“AHHHHH!” I cry out in white, blistering pain, dropping the phone to the ground, and stumbling back on my feet. Gripping my wrist, I wail and stare in horror at the palm of my hand that Richard just dug his knife into, slicing it wide open. Blood is everywhere, oozing out as I hunch over and cry. Looking up, Richard now has the phone, but my body is in shock so that I can’t hear anything he’s saying to Declan.
I fall to my knees, forcing myself to calm down by taking in slow, staggering breaths, but all I’m doing is choking in shallow pants. I ball my hand into a tight fist, wincing through the burning sting as I hold my hand against my chest.
“Let that be a lesson,” Richard says as he walks over to me, no longer on the phone. “Don’t cross me again.”
He then reaches down and starts tugging at my clothes and shoving his hands in my pockets.
“You hiding anything else?”
“No.”
“Stand up,” he orders, and once I’m up on wobbly legs, he grabs the neckline of my top and slashes his knife through the fabric, cutting it right down the center.
Shoving the fabric away, he runs the flat of the blade over the swell of my left breast, and when he reaches my nipple, he flips the knife to its razor edge. I’ve lost all control of my body as it shakes violently.
My eyes are closed while he taunts, “Defy me now; I dare you.”
His words are an echo of Carl’s. He would provoke me the same way, daring me to push his limits, as if it was giving him my consent to hurt me even more.
“What are you doing?”
Flicking my eyes over Richard’s shoulder, I see Pike standing behind him.
“You’re forgetting everything I ever taught you,” he tells me. “You’re so much stronger than this * in front of you. Stop letting him think you’re weak.”
Shifting my eyes back to Richard, I take Pike’s lingering voice and inhale his words in a steady breath and release it slowly from my nose. I let my walls down with Declan, something I felt was right to do, but I forgot to bring them back up the moment Richard showed up. So with calculated intent, I mend the chink in my armor and steel myself to take whatever comes my way.
The knife continues to roam over my tits as I pull my strength together, and once I feel confident in my shield, I move my eyes to meet his.
“Can I take a piss now?”
“That’s my Elizabeth,” Pike encourages before Richard gives me a snide nod, and I turn to open the door.
THE CALL DISCONNECTED but not before I heard her blood-curdling screams. Focusing on the threats coming from the unidentified man on the phone was almost impossible when my only concern lay within the girl whose shrieking cries could be heard in the background. I demanded to know what he had done to her, but his priorities were in the instructions he was giving me.
And now, I fly around my hotel suite, shoving my clothes into my suitcase at the same time I wait impatiently for Lachlan to answer my call.
“Where the fuck is Elizabeth?” I bark when he answers.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“She’s gone. I need a plane. Now!”
“Slow down, McKinnon,” he says. “What’s going on?”
Blood courses erratically, like a raging stampede inside of me. Zipping up the luggage, I answer, “Someone’s taken her.”
“Are you sure?” he says in surprise.
“Yes, I’m fucking sure! I need a plane five minutes ago. Make it happen and call me back.”
I don’t waste time arranging for a driver, instead rushing down to the lobby and grabbing the first cab I see.
“Biggin Hill Airport,” I tell the driver.
“You okay, sir?”
“Get me there as fast as you can.”
He nods without further question as I wait impatiently for Lachlan’s call, but all I can hear are her screams as they play over and over in my head. So many times I’ve wanted to inflict a pain so brutal to induce that type of reaction, but knowing her torture is outside of my control has my heart racing to protect her. It’s a twisted thought, but if anyone is going to hurt her, it’s going to be me.
I think of all the people who would choose to use her to get to me, and I’m drawing blanks. Truth is, I don’t know the people she surrounds herself with, if any at all. But this person, whoever it is, was targeting her and knew just where to find her.
Logging back into the security cameras from my phone, I click through the rooms looking for any kind of clue I can because I don’t know what else to do in this moment. When I check the camera that looks over the drive, I see my car that’s missing from the garage. She must have been taken from the house if the car is there, but how? Why would she let anyone in the gate?
The phone rings, and I quickly answer. “Did you get it?”
“Yes. The plane will be ready to go in half an hour.”
“Good.”
“What can I do?”
“Have you seen her or spoken to her since I left yesterday?” I ask.
“No. I’ve been home.”
“They want money,” I tell him.
“Who?”
“I don’t know. After you gave me her cell number, I called, but she didn’t answer. I dialed the number a few times, and then a man answered. I could hear Elizabeth in the background.”
“What did he say?”
“That we each hold something of value to the other. That he will let her go when I wire money into an offshore account.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy either my foundation or my business.”