Victory was mine as I darted toward the sidewalk—until he caught my arm.
He wiped blood from his nose. “You’re not going anywhere but in that cage that has your name on it.” He pointed at his trunk and slammed me against the cold metal of the car.
I spat in his face.
He laughed. “That’s all you got? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Grace. I’ve seen you train. You’re stronger than this.”
“You want to fight? Then fight me.” My fists were ready to go a few rounds. Maybe by the time we exchanged a few blows, Brian would be here.
With blood running down his upper lip, Josh bared his teeth. “We’ll have plenty of time for you to show me what you got. In the meantime, I’m going to destroy everyone you’ve ever cared for before I end you for taking my father away from me, and I’m starting with Fran.”
Horror careened through me at the thought of my fear coming true.Fuck. I loosened my muscles, giving in. “Leave her out of this. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Too late, Grace. She’s been part of my plan all along, and someone like her is in high demand with my clients.”
Nooo!The word blared through my head. I couldn’t live with myself if Fran experienced the torture I’d been through. I couldn’t face Brian ever again.
Josh slipped a hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a syringe.
“Please, Josh. I’ll go willingly.”
Where was Brian? I shouldn’t have left his apartment.
He jammed the needle into my arm. As the warmth spread through my veins like poisoned honey, I could think only of Fran. I had to find a way to save her.
My muscles were turning to mush as Josh watched me intently.
He had the same cruel features that his father had. The same ruthless twist of his lips. The same dead eyes.
Inwardly, I screamed as I fought with every ounce of my being to stay awake, but as the streetlights above fragmented, splitting into starbursts that flickered on and off, I was fading fast.
Through the encroaching darkness, I made a promise—not just to survive and rescue Fran but to end my past, to end Josh Kinley and everything he thought he could resurrect.
28
BRIAN
Iwas going out of my mind as I left Janet and Nora in my apartment. I needed some air. I also needed to see Grace. She was taking too long on the phone unless she had called a friend or one of her brothers after phoning Ted.
The lounge area in the lobby was empty. I swung around to face the desk. “Ray, I thought you said Grace was in the lounge?”
“She was. She had to get her phone charger out of her car. Ms. Hart is probably right outside.”
I barreled through the door and instantly faltered.
The passenger door of Grace’s Subaru was open, but no beautiful woman with long brown hair and eyes that made my heart sputter was in sight. Jogging to her car, I quickly searched the immediate area as far as I could see. Nothing was in the vicinity except headlights coming toward me from a distance.
I called her cell, and as I walked down to the corner, I could hear a phone ringing.
Every fucking ounce of blood in my veins evaporated, especially when I found her phone on the ground. The screen lit up with my missed call, showing a picture of us that had been taken during the last Thanksgiving dinner I attended with theHarts. Grace wore a ball-squeezing smile as she looked up at me as if I was her everything. And holy shit! The way I was gazing down at her… My daughter’s words haunted me—“I see the way you look at her when we’re at holiday dinners.”
I couldn’t lose Grace too.
My hands shook, my lungs protesting for air.
The sound of a car engine resonated as the driver slowed and rolled down the window. “Brian.” Duke’s voice felt like shards of broken glass cutting my skin. “We’ll find Fran.”
How in the hell did I tell my best friend his sister had potentially been kidnapped under my watch?
