I pounded as hard as I possibly could. “Open the goddamn door!” But if someone responded, I’d never know.
Slate appeared at my side with his phone to his ear, and something on the other side of the door immediately piqued his interest. He leaned in close and pressed his ear against the wood. I watched his mouth form a word that sank my heart even further.
“Quarry!” He began to shake the handle to open the door.
As I backed up, ready to bulldoze through that fucking door, I caught sight of Flint and Leo jogging down the hall. Flint quickly pulled a key from his pocket and swung the door open. He tried to enter first, but I snagged the back of his shirt to prevent him from rushing inside. I had no idea what was waiting on the other side of that door, but I was going to find out first. I swung him back in to the hall and then stormed in with Leo directly behind me.
We found Quarry lying on the floor with blood pouring from his nose. He was struggling to sit up, and his mouth was moving a million miles a minute.
“What’s he saying?” I yelled as I helped him sit up, but my eyes scanned the room, desperate to find her.
I rose to my feet, ready to haul ass down the hall to the bedroom, but Leo stopped me. With his gun drawn, he motioned for us to leave. He must have lost his goddamn mind though, because I wasn’t going anywhere without her.
Quarry waved to get my attention. “She’s not here. He took her. I tried . . .” His hands dropped to his sides and his head hung.
Leo made fast work of clearing the suite and verifying that Quarry was right.
I focused back on my phone. When my fingers started flying over my keyboard, Leo, Slate, and Flint sidled up beside me to read over my shoulder.
Me: Where the fuck is she?
Him: Phew, that took you long enough.
Me: I swear on my life, I will kill you. Give her back to me.
Him: No cops. Tell your daddy Slate to stand the fuck down.
Slate’s head snapped back as he lowered the phone from his ear. And my phone immediately buzzed once again.
Him: Better.
Leo started looking around the room.
Him: Tell Mr. James that he should probably be more worried about his own family than where my camera is located. His daughter seemed frightened when I killed her worthless bodyguard.
Suddenly, with wide eyes and pale faces, Slate and Leo flew from the room.
Me: I swear to god, I will kill you.
Him: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve heard it all before. So now that we are alone, I have a favor to ask in exchange for your precious wife’s return.
Flint tugged on the edge of my shirt. We have to go. Don’t talk. Just sign. Leo told me to get you two to the conference room.
Me: What do you want?
Him: I need you to throw the fight. I’ve got 200k that I don’t exactly have riding on you losing in the third round. TKO.
Me: Done. Now let her go.
Flint continued to tug on my arm as he led me from the room.
Him: As soon as the final bell rings, she’s all yours.
Me: And what happens to her if something happens before then? I can’t guarantee that I’ll make it to the third round.
Alex rounded the corner as soon as we cleared the doorway. He ushered the three of us to the elevator, while I stared holes in my phone.
Him: Oh, I have a feeling you’ll do just fine.
Him: Tell me, Till. How good is her mouth?
It was followed by a picture of Eliza leaning against the leg of his slacks. Her eyes were squinted shut, and his hand was wrapped firmly around her throat, the tips of his fingers digging into her flesh.
Me: Don’t you fucking touch her.
Him: We’ll be in touch. You should go get ready. You have a fight to lose.
Me: I’ll pay you more than what you’ll make on the fight. Just fucking give her to me.
But as we made our way to the conference room, my text went unanswered.
“I really didn’t think this would be so much fun!” He laughed manically as he ripped the tape off my mouth. “Shhh. Keep your fucking mouth shut or I’ll go back for the boy.” He winked.
I’d sat helplessly, watching the camera feed on Frankie’s laptop as every single message he sent landed on Till’s face. The pictures were the worst.
“Who the hell is that?” A man I vaguely recognized asked as he strolled into the room.
“That is the insurance policy that allows you to live another day.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I thought Till throwing the fight was the insurance policy. I just need to talk to him for a few minutes. I couldn’t get him alone earlier—”
“Well, you know what? I got really fucking tired of waiting for your lazy ass to make a fucking move. The fight is tonight. I was starting to believe that you weren’t going to follow through with this at all.” He tilted head to the side accusingly. “This is both of our asses.”