Page 19 of Savage Beauty

“No. They smuggled me around like contraband.”

“I suppose to them you are. The big question is who was calling the shots. The fact they went after Sage…it’s almost like they had a plan to force you to do something. Why else keep you alive? Who did your former boss go to work for? I think you said his name is William?”

“William would never do this. And he went to work for a multinational conglomerate. They’d never take on the legal risk of violating international law.”

“You may be right.”

“I am. I need to gain access to my credit cards so I can schedule my flight.”

“Arrow’s taking care of your return trip.”

“And where is Arrow flying me?”

“To Asheville. With your sister.”

“Sage needs to go to Asheville. I need to go back to Grand Cayman. If necessary, I’ll connect in North Carolina, but it would save time if I didn’t have to do that.”

“You’re not going to listen, are you? Hold on a second.” His deep voice sounds farther away. “Yep. All’s good. Knox is back at the hotel. I’m here for the night shift.” I squeeze open one eyelid and take in Max’s profile, one beefy arm holding a cell phone to his ear. “Copy that.”

“Who was that?”

“Office.”

“Rather quick call.”

“They wanted to be sure they got a message to me. Two men passed through Kuala Lumpur’s customs ninety minutes ago. Could be nothing, but they’re on Interpol’s watch list and known associates of Anton Solonov.”

“You think they’re here for me? How would they know where you took me? You flew me here, right? There’s nothing on me for them to track. I don’t have my phone. The way we left, I left everything behind. Again.”

“What do you mean, again?”

“They put me on that boat without any of my stuff. I mean, I had my phone but haven’t seen it since he drugged me. My wallet and a pocketbook. Gone. And my clothes.”

“Where’d you get the clothes you were wearing before they admitted you to the hospital?”

“When I got off the boat, they kept me in a house for a couple of days. They had some clothes. A small satchel. Some used books. Not a great selection. I left behind all of that.” Yet another reason I want to go home to my apartment.

The phone is back to Max’s ear. This time he’s facing me.

“Do you know what happened to Sloane’s clothes after we arrived at the hospital?” With swift steps, he approaches a paneled door, taps it, and the spring lock opens, exposing a closet. The ugly gray dress hangs clean and pressed. I do not want to put that back on. It itched. Max bends, giving me a fine view of his muscled derriere. He pushes back up off the floor, and I’m pretty sure I hear his knees crack. He holds up a shoe.

The cloth shoe has a woven textured base. He tucks the phone between his ear and shoulder and pulls out a small knife from somewhere on his waist. The silver blade shines beneath the fluorescent lights. With a twist, he digs into the bottom of the shoe.

He can destroy the shoe for all I care. I do not wish to wear that outfit ever again. It’s what all the women in the compound wore. Drab, poorly fitting clothes. Although, I was one of the few women given a dress. Some wore the same loose pants and shirt the men did.

Max holds up a small silver dome. “Yep. They had a tracking device in the sole of her shoe. Fuck.” He drops the shoe back into the closet and closes the door. Holds the device up and dumps it in a cylindrical metal trash can. “Copy that,” he says and ends the call.

“Okay. I’m going to see about getting you out of here early.”

“Why would they want me? They can’t be here for me.” None of this makes sense. If it’s about the report, I don’t have my laptop. I don’t have access to the report.

“I’m not sure what they want, but we’re getting you and Sage back Stateside.”

“No.” He can’t force me. I have choices. “You don’t have any answers. And I’m the only one who can get those answers. If I’m in danger, I’ll rely on Knox. That’s what Sam told me to do.”

“No.”

I narrow my gaze at him and all his hotness. Fine. He’s attractive, but he doesn’t get to call the shots, as Sam would say. Nope. Those are mine to call.

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