Page 87 of Forged in Peril

Bristol glanced up at the clock on the wall, watching as the second hand ticked slowly across its face.

It had been well over an hour since Jaclyn had taken her hostage, but somehow, the passing of time had ceased to make sense. Bristol had let her mind race, trying to think of any way that she might escape, any way that she might distract Jaclyn, but so far she could see only risk. Even if she could somehow slip out of Jaclyn’s office without being shot, there was no way she was going to make it to safety.

Compared to most of the departments at FBS, legal was largely autonomous. Apart from Grace, Gabe, and very occasionally Cameron and the other brothers, few employees ever had need to come into the outer office, let alone to knock on Jaclyn’s closed door.

She met with clients in a meeting room off of the lobby downstairs. As far as Bristol knew, with Melanie gone for the day, there was no reason to assume that they’d see another soul before the night guard came on shift and started making his rounds.

Her only hope now was that Cameron would show up to apologize in person, but for the moment, it didn’t seem likely. She knew that he had an important client meeting in the afternoon, outside of the office, and that he might be gone for hours. It was even possible that he’d go straight home without returning to the office after all, especially when he never heard anything from her in response to the dessert he’d sent.

Bristol glanced over at the pie box sitting on the desk, trying to stop herself from showing any emotion. Jaclyn had already eaten a slice and offered Bristol some, but she had no appetite. Her boss’s cold indifference as she held her captive was made even more terrifying as she brought forkfuls of flaky pie crust to her mouth, as though nothing was wrong in the world at all.

Bristol felt her breath catch in her chest as she heard a loud ping from Jaclyn’s phone.

The lawyer reached over and picked it up, brow furrowing as she glanced down at the screen before her face broke into a wide smile.

Bristol eyed the gun that Jaclyn had laid across the desk, inches away from her fingertips in case her hostage tried anything.

She couldn’t stand the silence any longer. She figured it was worth the risk to at least try and get some answers. At this point, she didn’t have much to lose.

“Since you clearly have no intention of letting me go, you may as well tell me what’s going on,” Bristol said, willing her voice not to shake.

Jaclyn paused for a moment, glancing up from her phone and offering Bristol a flat smile.

“I suppose that’s fair enough,” she said. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Bristol admitted, keeping her eyes locked on Jaclyn’s own. “But you could start with why that text has you looking so perky.”

“Well, my contacts at Grapas came through, just as I’d hoped,” Jaclyn said, giving a little laugh. “The wait is nearly over. The truck I called for is at the back gate now, waiting for security to clear them. Sounds like there’s been some kind of delay, but at least they’re here.”

Bristol felt a coldness tracing its way down her spine.

Everything was unfolding exactly how she’d feared, and there was nothing whatsoever that she could do about it.

“The truck contains a bomb, of course,” Jaclyn continued, not waiting for Bristol to ask any clarifying questions. “My main guy at Grapas is a bit of an expert with them, though law enforcement got in the way last time before the artist could properly unveil his masterpiece. To think that history almost repeated itself, all because I misplaced some files and underestimated a paralegal who grew up in a trailer park.”

Bristol felt her fingernails biting into her palms.

Jaclyn had indeed underestimated her, but what did it matter now?

Even with the advance warning she had, she’d failed to thwart Jaclyn and Grapas in the end, all thanks to her insistence on doing everything herself.

Jaclyn paused for a long time, glancing across the office toward the large windows that looked out on the building opposite FBS.

Bristol had briefly considered trying to break one of the windows and alert those working across the street to her predicament, but she’d dismissed the idea quickly. The windows were almost certainly far too strong for her to shatter, and even if she did, there was nowhere to go.

Even on the fourth floor, the ground was a long way down.

Finally, Bristol dared to ask another question.

“How are you tied to Dorling & Porter, Jaclyn? Why are you doing this? I just want to understand.”

Jaclyn smiled, turning until her pale blue gaze fell upon Bristol once more.

“It’ll all make sense soon enough,” she said calmly. “Assuming you live to hear about it, anyway.”

Bristol’s heart hammered against her ribcage, but she forced her breathing to remain steady. The woman held all of the power as it was.

Bristol didn’t need to give her anything else, including the satisfaction of witnessing her fear.

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