Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
S axon aimed his gun and fired.
Dennett’s goon ran into the trees. Off to Saxon’s right, Vander marched across the grass. Thankfully, the Golden Gate Park wasn’t too busy today. A few people heard the gunshots and ran.
Vander swiveled and fired into the trees, then shook his head.
“They’re gone. Couple of guys carried Dennett out. He got clipped by one of his own guys.”
Saxon had zero sympathy. “Willow,” he called out.
To his left, she popped up from behind some bushes. Nervously, she walked toward them, swiping her hands on her jeans.
Saxon scanned her. Disheveled, but not hurt. “You all right?”
She licked her lips.
Saxon bit back his sharp words. He wanted to call Gia. He knew she’d be worried.
Willow nodded. “Yeah, um, thanks for coming. I appreciate it.” She sent a quick glance at Vander, then back to Saxon.
“Didn’t do it for you,” Saxon said.
Her mouth twisted. “Right. For your precious Gia.”
“For the woman who’s still worried about you, despite you being a bitch. Despite you bringing trouble down on her and putting her in danger. So, don’t start, Willow.”
“It’s best if you come with us.” Vander looked like he’d prefer another option. “Give us the gems, we’ll put you in a safe house, and once we’ve cleaned up your mess, you can get gone.”
“You’ve always wanted me gone.” She tossed her hair back. “Away from your sister.”
“Yes, because you use her.” Vander’s tone was hard.
“Because you hurt her,” Saxon added.
“None of you ever thought I was good enough for her—”
“God,” Saxon snapped. “It doesn’t matter what we think, it’s about what you think. You think you’re not worthy, so you make fucked-up mistakes, then other people think you’re a waste. And that perpetuates the cycle.”
She stared at him.
“They’re your choices, your life. We all have shit to deal with, Willow.
Shit that tries to drag us down. Don’t let it.
Hold on to the people who give a fuck about you.
” He looked at Vander. “Don’t drag them down with you.
If you let them, they’ll help you become a better person and they’ll always have your back. ”
Vander was silent for a moment. “Nice speech.”
“Fuck you.” There was no heat in Saxon’s voice.
Vander slapped Saxon’s back.
Willow cleared her throat and shifted nervously, and that’s when Saxon’s mood plummeted. He could read her body language pretty easily. “Something you haven’t told us, Willow?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t have the gems.”
Vander and Saxon both stiffened.
“Come again?” Saxon said quietly.
“One of Dennett’s dickheads, Lex or something, found me.” She swiped her hand across her mouth. “The guy is whacked . I ran, but he took the gems.”
“Fuck,” Vander said.
Saxon’s cell phone rang. “Buchanan.”
“Saxon.”
Ace’s voice drove a spike of fear done Saxon’s spine. “Gia?”
“I’m so sorry, man. She gave me the slip.”
Saxon closed his eyes and thumbed his phone onto speaker. “Tell me.”
“She got a blocked call. From Lex. Fucker lured her out by saying that he had Vander.”
Vander growled. “I’m right here.”
“And she believed him?” Saxon asked.
“Lex had a recording of Vander’s voice. Made it seem like he did.”
Especially for a loving sister, a woman with a heart so big she’d do anything for those she loved.
“Damn woman headed to the file room, stole someone’s coat, and strolled out.” Ace sounded annoyed and a little in awe. “Once I realized she was missing, I tracked her movements on the building’s security feed. She got into a white Cadillac, and Lex was driving. Then I got her email.”
“Email?” Saxon asked.
“She sent me a time-delayed email, telling me everything.”
Despite the fear and fury inside him, Saxon wanted to smile, but he couldn’t. Gia was in danger.
“Fuck,” he roared. Lex had Gia, and the bastard wanted to hurt her.
And the asshole had the gems too.
Willow’s face was pale. “ Gia .”
“I called Rhys,” Ace said. “He’s on it. I’m searching traffic cameras for the Cadillac.”
“If he hurts her—” Saxon’s chest was so tight he could barely breathe.
“Head in the game, Buchanan,” Vander said.
Vander’s voice was ice cold. Saxon could see that Vander had slipped into mission mode: cool, focused, rock steady.
Saxon had to do the same. Gia needed him.
“Right, we’re headed back to the office,” Vander said. “I’ll call Hunt on the way. We’ll find this asshole, we’ll bring Gia home.”
Saxon nodded.
“Then you can tan her ass,” Vander added.
Saxon met his best friend’s dark-blue gaze, chest tight. “Count on it.”
Vander nodded. “Just don’t tell me the details.”
Saxon grabbed Willow’s arm and tugged her toward where they’d parked. “Come on.”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice was a whisper. “I never thought she’d get hurt.”
He had no time for Willow’s realizations.
Back at Norcross, they got Willow settled in a holding room with a couch, TV, and some snacks.
Vander went straight to his office and was on the phone, one hand on his hip, barking orders at someone.
Saxon’s phone rang and he saw it was Rhys. “Tell me you found her.”
“Not yet, Sax. But we will.”
Saxon’s chin dropped to his chest.
He couldn’t lose her. Not when he was realizing what a big piece of him sassy, sexy Gia Norcross owned.
Hold the fuck on, Gia. I’ll find you.
* * *
Lex yanked her roughly from the car.
They were in some alley, somewhere on the edge of Chinatown. He pulled on her arm, almost tripping her.
“Quit yanking,” she snapped.
He backhanded her.
Gia blinked, tasting blood in her mouth. Cazzo . Stronzo .
Ace would’ve gotten her email. She hoped he could find her. She thought of Saxon. He was fine. She was sure that by now he would have saved Willow.
And now, he’d be coming to save Gia.
Unless she saved herself, first.
Lex opened the door of a building and pulled her inside. She looked around. It was an empty office. The blinds were drawn, there was no furniture, and the walls were bare.
His fingers squeezed cruelly into her bicep and she winced. The asshole got off on hurting people.
He shoved her toward the back of the room and that’s when she spotted one small card table set up, and a suitcase on the floor. Inside it, she saw guns and her belly curdled.
“What now?” she demanded.
“Now, you shut up.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe your ego and your reputation are so fragile that you have to resort to this.”
He shot her a venomous look. “I’m not going to let some spoiled princess ruin my career.”
“One, I’m not a spoiled princess, I actually have a career. Two, you’re a hired gun, and that is not a career.”
He set something on the table.
A black velvet bag.
Gia’s pulse jumped. Oh, my God.
He opened it and the gems scattered across the table. She gasped. They were damn pretty. “You have them.” She spotted the pink diamond.
“Yes.” He smiled. “Your stupid friend ran like a rabbit when she saw me. Now, I win. I have the gems and I’m going to sell them for a small fortune. And I also have you.”
Fear crawled over Gia, but she tried not to show it. “And what are your plans for me?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
Oh, God . Gia fought to keep her face blank.
Lex’s smile widened. “Oh, I like knowing you’re afraid. I’m going to draw it out for as long as I can. Also, it’s a bonus to know that your brothers are running around, afraid for their little sister.”
She lifted her chin. “You’re going down, Lex. Whether you kill me or not, my brothers and Saxon will take you apart, limb from limb.”
There was a noise at the front door. “Good, the buyer is here.”
“Dennett.”
“It’s not Dennett.”
Alfred Sackler strode in, flanked by two blank-faced men in suits. Gia dragged in a shuddering breath. Sackler’s gaze moved over her. It was calculating.
“Mr. Lex,” Sackler drawled.
Lex nodded and waved a hand at the card table.
Sackler’s eyes showed some emotion now. He strode over, and gently touched the gems.
Gia noted that he paid no extra attention to the pink diamond. He didn’t even mention it. Interesting.
“We already agreed on the price,” Sackler said. “I’ll transfer one million dollars into your account.”
Oh yeah, Sackler was keeping quiet about the priceless diamond.
“I also want the woman,” he continued. “I’ll pay you for her too.”
What? Gia jolted and glared. “You can’t be serious?”
“Very.” Sackler smiled. “I have uses for you.”
“She’s not for sale,” Lex said. “I’ve plans for her.”
Gia crossed her arms. “The world is filled with assholes. I’m not happy that I seem to be capturing the attention of so many of them.”
Lex swung at her, but she ducked his arm and kicked him in the shin.
He staggered back one step, pure anger on his face. “Definitely not for sale.”
Gia raised a brow. “I’m the least of your problems.” She swung her head around to look at Sackler. “Perhaps you’d prefer to discuss with Mr. Sackler why he’s only giving you a million dollars, when there’s a priceless pink diamond in that bag?”
Sackler’s face didn’t change, but his gaze turned frosty. His two guards stiffened.
Lex went still, his brow creased. “What?”
“She’s just trying to cause trouble,” Sackler scoffed.
“I heard the gems were worth a quarter of a mil,” Lex said carefully.
“The rest of them are, but not the pink diamond.” Gia slid a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Sackler lost it in a poker game to Dennett and wants it back.”
“Bitch,” Sackler breathed.
Lex whipped up his handgun, aiming it at Sackler. “She’s telling the truth. You lied. You tried to con me.”
“It wasn’t very hard, Lex.”
Gia watched with interest as Lex’s jaw worked, a vein popping out of his temple. She could almost see smoke coming out of his ears.
“The deal’s off!” Lex growled. “Get out of here.”
“I don’t think so.” Sackler waved his fingers.
The two guards opened fire. The shots were deafening inside the enclosed space. Gia threw up an arm and choked on a sharp cry.
Beside her, Lex’s body jerked, and blood splattered Gia’s cheek. He went down, bleeding on the floor.
Oh. God .
She breathed in, then out, nausea fighting with a wave of dizziness. Oh God.
Sackler strode to the table and snatched up the stones, shoving them into the bag.
Then he smiled at Gia. “Looks like you are coming with me, after all.” He reached out to touch her, but she stepped back.
“Thanks to you, I got an excellent deal for the gems, the diamond, and you.” His smile disappeared. “Now move.”
He shoved her ahead of him and when she got to the door, she saw a big, black Escalade parked right in front of the building.
“Castle, deal with the mess in there. Get rid of the body.”
“Yes, sir.”
The other guard rounded the Escalade to get to the driver’s seat. Sackler opened the back door of the Escalade. “In.”
If she got in, she was dead. Gia jerked back, and ran.
She heard Sackler shout. His other guard was already on the other side of the SUV. She had the advantage.
She sprinted down the alley and turned into another narrower alley between two buildings.
It was dank and smelled of rotting trash. Ahead, a chain-link fence barred the way.
She looked back over her shoulder.
Sackler’s goon raced into view.
Shit . Gia kicked off her shoes. I’m sorry, Manolo.
Barefoot, she hit the fence, climbing upward. Her skirt made it hard, but she made it over the top, and then jumped to the bottom, landing hard. Something pricked her foot, but she ignored it and looked up.
Sackler’s thug was directly opposite her and they stared at each other through the fence.
Gia turned and ran.
She heard the telltale rattle of the fence as her pursuer climbed it. She sprinted down the alley, dodging a puddle. Her chest burned.
She was almost to the street—
An arm grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backward.
Gia lost her balance and crashed to the ground. Her hip hit hard and she cried out.
Then something touched her belly.
Her body jolted and her muscles screamed. Ow . Her teeth clicked together as she shuddered.
Stun gun.
The man pulled back, the device held in one hand. Gia fought to stay conscious, her head full of fog. She groaned.
The man picked her up and tossed her over his broad shoulder. Her entire body was lax, and she couldn’t make it move.
Moments ticked by as he walked back, maneuvering her over the fence. Soon they were back at the Escalade.
Sackler smiled. “Ah, good. Lay her in the back seat. At least she can’t cause any more trouble, now.”
Don’t bet on it, asshole . Gia was tossed on the seat and she lay there, fighting back tears. She hurt, and she knew this was bad.
Sackler and his man climbed into the front seats. The Escalade’s engine started, and they pulled out.
Gia wasn’t giving up. She was a Norcross. And she was in love with Saxon Buchanan. She wanted to live in his gorgeous house, make love with him every day, take baths in his big tub, and more.
She kept trying to move, and finally her fingers twitched.
Yes .
She slid her hand under her coat, and into her bra where she’d hidden her phone. She found the power button and pressed it, keeping the phone buried in the coat. It vibrated as it turned on. Carefully, she pulled it out, keeping it nestled inside the coat’s lapels.
Glancing up, she checked on Sackler. He and his guard were ignoring her. No doubt they expected her to be groggy and cowering in terror.
Not today, Sackler.
She moved her fingers slowly over the screen. Then she sent a text to Saxon.
With Sackler. Find me.