Page 36 of Unlocking Hope

“What the fuck, Bryson? I’m in the middle of an interview, and why the hell are you not in Dallas?”

“When did you talk to Zoey last?”

“This morning. I’ve been in interviews all day. She sent me a text before lunch.” Cole glanced over at the clock. It was well past three o’clock. He hadn’t realized they’d been talking to Jason for so long. He grabbed his phone from his drawer and saw he had a dozen missed calls from Bryson and nothing from Zoey. That wasn’t normal. He quickly dialed her number, and it rang four times before going to voicemail. With a swipe, he hung up then dialed her work phone. Again, it rang then went to voicemail. “What’s going on, Bryson?”

“I got a text from a burner phone, saying you and Zoey were in trouble. When you didn’t answer, I jumped on the first flight here. I didn’t have Ian or Bella’s number.”

This could all be a misunderstanding.He pulled up the website for the company Zoey worked for and dialed the main number. He asked to speak to Zoey’s boss, Ivy. She said a woman had taken Zoey out to lunch; she’d figured they were celebrating Zoey passing her test and hadn’t thought anything about it. When he asked what the woman looked like, Cole’s heart pounded in his chest.

“She’s been out for two months. Why now? ” Cole asked Bryson.

The memory of Zoey that morning, her hair wrapped up in a towel, flashed through his mind. She had just gotten out of the shower. He’d felt like the luckiest man on the earth.

“I have a feeling it has to do with your birthday next week,” Bryson said.

“I don’t understand,” Cole answered.

Bryson stared at him for a few beats. “You really don’t know?”

“No.”

“You come into your inheritance. She doesn’t have any money. Nathan doesn’t get his until he’s thirty-five, and coming after me will be too public. They are cut out of the company, and I’ve worked over the last couple of months to shut down their streams of income. Grandfather’s money went to her through the company, nowhere else. They’re broke.”

Broke or not, she’d fucked with Zoey, and that was unforgivable.

16

ZOEY

“About time you wake up.” Cindy’s voice was like nails down a chalkboard.

“Sorry, some mad woman injected me with some shit.”

She didn’t have time brace herself before the hand hit her. Cindy dragged her fingernails across Zoey’s cheek, and Zoey could feel the blood trickle down her face.

“Leave her alone.” The voice was weak, but she recognized Nathan’s voice. Her head swung to the side. He was tied to a chair. His face was so black and blue, he was almost unrecognizable, and cuts covered his chest.

“What happened to you?” She wanted to rush to his side. He had been gone for months, and they had suspected he was helping Cindy.

Without answering, Nathan shook his head. Zoey looked around the room. Dark-red curtains covered the floor-to-ceiling windows, blocking the view of the outside. She was tied to a chair with gold arms.Who the hell kidnaps someone and ties them to a gold-plated chair?The other wall had a dark bookcase full of old books. She kept hearing the faint tick of a clock, almost like a countdown. She couldn’t tell where it was coming from until she looked down. Zoey was no expert, but she was ninety-ninepercent sure a bomb was tied to her chest. She closed her eyes and hoped Cole would find her soon.

An older man sat on a couch next to her chair, smoking a cigar. She knew from seeing him on the news that it was Marcus Walker. He hadn’t said a word since she opened her eyes. With a gun in her hand, Cindy paced the room. She looked close to being unhinged.

Zoey waited for the crazed woman to tell her what her plan was. She didn’t want to aggravate her anymore. The cut on her cheek hurt. She looked at the clock on the wall—it was almost six o’clock. Whatever they had stuck her with had knocked her out for six and half hours.By now, Cole should know I’m missing.She hoped he would be able to find her soon.

“Oh, him. He’s trying to play the hero.” Cindy huffed. “You see, I almost got taken down by your guy’s little stunt, but I had someone on the inside that let me know what was going down. When I knew I would need an out, I used one of my cards. Nathan didn’t know he had a daughter. All I had to do was threaten the girl’s life—and bam! My youngest has me out of jail.”

“Then why is he tied up?”

“He wasn’t very cooperative with helping me take down his brothers. I had to teach him a lesson. I don’t know how he did it, but he hid the stupid little girl so I couldn’t use her as leverage. Like everything in life, though, he failed. She will be here soon, and maybe she can go boom like you two.”

“I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”

“Such a flair for the dramatic.”

Zoey let out a breath. She would rather go through hell than let Cindy put some little girl through it. She understood why Nathan had helped his mother, and she was no longer mad.

“Are we going to sit here all night, or are you going to call Cole?” Marcus asked from the couch.

---