Page 24

CHAPTER 24

The words sent Brooklyn’s heart rate soaring causing a deafening roar in her ears.

“I…what are you talking about?” Brooklyn demanded. She looked about frantically, but they were speeding along on the freeway, and there was no escape.

“Do you really think I don’t have contacts in the police? I would know if they had the drive. You still have it and I want it back.”

“You! You are behind all this? You are Yakuza?”

Leilani let out a bark of laughter as she nonchalantly pulled a gun from her designer handbag. “Don’t be so shocked. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t run a business, and that’s really all it is; a business.”

“But…Keoni and Rick…” Brooklyn’s voice faded out. How could this be happening?

“Keoni is my brother Haruto’s child. Haruto thought he could take over when our father died. I decided I wanted to be in control. I took Keoni to keep my brother in line. If Haruto acts against me, I will kill Keoni.”

Horror washed over Brooklyn. This woman had to be out of her mind. Brooklyn looked around her as they exited the highway. She wasn’t sure where they were, but everything around her was industrial.

Dammit, she should have been paying better attention. Shit . As the car rolled toward the end of the ramp, Brooklyn braced herself. When Leilani stopped, she was going to bolt from the car.

The car slowed and approached the stop sign. Three. Two. One.

“Don’t even think about it,” Leilani said as she pointed the gun at Brooklyn. “I will shoot you.”

Breathing became impossible as Brooklyn’s lungs froze. Leilani would kill her. She knew it as sure as she knew she was in serious trouble. What the hell was she going to do?

The car picked up speed and Leilani placed the gun in her lap. Brooklyn glanced at it. Could she get to it faster than this crazy woman could? Could she knock it onto the floor and escape before Leilani found it again?

As they drove along an access road Brooklyn’s gaze darted around, frantically trying to find something that would help her. An old billboard on the side of the road drew her attention. It was old, and the picture was ripped, but the word Taekwondo was visible.

Calm settled over her like a blanket. She wasn’t helpless. She had the skills she needed. All she needed now was the opportunity to use them. After a few deep breaths, Brooklyn started taking note of her environment. Along with grease and exhaust, she caught a whiff of sea air even as she first caught sight of the docks. At least that could mean there were people around. And cameras. Dockyards always had cameras. Surely someone would be looking for her by now.

Her stomach rolled as Brooklyn suddenly realized that no one would be looking for her. Not for quite a while. She said she was going home to sleep. It would be tonight before her brother bothered to reach out to her… if he reached out at all. He’d want to let her sleep so he might not call until tomorrow.

She was off this weekend so no one from work would come looking. Ethan. He might track her down, but then again maybe not. There was no one she knew for sure would sound an alarm about her being missing.

That wasn’t strictly true. Ethan would raise the alarm but who knew if it would be in time.

Leilani made a turn into a boatyard. She steered toward one of the docks and parked just outside the open door of a warehouse. “Don’t even think about trying to escape,” she said as she casually removed her seat belt. “I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

It sounded like she meant business, but Brooklyn couldn’t lose hope. There were people around. Brooklyn glanced around to confirm they weren’t alone. There was a forklift driver on the next dock over and two men walking at the other end of the pier. Maybe she could yell and attract attention.

She drew in a deep breath when her door was wrenched open and she was unceremoniously pulled out of the car and into the warehouse. The men holding her were the two who had tried to grab Liam. She fought, but one of them slugged her in the jaw, and her head snapped back. They continued to drag her until they were back among the pallets.

“This is far enough,” Leilani said as they stopped and held her next to a bunch of boxes wrapped in cellophane.

“Now,” she said to the guy that Brooklyn had hit in the throat, “get me the drive.” He turned to Brooklyn and his sneer sent a chill up her spine.