Chapter 15 #2
Ashley appeared, slapping some files on Gia’s desk. “Your guy is hot.”
“I know.”
Her assistant smiled. “You’re claiming him now?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me you spent the entire weekend having hot-guy monkey sex.”
“I spent the entire weekend having hot-guy monkey sex.”
Ashley’s mouth dropped open. She held up a hand. “Give me a moment.”
Gia shook her head as her assistant wandered back to her desk, fanning her face.
Gia’s phone rang. “Gia Norcross.”
“Gia.”
Stiffening, she clutched her phone. “Willow. Where are you?” Gia waved at Saxon and he strode in.
“Gigi, Dennett found me.” Willow’s harsh breathing cut across the line. “God, Gia, he’s going to kill me.”
Sludge coated Gia’s stomach. Despite everything, she didn’t want her friend dead. “Where are you?”
“Golden Gate Park. I’ve no idea how he found me.”
Gia met Saxon’s gaze. “She’s at Golden Gate Park. Dennett found her.”
Saxon cursed. “Tell her I’m coming.”
Relief flooded Gia. “Willow, Saxon’s coming to get you.”
Willow sobbed. “Okay. Okay.”
“Hide,” Gia said. “And hold on.”
“I’m near the Rideout Fountain.”
The line went dead.
“Golden Gate Park, by the Rideout Fountain. Saxon—”
He gave Gia a quick kiss. “I’ll find her. For you, not for her.”
“You’re a good man, Saxon.”
“I’m calling Ace. Don’t leave the office.”
She nodded, then watched him stride out, his phone to his ear. She sat back in her chair, clenching her fingers and biting her lip. Great, now she had to worry about Saxon and Willow.
Jumping up, she paced across the office, unable to sit still. Please be okay. Please be okay.
She now knew why Vander and his guys were never in the office. Waiting and sitting around was excruciating.
“Gia?”
Ace stood in her doorway. As always, he looked hot, but his face was serious.
“Any news?” she asked.
“Nothing yet.”
Ace claimed the desk he’d used last time, opening his fancy laptop, his fingers moving fast over the keyboard. He clipped a Bluetooth earpiece on.
Gia kept pacing, and then she saw Ace stiffen.
She hurried out and pressed her hands to his desk. “What?”
Ashley was watching from her desk, face concerned.
“Nothing yet. Just heard a 9-1-1 call. A man’s being transferred to the hospital from Golden Gate Park.”
Gia gasped. No .
“Don’t worry, he doesn’t match Saxon’s description. Actually, sounds like it might be Dennett.” Ace reached out and gripped her hand. “Saxon’s damn good at what he does, Gia.”
“He’s been shot before.”
“He has, in a warzone. Trust him to get the job done.”
“He’s in danger, for her. Because I asked him.”
“Try to get some work done. Find a distraction.”
With a nod, she moved back into her office. She sat at her desk, but the nervous energy made it impossible to concentrate.
God, Willow . This was it. Gia couldn’t have Willow in her life if she kept on this destructive path.
All the work on Gia’s desk blurred, then her cell phone rang. She glanced down and saw it was a blocked number.
She frowned and answered. “Gia Norcross.”
“We have your brother.”
The robotic voice made Gia stiffen. That was impossible. She looked out the doorway to Ace.
“If you talk to anyone, Vander is dead,” the voice continued.
“Gia, don’t—”
My God . It was Vander’s voice. He didn’t sound stressed or worried, just pissed.
“What do you want?” she demanded. “Who are you?”
Ace had her phone tapped, right? Right now, he was on his own call, and wasn’t showing any reaction to her receiving the call.
“We’ve blocked the trace on this call,” the robot voice said. “It’s just us, Ms. Norcross. Remember, you tell anyone, we’ll put a bullet in your brother’s brain.”
“What do you want?”
“You’ll exit your office with no one noticing.”
“I’m being watched, protected—”
“Do it, or your brother dies.”
Her hand clenched on the phone, her knuckles white. “Okay.”
“Head onto the street and around the corner. There will be a car waiting. A white Cadillac.”
“A white Cadillac,” she repeated.
“Find it and get in.”
“If you hurt my brother, I’ll hurt you.”
The robotic chuckle was eerie and creepy. “You have five minutes, Ms. Norcross. Don’t be late.”
The call ended.
Fear churned in her belly, and she tasted bile in her mouth. She shoved it down.
“Focus, Gia,” she whispered. She quickly typed an email and added a send delay of ten minutes. Then she turned off her cell phone and stuck it in her bra. She wiggled it around until it was the least noticeable.
Okay, now she needed to get out without Ace noticing, or Ashley getting suspicious.
Think, Gia.
Okay . The file room was close to the front doors. She’d tell Ashley she had to get in there to get something, then she’d slip out the front door. Ace had access to the building’s cameras, but hopefully he wasn’t monitoring them live.
Gia rose and pulled in a deep breath. Vander needed her.
She strolled out of her office. “I need some files from the file room.”
Ashley swiveled in her chair. “I can get—”
“No.” Shit, that was too abrupt . “I’m trying to keep myself busy.” She tried for a smile.
Ashley sat again and nodded. “Okay, let me know if you need help.”
Gia walked at a normal speed toward the file room door. God, she hoped it was normal speed. Was Ace watching her?
She reached the file room and ducked inside.
Leaning against the wall, she took some more deep breaths. How many minutes did she have left?
She peered out and saw that Ace was looking at his laptop. Ashley was on the phone.
The desks of some of her junior staff sat nearby. They were all empty at the moment, her people either in a meeting or out getting coffee. Someone’s stylish, tan trench coat was resting on the back of a chair.
Gia ducked out, nabbed the coat, and pulled it on.
Tying the belt, she waited for Janine at the reception desk to answer a call, then she walked right out the front doors of Firelight and into the hall.
Her heart hammered in her throat and her stomach felt sick. She flicked up the collar of the coat and looked at the floor. There was no time for the stairs, and she had no idea where her security building’s cameras were. Were there cameras in the stairs? Who knew?
She pressed the button for the elevator.
As she waited, she thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Any second, she expected Ace to burst out after her.
The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. She pressed the button for the lobby.
It was the longest elevator ride of her life.
Panic felt like barbed wire around her neck by the time she hustled through the lobby. Outside, she turned the corner, and ahead, she saw the white Cadillac idling on the street.
Please be all right, Vander.
For a second, she thought of Saxon, Willow.
Then the door of the Cadillac opened and Conrad Lex got out.
Oh, shit .
“Where’s Vander?” she demanded.
“I’ve got no clue.” The man grabbed her and shoved her in the back of the car. He slammed the door closed.
Gia swiveled, trying the doors but they were locked.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit .
Lex got in the driver seat. “It’s just you and me now, Gia.”