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At the bottom of the stairs, Bellamy thought the space looked like a man cave on steroids. Recessed lighting illuminated the area, revealing a huge television mounted to the wall above a gas fireplace. To one side stood an ornately carved pool table, complete with balls racked and ready to play. An equally expensive poker table that could seat eight was next to that with a stained glass lighting fixture above it. High end dark leather furniture was setup in a U in front of the lit fireplace, with other areas of seating set up throughout the room. What wasnotstandard issue man cave decor was a cage made of metal bars sitting to the far left, hidden from view until a corner was rounded. Bellamy’s heart skipped a beat and her step faltered. What kind of person had acagein their house? What did this mean for her and Liza?
“Move it,” Mr. Roboto shoved them toward the cage while the other man held the door open, waving with his gun to enter. Getting into the cage was the last thing Bellamy wanted to do, but she had no choice. Every decision she made now had to factor in how it would affect Liza. She had to keep her safe at all costs. With an arm around her shoulders, Bellamy guided them into the cage.
Clang!
The sound of metal hitting metal caused Liza to flinch. The poor thing had been barely holding it together ever since they’d been shoved into the back of the SUV. She gave her a gentle squeeze, hoping to reassure her that Bellamy would protect her.
The two goons, finished with Bellamy and Liza, turned and left the room. Unfortunately, Charlotte did not go with them. She was wearing a form-fitting gold dress that ended two inches above the knee. The dress, along with the hairstyle she was sporting at the moment, gave her a Marilyn Monroe kind of vibe. Had the woman not been an evil, vile creature, she might think she looked amazing.
Charlotte leisurely circled the cage, her taunting smile grating on Bellamy’s nerves. She ran a single finger from bar to bar to bar as she slowly made her way around the perimeter of the cage. She stopped and gripped her hands around the bars when she was again at the front. “I hope you’re happy now that you’ve dragged Race’s daughter into this,” she snarled.
“I didn’t drag his daughter into anything. Your halfwit kidnappers took her. They had me. They could have left her behind, but they didn’t. This is all on you.” Bellamy kept Liza behind her, not wanting Charlotte to be able to get anywhere near her. The poor thing was terrified. She could feel her shaking against her back.
Charlotte focused on Liza peaking around Bellamy’s arm. “Sorry, sweetie. You weren’t supposed to be a part of this.”
“Just because you’re a woman isn’t going to save you from my dad.” Liza’s eyes sparked with fire.
What Liza said was true. Race would kill every single person involved in his daughter’s kidnapping and being female wouldn’t make one bit of difference.
Bellamy watched Charlotte’s face go pale before she went to the minibar and poured herself a drink. She tossed down the contents, then poured some more. She pulled her shoulders back as if she’d been able to fortify her courage with alcohol. Carrying the glass with her, she came back and leisurely strolled around the cage once more. She shook her head, seemingly confused. “I just don’t get it. What does he see in you?” She gave Bellamy a slow up and down, her mouth pinched, obviously finding her lacking. “Why couldn’t you have listened and stayed away from Race? None of this would have been necessary.”
“What can I say?” Bellamy goaded. “He liked me better than that overused, stretched out twat of yours.”
Charlotte screeched and lunged her arm through the bars trying to reach her. Bellamy’s laughing and Liza’s snickering only added fuel to the fire. “You bitch!”
Liza’s face turned red in anger. “There is no way my dad would ever marry you.”
“Not with Bellamy in the picture.” She stopped in front of the cage again. “But that’s about to change.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you going to have your new friends kill me?” Bellamy wasn’t stupid. As long as she was alive, she was a threat to Charlotte’s bid to become Race’s old lady. The best she could figure was the woman had to be delusional to think that even if Bellamy were no longer around, Race would have anything to do with her.
“That’s what I wanted to do, but Jacob says he has better plans for you.” Charlotte took another drink from her glass.
Who was Jacob and what other plans did he have for her?Bellamy had to find a way to get through to the woman. She seemed genuinely concerned that Race was going to be pissed that she’d been involved with Liza’s kidnapping. Maybe she could convince her that if she were the one to get Liza back to him, he would forgive her?
“Charlotte, you know as well as I do that Race will rain down hell on anyone involved in taking his daughter. You also know that now that she’s seen those two idiots’ faces, they’re not going to just let her go. Whatever Jacob’s plans are for me will probably be what he will do with her.” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed as she tapped a finger on her glass. Was she getting through to her?
“Don’t you think Race would be over the top grateful to the person who returned his daughter to him safe and sound?” Please, please, please let this work. The thought of turning Liza over to Charlotte’s care and trusting her to deliver her unharmed to Race was terrifying, but Bellamy didn’t feel like she had much of a choice. She’d prefer that the two of them were released together, but she wasn’t naive enough to believe that was going to happen. The best she could hope for was getting Liza out of here before whatever they had planned for Bellamy unfolded.
Charlotte finished her drink, her eyes locked on Bellamy. She set her glass aside and turned to leave without a word.
She released the breath she’d been holding, only now noticing how tense she’d been while trying to play Charlotte. She had no idea if it worked, but at least she’d planted the seed. Maybe she might help Liza, maybe she wouldn’t. At least Bellamy tried.
She encouraged Liza to take a seat, then followed her down. Cupping her cheek, she turned Liza toward her to get a better look at where Mr. Roboto backhanded her. Faint though it was, she could see a bruise forming. She clenched her jaw tight at the obscene sight. It wasn’t necessary for him to hit a young girl. He was twice her size and twice as strong. The only thing he accomplished was guaranteeing Race killed him.
Luckily, Liza still had her coat. It would help protect her back as she leaned against the bars. Bellamy tried to adjust her position so that her spine was between two metal bars. After what just played out between herself and Charlotte, she felt she needed to apologize to Liza. “Sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have talked like that in front of you, but that crazy bitch pushes my buttons.”
Liza grinned. “That’s okay. I’ve heard worse from Dad at the clubhouse.” She waited a beat, rested her head on Bellamy’s shoulder, then added, “You know Dad will come for us, right?”
“I know he’ll come for us.” To her bones, Bellamy knew Race was already working to find them. The man would not rest until he had them both home.
“If he can find us,” Liza mumbled and rubbed her forehead.
“He will. Have faith in your dad.” Bellamy jostled her shoulder, jarring Liza’s resting place.
She settled her head on Bellamy’s shoulder again and asked, “Do you really think she’ll get me to my dad?”
Sighing heavily, Bellamy replied, “I don’t know, sweetheart, but I had to try.”
