Chapter 27 Natalie
Natalie
Being grabbed in the back of a boutique and shoved into a car at gunpoint had not been on my holiday Bingo card. But there I was.
I lay across the back seat, zip-tied at the wrists and ankles, not wearing a seat belt.
You’d think that last one wouldn’t have worried me as much as it did, considering I’d just been abducted.
And there was a gun. But the storm made it almost impossible to see, and I didn’t care how fancy Julian’s car was. If we crashed, I was dead.
The so-called self-defense class I’d taken in college had been useless. The whole thing had happened too fast. One second, I was waiting for the restroom, and the next, I was being dragged outside into the cold.
He’d hit me upside the head before I had the chance to scream or fight back. He hadn’t knocked me unconscious, but the blow had stunned me enough that he’d been able to get me in the back of his car. While I was still in a daze, he’d brandished the gun and zip-tied my feet and ankles.
Maybe I had blacked out for a minute because I couldn’t remember him closing the door or getting in the driver’s seat. The next thing I knew, I was lying across the back seat of a moving car with a brutal headache.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice hoarse from the pain.
“You’re awake,” Julian answered. “You know, you’re not a bad actress. You actually had me fooled for a while.”
I didn’t reply.
“Stupid mistake on my part. I knew you were with Lakes. I actually bought your story about being his already forgotten one-night stand. I felt sorry for you. What the hell is that?”
“The necklace is gone.”
“I’m sure it is. Doesn’t matter. I’m still getting paid.”
The windows looked like they were covered in a white sheet. How could he see where he was going? I felt the tires slip and wondered how he was managing to stay on the road.
“All we did is take something you had no right to in the first place,” I said. “That necklace wasn’t yours. You stole it.”
“So?”
“Why are you retaliating like this?”
“I’m not retaliating.”
“You grabbed me, hit me, tied me up, and shoved me in your car. How is that not retaliation?”
“I didn’t do it to get back at you. Although I should. You almost fucked me over more than you know.”
“Then why?”
“To fix what you screwed up.”
“What are you talking about?”
Shaking his head a little, he chuckled again. “The necklace wasn’t the prize, sweetheart. It was bait. I counted on Lakes coming for it. That’s why I was hired to steal it. What I didn’t count on was you. You’re not here because I’m pissed at you, although I am. Now, you’re the bait.”
My mind raced to put the pieces together—to make sense of it all. Julian had been hired to steal the necklace to trap Jensen? And it hadn’t worked, so now I was the bait?
“What were you going to do to him?”
“I wasn’t going to do anything to him except hand him over to the guy who hired me.”
“Who hired you?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What is he going to do to me?”
“Hopefully nothing.”
I glanced up and caught his eyes in the rearview mirror.
“But don’t worry,” he said, his voice taking on a hard edge. “I’m not finished with you.”
“But…” The car swerved, and I almost rolled off the seat. “You can’t do this. It’s Christmas.”
“What?” he asked with a derisive laugh. “What does that have to do with anything?”
I wasn’t sure, but somehow it made my situation a thousand times worse. I couldn’t be abducted on Christmas Eve. I’d promised Annabel I’d be home. I’d pinky promised.
His phone rang, and he answered. “Yeah.”
I strained to listen, but I couldn’t hear what the other person was saying.
“In case you didn’t notice, we’re in the middle of a snowstorm. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
He paused again.
“I told you the storm would be a problem… I know… If you say so.”
He ended the call.
I didn’t bother asking questions. Tears welled in my eyes.
Maybe it was silly to be upset about missing Christmas when I had much bigger and probably life-threatening problems. But I couldn’t help it.
The sudden realization that I was zip-tied in a car headed who knows where on Christmas Eve and might not make it home in time for Christmas with my niece was devastating.
Or maybe my brain focused on the holiday as a means of keeping my sanity, considering it was possible I wasn’t going to make it home at all.
I felt the car turn, and the back end slid. Wincing, I sat up and looked out the windows. Heavy snow fell all around us, and I had no idea where we were. There was nothing but snow and the faint outline of trees.
We climbed a hill, and the trees encroached on either side. Where were we? Not on the highway or any of the main roads. There was hardly enough room for one car to pass through.
Finally, a single light came into view up ahead. Julian slowed, and when he stopped, I could see the vague shape of a house or cabin through the swirling snow.
Without a word, Julian held up the gun—a clear threat. He got out and opened the door, pointing it at me.
Staring down my imminent death, I scooted across the seat. With my ankles tied, I wasn’t going to be able to walk—especially in the snow. Still holding the gun, he manhandled me onto his shoulder.
Pain from my car accident injuries exploded through me. The wind whipped through my hair and stung my cheeks as he carried me to the cabin. His shoulder dug into my stomach, but I refused to make a sound. Although I was terrified and in pain—who wouldn’t have been—something else bloomed inside me.
Defiance.
Screw that pompous ass. He was not going to take me out.
He opened the door and went inside. It was slightly warmer out of the storm, but not much.
“About time,” a man’s voice said.
Julian set me on my feet and gestured with the gun for me to sit in a threadbare armchair. I sank down, my gaze darting around.
The rustic cabin was small—just one open room with what was probably a bathroom at the back.
The walls and floor were wood, with a few mismatched rugs strewn around, and several pairs of old snowshoes hung on the wall.
A black wood stove stood in the tiny kitchen area, and a four-poster king-size bed took up much of the space.
“In case you didn’t notice, the weather is shit,” Julian said.
The second man stood with his hands casually clasped behind his back, looking out a paned glass window. He was dressed all in black, from his ski jacket to his boots, and the way they fit made them look sleek and expensive.
He turned, and his eyes swept over me. Nothing in his expression changed, but something about his gaze made my skin crawl.
“Which is why time is of the essence,” he replied, still looking at me.
“I don’t know what you expect,” Julian said, irritation plain in his tone. “I had to wait for an opportunity and improvise the hell out of it. I got lucky when they went in that shop and the back door was unlocked.”
The other man came closer. He reached out, and I flinched when he touched my chin, angling my face to the side.
“You hit her.”
“Look, if you could have done a better job, you should have done it yourself.”
The man’s eyes flashed with anger, but when he spoke, his voice was even. “Let’s not forget that she’s here because of you. This is your fault.”
Julian’s jaw tightened, and it took him a second to reply. “No. It’s her fault.”
“Have it your way.” He waved his hand as if the issue was no longer important.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Where are my manners?” He took my bound hands and lifted my fingers to his lips. “Archer Prince.”
I snatched my hands away. Archer Prince? The art thief Jensen had been hunting?
He scrutinized me again and seemed to come to a decision. He reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a pocketknife.
“I don’t think we’ll be needing these. You’re not going anywhere in that storm.” He crouched and cut through the zip ties at my ankles, then freed my wrists. “And if you try, I’ll just kill you.”
His matter-of-fact tone was clear. He wasn’t kidding.
“This was all a setup, wasn’t it?” I asked.
Pocketing his knife, he shot an irritated glance at Julian. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Does it matter? I still don’t get why we’re out here. Lakes might not even find us.”
Archer took a few slow steps. Something about his relaxed and unhurried body language was unnerving. I didn’t like his confidence.
“That was your real mistake,” he said. “You underestimated him. And we’re here because it suits my purposes.”
“You’re out here alone. How is that not underestimating him? You should have snipers out there to take him out before he even gets close.”
The smirk that crossed Archer’s face sent another chill down my spine. “Oh no. Lakes deserves much better than that. I respect him too much not to see to it personally.”
“Suit yourself.” Julian tucked the gun in the waistband of his pants. “While we’re waiting, we need to renegotiate.”
The fury that crossed Archer’s face made my blood run cold. Julian seemed oblivious. Maybe he wasn’t worried because he was armed, but I had the distinct feeling Julian had not only underestimated Jensen but he was underestimating Archer, too.
“I don’t renegotiate,” Archer said. “The terms are set.”
“What about her?”
“What about her?”
“I want her when we’re done.” Julian took a step toward him. “She owes me.”
Archer didn’t answer. Just watched Julian through slightly narrowed eyes.
“You get Lakes,” Julian continued. “Once you have him, you don’t need her. Besides, what’s she to you? She’s just a lying bitch.”
My stomach roiled with dread. There was no question what Julian meant or what he planned to do to me. It was unspeakable.
Archer hesitated and cast a glance at me before replying. “Let’s talk outside.”
Julian nodded and followed him to the door. His eyes lingered on me as he passed, undisguised anger—and lust—plain on his face.
The wind howled and snow blew inside when the two men walked out the door. Julian shut it, and the world seemed to fall quiet again.
My heart beat furiously, and I stood, wondering if I could use anything in the cabin as a weapon. Panic rose, sucking the air from my lungs.
A gunshot rang out, and I froze with terror.
I watched, wide-eyed, as the door opened again, ushering in a fresh blast of snow and frigid air. Archer calmly came in and closed it behind him.
“I should probably thank you,” he said, his voice smooth and even. “For giving me an excuse to get rid of him. He had promise, but his ego was always going to get him killed.”
With no idea how to reply, I gaped at him.
He checked his watch. “You might as well have a seat. I don’t know how long we’ll be here.”
I sank into the chair, my body trembling with fear and cold.
Would Jensen come? And if he did, how would he avoid falling into Archer’s trap?
How were we going to get out of this?