The Everest Brothers: An Alpha Billionaires Series

by S. L. Scott

  “Never invisible. Something your mother left me to deal with. Always right there.” It’s impressive how my father can say cruel things in such a sincere tone. “A thorn in my side.”

  The reference makes me recall Bennett’s words—You weren’t born among the thorns, which makes me wonder why you grew them in the first place. My father is the reason I grew them. Braden sharpened them.

  Unlike them, Bennett cherishes me. He appreciates my prickly side as much as my soft petals.

  My father steps closer. “Where is that necklace? We can trade. This box for the locket.”

  I cup my throat feeling the bare skin but am quickly reminded he’s one of the reasons I no longer have it. I would never give it to him. “Why do you want it?”

  “I’m losing my patience. Where’s the goddamn necklace, Winter!” His commanding tone echoes through the lobby.

  Bennett steps around me, and stares down my father. “I’m losing patience as well. Give her the box.”

  “When she gives me the necklace.”

  I say, “I don’t know where it is. I lost it.”

  “Lost it?” His expression tightens, pained even. “You stupid girl.”

  Bennett takes my hand. “It’s time to go.”

  “Big man,” Braden says sarcastically, “Are you going to save her, Everest?”

  “I don’t need to save her. She’s doing fine on her own. I’m just here for moral support . . . Or to fuck someone up if they try to fuck with her.”

  I do a double take. It’s not that I didn’t know my giant could indeed fuck someone up, it’s that he’s so gentlemanly to me. He’s also right. It’s time to go by about eighteen years when it comes to my brother and father. I reach for the box once more, but Braden pulls back. “Necklace or nothing.”

  He’s going to make me fight until the bitter end. Tears pierce my eyes because as much as I knew they didn’t love me, it hurts when the truth finally sinks in. But I won’t let these tears fall. Not over him. Raising my chin, I turn to my father, and say, “Everything I ever did was for you and to save a company you ran into the ground. I made a deal with the devil to get him off your back—”

  “The fuck you did,” Braden spits. “Before you claim to be Joan of Arc in this fucked-up mess, let me make it very clear, sister, that we saved our own necks. So you standing here is only a stroke of luck on your part, and well played on fucking the mark.”

  “Fucking the mark” makes no sense to me, but Lars and Bennett are suddenly in action. Lars says, “Step back, Winter.”

  Bennett blocks me from my father and Braden, and then says, “Get in the car.”

  This time, I push my stubbornness aside and listen because something’s wrong. I turn to leave, but Braden has to open his mouth one last time. “You think you’re so important. You’re not, Winter. You’re nothing, just like that woman you idolize in your head.”

  I whip around, my anger getting the best of me. “Don’t talk about her like that. She loved you.”

  “She’s dead, and now that you managed to get the one thing that mattered to me taken away, you’re dead to me, too.”

  I want to hit him. I hate him so much. “The company? Money. That’s all that matters to you?” I’ve lived through years of this abuse, and I’m over it. “You can have all of it since your inheritance wasn’t enough.” Inheritance triggers a faint memory . . . my trust fund. I didn’t get it on my twenty-fifth birthday. With Braden still staring at me, I add, “It’s tainted, just like you.”

  “That’s all you got?” he asks, egging me on for more.

  “That’s all.” Before I leave, I take one more solid look at them. Hard. Cold. Callous. Cruel. That’s all I see in them. There’s no winning with them, only losing. “You’re evil,” I say, “inside and out, just like the McCoys.”

  The box is dropped, the sound of glass breaking shatters my heart. Braden’s eyes are wild with rage. I’ve seen that look before. He’s so much like Kurt that I don’t know why I never saw it before. They’re two of the most hideous humans, both consumed by greed and revenge. Braden says, “You said you’d sacrifice for us. Time for you to step up.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Bennett’s hand tightens around my wrist. “Winter, go. Now,” he grits between his teeth.

  But that brother of mine . . . “Did you really think Kurt would let you get away with this? Like he’d be fine with you fucking his enemy?” He charges me but hits a wall named Bennett. Lars grabs him from behind and throws Braden down. As I rush for the door, I look back when my brother yells, “You’ve doomed us all to death, you whore.”

  A light flickers in his eyes, a dawning of a new idea. “Oh shit,” he says, his head hitting the floor. “This is your plan. Fuck us over by fucking that guy for the big payday. Fucking hell! Why didn’t I see this coming, you clever cunt?”

  I stop in the doorway but don’t turn back. “You’re wrong.” I would never hurt Bennett.

  He chuckles maniacally. “He was hired to track you down. Should’ve figured you’d fall for him. Your heart is as weak as mother’s.” His words are cut off as I let the door close behind me.

  The leather is cold, and even though the heat is on, I’m frozen to the bone as I slide across the back seat. Angling toward the building, I take one last look at my so-called family, welcoming the pain of the door behind me as it digs into my back. My brother’s soul is lost. I just hope it’s not too late for mine. I need someone who believes in me, someone who sees through my defenses and bad decisions.

  I need Bennett. I’m safe in his love. Treasured.

  I watch as Bennett picks the box off the floor and tries to leave, but my father blocks the door. What the hell? They start yelling . . .

  But that’s when I hear the click of the handle. I sit up to look behind me, but the door flies open, and I’m yanked into arms I don’t recognize. A cloth covers my mouth too fast for me to scream and too drowsy to fight.

  Life leaves my limbs, and my body becomes a rag doll as I’m dragged into a waiting van. Bennett dives across the backseat of our SUV, but the door is closed, shutting him inside. The van door slides shut, blocking my view.

  The sound of squealing tires against the cement and yelling are the last things I hear, the men who kept me in the crate the last I see before my world goes black.

  31

  Bennett

  The sound of gunshots fills the cold air, the echo bouncing between the buildings. “Drive! Drive! Drive!”

  Rubber skids against cement as the pedal is floored, putting the vehicle in pursuit. The passenger side door I flew through slams closed just as I tuck my legs inside the vehicle.

  Sitting up, I see Lars running down the street in front of the SUV still shooting until we pull up next to him. He jumps in, and we’re going again. “What the fuck?” he shouts. “Why was her fucking door unlocked?”

  He presses his phone to his ear and starts calling out GPS coordinates. “Faster,” he demands. I’m not sure if he’s talking to the driver or the person on the other end of the line. When his head whips around, he tells me to buckle in.

  I ignore him, needing to be able to jump out when we catch them. But the red lights on the van are heading out of range too fast to catch.

  “Don’t lose them,” I say from the back as I drag my hand over the leather where she sat. Winter was here. Right here. “Fuck. They came out of nowhere.” I feel numb with her gone.

  “We’ll catch them,” Lars says, turning back again.

  “They chloroformed her, Lars.” The words claw up my throat as I realize she’s helpless. “She can’t fight.”

  “She’ll fight,” he replies. I’m thrown against the door where she was taken from when we make a hard right. “Buckle in, Bennett.” The car turns left down an alley.

  We all realize it at the same time. “Don’t stop,” I say, not accepting this is over.

  The driver glances at Lars as the SUV slows down. “We can’t catch them. Their
lead is too great, and the vehicle won’t—”

  “Don’t you fucking give up. Don’t give up,” I shout. “She needs us.”

  He says, “The traffic’s too heavy, Mr. Everest.”

  “Then I’ll get out.” I get up, but Lars shoots a command.

  “Sit down. I can only keep track of one of you right now. It’s either Winter or you. Choose.”

  “I choose Winter.” I sit back with adrenaline still coursing through me. One more turn and their taillights are gone. Vanished into a sea of red lights and horns honking. “No! No. Find them.”

  “There’s traffic ahead, but I don’t see any vans, sir,” the driver says.

  “Find them!” The vehicle comes to a stop due to traffic, and I jump out, running as fast as I can. Lars calls my name, but I weave between cars and keep running until I hit the intersection. Standing in the middle, out of breath, I turn in circles, scanning every vehicle. I don’t care that the traffic light is green or cars are driving around me.

  I only care about Winter. “Fuck!”

  Lars runs up next to me, huffing. “Sidewalk, Ben.”

  “She’s gone. Into thin air. Gone.”

  He pushes me from behind. “Get out of the fucking street.”

  I step into a crowd of gawkers, some taking my picture, some filming the spectacle. Pushing through, I find space in front of a law office where I try to catch my breath. The muscles in my thighs start to give, and I squat down. “They took her from a car that was supposed to protect her.”

  Lars leans against the window, and his head drops down. “I fucked up.”

  “They’ll kill her this time. They didn’t last time, so she doesn’t have a chance this time.”

  “She does,” he says. “She’ll fight.”

  “When she wakes up,” I remind him.

  He nods, but his eyes stay trained to the surroundings. “It’s not safe out in the open. We need to get to the vehicle.”

  “It’s not fucking safe in there either.” I stand back up and start walking down the street. I don’t even know where the SUV is, but I keep moving.

  His phone buzzes every two seconds, alarms sounding. Lars finally answers, “I have him. Where are you?” There’s a pause. “We’ll meet you around the corner.”

  As soon as he hangs up, he’s on another call, telling someone what happened. Tapping me on the shoulder, he signals to go left. The SUV speeds down the alley, coming to a stop in front of us. The locks are popped because apparently now they’re fucking using them, and we get in.

  The driver reverses as Lars relays what happened again. I hear him say Aaron’s name. That means Ethan’s gotten wind. My phone buzzes, and I huff before answering. “Thought we weren’t supposed to call each other?”

  “I’m on an untraceable phone.” I expected a lecture, but that’s not what I get. He says, “I don’t know what to say, Bennett. We’re gearing up.”

  “I promised I’d protect her. I promised her, E.”

  “I know. Aaron’s tracked your vehicle and is tapping into cameras to find the van. We already have a photo of it. We’ll find her.”

  When we drive away from the area, I collapse onto the seat, knowing there’s no chance of finding her now. “What just happened? She was here, right where I am, and then she was gone.”

  I’m not asking him anything, but he says, “We’ll find her. I promise.”

  “Before she’s dead?”

  “You can’t think like that. I’ve been there, and it won’t do you any good. I need you to focus. Are you with me, Bennett?”

  “I’m with you. I’m here,” I say, raking my fingers through my hair.

  “I told Lars to take you—”

  “I’m not going to the secret location. I can’t sit and hide while she’s . . . Fuck. I’m not resting until I have her back.”

  “I was going to say you’re going to the operations center. You can sleep in the panic room while the glass is being replaced on the building.”

  “I just met her, but . . .” She more than matters to me. I love her.

  “I know, Ben. She does too. I’ll touch base soon.”

  “Okay.” I hang up, and lying on my back, I stare out the far window as the tops of buildings flash by. “Where are you, Winter?” I whisper, closing my eyes as I try to summon the connection that was built out of the blue. My heart reached for hers, and hers danced with me in the moonlight of a Parisian bistro. It was the perfect setup for romance; something she’d read in a book but instead shared with me. “Where are you, ma chérie? Stay strong and please believe that I’m coming for you.” I send that into the universe, hoping it lands with her wherever she may be.

  “ETA—two minutes. Don’t waste time. Be ready to get out. I don’t know if the building has been secured since we were going to do that after dropping you off at the secret location,” Lars says.

  I sit up, and my shoulders fold forward; her loss is a defeat weakening my muscles. The SUV comes to a stop in the garage, and I hop out at the same time as Lars. The operations door is open, and we step inside.

  The metal door slams shut, and a bolt is turned, locking us in, and the world out. I step up behind a security guard I don’t recognize. Lars has never been good with introductions, but if he’s here, he’s on the team.

  The guy points at the lowest monitor on the wall. “We hacked into the city’s camera system. You never saw the van come up beside you because it came from this T-street. From the lobby, our SUV blocked them entirely from view.” He looks up at me. “But here’s what puzzles me. There was no way for them to track you. This SUV is unmarked and recently went under complete inspection, bulletproofed, the whole nine yards.”

  I say, “It was her father or her brother.”

  I’m working this out in my head, but Lars says, “Depends on what they would gain from that. Is she worth more to them dead or alive?”

  “After what we just witnessed, we know the answer.” We bend to get a look at the video capturing the van at different points, but then it disappears. “How can it vanish even from the camera?”

  The silence builds as he rewinds and then replays it. Lars says, “Again.” Again. And again until Lars points at the screen. “Pause it right there.”

  “What is it?” I ask, leaning in closer.

  “The van.”

  “Where? I don’t see it.”

  “That’s just it.” His heavy sigh brings our attention to him. With his hands on his head, he walks to the other side of the room. “They were right fucking there. They turned their lights off, and we drove right by that alley.”

  “What?” My head whips back to the camera. “Play it again.”

  He rewinds the footage again and plays it in real time. The camera covers the alley from one end to the other. When it pivots back to the where the van was last seen, the lights are cut just as they turn. “Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck!” I slam the bottom of my fists against the wall. There will never be a pain like the loss of Winter, so the blood caused by the jagged edges of the concrete means nothing to me. “I could feel her near.” I scrub my hands over my face. “What have we done? If she dies . . .” I struggle to say the words, but the truth hurts, and I’ll take every ounce of this guilt. “It’s because of me.”

  * * *

  After two hours of watching the same footage, we still have nothing to go on. The camera never caught the van leaving, but after sending a team to investigate the alley, we’re still left empty-handed.

  Ethan arrives just after midnight. He looks tired, but he’s here. “Any leads?” he asks. The door closes behind him, and he walks straight to the monitors.

  “None so far,” I say.

  Lars, looking worse for the wear, sits in a chair with a laptop. “We’re coming up empty. We checked with the Noblemans but even threats didn’t ruffle them. We did retrieve a text message between Braden and McCoy just after we arrived at the building, though. But we haven’t broken the code.”

  “What does it say?”
Ethan asks.

  He changes screens. “Season’s Greetings.”

  “I’ve read it a hundred times and nothing.” Bolting out of the chair, I smack my head. “You say it, and I just solved it.”

  Ethan crosses his arms over his chest. “And?”

  “Winter. The season. She’s the season. Greetings means she’s there. They’re seeing her, greeting her downstairs. Her brother fucking tipped the kidnappers off. That’s how the van was there so fast. They were already plotting it.”

  Beginning to pace, Ethan works through things. “They tried to shoot her or you, maybe both, through the window of your apartment. But you got out.”

  “He called my phone, but I didn’t answer.”

  “He still couldn’t track your phone.”

  “So he lured us in.”

  Ethan says, “They didn’t get you in the apartment, so they were ready for you when you left.”

  “They knew her weakness, and they used it against her,” I add.

  Lars leans back. “Her mother.”

  Nodding, I sit down. “The box was a decoy . . . the bait like she was. She showed up, and her brother texted them.”

  “Boom.” Ethan exhales, exhausted. “They were there and got her, but where will they take her?”

  “Wherever McCoy is.”

  Lars asks, “We tracked him. He’s still not stateside.”

  “Fuck.”

  Ethan stares at me. “Where is he?”

  I say, “Paris.”

  32

  Winter

  My lungs constrict, and I rise, gasping for air, but am jerked down by restraints. Blackness fills my vision except for the dim light that filters the outline of the mask covering my eyes. I reach, but my arms ache in response, the restraints around my wrists confining them above my head.

  Wild heartbeats thump against my chest as panic sets in. I’m tempted to cry out, to scream in hopes someone will hear me, but fear of who that might be is stronger. I pull my hands toward my body again, but I’m stuck. The low rattle of metal makes me think handcuffs, but the wide bands around my wrists make me realize it’s the kind for sexual play.