Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“Got you,” I hear the man say. “Fucking hell, this has been a nightmare.”
“I’m going to show you a nightmare,” I try and say behind his hand, and I fight harder.
“They told me dead or alive,” the man says in my ear. “Alive is more money, but I’ll snap your fucking neck if I think you’re going to be a problem.”
“Not a problem. A nightmare,” I say behind his hand, knowing full well if he gets me out of this building I might as well be dead.
My mind flashes to Vaughn and how he kissed me before smacking my ass and pushing me toward class. The look in his eyes and the way he watched me as we parted ways. He’ll come for me. If there is one thing I know about Vaughn, it’s that he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. And he wants me.
Chapter Eleven
Vaughn
I try calling Berkley the second she doesn’t answer my text. I curse when it goes straight to voicemail and I want to scream. I should have known she would be done early. She knew the material front and back and could answer every question I gave her before it was even out of my mouth. The woman is a fucking genius, so of course she finished her exam an hour before she was supposed to.
I grit my teeth as Sean pulls up at the curb in front of her building. Normally he’d wait behind the wheel, but I’ve put the team on red alert and we both hop out of the SUV.
“Are you strapped?” I look over at him and he nods. I don’t like guns, but right now I want Berkley as protected as possible. “Where the fuck is she?” I say, mostly to myself, as we approach the building and there’s no sight of her.
I had a guard stationed outside her classroom and two at the front of the building, but the one inside is gone and the other two are searching for her as we speak.
When we go inside I scan the hall and try to think of where she could have gone. What did she have with her when she left the hotel? I look up and see a sign for the teaching lab and something ticks in the back of my mind. Something about a professor needing a book?
“Shit,” I hiss, taking off down the long hall in a sprint. She mentioned the other day she needed to return a book to the professor of the teaching lab in this building. I was thinking it wasn’t a big deal, but she had her backpack with her this morning so the book was probably in there.
I hear the boots of the security guys behind me, and when I get to the end of the hall I go around the corner and there’s nothing. Just when I’m at a loss for what to do next, an older man comes stumbling out of his office.
One look at us and he steps backward, then takes off running.
“Hey!” I shout, chasing after him.
The old man is slow and falls into the walls as he loses his balance trying to get away. It’s not but a few long strides before I grab him by the back of his shirt and pull him up short.
“Where is she?” I say through clenched teeth, not bothering to control my anger.
“W-who?” He holds his arms up in defense as my hand goes around his neck.
“Where. Is. She.” My words are slow but my temper is anything but cool right now. Something has happened to Berkley and I’ll figure out what.
Screams pierce the quiet of the hall and I drop him and take off in that direction. Some of the men stay behind to watch him, but my concern is Berkley. By the time I make it to where I think the sound came from, I see a man holding her just make it through the emergency exit right before the door closes.
“Berkley!” I shout, running as fast as I can down the corridor that seems to be so far away. My legs are heavy and burning as I will them to move faster but I can’t. “Berkley!” I call out again just as I get to the door.
I burst through and right then I see her in the back window of a white van as it drives down a deserted alley. She’s beating on the glass and I can see the terror in her eyes as I try and chase it down. But the van is too fast and makes a turn before I can reach the edge of the road. By the time I get there it’s already gone.
My phone blares and I realize I’ve got it in my hand and the number calling me is blocked. I know immediately it can only be one person and I answer it.