I felt sick. I had watched her walk out the door to danger. My phone had rung, so she kissed me, and hurried outside, anxious to be on her way. I heard her call to Frank to stay in the car; she could open her own door. Except it hadn’t been Frank. By the time I followed, wanting to tell her she would be brilliant today, they were gone, and I had no idea what I had allowed to happen.
I had let her walk right into their trap.
I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Frank—is he okay?”
“He has a bad concussion. They found him in the stairwell—he was knocked out before he ever reached the car. He didn’t see who hit him.”
The air in the room became too hot, too close. I tugged on my tie, struggling to drag in oxygen.
“Why?” I choked out.
“You know why.”
“They got the land. They got what they wanted!” I swung around facing Aiden. “We did all of this as a precaution. Only a precaution! She has nothing to do with any of this!”
Maddox spoke up. “They thought they had won until you refused to give up the last piece. She has everything to do with you, Bentley. She’s the one weak link in your armor. They want it all, and this is how they’re going to make sure they get it.”
I sat down, my legs no longer able to hold me up. “Are we sure? Was what I saw real?”
Aiden sat beside me and held out his phone. There was a screen capture of the same image I saw.
Emmy.
“Should we call the police?”
Aiden huffed out a big breath. “My gut is telling me no.”
I glanced at the screen again. The huddled mass of her cowering, pushed into the corner of the room, angered me. She would be terrified and confused. Not understanding what was happening. I peered closer, trying to see, but the image was unclear. It looked as if her shirt was torn. Was she okay? Had they hurt her?
Images of my past, my dead parents, swam in front of me. The air in my lungs became constricted. I could hear my breathing coming faster, to the point I was panting. I clawed at my collar, desperate for air.
Maddox gripped my shoulders, meeting my eyes. “Calm down, Bent. We need you calm. She needs you calm. We’ll get her back.”
I dragged air into my lungs. “If they hurt her, I will kill them.”
Aiden leaned in beside Maddox. “Not going to happen.”
His gaze was tormented but steady.
I nodded. “Okay. What do we do?”
“We’re going to the house. We wait.”
“Cami!” I blurted, as a thought occurred to me.
Aiden frowned. “What?”
“She was meeting Cami. Do we know if she’s okay?”
He grabbed his phone. “I’ll handle it.” He strode from the room, already talking.
Maddox sat beside me. “They’re going to demand you sell them the last piece of land.”
“I know.”
He waited, his eyebrow lifted in a silent question.
I pulled a hand through my hair. “It’s a fucking piece of real estate. She’s my entire world. There is no question. It goes.”
“Not until we make sure she is safe, Bent.”
“I know. We have to find her.”
“We will.” He stood. “I’ll get my things, and we’ll head to the house. We’ll take it one step at a time. Aiden and I are beside you, okay?”
“Okay.”
* * *
I paced around my den, anxiety rolling off me. I stood in front of the concept model of what I had planned to be my legacy. It was nothing except buildings—brick and mortar. Businesses that would make money. Houses and condos other people would live in and create lives. Roads and sidewalks I would never use. There was nothing of me in it. It wasn’t a legacy. It was a cash cow. Now someone else saw it for what it was and decided to take it. No matter what it cost.
The cost was too dear. They could have the land. I would give it to them, as long as they gave me back what really mattered.
Emmy.
Aiden came in, talking on his phone. “Good. See you soon.”
I met his stare.
“Maddox has Cami and Dee. Cami got a text earlier from Emmy canceling coffee. She had no idea what was happening until I called her. He’s bringing them here. Just as a precaution.”
I snorted, gripping the back of my neck. “More precautions. I hope this one works better.”
He held out his hands. “Bent. We all agreed they were focused on you. When they got the land, we thought it was done. She was being watched.”
“Not everywhere.”
He set down his phone and crossed his arms. “If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“How did they get her, Aiden? Why wasn’t there someone in the car with Frank? Why didn’t we think of that? With everything else you insisted on, why didn’t you think of that?”
He said nothing.
“You should have done more!”
“I know.”
His simple words stopped me.
“What?”
“I thought we were covered. She left here in the safety of your car and driver. Joe or Simon picked her up at school and watched over her until she came back here later. It never occurred to me they were so desperate they would knock off your driver and take her! Jesus, we thought someone might approach her and try to talk to her about you, not kidnap her!” His voice rose to the point he was yelling. “And if you think I’m not already blaming myself, you’re wrong!”
“You should be!” I yelled back. “I was depending on you to look after her!”
His voice became low. Angry. “It wouldn’t have happened if you had walked her out to the car this morning, the way you usually do. That was always part of the daily routine. You could have stopped it.”
His words brought me up short.
“Too busy working on another deal, Bentley? Or too exhausted from fucking her all night again? You let her walk out of here—right to them. Let me remind you, you told me to back off. So, I’m not the only one to blame here.”
Rage set in. My eyes narrowed, hands curled into fists as I struggled for control. Maddox rushed in, glancing between us.
“What the hell is going on? I can hear the two of you from the front door.”
Aiden stood, stiff and furious. “Nothing. Bentley is casting blame, the way he always does.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled.
He glared. “You usually do.”
Maddox flung out his arms. “Knock it off! There is no blame here! Someone did this to get at Bentley—to get at us! Fighting is only going to make it worse.” He turned to me. “You know this isn’t Aiden’s fault. We all agreed on how to handle watching her. None of us could have predicted they’d be so desperate they’d actually take her or how they would take her!”
Aiden and I stared at each other, neither of us giving an inch.
“The girls are here,” Maddox informed us. “Can we try to be civil and concentrate on what is important? They’re already upset enough.”
My anger left me as fast as it had hit. Maddox was right. This wasn’t the time to be fighting. We had to work together.
“You’re right.”
Aiden pushed off the desk with a huff. “Well, at least you agree with one of us.”
“Aiden—”
He held up his hand. “You said enough, Bentley. I get it.” Grabbing his phone, he walked out of the room, his shoulders stiff.
Maddox swung around. “What the fuck? You know this isn’t his fault.”
“I was angry.” I yanked my hands through my hair. “I said shit I didn’t mean.”
“So, take it out on your punching bag. Swim a hundred lengths. Don’t assign blame to someone you know is already heaping the blame on his own head.” His voice softened. “You know he is, Bent. It’s Aiden.”
I dropped my head in my hands and rubbed my face hard. “I know. I’ll apologize.”
“Sooner rather than later,” he advised, as he walked out of the den. �
�We’ve had enough shit today.”
* * *
The day dragged, the house was filled with tension. Cami and Dee sat anxiously together on the sofa talking quietly. Often, one of them was in tears. Maddox and Aiden sat at the dining table with one of my other staff members, Reid Matthews, who was a whiz on the computer. I objected when Aiden hired him recently. Reid’s honest disclosure of hacking skills, some run-ins with the law, and a brief stint in jail made me nervous, but Aiden insisted he was the right one for the job, and he had been correct. Loyal, hardworking, and currently, very handy. I should have been frightened by how good a hacker he was, but I was only grateful at this point. We needed anything that might get Emmy back.
The sound of the constant clicks of their keyboards drove me insane. At one point sandwiches appeared, Andrew firmly informing us all to eat. Maddox handed me a plate, and I ate without tasting, my mind constantly asking if Emmy was getting anything to eat.
All day they had been playing with us. Different images of Emmy would appear on one of our phones. In all of them, she was a huddled mass pressed into the corner. Some were close-ups where she looked at the camera, and her facial expression said it all. Pale, frightened, and alone in a darkened room. She was wearing the shirt she’d had on the second day I met her, but the tie was absent, and so was her constant extra layer of warmth. Had they taken them from her? Her shirt was torn in two places, and the knee on her pants ripped. Her hair was disheveled, and there were marks on her hands. She would be cold. It ate at me constantly, and slowly my icy anger turned hot and blistering.
None of Reid’s traces turned up anything. The traffic cams he hacked into showed the car racing down my street and disappearing. He couldn’t get a good angle to see the driver, but we were able to catch a glimpse of a second person in the back with Emmy.
How were they doing this? Why couldn’t we find out? How dare they fucking take her and subject her to such cruelty? I vowed they would pay for this—whoever was behind it. If they wanted the land, they could have it. I would play their game, but it wasn’t over—not by a long shot.
“Bentley.”
I looked up, meeting Maddox’s eyes. “Can you go do that somewhere else? You’re freaking everyone out.” He indicated my hands with the tilt of his chin. I glanced down, shocked to see the top rail of the chair I was gripping had splintered into pieces.
I loosened my grip, letting the chunks of wood fall to the floor. “Should I call Greg?”
“Are you going to sell?”
“Without question.”
Cami spoke up; her voice saturated with emotion. She hadn’t spoken directly to me all day. “Emmy told me you never let personal feelings influence your business decisions.”
I sat beside her, laying my hand on her arm. “She isn’t a feeling, Cami. She’s my world. There is no question here. She matters more than any business decision.”
“You promise me?”
“Yes.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Okay.”
I glanced at Maddox. “Should I call Greg? Tell him I changed my mind?”
“Wait until we hear from them.”
“When the fuck will that be?”
Aiden met my gaze. “When they decide to stop torturing you.”
“Payback is going to be a bitch for them.”
He nodded and went back to his keyboard.
I spun on my heels and hurried to the den. At least, on that matter, we were in complete agreement.
* * *
Darkness had fallen when my phone rang. I waited until Aiden gave me the sign, and I hit the speaker button.
“Ridge.”
“We have a gift for you.”
The screen on my laptop lit up, and there was a live feed of Emmy. The room was dark except for the camera light shining on her. They were close enough to her I could see the shivers racing through her body. There was blood caked on her knee.
“Look at the camera,” someone instructed in a harsh tone.
Emmy raised her head, her expression fearful, but her eyes were furious. There was a bruise on her cheek and scrapes on her skin. They had tethered her to a pole, with a chain attached to a metal band around her wrist. Her hand also bore remnants of dried blood.
They had her chained up like a fucking animal. Fury built in my chest and my fingers gripped the edge of my armchair so hard the material began to tear.
“Don’t you want to say hello?” The disjointed voice sneered.
I had to swallow before I could speak, so I didn’t rage. I moved closer to the screen, even though I knew she couldn’t see me, and I made my voice as steady as I could.
“I’m here, Emmy. Don’t be frightened. It’s going to be fine. I’ll get you out of there as soon as I can.”
“I’m counting on it.” Her voice quivered, and she shivered, wrapping her arms tighter around her knees, making the chain rattle. She tossed her hair in defiance. “I prefer your place. The atmosphere here is rank.”
I loved the flash of bravery. “I prefer you here, as well. You’ll be home soon. I promise.”
The camera zoomed out, and she dropped her head, her posture defeated.
Aiden rolled his hand indicating I should talk. “Why is she bruised?” I spat.
“She’s a feisty thing. We had to convince her to cooperate.”
“Touch her again, and you’ll be sorry.”
The snicker I heard made shivers run down my neck.
“What do you want?”
“You know what we want.”
“A fucking piece of land? You’re going to jail over a fucking piece of real estate?”
The voice scoffed. “No one is going to jail. You’re going to give up the land, and you’re going to drop the new development plan of yours. Move on and forget any of this ever happened.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will. And you won’t try to do anything once the transaction is complete. We got to her once, and we can do it again. We can get to everyone you care about.”
His threat made my hands grip tighter, rending the material completely, and caused my anger to burn brighter. I wanted to reach through the screen and rip the head off the person with the disjointed voice. Another tremor raced through Emmy’s body, and I snapped.
“Get her a blanket.”
“You’re not in a position to make demands. We’re in control here—not you.”
I leaned forward, my anger boiling over. “Listen, you fucker. You want the land? Then you’re going to get a blanket and make sure she’s warm. You fucking hurt her again, and I will hunt you down.”
“I don’t take kindly to threats. Do what you’re told, or she’ll feel real pain.”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” Suddenly, I was yelling. “Leave her alone and get her a goddamn blanket!”
“Bent!” Aiden hissed, moving closer.
“You mother fucking bastard!” I screamed. “Get. Her. A. Blanket!”
There was a commotion, the sound of Emmy gasping, then the screen went blank. I picked up the laptop, hurling it against the wall. The contents on my desk disappeared as I exploded in fury, sweeping it all on the floor. I pushed past Aiden, all my anger directed at the thing that started all of this. Mustering all my strength, I flipped the concept model over, watching as it crashed and broke into pieces.
Cami gasped, and Maddox grabbed my arm. “Bentley! Calm down!”
“I did this!” I roared. “My own fucking arrogance! I should have known they wouldn’t just walk away. They were never just going to walk away. I thought I beat them—that Winston Bentley Ridge the third could do whatever the fuck he wanted and get away with it!”
I stopped as my throat thickened. “Now the woman I love is hurt, scared, cold, and alone. I can’t help her, and it’s all my fault.” I looked at the destruction my anger caused. “I think I might have made it worse.” I met Maddox’s eyes. “She’s cold, and hurt, Mad. Because of me—all of this is because of me. I can’t
stand it when she’s cold.” I shook my head, my shoulders bowing inward in despair. “She should have walked away when I told her. I should have left her alone.”
He shook my arm. “No. Stop thinking like that. She loves you, and we will get her back. They’ll get her a blanket. I’m sure she fought them, which is how she got the bruises. I’m certain they don’t want to hurt her more, only scare you.”
My voice broke. “It worked.”
“I know. I understand. They’ll call back.” He pressed on my shoulder. “Bent, you need to stay calm. We’ll get her back faster if you stay calm.”
“I destroyed my machine.”
“We’ll fix it.”
“I want to be alone.”
“Okay. We’ll be in the next room.”
I nodded and turned away.
* * *
Dee came in, carrying a mug of coffee. She set it down, taking a seat in front of my desk. She looked around the den.
“You made a mess.”
“I’ll clean it up.”
“Blaming yourself or Aiden isn’t going to help.”
I sighed and let my head drop back. “I know.”
She tapped her fingers on the desk. “Do you? Emmy was aware you were worried. She also thought you were overreacting. No one expected this to happen. She thought about your warnings. She talked to Cami and me about the differences in your lives and the worries you had. The worries she had about not being enough.”
“She is more than enough. I’m the one not worthy of her.” I scrubbed my face. “She should have walked away. She’d be at home right now or with you. Safe.”
“She couldn’t walk away, Bentley. She loves you. My goodness, she told you her history, and for Emmy, that says a lot.” Dee pushed the coffee toward me. “Aside from this, I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to her. I’ve never seen her so happy. I’ve never seen her trust anyone the way she trusts you.”
“Her trust in me has put her in danger.”
“I agree with Maddox. They’re using her to get to you. I don’t think they’ll hurt her again,” Her voice trembled. “I’m praying they don’t.”
Vested Interest Box Set Books 1-3 Page 18
