Page 47 of Jameson: Mayhem Makers

I was collateral.

Ihated that Lucia was looking at me like I was some kind of monster to be feared.

Her body was tense as she narrowed her eyes at me. “So this was all just an act to kidnap me? The past two days didn’t mean anything to you?”

I felt like she punched me in the gut. “At first, yes. Then after spending time with you, I changed my mind.”

She barked a laugh, lifting her restraints. “Oh, yeah, looks like you really changed your mind.”

Anger filled me as I thought about what my brother had done. I balled my fists. “That was Raleigh,” I growled out.

She arched a brow as I continued, “We were arguing when you came out of the bedroom. Actually, we’d been arguing since the morning before because that’s when we were supposed to take you. But I’d changed my mind.”

“I don’t believe you,” she sneered.

I nodded, feeling dejected. “Well, I’m going to tell you the whole story anyway. You deserve to know.” I rubbed the back of my neck, then blew out a breath of frustration. “Raleigh decided to drug you both since I’d had a change of heart. So he put roofies in the mimosas.”

Her eyes widened. “Where is Elise? Is she okay?”

I nodded. “She’s at our clubhouse. When we initially planned this, we thought it would be best to keep you separated so you couldn’t devise an escape plan.”

“Why take her at all? She means nothing to my dad.”

“We didn’t want her going to the cops when you went missing,” I answered.

She nodded even though she was still frowning. “What happens now?”

“If I were sticking to the plan, we’d wait here until I get the call from my father that he negotiated your exchange.” I made eye contact with her and held her gaze. “But I’ve decided I don’t want to do that anymore.”

Lucia sat up, her brows raising. “What does that mean?”

I stood, and I hated that she scooted away from me when I approached her. “I’m going to let you go.”

She looked me up and down, eyes full of distrust. “Why?”

I sat down on the bed and sighed. “Because the past two days did mean something to me. You mean something to me.”

She chortled. “Yeah, right. That’s why you have me out here in the middle of nowhere, zip-tied in a bed.”

She had a right to be angry, but I was losing my patience. “Well, the alternative was letting my brother stay out here with you. I was lucky he didn’t tell our dad I’d changed my mind. Otherwise, one of them would be sitting here with you now.”

I took out my knife and extended my hand to her. She flinched, and I sighed again. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to cut the zip ties so you can go.”

She hesitated but placed her restrained hands in mine after a few seconds. I carefully cut the zip tie around her wrists, then the one around her ankles. As soon as she was free, she sprang off the bed, pressing herself up against the wall farthest from me.

Rubbing her wrists, she looked at me warily. “So I’m free to go?”

She wasn’t running, which gave me hope. “Yeah. I really am sorry about all this. I was just trying to protect my family.”

She nodded, her hardened features relaxing some as understanding filled her deep brown eyes. “Well, I’m not going back to my father. I need to get to Elise and get the hell out of here. How long was I out?”

“Twelve hours,” I replied.

Her eyebrows flew up. “Twelve hours?” she screeched.

I wanted to laugh but held it back. “Yeah.”

“Shit,” she cursed. “You have to take me to Elise. My dad’s men could be here already.”

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