Page 44 of No Way Forward

Richard surged to his feet, slamming both hands on the desk. The boom of noise reverberated around the office. “Is that a threat? Are you trying to blackmail me? I’ve had greater and more powerful men than you try to bring me down using extortion. Let me tell you, it won’t work. I’ll destroy you before you can ever breathe a word against me.”

“It wasn’t a threat.” Zaid couldn’t bring up his idea of taking Novette away to protect her. Perhaps the entire plan was just a fantasy in the first place. He should have known Richard would stand in his way. “I’m simply saying if I didn’t tell anyone about that, why would I try to hurt you by kidnapping Novette? I don’t know who’s been lying to you, but I’m surprised you would believe them.”

Richard didn’t speak. Zaid studied the man, and the truth came to him.

“No one told you I was behind the kidnapping.” Zaid shook his head in wonder. “You found out about us, and this is your way of removing me from her life. Do you have any idea how much she’ll hate you?”

“Novette is no longer your concern. Get him out of here.”

The bodyguards moved toward Zaid. He sidestepped one of them, but the other man was on him, locking his arm in a tight grip. One last time, Zaid pleaded with Richard to see reason. “Don’t do this, Richard. Can’t you see how you’re going too far? Don’t you care about what this will do to her heart?”

“Enough!”

The bodyguards dragged Zaid toward a different door than the one he entered by. He dropped like dead weight, upsetting their balance then came up hard and fast to head butt the guy on his left. The man fell back, but the other guard shoved Zaid to the floor and punched him in the side.

The wind left Zaid’s lungs in a painful gush. He struggled to catch his breath and get up off the floor. Two sets of strong hands dragged him up and slammed him against the door.

One of the men whispered in his ear. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Zaid. Let us do this, and you can figure something else out later. Please.”

Zaid heard the sympathy in the man’s tone. He knew they didn’t suspect him of trying to hurt Novette. They were just doing their job. Some of the fight went out of his struggle as they led him through the door and down the back hallway to the freight elevator.

“You guys know I didn’t do this, right?” Zaid asked.

Neither man answered, but he saw it in their gazes. They would see this through. He wouldn’t be allowed to go back to find Novette and to tell her what happened. It didn’t matter. As long as she had her phone, he could call her and fill her in. Meanwhile, he would plan what to do next.

He made a mistake when assisted Richard in bringing Novette home. He did it because he thought she was safer at home and that she could charm her dad into giving her freedom. He thought Richard loved Novette above all else. Plus, he knew about Richard’s secret and the heart that motivated him.

Now, he wasn’t sure about anything.

Except for my love for her. That will never change.

Chapter 20

Novette stepped out of the elevator onto her dad’s floor. The air of stillness made her wonder if the entire staff had gone into a meeting. She stood on tiptoe trying to catch a glimpse of anyone and strained to catch any sounds coming from the conference room area. The place was a dead zone.

“Where the heck is everyone? Hello?”

Her voice echoed. She kept heading toward her dad’s office and Sheila’s desk outside of it. At last she spotted the secretary, and Sheila rushed toward her.

Sheila took Novette’s arm and spun her about. “Come with me, Novette. We have a security emergency.”

Novette gasped. “An emergency? Are you saying someone got into the building who shouldn’t be here?”

“Exactly. Let’s go. Your dad has ordered me to get you down to the car.”

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Novette dragged her feet, trying to look over her shoulder. “But where are the guards, and where is Zaid?”

“They’re taking care of the threat. Come on. Do you want them worrying about you or handling business?”

“You’re right.” Novette stopped resisting and hurried along to the elevators. Nerves stirred inside her. She didn’t like leaving Zaid and not talking to him first. “What kind of threat are we talking about, someone trying to kill my dad like last time?”

Sheila stabbed the button to close the elevator doors once they were inside the shaft. She seemed too distracted to answer, and Novette tapped a foot with impatience. The elevator’s dinging bell drove her insane. She resisted the temptation to go and find Zaid.

Soon they were in the car speeding down the road. She’d had enough and searched through her purse for her phone. It wasn’t there. That’s right, she put in her pocket. She checked, and alarm bells went off in her head. The phone wasn’t in her pocket either. Where was it? Did she leave it in HR? That was possible because she had been scanning it while waiting to speak to the manager.

“Ms. Sheila, can I use your phone real quick?”

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