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“What do you mean?”
He grins and leans in close, his hot breath hitting my face, making me want to hurl again. “You’re going to be my wife.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and try not to cry. There’s no way this is happening. I refuse to break down in front of this man again. If I’m going to survive, I have to be strong. With a deep breath, I open my eyes again and look him square in the face. “I’m promised to Tobias.”
Lorenzo sneers. “Too bad he’s going to meet an untimely end when the yacht explodes. He’s not invited to your second wedding. It’s unfortunate Owen didn’t stay put. I’ll have to take care of him later.”
There’s nothing left in my stomach, but it lurches anyway, and I dry heave until my stomach muscles are sore. A helicopter flying nearby drowns out the awful sounds I’m making. A small blessing, all things considered.
When I can breathe again, I reluctantly turn back to the yacht, terrified of what I might see. It’s not on fire or anything, and I feel a moment of relief. Hopefully, Lorenzo is bluffing, or Tobias gets off the boat in time.
I have no control over this situation. All I can do is cooperate with Lorenzo and trust that Owen and Tobias will rescue me.
And pray that none of us die in the process.
Chapter twenty-six
Chapter 25
Tobias
Fear,anger,andathirst for vengeance fight for top billing as I pull my gun and aim it at the man hanging off the side of my yacht. He falls into the water with a thud as soon as I squeeze the trigger, and I swing myself over the railing to see what he was doing. Fucker was trying to rig an explosive to the vessel. He’s floating face down in the water, but I fire one more round into the back of his head, before I climb back onto the boat, just to make sure he doesn’t pull a Lazarus on me. At least he didn’t get to arm the bomb before I sent him to his watery grave.
I curse myself for getting back upstairs too late. I heard Bellamy’s screams, and I ran as fast as I could, which wasn’t fast enough. I got to the railing in time to see Bellamy being dragged into a boat. If it weren’t for the dead man floating below, I would have jumped in after them. Now, the boat is out of sight, and I’ll need to go after them on the jet ski.
The distinct whir of helicopter blades sets me on edge, and I sprint to the top of the yacht with my weapon drawn, arriving just as a chopper descends onto my helipad. My aim is steady as I point my gun toward the opening doors.
Owen, Matteo, Victor, and Luke pile out and I holster my weapon. It’s then that I notice the Novak logo on the side.
“Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone?” Owen yells as he reaches me. “Lorenzo knows we’re here.”
“He took her.”
I should have been prepared for the fist that lands in the center of my nose, but my vision blurs as it knocks me back and takes my breath away. Without thinking, I lunge for him the second I recover, intending to break his goddamn nose. Fortunately, the other three intervene before either of us can land another blow. Victor holds me back, while Luke and Matteo grapple with Owen, who still looks like a mad man who wants me dead.
“Now isn’t the time,” Matteo yells at Owen, trying to get through to him.
Victor grips my shoulders and forces me to face him. “Don’t worry about Owen right now. What do you know?”
I take a deep breath and try to shove down the rage I’m feeling. Then I launch into a full report, describing everything I saw, including the man I shot in the middle of trying to rig the boat to explode.
When I’m done, Victor looks around, still keeping a tight grip on me as if he’s afraid I might take another swing at Owen. “How many jet skis do you have on this thing?”
“Just one, but I’ve got the dinghy, too.”
Owen seems to have moved on from his desire to murder me, because he shoves Luke and Matteo away. “Let’s go,” he shouts, waving for me to follow. Together, we make a beeline for the jet ski.
Matteo and the others pile into the small tender boat, while Owen fires up the jet ski. We race in the direction that Lorenzo took Bellamy, but by the time we reach shore, his boat is already docked.
With our weapons drawn, we board the boat, but it’s empty. They must have had transportation waiting for them. The stench of blood and vomit fills my nose, and visions of all the ways I’m going to hurt Lorenzo blind me for a moment. Matteo alerts local authorities of the kidnapping, while my eyes stay fixed on the blood-spattered floor, and I pray to every God, goddess, or other deity that has ever existed that it’s not Bellamy’s.
Matteo ends the call and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Police will be here in five minutes.” As counterintuitive as it seems to call the cops, it’s the only way we can avoid arrest ourselves.
Luke leaps off the boat and runs toward a vehicle at the same time as Owen. They must have the same idea, because a few minutes later they’re inside and have the engine started.
“Did we really just steal a car while Matteo is on the phone with the police?” I ask as I slide into the backseat.
“He’s going to stay behind and deal with them. We’re going after our girl,” Owen says as Victor climbs in with me.
