Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“I’m saying my son, Harrison, will find her.” She put her perfectly polished claws on Harrison’s shoulders, and I could almost see him shudder.
No doubt Mrs. Astrid’s touch was as icy as death itself.
“Mother, I think—”
“Hush. Harrison is the Manhattan district attorney. He can find your daughter as discreetly as possible and bring her home. Then you can deal with her as you see fit.” Mrs. Astrid stood and smoothed down the cream dress she was wearing. Seriously, this woman needed to be dealt with.
Did she really not see how transparent her attempts at social climbing were? It was apparent she was only here to be seen, not to support her daughter.
Or was there more?
“Let’s all get back to the lovely breakfast. We can let everyone know that my son, Harrison, the district attorney, is on the case. He will locate Olivia so there is nothing to be concerned about. All will be well.” She walked out of the room like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“See that it is done, and that she isn’t harmed,” my father ordered before storming out of the room after Mrs. Astrid.
“Fuck, those two are going to make this an even bigger mess,” Amelia said under her breath. “I’m so sorry. I tried to get just Harrison, but Mother was right there, and she heard and started making a scene which got your father’s attention and…I didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” I gripped her hand with both of mine, before turning my attention back to Harrison. “What do you think the right move is here?”
“It looks bad,” Harrison said, shaking his head. “But as far as we know, no crime has been committed. Get a new phone. Now. In case she tries to reach out to you, or he does. Maybe this was all consensual and he saw an opportunity to get back at you. If that is the case, then she should be calling you back soon. If not, he will be calling with demands. In the meantime, I am going to reach out to a few contacts and see what I can find.” Without another word, Harrison left the room with his phone pressed to his ear.
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
I may not have proof of foul play, not yet anyway, but I knew Olivia, and I knew Marksen. He took her, kidnapped her, and did unspeakable things to my sister to hurt me.
He knew how much I loved my sisters, and how I felt it was my job to protect them.
There was no way for him to beat me in business, so he exploited my only weakness and took my flesh and blood.
“What can I do?” Amelia asked.
I looked down into her beautiful eyes and kissed her hard. When I let go, she was panting, and soon I would make her pant and moan my name a lot more. But in the meantime...
“I need you to do whatever you can to make sure no one at breakfast leaks this to the public. Buy me as much time as you can.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get my sister back.”
CHAPTER 17
OLIVIA
Coffee.
The first thing wafting into my awareness when I woke up was the aroma of coffee. It smelled incredible—rich, aromatic, and just heavenly.
When I opened my eyes, however, it was like an ice pick had been stabbed through my temples. My stomach rolled.
I tried to stand up. My hips and core were incredibly sore. My knees buckled. It was as if I had gone to bed after an intense workout without stretching first.
It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t in my bed, or the bed I was supposed to be in at the hotel. I looked around, and last night came back to me in broken flashes.
Marksen flirting and taking pictures at the wedding, then him carrying me out of the park.
Flashes of the abduction, then the fire, and then…
The shower.
His mouth.
His hands.
His…
Oh, God!
That was why I was so sore.
He took my virginity and worse, made me come for him over and over.
My cheeks flamed with humiliation.
I couldn’t deal with this now. Giving myself a mental shake, I snatched the top sheet and wrapped it around my middle, determined to find some clothes, swallow some coffee and aspirin, and get the hell out of here.
I was supposed to have been at the wedding breakfast a half hour ago. There was a big, beautiful buffet we’d planned to celebrate the union one more time before sending the bride and groom off to their honeymoon and wedded bliss.
The whole family would be there.
They would have noticed me gone by now and must be worried.
I wasn’t even sure where I was.
Somewhere an hour away by jet, so there was no way I was getting back in time, but I could at least give Charlotte a reasonable excuse to cover for me.