Chapter Thirty-Three
Hayes
“W hat do you mean you cannot find her?” I yell at Alan and my men standing in the doorway of my office.
It is the night before the auction, and no one can find Ellie. She has not worked any of her last few shifts of her two weeks notice and none of the women who work for me have seen or heard from her either.
“It’s her,” I tell Alan.
“Sir?”
“She is the one letting Ashton’s men in. That is the only possibility. I bet he has offered her luxuries in exchange for being his new toy for the time being.”
Alan nods, understanding.
“Have you heard any updates from Maxwell about Olivia’s well-being?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, no. “He has told me he is having to lay low. Ashton is on a rampage, not trusting anyone right now.”
I nod, “Fucker knows his days are numbered.” I pause. “If Ellie is with him, she will be at the auction tomorrow night. If you see her, bring her to me.
All my men nod before I excuse them from my office.
Once they are all gone, I grab the photo of my mother and Olivia’s mother off my desk. I brought it in here from the library this morning.
“Please watch over her until I can get to her,” I tell the photo.
Alan bursts through my office door with his phone. “Sir, you are going to want to hear this!”
I grab the phone and put it to my ear. “Where is she?”
“Mr. Ricci. I cannot talk long. It’s Maxwell. Olivia has been in the basement of the estate since she was brought to the compound. They have tortured her with water and the brander.”
My jaw clenches.
“Ashton wanted her to tell him what your plan is for Saturday. She must have told them because she has been brought inside now. She is in his office and has not come out since.”
“She’s alive?” I ask, relieved.
“Yes, Sir. His plan is for Dante to buy her on Saturday.”
My fist clenches again.
I need to fucking hit something.
Over my dead fucking body.
Alan chimes in, “Does she still have my gun?”
“Negative. They stripped her naked and confiscated it.”
“Did they touch her?” I yell.
“Not that I am aware of. Ashton is banking on Dante to get her pregnant Saturday night after the auction. He wants to sell her children.”
I am going to enjoy killing both of these sick bastards.
“Watch over her Maxwell.”
The line goes dead.
Taking a deep breath, Alan pockets his phone, “Sir. You don’t think she really told them the plan, do you?”
I look at him with a sly smile, “She told them a plan, but not the plan.”
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Flashback to the Boxing Day in Club Rose
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“O LIVIA, WE NEED TO have a serious discussion.”
“Okay?” She says, eyeing me curiously.
“Your father is going to want you back under any circumstance. I need you to understand that I have safety procedures in place in case those things happen. But we need to have a plan B in case, for some reason, you are taken.”
Her eyes widen, “Taken?”
“I trust my men with my life and with yours. But they are still human, and mistakes happen. You know the plan for now but if something was to happen and let’s say, you were being tortured, I need you to play the part.”
She looks at me with eyes not fully understanding.
I grab her arms and squeeze them. “If you get taken, I need you to play the part of prisoner. Don’t fight back and do not try to take them all on your own. Be smart. Have patience and do not panic.” I pause, taking a long-drawn out breath. “Panicking only makes things worse.”
“My father would torture me, like physically?” she asks.
I nod, “If he thinks you have wronged him, yes. He will try like hell to make you give in, to listen and obey him again. I want you to play that part.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“This is a matter of life or death, Olivia. I need you to understand.”
“So, if I get kidnapped then the plan is no longer happening?”
I smile, “No the plan that we made will most definitely still happen. Just may happen in a different way. But what you tell Ashton will be the exact opposite. Here’s what to do . . .”