Page 73 of Second Chances

Shit. Olivia was struggling to keep away from that taser and away from the gorilla of a man, Nicholai. It was his beefy arms that had grabbed her from Todd’s house. Even though she’d walked willingly into the trap, she’d been shocked at how large the man was, easily as big as Ethan had been.

When Javan had shown up at Crystal’s house while she’d been there to grab Simona, she’d instantly been worried. Javan had a busted nose and a bloody lip and had obviously been in a fight.

He’d explained how he’d been attacked and tied up in the apartment above Todd’s garage, and had to watch on the monitors as Todd had been kidnapped.

Olivia had panicked. Full on lost-her-shit kind of panic. Like last night when she’d taken off with Simona in her arms. She wanted to rush into action. Rush to Todd’s place to look for him.

Instead, she’d been convinced to wait for Ethan to arrive. The man had been on his way there after following a lead in Texas.

So, she’d waited, holding Simona as tightly as she could for almost an hour before Ethan finally walked through the door at Crystal’s place. By that time, all her friends had gathered, after hearing the news about Todd’s kidnapping.

They were surrounded by friends and people she deemed family.

There had been speculation as to who had taken him, but until Ethan walked in with a picture and proof, none had even come close to the truth.

When Ethan had mentioned the name Kimber Ivanov, her first thought had been of the pretty blonde Russian that had come into her store the other day. Then Ethan had shown her a picture, and she’d confirmed that it was the same woman.

“There’s been a yacht floating off the edge of the island for a few days,” Sarah had jumped in. “My staff claims that some Russians were trying to dock the large vessel at our pier the other night.”

“That would go along with my intel,” Ethan had agreed. “It appears that they rented a van and drove to San Diego and then back to Texas, but then, the trail dried up.”

“Do you think they sailed here from Texas?” Olivia asked.

“It would only take a little over a week,” Ethan supplied.

“What do we do to get him back?” she asked, tears stinging her eyes. “I need him back.”

“Mommy, is Todd okay?” Simona asked.

“I don’t know, baby.” She hugged her daughter again. “I’m going to do everything I can to get him back.”

Simona started to cry. “I don’t want anything for my birthday, except for Todd.”

“Oh, baby.” She closed her eyes and held onto her daughter. “We’ll get him back.”

“There is a chance,” Ethan said. “It’s slim and might be dangerous.”

“I’ll do it.” Olivia jumped up. “If there’s a chance we’ll get him back.”

“No,” Crystal and Sarah said at the same time. “Let us…”

“This is for me,” Olivia said. “He belongs to us.” She looked at her daughter, then turned to Ethan. “What do I need to do?”

He’d taken a deep breath and then answered. “Get kidnapped.”

So, here she was. Stalling for time. Waiting for the unseen boats outside to surround the massive yacht that she’d been dragged to.

The only way she knew how to stall was a classic catfight. Oh, she’d seen enough Bond movies to understand that the villainess would use her and the hero’s past to try and damage true love. And at this point, she was pretty damn sure that’s what was between her and Todd.

She’d witnessed the grotesque display with that kiss when she’d been shoved into the room.

Todd had looked disgusted during the kiss, then he’d seen her, and his look had changed to full blown worry.

Now she was having a hell of a time distracting Kimber. Especially after she pulled out the taser. If Olivia got tasered, there was no way they would hear the woman’s confession on the wire that she was wearing in her hair.

Nicholai had searched her, just as Ethan had explained he would. She’d closed her eyes and held her breath while his beefy hands ran over her breasts, her buttocks, thankfully, not once had he run his fingers through her dark locks to expose the hairpiece that hid the device.

“I’m not as fragile as you think.” Kimber finally took the bait and tossed the taser aside.