Page 32 of Her Courage

Had anyone answered? Had they heard?

Or was I completely and utterly alone in this nightmare?

Chapter Twenty-One

KALEB

My phone buzzed against the conference table just as Martinez from accounting started his quarterly analysis presentation. I glanced down, frowning at the screen.

Lottie's ringtone.

She never called my cell during work hours. We had office phones for that. Internal extensions.

Something was wrong.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I swiped to answer, my finger hovering over the speaker button. Across the table, Andrei's head snapped up, his amber eyes locking on mine with that same predatory awareness.

He knew.

Without a word, Andrei stood, his chair scraping back. "Gentlemen, we'll need to reschedule. Something's come up."

"But we're not finished—" Martinez protested.

"Now." Andrei's voice left no room for argument. The room cleared in seconds, confused executives filing out as I pressed speaker.

Muffled sounds. Wind? No, breathing. Fabric rustling.

Andrei crossed the room in three strides, standing shoulder to shoulder with me as we both leaned over my phone.

"That's better." A woman's voice. Cultured. Familiar.

No.

No, no, no.

"Now, let's discuss how you're going to convince my son to give in to my demands."

Rage exploded through my chest, white-hot and blinding. My mother. My fucking mother had Lottie cornered somewhere, and judging by the ambient sounds—cars, a fountain—they were outside the building.

"Kaleb," Andrei's hand clamped on my shoulder, the only thing keeping me from putting my fist through the wall. His accent thickened, words in Russian spilling from his lips as he pulled up the security feeds on his tablet with his free hand.

My mother's voice continued, saccharine sweet and venomous. "You see, Charlotte, I need Kaleb to release a rather substantial amount of money to me. But he's been... difficult lately. Ever since you appeared, actually."

I watched the screen as Andrei's fingers flew across the tablet. Parking garage camera. Lobby. Sidewalk.

There.

My baby girl on a bench in the park across the street. My mother beside her.

Too close.

"Kaleb has always been a stubborn boy," Patrice's voice dripped through the speaker. "But he used to be malleable. Guilt works wonders on him, you see."

My hands clenched so hard my knuckles cracked. Andrei's grip on my shoulder tightened, the only thing grounding me as I fought to maintain control.

Breathe. Focus. Get to her.

"The investment requires two million dollars," Patrice continued, her words clipped and businesslike. "You have forty-eight hours to convince Kaleb, or I go public with everything."