Page 86 of Bound by Love
Liam looked at his watch nonchalantly and then nodded to his brother. The two came at her from both sides, cutting off her escape. Brie picked up a candy dish on a side table and hit Liam with a solid blow to the head before his twin grabbed her arm. Brie screamed bloody murder, hoping someone would hear and call the police.
His twin covered her mouth, hissing in her ear. “Shut the fuck up.”
Before she could react, Liam snatched Hope from her. Brie’s muffled cries of anguish filled the room.
“You’ll have to go in my stead,” Liam said, wiping the blood from his forehead.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” his twin howled. He angrily turned Brie around, binding her arms behind her back. Stuffing cloth into her mouth, he wrapped duct tape around her head to keep it in place. Pushing Brie to the floor, he tied her feet next before binding her so she was curled into a ball.
Liam set Hope, who was crying hysterically now, in the carrier. He pulled out a large suitcase and unzipped it. Both men lifted Brie up, as she squirmed desperately against her bindings. However, she could do nothing as they set her in the suitcase and zipped it back up.
Brie was in the dark, hearing Hope’s frantic cries as the two men talked, reformulating their plans. She heard one leave, slamming the door on his way out.
She lay there helpless, terrified for Hope, praying rescue would come but fearing it would not.
Liam had planned the kidnapping out perfectly. Sir would not be expecting her home until twelve, and Lea would be out for several hours. By the time her friend returned to the apartment, Brie and her baby would already be on a plane to the Middle East—never to be seen again.
Brie thought of Tatianna and understood what the future held for her…and for Hope. Tears of anger, frustration, and fear rolled down her cheeks as the air in the suitcase became hot and stale.
Liam lifted the suitcase upright and rolled it toward the door. Hope continued to cry, which worked to Liam’s advantage when he was stopped in the elevator.
“She sure doesn’t sound happy,” a woman commented beside them.
Brie screamed into the cloth, but it only sounded like muffled whimpering, and it could not compete with Hope’s screams.
Brie bounced along in the rolling suitcase as Liam walked to the car and, with much grunting and effort, he lifted it into the car. Brie heard him buckle Hope into the car seat beside her.
Liam told Hope, “Thanks for saving my bacon with that crying jag.”
He slammed the door, getting into the driver’s seat and revving the engine. Brie silently screamed to Sir, to Lea, to Rytsar, to Tono, praying that one of them would hear her cries of desperation.
It was frightening how easily these men had been able to snatch her away from everyone she loved. How long had Liam been planning this? His quick romance with Lea made complete sense now.
Liam had attached himself to Lea in order to assess the situation with Brie and the baby before extraction. No one knew his twin existed, giving the two of them time to execute the plan while cementing Liam’s alibi.
Her chance meeting with Liam’s twin at the grocery store could have been her salvation, but she hadn’t picked up on his confusion about the significance of the Winston cigarettes, and he’d been quick on his feet, giving her a reason to keep their encounter a secret.
Sir would never know what had happened to them.
She was Hope’s only chance.
Brie began concentrating on the ropes, but she began to panic when she couldn’t release herself from the bindings. Her rising panic only caused her to breathe faster, taking up the little oxygen left in the suitcase.
When she began to feel faint, Brie forced herself to slow down her breathing. She imagined Tono was with her, and began taking shallower breaths.
The only thing that mattered now was Hope. What happened to her was secondary, as long as Hope was spared this horror.
Brie felt the car slow down and heard Liam cuss. “What the fuck?”
After several tense moments, she heard the window being rolled down and Liam asked, “What seems to be the problem?”
“You need to step out of the car, now!”
“You have to be kidding me. You’re not even a fucking cop.”
“No, I am not.”
“Fuck this shit!” The car lurched forward before a shot rang out and it came to a halt. Liam screamed in pain and she heard the door open.
