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“Of course she can—I have to get my sister out!”
“You’re not in the right frame of mind to make decisions.”
She looked at me as if I had three very annoying heads. “So what? There’s only one decision to make—to save my sister! I’ll do whatever Li Na wants—anything to get my sister back.”
She tried to maneuver around me, but I grabbed her shoulders. “You’re not thinking this through. If Li Na wanted you, she could have taken you in the first place. But she didn’t do that. She went after Hannah because it would hurt you. Because it would bind you to her.”
I watched her warily, trying to ascertain whether she could understand, given her highly agitated state. “She has you exactly where she wants you—finally. I don’t care what she promises you. She’s not going to let Hannah go. She’ll take you, and then she’ll make sure that some guard’s holding a knife to Hannah’s neck the entire time you do her bidding.”
Lauren shook her head. “I won’t go to Li Na until they give Hannah to you. Once that’s done, leave and take her with you.”
“They aren’t going to give Hannah to me.” I fought the urge to shout. “They’ll keep you both, and then Li Na will kill your sister when it suits her. And when she finally gets her hands on the international cash cow that is Paragon and has it up and running—once she’s used you up—she’ll kill you too. And I won’t let that happen.”
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sp; “This isn’t about you. This is about my sister, who’s the only family I have left, who’s in trouble because of me!”
“You made me a promise to never put yourself in harm’s way again.”
“This isn’t about me either. It’s about what she’s going to do to my poor sister—”
“This isn’t your fault. And I’m not going to lose you, babe. Not now. Not ever. We’ll find a way to get Hannah back, I promise. But it’s not going to be trading your life for hers. You’re staying here with me.”
Her eyes went wild with fury. “No, I’m not. This isn’t your choice. It’s not some power game we’re playing in the bedroom!”
“You’re right. It’s not.” My voice had a sharp edge. “This is life or death.”
I grabbed my phone. My eyes never left Lauren’s face as I made the call. “Timmy, I need you watching the perimeter. My brothers are landing at SFO this afternoon, and our attorneys are on their way. We need to go on lockdown. Assemble the team. No one else gets in or out of here. Got it?”
I hung up and nodded at Lauren. “Did you hear that? Lockdown. You’re going nowhere unless I give you express permission.”
Lauren looked stricken. And as if she might punch me. “You can’t do this.”
I crossed my arms. “Watch me.”
Chapter 2
GABE
She’d stormed off then, a litany of curses flying after her along with her long blonde hair. Lauren had to understand that I was doing this for her. I wanted Hannah back too—of course I did. I loved her like the little sister I’d never had. But there had to be another solution. One that didn’t involve my girlfriend being held captive, or worse.
Lauren slammed the door to the bedroom. Fuck. She would never see my side of this without a fight.
I stalked around the kitchen, feeling trapped. I wanted a bourbon. I wanted to punch someone. Smashing crystal glasses against the stone fireplace would do the trick too, but instead, I did the adult thing—the northern Californian version. I grabbed a protein shake and my swim trunks and headed outside to the pool, slamming the stupid drink down on the pool deck. I changed and eased myself into the water. I would vastly prefer to crush something or, preferably, someone. But here I was, swimming laps.
Sometimes being a responsible adult sucked big, hairy balls.
The cool water didn’t ease my anger, but I swam until my muscles burned, not letting myself think about what she’d said. If Lauren tried to trade herself for Hannah, I would lose it. I’d learned the hard way with her. She’d gone behind my back before, trying to get evidence from Clive Warren, her former board member who turned out to be a traitor. But I would never let her be that vulnerable again.
I pushed the thought from my mind as I did another lap, oblivious at first to the warm sunshine and the ache in my muscles. I swam until all thought ceased, until I could feel only the burn in my lungs, arms, and legs. Finally, I pulled up to the edge of the pool…and next to a pair of Italian loafers.
My older brother, Levi, pulled down his sunglasses and inspected me. “You training for something?”
I wiped the water from my face. “I’m trying to keep from throwing shit.”
Levi laughed, and I noticed there were more lines on his face since the last time I’d seen him. “Things are going well with Lauren, I take it?”
“She spoke to Li Na Zhao earlier. Li Na wants Paragon free and clear—and she wants Lauren to trade herself for Hannah.”
