Page 96 of Peyton's Price

“Thank you,” Peyton muttered, praying silently for his swift and bloody death.

Chapter 39

Liam braced himself in the backseat as the car turned fast, whipping and weaving through traffic. In front of him, Matthias grabbed the bar above the passenger window in an effort not to be thrown against the door. Agent Ward drove like a maniac.

“I can’t believe you have your girlfriend microchipped like a dog,” he said.

After arguing who should drive the Lotus Evora Liam kept as his London car, Agent Ward grabbed the keys, arguing he had the most training and the least emotion invested.

“The objective is to get us there in one piece to rescue Peyton,” Matthias pointed out as Ward straightened the car, gunning toward the next light.

“I don’t have her chipped,” Liam protested. “I have a GPS tracker on her charm bracelet.”

“The bracelet? That was smart.” Matthias twisted to look at him. “I put mine on the diamond pendant I gave her, but she never wears it.”

“Wow,” Ward said with a strangled laugh.

“Fuck you,” Liam spat. “She was taken by human traffickers earlier this year. I’m not going to justify putting a tracker on her to you, the man currently responsible for hersecondkidnapping.”

Ward kept his eyes fixed on the road, wisely remaining silent.

“Turn left up at the light,” Liam ordered, checking his phone before addressing Matthias. “And yes—that necklace was a mistake. It’s is far too ostentatious for Peyton. You have to go simpler. She’ll only wear that sort of thing if you give her a nudge.”

Matthias frowned, turning back to the road. “And here I thought it was very discreet. It’s only four carats.”

Ward snorted. He took the next corner a bit more sharply than was necessary. “Well, since your overprotectiveness is enabling us to find her now, I’m not going to call you both crazy—even though you’re both mental.”

Matthias looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “You’ve never been in love, have you?”

Ward lapsed into silence, following Liam’s direction without question, but he held his breath when he saw Matthias glance down a little too long at the Vacheron Constantin watch Liam had gifted him last month. But, luckily, he didn’t ask if it, too, had a GPS tracker.

It’s only for emergencies.He’d never used it to spy on Matthias. It was just insurance in case something happened.

A chime sounded from his text messaging app. “The security specialists have examined the cameras and elevator,” Liam announced, his voice hoarse with strain. “The security feeds were altered. The servers were hacked, and the footage was erased.”

“Have them contact the local police for the CCTV footage from the area. There have to be at least a dozen on that block,” Ward suggested, referring to the high per capita number of cameras in London. “I would call the office to get that fast-tracked, but I can’t trust anyone there just now.”

Liam swore under his breath. “When we get our hands on this mole, you’re going to shoot him, right?”

Ward grunted something unintelligible. At first, Matthias thought he was avoiding the question, but then he deciphered the swear words the man was muttering under his breath.

“Hell yes, I am.”

* * *

Peyton gotto work the moment Travis left the room. He had received a text that made him smirk. Muttering that she wasn’t going anywhere, he’d left against orders.

She had no idea how long he’d be gone.

Let it be forever because he died in a freak accident. May he be stung to death by a pack of Africanized honeybees,she prayed. Better yet, his phone could explode in his pocket, injuring a vital organ.

Focus, Carson, she ordered herself. She had to get out of the Englishman’s office and out of sight From the décor and furniture, she guessed it was in a house and not an apartment. Maybe the creep had taken her to his country home. There had to be at least one good hiding place. She just had to find it.

Her wrists were scraped and sore from trying to slide out of the cuffs. As for the ropes around her middle—tensing and relaxing to loosen them wasn’t working.

Enough of the women in her circle had been in trouble that she’d taken the time to look up some tips on escaping bondage. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been conscious when she’d been tied up, so tensing in advance hadn’t been an option. If she had, there would have been a bit more slack to her ropes now.

After a few minutes, Peyton acknowledged they weren’t going to budge.Damn. According to the internet, most people didn’t know how to tie a proper knot. These knots were secure but not painfully tight. Additionally, the cuffs were taut, but they weren’t cutting off her circulation. Interpol must have a class on how to restrain a suspect without permanently damaging them.

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