Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(116)

Chapter Twenty





Becca came awake slowly, her body aching oddly and her mind reaching for any explanation as to where she was. What had happened? She remembered being in the car and Owen had asked her a question.

He’d asked her how he’d known. How who had known? And known what? They’d been talking about something and then…

“I don’t understand why you had to bring them here,” a familiar voice whispered, though she could plainly hear him. Paul. What was Paul doing in the car? “I can’t have anyone know I was involved in this.”

“And no one will,” a deep voice replied. “We came in under cover of darkness and hauled our guests in through your very spacious garage. Ah, old money. Was that a Rolls I saw in there?”

“This is serious, Mr. Green.”

A long huff was heard as though the man making the sound was incredibly bored. “I’m not about to call your neighbors, but where did you think I would take them until we’re ready for transport? I certainly can’t carry two unconscious people through the lobby of my hotel. And poor Mo Chou can’t show up at her condo building with a couple of new friends she needs a bellman to carry up for her. There would be questions. Here, we’re all alone. What’s wrong, Paul? Getting a little real for you?”

The accident. Something had happened and the car had flipped. Not an accident. Those brief moments of terror came crashing back in on her. Someone had shot out their tire and Robert had lost control of the car.

“You’re a man who doesn’t want to know where his food comes from, aren’t you, Paul? You like it all wrapped in plastic so you don’t have to see the dirty work. Did you think she would happily walk away with me?”

“I thought she would do it so she didn’t go to jail,” Paul replied.

There was a long pause before that deep voice spoke again. “And your father? Did you think he would, what? Maybe walk into Mo Chou’s knife?”

“I’m going to shoot him,” a feminine voice said. “Easier and I don’t have to get dirty. Dry cleaning bills are expensive.”

Becca forced her eyes open and gradually figured out where she was. Daylight streamed in through the windows. She blinked, the light far too bright. She was at Paul’s house, the one he kept in one of the wealthiest parts of the city. She’d only been here a couple of times, but she would recognize that chandelier anywhere. His whole home was exquisitely done in old-world elegance. She looked up and saw the balcony across from her. There were two grand sets of stairs on either side of the house, and a balcony landing that ran from one wing to the other. She’d come for a Christmas party one year and wondered why he needed such a large house. There was only Paul and his son since his wife had left.

Where was Owen? Owen had been beside her in the car. Owen had been trying to get through to her. Owen had been offering her a life together, if she was only brave enough to take it.

“Ah, the good doctor awakens.” A man’s face came into view. She’d seen the man in pictures. He was handsome, with dark hair that swept over his forehead and chocolate brown eyes that should belong to someone less evil. He didn’t look like a man who would kidnap people. “You might have a concussion. I don’t know. I’m not the neurologist and Paul here won’t check you out. I think he’s sure if he touches you something bad will happen. The good news is you don’t have any broken bones. You’re probably going to bruise some though. When we get where we’re going, I’ll let all the doctors check you out.”

He was actually smiling at her.

“Leave her alone,” a deep voice growled.

Owen. Owen was here. She sat up and nausea rolled through her.

“Hey,” Levi said, sitting down next to her on the leather couch she’d been laid out on. “Go slow, Doc. You’re okay. He’s okay. I know I played a little rough, but everyone’s good.”

“Robert isn’t,” Owen shot back.

She slowly turned her head. They weren’t alone in the room. The woman she’d met at Casa Loma stood by the wall of windows that dominated the large office. She stood out against the white drapes that had been drawn. She wore all black, her hair in a neat bun. Beside her stood a massive man she’d never seen before. He’d gotten the all-black memo, though. She could see his shoulder holster and the hilt of a gun.

“Robert’s such a baby,” Levi said with a sigh. “One little gunshot and he’s out of the game. I thought Big Tag raised them tougher than that.”

“It’s hard to be tough when you’re hanging upside down in the dark and you’ve been in a bloody wreck. Note I didn’t call it an accident.” Owen sat in a chair they’d dragged in from the dining room. She recognized the highbacked antique chair from the evening she’d spent with Paul and his father and son. She remembered how small Emmanuel had looked sitting in the chair, how fragile he’d seemed. Owen wasn’t small, but she was well aware of how fragile his body could be. He could have all the muscles in the world and one bullet could still kill his light. His arms wrapped around his back. She obviously wasn’t such a threat as she’d been left free to move.

Her heart ached at the thought of Robert being dead. How had it happened? One minute they’d gotten away and the next she was waking up and Robert was gone.