Page 70 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire
Two sharp pops shattered the morning calm. The Audi sagged in back—the tires blown.
“Rose, call Theo,” Christian said in a low, urgent voice.
She fumbled for her phone—no time to scroll for his number. Her eyes flashed to the video icon, and she pressed it, hoping that Kerry wasn’t at work or asleep and would answer it. The ping of Kerry answering was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass. Rose flinched as the driver’s side window exploded inward, spraying shards.
“Hey, girlfriend. I just got your photos,” Kerry said.
“Kerry… call Theo! Oh, God! Call Theo!” Rose cried out as Christian’s body jerked violently.
“Rose, what’s going on?!” Kerry demanded.
“Christian!” she screamed, fumbling with her phone as his hands spasmed on the steering wheel as a bright arc of electricity flashed through the broken window.
The acrid tang of ozone burned her nose—taser.
“Rose! Tell me what’s happening!” Kerry urged with heightening alarm.
A hand shot in through the driver’s side, slapping at the door controls. The locks clicked open.
“They’re going to take me. Call Theo. Tell him?—"
Her door was yanked wide before she could move.
“No! No! Let me go!” she cried out, twisting and shoving at the arm that reached for her.
“Tell him… I love him?—”
If this was the last thing she ever said, let it be that. That she loved him. Fiercely. Without regret.
Her nails dug into the black fabric of her attacker’s arm as she fought to break free. Her body jerked when she felt a sharp prick in her upper arm that stole her breath.
Cold fire tore through her veins, each heartbeat slower, heavier.
“No—” Her voice broke and slurred as her limbs went heavy. She clung to her phone as long as she could, trying to give Kerry as much information as she could before she lost consciousness.
“The… photos?—”
Her fingers numbed until her phone slipped from her grasp and clattered between the seats.
Her vision swam. The men’s voices were distant, muffled.
She tried to resist when she felt herself being lifted. Her head lolled against a solid chest. Outside the car, the world tilted, the sunlight flashing in and out of view through the swaying gap of an open car door.
The metallic slam of a door. The sickening thought that she might never see Theo again?—
—then nothing.
The surrounding office was all polished glass and sharp edges, but Theo’s mind wasn’t on the merger projections scrolling across the digital display. It was on Rose.
On the way her eyes had softened this morning when she’d cupped his face and the way she’d whisperedI love youbefore kissing him.
His fingers drifted to his pocket, closing around the small velvet box he’d been carrying for the past week. The ring had been burning a hole in his pocket since the day he bought it. He’d planned to wait until Syros—but last night, one kiss had nearly burned that plan away.
He’d wanted her so fiercely it had drowned out the words he should have said. And though he’d told her he loved her, she hadn’t said it back. Not then.
Tomorrow,he told himself.Tomorrow, when I won’t be interrupted.
The soft click of the door pulled him from his thoughts. Markos Aetos stepped in, his tall frame filling the doorway.
