Page 44 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“It’s classified, Sir.”

“I’m your superior, Jackson,” he reminds me.

“I know, Sir,” I sigh. “But I can’t reveal where I was.”

“You know…” he begins, stroking his chin contemplatively. “... The agents told me you disappeared into thin air.” He cocks his head to one side. “They called it a disappearing act.”

“I–” I pause, biting my tongue with the truth dangling dangerously close to the edge.

“Was it magic? Are you a witch?” he asks with a deepening frown.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was?” I put forth lightheartedly.

Director Sheffield stares at me for a long moment before shaking his thoughts aside. “No. That’s ridiculous.” He lifts a pointed finger at me. “You’d better step up your game and catch this character. Otherwise, I’m sending you to be evaluated.”

When Director Sheffield scoffs with jest, I can’t help but giggle under my breath. Of course, humans in the mortal world don’t believe in the supernatural. Not where I’m from, at least. They’d never believe me if I told them I was on an island full of dragon-shifter creatures.

Heck! Even I can hardly believe it now that I’m back in my own world. Thinking that I was on a remote island with such extraordinarily powerful creatures just a day ago is insane.

Or, maybe my insanity comes from wanting to forget that I was ever there. To forget that Stryder ever existed. I hope throwing myself back into work will allow me to forget him for good. God knows I need the distraction. I also need to save my career if I’m meant to live out the rest of my life in this vapid world.

***

“I don’t want any wires,” I tell Agent Hawks as we prepare to leave the office. I’m meant to set up camp in another safehouse near Las Vegas, so Luca Mancini will believe that he couldn’t find me because I never left Vegas at all that night. Right under his nose, he’d somehow missed me.

We’ve had to plan this out in a way that would sound plausible to his ears.

“Why not?” Hawks asks with a frown.

“It’s just a precaution. If–”

“If he tries to hurt you, there’s no way we’ll know about it,” Hawks warns.

“Don’t worry,” I assure him with a pat on his shoulder. “I have your number saved in my memory. I’ll find a way to make contact as soon as we’re on the villa.”

“You better be sure about this,” Hawks shakes his head.

“Didn’t you hear?” I chuckle. “Sheffield thinks I’m a witch. I have innate senses, okay?”

Agent Hawks rolls his eyes. “Whatever, Rookie. Let’s go.”

The ride in the department chopper is a short one to the Las Vegas safehouse on the city's outskirts. Once we’re there, Hawks and the other agents who’d been staged for my kidnapping prepare the house to make it appear as if I’d been held captive there for the past two weeks.

I take my position in the basement when Hawks joins me.

‘You’re sure about this, Olivia?”

When he uses my first name to address me, I know it’s because he genuinely cares. This isn’t just about making headway in Luca’s arrest but also my safety.

“Of course,” I assure him, tossing him a smile as my hands get tied behind my back on the chair. “This was the plan, all along. We’ve just dragged it out a little more now.”

Hawks nods. “Thanks to your disappearing act,” he chuckles. “Mancini has already wired the funds into the offshore account. He has the location, so he’ll be here soon. You make sure you get your hands on a device as soon as you get to the villa, okay?”

I nod as a gag is placed over my mouth. Everything is set up to seem like I’d been here for two weeks, my eyes even puffy as if I’d been restless for as long as I’ve been here.

The truth is, the past two nights have been torture to my state of mind. Two restless nights was all it took to have me looking beaten up enough to be convincing. My time on Aurora Island made me radiant enough to feel like a Goddess, until I was back in my apartment in Los Angeles, bawling my eyes out because of a man.

Not any ordinary man, but a dragon shifter who I mistakenly thought was different from the others. The entire male species has lost my trust, thanks to Stryder Vulkan. Now more than ever, I’m determined to catch every male criminal on Earth and put him behind bars.

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