Page 23 of Master Cordell

“Crap.” The doors opened, and the three men stepped into the elevator. “If Kyle was acting solo, then who the fuck did the other stuff, and why?”

Unfortunately, no one had an answer to that.

Chapter16

What a freakin’day!While it’d technically been Tiffany’s day off, after the explosion and resulting fire, she’d put her assistant manager hat on again, so to speak, and helped keep all the guests calm and away from the scene. She’d instructed the kitchen staff to throw together a bunch of appetizers to pass around the pool area and in the Bottom’s Up bar. After that, she made her rounds to check that everything else was running smoothly. While there’d been a lot of questions tossed her way, she’d done her best to reassure the guests that the fire had been an accident, even though she knew better. Before Sir had left with Mitch and Milo to go talk to someone—she hadn’t gotten the details—he’d told her about the suspect who’d thrown the Molotov cocktail into the shed. Someone obviously had it in for the resort, but no one knew who or why.

It was a little after five p.m. and Sir had just texted they were on their way back. He and Mitch both needed to take showers before dinner, since they were still covered in soot from the fire. They had a reservation at Decadence for nine of them at 6:00. Jake and Nick had opted out since they weren’t sure what time they’d be back from Key West. So, it was just Kat, Tori, Tiffany, their men, and Dante and Reed for dinner.

While Tiffany checked on a few more things, Tori and Ty headed for their cottage to shower and change, and Kat went upstairs to her hotel room to do the same. Since Sir’s text message had warned Tiffany not to go anywhere by herself, she stopped into the security room where she found Jared and Troy. “Hi, guys. Can one of you walk me down to my cottage and make sure everything is safe and secure? Sir is still with Mitch and Milo, and I want to take a quick shower before he gets back, since he needs one too. I don’t want to hold up our reservation in the restaurant if we can help it.”

Jared stood and grabbed a set of keys and his cell phone. “I’ll take you.”

“Thanks.”

He followed her out the door. “No problem. I’ll make sure no one broke in again, then wait on the porch until Cordell gets back.”

She was glad he’d said that. While she knew Jared and Troy as well as she knew Dante at this point, it still would have felt weird having Jared in the cottage while she was in the shower. She wasn’t that comfortable around the Dom yet and didn’t think she ever would be with anyone other than Sir.

She was still trying to summon up the courage to tell Sir that she’d fallen in love with him and didn’t want to be with another Dom. As far as she was concerned, she was fully recovered from the damage Bruce had done to her psyche, thanks to Sir’s help. If only she knew for certain that Sir cared about her like her friends and cousin had suggested. That he didn’t want to let her go. That he loved her just as much as she now loved him.

When they reached the cottage, Tiffany was relieved to see the front door locked. She handed the key to Jared who unlocked the door and entered. She followed him in but stopped when he held up a hand as he glanced around the living/dining/kitchen combo. “Stay there a minute. Let me check the bedroom and bath.”

She glanced around, wondering where Eastwood was hiding. To the cat, Jared was still unfamiliar, so he probably wouldn’t make an appearance until the man was gone. Nothing seemed out of place in the comfortable space, but Tiffany waited patiently for Jared to finish. After the break-in, she felt nervous being in the cottage alone, not that it happened often.

She’d just closed the door behind her when Jared yelled from other room, “Run!”

Anything else he’d been about to say was cut off by a loud gunshot followed by a muffled curse. Tiffany froze in terror. Before she could come to her senses, a tall stranger, dressed in camouflage pants, a matching long-sleeve shirt, black gloves, a hat, and boots, strode out from the bedroom pointing an ugly silver gun at her. “Don’t fucking move!”

She’d never seen the man before and had no idea what he wanted. He was about Tiffany’s age and almost as tall as Sir but far skinnier. His dark-blond hair appeared greasy and unkempt under a black baseball cap, and his green eyes looked downright evil.

“What—where’s Jared?” she whispered, shocked she could get that much out as she tried to shrink into the corner by the door.

“Doesn’t matter.” He grabbed her upper arm in a tight grip and yanked her toward him, causing her to cry out in pain. “Shut up!”

Pointing the gun at her, he let go of her so he could open the door, then snatched her arm again, dragging her out onto the small porch.

“Tiffany!”

The stranger pointed the weapon at Tori, who’d screeched her cousin’s name, and Ty. Both were gaping in shock from their cottage’s front steps. They must’ve heard the gunshot and come out to investigate.

Panicked, Tiffany knocked the man’s arm, throwing off his aim. When the gun fired, the bullet hit the dirt a few feet away from Tori and Ty. The two ducked down, with Ty putting his bigger body around his fiancée’s to protect her.

“No! Run!” Tiffany yelled at them, hoping they reacted faster than she had when Jared had shouted the same thing, while she tried to prevent her attacker from getting a good shot at them.

“Bitch!” He let go of her arm and before she could get away, he seized a handful of her hair, pulling hard and bringing tears to her eyes as agony ripped through her scalp. She had no choice but to go along with him as he pulled her between the two cottages and into the woods. His stride was long, and she had to hurry to keep her hair from being ripped out of her head. A few times, she stumbled, but his grip held her upright. “Move it and keep your trap shut!”

When they passed over the biking/hiking trail, she realized he was taking her toward the eastern shore of the island. Her heart pounded in her chest from a combination of fear and exertion. Gasping and grunting as he practically dragged her through the other half of the woods, she couldn’t glance behind them to see if anyone was following them because of his hard grip. Hopefully, Ty and Tori weren’t hurt and had called for help and someone found Jared. Tiffany sent up a silent prayer for the security guard.God, please let him be okay!

She’d stubbed her toes on rocks, downed branches, and roots more times than she could count. Damn sandals. The low brush slapped against her bare legs, scratching her tanned skin. She was still wearing the skorts and tank top she’d thrown over her bathing suit earlier in the day, and they weren’t suitable for running through the heavy brush.

When she stumbled again, the man growled. “Move it!”

She struggled to keep up with him. “Who—who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“Payback. Your asshole cop boyfriend owes me.”

They broke free of the trees, and her feet sunk into the soft sand, making it harder for her to keep her balance. Just a few feet out into the water, there was a small, anchored powerboat.Oh God, where is he taking me?

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