Page 52 of The Forbidden

The men waste no time dragging me from the vehicle, the blue-eyed guy pressing the gun to my back so that I behave as requested. I’m so scared he’s going to pull the trigger accidentally that I barely pay attention to where we’re going. It’s a cavernous building that appears to have once been a manufacturing facility but it’s completely empty now. Just worn brick walls and dusty concrete flooring. An interior light glows weakly at the far end in what appears to be a room with a large window that overlooks the plant floor. I imagine that’s where the facility manager probably worked, the glass cut out in the wall so he could make sure things were running smoothly.

I’m guided in that direction, neither man saying a word. When we reach the office, I’m ushered inside and the blue-eyed monster the other man called Bellamy steps in with me. The brown-eyed man says, “I’m going to park the car.”

His partner doesn’t reply, merely pushes me over to an old metal desk with a chair. With a hand on my shoulder, he shoves me down into it.

“I’ll be right back,” the brown-eyed man says, and I can hear a slight tinge of worry in his voice. “Do not touch her while I’m gone.”

Bellamy says nothing and instead sits down on the corner of the desk. His gaze falls on me with the weight of Thor’s hammer and I’m forced to look away. I can’t tell who has seniority in this partnership but he’s not taken to task for his failure to respond, and then the brown-eyed man is gone.

I watch as he melts into the darkness of the warehouse, the light on in the office and lack of illumination beyond making it a pitch-black blanket of unknown. It makes being stuck inside here with this monster that much more terrifying because I don’t know which is the bigger danger. Somehow, I think I’d prefer to be in the dark, not knowing what’s lurking behind me, than sitting with this asshole who likes to hurt people.

CHAPTER 21

Gabe

Glancing at my watch, I see that Kat’s now twenty minutes late, but I don’t let it upset me. She’s never been extremely punctual in casual situations. I give my attention to the layout on the coffee table. A critical once-over and I deem it romantic enough. Fresh flowers, strawberries and a bottle of chilled wine. I thought Kat and I could hang out on the couch for a bit and talk, but not for too long. She has an early day tomorrow, as do I, and I’m going to need time in the bedroom before we go to sleep.

I’m helpless not to smile when I think of how far we’ve come in the last few days. It’s been a slog just being able to have a civil conversation with her, but the tide has turned and there is finally a bright spot in my future. After all the heartache from Alaine’s death, to losing Sylvie to the Blackburns, to my father’s perfidy, I’ve somehow come out of this with a gift.

I don’t intend to take it for granted or waste it either.

My phone rings and I pull it from my pocket. I don’t recognize the number so I send it to voicemail. It’s almost certainly related to work and I’m officially off the clock. Ordinarily, I’d answer, but with Kat due here any moment, I’m putting work behind her.

I barely have it slipped back in my pocket when it rings again.

Same number.

I’m irritated at the intrusion and the audacity of someone to call back, especially when they’re not even known to me as they’re not in my contacts. I again push the call off to voicemail but within moments, it’s ringing again from the same number.

A prickle of unease coats my skin in goose bumps that turns into dread. What if it’s a hospital calling that something has happened to one of my parents? Or God forbid, Kat.

That thought has me stabbing at the button to connect the call. “Gabe Mardraggon,” I answer brusquely, hoping beyond hope this is a work call.

“I want my 1921 Shadow Reserve, Mr. Mardraggon.”

It’s a male voice, deep and mature. I don’t recognize it and yet I know exactly who it is. “Then I’m afraid you’re out of luck, Mr. Rafferty. As I told your goons, it’s not mine to give and even if it were, I’m not going to help my father.”

“Yes,” he says with a resigned sigh. “We realize there’s no leverage in your father. But perhaps you would help another loved one?”

I frown at that cryptic statement and the incoming chime of a text has me pulling the phone away from my ear with morbid curiosity. It’s a text from the same number and with dread, I enlarge the tiny thumbnail of a photo the caller sent.

When it is full screen, my breath evaporates in my lungs, leaving me speechless and struck by insidious fear.

It’s Kat, sitting in a chair with a black cloth tied around her eyes. Behind her stands a man wearing a black ski mask and he has a gun pointed at her head. I can’t tell if he’s one of the original men who paid me a visit, but it doesn’t matter.

Kat’s in trouble.

My voice quaking with fury, I bring the phone back to my ear and snarl, “You fucking son of a bitch. I’m going to kill you for this.”

“No, you won’t,” Rafferty says brusquely. “In fact, I expect you’ll do exactly as I say. You’re going to get the case of bourbon and I’m going to text you an address to bring it to. You give me the bourbon, I give you the girl. It’s a win-win situation.”

“And if I choose to just call the police?” I ask with contempt. “I’ve done my research on you and you’re a fairly upstanding member of Louisville society. Surely you don’t want this becoming public.”

Rafferty laughs, clearly amused. “Do that, and you won’t see your precious Kat Blackburn again. And good luck proving I had anything to do with this, but in the end, it won’t matter. You won’t have the girl and I’m willing to roll the dice that you’re not going to risk a hair on her pretty head.”

He’s not wrong about that. The bourbon doesn’t mean shit to me. Twenty seconds ago, it was part of my family’s legacy, but right now it’s just brown liquid in dusty bottles. “I want to talk to Kat right now.”

“Sadly, I have to decline, Mr. Mardraggon.” He sounds so smug and I want to knock his teeth down his throat. “But you have my word she is safe and unharmed. Bring me the case of bourbon, don’t involve the police, and you’ll have your girl back in your arms before you know it.”

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