Echo(80)

And how the hell was Cal involved? Maybe Bennett did know. After all, Bennett and Cal worked in a few business deals together through the years. Does Declan know about his dad? God, he seemed like such an honest guy as well, but maybe he knew.

Irritation swarms the more I think and question, but what’s the use? I’m not going to dissect this on my own.

My body alerts as I feel the car slow and then come to a stop. My pulse quickens when I hear the door slam shut.

Are we in a public place? Are people around? Do I risk making noise?

Taking in slow, quiet breaths, I focus on what’s going on outside, but I hear nothing. Every muscle in my body is tensed up as I wait, but nothing happens. Time continues to pass, and eventually, I feel myself drifting to sleep. I struggle to stay awake as my eyes fall shut.



I DON’T KNOW how long I’ve been out when I feel the car halt to a sudden stop. I wonder how far we’ve traveled. I hear the door shut, and it’s only seconds until the trunk pops open.

Light burns my eyes, and I flinch away as Richard’s hands grab on to me, yanking me out of the car. I don’t even think to take in my surroundings, simply fighting against his hold, jerking my body around.

With his hands on my arms, he slams me against a solid rock wall. He knocks the wind out of me, and I gasp desperately through my nose while my throat strangles against my depleted lungs. Hunched over, I panic and choke when he grabs my hair and pulls my head up. Hairs rip from my scalp as a steel blade meets my cheek.

My eyes widen in horror as my breath finally catches. Whimpering, I close my eyes as he presses the blade into my soft flesh. My cry is muffled by the tape that still covers my mouth when I feel the pop of my skin as he slices me open.

He then presses the flat of the blade to the tape that covers my lips, saying, “If you think I have limits, you’re wrong.”

Bending down, he uses the knife to cut the duct tape around my ankles, but leaves my wrists bound. The blood from my cheek drips from my jaw, landing on my top.

“Walk,” he commands, grabbing my arm and leading me down an alleyway.

I look around, quickly attempting to figure out where we are, but it’s too dark, and the alley is too narrow. He leads me down a flight of steps to an underground area, and I remember Lachlan telling me about the vaults under the city. He told me some of them now serve as clubs or restaurants, some for ghost tours, but others simply remain empty. And there’s no doubt that’s where he’s taking me as he moves me through a stone tunnel, damp with water, and into a fairly large room.

Taking in my surroundings, I can tell this used to be used for a business of sorts. There’s electricity, built-in counters along one of the walls, a desk, and a couple of chairs. I watch as Richard walks over to the desk and lays his gun down. When he returns to me, he rips off the tape covering my mouth, and my eyes prick with tears against the sting.

“Sit down,” he tells me, and I obey.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask.

“You’re all I’ve got. I need you to help me disappear.”

“From what?”

“If the cops find me, I’ll spend the rest of my years in prison.”

And he’s right. Richard is in his late fifties. I don’t know the crimes he’s committed, but the fact that he’s just kidnapped me tells me he’s in deep shit.

“But I told you, I don’t have what you’re looking for,” I tell him.

“You may not, but someone who loves you does.”

“Who?”

“Declan McKinnon.”

I shake my head, saying, “You’re wrong. He doesn’t love me. He hates me.”

“Yet you’re living with him? I think you’re lying to me.”

“I’m not. You have to believe me. He doesn’t love me. He keeps me there to punish me.”

“Punish you for what?” he questions, but I bite my tongue, not sure how much to say.

I won’t incriminate Declan, but do I incriminate myself? If I do, I run the risk of going to jail myself. So, I give him what he already knows from following me back in Chicago, and say, “For the fact that I wouldn’t leave Bennett for him.”

I tell the lie, but I hate it because Declan is worth so much more than anyone else on this planet.

Richard chuckles in irritation. “I don’t know exactly what you were doing with Bennett, but I’m smart enough to know, Elizabeth Archer, that you didn’t love him. So what was it about for you? What were you after? Money?”