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I had lost track of Karen’s whereabouts, though the volume of her powerful voice gave me the impression that she was near.
I was right. A debilitating shock flowed through my body as I tried to stand up. I could feel cold hands gripping both sides of my face.
Karen leaned in and whispered, “Watch as I take your woman away from you. You’re powerless to do a thing without her father’s say-so. Why don’t you wave to him?”
Ahead of me, a limo slowed to a stop and Lane Price stepped out.
Anger coursed through my veins as I felt my body getting weaker. There was nothing I could do as Emma was subdued and led out of the plane. She appeared to be struggling a lot less, and I suspected that this was all planned. The two guards shuffled Emma into the limo. Lane waved to me before he got back in the car, which immediately sped out of the lot.
“No!” I yelled.
“Save your strength,” Karen said. “You’ll need it for where you’re going.”
Karen’s hideous laughter gave me chills. I fought the urge to pass out, but soon my world was going black. Just before it did, another vehicle pulled up. The man who exited was someone I had known for years—Braden Reed. Behind him in the car was a man with a bag tied over his head, presumeably one of the Kings’ henchmen.
Reed smiled placidly. That was the last thing I saw before I sank into unconsciousness.
15
EMMA
Iwas escorted less than gently to my father’s limo. Both of the guards had iron grips on my arms and whatever they’d dosed me with had left me exhausted. My father was an unwelcome sight, one that I had no choice but to acknowledge when I got in the limo.
“Emma,” said my father. He had on one of his many tailored suits, a blue jacket and pants with a white shirt and a striped red tie, all immaculately clean, and a pair of sunglasses so I couldn’t look him in the eye. “How are you?”
I rolled my eyes. “What did they do to me?”
“Oh.” Father waved a hand. “It’s nothing. You’ll be back to normal in about ten minutes. Karen made sure to pick a sedative that would be safe for you. She was very concerned about you, you know.”
“Shewas concerned?” The disbelief in my voice was thick, and I wondered if my father even cared at all. Even after I’d been kidnapped, I felt like I was just a toy for him, just a little piece in the puzzle that was his unnecessarily complicated life.
“Believe it or not, Karen’s got quite the heart.”
I snorted. “What do you want?”
“A father can’t get a smile from his daughter? A ‘hello, how do you do’?” He smiled obnoxiously at me, his teeth a pearly white that reflected like a plastic sea of bottles in the ocean.
“Why would I be happy to see you?” I asked. “You took me away from…” I stopped, realizing I wasn’t even sure if he knew about me and Jack.
Father laughed. “Oh, from your little vacation? You know I can pay for you to go anywhere. I think you’re mad because I took you away from Jack. But why would you care so much about that?”
Red faced, I didn’t know what to say. I could feel the bile coming up my throat and it was only my anger that stopped me from getting sick in father’s limo.Boy would I love to ruin these plush leather seats, though.
“Stop messing with me and just tell me what’s going on.”
“That’s no fun,” father said. “Don’t you wanna catch up over a nice meal and some champagne? I have plenty for you to drink.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I was going to let him have it.
“I don’t drink,” I said, bitterly holding back. I had no idea what he knew.
Father laughed. “That’s a lie if I ever heard one. Tell me, why do you have to lie to me through your teeth, when you know I can tell? Why don’t you just go out and say it?”
“Say what?” I couldn’t stand this game of cat and mouse. I was terrified of his reaction to me telling him I was pregnant; God only knewwhat he would do once I did tell him.
Father relaxed, and brushed off the matter with a wave of his hand. “Very well, for another time. When we get to the house, you can help me welcome Frank King back from his visit to the Reed’s stronghold.”
My heart sank, the crushing realization that life would never be normal weighing me down. I didn’t want anything to do with the mafias, and part of me had actually forgotten Jack’s involvement with them. Perhaps I was deluded, but I was really hoping Jack could start a new life with me in Thailand.
