Page 87 of The Billionaire's Rival (Bad Boy Billionaires)

“Thank you, but you should go back and tell Senator and Mrs. Wainwright what’s going on and make sure they stay safe.”

He glanced toward Miles and Carter, and they both nodded.

“Let us know as soon as you have any word,” Carl said.

I nodded. “We will.”

When reached Ford’s house, I tried to leap out of the car, but Carter put his hand on mine. “You do this our way or we’re sending you back.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew I should do as he said. Security was his job.

When we went inside, a lump formed in my throat. It looked like someone had fallen or been dragged down the stairs. The carpet was askew. One of the spindles was out of the staircase. A lamp was turned over and in pieces on the floor, and there was blood; not a lot, not enough for anyone to be dead, but enough to make my eyes sting with tears and my stomach flip-flop.Please let Ford be alive.

“If they killed him, would they have left him here?”

“Likely,” Carter said. “They’d want us to see what they’d done.”

“They probably want to use him to negotiate,” Miles said.

“At least that would mean we have a chance of saving him.”

“There’s more than a chance,” Miles said. “We are going to rescue him, and he is going to be fine.” I knew Miles wanted to sound certain, but I could hear the fear in his voice.

I noticed a hat lying in the corner of the hallway. It wasn’t the one Ford had worn when he’d left Bedford. “Can I touch this?”

Carter tossed me a pair of gloves. I slipped them on and picked it up. It was handmade. Ford must have knitted it, but why was it here?

I examined it more closely, and that’s when I saw a small J stitched on the inside. He’d made this hat for me, and he’d come here to get it.

I sat it back down where it had been, even though I wanted to hold it, to press my face to it and breath in his scent. I wanted to let myself cry as I clutched it to me, but I didn’t. Instead, I turned to Miles. “It’s as much my fault as it is yours.”

“What do you mean?”

“This hat. He made it for me. He came back here to get it.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Carter said.

“Why would it be lying here on the floor? It has my initial in it. He stopped by to get it for me. I know he did. Last night. We…we said we loved each other for the first time.” I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away.

I felt a hand on my back. “It’s not your fault. We’re going to find him, and you’re going to have plenty of time together.”

It was Miles. I turned and looked at him. “You’re okay with that?”

He nodded. “I’ll still kill you if you hurt him, but yes, I’m okay with it.”

That was as good as it was going to get. “What happens now?”

“We need to let his grandparents know. Do you think you could take care of that since Carl won’t be there yet?”

I didn’t want to, but Ford’s grandfather had given me his number before I left, and I certainly owed him that. “Yes.”

Before I could start my call, Miles’s phone rang. When he pulled it from his pocket, his eyes widened. I’d never seen him visibly shaken before.

“Who is it?” Carter asked.

“I don’t recognize the number.”

I must’ve looked confused, so Carter filled me in. “It’s a private line. Only a few people have the number.”

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