Page 145 of House of Payne

I gesture to Carlisle, who leaves the room and returns a few moments later with my head of security.

“Cat got your tongue, Mr. Payne?”

I frown. “Listen, you piece of shit. I don’t know who you think you are, but you’ve obviously never done this. I don’t take orders from anyone.”

“You’ll want to hear us out.”

Katia reappears with a furrow between her brows and gestures to me. I pull the phone from my ear and cover it. “What?”

“London is nowhere to be found.”

A chill races up my spine. “What do you mean? She’s not allowed to leave the premises. There’s only so many places she can be.”

Katia shrugs. “I’m waiting on security footage.”

Before I can reply, there’s a knock on the office door. The four of us review the footage in silence, and when I spot London with her hoodie pulled over her head, my stomach lurches.

How in the hell did they get to her?

Why did she leave without letting anyone know?

Most importantly, how in the fuck did she manage to slip past the guards?

You never told them to keep an eye on her. With Mathew lurking around, you didn’t want word getting back to him, remember?

Shit.

“Have you figured it out? I’m guessing by now you know we have her.”

“What makes you think I care? I can have my share of women.”

The voice chuckles, and the hair on the back of my neck rises. “That’s not what we heard. We’ve been keeping an eye on you for a while, so we know this one is special.”

I clutch the phone tighter. “Doubtful, but you’ve gone to all this effort, so you might as well continue.”

Don’t react. Don’t give them what they want. One wrong word, and London will never come back.

I can’t have the last thing I said to her weighing on me when she was just trying to help.

I have half a mind to refuse to engage, but I don’t know how volatile they are. I might not be ready to admit my feelings for London, but that doesn’t mean I will stand by while she gets hurt.

As far as everyone else is concerned, this is a matter of pride.

No one twists Mason Payne’s arm and gets away with it.

I’m sorry, London. Fuck, I’m sorry. I’ll kill every last one of them for this. I won’t let this stand. Just…hang in there.

“I’m glad to see you’re willing to play along. It’s simple. We want a cut of the profit from the club.”

“And what makes you think she’s worth that much? That’s a big gamble.”

“We like our odds. Of course, we can always shop around and see who’d be willing to take on Mason Payne’s favoritewhore.”

Fuck me.

I can’t let London be passed around like a toy. Who knows if she’d survive that?

The thought makes me go cold all over. I know how far some of my enemies will go to get back at me.