Page 33 of Protected By Him

“What are you planning to do to us?” I demanded, making no move to pick up the ties.

Holston gestured angrily with the gun. “Just do what you’re told, then sit down. We don’t have a lot of time, and I’m running out of patience already.”

I looked at Emily, and she nodded, giving me a watery smile. “It’s okay,” she said, “just do what he wants.” Then, she sat down on the chair nearest to her and put her hands on the armrests.

With another look of apology, I picked up the zip ties and bound Emily’s hands and feet to the office chair, leaving them as loose as I could. When I was finished, I sat down on the chair next to her and looked back at Holston.

“Good. Now, did you bring everything with you? The logs I gave you and the accounting reports you stole?”

I realized with some satisfaction that Holston didn’t know about the recording of my interview with him. Of course, nothing he’d said had implicated him, but it was proof that he’d given me the evidence logs and had known what Harvey and Wilkins were up to.

“No, I don’t have any of it anymore. I already gave it to the FBI,” I told him, although that was only half-true.

Holston’s face grew red with rage, but before he could say anything, a voice called from the other end of the room.

“What the hell are you doing?” the newcomer demanded.

I turned and saw my former employer, James Harvey, walking toward us. He was flustered and sweating as he hurried over, but he stopped dead and his eyes grew wide when he saw Emily bound to a chair and Holston holding a gun.

“What is this? What’s going on?” he spat out.

Holston turned a cold glare on him. “What does it look like? I’m tying up loose ends.”

“But…but…” Harvey stammered, “we never agreed to this! You’re going to ruin everything!”

“Shut up,” Holston snapped. “You already did that by not dealing with her in the first place. If you and Wilkins hadn’t been so sloppy, none of this would have happened. We owe Cahill forty grand that we don’t have because you got greedy.” He turned his cold stare on me and continued, “And she’s going to get it for us. Then, I’m going to disappear and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“I don’t have that kind of money,” I cried.

“No,” Holston said with a smirk, his voice frighteningly calm, “but your hot-shot lawyer boyfriend does.”

Leo. What have I done? If I’d never agreed to stay with him, none of this would have happened.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, frantically searching for a way out of this.

“I’m going to give your boyfriend a call and tell him, if he ever wants to see your pretty face in one piece again, he’ll show up here—alone—in the next four hours with forty grand in cash.

“Kidnapping!” Harvey cried, grabbing at his thinning grey hair with both hands. His shirt was damp with sweat and his tie was askew. I hardly recognized him as the hard-hitting reporter he’d once been.

“That’s not going to work,” I said, shaking my head. “The banks are already closed. He doesn’t have that kind of money laying around. What about Emily? What are you going to do with her?”

“I don’t see a need to keep her around. She’s served her purpose.” He raised the gun and pointed it at Emily. Harvey gasped loudly, and I sprang in front of my friend.

“No!” I shouted. “I-I lied about giving evidence to the FBI. I hid it. If you shoot her, I won’t tell you where it is.”

Holston looked at me searchingly for a long moment, clearly trying to decide whether or not to trust me. Finally, he said, “Alright. Tell me where it is, and she goes free.”

“Let her go, then I’ll tell you where,” I argued.

“No chance. She leaves here, she’ll call the police.”

“Then leave her here. I’ll take you to it.”

Emily looked me at me in alarm and shook her head sharply. I put my hand over her bound wrist and squeeze reassuringly. No way was I going to let these guys harm her.

“I can’t be a part of this,” Harvey interjected.

“You’re already a part of this. Now, shut up and bind her hands in front of her, then get her keys. We’ll take her car,” Holston responded.

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