Seducing Texas (So Not Prince Charming Book 2)

by Diana Downey

  “You’re finally here,” Lindsey says. “The Chinese want the money you took from them as a ransom.” She shoves the paper at me, tears filling her eyes.

  “You mean the money they took from me. It’s gone. I paid the IRS off.” I actually have quite a bit left, but they won’t get that from me.

  “But Remy,” she cries. “If you could put it in my account, I could give it to them.”

  That doesn’t sound right. “Why would I give it to you?”

  Her fingers tiptoe up my chest. What the hell? “I mean then you wouldn’t have to deal with them.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” This is starting to sound even more suspicious, so I call Timmons. Before I get the chance to talk to him, the front door bursts open, so I put the phone onto the end table.

  It’s Tang, and my heart freezes.

  Fuck. Don’t I feel stupid. When I owned my last company, Lindsey had access to my laptop. She’d come over and stay, and I would stay at the sorority house with Niki.

  Remy played on my laptop all the time. It wouldn’t have been hard to collect my passwords and account numbers. I would’ve never thought she’d steal from me, though she did try to slit my throat. After she’d cheated on me, I fucked her and then told her it was payback. I should’ve known it would come back to haunt me.

  But I honestly didn’t think she was capable of stealing and setting me up. She has to know the Chinese will kill me. She really is a cold-hearted bitch.

  “You should’ve given me the money, and I could’ve spared your life,” Lindsey says, anger lacing her words.

  I smirk. “Not hardly, and I doubt they’d let you get far either. I took back a good chunk of the money they stole.” But I don’t want to see her or Remy hurt either way.

  Rage boils her face to an ungodly red.

  “Where is Remy?” I ask.

  “At my mom’s.”

  “Let’s go, Shane,” Tang says. He’s not armed and I wonder how he thinks he’ll get me to go with him willingly.

  “God, you’re a dumbass,” Lindsey taunts. “The Chinese really only wanted to steal your technology, but I convinced them to take your money. Brilliant, really.”

  I don’t pull out my gun because it’s just Tang. “How much did you get, Lindsey?”

  She’s grinning. “I did good. 100K.”

  I laugh. “I sold my company for 550 million.”

  Her jaw drops, and she pushes Tang. He only grins.

  “You owe me money,” she screams, pushing Tang. She could easily take him. Hell, I’m going to take him down.

  “I’m leaving,” I say. “I expect you to be gone by the time I get back.” I should have her arrested, but then who would take care of her boy. Her mom certainly doesn’t want him. The feds should be on their way, so they’ll arrest Tang.

  He takes some sort of Kung Fu stance. I’m at least twice his weight. He circles and kicks at me. He’s like this pathetic little ninja going against my bulk.

  The next time his foot jets out I grab it, twist it, and send him to the floor. I then pick him up and throw him against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

  “The feds are coming to pick you up,” I say to his crumpled form.

  “I should strangle you,” I say to Lindsey. I pick up my phone that’s been running for a couple minutes to let Timmons know where I am.

  “Get the fuck out of my condo, Lindsey,” I say before talking to Timmons. As I put the phone up to my ear, a heavy object slams into my head. I see stars and Lindsey holding onto one of my hockey trophies.

  Never turn your back on a vengeful ex.

  Chapter Cyn

  Shane should know me well enough by now to know I don’t listen. I check the location of his phone, which shows his condo. I arm up with every weapon I can think of including his into the Toyota. I’m frightened for Shane, and my heart is bruised from the beating it’s taken these past few weeks. I can’t lose anymore of my family.

  I should’ve told him I’d marry him, and we’d figure it out.

  With my handgun jammed in the back of my skirt and under my shirt, I speed across town to his condo. As I ascend the stairs, terror claims my throat, strangling off the oxygen. I knock and the door opens. Stepping inside, I raise my gun.

  The unfortunately familiar metallic odor taints the air, and my heart seizes. Don’t let him be dead. I step past the foyer and see Lindsey sprawled on the floor, lying in a pool of blood. I swallow down the ghastly sight and push it to the back of my mind.

  Where the hell is Shane?

  I search his condo and come up empty, except for his phone, which is lying on the floor. The last call he made was to Timmons, so he should be here at any time.

  A dead body and me holding a gun will only delay me. I rush outside and down the stairs. Sirens squeal behind me, so I punch on the gas and round the bend of the complex. Timmons and several cop cars surround the condo. I don’t have time to deal with them. I have to find Shane before they kill him, like they did to Lindsey.

  How will I find him? I don’t know who to call or ask. Hopelessness wells up inside me. If he’d taken his phone, I could find him. Damn him.

  I call Willa and she says to meet me at our house. I drive there and pace back and forth, trying to figure out what to do next. Crazy fear wells up inside me. I can’t cry. Think. Dammit.

  Aedan brings Willa home, and Fay drives up in her Mercedes with Tanner. What is she doing here?

  Willa rushes into the house and hugs me. “We’ll find him. I know we will.”

  Dead, I think while my axis tilts sideways, letting me slip off the earth. I want to sit down and bawl. If there’s the slightest possibility he’s alive, I have to go to him, even if it could be our last. He came back for me in Alaska, and he didn’t have to. I would be dead without him.

  Fay rushes into the house, her face pinched with concern. “I got here as quickly as I could.”

  “What are you doing here?” I ask Fay. What could she possibly do? She can’t even hold a gun right, but Tanner can. He showed a lot of patience teaching her.

  Fear strains her face. “Willa called me. Hell, I’ve always liked Shane, and I couldn’t let my family go after him without me. I told you to marry him instead of Waits. I always liked Shane.”

  You always wanted to get into his pants, I think, smirking.

  I need to put everything behind me. I need her, and she’s here to help. “Thank you.”

  Tanner walks into the house and puts his arm around her. He kisses her cheek and draws her into him. “And I couldn’t let my future wife go without me.”

  “What?” Willa says, smiling. “That’s great.”

  “I don’t know where Shane is,” I say, my heart plummeting.

  “Juarez might know,” Willa says.

  I should’ve thought of that, but my mind is muddled with horrible thoughts and images of Shane lying in a puddle of blood instead of Lindsey. When I catch up to Tang, I will kill him myself.

  My fingers shakily call Espinoza, and shortly after I end the call, my phone rings from an unlisted number. “Senorita Diaz,” Juarez’s smooth voice comes across the line. I didn’t think I’d ever speak to him again.

  I explain what I know before Juarez speaks again. “The Chinese have lost almost a half billion in the last week, which I believe is the amount they stole from Senor O’ Flannery.”

  “Yes.” Shane said he only got 150 mil back.

  “The Chinese owe a significant amount of money to their suppliers, and they are not happy that they can’t be paid. The Chinese will keep him alive until the funds are returned. You have to get to him before that.”

  Don’t I know it.

  Shane can’t return the money. He paid the IRS with most of what he had. “Do you know where they’d take him?”

  “The heroin shipment was supposed to arrive to their warehouse today in Port Lavaca. I would imagine the Chinese will take him there because they have to meet their suppliers and pay them.”

&nb
sp; That’s a hundred miles away, and what if we’re wrong. “It’ll take us a couple hours to get there. What if he’s not there?” Shane could’ve flown us there. What if they’re flying? Panic rips into my chest, making it hard to breathe.

  “Thank you,” I say, my hopes of saving him circling down the drain.

  “Don’t worry, senorita. I will have your back.”

  I wonder what he means by that, but he ends the call.

  “Juarez thinks Shane’s being held in Port Lavaca at a warehouse where their shipments arrive,” I say. I don’t have the money to charter a chopper and hire a pilot. I feel helpless and sick.

  “That’s two hours away,” Willa says, her face crumpling in the hopelessness I feel.

  “My chopper will fit us all, and we can land close to the docks,” Tanner says. The resume sheet said he had money, but I had no idea.

  “What about guns?” We can’t go there empty-handed. “How will we get them past security?” I shouldn’t be negative, but the more time we take the less likely we’ll find Shane alive.

  “We’ll fly out of a private airport, no security,” he says, his arm securing Fay in an embrace. “We drive right up to the chopper. We can leave now, and I’ll fly.

  I hug Fay. “You did good.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she says, returning my hug.

  “May I ask why we aren’t calling the police?” Tanner asks.

  “Shane called the feds,” I say. “He’s been working with them. They’re at his condo investigating the murder of his ex-girlfriend. What if Juarez is wrong, and Wong is still in Austin?” I have no idea if we’re making the right decision. It seems like Wong would have to meet his suppliers if he’s screwed up with them.

  “I’m familiar with the warehouses in Lavaca,” Aedan says. “We shot a news special on Wong’s interests and businesses that employ Americans.”

  “That’s good,” I say. “We don’t know what we’re getting into, and I don’t know how many men will be there. If the suppliers are there, then that’ll be double whoever Wong has hired. I don’t like asking you all to come with me when we may not return.”

  “I’d do anything for my lady love and her family,” Tanner says in a strong southern drawl. He’s a good ole boy, and we need him.

  “Let’s get there and see what we’re dealing with and then we’ll call Agent Timmons,” I say. If he’s not there I don’t know what I’ll do. How will I find Shane?

  Chapter Shane

  A drum pounds in my head, and it hurts like a mother. Through the corner of my bloodied eye, Lindsey falls to the ground, the shot exploding in my ear. From the amount of blood, she’s dying and her son will be motherless. My heart splits open before I succumb to the blow to my head.

  When I come to, I have no idea where I am or how long I’ve been out, and plastic ties, cutting into my wrists, bind me to a wheeled chair. My head feels like a concrete block smashed into it, and the room blurs in front of me. My hands have swollen from the uncomfortable position of the ties. I could have a concussion, but that’s the least of my worries.

  The Chinese must want my money back badly.

  Light filters in through dirt smudged windows, so it must be daylight. I haven’t been out too long, but it’s looking doubtful that anyone can find me in this dingy warehouse.

  I scan my surroundings, and objects come into view. A single bulb hangs overhead, poring over me like a spotlight, and rows of crates are stacked two to three stories up. The floors are concrete, and the walls and ceiling resemble corrugated aluminum. Metal beams run the length of the thirty-foot ceilings. A warehouse?

  I rest my damaged body. My head and side where the bull gored me ache. My arms are strung through the chair, so I can’t leave without taking it with me.

  A door in the far corner opens and shuts. Along with three thugs, Chang Wong strides up to me with an armed bodyguard. The three other men are not small, like Tang, but beefy Asian men.

  “Mr. O’ Flannery, you and your girlfriend have caused me significant problems,” Wong says confidently. “She has information that could harm me, and you have stolen my money.”

  “That’s my money,” I say, though I should remain silent. He had no problem murdering Lindsey or shooting at Cyn and me.

  “Not anymore. How did you take it all back? Over 500 million gone from my accounts.”

  Shit. My hacker friend must’ve moved the rest of the money. He was worth the one million I paid him. Damn.

  “Same way you took it,” I shoot back.

  One of Chang Wong’s thugs puts on brass knuckles, and I draw in a painful breath.

  “We need that money Mr. O’ Flannery to pay our suppliers,” Chang Wong says, his expression strained. He must be fucked if he doesn’t get it back. Good.

  “We will convince you to give it back,” he says.

  I don’t know that it’s a good idea to give the money up or tell them most of what I had went to the IRS. Somewhere though I now have more money. The hacker told me he’d separate the money between my three overseas accounts where the money was originally transferred.

  Whatever I do, they’ll kill me, but my best chance of living is to not give him my money. The longer I hold out the more likely the feds will find me, but that’s a long shot. “What do I get out of this?”

  “We will let you go,” Wong says calmly.

  “What about the files we have?” Wong could go back to China, and it’s doubtful the country will hand him back over.

  “You will hand over the files for your freedom. We will keep you until then.”

  “What guarantees do we have?” There’s none he could give me that I would believe him. This can only end one way—one of us dies.

  “You have my word.”

  I laugh. “And we’ve already established your word is no good.”

  “Then we will beat the information out of you. We do not have much time. You could make this easy on yourself and for your girlfriend.”

  How will I protect her if I’m dead? Juarez could take her to Columbia, and Wong would have a hard time getting through him to her. I don’t want her with the motherfucker, so I have to get myself out of this jam.

  “You’ve pissed off the South American drug cartels,” I say. “They won’t like it if you kill off my girl, especially when she made a deal with them.”

  That catches his attention because his head jerks back. “What deal is that?”

  “You may want to ask the other drug lords. They don’t like you cutting into their territory. They’re looking for blood.”

  Using a hanky, he mops perspiration from his brow. “You are bluffing.”

  “No, I’m not. Cyn has made friends with Manny’s opposition, and she took Manny out. I wouldn’t underestimate her.”

  His gaze flicks to me and then to the door. He’s nervous, and I need to take advantage of that. “I will wage my bets, Mr. O’ Flannery. We are running out of time.” Checking his watch, he nods to his bodyguard. “Make him talk. The shipment will be here in another hour.”

  Chang Wong’s wingtips click on the concrete away from me while the three thugs surround me. The one sporting the brass knuckles raps them on the metal desk where a ruggedized laptop sits.

  Tang walks in, slapping a truncheon on his palm. His eye is swollen shut where my fist slammed into it. Motherfucker. If I live through this, I’m going to kill him this time.

  I inhale slow deep breaths because these guys are going to fuck me up good.

  “String him up,” Tang says.

  “I don’t get it,” I say. “You make good money. I gave you and every other developer a mil each when I sold my company.”

  The other men glare at him. They must not make that kind of money. I will whittle away at them.

  Tang takes a guilty step back. “I did not get that much money.”

  My employees make good money. “I pay you 150K a year and gave you a million. You should have plenty of money.”

  The other men eye him sus
piciously. The man wearing the brass talks to Tang in Mandarin.

  “Who are you going to believe?” Tang yells. He’s always soft spoken and confident in the office. To see him rattled after he killed Jeremy gives me pleasure.

  If only I can work his earnings against him. I also need at least one free hand, not that it’ll do me much good. I can barely feel my hands.

  Without warning, Tang strikes me in the ribs where the bull gored me. I grit my teeth to keep from crying out. The rib was broken before and that certainly didn’t help.

  “You’re going to puncture a lung and then I won’t be able to tell you shit,” I say through clenched teeth, holding in the spikes of pain. Damn, that hurts.

  One of the bigger guys speaks in Chinese, using his hands to ward Tang off.

  He takes the baton from Tang and orders another man to take off my sneakers. Once my shoes are off, he smashes my left big toe.

  “Fuck,” I mutter. The pain shoots up my leg and tears eke out of the corners of my eyes. Once they’re done with my feet, I won’t be able to walk. They must know I’ll need my hands to dial into my accounts.

  The big guy then slams the truncheon into my shins. I bite down the agony, but tears leak out. Brass knuckles slam into my jaw, and blood spews from my mouth. It adds to my aching head.

  The truncheon then careens into my abs. I suck in quick breaths. The stitches have split open, and blood seeps through my tee shirt. Before long I’m a bruised and bloodied mess.

  “You need to string him up,” Tang orders. “He needs to suffer.”

  “We don’t take orders from you,” the brass man says.

  Chang walks in after they’ve beaten me senseless. “We need that money now. We can’t wait any longer.” Desperation strains his voice. He must be on a tight deadline.

  If I could get out of the ties, I might stand a chance, though I doubt that’s possible now. My body is pretty fucked up.

  I spit out blood. “I don’t know where my hacker put some of the money,” I grunt. “I may be able to find some of it, but I’ll need access to a computer.” And my hands free.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Tang shoots out of his mouth.