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  Muscleman, who had obviously taken an instant dislike to me, kicked me hard. I flew over the side and onto the deck. He hopped into the boat next to me. The entire vessel tilted to the side with his weight.

  I got a good look at the gunman too. He was smaller than the other two and looked a bit more brainy. “Don’t give us any ideas, Stone,” he said. “Otherwise, I might just tie you to a tow line and drag you across the fucking water.”

  “So, you know my name is Stone, and I guess there’s a purpose to this whole fucking thing. But something tells me this isn’t one of those crazy fun birthday kidnappings where you drag me blindfolded into a strip joint and have some nice girl give me a lap dance.”

  “Tie him up good and cover his fucking mouth. I can’t listen to his bullshit anymore,” the gunman sneered.

  “So, that’s a no on the strip club?” I asked.

  The one guy had the muscles, but it turned out the dude with the skull tattoo had the right hook. His fist slammed my chin, and my teeth clamped down hard on my tongue. Blood oozed toward my throat. I spit a nice red loogie onto the polished wood deck.

  Muscleman grabbed my hands and tied them with rope. His friend tied up my feet. Then, with a great amount of pleasure, muscleman stuffed a dirty rag into my bloody mouth.

  I sat back against the bench and began trying to work loose my hands. But there was a solid knot in the rope. We took off going south. I watched the three men. They said nothing to each other as the boat coasted out to sea, slowly at first, and then gaining speed once we were past the buoys. The rag they’d stuff in my mouth was pungent with some kind of cleaner, but it helped to absorb the blood dripping off my tongue. There was no doubt in my mind that Ward had sent these guys. Word had gotten around that Jade was with me. Most people in the area knew me, so I was easy to find.

  Whatever the hell it was on the cloth, varnish or paint thinner or some other pungent shit, it was giving me an unwanted buzz. I needed to keep my head clear. I wasn’t completely sure what they had planned for me, but I didn’t want to be high on fumes when it went down. My jaw was numb from the hit as I moved it to work the cloth forward. I spit the gag out and a fine shower of spit and blood came with it. Muscleman and skull stared down at the blood soaked cloth. Neither, it seemed, were inclined to touch it. I decided to just keep my mouth shut and keep an eye out on where we were headed.

  The boat slammed over the choppy water, and I bounced on the bench. Being tied up made it hard to keep balanced, and twice, my head slammed the railing behind me. Slade had mentioned a black car driving by the house. My biggest worry was that someone had followed Amy to the cottage. Jade was all alone out there. Slade knew something was up, and he knew I was at the boat when I was talking to him. But it was impossible to follow a trail on the water, especially when you didn’t know what boat to follow. This bookie was going to some extraordinary lengths to get Jade back, and I couldn’t blame the guy. She wasn’t a girl you could easily watch walk away. Almost felt sorry for the fucker. Of course, I also wanted to pound him into pulp.

  After a rough trip over the water at top speed, we pulled up to a private dock. A big stone and wood cabin loomed above on a small bluff behind the beach. It looked like a rich man’s beach house, Ward’s no doubt. We pulled up to the dock and gunman and skull tied off the boat.

  I decided to keep my mouth shut and keep an eye out for a chance to get away. My first chance came when muscleman untied my feet. My hands were still secured behind my back. He gave me a boost up to the dock. The second my feet hit solid wood planks, I spun around and kicked him hard in the face. He flew back onto the deck of the boat, landing solidly on the engine compartment. I took off at a run, but skull tackled me hard. With no hands to stop me, my face slammed against the dock. My head buzzed as if my brain was vibrating from the impact.

  Muscleman had recovered from the kick, but his face was red from my boot mark and from rage. He and skull yanked me to my feet and walked me toward the house. Then we veered left, and they took me up a long path to a waiting van. The door slid open and a new face, a man with red hair and a red beard, peered out. He had a gun too. He pointed it directly at my face. Ward had a big fucking crew.

  Muscleman, who was still pissed as hell about the kick, shoved me so hard into the van my head whipped back. I fell face first into the cargo hold. The door slid shut. Red kept a gun on me while the others climbed into the front of the van. We were off. There were no windows, and I had no fucking clue where I was headed, but something told me the next face I saw would be the man himself.

  I propped myself up. I moved slowly because red seemed extra nervous and possibly a little trigger happy. He never lowered the gun but kept it trained on me like I was a rattler poised to strike at any second.

  I leaned my head back against the metal wall of the van and closed my eyes. The face slam on the dock had given me a headache. Every movement of my jaw sent shooting pain through my face. Something told me this was only the beginning. I hadn’t personally ever dealt with Ward. Gambling was more Hunter’s thing. From what he’d told me, the man was ruthless when someone didn’t pay up in time. I guess you don’t get awesome beach houses and a loyal army of thugs unless you’re cutthroat. I would most likely end up dead once this was over, but I wasn’t going out without a fight. I was going to do everything I could to keep the asshole away from Jade. It would figure that the one time I let my guard down with a girl she’d have all kinds of shitty baggage behind her.

  Chapter 24

  Jade

  I paced back and forth from the mattress to the pile of Noddy’s things in the corner. I’d sent a text back asking how long Colt would be, and there had been no response. Slade had called me right after to see if I’d seen Colt. He said that they’d been talking. Then some other voices came through the phone, and Colt had stopped responding. Hunter had confirmed that he definitely hadn’t sent any text to Colt about meeting him at the boat.

  I waited anxiously to hear from Slade and Hunter. They were driving to the dock to check out the boat and ask around to see if anyone had seen Colt.

  A knock at the door made me stiffen but then Amy called to me. “It’s me, Jade. Let me in.”

  I ran to the door. “Any word?”

  Amy looked just as worried as I felt. She shook her head and hugged me. “But Slade and Hunter will find him. Besides, Colt is a badass. He can definitely take care of himself. Have you seen anyone out here yet? Slade said some guys kept driving by the house earlier. Do you think it’s that guy who’s looking for you? I mean the boys are always dealing with some sketchy shit, but none of it has ever come to their doorstep.”

  I swallowed to alleviate the dryness in my throat. “This was the last thing I wanted to happen. I should have just left town. Now I’ve put Colt and all of you in danger.” My voice shook with despair.

  “Don’t fall apart now. We need you to keep your wits about you. You might have to lead the boys to this guy’s house.” She put her arm around my shoulder and led me to the kitchen. We sat down.

  “That’s where we should be heading right now,” I said.

  “The guys are just talking to the fishermen and other boat owners. I guess there was a pleasure boat or something parked near the Durango this morning, and no one knew who it belonged to. We’ll wait for their call.”

  Chapter 25

  Colt

  The steady vibration of the van and the drowsy feeling that was swarming my aching head, nearly made me fall asleep. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know that I’d gotten a concussion when I face planted on the dock. I’d had more than my share of them. In fact, sometimes I wondered how much of my brain was pudding because of it. I was half asleep and nearly pitched sideways when the van came to a stop.

  The driver and passenger doors opened and shut, and the cargo door slid open. The light poured in causing a searing pain in my head. I was yanked from the van and into an empty parking lot that was more weeds than asphalt. I looked around but couldn’
t pinpoint where we were. We were definitely more inland. The air was warmer, and there was no ocean breeze. The building in the lot seemed to be in the middle of an abandoned industrial park, possibly some developer’s big plan gone sour.

  Skull took me by the arm. My new buddies and I headed toward the abandoned building. The interior was just as I’d expected, dark cement floor, bare cinderblock walls and some hanging wire dangling from a mosaic of steel girders crisscrossing the room.

  Gunman was on the phone the second they pulled the heavy drop down door shut behind us. Since the building was like a big empty cave, it was easy to hear his conversation. Not that he was trying to hide it. I was pretty sure about who was on the other end.

  “Yeah, we’ve got him. All right. See you in a few.”

  Gunman motioned up to the metal railing. “Secure him,” he ordered. I was outnumbered and armed with nothing but my strength and wits, both of which had been dulled by the swishing in my head. My vision was definitely blurry. I’d taken a harder knock than I realized. My arms were yanked up as skull threw the end of the rope over one of the steel girders. The loose end was tied to the knot around my wrists. It only took a few seconds before my hands began to tingle with numbness. Even with my legs free, I had no real way to defend myself.

  Muscleman sneered up at me. “You’re not such a wiseass now that you’re strung up like a pig about to be gutted.”

  I stared down at him. “Guess now you figure it’s a fair fight, eh, you thick-necked clown. It’s four against one, not including the hardware you dicks have shoved under your shirts. Yet you still felt the need to string me up. Cowards.”

  He shrugged and turned away. Then he spun back around. He pummeled me like a fucking punching bag. Every blow hurt like hell and forced the wind from me. Through the flurry of punches, I heard the door to the building open. Muscleman stopped.

  Ward stepped into view. He sauntered in like the king of the world. I half expected his crew to bow to him.

  He stopped in front of me but out of kicking range. I badly wanted to throw a foot at his smirking face. “So, you’re Colt Stone. Guess you and I have something very important in common.”

  “I don’t think so,” I grunted, still trying to pull back in the air that muscleman had pounded out of me. Every breath hurt enough to take my mind off the sizzling pain in my head.

  “Really? And why is that?” Ward asked.

  I was already pissed as hell but looking at this fucker and thinking about the marks he’d left on Jade was making my blood boil. “Because you have to drag her to your bed kicking and screaming. She climbs into mine with a smile.”

  He stared up at me without blinking, but a tiny twitch in his jaw assured me I’d gotten to him. It was my only line of defense. It was probably going to bring me a lot more pain, but it was still satisfying.

  Ward looked at the gunman. “Do you have the phone?”

  The man pulled my phone out of his pocket. Ward swiped his thumb over the screen and smiled. “Ah, clever, you didn’t want to put her name on it. The One. How fucking cute is that? But she will be coming back to me soon, so I hope you said your farewells.”

  “There’s no fucking way she’s going back to you. You can do whatever the fuck you’d like to me, I’m not telling you where she is. You should just move on and leave her alone, you goddamn psycho.”

  “Can’t do that. Besides, I’m not counting on you to tell me a thing. My informant, the fool who thinks he’s in line for ten grand, told me you were like your name, a fucking stone.” He read Jade’s last text and held up the phone. “She wants to know how long you’ll be. What should I tell her? Wait.” He moved his fingers over the phone and pressed send. “I told her you were going to be awhile because we were beating the shit out of you.” He held the phone on his palm and tossed it up and down once.

  Ward looked around at his men. “Don’t know what the hell you’re waiting for. Mess him up good, and keep out of the way so I can get some good shots.” He grinned at me. “See, I know Jade a lot better than you. That’s how I know she’ll be back with me soon. I don’t have to find her. She’ll come to me.”

  Muscle was the first to take a shot. His fist plowed into my face, and once again, my jaw clamped painfully shut. My lip split and blood trickled from the cut. Skull man came up next. He worried me more. He had just enough muscle to make his shots more effective than his overstuffed friend.

  Ward lifted the phone to get a picture of skull pounding me in the gut. I felt some ribs give way as I sucked the air to try and get a breath. He followed with a fist to my face. Blackness followed the explosion of pain.

  Chapter 26

  Jade

  Amy and I sat feeling utterly helpless and distraught. I knew Ray was ruthless, but I wasn’t sure if he was capable of cold blooded murder. That last night on the dock, when he’d grabbed my throat, it seemed that he would have killed me if I hadn’t kicked him. But that had been provoked by passion and rage. This was different. He didn’t even know Colt.

  Amy’s phone buzzed. She read the text. “Slade and Hunter have a lead on the boat. Someone recognized it as a boat that is always moored off a private dock on Lander’s Beach.”

  “That’s Ray’s beach house. It must have been his ski boat. I know the address of the beach house if that will help.”

  Amy texted them back and sent them the address. She got up from the table. “I’ve got to take a pee. Remember, don’t open for anyone. Even if Charlie friggin’ Hunnam shows up on his Harley with his hot little white sneakers, don’t open the damn door.”

  I smiled. “That’s asking a lot, but I’ll ignore him.” She was just about out of the kitchen. “Amy, thanks for staying here with me.”

  “Of course.” She headed toward the bathroom.

  I still wasn’t used to the sound of my phone, and it startled me at first. I picked it up. My heart nearly leapt into my throat. It was a text from Colt. “Lover boy is going to be awhile because my guys are beating the shit out of him.” My hands shook as I stared in disbelief at the screen. It beeped again. It took me a few seconds to work up the courage to look at the sent picture. A sob bubbled from my mouth, and I stifled the next one with my hand. A man with massive arms was throwing his fist into Colt’s face. Colt’s shirt and face were covered in blood, and his hands were tied up above his head.

  My fingers shook so badly, it was nearly impossible to touch the keypad. I dialed Colt’s phone. It only took one ring. The sound of Ray’s voice made a bitter taste rise in my throat. “Hello, sweetheart, I figured you’d be calling soon. Your sparkling new lover ain’t looking so hot anymore. Boys, throw that water at him. I want him conscious.”

  “You monster, I’ll see that you go to jail for life,” I cried. Amy came into the kitchen with a questioning look on her face. I nodded. Tears clouded my vision, and I took a long steadying breath. I heard water splashing and a groan of pain that I knew had come from Colt. I bit my lip to keep from breaking into sobs. “What do you want? I’ll do anything.”

  “See, now that’s cooperation. All I want is you to come back to me, and I’ll let Stone go. I’ll text you the location. I’ve got men all around the lot, so if you show up with anyone else or if there’s anyone following you, then he dies. Simple as that.”

  “Send me the address. I’m coming right now.” I took a deep breath. “And don’t touch him anymore, you bastard!”

  Amy sat down. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “What’s happening? Is Colt all right?”

  I handed her the phone. She stared at the picture and despair turned to anger. “I’m sending this to Hunter. He’s going to tear that man to pieces.”

  I took the phone from her. “No, you can’t. I have to show up alone or he’ll kill Colt.” I pressed my hand against my stomach to keep from throwing up. Just thinking about the picture and the idea that Colt might die because of me made me sick with anguish. “I need to borrow your car, Amy.”

  “Yes, sure, but I’m coming with yo
u.”

  “You can’t. Slade and Hunter can’t show up either, or they’ll kill him. I have no doubt Ray will make good on his threat. I brought this on. I’m just going to head back to Ray. I’ll figure a way to get free of him eventually, but for now, all I care about is freeing Colt.”

  “I don’t know, Jade. Maybe I could hide in the backseat.”

  “Then you’d be at risk too. Please, Amy, just lend me the car.”

  She pulled out her keys and handed them to me. “Colt is going to kill me for letting you go alone.”

  “I’ll be fine. But I need to get there fast. Colt looks really bad.” Another cry shook me. Amy gave me a quick hug. “Be careful.”

  I raced outside. Amy watched from the porch as I started her car and took off down the unpaved road. Ray had texted the address right after I hung up with him. I knew the building. He’d purchased it six months earlier as an investment, but it had been a real estate deal gone bad. And he’d been plenty pissed about it too. Now, it seemed, he’d found a sinister use for the empty warehouse.

  A twenty minute drive felt like an hour. My hands were trembling, and I still felt close to puking. I had to pull myself together. I needed to be the negotiator and actress. I had to convince Ray that I was willing to be back with him as long as I saw Colt released.

  The parking lot had decayed even more. Tall weeds stuck out between the large fissures in the broken mosaic of asphalt. I turned into the deserted lot and drove to the back toward the empty warehouse. Ray’s Mercedes and a white van were parked outside the building. Two of his men, guys I didn’t recognize, were standing like sentries outside. They both kept a hand on the guns in their shoulder holsters as I stepped out of the car.

  I held up my hands. “I’m alone.”

  One of them opened the door for me, and I stepped inside. A small cry chirped from my lips as I caught sight of Colt standing in the center of the vast, empty room. His face was a mixture of pale white, black bruises and red blood. He had a hard time focusing as he lifted his head. I couldn’t stop myself.