a long, long time.”