Impossible. But if he was right, then he wanted to profit off her.Unbelievable. I wasn’t about to turn over an innocent human, let alone a child, to a crazy money-hungry vampire.
On the other hand, I would gladly take a second shot at kidnapping Sam if Roman wanted to make me a higher offer than our benefactor. However, I doubted Roman would entertain an offer for Sam since he had his sights on Abbey.
I bounced my knee. “I’m not getting in the middle of your scheme to use a ten-year-old child so you can profit off her.”
“You will.” Vera’s voice made me jump off the stool as she dragged Jordyn in, bound and gagged.
“What the fuck?” I snarled at Roman. “This is your idea of not hurting her?” Then something dark and twisted hit me.
“I see the lightbulb brightening in that brain of yours,” Roman said. “Jordyn will be our prisoner until you get me what I want.”
Fear was stamped on Jordyn’s face.
“Take the gag off her.” My tone was shaky but firm.
Roman nodded to Vera, who in turn removed what looked to be a ripped pillowcase.
Jordyn sucked in air. “Don’t take the job, sis. We’re dead anyway.”
“I’ll figure a way out of this,” I said.
Jordyn’s chest heaved. “Don’t, Layla. You do one thing, and he’ll want more.”
I knew that, but I wasn’t about to let her die, nor could I use a child as a bargaining chip. I squeezed her tightly. “I love you.” The minute I stepped away, the weight of the world dropped on my shoulders like a boulder had fallen from the sky and crushed me.
“What’s it going to be, Layla?” Roman’s casual attitude was grating on my nerves.
What a fucked-up situation. Maybe if I told them about my benefactor and how it was his idea to take a club of vamps, Vera would change her tune. Then again, Roman knew he had me by the neck. He knew I had to see Sam. He also knew I wouldn’t let my sister die.
“You never answered my question. If I do this for you, no harm will come to me or my sisters?” Whether I agreed or not, I had no doubt Vera was ready to snap Jordyn’s neck. As for me, Roman wanted revenge. At the club, he’d even said we would pay for what we’d done to him. Therefore, Jordyn was right. We were dead either way.
“Let’s just agree to one step at a time.” Roman shoved Jordyn toward me. “Say your goodbyes now.”
I caught Jordyn before she fell. “Stay alive.” I wrapped my arms around her.
“Call the uncles,” she whispered in my ear. “You need help.”
What I needed was a miracle, because the way I saw it playing out only led to death with or without my uncles’ help.
8
SAM
Idanced on the balls of my feet as Tripp and I sparred in the gym. I was too amped up to sleep. After our meeting in the war room, I’d spent a couple of hours with Sawyer and the tech team. We had one tech searching rental properties in the name of Aberdeen in the city and surrounding towns. If they were smart, they didn’t use their real name.
We were also checking transportation companies since Layla and her sisters had driven up in a black sedan. I’d been kicking myself for not getting the license plate of that vehicle. Still, any transportation company like Uber or Lyft would have a record of who the driver had been.
The other problem was trying to figure out if our computer system had been hacked. Sawyer had his tech team scrubbing the database for any malware and trojans that might leave a trail.
Plus, we had a team returning to the club to question the owner. I would’ve taken that job if it weren’t for my gut telling me Layla would seek me out. She wouldn’t let her sister suffer too long. Rianne wasn’t in any pain, though. She just couldn’t talk.
“I taught you better than that. Stay focused,” Tripp barked as he came at me with a roundhouse kick.
I ducked, but the heel of his foot grazed my head and knocked me off my game as I faltered. “Fuck.”
Tripp wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm. “Where are you? You have not paid an ounce of attention. Is it the vampire hunters?”
It was my whole fucking life that was distracting me, not just a ball-squeezing redhead who I wanted to fuck and taste in more ways than just her blood. I was tired of always looking over my shoulder for the next moron who wanted my DNA so he could use me or my sister, Jo, like lab rats locked in a cage to benefit from some twisted plot to build armies of vampires out of humans.
