Page 92 of Cruel Betrayal

Elliot

I’mvaguelyawareofmy body going stiff. We knew Ludo would call to ask for our help, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come until later. It was a foolish thought on my part.

I hold my hand out, mouthingthank youto Oliver before pressing my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

Ludo doesn’t even bother with a greeting. “Aubrey has been kidnapped.” His voice is tight. Scared, almost.

“Kidnapped?” I don’t even have to fake the surprise in my voice. We predicted Ludo would reach out, but him thinking Aubrey was kidnapped? We definitely didn’t think that’s the conclusion he’d jump to.

“Yes. We woke up this morning, and she was missing. At first I thought she ran, but there’s no way she could’ve left unnoticed. Her kidnappers knew exactly what they were doing.”

“How can we help?” I ask as my gaze lands on Rhett. He came in after Oliver, and his face is shadowed with worry.

“I need her back,” Ludo says. “They had the audacity to kidnap my wife from my home on ourwedding night.I can’t let that slide.”

I clench my jaw. Of course he isn’t concerned about Aubrey’s safety. He cares more about the principle of it—he’s Ludo Holloway. Howdaresomeone abduct his wife from right under his nose.

“No one’s contacted me about a ransom yet, but I know who did it,” Ludo continues. “It’s the same man who tried to have her kidnapped when we were in Florida—Peter Huxley. He’s a rival of mine. I was considering keeping him around because he’s amusing to piss off, but after this, he’s a dead man.”

“You want us to kill him?” I ask.

“No. Bring him to me alive. Along with Aubrey, of course. My guess is he’s keeping her close. And do it quickly, Hayes. I want her back to me by tonight. I’ll pay whatever price you deem necessary.”

“Will do.”

There’s silence on the other end, and for a second, I think Ludo has already hung up. But then he speaks, and the way his voice is tinged with panic catches me off guard. “I’m asking you three because at this point, I don’t know who else to trust. This had to have been an inside job, and I need this handled by people who aren’t going to betray me.”

Satisfaction slides over my skin. Not only is Ludo admitting to weakness, but he’s also placing his trust in the worst people possible. He truly has no clue—and why would he? We’ve done an excellent job keeping our true feelings to ourselves.

“We’ll find her,” I say. “You don’t have to worry.”

The call ends, and I press my face into Wren’s neck with a burdened sigh. All I wanted was to have a nice morning with her before we joined the guys for breakfast.

“What did he say?” Rhett asks. “Are we in the clear?”

“Completely. He thinks Aubrey was kidnapped, and he wants us to find her kidnapper and bring both of them back alive by tonight.”

Rhett swears under his breath. “He wasn’t supposed to give us such a short window of time. That’s not even twenty-four hours.”

“What’re we gonna do?” Oliver asks. “We can grab Huxley, but it’s not like he actually has Aubrey. We’ll still be showing up half-empty handed.”

“It’s the best option we’ve got,” I reply. “We can tell Ludo we couldn’t find Aubrey anywhere, which will be the truth. From there, he’ll probably send us on a wild goose chase, and we’ll just have to put up our best show. Aubrey is planning on contacting him tonight, so we don’t have to put up a ruse for long.”

“And if it’s not enough?”

“We’ll come up with something,” Rhett says. “We’ll make a show of trying to get Aubrey’s location out of Huxley or searching everywhere we can think of. She may be long gone, but we have Ludo’s trust, and we’re not losing it. We have to look like we’re giving our all to find her.”

“Love,” I say gently. “I’m sorry, but I have to get out.”

Once we’re out of the tub, Oliver hands us towels. I keep my mind fixed on how exactly we’re going to find Peter Huxley as I dry off.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Wren asks.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.” Once I’ve knotted my towel around my hips, I give her a quick kiss on her cheek. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”

She nods, watching me with concern.

I don’t even bother throwing clothes on. “We’ll need to look up Huxley’s main residence. It’s a Sunday, so he’s probably at home. And can someone call Sparrow and see if she knows anything about his security? Or literally anything? I’m sure she wants an update on Ludo’s reaction anyway.”

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