Page 56 of The Billionaires' Gamble

“We’re all owning it,” Alex says.

He’s right, and in a fucked up way, that feels sort of good. I’ve never been much of a team player. Why would I be when the one who was supposed to have my back through thick and thin spent their time trying to tear me down? But this is a family, however unlikely, that actually supports each other. And that’s kind of heady.

“Have you heard anything?” King says, obviously over our brotherly love moment.

“We’ve heard plenty. None of it’s going to help us.”

“Okay, so how do we find her? I could contact some friends to tap the security cameras.”

“Or maybe a plea on social media for help?” King says. “We know what they were driving, and there are a lot of eyeballs on there that could help us spot them.”

He reaches for the tablet, turns it on and hands it to me. “We find her with this.”

I stare at the map on the screen. “What’s this?”

King hovers at my shoulder, his attention focused on the device in my hands.

“The location tracker in Katherine’s bracelet.”

20

KATHERINE

“Katherine?” Tyler gasps my name, hands reaching out to steady me.

I immediately backpedal into the stateroom, arms coming up to put some distance between us. My heart rate accelerates, and my blood pressure rises as my flight instincts kick in.

To my utter shock, he takes a step back, his expression morphing to one of confusion and concern. Like I’m the one who kidnapped him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to sound confident. The truth is, my knees have the consistency of soggy cereal.

“What am I doing here? What areyoudoing here?” Accusation oozes from every word.

I narrow my gaze, trying desperately to determine if this is a game. “I don’t even know where here is.”

He glances past me, pausing a beat. “So you’re not here with your mother?”

My jaw drops, like it hits the floor, and I snap my lips closed. “My mother?”

Oh my god.

He’s right. She’s the only person we have in common.

Oh. My. God.

If he’s here against his will… Is he telling the truth? We were never together long enough for me to get a solid read on him. Players are slimy like that.

“I just woke up tied to a pipe in the engine room,” I inform him, letting my fury lace through my words. I resent being mentioned in the same sentence as her, never mind being involved in whatever the hell is going on here.

I stalk away from him and look out the small round window. Nothing but ocean. Great.

“Well, I was on my way to my car, and then I woke up face down on that bed.” He jerks a thumb at the offending mattress.

I stretch my neck from side to side. “What time is it?”

He lifts his wrist and frowns. “They took my watch.” He pats his pockets. “And my phone.”

“Same.”