That confirmed it. Mason had never told Olivia the marriage had been arranged. He’d been easy to steal because he wasn’t in love. “Does he loveyou?”
Olivia had the decency to look ashamed. “He thinks so.”
Jules’s jaw dropped. “Did you get pregnant on purpose?”
“Oh my God, Jules.” Sloane sighed. “Stop acting so scandalized.”
“This whole thing is a publicity stunt?”
Sloane grinned. “Pretty wild, huh?”
This was all for money. A billion-dollar found-family business enterprise. “Why was Tabitha yelling today?”
“Come on. You know Tabitha better than us.”
Jules deflated. “She wanted to be here instead of Olivia.”
“Now you’re getting it,” Sloane said. “Choose option one, and the three of us plus Tabs will never say a word, and we’ll be set for life.”
“What happened to Wes?
“He’s fine.”
“There was gunfire. I heard people shooting.”
“He’ll be fine. The people he shot? Not so much. But honestly, what’s the life expectancy of a gang-banger dude?”
Tears slid down Jules’s face.
“You’re crying over guys who happily took money to kidnap you? They would have done anything I asked, so long as they were paid. They didn’t care about you.”
Jules wasn’t them. Hell, she needed to pull it together if she was going to get out of this alive. “Option one. But I have one more question.”
“Shoot. I want you totally on board.”
With not dying? Yeah. She was on board. “Why were you always telling me to retire?”
“Tabitha and Sloane were working on this long before I jumped on,” Olivia said. “Far before you and Mason were a thing. You retire, then Tabs rises in the ranks. Ascends into Queen Lowry status.”
Sloane had known Jules wanted to quit before she’d admitted it to herself and had wanted Tabitha to be her next cash cow. Honestly, Jules wasn’t even surprised.
“The plan had its flaws,” Sloane admitted. “But it’s evolved. Bigger and better than before.”
Money corrupted. Greed devoured. They’d lost their souls. Olivia and Sloane sounded like this was a normal publicity stunt. Jules would tell her anything to get the hell out of this building. “Option one. Now untie my hands.”
Sloane flipped the folded knife in her hand and caught it. “I have to send out the ransom request first.”
“I can’t feel my hands and feet. If I’m crippled for the rest of my life, you won’t make money off me.”
Sloane paused to consider, flipping the knife again. “Fine.” Money always won with Sloane. She tossed Olivia the knife. It clattered to the floor. “Give me half an hour to send out the request before you leave—what’s that noise?”
Jules’s ears pricked, but she was unable to hear anything except for her rage. Then she heard a sound she and Sloane both knew so well—a helicopter flying by. Her heart jumped.Rhys.They were searching for her. And if they’d found her here, they knew about Sloane.
Sloane tipped her head back and stared at the metal ceiling as though she could see to the sky. The helicopter was making another sweep. “Shit.”
“Is that a helicopter?” Olivia asked.
“Shit.”
