The sun had set an hour before. The limo was almost back to Manhattan, and I was in hell.I was completely powerless. Lily and Sebastian had both been abducted, and there was nothing I could do. If Eve couldn’t find them, there was no way any of my company’s security guys could – although I still worked the phones relentlessly, talking to my employees, praying for a miracle.We had just entered the city when a text message pinged my phone.Connor – I found her cell.“What?! Where?!”In international waters near the Grenadines, in the Caribbean. “Smart,” Bert muttered.I looked at him.“She’s out of the jurisdiction of any local police forces,” Bert explained.“Good. Then she can’t count on them when I go after her,” I growled, which made Bert recoil.Eve continued, The phone’s signal is super weak, but it’s there.“Can you see or hear anything?”No. All I get is blackness and muffled voices.I looked at Johnny and Bert.“It’s a trap,” Johnny said. “It has to be.”“If she’s in interna
I stared at the cell phone and frowned. “I don’t understand.”“Your gay mascot does,” Miranda said.Sebastian gave her a death-glare. “Miranda’s telling them where we are. Connor’s probably setting up a plan to rescue us right now.”“I understand that,” I protested. “But why is Johnny so important?”“He’s the one who’ll lead it. He was Special Forces – he’ll know exactly how to do it.”My eyes bugged out. “You think Johnny’s coming here?”Sebastian looked grim. “Not just him.”It took a second for that to sink in. When it did, I wasn’t sure whether I was thrilled or horrified.“Connor, too?!”But I didn’t need him to answer to know the truth. I remembered all the training he and Johnny had done in the months since the assassination attempt at the Dubai.Without knowing it at the time, this was the moment Connor had been preparing for. And since my life was at stake, there was no way he was going to let Johnny come alone.The only problem was, Miranda knew it, too. “I guarantee it,” s
We stopped by the penthouse first. Johnny had more than enough weaponry, ammunition, and scuba gear for the mission. Hell, I’d been training with all of it over the last 12 months. The only thing we lacked were the scuba sleds, and those would be delivered to us at the airstrip before we took off.While Johnny assembled the weapons and equipment, I went up to the master bedroom and looked in the top drawer of my dresser. There, on the velvet-lined trays amongst my watches and cufflinks, sat the wedding rings I had planned to exchange with my bride on our wedding day.Planned. Not had planned. The wedding rings I planned to exchange with her on our wedding day.I picked them up, both of them, and rubbed them between my fingers.These are my good luck charms, I told myself, fighting back desperation and despair. I’m putting this ring on her finger the very first moment I can – which will be in just a few hours.I kissed them for good luck, placed them in my inside jacket pocket, and rus
As far as getting shot goes, I am not brave, and don’t pretend to be. I screamed and jolted back in my chair, trying to get away from Miranda’s pistol – but the handcuffs locked on the armrest wouldn’t let me get far.Miranda just followed me with the barrel of the gun, keeping it pointed at my head. A small smile curled her lips, like she was enjoying herself.“STOP!” Sebastian screamed. “Alright, I’ll do it! Just stop pointing it at her!”“Sebastian, no!” I cried out, ashamed at my weakness. “You can’t!”“You were right before – Connor would tell me to do it. Especially for you. He would trade everything for you, Lily,” he said, his hands shaking as he put them on the laptop keyboard.“You know she’s going to just kill you as soon as you give her what she wants! She’ll kill both of us, and the only thing that’ll happen is we helped her destroy Connor!”Sebastian looked over at Miranda.She smiled darkly. “I’ll tell you what: I’ll give you a sporting chance. I’ll keep you both alive
Johnny was as good as his word. We were standing on the tarmac loading our gear inside of three hours.Five of us were standing by the plane: me, Johnny, Bert, and my two remaining bodyguards, Juan and Leo. Four of us were going. But I had to give them one last chance to back out.“You don’t have to do this,” I told them. “I’ll pay you handsomely if you do – three million dollars apiece, and that goes for you, too, Johnny – but I’ve got to tell you, there’s maybe a ten percent chance we come out of this alive.”“Twenty percent at least,” Johnny said in a deadpan voice. “Don’t be pessimistic.”“No matter what, it’s still shitty odds. You can walk away now and I won’t say a thing.”Leo shrugged. “Danger’s part of the job. I’m going wherever you’re going.”Juan grinned. “I was a Navy SEAL, sir. Frankly, this job’s been pretty damn boring till tonight.”“You people are insane,” Bert muttered.“A good time with a three million dollar payday?” Juan asked. “That sounds pretty sane to me.”“T
Within ten minutes, the Gulfstream G650 was heading for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. At a top speed of 610 miles per hour, we were going to be over our target within three and a half hours.I knew it was going to be the longest three and a half hours of my life. Johnny ran through the details during our flight. “Eve was right, we’re going to have to go out the aft baggage area. We can access it from inside the plane, so we’re good.”“Why can’t we just go out the door?” I asked.“Don’t want to get sucked into the engines,” Johnny explained. “Or bash your head on the wing and get knocked out.”“Oh.”“Do we have intel on the boat?” Leo asked. “I mean, what are we looking at here?”“Eve?” I said.The television monitor in front of us lit up with white letters on a back background. She had commandeered the plane’s internet connection long before we took off.It’s a custom-built mega-yacht, 300 feet in length. I’m keeping track of it via satellite – you’ll be able to parachute within a
We were allowed bathroom breaks – armed members of the crew unlocked our handcuffs, then escorted us out of the room and back – but other than that, we were kept chained to our brass chairs around the table. Sebastian kept toiling away, giving Miranda access to Connor’s companies, piece by piece – and I was the sword held over his head to get him to comply.The only ray of hope I had was my bobby pins. I checked my hair when I went to the bathroom; they were still there. If there was a moment when Miranda left me and Sebastian alone, I might be able to get us both out of the cuffs – and maybe someplace safe.Maybe.But now wasn’t the time.I just prayed the time would come……and that Sebastian, Connor, Johnny, and I all lived to see it.
Two hours into the flight, Eve gave me the best piece of news I’d had in weeks – and I’m counting the moment I found out the murder charges against me were dropped.I’ve got confirmation – they’re both alive. Repeat: both Lily and Sebastian are alive.We whooped and hollered, and looked closely at the camera angle as Eve played it over and over. My eyes teared up as I watched Lily being escorted out of the room at the front of the ship – healthy and whole, even if she was at gunpoint.“Is that Armin?” Johnny asked in shock.“What?!” I said. “Eve – rewind the video and freeze it!” She complied, and I leaned in close to study the figure behind Lily. It was harder to see him because of the shadows and the grainy quality of the video, but I’d seen his face too many times over the last year for there to be any doubt.“That motherfucking Judas SON OF A BITCH!” I roared.“Shit,” Johnny whispered.I sat there stewing for a second, then said grimly, “I owe you an apology, Eve. You were right