Page 186 of The Billionaire's Secret
My phone buzzes.
I pull it out. It’s a message from an unknown number.Huh?I swipe open the message.
Come and get her. She's in East London. You know where to look.
I pale.
"What’s wrong?" Weston frowns.
"You were right; this is not over yet." I jump to my feet, race for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To rescue my family."
47
Victoria
I had been stupid, so stupid. I try to swallow and my throat hurts. A drumming sensation presses in at my temples.
I yank at the ropes that tie my wrists behind my back. I try to open my eyes, but the darkness presses down against my eyelids. Shit, had he also blindfolded me? I feel along the floor with my feet... At least, I still have my boots on. Good thing I’d opted for them over ballet pumps. I’d been half way to the hospital, crossing the garden that bordered the side of the building, when someone had grabbed me from behind. I’d opened my mouth to scream and a soft cloth had been thrust into my face. I'd drawn in a whiff of a sweet, cloying scent, and had begun to black out. I’d been drugged, there was no doubt about that.
My guts churn and bile rushes up my throat. The baby… My heartbeat ratchets up. This can’t be good for the baby, surely? I draw in a breath, another.Take it easy. It’s going to be fine.I swallow down the nervousness that clogs my throat. Who could have done this? Antonio? What does he want now? Where am I?
Footsteps sound; I freeze. Who can it be? Will they hurt me?
Silence for a few moments. I hunch my shoulders, hold my breath.Go away, please don’t come close.There’s a sound of shuffling so close. A bead of sweat runs down my spine. Who is out there? My captor? What is he going to do next?
I hear a click and the hair on the back of my neck rise.
"Come out of there." A familiar voice rips through the silence, "I know you’re in there. I’m giving you five seconds to reveal yourself before I start shooting.
"No," I try to say the word out loud but my voice is muffled. "Saint, it’s me," my words are garbled. I can barely speak through the gag in my mouth. I shuffle forward, my feet thumping against a barrier.
"Who’s there?" His voice is tense. The sense of danger ratchets up. Shit, he can’t shoot. I won’t let him hurt me… Us.Worsethan what might happen to me and the baby, it would destroy him. I wriggle forward, kick out again and slam into a barrier.
The next instant, there’s a creak of a door being opened and the air shifts. The darkness lightens by several shades. Had I been thrust into a closet? An electric current runs up my spine. It’s Saint. He’s here. I try to speak again, my voice muffled.
"Victoria." My blindfold is pulled off. I blink against the brightness. Arms wind around me. He scoops me up, restraints and all, and places me on the ground.
He pulls off the gag; the bindings around my wrists loosen. I crack open my eyelids to find him kneeling over me. There’s a flash of steel, then the ropes around my ankles give away. I collapse into him. "Saint," my throat hurts and a headache pounds at my temples.
"Jesus, Gigi." He pulls me into his lap and cradles me.
I press my ear to his chest, listen to the thundering of his heart. He rocks me back and forth. "You’re safe," he mumbles into my hair. His grip tightens around me and pain shivers up my arm. I whimper.
"Are you hurt?"
He pulls back to peer at my arm. I look down to find the sleeve ripped. A thin trickle of blood stains the cloth. A growl rips from him.
I shudder, "I… I’m fine."
"You’re bleeding."
"It’s a scratch," I insist.
"Who hurt you?" He pinches my chin, so I have to peer up at him, "Did you catch a glimpse of who it was?"
