Page 148 of Saved By My Buyers

“Thanks,” I say with a tight smile, taking off to find Bee. It’s a long walk down the hallway, and I start to feel this uncomfortable itch between my shoulder blades. Shoving my hand in my pocket as if I’m completely relaxed and simply taking a stroll, I wrap my hand around my pocket knife.

It’s a much larger model than the one the girls have, and can do more damage. I’m sure there’s a size joke in there somewhere, but I’m too stressed and scared to enjoy it. Turning the corner after what feels like a million years, even the sounds of Dolly, Ivan, and Pilar sound muted.

There’s a blue clutch on the ground as I walk, and I lean down to pick it up. Opening it quickly, I huff out a breath as I find Bee’s knife. Okay, I’m definitely not imagining things. Turning in a small circle, I pull out my phone and call Ciara. When the call goes to voicemail, I call Thomas next, only to find the same issue.

Deciding to call in the big guns and close down the entire house, I put in a call to my head of security working this event, Alec.

“Yeah, boss,” he answers, making me blow out a breath.

“Something is wrong,” I say. “Bowen is missing, and I just found her bag on the ground. Ciara and Thomas are nowhere to be found as well. Shut down the house. No one in or out. Find her.”

“Fuck, I’m on it,” Alec says, hanging up.

Usually, I would call Greg in for help, but I don’t know what he has going on since he’s undercover. The last thing I want is to blow his cover.

Knowing Alec is working on closing the house down to look for Bee makes me feel a little better as I begin searching the rooms. Every single one of them is empty, until I get to what reminds me of a storage closet.

I can hear a muffled sound inside, which makes my blood pressure spike.

Pulling it open, I find Ciara gagged, bound, with a broken nose, and half naked. Her under eyes are already beginning to bruise from whatever impact her face had. Cursing, I pull out the gag, scowling as I realize it’s a ball gag.

There’s drool sliding down her face, angry tears, and she’s a mess.

“What happened?” I ask, shifting to watch my back as I wait for her answers. At this point, I don’t trust anyone, she may as well be a goddamned plant for all I know, though the broken nose would be a far stretch to believe that.

I’ve heard of more fucked up shit happening for the sake of a mission, and the last thing I need is to be taken by surprise right now. To her credit, Ciara doesn’t complain or beg to be set free. Instead she finds some composure to respond.

“About twenty minutes into the recital, Thomas told me that he had been told by the security team that a man resembling Gareth Davies was on the premises,” she rasps. She sounds as if she’s been screaming for help, attempting to get someone down here.

Unfortunately, it’s too far from everyone for anyone to hear.

“I should have asked more questions, but we all expected for Gareth to pull something tonight,” Ciara says. “I wanted to protect Dee. I got too close and fucked up.”

“It’s easy to get wrapped up in that girl,” I mutter. “I don’t blame you, and you know what you did wrong, I’m not going to torture you any further over it. Now, what happened after that?”

“We came down here, and he slammed my face into the wall repeatedly. There was no warning, he simply grabbed me and ran me into the wall. I screamed, trying to get away and fight back, but Thomas is a big fucker. All of my training couldn’t have prepared me for this. I thought I was going to die when I passed out.

“I woke up the way you see me now, with a splitting headache. I started to scream for help, desperate to tell someone that he’s turned on us. Thomas has been with us for years. He’s one of the company’s most trusted bodyguards and operatives. You don’t just flip like that unless it’s for a reason,” she rasps.

“Fuck,” I say, shaking my head. “I believe you, I just don’t know what he could have been offered to betray us. Gareth doesn’t have any money, and I pay Thomas incredibly well.”

Helping her, I untie her limbs, pulling her up to standing. “I’m going to bench you,” I sigh, pulling off my suit jacket, I empty my pockets and hand it to her.

“You probably have a concussion, and I have to go find Bowen. She’s missing, which is the reason I came down here at all. She went to the restroom, but she was supposed to find you or Thomas first. Alec is shutting down the house so we have a better chance of finding her, go find him.”

Shivering, she fashions the suit jacket so it’ll cover her body and still allow her to be able to move freely. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s better than before. Pocketing my knife and phone, I jerk my head for her to get moving.

“I hate my life,” she complains, beginning to walk barefoot. “Find her and make the fuckers pay. I’d give you my gun and knives, but that’s why he stripped me. It’s what I’d have done if I was him and planned to leave me stranded.”

Great, he has extra weapons. The fucker is a giant as it is.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I murmur as I watch her go. At a loss, I shove my fingers through my hair, pulling it hard to shut up the overwhelming panic and shame I feel. I should have taken her to the restroom, I should have made sure Ciara was around, I will be killing that fucker Thomas.

Stalking down the hall, I decide I need to find one of my security people for a gun. My phone buzzes and I hold back an annoyed sound, picking it up.

“Hello,” I say. It’s a number I don’t know, though that’s not always a bad thing.

“Things just went to shit,” Greg says, sounding out of breath. “Adamson is definitely working with Gareth, and the Boxley’s are out for blood.”

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