Page 47 of Gavin

Listening to Victor talk about whether or not the client wanted her delivered dead or alive, Sadie knew she had to get free. She was sure Gavin was trying to find her, but she couldn’t sit around and wait to be rescued. She needed to rescue herself.

It took some effort, but she managed to position the rebar against the rope and hold it steady with her knees. She sawed back and forth with all her strength, the sharp, uneven edges biting into the rough fibers. She didn’t think it was going to work, but after several passes over the end of the rebar, the rope began to fray. Once it started fraying, it happened more with each pass. Her arms ached from the effort, but she pushed on.

After what felt like an eternity, the strands of the rope had separated enough that it loosened around her wrists and she was able to wiggle her hands free. Slipping from the rope, she picked up the rebar and rose to her feet.

She hurried to a pile of debris and ducked behind it, then looked around the room more closely to get her bearings. She spotted a ladder in the far corner that led up to the next floor.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she settled her flying pulse and listened intently. She could hear Victor talking and the sound of people milling around outside the room, but no footsteps sounded drawing near.

This was her chance to get out of the room and to higher ground and then hopefully…freedom.

Chapter

Nineteen

Victor Hawthorne hadn’t been surprised that his clients had jumped at the chance for his latest acquisition. The albino wolf would bring in six figures, which he’d give a portion of to the men who helped him capture her.

He also wasn’t surprised that among the dozen men that Brent had loaned him for the job, several wanted to assault the wolf. Mercenaries tended to not be the most stable of people, and Brent only cared that they were on his side of wanting shifters dead. He didn’t care if they were criminals or had proclivities that would be viewed as disgusting or immoral to anyone with a conscience.

Not that Victor had a conscience himself. At least not when it came to shifters. They weren’t humans, so they didn’t deserve his compassion. They were a payday and a challenge, and this wolf had been a challenge.

He’d gotten her though.

As he knew he would.

With the client chosen and the deposit already wired to his off-shore account, he awaited details on where and when to meet up to complete the transaction.

His phone buzzed and he answered without looking at the screen.

“Hawthorne.”

“What’s going on? Last I heard you had the wolf. Is she dead? Did you take out any tigers in the process?”

“Brent,” he said, clearing his throat. “She’s not dead. The client who won the bidding war wants her alive.”

“Oh. For what purpose?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.”

“Well, she’s supposed to die. All shifters are. I thought you and I had an understanding.”

Victor never asked what clients did with the shifters, he simply delivered them dead or alive as the client preferred and walked away with his money. “We do have an understanding, but I’m not going to kill a shifter that’s more valuable to me alive. In the meantime, I need a few more men.”

“For what? You’ve got a dozen of my best guys.” Brent’s voice tipped a little whiny and Victor grimaced.

“I want to get the white tigers.”

“To kill them, right?”

“You have a one-track mind.” Victor decided to lie so Brent would stop harping on it. He had no plans to kill the two adult white tigers and the oldest of the children, who he suspected would also shift into a white tiger. “Yes, to kill them.”

“Good. I don’t care about money, I just want shifters dead. Any and all of them.”

“I’m aware.”

“If something goes wrong with you getting the white tigers for your clients, I want to pull out of the town.”

“What are you talking about?”

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