Chapter 42
I woke up the next afternoon. Maddox had let me sleep, and I knew that he would.
I also knew no one had left yet because there were things that needed to be addressed before anyone went anywhere.
I rolled out of the bed and went straight to the shower.
I wasn’t feeling too bad considering how much I had to drink the night before.
When I finished showering, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and applied makeup.
When I finished in the bathroom, I went into the bedroom to dress.
I chose a pale green suit that consisted of a light jacket and high-waisted shorts—hard to wrinkle. I paired it with a white cotton strapless top. I chose a pair of white canvas boat shoes to wear. I picked up my phone from the bedside table and proceeded out of the bedroom.
The coffee pot was half full, but I didn’t see Maddox anywhere.
I pulled up Ronan on my phone and sent him a message that I would meet him in the conference room in about ten minutes.
I figured if I met with him early, I could not only get it out of the way but allow him to fly back to Ireland like he told me he was.
The issue that the rest of us needed to discuss needed to stay private until we could work out what Scott was talking about.
I filled up my travel mug and headed out the front door. I squinted as I walked into the sun. When my eyes adjusted, I saw Maddox standing by the golf cart talking to Oscar who was sipping a cup of coffee of his own.
“Hey baby, did you sleep well?”
“I did. I may have slept longer than I should have, though. How are you, Oscar?”
“I’m good, Maddox and I were just discussing that bullshit that Scott was spouting off about. Trying to figure out our next move.”
“Well, I am heading up to the compound to meet with Ronan. I told him I would, and I am not going to cancel.”
“Alright, do you want me to go with you?” Maddox asked as naturally as he could.
“No, I can handle it. I will be back soon—if I don’t see you guys there by the time I get done.”
“Yeah, I believe we are going to go up there in a bit. I want to link up with my guys in Ireland and see if they know anything or have heard any chatter.”
“Okay, I will message you when I am done with my meeting.”
Maddox leaned down and gave me a kiss. I nodded toward Oscar and got into the golf cart heading toward the largest building on property.
In the lobby I exchanged pleasantries with Sarah on the way to the conference room when I arrived at the conference room, but Ronan hadn’t made it yet. I took a seat and waited for my second in command to show up. He finally did, about ten minutes later.
The door opened and Ronan came in looking totally panic-stricken.
“Joslyn, ye ‘ave to come wit me right now.” He rushed to my side, grabbing my hands and pulling me to my feet. “We ‘ave to go right now. Come on.”
“Ronan, what are you talking about? I can’t go anywhere, and I am definitely not going anywhere with you.” I put my hands against his chest and pushed him. “Get away from me.”
“No, ye don’t understand. Dere is a large group of vampires on deir way ‘ere. Dey ‘ave one goal. To get ye and take ye to de person dat sent dem. I don’t ‘ave all de details, but we ‘ave to leave now.” He was pulling me toward the door, and I didn’t know what to do.
“Ronan, stop! We have to find Maddox. He will know what to do. Call Maddox. Now!” I was screaming and he was causing me to panic along with him.
“I’m not calling Maddox. I will call ‘im when I know ye are safe.” He leaned down, grabbed my legs, and threw me over his shoulder.
I started hitting his back and tried to get him to drop me.
He wasn’t as strong as Maddox, but he was still a lot stronger than I was.
Maddox was right—I should have listened to him.
I didn’t understand what Ronan was doing, but I did know it wasn’t normal—and he was scaring the hell out of me.
Ronan entered the hallway, and I started screaming as loud as I could hoping someone would hear me. “Help!!! Someone, help me!! Please!!!”
This place had to have surveillance. He pushed down on the bar to open the security door leading to the parking garage.
There was a large vehicle running right outside the door.
He threw me into the backseat and slammed the door.
I immediately reached for the door handle and jerked on it.
Nothing happened—I tried again. I could feel the fear closing in on me.
I was beating against the door as hard as I could.
I knew I would have bruises—least of my problems.
Before I could make it to the other side, Ronan was in the driver’s seat.
He threw the car into gear—stomping on the gas.
It threw me back against the seat. I tried the door again and realized he engaged the child locks.
There was also a divider. I couldn’t get to Ronan.
That also meant he couldn’t get to me. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Maddox a text.
Ronan took me in a black SUV something about vampires attacking the compound and kidnapping me. Says he took me to keep me safe. I’m scared.
I hit the send button and slid my phone under my leg on the seat. I didn’t want Ronan to know I had it.
“Where are you taking me?” I had to try to get as much information as possible to tell Maddox.
“Someplace safe,” he said, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
“Can you call Maddox now? I’m not there, they can’t take me.” I hoped he was telling the truth. Knowing in the pit of my stomach that he wasn’t.
“Maddox should ‘ave known ye were in danger. He shouldn’t ‘ave left yer side for a minute. He doesn’t care about ye. It’s part of the job—ye listen better if ye’re enamored by ‘im. It just makes ‘is job easier. I’m the one trying to keep ye safe. I’m de one dat loves ye.”
“How did you find out about a security issue before Maddox? How did that happen Ronan?”
“He wasn’t paying attention. He was distracted and dey used it to deir benefit.”
I honestly didn’t think Ronan was crazy—but this dude was certifiable. This wasn’t the Ronan that I knew at fourteen. That guy was a good guy that loved adventure and long summer days running through the woods and swimming in the pond. This Ronan was unrecognizable. Terrifying.
“So, then how did you know?”
“Amelia called me, she told me she owed me a favor after de other night. She said dat she ‘ad ‘eard through de grapevine dat someone was ‘anding out favors for de first person to get deir ‘ands on ye, unharmed, and turn ye over.”
“Where are you taking me, Ronan? Turn me over to who?” I tried to sound calm and not riddled with fear and anxiety.
“I am taking ye to a cabin north of ‘ere. It isn’t dat far—but it is well ‘idden. When things calm down, we will be able to go back. Yer boyfriend should be able to take care of de situation wit no problem. Right?” Ronan smiled wide at me, and I wanted to punch him in his face again.
“Not if he doesn’t know anything about it, Ronan! Are you going to fucking call him or are you hoping he dies? If he dies, I will not stop until you are fucking dead too. I will never fucking love you. If he dies, I will hate the very thought of you. Is that what you want? Is it? You crazy fuck?!”
“That’s all ye want? Ye want me to warn ‘im about de coming attack? I can do dat.”
Ronan was cocky, and it would serve me well in this moment. He spoke aloud to the vehicle.
“Call Maddox.” The phone rang once before Maddox’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“Where the fuck are you, Ronan?!”
“I’m taking ‘er somewhere safe, Maddox. I just called to let ye know dat dere is currently a group of rogue vampires closing in on de compound. Deir only goal is to apprehend Joslyn and destroy as many of De Order as possible. I thought ye would appreciate me keeping yer girlfriend safe for ye.”
“Well, seeing as how they still are not here, you had more than enough time to get in touch with the motherfucker in charge of defense. Am I wrong?”
“I couldn’t risk Joslyn being dere when dey showed up.”
“You do realize that if anything happens to her—if you put a fucking finger on her, I will rip you limb from limb. You will never see the light of day again. I will fucking destroy you, and to be honest—I may just do it anyway. You are exhausting my patience and Joslyn was the only thing saving you from me. At this point, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. ”
“Goodbye, Maddox. I do ‘ope ye make it out alive. Den all ye ‘ave left to do is find us.” Ronan ended the call. I pulled my phone out and texted Maddox again.
He’s taking me to a cabin a little north of the compound it’s hidden.