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His mind whirled. “They’re pretty overpopulated towns around here. Not too many places I can think of with no neighbors.” He tried really hard not to think about why kidnappers didn’t want any neighbors around. “Except…wait…someone at dinner last night mentioned an old dairy farm south of Shadeland they were considering buying. It’s in the middle of a ten-acre tract of land in the middle of the woods.”
“Go there,” Ren said immediately. “Go there now. I’m on my way, but you’ll beat me there.”
Knox didn’t bother with a goodbye. He disconnected the call and took all of two seconds to get dressed. He didn’t have a gun, but he did grab his old baseball bat, deciding it was better than nothing.
Layla whined nervously as he made his way to the door. “Don’t worry. I’m bringing our girl back.”
Hang on, baby. I’m on the way.
CHAPTER 28
Tenley wished she could say this was the first time she’d ever woken up, handcuffed to a chair. But alas, it wasn’t. There’d been an unfortunate episode with an art forger in Italy a few years ago—and that thing with the card counting in Atlantic City—that had taken every bit of her skill to talk her way out of.
This was different, though.
She’d been grabbed right off the pool house’s porch, and she hadn’t seen it coming. The gross rag covered in homemade chloroform had been a surprise, as well.
When she got out of this—when, not if—she was going to have to learn to balance all these feelings she was having for Knox with her killer instincts, because right now, the two seemed diametrically opposed, which was super clear now that she was handcuffed to a damn chair.
That’s when she had a thought that chilled her to the bone even more than getting kidnapped.
Knox would have no idea what happened to her. In his mind, she might’ve run off because he’d said, “I love you.”
Tenley groaned out loud. He was probably sitting in that pool house, thinking she’d abandoned him just like that cuntbag Rebecca. And because she wasn’t around, he’d probably skip the board meeting and his mom’s company would end up in Thadeus’s hands forever.
Fuuuuccckkk. This was bad!
She appeared to be in the kitchen of an old farmhouse. Old being the operative word. Dilapidated cabinets that were held in place by nothing but plaster and memories, an old apron sink that probably hadn’t held water in this century, the smell of wood rot and mildew perfuming the air…this place looked like an abandoned set piece from Little House on the Prairie.
“About damn time you woke up.”
Now that was a voice Tenley hadn’t heard in a long time. And she certainly hadn’t missed it.
“Jordan,” she said, shifting her gaze to the left, where she spotted the man himself leaning against the ratty old kitchen counter.
The years hadn’t been kind to him. His once luxurious blond hair had thinned considerably, and his forehead was now more of a fivehead. There were lines on his once flawless skin that did not look like they were caused by laughter. Was he shorter? He looked shorter. And while he always used to wear designer clothes, his current ensemble looked like it came from…whatever the cheapest store in the area was.
He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked down at her. “You’re a hard woman to find, Ten.”
Inwardly, she cringed. She hated being called Ten. She’d told him that repeatedly during their years together, but being a consummate narcissist, Jordan never listened, assuming he knew better. “That’s by design. How did you find me, by the way?
“I’ll admit, for years, I had no clue where to find you. I didn’t know what names you were using, or if you were even in the country anymore. Then I heard about your last job.” He shook his head, looking weirdly proud. “No one but my Ten could’ve stolen those diamonds and disappeared without a trace. And without so much as a glimpse of your image on security feeds? That had you written all over it. I assume your little hacker friend helped with that? The one who framed me for the art theft you did in Madrid?”
That was news to Tenley. She’d had no idea Ren had done that. But she couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate it. It was sweet…in a Ren kind of way.
She sure as shit wasn’t going to talk about Ren with this asshole, though. “Glad you’re impressed. I can die happy now.”
He reached out and brushed his knuckles over her cheekbone—tender, but in a mocking way. “Die? No, my love. You’re going to live a long, healthy life. Now, your new little boy toy, however…he might not be so lucky.”
Tenley’s heart rate kicked up. “You stay away from him,” she growled.
Jordan chuckled. “Aw, it’s nice to see that you are capable of loyalty. I wondered.”
“I mean it, Jordan. You better not—”
He backhanded her. Hard. It was enough to make her run her tongue over her teeth to make sure they were all still intact. But she’d be damned if she’d let him see her pain, so she spit a mouthful of blood on the floor at his feet. She missed his shoe by an inch. Pity that.
Jordan pointed his index finger in her face. “You don’t get to make threats. Not after what you did to me.”
