Page 81 of Dangerous Obsession

Cliff fired his pistol close to her head as sparks exploded from the barrel of Brian’s gun. A high-pitched ringing started in her ears, then a split second later, all of her senses flooded back in a raging torrent of sights, sounds, and smells.

She tried to see Brian, but her hair hung over her eyes. She gave her head a good shake and she saw him sprawled on his back, his gun on the ground near his hand. A shiny, deep red patch slowly began to spread across the front of his pristine white shirt.

“NO!” she screamed and tried to pull free to no avail. Her laptop bag slid from her shoulder and landed on the ground. “Let me go! Help!”

Cliff kicked aside Nicky’s carrier and sent it scraping across the parking lot. His grip grew tighter, reminding her of his strength.

“You bastard!” Marigold screamed and struggled against his hold. “Help! Someone, please, help me!”

“Son of a bitch.” He jammed the nose of his gun into her lower back. “I don’t want to shoot you, Goldie, but I fuckin’ will if you don’t shut the fuck up.”

Cliff jerked and pulled her past Viking’s truck, across the parking lot, and stopped when he got to a car parked by the curb. He gripped her shoulders, slammed her against the car, and held the gun to her neck.

The gun was still hot from being fired, and she bit the inside of her cheek to hide the pain that shot across her shoulders. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her again.

“Unless you want me to shove you in the trunk like I did your little friend, I suggest you cooperate.” He leaned in close. His face was red, and spittle dotted his chin.

She scrunched up her nose and turned her head to avoid the smell of his foul breath.

Sweat poured off his face, and there was an out-of-control, frenzied look in his eyes that she’d seen before. She knew violence would soon follow. He meant it—he would shoot her and leave her to die like poor Brian.

Her mind raced through all of her options. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t kill her—at least, not yet, anyway. And going with him meant there was a good chance she’d see Shayna. Plus, she still had her phone in her back pocket.

After what happened to Dulce, Cole had convinced Marigold to allow OSI to install a special tracking chip in her phone. Fortunately for her, Cliff didn’t know that. So if the battery died, or if he took her phone and turned it off or even smashed it, Sammy would be able to locate her.

“Okay, Cliff, I’ll go with you.” She stopped resisting him. “But Shayna better be okay.”

“I love hearing you say my name again.” He took a long sniff of her hair, and she fought the urge to vomit. He walked her around to the passenger side and yanked the door open. He leaned in and snatched up … a bouquet of sunflowers? “Here, I got these for you. I know how much you love them.” He shoved them against her chest, and she instinctively reached up and grabbed them. “Don’t I get a thank you?”

“Um, thanks?” Yeah, he was crazy as a damn loon.

He yanked the flowers from her hand, set them on the roof, and grabbed some zip ties off the dash. He yanked her hands toward him and secured her wrists. She winced and did her best to hide the fact they were pinching her skin.

“Get in.” He gathered the flowers from the roof, sprinkling yellow petals all over the ground, and slammed the door behind her.

Cliff hurried around to the driver’s side, climbed in, and pulled away from the curb.

Marigold got a quick look at Brian—he hadn’t moved. Nicky’s tiny head poked out of the carrier. Suddenly, the man who owned the pet store appeared around the corner and spotted Brian. He looked around, grabbed his phone and put it to his ear as he knelt next to him.

Please be okay.She would feel terrible if … No, she couldn’t let herself think that way right now. She needed to focus on the crazy person next to her.

“Where are you taking me?” She wedged her back against the passenger door and put as much space between them as possible.

“You’ll find out soon enough. How ’bout some tunes.” He clicked on the radio and scrolled to a country station. “I assume you still love country music.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“I’mnotseeinganyactivity.” Calliope’s voice was level, calm. “But most of the structure is covered in ivy.”

“Cole.” Sammy’s voice cut through all of their earpieces.

“Go ahead, Sammy,” he instructed.

“Marigold’s security guard was shot, and Barnum has her.” Keys clicked furiously in the background. “I’m tracking her phone, and it looks like they’re headed your way.”

Various curses filtered through Viking’s earpiece.

“How far out are they?” He turned to face his team leader.

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