AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I could never live with myself if something happens to you.”
A small smile formed on his face. “The feeling is mutual. We’re going to be okay. One way or another, I’m going to see us through this. You’re going to breathe easy soon.”
There were so many emotions running through me. Guilt and fear were at the forefront of it all, but when Kane spoke to me and said something like he just did, it was impossible not to feel overwhelming adoration for him.
“I’m so lucky I found you,” I told him.
He gave me another squeeze and urged, “Let’s go. The longer we wait, the worse things get for Ainsley.”
At the mention of my sister’s name, I snapped back to reality and allowed Kane to guide me to Leo’s office.
It was time to face Patrick. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I felt better knowing I had Kane by my side.
Kane
Helpless.
That’s how I’d been feeling from the moment Leo called me when Ellery and I were on the way to Harper Security this morning.
Her sister is missing.
Knowing I was going to need to communicate those words to her nearly killed me. Because I never wanted to do anything to hurt her. Given the lengths she’d already gone to just to save her family’s name and her father’s business, there was no question she wasn’t going to respond well to the news.
And she hadn’t.
I watched as the color drained from her face and her body slumped over just seconds after I’d told her Leo had called about her sister. She didn’t even know what was wrong, and it had affected her so profoundly.
I didn’t want this for Ellery.
None of it.
Sadly, I was powerless to stop it.
Now, we were in Leo’s office, and I had to watch as the woman I was feeling more and more for with each day that passed had to call and speak to the man she’d been running from. I didn’t like the idea of her doing this, but I knew it was likely our best shot at locating her sister.
“Just remember what we said,” Leo told her. “Stay calm, and stay focused. Don’t let him get to you. The goal is to confirm that he’s got your sister, and if possible, to find out where he has her.”
Ellery nodded her understanding. “Got it.”
With that, she took the phone, dialed his number, and looked over at me as she waited for Patrick to answer. I tried to offer her a look of reassurance, but I wasn’t quite sure how much it helped.
The next thing I knew, her body tensed.
“It’s me,” she said into the phone before switching it to speaker.
My stomach turned the minute I heard his grimy voice. “So, I still do know you. You’d never stay away if you knew your sister’s life depended on it.”
“You’re going to hell,” she told him.
“Perhaps, but I’ll be happy while I’m still here,” he said. “Now, where are you?”
Keeping firm in her resolve, Ellery countered, “Where’s my sister?”
“Why would I give you that information?”
Ellery’s eyes closed, and she let out a sigh of frustration. “Just tell me where she is, and I won’t have you arrested for kidnapping.”
A sinister laugh came through the line. “Someone would have to prove that I kidnapped her before that could happen, darling wife. And if you choose not to cooperate, I’m more than prepared to make it so her body is never found.”
