Page 40 of Outcast

I shrugged him off. “It’s all right. I understand.”

“Once Edward gets to know you, he’ll back off.”

“And the girls?”

“They want to marry rich. Most of them are that way inclined.”

“I’m not, and neither is Rita.”

He smiled and reached for my other shoulder. “I know that, now.” His fingers made quick work of my tense muscles. “You have a well of inner strength I’ve never seen in another person, and it’s more intoxicating than your beauty.”

Henry lowered his lips onto mine, and I let my eyes flutter shut.

The key turned in the lock, and the door cracked open. “Good news, Bourneville. Your father paid the ransom. It’s time to go.”

Chapter 14

All the blood drained from my face into my spasming heart. I drew in a sharp breath, only for it to catch at the top of my lungs. They’d said Henry could go, not me. What happened to my ransom? Were the photos enough to convince Rudolph that I’d been captured? I clutched my hands to my chest. Or maybe he didn’t care.

Henry wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I’m not leaving without Hobson.”

The taller of the kidnappers stepped into the room. “Don’t be stupid. We’ve got the money. Now, we’re holding our end of the bargain.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Out.”

“No,” Henry snapped.

My breaths became shallow, my shoulders rose around my ears, and my elbows tucked into my sides. They wanted to keep me here on my own, where I would go insane from being cooped up without Henry’s company. If Rudolph didn’t pay whatever they’d asked, the kidnappers might take out their frustrations on my body and send the photographic evidence to his office.

The larger kidnapper wrapped a hand around Henry’s wrist and yanked him to his feet. Although there wasn’t much of a height difference between the two men, Henry’s frame was broader and more athletic. He swung his fist into the other man’s jaw, making his head rock back.

With a pained roar, the man shouted, “Loki!”

I stiffened. They’d just given up something else to add to my collection of facts.

As Loki rushed inside to help his friend, I looked around for a suitable weapon. Tables, empty wardrobes, drawers and other massive furniture littered the edges of the room, but nothing I could wield like a club. Not even a bottle of water.

I picked up the rickety chair and held it over my head. “Get out!”

“Easy.” Loki raised his palms as though I was holding something more dangerous than a chair that looked about to fall apart. He pulled his friend toward the door and backed away. “No one’s getting hurt, alright?”

“I won’t leave until you free Hobson,” said Henry.

The first kidnapper rubbed his balaclava-covered jaw. “Is that what you want me to tell your father?”

“Yes.” Henry lifted his chin. “Either we both leave together, or we both stay.”

A relieved breath shuddered out of my body, and I lowered the chair to the ground. Henry could have walked out of that door and left me to my fate, just as his friends had done the night before the kidnapping. Not only had he remained, but he’d arranged things for his father to pay my ransom, too. My heart made a happy thrum in my chest, and I reached down his arm for his hand. The touch of our fingers sent a jolt of pleasure into my heart, and I stared up into his determined expression.

“Fine.” The kidnapper backed toward the door. “We’ll call Mr. Bourneville, explain the situation, and arrange another ransom drop. If he gets pissed off and calls the police, and if any of my gang is arrested, you and the girl die.”

Henry pulled back his shoulders. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take for Hobson’s freedom.”

The kidnapper shrugged. “It’s your fucking funeral.”

“Wait.” I stepped forward. “What’s happening with Rudolph Trommel?”

“He’s negotiating.” The kidnapper stepped into the hallway. “It’s taking longer because we have to go through a PA, who passes messages onto another PA, who speaks to him and vice-versa.”

The words hit me like a wrecking ball, and I doubled over, holding my hands on my thighs to stay upright.