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Chapter One
7:03 a.m., Friday – two miles outside Destiny, Colorado
Though Erica Coleman wanted to scream, she couldn’t.
Anyone in her current situation—inside the trunk of a speeding car—would need to scream, but the gag around her mouth prevented her from yelling for help. She couldn’t move because of the ropes around her ankles and wrists. The hood over her head blinded her and was also making it very difficult to breathe.
All she could do was listen.
The roar of the engine rumbled in her ears, muting the voices of her two abductors inside the vehicle.
* * * *
5:40 p.m., Friday – Two Black Knights Tower, Destiny, Colorado
Dylan Strange knew the chances of getting Erica back alive were slim. Very slim.
No one had realized that she was missing until billionaire Scott Knight, one of the presidents of Two Black Knights, got an e-mail from the kidnappers.
When they’d checked the TBK system, they’d discovered that Erica hadn’t keyed in today at all. Not unusual, given her position as executive assistant to the copresidents. Many days, only Scott and his brother saw her, as she worked on sensitive projects for the two men.
The last person who had seen her was Phoebe Blue at the diner a little before seven this morning. Jason had retraced Erica’s steps from her car to the restaurant and found her uneaten bagel, her laptop, and a spilled cup of coffee on the sidewalk by The Green Dragon statue in the park.
The evidence pointed to it being over ten hours since she’d been taken, and less than an hour since the ransom note came in.
Fuck.
They were in the main TBK conference room, which Scott had set up as mission control to find her.
Sheriff Jason Wolfe was pacing around the large table. Scott was at another computer working away feverishly to get the ransom demands in place in case they couldn’t find Erica before the set time. Erica’s two brothers and their fiancée had left to check out her apartment for any clues they might find.
Why had the kidnappers taken so long to give their demands? Likely, they wanted to make sure Erica was out of Destiny and in a secure place. That was how he would’ve conducted the same kind of operation. Time was the enemy in
this type of investigation. The more hours passed the colder the trail.
Fuck.
He stared at the monitor in front of him, praying for anything that might lead to her.
Nothing.
A man thought of just one thing when he looked at a woman like Erica—and he’d been thinking the same during all his time with her at the gun range. Hell, even his nights had been invaded by images of her, disturbing his sleep. Sex was one of the many compartments of his very structured life. Few could endure such an existence, but it had worked for him for a very long time. Find a willing partner. Maybe dinner. Maybe not. A few hours of wild sex. Move on. No regrets. No emotional bullshit.
But his logic was being shoved to the side by his feelings for Erica. Feelings weren’t something he knew how to deal with. Not a good thing given the current circumstances. Her life depended on him being his best, and his best was being analytical and detached. But how the hell could he stay detached when all he could think of was her being in danger?
Fuck.
Keeping his cool was his best weapon, always, but he was having a difficult time doing that at the moment. He adjusted his sunglasses, though they needed no adjusting. Everyone in town knew he wore them indoors and outdoors. What they didn’t know was the reason. They were his shield, his armor, his camo. Without his sunglasses, a chance glance from someone—anyone—might reveal his secrets. The risk was too great.
He was the head of security at Two Black Knights Enterprises. This shouldn’t have happened on his watch. If the people who had taken Erica harmed a single hair on her pretty head, he would crush them until they were nothing but little tiny piles of shit.
Several computers were on the table. They’d been working on finding her since the ransom e-mail had popped into Scott’s inbox just under an hour ago. Whoever was behind this had devised an intricate way for the monies to be sent.
Five international stock exchanges—India, Russia, South Africa, Dubai, and Germany—were part of the scheme. Each had one new company offering stock for purchase. An initial public offering, IPO. Doubtful if any of the companies were legit. Likely they were only fronts. Whatever stock the monies bought would certainly be worthless. The cash would be drained away in microseconds before the local governments had a chance to track it.
A brilliant plan, damn it.
The ransom demanded their stock be purchased at a certain time, ten million each for a grand total of fifty million US dollars.
“How’s it coming?” Jason asked Scott.
“The NSE transaction for India is ready to go,” the billionaire answered. Everyone in town knew that Scott and his brother thought of Erica as a sister. It was clear he felt guilty for not coming into the office until late afternoon. Scott had told them that he’d wondered why Erica wasn’t at her desk at first, but given all she’d been struggling with, he’d dismissed it. Then he’d gotten the e-mail that changed everything. “All I have left to set up is Frankfurt, and then we’ll have everything in place.”
“Hopefully, we’ll find her before you have to do that.” The sheriff turned to Dylan. “We don’t have much time before Scott has to send the funds for the first purchase.”
Dylan didn't look up from the screen. He had to stay focused. “Sheriff, please call out the time every fifteen minutes for me.”
“Got it.” Jason glanced at the watch on his wrist. “It’s five forty-five right now.”
Dylan’s mind immediately returned to Erica. He’d thought about asking Erica out. He hadn’t. Why? Because he couldn’t seem to figure out which one of his mental compartments she would fit in. She was a mystery to him. He was certain moving on after her would be beyond difficult. Now, there would be no after. No date. Nothing.
At the very least, I should have told Erica how beautiful she is.
So much for the former agent of the CIA keeping his mind on the task at hand.
Damn it, I’ve got to keep my head clear.
* * * *
8:07 a.m., Friday – an hour from Destiny, Colorado
Being claustrophobic had always been a burden to Erica. In the trunk of her two abductors’ car all this time, it was horrific. She wasn’t sure what they wanted with her, but a long list of terrible possibilities kept running through her mind.
She’d dreamed of having her own family. Kids. Loving husbands. Recently, she’d been picturing Dylan and Cameron Strange walking her down the aisle one day, though neither had actually seemed to see her as anything other than an executive secretary. It was only a foolish dream—a dream that would not survive the nightmare she was in right now. This wasn’t Destiny. This was hell.
Her gun range training with Dylan had helped her get a backbone and relieved some of her ever-present guilt.
Still, another dreadful shiver went up and down her spine.
