Oliver
“Ihaven’t looped Rocky in, but I have told his assistant—she’s Emily’s mom’s cousin.
She promised not to say anything to him until we decide it’s necessary.
” I lean toward Anders from my seat on the arm of the sofa.
“And I agree—I’m a few hours from looping the police in.
But I know Emily wouldn’t want her name in the press. Or her family name.”
Anders’s furrowed brow says it all. The guy runs things by the regulations. “You’re sure you’re not trying to keep your name out of the tabloids?”
“Fuck no.” They’re going to like it even less when I lay down my hunch.
Ryder turns to me and stands. “You have an idea where she is?”
“I do.”
“And?”
“After she didn’t show, I went to the bar.
I ran into a friend from college there.” I don’t want to say who it is, but it’s going to come out.
“Thayer Zambrano. I’d had a few drinks, and it took me a second to remember that he knows Emily too.
We haven’t been friends since the Rock Candy.
I’ve told you that before. But in college, Thayer and I were thick as thieves.
” Honestly, I didn’t forget. How could I ever forget?
Even drunk. The father of one of my closest college friends had the boat I was working on sabotaged.
Thayer and I were more than friends; we were hunting partners every Friday night in the clubs.
Finding that one, two, or three special girls who wanted to spend the night with us.
No, I haven’t talked to Thayer in a long damn time.
“I ignored him at first, but he came and sat next to me. He was moody as fuck, but then he always was. I drank my drink without talking to him before he asked me why I was drinking alone when I could have any woman I wanted.” It’s damn true but not the point.
“You didn’t tell him about Emily?” Ryder asks.
“Fuck no. But he’s in the hotel and she disappears? The two are definitely related. It didn’t cross my mind that night. I was too . . . I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You thought she dumped you?”
Yes. “No, I thought she panicked because she had feelings for . . . someone else.”
Both of them straighten up like I’m talking about one of them.
“So, Thayer’s checked into the hotel. Has your security team, or the hotel, checked his room?” Anders asks.
“That’s just it. He’s not checked into the hotel. And the CCTV doesn’t show him leaving through the lobby that night either,” I say.
“That’s absurd.” Anders paces the length of the room.
“Agreed.”
There’s a pounding on the door.
“One of your security guys?”
“Better not be,” I say, heading for the door. “I’m trying to keep things discreet.”
I check the door and yank it open so fast that I almost smash my own nose in. “Where the fuck is she?” I say to my former best friend.
“Can I come in?” Thayer asks.
There’s a growl behind me. “Enter at your own risk.”
He’s dressed in a suit that in our college days he would have made fun of. It cost more than a lot of people make in several months.
“Where is she?” Anders asks.
“Right to the point.” He rubs his chin. “She’s at my estate. I’ve come to collect you. She insists.”
“She insists?” I ask.
“Yes. She’s rather insistent on a lot of things, actually.”
“Like you letting her go?” I cock my head at him.
“Among other things. But I did let her know that Oliver has guests. You are Anders Thompson and Ryder Dempsey? All three of you are habitual over-texters.”
“How the hell did you know that?” Ryder asks.
“Because she’s been asking to text both of you.” Thayer cocks the side of his head. “And I have her phone.” He glares straight at me.
“You sent the text,” I say, locking eyes with him.
“Yes.”
“Then give her her damn phone back.” Ryder steps forward. “Or better yet, let her go.”
“For her own safety, I can’t do that.”
“It’s time to bring in the police,” Anders says.
“I can take you to her.” The scruff on Thayer’s upper lip twitches. “Are you fucking texting her again? Her phone is off. It’s not safe; it’s how my father’s men tracked her down here. If you want to talk to her, I . . .”
“I’m not going anywhere with this asshole. Not unless it’s down to the local precinct or whatever they call them here.” Anders steps toward Thayer.
Thayer glares at Anders and pulls his phone out of his suit coat pocket and taps it, then lifts it to his ear. “Give her your phone. I’ll wait.” Thayer smiles at us.
A string of obscenities comes from the phone. I’ve never once heard even a damn from Emily. Didn’t think she even knew half of those words. But she does, for sure.
Thayer looks from the floor to me. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what you believe. I have your little entourage with me.” Thayer pulls the phone away from his ear and stabs at the phone. “You’re on speaker, Emily.”
“What the hell are you doing, Thayer? Get your funky ass back here and tell your overgrown King Kong to let me the hell go. I’m not going to lie down and play by your demented messed-up rules, you hyped up dickhead!
If you think I’m going to sit and take this bullshit of being caged like a glass princess, you’re out of your damn mind.
You . . . you . . . What is it you say again? You twatting muppet.”
I’m laughing on the inside, because on top of being a feral little vixen, Emily’s got spunk. On the outside, my eyes are steel on Thayer.
“Emily,” Ryder and Anders say at the same time. “Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry. Did you really come all this way because this buffoon freaking snatched me?”
“Yes. Of course,” they echo each other.
“Where are you, Emily?” I say over them both.
“Thayer’s estate. At least that’s—”
Thayer cuts the phone off, silencing Emily. “There. You know she’s alive. And against my better judgement, I’ll take you to her. Because I have a good feeling that if I don’t, you’re going to involve a lot of people who don’t need to be involved.”
“You, you’re who doesn’t need to be involved in her life. Hasn’t your family caused enough pain to hers? Why in the hell do you think it’s up to you to protect her? From what?” I ask.
Thayer puts his hands in his pockets. “Not what but whom. And it is up to me. I made a tactical error.”
I humph. Because Thayer Zambrano—at least the version of him that I knew and knew well—doesn’t admit mistakes. Ever. “What did you do that would make you think kidnapping Emily is the only way to keep her safe? Seriously?” I take a step toward Thayer.
“You know my dad.” Thayer looks over at Ryder and Anders. “In a way, you all know him. But Oliver knows him even better. He thrives on control. It’s what’s made him successful.”
I nod. Because you haven’t lived until you’ve been woken up by a group of thugs dragging your college roommate out of his bed and beating him.
All because he hadn’t followed his father’s orders.
More than once, I told him to tell his dad to shove off.
But apparently it doesn’t work that way.
His cousin left the family business and hasn’t been heard from since.
The same goes for Thayer’s dad’s second wife.
“What does your dad want Emily for? This tactical error, how does she play into it?”
“A few weeks back, she and I were at the Ashcroft and Pennington wedding. She was there because we both went to school with Whitney. And Oliver and I went to school with Miles Pennington.”
I nod. I’d been invited to the wedding, but I didn’t want the paparazzi chaos me attending a public event attracts to disturb Miles’s wedding.
Thayer shoves his phone in his suit pocket.
“I danced with her. And the picture ended up in the paper and on a gossip site. My father had laid down the law that no one was to have anything to do with any of the Rockwells. He barely escaped being indicted during the Susan Blanche trial. He called Emily some names, and I defended her. That’s when he realized she really means something to me.
He’s turned her into a pawn. I do what he says or he takes it out on her. ”
“And the guy in the tearoom?” I ask.
“One of his men,” Thayer says. “I made him angry when I told him no last week. I don’t know what he was going to do to her. I’m sure just something to rile her up. Luckily, I have a sort of mole among my dad’s men.”
“So you’re going to what? Keep Emily until your dad . . . what, dies? Because right now I’d like to arrange that myself. I’ve had enough of him.” Ryder’s eyes are practically glowing, and I’m right there with him.
“The only way to protect her is to keep her close.”
“That’s what kidnapping is. So, yes, your plan is to keep her locked up.”
“No. As much as my dad hates the Rockwell family, there’s one thing he wants more than his own life.”
“Money,” Anders says.
Thayer shakes his head.
“Power,” Ryder replies. Still no dice.
And fuck if I don’t know this one. Because it’s the same thing my parents need. Though luckily not from me. “A grandchild.”