Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 108242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“I know they used to date. Not fake date like she let me believe this time, but dated for real.”
“That was years ago, and it didn’t last long.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I shake my head. “Maybe I’m just paranoid. Something feels…off.”
When you put yourself in perilous situations often enough, your survival instincts become better honed, and you learn to trust them.
“Well, nothing’s off,” Kimba says. “Believe me. I’ve been through seven of these trips now with Wallace and Lennix. They’re fine. Oh! I have one last thing I forgot to tell you.”
Her phone rings, and she glances at the screen. “Just gimme a sec. It’s Viv.”
She answers. “Hey, Viv. I’m in a meeting. Lemme call you right—”
Her brows bunch, but she chuckles. “Damn, V. Slow down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
Kimba’s frown deepens, her expression going from amused to confused to horrified in a matter of seconds. A gulp moves the muscles of her throat, and she draws a shaky breath. “Who? Who has Wallace?”
That niggling intuition that’s bothered me for days flares into a full-blown sick feeling. I stride over to stand right beside her. I know I’m too close, crowding her, but I need to hear exactly what’s being said.
“Who has him?” I ask. “Is Lennix okay?”
“I-I…” Kimba closes her eyes and presses her hand to her forehead. “V, I don’t understand.”
“Kimba, what the hell? Is Nix okay?”
“Viv, I’m gonna put you on speaker.” Kimba pulls the phone from her ear, taps the screen, and turns it faceup. “Maxim’s here with me.”
“Maxim, hey.” Vivienne’s wobbly voice comes over speaker. “I’m sorry I’m all over the place. I just—” Her voice breaks on a sob.
“Vivienne, can you tell me what’s happened?” I try to keep my voice level. “Who has Wallace? What’s going on?”
“My… My parents got a call about an hour ago from CamTech.”
“Who’s that?” I demand.
“It’s the lab Wallace works for,” Kimba says.
“Yeah, they called to say they’d received a video,” Vivienne continues, her breath thinning, distressed.
“What kind of video?” I ask.
“A ransom video,” Vivienne says. “A group in Costa Rica has taken Wallace hostage.”
“And Lennix?” I force the words out. There’s a good chance she wasn’t with him at the time. She may be safe.
God, please let her be safe.
But something in my gut twists like it already knows the answer.
Vivienne’s distress is palpable even over the phone, even before she answers. “They have her, too.”
Rage, frustration, fear—a toxic cocktail of emotions stirs inside me. I didn’t know you could actually see red, but it’s like someone poured a bucket of blood over my eyes. Bloodlust, murder, vengeance—those things are smeared red all over me.
“Who the fuck has her?”
Kimba’s eyes snap to mine, widening.
“He wears a mask, so we don’t know,” Vivienne says. “The guy on the video is wearing a mask.”
“There’s a video? I need it.” I stride to my open office door. My assistant is at her desk, poring over reports we were discussing before Kimba arrived.
“Jin Lei, get the CEO of—” I swivel my head back to Kimba. “What was the name of the company again? CamTech?”
“Uh, yeah,” Kimba says, blinking rapidly, still holding the phone.
“Get the CEO of CamTech on the phone right now,” I tell Jin Lei. “And Grim. Get me Grim. Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, get his ass on a plane. He can call me from the air for an update, but tell him not to wait.”
“Got it.” Jin Lei nods and picks up her phone.
I cross back to Kimba and Vivienne, still on speaker.
“What else can you tell me?” I ask. “You said they contacted your parents, Viv. Do you know if they’ve contacted Mr. Hunter?”
“Um, yeah. I think so,” Vivienne replies. “He was talking to CamTech.”
“Shit.” I shake my head. “I need to get to him. I don’t want him dealing with those pharma parasites. They won’t level with him. My guess is that this is a K&R situation.”
“K&R?” Kimba asks faintly. “Like kidnap and ransom insurance?”
“They didn’t mention insurance,” Vivienne says uncertainly.
“They wouldn’t,” I tell them. “As soon as you advertise that you have K&R, it’s nullified. In most cases, employees don’t even know the company has a K&R policy on them. Otherwise, some might set up a hostage situation to collect the payout for themselves. High-value targets like CEOs have to have it. The company pays the ransom, and then the policy reimburses the payout. You can’t talk about it, but kidnappers know how it works.”
“Mr. Hunter’s gotta be freaking out.” Kimba gnaws on her bottom lip.
“Call him,” I say. “We need to know everything CamTech said and what they’ve told the kidnappers. And I need that video, Vivienne.”
“Uh, I don’t have it,” she says. “They told my parents not to share it with anyone, and they wanted to follow every instruction to a T. So I literally watched it through FaceTime with them.”