Page 23

Chapter 23

Cate

I woke with a pounding headache and cottonmouth. As I struggled to open my eyes, I tried lifting a hand to rub them but couldn’t. They were tied behind my back, and my head felt heavy and sluggish.

Shit . Where’s Jaden? I did a quick assessment using my other senses.

The seat felt soft and I could hear a motor running, so a car. I sensed someone beside me.

“I know you’re awake, Miss Maxwell. You can open your eyes.”

Who the hell is that? And opening my eyes was easier said than done. They felt like I’d rubbed them with sandpaper.

The first thing I saw when I forced my eyes open was a blurry Jaden sitting across from me, his chin on his chest. Unconscious . I blinked rapidly, clearing my vision as I slowly turned my head .

And looked right into the creepy-as-fuck smiling face of Richard Roman.

“Hello Catelyn, can I call you Cate?”

I grumbled low in my throat.

“I’ll take that as a no. Maxwell then?”

“What’d you give us?” I croaked out. I needed to know what was in my system and how long it’d take to wear off.

He shrugged. “It’ll wear off soon enough.”

Jaden stirred. He didn’t wake up quietly and observe the situation. No, he woke up thrashing. Until he made eye contact with me.

“No use fighting, Mr. Sheppard. Can I call you Jaden?”

Roman laughed when Jaden growled. “Aren’t you two a testy pair? Sheppard, it is then.”

“What do you want?” Jaden demanded.

“I want you to look out the window.” The window to my left, Jaden’s right, rolled down right on cue.

Jaden and I turned our heads just in time to see his truck go up in flames. Jaden pulled against his ties and tried to stand up, swearing the entire time. “What the fuck!”

The big guy sitting next to him shoved him back down.

“Mr. Sheppard, if you don’t sit still we’ll drug you again.” Roman’s calm voice was far scarier than if he’d been angry.

Calm, collected, calculated. A lethal combination in an enemy.

Jaden calmed down, but didn’t stop glaring at Roman.

“Thank you. Your wallets, burner phone, and all your jewelry are in your truck. I’d say I hope you have good insurance…” He looked down at his phone and smiled. “But, it doesn’t really matter.”

Jaden and I made eye contact. Roman’s death threat was thinly veiled. For a brief moment, we saw each other’s fear. The tinted window dimmed the sunlight as it rolled back up. On Roman’s order, the limo pulled away.

“Where are we?” Jaden asked.

“Does it matter?” Roman answered.

I didn’t recognize the surrounding area. It looked like a deserted field, lined with trees. Which meant one, the truck wouldn’t be found right away, and two, when it was, it wouldn’t lead SSI to our location.

My headache faded as we drove on. Because of the tinted windows, I couldn’t see outside to get my bearings.

“How long were we out?”

“Long enough for us to be far from where we were,” Roman said with a snicker.

He was good at not answering our questions. He’s enjoying this . Never a good sign .

Jaden and I held eye contact while we tested our bindings, which I now realized were handcuffs. My vision was clear enough to watch Roman and his goon in my peripheral vision. The goon kept his face neutral, but Roman smiled as he watched us.

“Where are my manners?” Roman asked. “Would either of you like a drink?”

“No, thanks,” I said. Jaden’s reply was less polite.

We had different approaches to dealing with our captor. Not that I would’ve expected anything less .

“What happened to Wendy?” Jaden barked.

“Poor Wendy met with a sad end.”

I glared at Jaden, willing him to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t. “What’d you do to her?”

“Me?” He sounded shocked to be accused. “I didn’t do anything. It was that reckless nephew of mine.”

Robert .

“He’s always getting himself into trouble. That’s why my sister sent him here. I’m supposed to straighten him out,” he said, acting like we were old friends sharing our stresses over a beer.

“He’s gotten in trouble before?” I asked.

“You have no idea. He thinks because he has the Roman name I’ll always bail him out.”

“Did you?” I asked. “Bail him out?”

“Of course, he’s family,” Roman answered like it was a given.

“What happened to Wendy?” Jaden asked. He played the bad cop to my good cop, though I hadn’t wanted him to. We wouldn’t get anywhere with Roman being rude, instead we’d have to play his game and stroke his ego.

“So impatient. You really should learn some manners.”

Roman nodded, and the goon punched Jaden, causing his head to whip to the side.

Jaden stretched his neck before glaring at the goon.

“As I was saying. Young Robert attracts trouble like a magnet. ”

Roman told us how Robert and Wendy met at the cleaners, and how Robert wined and dined her. Emphasizing how eager Wendy was for his attention.

“She threw herself at him, and he liked the power dynamic of dating the daughter of someone who owed us money. His words, not mine. I’d never stoop so low.” He was clearly disgusted by Robert’s actions. “He told Wendy she had to keep their relationship a secret, that way her father wouldn’t figure it out. Poor man.”

“So Robert runs the gambling ring?” I asked.

“Oh no, he gets a cut of my winnings for each person he brings in. He’s barely more than an errand boy.”

Like his uncle, Robert like to play games but I had a feeling he didn’t have half his uncle’s patience or control when it came to dealing with people.

“Do people ever win in your game?” I asked.

“The house rarely loses,” he answered with a wink. “And Mr. Darling was no different.”

Of course not, Roman was good at putting people in debt with his gambling ring.

“So your nephew was using Wendy?”

“Oh, he liked her well enough, but she started asking for more than he was willing to give.”

Money? Relationship? More what?

“I see your wheels turning. Wendy was blinded by Robert’s charm. He’s chip off the old block.” He chuckled at his self compliment. So did his goon.

“So what happened?”

He studied me .

“There’s no harm in telling them, now, eh, Franks?”

“No, sir. They won’t be telling anyone,” Franks, the goon, answered. His voice sounded a lot like a hammer driving a nail into my coffin.

Roman told us Wendy wanted them to hang out with her friends more, and introduce him to her father. He didn’t want to, and they got into a fight at dinner. Which explained why Wendy didn’t look happy in the video footage. When they got back to Robert’s place, Wendy made the mistake of challenging his manhood during the argument.

We listened without expression. Without questions. It was better to let Roman tell us everything. If we found a way to escape, we could relay the information.

“When Robert slapped Wendy, she fell and slammed her head on the corner of the table.” He shook his head back and forth, sounding genuinely remorseful. “She never woke up.”

Robert killed her. She was dead before her father knew she was missing. He’ll be devastated .

“If it makes you feel any better, her death was instant,” he said.

“It doesn’t,” Jaden barked. When Franks reached out to punch him, Jaden moved.

“He’s a quick study,” Franks said with a laugh before throwing another punch.

Roman’s confidence that we’d never have the opportunity to tell anyone what happened was alarming.

His full, detailed confession hammered home his intent to kill us .

And there’s no way for SSI to track us. They’d have to get creative, but it’d take longer and I had a feeling time wasn’t on our side.

However, they knew everything right up until the point when we were drugged. We’d checked in when we sat down to eat. How long ago was that? Had we missed a check in yet?

They’d spare no expense and tear the world apart looking for us. I pray they find us in time .

“You have no idea how excited I was when I reviewed the tape to see who Adam invited to the game. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was two PIs from Sheppard the instant I knew Richard Roman was involved I should’ve changed tactics.

We had to hope Roman didn’t intend on killing us right away.

Or maybe it’ll be better if he does .