Page 183 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

But Ludo ignores me, getting in and slamming his door.

“No,” I whisper as he drives off.

I can barely make out Andrew’s stricken expression through the back window. And then Jordan’s body is blocking my view. He crouches in front of me, his face contorted with rage.

“This,” he grits out, “is your fault.”

It’s not. I know it. Jordan knows it. But none of that matters. I’m going to pay anyway.

This time, in the cold and damp cellar, I don’t fight at all. I focus on holding my breath, on telling myself that I can make it until he pulls me from the water. I let myself believe that I’ll find a way to escape, even though it feels like I’m going to die down here.

And when Jordan’s men lock me away upstairs, I crawl into the bathroom and sit in the tub while the shower warms me up. It helps me feel a little better, but my stomach still aches from a lack of food.

By the time I’ve tried to dry off and taken a few sips of water from the sink, I’m exhausted. But I don’t let myself sleep. If a chance for me to escape—however slim—presents itself, I have to be ready to take it.

So I wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

Chapter ten

Rhett

I can’t stop watching the videos.

What’s worse, Elliot receives another one after we land.

I’m not sure whether I should be relieved or concerned that Wren wasn’t fighting in this one. Is it because she’s given up hope? Or because she’s trying to conserve her energy? Either way, we need to get to hernow.

“Just let her go,” Elliot says. “Do what you want to us, but leave her out of this.”

This is his third time calling Jordan and the first time the asshole decided to pick up. From the expression on Elliot’s face, the conversation isn’t going well.

Once our plane landed, Elliot and I came directly home. Oliver said he had to check on something and that he’d follow us soon. He wouldn’t tell us where he was going, and I’m not gonna lie, it pissed me off. But he promised he’d be back soon.

As for me, I’ve been doing a couple things. The first is sorting through the residential properties that the Williams family owns. Finn emailed them to Elliot before we even landed, which is way sooner than I was expecting. That’s what happens when you’re friends with powerful people.

In the videos, Wren was in what appeared to be a cellar of some sort. The way it was built looks like it was an older house, so I’m sorting out newer ones. And I’m also flagging the ones that are in less-populated areas. The more secluded a place is, the better a hiding spot it is.

The second thing I’ve been up to is learning more about Jordan. More specifically, his girlfriend. I’d never hurt her—she’s just as innocent in all of this as Wren is—but Jordan doesn’t know that.

“Jordan, please.”

I sigh, watching Elliot pace the length of his office. It’s been years since we’ve felt this helpless, and the strain in Ell’s voice tells me he’s as ready to rip Jordan’s head off as I am.

“Give me the phone,” I say quietly.

Elliot shakes his head, glancing at my laptop screen. No doubt, he knows exactly what I’ve been up to. “Then what do you want, Jordan? You want us to turn ourselves over?” A pause, and then, “No, Jordan, don’t—goddammit.”

My anger only spikes when Elliot slides his phone into his pocket.

“He hung up on you?”

Ell nods. “He said that because we made him wait, he’s going to make us wait. And that he won’t exchange us for her. He won’t stop until all four of us are dead.”

“So we threaten him before he can hurt Wren anymore. All we have to do is send proof that we have the means to kill his girlfriend. I have her address pulled up right here.”