Page 25 of Bradford

"I dropped it in the arena."

"I have it." I hand it to Ellison and move toward Florence. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind and pull her close. My side only twinges briefly, but my shoulder hurts.

Ellison fiddles with the phone, does something with another, and then passes it to Florence. "Call Daniel and tell him you need to meet with him. Play on whatever feelings he might have for you."

Florence mutters, "Oh, great," under her breath.

Stepping away, she keeps her eyes on me as she calls Daniel and puts him on speaker.

"Babe," he says, making me grit my teeth. "You finally decided to get in touch, huh?" He laughs.

"Why the hell did you hide that stuff in my apartment?" Florence snaps. "That wasn't cool."

“Baby don’t be like that. I was only thinking of you. If anything happened to me, you'd have a nice payday."

"You lying ass! You only ever think about yourself!" Florence hisses. "It wasn't like I knew that money was there. How would I have gotten a payday?"

"You always were a smartass!" The man sighs. "I'm guessing you're not the only one on this call, so let's make it quick.”

“You don’t get to make the decisions after what you did to Bradford’s Dad’s car, you dick!” Florence snaps. “What did you intend to do with me if Mustache had gotten me away from the arena?”

There's a long pause.

“We need to meet.”

Florence frowns. "Danny, what's going on? You don't sound right."

“I know the guy you mean, and he isn’t with me. He works directly for someone else. Let's leave it at that." Dillon curses, and I'm not sure if we're supposed to hear that. "Head out of the city to Tybee Island. Stay on the 80 until you reach the end, then turn off towards the beach. Be there in two hours." He pauses. "Florence, it's just you and the guy." The phone goes dead.

"I'll pretend to be you, Bradford," Ellison says.

I shake my head. "There's no way Florence is going to meet that asshole without me. No way in hell."

"You're already hurt." Florence places her hands on my chest and looks at me, worry evident in her eyes.

I cup the back of her head and lean down to press our foreheads together. "I'm not letting you do this without me."

"Okay," she whispers.

17

FLORENCE

The wind batters us,but Ellison, pretending to be Bradford, tries to shield me from the worst of it. The beach is only around thirty minutes from downtown Savannah where the coastline meets the Atlantic Ocean. On any other day, I would enjoy the warm sand and salty breeze, but today, I can't relax. Ellison and Dodge, who has recovered somewhat from being hit over the head, are on alert. There are others hiding around too. I'm not sure where, because it doesn't look like there's anywhere to hide. We're in a big, wide-open space.

I feel bad for Bradford, who is in the back of the SUV with one of Ellison's men. I hate being out here in the open without him, but I'm also relieved he's safe. I don't see anyone close to us. Off in the distance, beachgoers are settled along the coastline. I sigh, wishing it was Bradford and me. It's been a long time since I've stepped foot on a beach. I've missed the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Ellison keeps his arm around me as we walk closer to the ocean. I find comfort in his presence, but part of me longs for Bradford to be here. My eyes search the area, but all is quiet. I frown, wondering where Daniel is. "I don't think he's coming," I tell the man beside me.

"This doesn't feel right," he says, glancing around. "Let's get back to the car." He pulls me in front of him, keeping me close, as we move back to the walkway that leads to the road where the car is parked.

I glance back at Ellison and meet his gaze, feeling a sense of unease settle over me. Then I remember that he has an earpiece so he can hear his men. Bradford! I start running, which isn't easy in the loose sand. As soon as I reach the walkway, though, I pick up the pace. Ellison shouts for me to wait, but I don't. I don't stop until I reach the spot where the car was parked, only to find an empty space. Out of breath, I furiously glare at Ellison. "Did you know?" I shout. "Did you know they would take him? Is that why you were so agreeable to him staying in the car?"

He drags a hand down his face. "Bradford suggested what might happen. He was right."

My mouth falls open. "He knew, and he didn't tell me." Tears burn my eyes, but I try to fight them back. I swipe at them angrily as they fall down my cheeks. "Why would he keep something like that from me?"

I let Ellison guide me into the SUV that pulled up to the curb, with Dodge behind the wheel. "He didn't think you'd leave him if you knew," Ellison says as he follows me into the vehicle. "Honestly, we didn't know if they'd go for it, so we didn't see the point in worrying you."

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