She checked her VPN once again to confirm it was set the way she wanted before answering. “She’s a little princess that demands tribute, and youwillpay.”
He huffed. “All right. You good on your end?”
“Yeah.” Her heart rate picked up. Contacting a notorious loan shark was never something she thought she’d be doing in her entire life. She checked the security feed they had hacked into to make sure he was there and sitting at his desk before making the call. The feed was in black and white, but she could see gray streaks in his dark hair, and from what little of his face was visible, she placed him around mid-fifties.
“This is it,” she breathed.
“Hey,” Landon said abruptly, making her flinch. “You don’t have to do this. You can just go about your life and forget all about it.”
With a shaky breath, she replied, “No. I really can’t.”
“Then make the call, Crypty.”
Willow tapped the mouse and listened as the video chat sent the request. Agonizing seconds ticked by as she watched the security footage. Predictably, the man seated at the desk was startled. He leaned forward to get a better view of who was attempting to call. His finger hovered over his mouse before finally settling on answering.
“Speak,” the man demanded. He hadn’t turned on his camera, but obviously they could see him anyway.
“You have no way of knowing me,” she started, her voice modulated to sound deeper than normal. “But I have a proposal for you.”
“Oh yeah? Who the fuck is this?”
“Someone who wants to make a deal.”
Xan chuckled. “I don’t make deals with random callers who use voice modulators. How do I know you aren’t a cop anyway?”
“I’m not a cop.”
Another disbelieving laugh. “Right. Goodbye.”
He hung up before getting to his feet and stretching dramatically.
Shit. That hadn’t gone the way she’d hoped. Of course, he wouldn’t trust some random person calling in.
“What now, Crypty?” Landon drawled, pushing his palms against his eyes.
She stared at the blank screen, puzzling just how far she was willing to go for her two captors. The two men who had drugged her and taken her into the forest to end her life. The men who had somehow made her more whole than she’d ever felt. Willow wasn’t some great fighter or anything; she had a bum shoulder for fuck’s sake. And said shoulder was aching from the lack of stretches and too much gaming she’d been doing to distract herself while not at work.
Landon leaned forward, as if to ask the question again.
“I’ll go.”
His brows rose. “For real?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t meet his eyes now. For some reason, it might break the resolve she was building inside. Willow couldn’t let this go. There was no way she could move on and have a normal life with some “Joe Schmo”.
He got to his feet and grimaced. “All right. I’m with you. What’s the plan?”
Chapter 36
Ryker
Ryker’s heart was pounding erratically. There was no way the words he’d heard over the phone were real.
And yet here I am, outside the door of Xan’s office.
The shark had called him and Ezra in for an emergency meeting regarding a girl. Just the tone he’d said it in twisted his stomach until all he could taste was bile.
What the fuck has happened to Willow?
