AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m surprised but relieved. “Good.”
Then Lena says, “Hold on. I think I know where he is.”
“He had a backpack,” I say in a rush when I remember him hefting it up his shoulder like it was heavy. I assumed it was a change of clothes or swimsuit, but who the fuck knows what he was carrying. Everything I thought I knew about my drug-addicted, slack-ass half-brother has gone out the window.
It was strange that Flynn didn’t ask me for money for several months after the bombing. I thought it was because he knew I would refuse, but I can’t help but wonder if he got a big fat payday from Petrov or Kozlov. We checked casino employees bank accounts but never my brother’s. If I had to bet, he probably got cash and kept it under the mattress or some stupid shit to keep anyone from tracing it.
“Cancel the flight!” I shout over to Owen. “Get Warwick and the pilots off the plane and check it for a bomb!”
As if he heard me yelling, the lawyer sticks his head out the door when Owen’s halfway up the boarding stairs. “What’s going on? Are you leaving?” he asks since I’m already heading back toward the SUV.
“Tell the pilots there could be a bomb and get the hell out of there. I have to go.”
“Go where? We can’t miss this meeting in LA, Dunne. It could be our last chance to settle. What could possibly be more important than losing your entire fortune?”
“Losing my wife.”
“What?” Owen pushes past him to get the pilots out since Warwick’s not moving.
“Move it,” I tell him. Finally, he jogs down the stairs. When he reaches the bottom I tell him, “Take a commercial flight to get to the meeting. Tell them I’ll pay them whatever they fucking want.”
“Are you sure?” he asks just as Lena says into my ear, “Found him,” Lena says.
“Yes,” I reply then strain to hear the muffled conversation through the phone knowing Lena’s smart enough not to confront him without her gun out and ready after the recent revelation.
Except, I don’t hear anything except a loud pop then the swishing like her phone is moving around.
“Lena?” I shout. She doesn’t answer. “Lena!”
When it becomes clear that she’s not going to respond and something is wrong, I hang up and call Sophie as I climb into the back of the SUV.
I’d give every penny I have just to know Sophie is safe right now.
Just like before, when Wolfe told me about the drones, all I care about is her safety. She means more to me than anything else.
And I’m an idiot for taking this long to figure that out when it could be too late.
41
Sophie
Unable to sleep, I toss and turn, tears continuously leaking from my eyes. Why does it feel so hard to forgive Lochlan?
Because he refuses to tell me he loves me, to prove to me that he wanted me to be his wife for no other reason?
The past is in the past. I should let it go and talk to him when he gets back, see if he’ll finally admit he feels even a little bit of what I feel for him.
I’m just so hurt. And angry, mostly at myself for not realizing our marriage was a necessity for him. The sex is just an added benefit.
The screen of my phone lights up again from the charger on the bedside table with another incoming call from Lochlan. Just like the previous times, I don’t answer it. I need to figure out where my head and heart are at before I speak to him again. Hopefully by the time he’s home from LA I’ll be ready to face him. Not yet, though.
Somewhere in the house, I hear a series of loud pops. Then several more. It sounds…I think it’s gunfire. My father taught me to shoot a few years ago, so I’m almost certain it’s a gun. Guns, plural.
I want to charge out into the hallway to see what’s going on, but I know that would be stupid if someone’s in the house shooting at guards.
And all I have is Lochlan’s knife tucked into my sports bra, the cool steel a small comfort but not very effective against bullets.
Walking around the bed, I yank my phone off the charger to text Lena…just as the bedroom door opens.
