AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She whirled around to see a man she’d not expected to encounter again. Miles Arrieta had attended a few Coran Williams Publishing functions a few years earlier. Her father had introduced them, saying Arrieta was working on several projects for him. Miles had been polite enough, but there was something about him that she didn’t trust. His manner was that of a man who thought too highly of himself. And then there was his tendency to bulldoze his way over whatever stood in the path of what he wanted.
Toni pulled free from his grasp and stepped away, forcing a polite smile she didn’t feel. She scanned the nearby crowd for Spencer but didn’t see him. What was taking him so long? He should’ve been back at her side by now. She leaned this way and that and finally spotted him bent over, speaking to an elderly, stooped woman who appeared to be having some difficulty with her walker. Toni waved, trying to alert him that she needed help, but his line of sight was in the wrong direction. “Nice to see you again, Miles. I didn’t know you were in Jubail.”
“I have business in the area.” His gaze darted over the crowd. “I need to speak with Coran.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know where my father is.”
“I don’t believe you.” He moved closer to her, his black gaze angry. “I think you know exactly where I can find him—and I think you’re going to tell me. Right now.”
Before she could react, he grabbed her again, hauling her off the stage and out a nearby service exit into the kitchen area. She tried to struggle, but he had a hand over her mouth and his grip was too strong as he dragged her down a hallway, then out into a deserted employee parking lot at the rear of the hotel.
Well, deserted except for the group of men who approached them—all of them dressed in black robes and mirrored sunglasses. They were armed to the teeth with assault weapons and ammo belts.
Stunned and scared, Toni attempted to hide behind Miles, but he stepped aside, flashing her a sinister smile as one of the men pulled his gun, aiming the barrel right between her eyes. “Your father’s location, Toni. Now, before my man’s finger slips. It would be a shame to put a bullet in such a lovely brain.”
“Y-your m-man?” She swallowed hard against the tremble in her voice. “W-what’s going on here, Miles?”
“I lost many of my best men yesterday in your father’s little attack, that’s what’s going on. He owes me.”
Her thoughts whirling with adrenaline, Toni’s mind snagged on his words. “You think my father had something to do with the explosion in the village?”
“I don’t think. Iknow,” he growled.
Bile rose in her throat, and it took all her determination to remain upright. Spencer had told her that he thought her father was involved in terrorist activity, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it was true. And shecertainlyhadn’t believed he would take part in something like this. All those people dead, all those innocent lives lost.
“Now, tell me where the hell he is,” Miles barked.
“I honestly have no idea.” Her knees went weak, and the earth seemed to tilt under her. “If I knew, I’d—”
Her words were cut off by the snap of bones and pained cries as the armed men started dropping one by one.
“What the—?” Miles pulled Toni tighter against him, his own pistol drawn now and pressed to her temple as he backed away from the melee. Through a fog of fear, Toni saw Spencer choke a man into unconsciousness before throat punching another man while avoiding the fire of the one who’d had his sights on Toni earlier.
She watched in horror as the coppery tang of blood and the sharp stink of gunpowder filled the air. Her vision tunneled, and Toni wanted nothing more than to slip into oblivion, to go to a safe place with no fear, no violence, no senseless destruction.
Sirens sounded in the distance, quickly growing louder, and Miles rasped in her ear, “We’ll see each other again soon, Toni. Bank on it.” With that, he thrust her to the ground, then ran around the corner of the building, disappearing from sight.
Sprawled on the ground, Toni was aware of nothing but the sting of the concrete biting into her skin and the ragged sounds of her own sobs. The world started going fuzzy around the edges before darkness closed in. Toni welcomed it.
* * *
Cursing, Spencer tossed his assailant’s gun away, then rushed to where Toni lay in a heap. Heart thundering in his chest, he knelt beside her. Carefully, he turned her over onto her back and felt for a pulse. Fast, but strong. And she didn’t seem to be bleeding or seriously injured. She must have just passed out. “Thank God.”
Tires squealed, followed by the shouts of the local police. He needed to get Toni out of here before the cops saw them. Quickly, he gathered her limp body into his arms, then fled around the same corner where Arrieta had disappeared moments before.
He’d give anything he had for one goddamned minute alone with that asshole.
Toni moaned in his arms, and his breath caught in his chest. Okay, maybe notanything. After checking to make sure he hadn’t been followed, Spencer phoned Ayaan to let him in at the locked service entrance to the hotel. Once inside, he tightened his hold on Toni and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.
How the hell had Miles Arrieta gained entry to Toni’s dress rehearsal? Kyle had run security checks on all the registered attendees and staff. Worse, how could Spencer have left her alone and vulnerable? Jesus Christ. He’d only wanted to make things a little easier for her on one of the most important days of her life, and look what had happened.
The freight elevator dinged, and the heavy metal doors clanked open. Spencer charged out into the back hallway of the top floor, then barged into their suite amid a cloud of regrets and self-recriminations, Toni still clutched in his arms.
Ayaan eyed Toni’s unconscious form with trepidation as he bowed, his eyes wide. “Sir. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“We need water and blankets and a first aid kit,” Spencer said, heading straight for Toni’s bedroom. “Bring them in when you get them.”
“Yes, sir,” the butler called from behind him.
