“So, what’s the plan?”Damian.“You’ll hear it in a second. I have a phone call to make. Stay there. You’re in on this too.”Lucien called Mark, who answered on the first ring. He put the phone on speaker so Damian could hear.“Tracy filled you in?” Lucien asked.“As much as she could,” Mark answered.“She around?”“Right here.”“Put your phone on speaker. I only want to say this once.”“I’m here,” Tracy’s voice came over the phone.“Good. I have Damian here with me as well. So, things have changed. Audrey has been kidnapped.”“You said what?!”Tracy screamed.“I got a call after I spoke to you. Whoever it is used a voice changer. I’m pretty sure Eugene is behind this.”“Do you think he would hurt her?” Tracy was near tears.“I… don’t know. Eugene has done some shady things in the past. He’s manipulative and power hungry. He’ll do just about anything to get what he wants.”“So why take Audrey?” Damian asked.“I’m afraid that this may be about me. He wants the company, and he’ll do whate
“I…” Lucien didn’t know what to say. He wanted to argue that he could make her happy. But what happiness had he ever brought her? A few shared idyllic moments were all they had. Everything else was fighting. Always fighting.‘We’re only good at one thing,’he thought. And then it hit him. He was the problem,always the problem He left Audrey, broken and battered.Damian came in to pick up the pieces to make her whole again, and he came back to ruin everything. It was exactly what Mia had done to him. If Audrey chose to make a life with Damian, would he be able to let her go?“I don’t doubt that,” Lucien managed to say. “But until she says she doesn’t want me, I won’t leave.”“All you’ve done is bring chaos into her life. From the moment she met you. But… I can tell you love her too,” Damian sighed. “I’m willing to put my ill feelings towards you aside. Until we get her back. Then I’ll go back to hating you.”“That’s fair,” Lucien chuckled. “You know, had we met under different circumsta
They hung up. Neither of them moved for a few seconds. Tracy’s emotional outburst made everything feel more real. Almost as if the gravity of the situation hadn’t truly sunk in. A hollow, gnawing feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach. A black hole formed in the center of his chest. It was as if he’d been run through with red hot steel. Air felt like lead in his lungs and each breath was struggle. It was like trying to breathe in ice water. And he knew that feeling wouldn’t go away until they got Audrey and Becca back safe and sound.Bella began to fuss in her crib.“That’s our cue,” Lucien said. “Go into my apartment and pack up some clothes. My stuff should fit you.” Lucien tossed him the keys.“Okay.” Damian’s response was wooden. “Anything else?”“There is some paperwork on a desk in there. And a laptop. Pack that up. And anything else you want.”“Okay. I’ll be back in a few.”Damian walked out of the apartment and into Lucien’s.Lucien let out a bitter laugh. It seemed like
“Or when you got arrested?”Tracy piped up as she came downstairs. “Or when you were trying to find Audrey?” She sat next to Mark,her hands fidgeting with her bracelets. The soft tinkling noise added a strange soothing tone to their tense atmosphere.“We really don’t need to get into Damon Whitlock right now,” Mark said.“He’s someone we know from a while ago. Yeah, he’s impressive, but his services come with a price. And that is all I’m going to say.”“That’s all you better say,” Mark added. He rubbed his hand along Tracy’s back.Tracy and Damian looked at each other, the question still burning in their eyes. But it seemed they came to a silent agreement. There were more pressing matters.“Fine. For now,” Tracy said. “So, what have we got? Has the kidnapper called?”“No,” Lucien said. “Nothing yet.”“I’ve got people following your cousin.He hasn’t made many movements, himself. But there has been a lot of movement around him,” Mark explained. He indicated a series of photos he had set
“I fucking knew it!” Tracy cried. Angry tears spilled from her eyes as she slammed her hands on the table. “That crazy, evil bitch! I’ll rip her apart myself!”“Lucien m, I know you want to be out there, looking for your girl.”Damian bristled every time Captain Whitlock referred to Audrey as Lucien’s girlfriend. It grated along his nerves like sandpaper across skin.“But you have to be careful,” the captain continued. “I suggest that you stay put. As far as I know, he doesn’t know where you are. You need to keep it that way. I’m assembling a team of officers. Just say the word and I’ll send them to you. You have to stay out of the search.”“Thanks, Captain,”Mark answered.Lucien was frozen in stunned fury. “We’ll be in touch.”“I was also able to confirm your other friend was there as well. A miss Becca Royce.”“Shit!” Tracy whimpered.“We’ll get your friends back,” Captain Whitlock assured them all. “And the people responsible will pay for what they’ve done.”Captain Whitlock hung u
“You fucking bastard!”Lucien thundered.“Temper,” the caller teased. “You better be nice to me, or my hand might slip.”“Tell me what you want.” Lucien struggled to keep himself in check.“Eyes on me,” Captain Whitlock he whispered. “Breathe.”“That’s a good boy,” the caller said. “You’re going to sign a contract handing over all of your shares of Reynolds Industries. Every last one. You’re going to hold a press conference announcing your decision to the world. Your empire will fall and a new one will rise from its ashes. When asked why you’re doing this, you will say that Gary Reynolds was involved in several fraud investigations, and you don’t want to be a part of it. Understood?”“Yes,” Lucien said through clenched teeth. There’s no doubt now. It’s Eugene.“An hour after you’ve made your announcement, you’ll receive a message with a location.”“Audrey will be there? And her friend? I need confirmation that they’re okay,” Lucien demanded.“You know about the other one?” the kidnappe
Her head throbbed. She could feel her pulse in her temples.The low hum of distant conversation could be heard. Her wrists were raw from rubbing against the rope that bound them. The dark room was cold, and her teeth hurt from chattering. The side of her face stung from where she’d been slapped some time earlier. She’d never known how much fear could hurt. It chilled her bones with an ache so powerful it took over her senses. It ate away at her focus and strength. The worst pain of all though, came from her chest. Her breasts were swollen with the milk that should be feeding her baby.“My baby,” she groaned.“She’s fine, Audrey. Don’t lose hope. You know she’s safe.”“Becca,” Audrey whimpered. “It hurts so much.”“I know,” Becca winced at the sound of Audrey’s voice. The agony she was in was evident. She feared that infection may set it soon. If it hadn’t already. “I know it hurts. But everything is going to be okay. Think of Bella, and Lucien, and Tracy, your dad, and Damian. Think o
“If you kill her, he’ll hate you!”Becca yelled, trying to get Mia to stop.“At first,” another slash, another scream. “But overtime, he will learn to love me again!”“What the fuck is going on here?” a man’s voice echoed over them, and the door opened again. With the light that streamed in, Becca was able to glance at Audrey. She looked to be bleeding everywhere. Her face, belly, chest, arms.“If Audrey dies, your plan won’t work!”“Dies?” the man seemed annoyed, but then he took in the scene. “You dumb bitch! Get the hell out of here!” he yelled at Mia.“But…”“I said get out!”Mia scrambled off the floor and scurried out of the room.“Fuck,” he swore. “Now I have to get someone to patch this up. Shit.”“Please just send her to a hospital!” Becca implored.“Not until Lucien completes his end of the deal. Then he can take you both to the hospital himself.” He walked out, muttering about sending someone soon to bandage her up.“No, please! Come back!” But he was gone. “Audrey?”“Becca…