Page 64 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

Angel looked at me with a stern, rather terrifying expression that said if I pushed him too far, he’d be the one to take off my head and not Angus.

“Madam, the one thing we have going for us is that Angus has no idea of your connection to us. Our people will not be on his usual suspect list. Our intel has his men scrambling to find you.” He handed me the sheet of paper that detailed the exact location I was to give to my most trusted estate employee.

“I understand.” I inhaled and let the breath out quickly, putting on a brave face. Celine and I had learned the American phrase, “Fake it until you make it,” and that’s exactly what I planned to do.

Christophe took my hand, lifted it to his mouth and kissed my palm. “I believe in you, Alana.”

With his strength and faith, I could survive this hurdle as I had all the others in our thirty years together.

“Merci, mon amour.” I cupped his cheek, leaned forward and pressed my lips briefly to his.

He placed his hand to my knee and nodded in solidarity.

“I’m ready,” I announced with confidence. It was only a phone call. It would be over soon.

The phone started ringing, and I pressed it to my ear.

“La residenceToussaint.Aurélie parle,” Aurelie, the exact person I wanted to speak with answered as expected.

“Aurélie, it is me.” I answered.

“Alana! Thank the heavens above. Are you all right. And Christophe?”

“He is well. We both are.”

“Where are you? The authorities have been calling nonstop to see if we’ve heard from you and taking the staff in for questioning. I had to go last night, and it was awful. They told me they believed you could be dead.” She sniffed, her tone filled with emotion.

“I’m sorry, my friend. We had to escape to a safe place. Unfortunately, a criminal is after us, the same that kidnapped me and Emily. We’ve gone into hiding.”

“Hiding? Where?”

“You cannot tell a single soul,” I cautioned, setting the trap as instructed.

“I would never betray you or Christophe. You are my family,” Aurélie gasped. I could almost visualize her placing her hand over her heart.

“We feel the same,chérie. Please keep this information to yourself. Do not inform the authorities of our location at this time. Can you do that?”

“Oui, for you I will take this secret to my grave.”

“We are at Chateau Morena, an hour outside of Paris. If you hear anything from my friends and family in the States, please contact me at this number.” I rattled off the number Angel’s man had given me for another burner.

“Okay, I’ve written it down and will memorize it before I destroy it,” Aurélie claimed. She was such a loyal member of my staff and a dear friend. I hated using her to further Diego and Angel’s plan, but I didn’t have a choice. People were dying, and my family had been hurt in a way that might not ever be repairable. My thoughts went to Brenden in a coma. He had been such a good boy growing up, the apple in his father’s eye. Until Bianca Sokolov and her father’s revenge plot changed him. And then there was Giovanni and Julianne’s suffering…

I sat up straighter. “Please, stay at the estate and be safe. I will be in touch soon. Thank you for everything, Aurélie.”

We hung up, and I handed the phone to Angel. “What’s next?”

One side of his mouth lifted as though he was trying to smile, but it mimicked an evil looking snarl. I shivered and looked away.

“On to phase two.”

“What happens in phase two?” I reached for Christophe’s hand. He held mine with both of his. A solid support I knew I could always count on. Together, we could brave any storm.

“Tonight, you and Christophe have dinner in the hotel restaurant. We anticipate they will attempt to take you as you leave or when you are en route to your room.”

“And then what? You swoop in and kidnap them?” I asked, not fully understanding all that being bait to a hardened criminal would entail. “What if they decide to kill me while I’m eating dinner or walking to my room? It would be nothing for one of their expert snipers to take my life in seconds.”

“That is not how Angus works. If they’d wanted to kill you in your home, you would already be dead. He’s playing with you.” Angel’s voice lilted with mockery. “You are his prey. He thinks you are the mouse about to be lured into his trap, when in reality, you are the cheese, luringhim. He is the mouse in this scenario; he just doesn’t know it.”

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