Page 72 of Love JD

“Boss?” Dom asked in my ear.

I was getting a headache trying to wrap my head around all the chaos. “Yeah?” I asked, distracted by Kael kidnapping a woman in my house, Isla’s concern for her friend, and my pounding panic over my entire career going up in flames.

“I’ve got an eight-thirty if you can make that.”

I glanced at the clock, which read three-thirty. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“Oh, man,” Isla gusted out, putting a hand to her forehead and looking conflicted.

“Don’t worry, Shortbread,” Mattie grinned over her shoulder as Kael opened the front door. “I always give this joker the slip.”

“Oh, man,” Isla repeated, starting to wring her hands.

“I gotta go,” I said to Dom. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, boss.”

I hung up and hurried to the front door where Kael was leading the fuming blond behind him. “Ghost,” I growled.

Kael paused, irritation pulling his features taut. He’d removed all his jewelry, I noticed, and that was probably because of the captive tethered to his wrist. “Are you getting all morally uppity with me, Mr. Fraudulent Merger? I can assure you, I’m well within my rights to bring Ms. Thorne back to her parents.”

I caught Mattie’s gaze. “Do you want me to call the authorities?”

“No,” she rushed to say. “God, no. I can handle him.” She gave me a bright smile. “Tell Isla thanks.”

Thanks for what? I wondered. “Okay.”

Kael gave Mattie a look like he was wondering the same thing about how Isla might have helped her, but then he cut the zip tie tethering her to his hand, put her in the back seat of a black SUV, and without another glance my way, drove away.

I returned to Isla, scratching my hairline. “I don’t think he’s going to hurt her,” I assured her gently.

“Oh, I know,” she confessed, her eyebrows tilted up. “That’s not why I’m nervous.”

I ambled over her to her, reaching for her and drawing her into my arms with a wary frown. “Why are you nervous?”

“I slipped her a pen.” She swallowed convulsively. “I grabbed it off the table as soon as I realized she was being held hostage. I don’t think Kael saw me give it to her. He was distracted by your podcast.”

I pulled Isla tight against my body, reveling in how perfectly she fit in my arms. “That’s shockingly devious of you, baby goat. Although you don’t know if that will help her escape.”

“I have a feeling it will,” she cringed.

Chuckling, I bent to skim my lips over the corner of her lips. “You’re a good friend.”

She angled her head back, catching my eyes. “A friend, huh?”

A slow smile tugged at my lips. “And a sexy as fuck girlfriend.”

She held my gaze, her expression shimmering between disbelief and joy. “Yeah?”

I puffed out a laugh and squeezed her, forcing her head under my chin. “You think I’d share you or let you slip away to some other geeky scientist’s arms? I don’t think so. You’re mine.”

She snuggled into my embrace, and with a muffled voice, she asked, “Will you tell me what’s going on with the merger?”

I sighed deeply. “I’d rather not. It’s too embarrassing.”

She pinched my side. “Come on.”

Reluctantly, I let her go and led her down the hall toward my room so I could pack. “You know some of it. Remember how I mentioned that company I’m working for has been poisoning the water supply with runoff?”

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