Page 2 of Balthazar's Fire

Has he hurt you?

It was Balthazar’s worst nightmare, the idea sending fire to his blood. If Monroe had harmed her, Balthazar would tear him into pieces. At this point, he might destroy Monroe anyway. Just for kicks.

Not really. She’d sounded terrified. He has me tied up, but that’s it.

Balthazar straightened in the seat at the memory. Whatever happened, Monroe had created that fear in her. He’d come to the Vaughns’ mountain lodge uninvited and had transformed into a dangerous beast in order to attack Balthazar and snatch Cherie. Balthazar hated to think what he might have done since.

“Okay.” Sebastian sounded unsure but was clearly trying to stay upbeat. “Monroe’s offices it is.”

“How soon can you be there?” Balthazar checked his speedometer as he cruised around the city’s perimeter. “I’m about ten minutes away, assuming I can get through the traffic.”

“It’s mostly clear at this time of the day,” Sebastian assured him. “I’m even closer than you.”

Closer?

Balthazar’s brows knitted as fleetingly, he wondered where his brother had spent the night, but the query didn’t materialize. Wherever his brothers were was irrelevant. They would convene to battle Monroe, because deep down they all understood the same important tenet. The Vaughns were stronger together.

“Cole?” Balthazar probed. “How far away are you?”

He was growing more anxious to reach Cherie by the second. Balthazar didn’t know what Oliver Monroe had intended when he abducted the brunette, but clearly it was nothing good. Monroe had a proven track record of being an asshole, and only the day before had dressed Cherie down in public before summarily dismissing her from her role as his assistant. That was how Balthazar had met Cherie in the first place; her presence in Monroe’s office had been the only silver lining of his curt and futile meeting with Monroe.

“I’m in the city already,” Cole advised. “Already en route to Monroe’s tower. E.T.A in less than five minutes.”

“Good.” Balthazar was reassured by his brother’s urgent response, but, as usual, there was one person missing. “What about Draco?”

Of course, it had to be Draco. Whenever there was trouble in the family, Draco was bound to be at the heart of it.

“What about me?”

Balthazar’s heart skipped a beat at Draco’s sardonic response, his focus flying to the car’s dashboard to confirm that his other brother was indeed already online. “Draco?”

When had Draco joined the call?

The last thing Balthazar needed was Draco’s mocking comments when he was already so highly strung about Cherie’s plight.

“I’m here.” Draco’s voice radiated conceit, the sound twisting the knot of nerves in Balthazar’s stomach. “Where are we meeting?”

Does that mean Draco hadn’t overheard the entire conversation? Balthazar inhaled at the possible reprieve. It shouldn’t matter what his younger brothers thought, but Balthazar was no fool. It did matter. Their parents’ untimely deaths meant that he had taken on a quasi-paternal role, especially to Draco and Cole—the youngest of the four brothers. He cared what they all thought.

“At Monroe’s office tower,” Balthazar told him, fighting to steady his breathing. The trauma of recent events had shaken Balthazar’s normal suave demeanor. “As soon as you can.”

“I’ll be about ten minutes,” Draco confirmed. “Are we just going to march in there and demand your new woman back?”

Draco’s tone was still filled with sarcasm, but for the first time in hours, Balthazar’s lips curled in genuine amusement as he imagined the scene Draco described.

“No,” Balthazar clarified. “We can do better than that.”

“Care to share?” Cole probed.

“We’ll meet on the corner of Beauford and Grange,” Balthazar instructed, suddenly feeling much more like himself. “We’ll go over the details there.”

Chapter One

Cherie Flynn

Footsteps echoed overhead, the noise reverberating around the dark space Cherie was confined to and ratcheting up the tension in her body. Yanking against the ropes that secured her to the chair, her eyes darted around the shadowy basement for the four-hundredth time.

Where am I?

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