Page 5 of Dirty Little Vow

The room is silent, seconds ticking by before Sharon, one of the partners, says, “I believe him.”

Laura, another partner sitting next to her, chimes in, “I believe him.”

“Agreed.” This from Ned Riley, one of the senior partners.

From there, the entire room sounds off in agreement except for two people. The dweeb and a partner sitting next to him, who was most likely in the middle of this plan to take me down, right along with Gavin. I don’t so much as look at either of them. Control is everything. That’s what my father used to tell me but more so taught me, with his recent actions. The man cheated on my mother, killed the employee he was fucking to keep her from telling my mother, and then ended up dead.

He didn’t have one inkling of the control he swore was always his and in the palm of his ruddy little hand.

Controlis everythingand he forgot that somewhere along the way.

I press my hands on the sleek surface of the conference table, lean in closer to the group and say, “If no one has anything else, then let’s all go finish off what is headed toward a record-breaking month, and show everyone who we are, and that’s the best in the business. This sends the right message to our clients, studios, and publishers. We’re here to stay. This is not the time to fight among ourselves and screw that up.”

Murmurs of approval fill the room, and with that, I say, “Meeting adjourned,” before heading toward the door.

I don’t look back. I don’t look at my phone. I walk at an even pace.

Control is everything.

It’s not until I’m in my office with the door shut that I dare breathe, shoving a rough hand through my hair and cursing. Gavin did this. He’s done. So are the two in the meeting who conjured up trouble. I walk to my desk, sit down, and pull out my phone to dial Bella, the one person I consider a confidant. There’s a message from her waiting on me and I retrieve it to find a photo of her and a message:This is Oliver, and I represent the Allen family. Bella and I will be negotiating for the next few hours. She’ll be in touch when we come to terms. Don’t fret, Tyler Hawk. I’m a professional. I assure you she’s safe in my skilled hands.

Chapter Three

Tyler

Bella doesn’t have time for me to be weak right now, which is why I allow myself about three seconds to freak the fuck out, and then it’s all about actions that protect Bella. I run a rough hand through my hair and then check the time on the message, which is now twenty minutes old. That’s way too long for me to feel good about the timeline and what could have happened to her between then and now. Dark thoughts start to form in my mind, and I quash them. They serve no productive purpose. They do not help Bella.

Hoping like hell for an answer, I dial Bella’s phone, only to have it go straight to voicemail, her voice telling me to “leave a message” slices through my body and it might as well be steel on bone. I want to hit something right now, and I have to calm myself the fuck down. Action is what gets Bella back, the right kind of action.

Calm.

Cool.

Calculated.

I don’t even consider calling the cops, who could either trigger the situation and they’ll damn sure slow it down. And while I’m quite clear on Dash’s FBI background, I’m also all too aware of the fact that he will come at this just as emotionally as me, and I’m barely holding my own shit together. I can’t control him and me right now. My man, my fixer, is another story. Thank fuck Dierk is ex-CIA and on my payroll. As a giant plus right about now, I trust him. I screenshot the message from “Oliver” and send it to him.

The timing of my being pulled into that meeting and Bella’s abduction does not sit well.Gavin,I think. He’s behind all of this. I grab my phone on my desk, and buzz Sara, my new secretary. “Have security take Gavin McCloud into custody. He’s not to leave until I question him.”

“Understood,” she replies. “I’ll handle it immediately.”

“Once security has him locked down, they need to call me. Then, and only then, have human resources process his exit, per his employment contract termination clause.”

“Understood,” she assures me again. “I’ll update you in five minutes.”

Just like that, we disconnect. And Sara officially earns an “A” for asking absolutely no questions.

My cellphone buzzes with Dierk’s number and I answer without prelude, “What do you know?”

“Nothing aside from the fact that her phone’s not pinging. The last location she pinged was a few blocks from your offices.”

It’s not the answer I want from him. “I think it’s the Allen family.”

“That’s an easy assumption to make,” he agrees. “Give me a few minutes to look at the camera feed and process where I think we go from here. Have you called her brother?”

“No. He’ll lose his shit.”

“He’s ex-FBI. He’s not going to lose his shit until she’s safe. And as to this being the Allen family? Taking Dash’s sister seems a stupid move. You don’t walk away from that without ensuring the wrong attention for the rest of your life. It’s hard for me to believe the Allen family would be that stupid.”

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