Chapter Thirty
Steele
I was tied to a chair. My torso was restricted, a heavy nylon rope wrapped around my middle. Same with my hands and legs. As I came to, I tested the ropes, flexing. They were strong. My bullet proof vest had also been removed.
I looked around the dimly lit room. The walls appeared to be made of concrete. I whistled, and the sound echoed back at me. This was a small space inside a much larger building. My guess was that it was some kind of warehouse that Phillips owned. My mind raced through all the intelligence that Cooper had pressed in front of my face—where did he have warehouses at? New York, Egypt, and London. There was one other country, but I couldn’t recall it. Cooper would remember—but where was he?
I was alone in the room, and I hoped that they’d left him behind. Cooper didn’t need to be wrapped up in this. He was still a kid, a couple years younger than me.
My head throbbed, no doubt from where I’d been knocked out. I continued looking around the room, hoping to find something to aid in my escape. Besides a metal desk in the corner there was nothing else in this cell, which told me that Phillips didn’t intend for me to be here long. He intended to move me to another location, or to murder me on the spot. My hunch told me that it was the second. What father wouldn’t want to murder the man who’d touched his daughter?
Ashlynn. Where was she? Was she still at my estate, or had Phillips retrieved her? At least she was safe in any case. The one good thing about Phillips catching up to me was that Ashlynn would be okay. If it had been any other underground player, they would have taken her and used her, either for sport or as a bartering chip.
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
Water dripped down from the ceiling, and the room smelled musty and damp. Not Egypt, then. Either New York or London. Too bad there wasn’t a window in this room. That would give me a better indication as to how much time had passed.
A red light suddenly blinked in the corner, and I realized that I was being monitored.
“Hey Topher,” I taunted. “Why don’t you bring your daughter in here? I’m sure she misses me.”
I wanted him in here, wanted him to slip up and tell me that Ashlynn was okay. I wanted to know if she knew I’d been taken hostage. Man, how the tables had turned.
Would she beg her father for my life? I knew her feelings towards me were much stronger than she’d ever let on. I only hoped that she’d act on them. At this point, I wasn’t sure how I would get out of this.
After a few minutes, the door unlocked.
Topher Phillips strolled in, looking the same as he had before he betrayed me. He obviously hadn’t lost sleep or his appetite over his daughter’s abduction. He was a broad man, not particularly muscled, but average. He was easily half a foot shorter than me, and his gray hair was thinning significantly. It was hard for me to see any resemblance between him and Ashlynn.
He moved towards me, his beady eyes trained on my face. He stopped right in front of the chair and looked down at me.
It would be the only time he’d ever get to look down on me. In any other situation, I’d tower over him.
I feigned boredom. “What have you been up to, Topher?”
He glared, obviously annoyed at my nonchalance. I wasn’t going to beg for my life. That wasn’t my deal. Even if he drew a gun and shot me right here, my only regret was that I’d be leaving Ashlynn behind. I wondered if she’d mourn me.
“You’re not the one asking the questions,” he hissed, his voice slippery like an eel.
“I’m not? Well, that’s rather unfortunate. For you, at least. If I’m not asking the questions, then I’m answering them. What do you want to know? How your daughter looked on my arm? How much she begged me—”
He swung, and I was prepared enough to duck my head. But the second time, there was nowhere left for me to go and his fist collided with my nose. Blood trickled out, and I could taste it on my lips.
“If you say another word about her, I’ll kill you right this minute.”
I laughed, my chuckle echoing in the room. “Is that a promise? I’d love a quick death. Beats the hell out of whatever boring shit you have planned.”
Topher struggled to control his anger, his face turning red and his chest heaving. It was obvious he wasn’t in great physical shape. I imagined that in the next few years, if not sooner, Ashlynn would be completely alone in the world. It made my heart ache for her. She’d be just like me. Parentless.
“The boring shit? We’ll see how boring you think it is after I torture you and then take over your business.”
“You don’t have the balls,” I retorted.
He slugged me in the stomach, this time knocking me backwards in the chair. My back hit the ground, and I grunted.
I heard Topher’s heavy footsteps on the concrete as he left the room, locking the latch behind him.
I was upside down like a turtle flipped on its back. Not the best position to be in.
The door opened again, and this time three armed men came in.
“He decided it took three of you to deal with me, eh?” I said to their feet.
They ignored me and pulled the chair up, and then one of the men drew out a syringe.
“No thanks, I’m all up-to-date on my vaccines.”
He stuck the needle into my neck, and everything around me went fuzzy.