“Unless you walk up to his door without getting shot, I don’t see how that’s gonna happen.”
“You’re going to help me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He kidnapped me and made me his prisoner. Now it’s his turn to get kidnapped.”
Joseph’s voice rose a few levels. “Are you really suggesting that I capture the guy?”
“Yes. You’re going to bring him to me so he and I can talk—face-to-face.”
“Wow. You aren’t kidding.”
“No. And you owe me, Joseph.”
“Don’t go there,” he snapped. “I did everything I could to get you back.”
“You don’t owe me for that. You owe me for shooting Crewe when I told you not to.”
He sighed into the phone.
“When his driver takes him somewhere, I need you to intercept the car and drive him to me.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Are you saying you can’t do it?” Playing to his ego should work.
“Yes, I can do it. But I’m not going to do it.”
“Yes, you are. And you aren’t gonna hurt anyone.”
“Now, that’s impossible.”
“It’s not. No guns.”
“You expect me to hijack his car without a gun and actually turn my back to Crewe, who’s definitely packing?”
“He won’t hurt you.”
He laughed into the phone. “I shot the guy. Of course, he’ll take his chance.”
“No, he won’t.” I knew Crewe would never hurt someone I loved unless it was a matter of life and death. “Tell him why you’ve taken over the car, and he’ll cooperate peacefully.”
“You have no idea what he might do.”
“Yes, I do.” Despite being apart for the past month, I knew him better than anyone. “Trust me, Joey.”
“Goddammit…how did my life get to this?”
“Because you fucked with Crewe Donoghue.”
5
Crewe
Two weeks went by, and I didn’t hear anything from London.
She was about to head back to the United States, getting back to the life she had before she got mixed up with me in the first place. A part of me wanted to call her now that I had her number, just to hear her voice, but I wouldn’t allow myself to do that.
I’d made my decision.
And when I made up my mind, I didn’t change it. She had my trust once before, but she blew it when she crossed me. I couldn’t take back Josephine, not that I wanted to, and I certainly couldn’t give London another chance.
I was too pissed.
And stubborn.
I was golfing in London that weekend, catching up with friends and some business partners for the charity event. Maybe hitting the links would get my mind off London. I hadn’t gotten laid in weeks because I’d been too busy, so my dreams and fantasies constantly drifted back to her. I beat off to her memory more times than I cared to admit.
But that didn’t mean I loved her.
And I would have kept seeing Sasha, but work got in the way. London’s reappearance had nothing to do with me calling it off.
It was just a coincidence.
My men carried my two bags to the car as I walked to the entrance with Ariel.
“I’ve got your schedule ready. Mark will take care of everything when you land. I’ll handle everything on this front.”
“I had no doubt you would.” I adjusted my watch on my wrist before I straightened my black jacket. “You know how to reach me.” I walked out the door and saw my car parked in the roundabout in the midst of statues.
“Good luck on the course.”
I gave her a quick nod before I opened the back door. “Don’t need it. But thanks anyway.” I got into the back seat and immediately pulled out my phone, planning to get through my emails on the drive.
Dunbar pulled onto the road and headed to Edinburgh, where my plane was waiting for my private takeoff. He didn’t make conversation, but he’d always been a quiet man. Ever since London’s betrayal, he’d never looked at me the same. He did his job and communicated with me as little as possible. Even a raise hadn’t improved his spirits.
But as long as he did his job well, I didn’t have room to complain. I wasn’t a chatty person, preferring long stretches of silence to meaningless conversation. That was one of the things I adored about London. For a woman, she didn’t have much to say. She could sit with me for hours without saying a single word.
The memory of us having dinner together on the balcony tugged at my heart.
But I pushed it away.
We came to a stoplight in town and sat at the light for over a minute. I didn’t have to catch a flight at the airport like everyone else, so I didn’t care if this delay put us back a couple minutes. I had a few emails from one of my regional managers, so I responded to those with my eyes glued to the screen.
Then the front window shattered.
“What the—”
A man slammed Dunbar’s head against the steering wheel so hard he knocked him out cold. The horn honked, and the rest of the cars in traffic sped away on the sidewalk since they didn’t know what was happening.