CHAPTER 50 Rowan
CHAPTER 50
Rowan
“ W ould they bring him to the St. Thomas headquarters? That’s where they brought me.” I squint at the digital map on my phone. “Probably unlikely.”
I don’t know that I’ve ever been more frantic. Racing heartbeat, dry mouth, sore throat. I’ve been sitting in my car in the parking lot at the wedding chapel with Xavier while he does every hacking trick in the book, obsessing about where Charlie is and who took him.
Cam and Shelby took off to see if they could find Charlie in any of his usual spots and promised they’d be available by phone. They’ve already called to say that Charlie left the house locked, his car was there, and his keys and wallet were gone (Cam used his key to check). Whoever got him intercepted him on the way to the wedding.
It also makes me very suspicious that some of the St. Thomas non-heirs are responsible. Although how did they know we were getting married? The only people who were in on it were our friends and the driver picking Charlie up. So it must be someone within security or the driving staff. I suppose it could be Hector, too, from when we called security to order a driver. But I trust him. I take a chance and call him.
“Oh, shit,” he says when I explain what’s happened. “I bet it’s someone on the inside. Or maybe Lonnie, the bastard. He’s a slimeball, and he knows everyone on staff. Let me pull up security footage,” he says. “See if I can find something.”
“What do you have access to?”
“All of the St. Thomas properties,” Hector says. “I have GPS data on the cars, too. Give me a little bit, and I’ll find out where they all are.”
“Do you think it was Lonnie?” I ask. “I’ve never liked him. When my dad wanted to meet me the first time, that jackass kidnapped me at gunpoint.”
“I don’t know,” Hector says. “I haven’t seen him around since Remi fired him. But I wouldn’t put it past him, either.”
“I think I got something,” X interrupts, studying his laptop. “The GPS data is showing Charlie in Laurel Canyon.”
I glance around. The wedding chapel’s on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. “Do you think they threw the phone out the window?” How close did Charlie get to us?
“It’s possible,” X says.
“If Charlie’s in Laurel Canyon,” I start, “maybe they went to Nana’s house. It’s the opposite way, but …” I bite my lip.
“Maybe she’s in on it,” X says. “Maybe her partner or her kid you told me about wants the money. So maybe they’re behind this whole thing.”
“No,” I say. “Why would Nana have Charlie kidnapped? That makes no sense. She’s the one who wanted Charlie to marry me in the first place.”
Hector interrupts. “The limo’s there, at the Laurel Canyon residence. I can see the dot on the screen.”
“Then we know where to go. Thanks,” I say.
“I’m also on my way. I came down in case you needed assistance after the wedding,” Hector says. “I’m not far from there.” He hangs up.
“Nana’s house is supposed to have underground passages and secret tunnels. Maybe that’s why they took Charlie there.”
“Are we all going to go in, guns blazing?” X asks.
I swivel my head toward him. “Do you have a gun?”
“No. I meant it more as a figure of speech.”
“Then maybe we should pick up our old friends,” I say. “Chet and Fabian.” I find Chet’s contact on my phone.
Xavier grins. “Those guys are awesome.”
“I think the gym where they work isn’t far. Let’s go.”
I zoom up the twisty road to Nana’s house with Chet and Fabian in the back seat, X frantically looking up floor plans to the historic house. Before I can worry about the gate, it opens. Good thing I’m driving a St. Thomas BMW, which must be recognized by the security system.
Who the hell took Charlie?
I’m assuming it was Lonnie, but who is he working for? Gideon? Bree? Anastasia?
I wonder for a moment if I should just give whoever it is the money. Yes, it would be giving up, but I didn’t deserve to inherit it. I didn’t earn it. Neither did they, but what makes me different from them? Absolutely nothing except the accident of birth that my father was the oldest and I’m the only son he had. And Charlie’s worth more than money.
Fuck that. I will get Charlie back safe, no matter what, and I’ll make anyone who threatened or hurt him wish they’d never been born a St. Thomas or anyone else.
There are a few cars parked in front of the house, including a St. Thomas limousine I’ve taken before, I think. We all get out, and I pound on the front door. Chimes clang in the trees, and the wind whistles through the leaves.
No one answers.
I listen for voices but hear none. I try the door, and it’s open.
“What are you doing?” X asks, coming up behind me.
“Rescuing Charlie.” I glance at my friends. “Get back in the car.” It has tinted windows, and Remi told me it’s bulletproof. Here’s hoping it will keep them safe and hidden.
The grimness of their expressions as I explain what I’m planning to do gives me second thoughts.
“Should I just call the police?” I ask. “Am I going to get Charlie hurt?”
“Let’s call them after we know Charlie’s safe,” Xavier says. “Because if they come in here, they might not believe you.” He winces. “I mean, you are the new guy.”
“Yeah. Agreed,” I say.
I race inside, aiming for where I think a secret passageway begins, from what I remember in the article. Then a throat clears behind me, and I turn around.
Gideon is standing in the doorway to the secret room that Charlie and I looked at the first time we came here, the bookcase pushed aside. He looks terrible.
“Of course,” I mutter.
“Rowan. How nice of you to come,” he says.
“How fucked up of you to kidnap my fiancé,” I hiss.
“This isn’t kidnapping. I just fetched him so we can chat. So you can drop this bid to get the family money. And let it go to me.”
“Fuck the money. Give me Charlie.”
“I hoped you’d say that. I have some paperwork here that says you promise to transfer everything you receive from the St. Thomas family to me.”
“I’m not signing a fucking thing until I get to see Charlie,” I snap .
“Fine,” Gideon says. From behind him, a man emerges who I never wanted to see again. I should’ve stabbed him the first time I saw his smarmy face and that Adidas tracksuit.
I hope I’ll have a chance to later.
For now, though, I do my best to fight him off but am unsuccessful. And I let them take me away down under the house.