Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cade
I blink and try to regain my bearings. I’m naked in a bedroom with a canopy bed. Lola. I smile and touch the mattress. The bed is empty, and the sheets are cold. Where did she go?
“Lola?” I call out, but there’s no response and no sounds from the bathroom. I jump up and take in everything at once. The room is lit by the crack in the bathroom door. Her dress is still in a puddle on the floor next to my pants. “Lola?”
No response. I run to the bathroom and yank back the shower curtain. Where is she? The jewels. I return to the bedroom and lift each of our discarded items, scanning every surface in the room. Nothing. Shit. No necklace. No Lola. No cell phone.
I dial her number, and it goes directly to voicemail. Where in the hell is she? I jerk on my clothes and dial Ripley’s number.
“Yes?”
“I might need you. Lola’s not in her bedroom, the jewels aren’t in her bedroom, and she’s not answering her cell phone.”
“Shit.” I can hear him rustling around in the background. “Call me in ten minutes. If you don’t find her, we’ll head your way. We’re getting dressed.”
“Thanks.” My hands shake as I fasten my belt buckle. Stop. You’ve got to be in control. She needs you to think clearly. I inhale and steady my shoulders and back.
As calmness washes over me, I turn off all emotions and shift into combat mode. I’ve clinically orchestrated countless missions. This one is no different. A potential victim needs to be extracted, and you’re the best man for the job. I check the magazine in my Glock, pull back the slide, load a round, and shove it in the holster that’s attached to my belt. The pressure of it against the small of my back is reassuring.
When I open the door, ice water runs through my veins. I glide down the hallway without making a noise. The element of surprise has ended many rescue missions before they’ve even begun. I pray I’m that fortunate tonight. I grasp the doorknob of the study.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Fuck. Just what I need. Lola’s father glares from the stairs’ base like I’m trying to rob him blind.
“I’m looking for Lola.”
“Well, she isn’t in my office.” He yanks his cell phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling the police.”
“Good. We probably need them. Call her brothers, also.” I twist the knob and thrust the door open. I don’t have time for his shit.
“What in the fuck are you doing?” He runs up the stairs.
“I fucking told you. I’m looking for Lola. She’s left the bedroom. The jewels are gone. And she isn’t answering her cell phone.” My eyes shift over each quadrant of the room, scanning for clues and signs of life–my stomach clenches.
Please, be alive. Fuck. Don’t break down–this is a mission like any other.
“What do you mean she’s not in her room?” He steps toward her room. “Did you even look there?”
“I was in the room with her. I would’ve noticed if she were still in there.”
He slaps his hands on his hips. “Well, if you were with her, why the fuck did she leave, and how in the hell did you lose her?”
“I fell asleep.” As I study the wall on my left, I grit my teeth together. Who took her? Where did they take her? Is she still alive? Don’t go there. She’s fine. You’d know if she weren’t.
“Cocksucker. You have no business being with my daughter.”
I spin around. “Stop talking. I’m trying to find your daughter. The least you could do is do what I told you to do. Call her brothers. Now.” His eyes fill with fear, and he stabs numbers on his cell phone. “We can talk about what a bad match I am when we find her safe.” I grab my cell phone and pace the room.
The cushions on the sofa are scattered, and the vase on the coffee table is knocked over. Fuck.
“Hello?” Ripley answers.
“Get here, now. She’s gone.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry. We were wrong.”
“Don’t worry about it. Even the best intelligence is wrong sometimes.” I snap the phone off and pace from the desk to the door–a good time to have an epiphany of ‘Sometimes shit happens.’
Edward mumbles into the phone with shaking hands. After his arm drops to his side, he clutches his throat. “Who was that?”
“A friend I was in the SEALs with. He works for Beck Security Force and is married to a DIA agent. They were here earlier tonight, but we thought the burglars had skipped your place.” I run a hand through my hair. “Four other homes were burglarized tonight.”
“Shit.”
“We fucked up.” How did I screw this up?
“My daughter has no business being with you.”
“Your daughter was going on this mission on her own, but I tagged my dumbass along to keep her safe. I fucked that up. But why she was doing it was all her own decision. Your daughter is stubborn.”
Eddie Jr. breezes through the doorway. “Yes, she is.”
Derrick follows in his footsteps. “What in the fuck is going on?” Apparently, they were both still downstairs partying. I squint to see if they’re drunk. They must be at their best. Lola’s life depends upon it.
“We think Lola has been taken.”
“Fuck.” Eddie Jr. rubs his face. He appears tired, but his eyes are clear. “By whom?”
“I don’t know.” Lola’s stubborn. She’s resourceful. Think–the sofa.
I lift the pillow that lays against the sofa arm. On the opposite side of the pillow are the letters RM + PY rubbed into the plush fabric with lipstick.
Damn, I love her. If I didn’t already want to marry her, this would solidify it. “Randall Maitland and Patricia Young.” Patricia Young. I shake my head and growl. Hell, nothing should surprise me. “I’ve got Maitland’s schematics on my cell phone.” I ignore all of them as I text Ripley the information and pull up the Maitland Estate illustrations. “I’m sure she’s with them, but can you ping her phone and check the security footage?”
“On it.” Derrick strides out of the room.
***
Lola
How in the hell am I going to get out of here? I pull at the rope tied around my wrists and lean forward in the chair. I’ve spent the last hour trying to loosen my restraints with little headway.
“What’re you going to do with her?” Patricia paces the floor and asks the same question for the tenth time since they dragged me at gunpoint out of my father’s house, into Randall’s Range Rover, then drove the fifteen minutes to his estate. Seriously, he should have picked a mark a little farther from his house. Cade, please have seen my message by now.
“I don’t know, Patricia.” He glares at her and throws a stapler across the room. It smashes against the wall and falls to the floor with a clatter.
“You could ask for a ransom.” She jerks her attention to me. “Her father has lots of money. I’m sure he’d pay to get her back.”
“And then what?” He throws his hands in the air. “We get arrested and go to prison, is what’s next.”
I’m not above begging to save my life or buy time, but for now, I’m keeping my mouth shut. The more time they spend arguing, the more time Cade has to get here and save my ass.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to go off on my own to put the jewels away. Even worse? I never suspected Patricia of anything. That little tidbit could’ve knocked me over with a feather. I push against the restraints for several seconds and release the pressure. Just a little more. I wiggle my fingers to return the blood flow.
“I’ve got to make a phone call.” He ambles to his desk and yanks up his landline phone receiver.
“Patricia, you don’t have to go down for this. You can say he forced you to participate.” She’s the weaker of the two of them, and I might play on her sense of right and wrong.
“Shut up.” Her eyes snap. After spinning away from me, she drags a cigarette out of her purse and lights it up.
“Put that fucking thing out.” The veins in his temple pop. “I don’t want my house smelling like cigarettes. You know I don’t allow that in my house.”
“I’m sorry. I forgot.” Her hand shakes as she walks to the desk and stops.
“I don’t have an ashtray. Pinch it out with your fingers.”
Her head jerks backward. “I can’t do that.”
“Put it out, or I’ll put it out on your face. You can’t afford for me to do that. All you have is your looks. You’re fucking stupid.” He waits with the phone to his ear for her to follow his command.
I strain against the rope. Just a bit more time. I’m not about to let these assholes put an end to my life. Not without going down swinging.
She places her thumb and index finger on either side of the glowing tip, and he glares at her. “Do it.”
As she extinguishes the cigarette, her face contorts in pain, but she doesn’t make a sound.
“That’s better. Don’t light up in front of me again.”
He dials a number and waits for the other party to answer. “I need a flight to Micronesia.” He listens for a second. “One way. For one.”
“What about me?”
He ignores her and finishes his conversation. I slip my right wrist out of my restraint and shake my hand behind my back. How in the hell am I going to take them both down? Randall has at least one hundred pounds on me.
“I haven’t decided what to do with you.”
“Take me with you.” She grabs his forearm. “I love you. You love me. We’re supposed to spend the rest of our lives together. You can’t leave me here to go to jail.”
“I can, and I will.” He jerks his arm out of her grasp. “Or I can kill you along with her.”
She clasps her chest, and her entire face falls. “You wouldn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I was only using you for your glowing endorsements, but now your purpose has been served.”
“That’s fucking bullshit. You used me.”
As they continue to argue, I use my fingers to unhook the knot on my other wrist and slip that one loose. Where is the closest object I can use to knock the shit out of this asshole? I don’t think I’m going to have much resistance from Patricia. She might even help me get away.
“Sit down next to Lola.”
“What?”
“Sit. Like a good girl. Maybe daddy can find a use for you still.” She slips onto the sofa and leans against the cushions. Her face is gray and lined with worry. I’m assuming you never saw this scenario when you played this out?
Keep your damned mouth shut.
As if Randall realizes I’ve been silent for too long, he ambles in front of me and runs a hand over my cheek. “Such a beautiful woman.” He strokes my cheekbone. “How about you go to Micronesia with me, and we live in the lap of luxury? I have millions of dollars stashed away, and you’re coming into money. We’d never have to worry about a thing.”
“Are you crazy? You kidnapped me at gunpoint. What makes you think I’d go with you?”
“I’m persuasive.” His eyes darken as he runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “Such a pretty mouth for fucking. I bet you give good head.”
I clench my teeth together. “Why don’t you find out?”
“Such a feisty one.” He chuckles and smacks my face. Fucker. It takes everything in my power not to swing at him, but from a seated position, I won’t inflict enough damage to get away.
“It’s too bad. I would have liked to fuck that tight pussy of yours, but I don’t have time. I’ve got to kill you, dispose of the body, and get to the airport by 5:00 a.m.”
“That’s cutting it close.”
He grabs a handful of my hair and tips my head backward. “Don’t get snarky. I still have time to stick it up your ass.” He yanks harder. “Dry. I’ve always got time for that. Don’t I, Patricia.” He leans down and sniffs my neck. “I love a tight ass. The screaming. The blood. The orgasm that rips through you when you don’t want it to.”
Vomit fills my mouth as I sit motionlessly. Try it, fucker. I’ll cut your dick off.
Patricia doesn’t make a sound other than a low whimper as she cowers in the corner of the sofa. Grow some balls, lady. There’s no way in fuck this guy is getting out of here with all his body parts intact. My eyes dart to the lamp beside me. That will have to do.