Ronan
I checked my phone for the third time in ten minutes.
Still no reply from Willow.
I’d called her this morning, hoping we could talk, and then sent a message when she hadn’t answered. If I’d realized she was going to take this space thing so seriously, I’d have pushed harder yesterday. As it was, I’d spent an entire day barely able to accomplish anything because I was too distracted. I couldn’t afford to be unproductive. My time was too precious.
If she didn’t want to talk to me, perhaps I could use the security cameras to check she was safe. I clicked onto the feed and frowned. She wasn’t at her desk. An image flashed into my mind of her huddled in her apartment, afraid. But the image didn’t sit right. Willow was stronger than that.
I scrolled through contacts in my phone until I found her supervisor, Anja, and called.
“Hi, King,” Anja said briskly. “What can I help you with?”
My mouth went dry. It wasn’t exactly appropriate for me to use my position to check up on the woman I was involved with. But given everything she’d been through, it was warranted. Somebody needed to look out for her.
“King?” Anja prompted.
I cleared my throat. “Is Willow Lennox in the office today?”
She fell quiet, and I assumed she was checking a calendar or roster. “Yes, I have her marked as present.”
I stared at the empty desk on my camera feed. Perhaps she’d gone to get a coffee or a snack. But there was no jacket slung over her chair, and no bag perched on the desk.
It felt off.
“Thanks,” I said. “Talk later.”
I’d just have to go over there myself. With more eagerness than I’d have liked to admit, I left my office. Fiona glanced up as I passed but didn’t comment. Perhaps she saw the concern on my face.
When I reached Willow’s desk, she still wasn’t there. Imani flashed me a quick smile but didn’t say anything.
My eyes narrowed. I spent a lot of time reading people, and she was nervous.
“Have you seen Willow?” I asked.
She pursed her lips. “I’m sure she’s around somewhere.”
I strode to her desk. “But have you seen her?” She looked torn, and I continued more softly. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, Imani. I’m worried about her.”
“Oh.” Finally, her eyes cleared. “She hasn’t been in today. I covered for her because I thought she deserved the time off after what she’s been through.”
My stomach tightened. While Imani’s behavior wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t something I’d usually make a big deal of. “Have you spoken to her?”
She shook her head. “I tried calling but she didn’t answer.”
“Damn. So did I. Thanks for your help.” I left Imani at her desk and headed for Kade’s office. He was speaking to Sean when I let myself in.
“King, what’s up?” Kade asked.
“I need Sage Nichols’s phone number.”
Kade raised a brow. “You think I’ve got it?”
“Yes.” I didn’t have time for games. “You went with her to her grandparents’ house, so of course you do.”
I didn’t mention the fact I’d seen him checking out the quirky brunette.
He sighed, scrolled through his phone, and scrawled a number on a Post-it note.
“Thanks.”
I rushed back to my office, already entering the number into my mobile. I had a really bad feeling about this.
She answered after only a couple of rings.
“Sage, it’s Ronan.” My voice was terser than I’d intended, but I couldn’t seem to do anything about it. “Are you with Willow?”
“No.” She sounded confused. “Willow is at work.”
“I can’t find her.”
She hummed in thought. “Maybe she’s at lunch.”
Maybe. But I didn’t like the sense of dread creeping over me. “She left your apartment this morning to come here?”
“Yes. At the usual time.”
“Thanks. That’s all I need to know.”
I hung up.
Something must have happened to Willow between leaving her apartment and arriving at the office.
And that tightness in my stomach? It was morphing into full-on fear.
Time to make another phone call.
I strode to the window so I could look out over Chicago. Somewhere out there, Willow might be in danger.
“Detective Lee.”
“Joanna, I need your help. Willow Lennox is missing.”
“How long?” she asked.
“She left her apartment this morning and never arrived at work.”
I sensed her hesitation. “You know we can’t consider her a missing person until she’s been gone for forty-eight hours. She might have stopped for a coffee with a friend, or decided she’d rather spend the day shopping.”
“She didn’t.”
Willow wasn’t like that. A headache pinched at my temples. What if Tom had been too slow to pay his debts and someone thought they needed to make an example of the Lennoxes? I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her.
“Given the problems she’s been having, I’ll get someone to canvas the area outside her apartment. See if anybody will let us view their security feeds. We don’t have enough for a warrant to force them to allow access to their cameras though.”
I nodded, trying to rein in my frustration. Rules existed for a reason, and they weren’t her fault. “You do that. I’ll do the same. If you find anything, please call me.”
“I will.” She paused before hanging up. “We’ll do what we can to get your girl back, King.”
“Thanks.” I exhaled roughly. “I appreciate that.”
I just hoped it would be enough.
Willow
Thick black fabric obscured my vision as my consciousness slowly returned. I could hear voices around me but could not decipher their meaning. All I knew was that they were unfamiliar and male.
I shifted in place, feeling woozy, but I remained upright. When I took a moment to mentally check my body parts, I realized I was tied to something. Rope looped my ankles to a chair, and my wrists were bound behind my back.
I tested the rope, but it held firm.
Panic began to rise within me, and my breathing grew shallow. I drew in a slow, deep breath. I was in a bad situation, but if I wanted to get out of it in one piece, I needed to stay calm and be smart.
“She’s awake,” a man barked.
“Good.”
A shiver shot down my spine.
I knew that voice. Recognized it from a handful of unavoidable conversations over the years.
Someone touched the top of my head and I flinched.
Then the barrier between me and the room was torn off, and Adrian Petrov slowly came into view. I blinked against the brightness of the light and tried to say something, but my mouth was dry.
“Welcome, Willow.” He captured my face between his hands and squinted at me as if to determine whether I was mentally present. “Nice of you to join us.”
He released me, but not before my stomach heaved in revulsion because of his closeness. I gagged. When I recovered, I looked around, noting a number of men stationed like soldiers awaiting orders. Despite that, the room itself was nothing like a battlefield. We were in the living area of a luxurious apartment. Expensive art graced the walls, and the furniture looked custom-made.
“Why am I here?” I croaked. My throat felt as though I hadn’t had water for days.
“So I can tell you how disappointed I am that you ruined everything.”
I had? I frowned and tried to concentrate. He had his money. Shouldn’t he be happy?
But perhaps he hadn’t gotten paid after all. Was it possible that Tom had taken the money and run?
“The debt?” I rasped.
Petrov tsked and shook his head. “You’re missing the point, you stupid girl. I never wanted the money. I wanted Frank’s precious company and his beloved daughter.”
My insides went cold.
He’d never wanted Tom to be able to pay the debt. He might even have manipulated Tom into a situation where Tom had no choice but to give Petrov what he wanted.
I remembered what Ronan had said about Orlov’s last words. Orlov had tried to tell him.
My thoughts wandered back to Ronan.
How long had it been since we’d last spoken in his apartment? I glanced at the window, but the curtain was closed, so it was impossible to tell what time of day it was.
Surely Ronan would notice I was missing. Or if not him, then Sage would. Either way, someone would come for me. But until then, I couldn’t sit here and wait to be rescued. I needed to save myself.
I tried to speak again but the words were unintelligible.
“Get her a drink,” Petrov ordered.
A moment later, a glass of water was shoved under my nose. My dignity wanted to resist, but I was desperately thirsty, and being weak wouldn’t get me out of the situation. I let the man tilt my head back and pour water into my mouth, enjoying the cool flow over my parched throat. The water kept coming, and I spluttered and closed my mouth, turning away so I could cough.
Then, panting, I faced Petrov again.
“What, exactly, did I ruin?” I asked.
He scowled. “I had everything set up. It was going to play out exactly as I wanted. If only you hadn’t gotten that whoreson King involved.”
He struck me across the face.
My head jerked to the side, and it took a moment for my brain to process the pain. I tasted blood from biting my tongue.
Petrov bent so that his face was an inch from mine. “You should never have fucked that interfering bastard or helped him take what should be mine.”
My instinct was to cower, but something told me he would enjoy that, so I straightened my spine. “Ronan King is three times the man you’ll ever be.”
Smack!
His other hand clipped me around the face, and spots flashed before my eyes. Still, I didn’t flinch. “What do you want with Dad’s company?”
Petrov gripped my chin, his features twisted with anger. “We started our companies at the same time, but Frank married your bitch of a mother, which gave him connections to Chicago’s elite. He took the clients I should have had. He never deserved his empire. I was more experienced. Willing to do whatever it took. But he got in the way time and time again.”
“But you made your fortune,” I protested. “You’re a very rich man. Why do you care?”
“I did.” He sounded smug. “No thanks to him. Now I can take away everything he worked for.”
“But he’s dead!”
He squeezed my face tighter. “And I am not.”
I whimpered. He was crazy. I knew he and Dad hadn’t had the friendly rivalry Dad had liked to pretend they’d had, but I couldn’t understand why Petrov harbored so much bitterness.
“What do you want with me?”
His smile turned wolfish. “You were Frank’s beautiful daughter. His pride and joy, as much as the company ever was. Making you mine would have been perfect.” He released me, and my jaw throbbed where his fingers had been. “The juicy cherry on the top of my dessert, as you Americans like to say.”
I felt sick.
“I see you’re beginning to understand.” He nodded appreciatively. “Good. Unfortunately, I’ve had to resort to other ways of getting what I want.” His eyes traveled over my face. “You’d better hope your lover is willing to trade you for Frank’s company.”
My breath caught. That’s how he was going to play this? Use me as a bargaining chip?
“He won’t do it.” I had no idea if I was telling the truth. I had a feeling Ronan would do nearly anything to protect me—far more than Tom ever would.
Petrov nodded to one of the men, and the fabric hood was dropped over my head again. “If not, then you and I will have plenty of time to get to know each other.” He chuckled darkly. “Enjoy your stay. I’ll be back soon.”