Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
D ammit . Ryder saw the acid burn into the metal of the workbench.
If that hit Siv…
Not that his woman looked worried. She lunged at Caroline.
The scientist threw another jar. Siv battered it aside and it hit the wall. Caroline dodged behind the workbench, and Siv followed.
“It’s over, Caroline,” Siv said.
“No! I’m destined for greatness, for success. I’m making the world a better place.”
Ryder’s jaw tightened. The selfish, entitled woman believed every word she said.
“You’ve made it worse.” Siv darted forward.
With a cry, Caroline scrambled around another bench. “ No .”
“Yes. You’ve killed people. Lied to your investors and stolen their money. You’re scum.”
Caroline’s face was white, her hair becoming askew. She yanked open a fridge, pulling out vials. “I can’t let you ruin me and Christian.”
“It’s not about you anymore,” Ryder said, edging closer. “It’s about justice for the people you killed.”
“Just stand down, Caroline,” Siv said. “Make it easier on yourself.”
Caroline shook her head wildly. Her hair tumbled loose from its knot. “I’m a genius. I’m one of the youngest tech billionaires in the country. I’m going to change—”
Fuck . Her deluded beliefs were too ingrained.
Caroline snatched up a syringe off the workbench and jabbed the needle into one of the vials. She backed up.
Ryder frowned, and saw Siv do the same.
“Caroline, put that down,” Ryder said.
The woman was breathing fast. “This is Trelaskin. A highly concentrated dose. You’ll both die quickly. I’m sorry.”
Ryder whipped his Glock up. “Put it down.” Damn, Siv was too close.
Then Siv attacked.
She kicked Caroline, and the woman bent over, making a pained sound. Siv’s next kick was to the scientist’s arm. The syringe flew into the air and hit the tiles.
Siv followed through with two punches. Caroline hit a workbench, groaning. She was no match for Siv.
Siv yanked out some zip ties. “It’s over—”
With a wild cry, Caroline grabbed a small centrifuge off the bench and swung the piece of equipment at Siv.
She managed to clock Siv in the jaw. While Siv was surprised, Caroline leaped on her, and both women crashed to the floor.
Shit . “Siv!” Ryder circled the bench.
“I’ve got it,” Siv said. “Give me a second.”
The women wrestled. Siv ended up on top, pinning Caroline on her belly to the tiles.
The scientist surged forward, reaching out. Siv pressed a knee into the woman’s back.
And that’s when Ryder saw what Caroline was reaching for.
The dropped syringe of Trelaskin.
Heart knocking into his ribs, Ryder tried to get a clear shot. “Siv, watch out!”
Caroline grabbed the syringe and made a stab at Siv. Siv rolled off her.
Dammit . Ryder still didn’t have a clean shot. He couldn’t risk hitting Siv.
The women wrestled again.
“Drop the syringe, Caroline.” Ryder advanced. The women didn’t even hear him.
Siv rolled again. With an angry sound, Caroline lunged.
The syringe slammed into Siv’s arm.
No .
Siv grabbed for it, while Caroline reared up. Panic filling his chest, Ryder fired, the gunshot echoing loudly in the lab.
The bullet clipped Caroline’s arm. She screamed and it spun her away from Siv.
“Get down on the ground,” he roared. “Now!”
Caroline stumbled, then tripped over a stool.
Ryder watched as the woman fell with a sharp cry. The back of her head hit the corner of the workbench, and she collapsed to the floor.
He rushed to Siv. She sat up and yanked the syringe free.
“Siv. Fuck .” He dropped to his knees, his heart pounding like a drum.
She threw the syringe to the floor and grabbed his hand. “It’s okay. She didn’t depress it.”
His gaze dropped and he saw that the syringe was still full of fluid. He released a sharp breath.
“Thank God.” He yanked her to his chest. The idea of losing her…
Siv kissed his jaw, then stiffened. “Oh, shit.”
Ryder looked back and his gut clenched. Caroline hadn’t moved. She lay on her side, her sightless eyes open. There was blood on the tiles underneath her head.
“Aw, hell.” He moved to the woman and checked her pulse. The bullet had grazed her arm, but the blow to her head had killed her.
He was full of mixed emotions. Any death was bad. Even knowing everything she’d done—that she was responsible for Robbie’s death, the death of others, and not to mention that she’d tried to kill Siv—it still didn’t sit right.
A hand pressed to his shoulder, and he looked up at Siv.
“It’s not your fault,” she said.
“I know, but I wanted her in jail, not this.”
“Come on. We need to get comms back and contact the others.”
With a nod, he rose.
Suddenly, the lab door opened. “Caro, why was the door locked? Are you—?”
Christian Foster jerked to a stop, staring at them. He was in jeans and, no surprise, a black turtleneck. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
Ryder stepped forward, the gun pressed to the side of his leg. “Foster—”
But Christian surged forward and saw the gun. Then his gaze dropped to his sister’s body.
Shock, anger, and grief rippled over his features. “Caro… No.”
“I’m sorry,” Siv said. “We—”
“You killed her!” The words were a harsh whisper. Christian’s face twisted. “ Caro .”
Ryder dragged in a breath. “It was an accident.”
Christian’s gaze went flat. “You aren’t investors. I knew something was wrong with you.”
“We’re investigating your sham drug and the people you killed,” Ryder said.
Christian shoved his hands into his hair. “They were all nobodies. No one cared that they died. Caroline was beautiful, accomplished—” His face twisted.
“They mattered, too, and no one deserves to be murdered,” Ryder said.
Blazing eyes met his. “Yet you killed my sister.”
“She attacked us first. I shot at her in self-defense, and she fell.”
Christian shook his head. “You’ll pay.”
“Enough.” Siv stepped forward. “It’s over. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
The man made an enraged sound, spun, and ran for the door.
“Stop!” Ryder yelled.
Christian slapped a hand to the wall and the lights went out. An alarm started blaring.
Shit . Ryder couldn’t see anything. “Siv?”
“I can’t see him.”
Water spurted from the sprinklers on the ceiling, drenching them.
Dammit . A sudden shove sent Ryder sliding. He slammed into the workbench and fell. He heard a scuffle.
“Siv!” He pushed to his feet.
The door opened and slammed closed.
Fucking hell . Ryder leaped up and found the wall. He moved his hands, looking for the light switch.
“Siv!” he roared.
There was no answer. Pulse racing, he found the door and tried the handle. It was locked from the outside.
He kept moving and found the light switch.
He turned the lights back on.
Except for Ryder, and Caroline’s dead body, the drenched lab was empty.
Foster had Siv.
No. Fuck, no . He turned and hammered on the door.
* * *
Ugh, why did she feel so groggy?
Siv fought through the fog in her head. Her body was bobbing weirdly up and down. Did she have a big night? She usually didn’t drink enough to have a hangover.
She managed to crack one eye open.
Someone was carrying her. She was draped over some guy’s shoulder.
Thoughts tried to break through, but she couldn’t put everything together. It was all a confusing jumble. She blinked slowly. Her clothes were wet. She lifted her head saw they were in a garage. She saw a row of expensive cars. Then she spotted the stun gun on the man’s belt.
Stun gun.
Everything rushed back in.
Robbie Wilcox. The Fosters. Ryder.
Hell, Caroline was dead. And in the sprinkler-soaked darkness, Christian Foster had gotten the jump on her and stunned her.
Was Ryder okay?
She tried to get a handle on her worry. Right now, she needed to get free. And unfortunately, her extremities still felt tingly and numb.
The world whirled and she was dumped in the passenger seat of a vehicle.
Siv blinked.
“Ah, you’re waking up.” Christian jerked on her hands and tied them together with some rope. She blinked, trying to clear the blurriness from her vision. She’d shaken off stun gun affects before.
But this felt different.
“I drugged you,” he said.
She flicked her gaze up.
Christian’s face was a horrible mask. “Sedative. To keep you docile.” He slammed the door and circled the sleek, red car.
She realized it was a Tesla roadster. The interior was almost futuristic, with sleek, cream seats, a small, curved steering wheel that looked like it belonged on a spaceship, and a glossy, rectangular screen in the center of the dash.
He got in, gripped the wheel, and the vehicle rolled out of the garage silently. The garage door ahead slid upward.
He was tense, looking around as they exited the garage. Then he gunned down the long, tree-lined driveway.
As they sped away, Siv saw two men running out of the house in the side mirror. It looked like Vander and Saxon.
“Caroline—” Christian’s voice cracked, his hands flexing on the wheel. “That asshole killed her.”
“Where is he?” Her voice was raspy.
“I locked him in the lab.” Christian glanced at her. His face was grim, his eyes burning. “I wanted to kill him, but this is better. He took something important from me, so I’ll take something important from him.”
Her heart sped up. “He’s…not really my husband.”
“I saw the way he watched you. You matter.”
Siv’s breath hitched. “No, I—”
Christian made a sound. “He yelled your name. We’ll see how he feels now that I’ve got what he cares about.”
“Foster—”
“Shut up.” He sped up, swerving a little on the road.
Siv felt aches reverberate through her body and stifled a groan. Her brain and body felt sluggish from whatever he’d given her.
“You committed fraud and murder,” she said. “Trelaskin doesn’t work. It kills. What happened to Caroline was—”
“I said shut up .” He hit the highway and headed toward the city.
“Where are we going?” She lifted her bound hands to her face. Damn, he’d obviously found her earpiece, as it was gone.
“I don’t know yet.” He slammed a hand on the wheel. “All I can think about is my sister. She’s gone.” Sorrow drenched his voice.
Siv swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “You will be, and so will your man.”
She dragged in a breath. Ryder and the others would find her. Right now, she needed to stay calm, and wait for a moment to overpower Christian.
But she couldn’t help but hope the others didn’t take too long.
One thing she knew in her heart was that Ryder would come for her.
* * *
Panic was hot in his veins. Ryder hammered on the locked door of the lab.
That fucker Foster had Siv.
Ryder knew she could handle herself, but when you were head over heels in love with someone, nothing stopped the worry.
His heart thumped. He couldn’t lose her.
“Ryder?” Vander’s voice came through the door.
“In here!”
He heard two muffled gunshots, and the door swung over.
Vander stepped into the doorway. He noted the sprinklers, and Caroline’s dead body. “ Fuck .”
“She fell and hit her head.” Ryder charged out, flicking his wet hair out of his face. A grim-faced Cam stood in the hallway.
“You all right?” His brother asked, handgun clutched in his hands.
“Fine. Christian Foster has Siv.”
Vander cursed and touched his ear. “Ace, I need eyes on Foster’s car. He has Siv.”
A muscle ticked at the edge of Ryder’s eyes. “He must’ve incapacitated her.”
“We saw his car speed out,” Vander said.
“Rhys and Saxon are outside. Let’s move.” Vander touched his ear again. “And Ace, call Hunt. We have one dead body. Caroline Foster.”
Ryder tried to get a grip on his emotions. Fear was riding him hard. “Foster might hurt her.”
“She’s made of tough stuff,” Vander said.
Yeah, but she had soft spots too. She’d trusted Ryder enough to show the softness she kept hidden.
“Dammit.” He shoved his hands in his hair. “Not knowing if she’s hurt…”
“I’ve accessed security footage,” Ace said. “Foster used a stun gun on her and looks like he injected her with something.”
Ryder’s pulse went crazy. He hoped to hell it wasn’t Trelaskin.
“It looked like she was coming around in the garage,” Ace continued.
Ryder blew out a harsh breath. Cam clapped a hand on his arm and squeezed.
Outside, they jogged through the trees and scaled the fence, headed for the X6s.
“We have to get them.” Ryder dug deep, trying to find some calm. “Foster saw his sister was dead, and he lost it.”
Vander’s jaw tightened.
“And he knows that we’re onto Chiron.”
“He’s got nothing left to lose,” Saxon said.
Ryder’s gut hardened. He needed to get to Siv before Foster imploded.
They reached the SUVs and Ryder flew into the passenger seat. Vander gunned the engine and sped off. The other X6 fell in behind them.
Then Vander touched the dash. “Talk to me, Ace.”
“Okay, I’ve had a couple of glimpses of Foster’s Tesla roadster. He’s heading back into the city.”
“Where is he taking her?” Ryder muttered to himself.
“Acknowledged, Ace,” Vander said. “We’re en route. Keep us posted.”
“Can you see if she’s okay?” Ryder asked.
“She’s conscious,” Ace said. “We’re going to get her, Ryder. And knowing our girl, she’ll have dealt with Foster herself by the time you get there.”
Ryder’s hand clenched into a fist. He sure as hell hoped so. But until they had Siv back safely, until he could hold her himself, he wouldn’t stop worrying.
“It’s going to be all right,” Vander said.
“Hell, is this how you felt when that biker gang took Brynn?” And it must’ve been how Hunt felt when his woman Savannah had faced off with her stalker. Like his insides were being torn out.
“Does it feel like you swallowed motor oil?” Vander said.
“Yeah,” Ryder agreed.
“Then, yes.”
Ryder blew out a breath.
“Keep it together,” Vander ordered. “For Siv.”
Ryder nodded. “Can you go any faster?”
With a half smile, Vander sped up.