Page 54 of Maddox

Dion didn’t move far from Emily, and yes it was Emily Carter. I recognized her from her picture. All our people still had face masks on and after the debacle with Clare and me, we wouldn’t take them off.

We dropped all the women off with a contact that would ensure medical care, safety, and transport home, then the four of us piled in our helicopter.

“Boss?”

The pilot—Carver—turned to Maddox. “Miss Abby needs you to call her urgently.”

My heart nearly punched its way out of my chest and I almost fumbled my phone as I tried to call Clare. I met Gideon’s eyes as he listened to Abby, but I knew. I knew when there was no answer from Clare’s phone. “Clare hasn’t arrived and we have men on route to Liam’s car. It’s showing as stationary seven miles from the house.” Then Gideon’s phone rang again and he listened, said we were on our way and to send coordinates. “I don’t know how,” Gideon gritted out “but Liam was ambushed. Eric got it from the dash cams. Four men in masks. They took out the tires, then shot Liam in the head. They took Clare.”

They took Clare.

It was Blakeny. I was going to get Clare and then I was going to kill him.

Chapter Eighteen

CLARE

I was tired, but I wasn't afraid when Liam stopped at the stop sign until another car seemed to appear from nowhere and ram the car behind us. Then there was another squeal of tires and I felt the sudden jolt as something slammed into us from behind.

"What the—" Liam started, but his words were cut off by the sound of glass shattering.

Everything happened so quickly after that. Men in black masks surrounded the car. I tried to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth as I was dragged from the vehicle. I caught aglimpse of Liam slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling down his face, before a hood was pulled down over my head.

"Got her," a voice said. "Let's move."

I struggled against the hands holding me, kicking and thrashing with all my strength, but it was useless. I was thrown into what felt like the back of a van, my wrists quickly bound behind my back. The vehicle lurched forward, tires squealing as we sped away.

"Daddy," I whimpered, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "Daddy, please."

"Shut up," a gruff voice ordered, followed by a sharp slap across my face that made my ears ring.

I fell silent, tears soaking into the hood. My mind raced with terrifying possibilities. Was this Blakeny?

The van drove for what felt like hours, though I had no way to track the time. The hood made it hard to breathe, and the plastic ties around my wrists cut painfully into my skin. I tried to focus on what Daddy would do if he were here. He wouldn't panic. He would observe, gather information, look for an opportunity.

But the thought of Blakeny and that cage made me just want to curl into a ball and cry.

Eventually, the van slowed and turned onto what felt like a bumpy road or driveway. When we finally stopped, rough hands pulled me out. I stumbled, my legs numb from being in one position so long.

"Move," someone ordered, shoving me forward.

I was led inside a building. I could tell by the sudden change in temperature and the echo of footsteps on hard flooring. After several turns and what might have been an elevator ride, I was pushed into a chair. The hood was yanked off, and I blinked against the sudden harsh light.

"Hello, you bad Little girl."

That voice. I would know it anywhere. My blood turned to ice as I looked up into Jeremy Blakeny's smiling face.

"Did you miss me?" he asked, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I flinched away from his touch, earning a dark chuckle. "Still defiant, I see. We'll fix that."

"They'll find me," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Daddy will come for me."

Blakeny snarled and the sudden strike whipped my head to the side, pain blooming across my cheek. For a moment I couldn’t even think, and I struggled not to pass out. When I focused again, Blakeny sneered. “I’m your fucking Daddy and never forget that.” I didn’t answer. “Besides,” he scoffed, “he’s a little busy at the moment.”

I frowned. But this didn’t make any sense. How did it make sense for Rice to target his own—

“Fortunately, a competitor invited us to an auction. We hate competition so it was only a small inconvenience to use them as bait.”

I blinked. “But I heard you say Eagle was—”

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