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She's not the only one, but I say, "We should be fine."

"I'll send a message to Ed."

"Stop!" one of the men shouts, pointing a gun directly at Bea. "No phones."

I slowly step in front of her and glare at her father. "What do you want?" To the man waving the gun, I say, “I recognize you. You were at the Green Oaks site.”

What the hell is going on here?

"Enough," Richard points to Bea, "You, daughter, are going to bring me Elisabeth’s phone. When you have it, I will trade your boyfriend for it. If you don't come, you probably know by now that I have no qualms about killing your loved ones."

"This is insane!" Bea snaps. "Essex stays with me and you can go to hell." Sliding to block me, Bea stands with her hands on her hips, facing the man she thought was her father.

"You have no say in this," Richard snaps, clicking his fingers seconds before I feel the butt of a gun pressed against my head.

Fuck! Things are getting out of hand fast.

36

BEATRICE

I feelthe silence in Essex and slowly turn to face him. An asshole is holding a gun to his head. My eyes slide to the man I love, and they swim with tears as fear rips through me. What the hell am I supposed to do to help him?

A hand grabs my hair, jerking my head back. "Get the phone. Call me when you have it and I will tell you where to bring it," Richard snarls.

I spit in his face and get a hard slap in the face. I'm scared and angry. I stomp on his foot, turn around and knee him in the balls before being grabbed from behind and lifted off my feet. "You killed my mom, you son of a bitch!" I continue to scream and claw at him until he smacks me across the face.

"Get the fuck off her," Essex shouts.

"Stop!" Richard pants. "You, get the fucking phone," he fumes, cradling his face where I managed to sink my nails. To Essex he says, "You're coming with us."

My mind spins, trying to come up with a plan to get us out of this mess. Nothing comes to mind.

"Bea, you know what to do. Go to Ed," Essex hisses as he's led past me.

I watch him go and feel helpless. What am I supposed to do? I need Ed and my...dad.

I run after them, just in time to see them pull away, their tires kicking up gravel.

With trembling fingers, I pull my phone from my back pocket and manage to call David. He answers sharply.

"Dad," I mumble, my voice shaking, "I need you."

I hear a rustling in the background. "Where are you?"

"North of Den Hollows. Along the coast. I'll send you a location pin. Richard and some thugs have taken Essex."

"I'm leaving town. I won't be long." Just before he ends the call, I hear sirens.

David stopsnear Essex's bike. I watch as a truck comes to a stop next to David's cruiser, kicking up dust. I don't see who else has arrived because I'm wrapped in David's arms. He holds me tight. "I lost ten years of my life when you said you needed me."

I pull away and kiss his cheek. "Promise me you won't be alone with those bastards. I know they're family and you want to trust them, but you can't. Richard has lost it. He's running."

"What the hell happened?" Ridge asks, standing next to Ed and two of his brothers, Atilio, and Boone.

I take a deep breath and say, "Richard showed up with three men. Essex said one of them was at the place you went to, Ed." Pause. "They want my mother's phone in exchange for Essex. I have to go get it."

"We need to copy it, so we have the original data," David says.

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