I made it outside in time to see Victor catch up to the boy and tackle him, bringing him to the sidewalk face down.“Let me up,” the boy yelled.“Not until the police get here,” Victor growled. “You just held a knife to a woman’s throat to try to rob a restaurant. Did you think you were going to walk away?”“I’m sorry, but I needed money,” the boy said. “I need a fix. It’s been almost a day since I had some, and my dealer won’t give me any unless I pay for what he already fronted me.”“A fix of what?” Victor asked, although we knew the answer.“Ice,” the boy answered. “Please let me go. I won’t go back into that fancy restaurant. I’ll find the money somewhere else.”“I’m not letting you go so you can rob another business,” Victor growled. “Needing drugs isn’t a good reason for stealing and threatening people with a knife.”“You don’t know what it’s like, dude,” the boy said. “When you don’t have any, it’s all you can think about. Wanting more chews at your soul.”“What other places ha
Victor’s POVI was up all night pacing the mansion as I waited for Daisy to come home.She never did.Benson told me Anna was missing too. She left with Daisy around one that afternoon to get lunch and never returned. Neither of the girls haven’t called anyone since then, and nobody has seen them.I’m glad Daisy is not alone, but Anna being with her isn’t much comfort to me. I want my beautiful Luna back …now.Walking out onto the balcony in her bedroom, I watched the sun begin to rise. I can sense she’s alive. Adam feels Diana is out there somewhere too.“But where,” I groaned. The pain of our separation was tearing me apart. “Where are you, my love?”Someone must have taken her. She wouldn’t leave and let everyone she loved worry like this. Neither would Anna. I’m afraid Daisy was investigating the drug ring again, and the girls got caught spying on them.Panic raced through me, and I dialed her cell again. While it rang, I drummed my fingers on the balcony railing.Just a few nigh
Daisy’s POVSomebody was moaning inches from me on my left, but I was too sleepy to wake up.The moaning sounded again, and I felt movement next to me, so I forced myself to open my eyes.Fear and confusion washed over me.“Where am I?” I mumbled. I was lying face up on a narrow cot, looking up at yellowing drop ceiling tiles.I tried to sit up to look around, but the motion made the room spin. A single light bulb showed me I was in a room with a concrete floor and block walls.How did I get here? Who else was here with me?“Daisy,” Anna said. She must be lying on the cot next to mine. Her voice was as weak as I felt. “Are you alright?”“I think so,” I replied. I wasn't in pain, and I could move everything, but why was I so drowsy and dizzy?“That gas they shot into your truck knocked us out,” Anna said as she tried to sit up.“I’m so thirsty,” I murmured. I lifted my arms and realized my hands were tied together with something. “Anna, I’m tied up.”“Me too,” Anna said. “They used zip
Victor’s POVThe caller ID on Daisy’s phone told me it was the unknown caller. Hopefully, they will speak to me this time. I touched accept and then speaker.“Hello,” I said. “Who is this?”A creepy, electronically altered voice answered. “I’m the person who’s going to enjoy spending your fifty million dollars, or I’ll record the world’s greatest snuff film and send you a copy.”“Before I put together those funds, I want proof that you haven’t already made that film,” I insisted.I needed to be sure my love hadn't been harmed. Money meant nothing to me compared with her life.“I’ll let you talk to her tomorrow at this time,” the voice said. “Then you’ll pay up, or Daisy is dead.”The line went dead.“Who was that?” Benson said. “He’s positively evil.”“He is evil,” Alex said. “The device he was using couldn’t hide who he was. It’s John Cameron.”“He hates me and Daisy,” I agreed. “And Daisy spied on an Ice dealer the other day. She thinks John is the drug boss spotted because she saw
Daisy’s POVI was dreaming about being at the beach house with Victor. In my dream, I was lying on a deck chair in the sun, watching Victor approach me to make love on the deck.He was wearing nothing but red swimming trunks low on his lean hips and that sexy smile that was just for me. I held out my arms in welcome and prepared myself for a rousing kiss.The dream was interrupted by the sound of the door to my prison closing. It made me jump to my feet, ready to fight.But it was too late. I heard the key in the lock and saw a new tray of food on the table. The men had brought our food and left.Anna and I had missed our chance to escape because we were asleep.We spent hours making a plan of attack that we thought would work the next time the men came with food.It wasn’t a sure thing we would overpower them and take the gun and the key to the door, but we would try our best.Without a window, clock, or phone, we could not know what time of day or night it was. When we grew tired af
“We can’t panic,” I whispered to Anna. “But we’ve got to find a way out before they think of looking for us in the ceiling.”Anna nodded. “Let's keep going. There must be a place where we can get out of the building.”Carefully and quietly, we began to crawl toward another dot of light in the distance. I prayed John and his men wouldn’t hear or sense us as we crawled over their heads.The men continued to talk as we slowly crawled along the planks above them, looking for a way out of the building.“What if your missing guests aren’t found?” Kirk Sanders asked. “What if Daisy is already on her way back to Victor?”“Then I’ll deal with him permanently much quicker than I intended,” John declared. “I've had enough of their interference in my plans. It won’t be tolerated any longer.”Deal with him permanently! That had to mean he was planning to kill Victor! I had to get out of this place and warn him.After we crawled about another twenty-five feet, we stopped and lifted a ceiling tile s
Anna and I ran as fast as we could. We made it to the side of the building before I dared to look back. Three of the men had made it out of the window and were running after us.After we rounded the corner, I saw how far we were from the gate. I could see Victor’s car parked on the other side of the heavy metal slat barrier along with a half dozen police cars. But the gate was still closed and locked.The men were about to come around the corner, and there was no chance I could get to Victor before they caught us.“Hide, my love,” Victor said in my mind. “Hide until I can break down this gate and get to you.”“Hurry, but be careful, Victor,” I replied. “John Cameron ordered his men to kill me and you.”“Hide, sweetheart,” Victor repeated. “I’ll be there to help you soon. John’s time to terrorize us is over.”“We must hide until Victor breaks down the gate,” I told Anna.“Where?” Anna asked as we frantically looked around.There were barrels next to the building, two pickup trucks and
John’s eyes glared at me with raw hatred. “Rodney, get Kirk from the packaging room. Tell him I need him to help me escort Miss Wilson to the tunnel. We are taking her with us. If Victor wants her back alive, he’d better make sure the cops let us go.”“Yes, sir,” Rodney said and let go of me.I turned around and faced him. “Using me as a hostage won’t help any of you. You’re all going to prison. Give up now, and things may go easier for you.”Rodney raised a hand to hit me, but then he changed his mind. “Shut up. I’m not going to jail.” He ran from the room as if he wasn’t coming back.John assumed Rodney left to do his bidding and turned to me with an unsettling grin.“You’ll behave yourself and do exactly what you are told,” he warned. “I won’t tolerate any nonsense from you.”He went to the door to the hallway with a puzzled expression on his face and called out. “Rodney, where are you? Kirk, it’s time to go!”Nobody answered.“Where are they?” John grumbled.“I’ll find out,” I sai