Page 88 of Sinful Beauty

I go to the bathroom and clean my inner thighs of the sticky gunk he used on me. Bile rises once again and I kneel before the porcelain commode, but nothing comes up.

Weak and dizzy, I crawl to the wall and slowly rise. Leaning against the frame, focusing my line of sight on the tree line, I breathe deeply. I once read that if you put a finger in your ear and tug downward, the action eases anxiety. This isn’t anxiety, but I tug on my ear, hoping to alleviate the swell of emotions and nausea.

The man said I won’t be having a child, but why keep me here? If the plan is to kill me, then why test me to see if I’m pregnant?

A black SUV pulls up in the drive below. Frantically, I scan the window, searching for a way to open it, but it’s stationary.

The car door opens, and a man dressed in a suit exits.

I pound the glass with my palm, screaming as loud as possible. He doesn’t so much as glance upwards. He can’t hear me.

A woman steps outside of the house and moves to talk to the man.

In desperation, I glance around the room. The side table is small enough I can easily lift it. I set the pitcher and glass on the ground.

Those people could be in on this, but they might not be. If they do nothing, at least I’ll know exactly how dire my situation is.

I ram the table into the window. There’s a crack in the glass, and I stumble back. I lift the table higher and lunge forward, pushing harder. The glass breaks and shards tumble to the ground.

I drop the table and step up, screaming, “Help! Help me.”

The woman shields her eyes, looking up at me. The driver of the SUV opens the back door for the woman and she climbs inside.

She saw me. That man had to have heard me. And they didn’t help. They must all be working for Tristan. The doctor didn’t want me to harbor hope, and right now, I’m hoping to escape with my life.

Chapter32

Tristan

The skyline darkens as the sun descends behind the mountain peaks. Blackness reigns behind the tree line.

My training, designed to help me should I ever be a hostage, has been running through my mind nonstop, no matter how forcefully I push those thoughts away. Torture techniques.

If she doesn’t have the information they want, the methods to kill and dispose of a body.

My personal mobile vibrates for the tenth time. My father’s name flashes on the screen in the passenger car seat. Both my parents have been calling all afternoon. Peltz too. Peltz’s calls were expected given I blew him off after he specifically requested my attendance at meetings today. I assume he called my mother to give her the courtesy of a heads up before kicking me out of the company my great grandfather founded. And she’s probably livid. My father could either be calling me to warn me dear mum is on the brink of an aneurysm, or he’s simply calling to check in now that he knows he might be a grandfather himself one day soon.

I’ll deal with them all after this is over. For now, I’m keeping the line open for information. Nigel’s name flashes on the Interpol mobile, and I can’t accept it fast enough. We’re pushing nine hours.

“Tell me you have an address.” The chances of finding Lucia diminish with each hour.

“Believe it or not, Solonov came through with an address. His lawyer offered it up as part of a plea deal.”

“He’s on red notice. What kind of plea deal could he get?”

“He had a list of requests, among them a request for which prison he’s placed in if found guilty.”

“Are you going to honor it?”

“Let’s see if his intel is correct. But, our intelligence team is betting he’s legit based on where we last observed the car and business ownership records.”

“Who owns the place?”

“That’s the thing. It’s owned by a business entity. It’s not abnormal for people to place estates in a trust, but this entity wreaks of dark money. The only name on the deed is of the esquire paid to set it up.”

“So we don’t know who owns it, or what we’re walking into.”

“Quite right. But Solonov knows he’s not walking. Theoretically, he could send you into a setup. But given his current predicament and his wish list, I’m inclined to think he’s selling out someone who hired him.”

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