Seducing Texas (So not Prince Charming #2)(68)

Chapter Shane


A drum pounds in my head, and it hurts like a mother. Through the corner of my bloodied eye, Lindsey falls to the ground, the shot exploding in my ear. From the amount of blood, she’s dying and her son will be motherless. My heart splits open before I succumb to the blow to my head.

When I come to, I have no idea where I am or how long I’ve been out, and plastic ties, cutting into my wrists, bind me to a wheeled chair. My head feels like a concrete block smashed into it, and the room blurs in front of me. My hands have swollen from the uncomfortable position of the ties. I could have a concussion, but that’s the least of my worries.

The Chinese must want my money back badly.

Light filters in through dirt smudged windows, so it must be daylight. I haven’t been out too long, but it’s looking doubtful that anyone can find me in this dingy warehouse.

I scan my surroundings, and objects come into view. A single bulb hangs overhead, poring over me like a spotlight, and rows of crates are stacked two to three stories up. The floors are concrete, and the walls and ceiling resemble corrugated aluminum. Metal beams run the length of the thirty-foot ceilings. A warehouse?

I rest my damaged body. My head and side where the bull gored me ache. My arms are strung through the chair, so I can’t leave without taking it with me.

A door in the far corner opens and shuts. Along with three thugs, Chang Wong strides up to me with an armed bodyguard. The three other men are not small, like Tang, but beefy Asian men.

“Mr. O’ Flannery, you and your girlfriend have caused me significant problems,” Wong says confidently. “She has information that could harm me, and you have stolen my money.”

“That’s my money,” I say, though I should remain silent. He had no problem murdering Lindsey or shooting at Cyn and me.

“Not anymore. How did you take it all back? Over 500 million gone from my accounts.”

Shit. My hacker friend must’ve moved the rest of the money. He was worth the one million I paid him. Damn.

“Same way you took it,” I shoot back.

One of Chang Wong’s thugs puts on brass knuckles, and I draw in a painful breath.

“We need that money Mr. O’ Flannery to pay our suppliers,” Chang Wong says, his expression strained. He must be f*cked if he doesn’t get it back. Good.

“We will convince you to give it back,” he says.

I don’t know that it’s a good idea to give the money up or tell them most of what I had went to the IRS. Somewhere though I now have more money. The hacker told me he’d separate the money between my three overseas accounts where the money was originally transferred.

Whatever I do, they’ll kill me, but my best chance of living is to not give him my money. The longer I hold out the more likely the feds will find me, but that’s a long shot. “What do I get out of this?”

“We will let you go,” Wong says calmly.

“What about the files we have?” Wong could go back to China, and it’s doubtful the country will hand him back over.

“You will hand over the files for your freedom. We will keep you until then.”

“What guarantees do we have?” There’s none he could give me that I would believe him. This can only end one way—one of us dies.

“You have my word.”

I laugh. “And we’ve already established your word is no good.”

“Then we will beat the information out of you. We do not have much time. You could make this easy on yourself and for your girlfriend.”

How will I protect her if I’m dead? Juarez could take her to Columbia, and Wong would have a hard time getting through him to her. I don’t want her with the motherf*cker, so I have to get myself out of this jam.

“You’ve pissed off the South American drug cartels,” I say. “They won’t like it if you kill off my girl, especially when she made a deal with them.”

That catches his attention because his head jerks back. “What deal is that?”

“You may want to ask the other drug lords. They don’t like you cutting into their territory. They’re looking for blood.”

Using a hanky, he mops perspiration from his brow. “You are bluffing.”

“No, I’m not. Cyn has made friends with Manny’s opposition, and she took Manny out. I wouldn’t underestimate her.”

His gaze flicks to me and then to the door. He’s nervous, and I need to take advantage of that. “I will wage my bets, Mr. O’ Flannery. We are running out of time.” Checking his watch, he nods to his bodyguard. “Make him talk. The shipment will be here in another hour.”

Chang Wong’s wingtips click on the concrete away from me while the three thugs surround me. The one sporting the brass knuckles raps them on the metal desk where a ruggedized laptop sits.

Tang walks in, slapping a truncheon on his palm. His eye is swollen shut where my fist slammed into it. Motherf*cker. If I live through this, I’m going to kill him this time.

I inhale slow deep breaths because these guys are going to f*ck me up good.

“String him up,” Tang says.

“I don’t get it,” I say. “You make good money. I gave you and every other developer a mil each when I sold my company.”

The other men glare at him. They must not make that kind of money. I will whittle away at them.