She didn’t.
He shoved her down. The impact rattled up her spine.
She tipped her jaw. “My boyfriend knows where I am. He’s ex-military. He won’t—”
He pulled zip ties from his pocket. “Your boyfriend won’t be coming for a while.”
Panic swelled in an endless wave, swallowing her.
He grabbed her wrists and yanked them behind the chair. The plastic cinched around her skin, biting, unforgiving.
What had he done to Gabe? That text, the trip to the airport to pick up a veteran…was it really just a trap to get her alone?
Hot tears burned her eyes. “Henry wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t—”
“Henry wanted what was best for his family,” Andrew snapped. His anger was raw, as sharp as a wild animal. “But toward the end, he started doubting me. Hiding things. Making plans that didn’t include me. I corrected that.”
Cold sliced through her. “What did you do?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
Oh god. What was this man capable of?
Gabe.
Her heart thudded so hard she thought it might break her ribs. She was in love with Gabe. The thought of losing him now that she’d found him pulsed brighter than the terror of being tied up by a madman.
“Please. Whatever you think you’re going to do to me…you don’t have to.”
He circled the chair, moving into her line of sight again. There was no pretense of warmth in him now, just cold calculation.
“You have something I want. And I have something you want.” An evil smile stretched his lips into an ugliness that made her frantic.
“Your boyfriend. If you want to save him, give me the bonds. It’s that simple.”
Her vision tunneled. Gabe at the airport, waiting for a man who didn’t exist. Gabe realizing too late. Gabe walking into God knew what.
“Where are they?” His voice was low and controlled. “You opened the bank box.”
This wasn’t about money that would save her bookshop. Henry didn’t want Andrew to have the bonds.
“Where are the bonds? Last chance. Do you want your Marine bleeding out in an airport parking deck?”
The image of Gabe surrounded, outnumbered—made bile sting her throat.
She broke.
“They’re with my financial advisor. Thomas Goldburg. Downtown. He has everything.”
Satisfaction flickered through Andrew’s eyes. “There we go. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He leaned in, so she could see the light brown flecks in his irises, so similar to Henry’s that it made her sick. “You better hope I come back with those bonds.”
He moved behind her. Another zip tie slipped across her ankles this time, wrenching her legs together. She bit back a cry.
He crossed the room in quick strides and flicked off the overhead light, leaving her in the dim, gray afternoon light slanting through the windows. The door shut.
A lock clicked.
Felicity fought to control her breathing and the wild racing of her heart. She tried to loosen the zip ties, but only managed to burn her wrists and ankles. The plastic didn’t budge.
