Page 147 of Triple Pucked
When I rush into the lounge with Robyn behind me, the vase held above me ready to hurl, the room is empty.
My heart fills with relief.
But then, I see the way that Shay is standing unmoving in front of the couch. The blood is drained from his cheeks.
He is staring at something on the floor.
Robyn lowers the vase and rounds the couch. “What is it…? Oh.”
She becomes paler than Shay is.
I lower the vase, hugging it to my chest. Dread curdles in my stomach. I prowl to join Shay.
Popcorn flakes are sprayed across the black floor, as if Eden was forced to drop the bowl in shock, then the flakes were crushed in a fight or struggle.
I swallow.
“Call him,” I insist.
“There’s blood,” Robyn whispers, pointing to the corner of the coffee table that has been knocked to the side, scattering the snacks.
My stomach turns.
Eden has been fucking taken.
Why didn’t I leave more security here? This is a huge estate. There are far too many ways for someone to break in, if they are determined, with the bare number of bodyguards that I left here.
Why did I think that all of Blythe’s focus would be on Shay?
Is this my mistake for treating Eden as the less important twin?
I’ve always tried to treat him as not just my PA, the one who wouldn’t have the attention and protection on him because he’s no longer the athlete and celebrity.
Yet Blythe guessed that I would. And now, he is the one who has been kidnapped.
Shay makes a wounded sound. He looks like he has shut down.
“I said,” I repeat, “call your brother.”
Shay’s eyes are glassy. He appears to be flying apart.
He needs something to do.
Orders.
Shay fumbles for his new phone with shaking hands, taking several attempts before he can even unlock it and make the call.
“He’s not bloody answering.” Shay clutches his phone with whitened knuckles. “He’s not… Why isn’t he?”
I kneel down, studying the scene.
Then my eyes widen, when I notice the small red tipped tranquilizer dart, which has rolled under the couch.
“He was tranquilized,” I say in a flat voice. “It’s how he was overpowered.”
“This is Blythe.” Robyn hugs her arms around herself; tears gleam in her eyes. “Fucking Blythe and her puppet Heine. What’s the bet that Heine is no longer in Germany but is in America as well, despite your deal? This has gone too far. Should we call the cops? Nothing is more important than getting Eden back safely.”
Is Heine in America? My shoulders stiffen.
