Page 139 of Grumpy Billionaire Bad Boy

"I'm not sure if you know this, but Archer and I have ahistory. So it was truly shocking when I did a little research to find out how he was doing, that I sawyouin the photos the private investigator sent me. It was like seeing a ghost. A beautiful gold mine of a ghost." Madison tilts her head, smiling at me. "I thought it was going to take me years and years to pay off the favor I owed Vito, and here you are, landing right in my lap. Perhaps it was fate that brought us together after all.Of course, I had to come take a look myself, I had to be sure. I couldn't get his hopes up."

Madison kneels in front of me, resting the gun on my thigh, pointing it at me, her finger on the trigger.

"What do you want, Madison?" I ask her, understanding the connection now but not the point.

"I want what you want, London girl. I want my freedom, and I want Archer."

I clench my jaw and try to figure out which part makes me more furious, the fact that she keeps using the nickname my father gave me, or the fact that she thinks she's going to walk away from this with Archer at her side. As tortured as he was, he'd never forgive her for what she did, and considering the way he looks at me now, there's no way he'd come to terms with her killing me. Hell, I'm not positive he'll ever be able to look past me being Ricardo's daughter, the man who supposedly killed the love of his life.

"He'll never love you," I tell her.

"What makes you so sure?" Madison drags her bottom lip into her mouth. "I can be quite convincing." She smiles, a sadistic grin. "I'll tell him I was forced into hiding, that it was all against my will, that the only thing that got me through each day was the thought of him." She bats her lashes. "What do you think?"

"Ask him yourself," I say.

Madison furrows her brow. "Oh, you doubt me?"

"Not at all." I shake my head. "I'm just sure he'll be here any second."

"What?" Her dark eyes meet mine, a hint of genuine concern lining them.

"Archer, when you two were together, did he not have OCD? Did he not put trackers on you? Did he not follow your every move? Oh, just me? Must mean he cares more about me than hedid you." This time, the smile is on my face, not hers, satisfaction rolling through me at unsettling her despite having no idea whether Archer is on his way or not.

I hear the gun before I feel it, the sound rattling in my ears, my torso, my entire body. I'm warm and cold all at once and when I lower my head, I realize Madison pulled the trigger, and when I meet her gaze, I see she's just as shocked as I am. "You shot me," I mutter.

Madison rises to her feet, gawking at the gun in her hand like it went off itself and she had nothing to do with it. "This isn't over," she tells me as she backs away. "This isn't fucking over."

Blood pools around my shirt as Madison continues to back her way toward the door and slipping through it.

"You're just going to fucking leave me here?" I shout after her, but it's no use, she continues until I hear the door slam shut. "Fuck," I blurt out and scan the room to find anything to get me out of this. Telling her Archer was on his way was severely useful in getting under her skin, but I didn't think she was going to fucking shoot me. And since Archer didn't show up during my date, I highly doubt he'd be watching me now. I'm in this alone, and if I don't do something quick, I might die here.

That's when I spot my phone sitting on a table across the room.

"Hey, Siri," I speak into the space, waiting for her to respond.

A long pause leads to more silence. I must not be close enough, loud enough, clear enough, for the phone to pick up what I'm saying.

"Hey, Siri," I say louder this time, holding my breath in anticipation.

Nothing.

I take in the way my arms are secured to the chair, tugging harder than I had before, not making progress on freeing myself. I could attempt to slam backward and break the wooden chair,but if I don't get it exactly right, I'd end up more stuck than I already am, ensuring that I die here. I do the only thing I can think of, lift my body into the air and try to scoot even a fraction of an inch toward the door.

I grunt, the pain in my side growing by the minute, but I muster every bit of it into a rage that carries me, slowly, in the direction I need to be. Pausing, only a few inches away from where I started, I even my breathing to call out once more, "Hey, Siri."

Nothing.

With everything in me, I force the chair to move and my body to cooperate. I once hated myself for what I allowed to happen to Madison, and now I hate her for what she's done to me. Funny how the tables have turned in a split second.

"Hey, Siri," I say, my vision blurring, my eyes welling.

"Mmhm?" she responds like an angel answering my prayers.

I do the one thing I shouldn't but the only thing that might get me out of here. "Call Archer."

It only rings one time before his voice comes through the other end. "London?"

"I've been shot," I say, not sure how much time I have left.

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