“Are you sitting down, Keira?” Angie asked worriedly.
They moved onto a sofa that she recognized from the security room. Everyone appeared even if she could only see small bits of them.
“I miss you guys and I’m so sorry I worried you.”
“Why are you apologizing?” Zander asked. “Did you run?”
“No, she was kidnapped,” North said.
“By a Bartolli!” Zander yelled. “I fucking called you and you pretended to know nothing. My wife is pregnant! Do you know what worry you’ve caused her?”
“Actually, it wasn’t Jared. It was me,” North said.
“Who are you?” Keira asked.
“This is North, Jared’s assistant. I have no idea of your last name,” she said to North.”
“Smith.”
Right. That sounded plausible.
“Okay, North Smith.” She explained what happened. North kidnapping her without Jared’s knowledge. And how she convinced them to send a message.
“Once you learned about her why the fuck didn’t you call me, Bartolli?” Zander said. “Send her back?”
“Because I wanted to keep her,” Jared said. “But it had to be her decision because I’m not like my father. And so I was buying time so I could convince her.”
She frowned. “I thought you were keeping me here because you didn’t want Zander to come after North and you were worried I wasn’t safe back living on my own.”
“That too,” Jared admitted.
“You were right to be worried because I’m going to kill that bastard for kidnapping Angie!” Zander told him.
“No, you won’t,” Jared said.
God help her.
This was impossible. She shared a look through the camera with her sister.
Are you all right?Keira mouthed the words.
I really am. I want to stay here. With them.
Keira nodded.I love you.
Angie’s eyes filled with tears.Love you too. Thank you for everything.
We’re sisters. That’s all that matters.
“All of you, stop!” Keira and Angie said together.
Wow. They’d never been in sync like that before.
“Angie is staying with Jared and North,” Keira said. “Because that’s what she wants and we’re not retaliating.”
Zander scowled.
“I like both of them, Zander,” Angie said quietly. “Sure, I might not have wanted to be kidnapped. And I certainly didn’t want to be locked up?—”
