AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She slid to the edge of the door and sat for a moment, gazing out at her surroundings for help. There was none in sight. They were alone, parked at the edge of an airstrip. Several Logan Industries’ jets sat at the ready.
But then, someone walked out from a small outbuilding. Help at last. As the figure approached, she could see it was a blonde woman dressed in a miniskirt and a halter top.
“Jennifer,” she groaned.
“Got it in one, sweetie pie,” Grayson said with a chuckle. He waved the gun ahead. “Move it before I change my mind and leave you here. You’d cook in that tin can before anyone found you.”
She scowled at him, but quickly hopped down. She wouldn’t put anything past him. The jerk was certifiable.
“I see you brought the goods.” Jennifer grinned. “Good work, honey.”
“Have I ever failed you, babe?”
“Not so far.” She slid a critical gaze over Samantha. “She doesn’t look any worse for wear.”
“Well, it wouldn’t do to have my fiancée all marked up for the wedding. People might think she was coerced.”
Samantha scowled at the two of them and bit back her hostile retort. Their mocking exchange made her see red. She’d bide her time and wait for a chance to escape or rescue. Then, she’d be the one laughing.
In the meantime, she’d have to act as cowed and intimidated as she felt. It wouldn’t be hard.
Jake tore into Delbert Logan’s office, holding the damning paper. He’d finally gotten past the false front Delbert had put up and found his culprit.
Delbert looked up from his computer and gulped. “What can I do for you, Jacob?”
“For starters, you can tell me why you’ve suddenly turned traitor on Samuel Logan,” Jake said, eyeing the man’s discomforted reaction.
Delbert’s face turned red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ramsey. I’ve been a loyal employee since I came here forty years ago.”
He saw past the older man’s bluster to the outrage beneath. “But you’re more than an employee. You’re a trusted member of the family.”
“I used to think so,” Delbert muttered, “and then they started trying to force me out. Forty years of loyal service for my cousin, and what? A gold watch and a condo in Miami for my reward? I don’t think so.”
“I’m still trying to figure out who put this bug up your butt.” He watched Delbert shuffle the papers on his desk nervously and knew that he’d hit a nerve. This seditious scheme hadn’t come from Delbert. Someone had put him up to it, but to what purpose? The shares he’d just accumulated were barely enough to make a ripple. “I also wonder why you thought your thousand shares were enough to make an impact.”
“I might not have enough shares on my own, but added to Samantha’s, I’ll have a majority.” He smiled and eased back in his desk chair.
Samantha s shares! She’d always had a soft spot for her uncle, but he didn’t believe she’d turn against her father, even if they didn’t always get along. “You don’t expect Samantha to hand them over to you, do you?”
He smiled genially, his eyes twinkling. “I’m confident things will work out that way. You wait and see. Love will find a way.”
“Love?” Jake scowled as he suddenly got an awful feeling. “What do you mean by love? What are you up to, old man?”
Delbert shrugged. “Who says I’m up to anything? I’ve been told Samantha and Grayson have rekindled their romance, and I couldn’t be more pleased.” He beamed at Jake, warming to the tale. “You shouldn’t have wasted your time interfering with their romance, Jacob. Samantha and Grayson belong together. If you were a parent, you'd understand just how proud I am of my son.”
His son? St. James was more than a protégé to the man. He was his son.
Suddenly, the whole sick scheme came into focus. Delbert was living in a fool’s paradise if he expected Samantha to fall back into Grayson St. James's arms. Somehow, he had to make the man understand. “Face the facts. She wouldn’t have him on a bet.”
Delbert slanted a sly gaze at Jake. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that if I were you. You can ask her if you don’t believe me.”
Jake stiffened, realizing something was up. He turned on his heel, leaving Delbert in the care of his security staff.
He punched in Samantha’s number on his cell phone as he drove toward her apartment. She didn’t pick up.
She was gone. He knew it in his gut.
He noted Samantha’s car was still in her apartment’s parking lot as he pulled up to the building. He ran, punched in the sequence on the alarm, and entered the condo shouting her name.
